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African analyst, author and social critic
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The winners and losers in a civil war economy
By Stephen Ekokobe Awung, June 2021
Man has lived with various conflicts from time
immemorial. War may be defined as a state of armed conflict between
different countries or different groups within a country while peace is
the absence of war and structural violence. Our discussion will be based
on civil wars concerning Africa in general and the ongoing conflict in the
Republic of Cameroon in particular.
It's very complicated when conflicts degenerate into wars because
different interest come into play and sometimes the original cause of the
conflict may be forgotten while the war is still going on. The purpose of
this paper is to discuss the winner and losers in a civil war economy and
why most civil wars last for years despite the adverse consequences.
Human Right Abuse in Syria: A Call for Concern
The Arab uprising popularly known as the Arab Spring - which began in 2011
in Tunisia and eventually led to the departure of middle east dictators
like Ben Ali of Tunisia, Mubarak of Egypt, Gadaffi of Libya and Ali
Abdullah Salah of Yemen - has now entered a dramatic stage in Syria with
the death of more than three thousand people including innocent children
and women who became victim as the fight between the government and
opposition groups continues.
Thoughts from a confused man
I have been thinking a lot
since the sudden and unexpected death of my beloved daughter Njilefe. I
have also asked a lot of questions and some of the answers I got raised
more questions. I remember when the doctor who tried unsuccessfully to
save her life in response to our confusion advised us to consider her
untimely death as fate or destiny. He used the German word “Schicksal.”
What is destiny, predestination, fate? Was my daughter destined to die
after about two and a half years on earth? Was my father destined to die
at 63 years old? Was the lady in Zwickau destined to be killed in an
accident? I keep pondering about these questions when I think about
destiny as an explanation to the cause of death. This blame game
It is a common practice amongst Africans especially
those living in Europe to blame the Europeans or Americans for the misery
that is facing our beloved continent. Africa, the so-called forgotten
continent has a lot of resources both material and human but has been
subjected to very harsh conditions due to poor leadership, corruption,
tribalism, nepotism, egotism, civil strife just to
name but these.
It is disheartening to
hear Africans especially some intellectuals expressing the view that only
God can liberate the continent from the political disaster, economic
misery and social chaos that the continent is facing and has been facing
from time immemorial. There is no doubt about the fact that Africa is the
most underdeveloped continent on earth. The continent has passed through
slavery, colonisation, and now the post-independence epoch but the
socio-economic and political situation is in a total mess. I believe in
God but also strongly believe that manner will never fall from heaven
again. Africans need to take their destinies in their own hands and fight
for prosperity for their own interest, of course with genuine assistance
from the international community.
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| Stephen Ekokobe Awung (c) 2019 | ||
