Through a continent, darkly
- By Giovanni Vimercati
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 10, 2013
![Protesters demonstrate at the University of Johannesburg Soweto in Soweto, South Africa, on June 29, 2013. Hundreds of protesters take part in a demonstration at the University of Johannesburg Soweto where U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to hold a town hall event on Saturday [Xinhua/Li Qihua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20130710/001ec949c22b13474b3739.jpg "Protesters demonstrate at the University of Johannesburg Soweto in Soweto, South Africa, on June 29, 2013. Hundreds of protesters take part in a demonstration at the University of Johannesburg Soweto where U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to hold a town hall event on Saturday [Xinhua/Li Qihua]") |
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Protesters demonstrate at the University of Johannesburg Soweto in Soweto, South Africa, on June 29, 2013. Hundreds of protesters take part in a demonstration at the University of Johannesburg Soweto where U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to hold a town hall event on Saturday [Xinhua/Li Qihua] |
U.S. President Barack Obama recently made a long-anticipated return to Africa, a continent rich in natural resources and containing a strategic cluster of emerging markets. The unstated but primary aim of his recent trip to Tanzania, Senegal and South Africa was the containment of China's economic influence in the region. While hypocritically reaffirming the human and emotive bond which supposedly links him to the Dark Continent (the President was accompanied by his whole family), Obama had only one thing in mind: business. For if Africa has long been a land of ruthless conquest, first by colonial powers and later by the IMF, the growing competitiveness of its markets has changed the rules of the game and even the game itself, in which the traditional arrogance of Western powers is not likely to "work" any longer.
While coating his diplomatic visit with his proverbial dose of good purpose and charitable benevolence, the very itinerary chosen by Obama leaves no doubts as to his real intentions. Yes, he was very diligent and politically correct. He visited the Maison des Esclaves on the Island of Gorée, where, until 1848, slaves left for the land of the free and home of the brave. Obama also visited Robben Island where former South African President Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and exploited the occasion to sing his praises. It's worth noting here that Mandela was only removed from the U.S. terrorist watch list as recently as 2008.
As far back as 2006, Barack Obama, then senator of Illinois, had declared to the Nairobi auditorium in Kenya that "as a brother, ally and friend I'll always be there for you, I guarantee you that." He was only partly lying. He will always be there, of that there is no doubt; but as a brother and friend? This part is highly debatable. Kenya, the country where his family roots lie, was not on his schedule this time due to the fact that its newly elected president, Uhuru Kenyatta, has recently been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity.
After visiting Ghana during his first trip to Africa as U.S. president in 2009, this time Obama had to carefully tiptoe around his father's land in order to avoid unnecessary controversies. Nigeria, the most densely populated African state as well as a strategic American partner, also had to be avoided since its government is accused of dealing rather heavy-handedly with the Boko Haram sect. Ethiopia, a key U.S. ally in the fight against militant Islam in the Horn of Africa, also had to be scrapped from his travel itinerary due to its government's repressive record.
