Fri, 30 Jun 2017 09:57:06 +0000
…The truth hidden behind the veil
By Thembani M. Tembo
It’s winter in the southern hemisphere, and when I see in my mind’s eye, the weather this year brings a cold shiver cascading down my spine further exacerbated by some political pundits purporting that our belief in freedom and equality and a system of governance hinged on sovereignty and a vision of globally homogenized pluralistic societies in this global village hangs in the balance.
It’s alleged, we are at the brink of enthralling social-cultural and political-economic transformations which threaten global stability and security.
Therefore, allow me to rattle your conscious, as I instinctively divulge the truth behind the reason for some political and social-economic events that have dominated all forms of media the past six (6) months which is hidden behind a white lace veil.
Astonishingly, the West believes it is losing grip on economic and military dominance the world over.
The changes in people’s livelihood in the EU and America due to the enactment of globalization policies are igniting discomfort culminating into fear of the uncertain.
This has further induced the initiation of protective measures to instil or otherwise restore security and reduce levels of uncertainty at macro and regional levels.
Hence they opted for BREXIT in Britain, voted for Donald Trump in the USA, and Matteo Renzi resigned after the Italian referendum defeat and Macron had a relatively narrow victory over Le Penn and had to go for a run off.
Anti-globalization activists are diametrically opposed to neo-liberalism, low levels of transparency and undemocratic mechanisms or systems of governance applied by Western Governments.
These activists have anarchists or socialist tendencies associated with movements concerning the plight of indigenous people.
This has produced antagonistic individuals who cannot keep a civil tongue in their heads, such as USA President Elect Donald Trump and French Right-Wing Party Leader Sean Le Penn.
A sense of or actual deprivation of basic needs and insecurity in the west, tied with social-economic or political marginalization, not forgetting limitations to freedom of choice or free will or its lack thereof, are some of the factors that have sparked the anti-globalization movements.
But the reality of the situation is that global economic integration favoured the already wealthy nations when it was instituted, while hurting the poor from developing nations.
However, emerging economies like China and India played catch-up with anti-globalization systems of governance and transformed into superpowers and are enjoying the spoils of socialist-democracy. Beyond any reasonable doubt, China is poised to be the world’s largest economy by the year 2025.
I am no rocket scientist, but the BREXIT, Theresa May and Donald Trump victory in recent elections has sparked a negative ripple effect on political and economic stability in the United Kingdom and other Western economies.
But Europe’s dilemma is that, it needs unlimited immigration to support a non-replacement birth rate and a greying Western Population.
While the world’s population is projected to grow 3 5percent in the coming decades, the number of Muslims is expected to increase by 73 percent.
From approximately 1.6 billion in 2010 to an astounding 2.8 billion in 2050.
It is projected that between 2010 and 2050, Christianity is to have a net loss of more than 60 million adherents worldwide through religious switching.
However, atrocious acts of terror are on the rise giving birth to Islamophobia in the west.
I am tempted to call into question if the West has taken time to recognize the real cause and premise of radical Islam?
Why does terrorism continue to escalate in such an alarming degree, and what causes these Islamic militants to continually perpetuate such horrific acts of extremism with absolutely no regard for life?
Is it a way of life or could it be that it’s been exacerbated by resource exploitation by Western countries and entities, or perhaps it could be the imposition and/or disregard for their religious beliefs and cultural norms and values?
For over six years now, Syrian and other migrants have been moving from pillar to post living in perpetually inhumane conditions, enduring catastrophic treatment by Islamic Militants and regimes fighting for, and holding on to power, whilst the world arguably pleads ignorance and just piss in the wind when women and children are dying every day.
Depressingly, the immigrants have been shut out in the cold albeit the west is largely the reason they emigrated from their homeland seeking refuge in the first place.
In my opinion, radical Islam arises in the first place and primarily from competition for power among leaders of sects or in some cases, to merely oppress a minor or weaker sect for selfish gains, depriving them of any form of economic wealth or influence.
The leaders, usually with Western backing, choose to create ethnic or religious, instead of other identifications as a basis of recruiting and manipulating the weaker sect.
Some Islamists purportedly fight not only to protect or uphold Islam, but more so against the West’s conscious policy to liquidate their indigenous culture through substituting it with Western cultural values and norms.
As plain as the nose on my face, Africa cannot deny that we are victims of this policy and are experiencing an erosion of our identity.
Most of what we know about our history was written by Western explorers and theorists and indoctrinated in our curriculum for generations.
The systematic eradication of our cultural values and norms and imposition of the Western way of life is the epitome of their dominion over Africa and to a large extent a contributing factor to the conflicts in the Arabic Nations.
In Africa, the Europeans clinically coerced ethnic conflicts to foster the creation of exploitative environments to drive the colonialization agenda.
In the Middle East, not only is it ethnic but religious conflicts, which is the bedrock of the turmoil.
You cannot define something which lacks identification. Therefore, that which lacks identification can easily be defined by a knowledgeable manipulative mind or entity in a manner it perceives ideal or beneficial to driving its purpose, mostly under an inconspicuous amicable form of duress.
Both the purpose and duress, are unforeseen by the newly defined. However, in most instances they’re forcefully imposed regardless.
The point I’m labouring to put across is that if i have the ability to identify and define you, it implies I have dominion over you.
Just as Adam was given dominion over the world when he defined the animals in the book of Genesis. It’s the same principal.
Isn’t it ironic how conflict zones are always endowed with rich oil reserves, vast mineral wealth or both?
Isn’t it apparent an invisible hand is always in one way or the other, directly or indirectly, the orchestrator or instigator of such conflicts, usually in support of the faction willing to embrace Western cultural values and norms?
If you cudgel your brains a little, you’ll realize the reason for conflicts that Africa has endured for decades.
Conflicts or sanctions in the Congo, Sudan, Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria, Zimbabwe including Apartied South Africa were fuelled by the same invisible hands in Syria today.
The truth behind man’s inhumanity to man, is that we are not necessarily adversaries.
I’d like to think of us as competitors in the quest for a stake of the food at the global village banquet. Western countries, are way ahead of Africa and the Middle East at this game.
They know us so well, they can probably count the number of trees in our forests and granules of sand in the deserts.
If we are unable to draw to this realization, we are poised to play catch up for decades.
Figuratively, they’re gluttons who eat most of the food at the global village banquet and will continue to do so if we do not unite and collectively bargain for a fair share of political and social-economic dominance in this village.
The Islamic Militants’ aggression is misapplied. Aggression if calculatedly and scientifically channelled can be recycled to convert weaknesses into strengths.
Tapping into this pool of inert aggression requires not only reception but also understanding of the source or foundation of the weaknesses.
It’s a game of wits. Neither hate the player nor the game, just learn how to play to win.
