THOMAS SANKARA: 20 ANS APRES

THOMAS SANKARA: UN RENDEZ-VOUS MANQUE AVEC L’ESPOIR

Par M. Ndomba Ngoma

15 Octobre 1987 – 15 Octobre 2007, il y a 20 ans que Thomas Sankara disparaissait. Le 16 Octobre 1987 restera un jour mémorable pour moi. Mon premier cours était l’éducation physique. Quand je suis arrivé au terrain de sport pour mon cours, personne n’était en tenue de sport alors que j’étais en retard. Tout le monde avait l’air consterné et aucun professeur d’éducation physique n’était là. Les gens discutaient plutôt en petits groupes. J’ai aussitôt compris qu’il y avait un problème. C’est dans ces conditions que j’ai appris la mort de Thomas Sankara. Tous les élèves qui se trouvaient dans ce terrain de sport à Dolisie (Congo-Brazzaville), ce matin du 16 octobre 1987, étaient furieux et maudissaient les responsables de ce crime. Certains connaissaient le nom du responsable, d’autres disaient seulement que c’est le monsieur qui était toujours dernière Sankara pendant sa visite à Brazzaville et Pointe-Noire.

L’une des choses parmi tant d’autres qui ont marqué les jeunes congolais pendant la visite de Sankara au Congo, c’est la cérémonie de la plantation d’arbres près de Pointe-Noire. La jeunesse congolaise a découvert une manière différente d’être un président en Afrique. L’homme parlait bien et de manière très concrète des réalités africaines. Les Congolais ont été marqués par la simplicité, l’humilité, la jovialité, et l’amitié de Sankara. Pour planter son arbre, Sankara n’avait pas demandé l’aide des subalternes comme son hote l’avait fait. Il s’est agenouillé, a placé le plant d’arbre dans le trou préalablement creusé et a remis la terre avec ses mains. Par ce geste les jeunes Congolais découvraient qu’un président africain pouvait aussi être un humain. L’on avait toujours pensé que les présidents africains sortaient de la cuisse de Jupiter. Ils étaient des dieux. On avait enfin un président humain. Les discussions à mon terrain de sport à Dolisie le 16 octobre 1987 tournaient autour de ces images fortes laissées par Sankara à la jeunesse congolaise.

Thomas Sankara avait magiquement séduit la jeunesse congolaise. Sa visite au Congo avait créé un rêve dans l’imaginaire des jeunes Congolais. A travers Sankara, cette jeunesse voyait une autre Afrique ; une Afrique mieux gérée, fière d’elle, rassurante, etc. Sankara a fait naître l’espoir d’une Afrique meilleure. Il est devenu la raison d’être optimiste pour beaucoup de jeunes congolais. Sa mort le 15 octobre 1987 était un rendez-vous manqué avec l’espoir pour la jeunesse africaine. La jeunesse africaine avait perdu un guide qu’elle cherche encore jusqu’aujourd’hui. Le Congo se rappelle de ce rendez-vous manqué à travers les institutions qui portent le nom de Sankara : des associations, des écoles, des rues, etc.

LA CHINE ET LES INSTITUTIONS DE BRETTON WOODS EN AFRIQUE

LA CHINE FAIT-ELLE PERDRE AUX INSTITUTIONS DE BRETTON WOODS LEUR IMPORTANCE EN AFRIQUE ?

Par Mathieu Ndomba Ngoma


La chine fait pleuvoir des dollars en Afrique au moment où nombre de gens s’interrogent sur l’importance des Institutions de Bretton Woods (Banque Mondiale et Fonds Monétaire International) en Afrique. Pour beaucoup d’Africains, l’expression « Institutions de Bretton Woods » est de dettes, de misère, de pauvreté, etc. D’aucuns pensent que ces institutions travaillent à maintenir l’Afrique dans un état de dépendance éternelle. De toute évidence ces institutions n’ont pas réussi à aider l’Afrique à se développer et à sortir de la pauvreté. Le constat d’un fiasco ahurissant s’impose.

L’Afrique sortira de la pauvreté grâce aux investissements qui créeront des emplois et feront croître de manière significative le produit national brut. Après plusieurs décennies de coopération, les Institutions de Bretton ne sont jamais devenu des partenaires importants dans l’accroissement des investissements productifs en Afrique. C’est précisément sur ce point que les Chinois ne paraissent pas seulement très intéressants, mais aussi semblent désormais jouer le rôle qui devait être celui des Institutions des Bretton Woods. Il est évident que quand un gouvernement Africain a besoin d’argent aujourd’hui, il a plus de chance de le trouver en Chine qu’à Bretton Woods.

Il y a certes beaucoup de critiques contre la Chine. Mais leur façon de travailler en Afrique est bien différente de celle des Occidentaux. Non seulement les Chinois parviennent à produire des faits concrets de leur coopération, ils ont fait de l’investissement des entreprises chinoises en Afrique leur cheval de bataille. En effet la Banque Chinoise d’Import Export (EXIMBANK) et la Banque Chinoise de Développement (CDB) prendraient désormais la place des Institutions de Bretton Woods dans beaucoup d’esprits africains. Ces deux banques n’épargnent aucun effort à encourager les entreprises chinoises d’investir en Afrique. Eximbank à elle seule compte investir plus de 20 milliards de dollars en Afrique avant la fin de 2009. L’on peut prédire que d’ici quelques années, ces deux banques chinoises feront en Afrique ce que la Banque Mondiale et le FMI n’ont pas réussi à faire pendant des décennies.


Cependant la perte de l’influence des Institutions de Brettons Woods en Afrique doit appeler à la responsabilité des dirigeants Africains. On ne déshabille pas Pierre pour habiller Paul. Les gouvernements africains doivent être très vigilants pour signer des contrats qui puissent servir le développement du continent. Certes, il y a des signes positifs ; par exemple échanger l’exploitation minière contre des infrastructures comme cela va se faire au Gabon dans l’exploitation d’un gisement de fer, former les techniciens Africains comme cela s’est fait dans le projet de construction du satellite nigérian, etc. Le renforcement de ce model doit conduire à l’exigence de la transformation sur place des ressources naturelles africaines, seul gage de création d’emplois, de la valeur ajoutée et d’une croissance qui profite à tous.

DARFOUR

ATTAQUE DES SOLDATS DE L’UNION AFRICAINE AU DARFOUR : A QUI PROFITE LE CRIME ?
Par M. Ndomba-Ngoma

Dans ce site j’avais ébauché une équation de la paix au Darfour selon les attitudes des différentes chapelles d’intervention humanitaire dans cette région du Soudan. La saga de la confrontation des différentes chapelles d’intervention humanitaire continue. Cette fois-ci les divergences apparaissent au niveau de la formule de condamnation de l’attaque contre les soldats de l’Union Africaine (UA) qui aurait fait une vingtaine de soldats morts ou blessés et neuf autres portés disparus.

La pomme de discorde se situerait au niveau de l’utilisation de l’expression « attaque terroriste. » Certains membres du Conseil de Sécurité, que l’on peut très bien imaginer, souhaitent qualifier cette attaque de terroriste. Cette attaque des soldats de l’UA pourrait donc jouer un rôle important dans l’analyse de la situation au Darfour. Elle apporterait le terme « terrorisme » pour remplacer le terme « génocide» qui n’a pas réussi a faire école dans la communauté internationale. Cependant si le terme terrorisme pourrait plus facilement être accepté par rapport au terme génocide, les deux joueraient le même rôle dans la perspective de l’intervention humanitaire au Soudan. En effet, si une telle formulation est adoptée, elle établirait l’existence des groupes terroristes actifs au Soudan. Le monde, les Etats-Unis en premier, étant en guerre contre le terrorisme, l’existence des groupes terroristes au Soudan justifierait, au grand dam du gouvernement soudanais, une intervention militaire des Etats-Unis ou d’une force onusienne de maintien de la paix qui n’inclurait pas nécessairement l’Union Africaine.

De manière plus évidente, cette attaque aiderait ceux des membres de l’équation de la paix au Soudan qui discréditent l’UA à volonté. A l’orée des négociations de paix, cette attaque donne des arguments frais à ceux qui tiennent mordicus à la présence des troupes onusiennes aux côtés des troupes de l’Union Africaine. Le message semble clair à tout le monde désormais : les soldats de l’UA seuls ne sont pas capables de maintenir la paix au Darfour. Il faut y apporter des soldats de l’ONU ne fut-ce que dans la perspective de la force mixte ONU-UA. L’herbe est ainsi coupée sous les pieds du président soudanais. Chaque fois qu’il réclamera des troupes uniquement africaines, on lui brandira l’attaque des « terroristes. »

Le crime est de toute évidence un message fort avant les négociations de paix. Pourtant ce crime ne profite pas au gouvernement soudanais. Ceci parait d’ailleurs comme une évidence à tous les observateurs de la situation. Personne n’évoque la responsabilité du gouvernement soudanais dans l’affaire. C’est un message plutôt contre le gouvernement soudanais. Le crime profiterait donc aux chapelles d’intervention humanitaire qui s’opposent aux chapelles soudanaise et chinoise.

LE SCANDALE SARKOZY

Le discours Scandaleux de Sarkozy à Dakar en Juillet dernier

M. Ndomba Ngoma

Les thèses racistes qui ont servi de base au discours de Sarkozy à Dakar font scandale. Le discours est d’une autre époque, celle des ethnologues qui déclaraient que l’Afrique n’avait ni histoire ni culture.

Il y a aujourd’hui beaucoup de réactions à ce discours et ce blog ne va en ajouter. Nous recommandons cependant la lecture de la réponse de Boris Diop sur le site suivant :

http://fulele.unblog.fr/reponse-de-boubacar-boris-diop/

Pour votre information, sachez qu’actuellement il y a au moins deux projets de livre qui serviront de droit de réponse des intellectuels Africains. Le premier projet est dirigé par l’intellectuel Sénégalais Makhily Gassama qui compte rassembler une trentaine d’intellectuels Africains qui ont fait leurs preuves sur différents domaines de la science pour produire des articles sur les thèmes abordés par Sarkozy. Le livre sortirait au début de l’année prochaine.

Le second projet est coordonné par Adama Bâ, l’épouse de l’ex-président Malien, Konaré. Elle lance un appel aux historiens Africains pour produire un livre sur l’historie africaine qui rafraîchirait les connaissances de Sarkozy et de son entourage. Ce volume sortirait au courant de l’année prochaine.

CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE

LE DANGER DE L'ENIGME NTUMI AU CONGO

Après la lecture de quelques sites Internet congolais sur le retour manqué du Pasteur Ntumi à Brazzaville, je me rends compte que ce dernier est en train de se faire une popularité parmi les congolais. Autrefois présenté comme un psychopathe devenu un terroriste illogique, les Congolais semblent découvrir, depuis quelques mois, une autre personne.

Les Congolais qui ont généralement une mémoire courte ont découvert un autre Ntumi lors de la cérémonie de destruction d’armes de guerre à Kinkala le 8 Juin dernier. Ce jour, le soi-disant psychopathe était accueilli sous un tonnerre d’applaudissements. Il a aussi fait un discours impressionnant qui avait amené l’audience à constater aussitôt le contraste entre la présentation faite de Ntumi sur les medias d’Etat et la personne qui était devant eux : une personne censée et plutôt logique capable d’assurer les fonctions de délégué général du président de la République chargé de la promotion des valeurs de la paix et de la réparation des séquelles des guerres. Les âmes logiques se demandaient bien comment un fou pouvait-il assumer une charge aussi importante dans un pays qui non seulement sort de la guerre mais aussi qui n’a pas cessé d’entretenir les causes des guerres à répétition qu'il a connues. L’histoire nous dira si cette nomination était une erreur mais déjà l’on peut retenir que le gouvernement a contribué à l’embellissement et à la promotion de l’image de Ntumi auprès des Congolais. Et c’est là où se trouve le problème.

L’embellie de l’image de Ntumi au Congo représente un danger certain pour la paix. Actuellement nombreux sont les Congolais qui ont besoin d’un messie. Parmi eux on compte ceux qui crient à la gabegie financière, au népotisme, à la dictature et à l’accaparement du pouvoir et des revenus de l’Etat par un petit groupe de gens. Ils sont prêts à acclamer toute personne qui se lèverait contre le régime. Dans l’état actuel de la politique congolaise, seul Ntumi ose s’opposer au président et à son clan. Ntumi risque de séduire un grand nombre de Congolais et cela serait une menace à la paix. Déjà à lire les commentaires d’un certain nombre de Congolais on se rend compte que Ntumi commence à séduire au delà de la région du Pool. En fait après la reddition de Bernard Kolelas et pratiquement de tous les politiciens du Congo et de certaines circonstances de l’élection/nomination au parlement actuel, l’on se rend compte que, pratiquement, tous les politiciens Congolais sont corruptibles et ne rêvent que des pétrodollars présidentiels. Les observateurs de la scène politique congolaise réalisent actuellement que Ntumi est le seul politicien (puisqu’il est président d’un parti politique qui a même participé aux dernières élections/nominations au parlement) à résister à l’argent du régime en place. En acceptant les termes de la négociation tels que proposés par le pouvoir, il allait nécessairement avoir sa part des pétrodollars qui désormais pleuvent sur le Congo avec un baril de pétrole à 80 dollars. Bien au contraire, il préfère le maquis du Pool. En se comportant ainsi, ce monsieur risque de forcer l’estime de beaucoup de Congolais assoiffés de messie.

Un dilemme émerge désormais chez beaucoup de Congolais. Ils se demandent finalement si Ntumi n’est que ce psychopathe dont ils ont toujours entendu parlé ou s’il est maintenant le seul véritable opposant au régime en place. Si le gouvernement veut épargner les affres de la guerre aux Congolais, il doit se pencher très sérieusement sur ce dilemme et l’endiguer. Si rien n’est fait et si Ntumi continue à embellir son image auprès des Congolais, beaucoup le rejoindront dans son maquis et ce serait fatal pour la paix au Congo.

DESMOND MPILO TUTU: AN AFRICAN LEADERSHIP ROLE MODEL (PART V)

Conclusion of the series

By Mathieu Ndomba Ngoma

This series has shown that the character of Tutu is a synthesis of his experiences as an African man born in a Bantu ubuntu culture, as an oppressed man living in an apartheid country, and as a Christian, and religious man. All these aspects have led Tutu to become a reconciler in many ways. In fact, he does not only reconcile oppressors and the oppressed, but also his life is a reconciliation of a life of virtue, religion, and politics. While people wonder whether politics has any morality, the life of Tutu shows that it is possible to combine politics with a life of virtue. In the same way, his life shows that one can combine religion and politics with a lot of wisdom. While people in the government and in the Church slammed him for doing politics, he felt that his commitment to politics came as a necessity of his faith. His many experiences shaped his character in such a way that it was like something natural for him to bring together a life of virtue, religion and politics.

However, the question arising from the life of Tutu is whether his experience can be generalized. This question suggests another question about whether there can be a systematic way of shaping virtues in a political community. These questions are complex. Yet again the life of Tutu suggests a very important element to be considered when one attempts to reflect on these questions: the impact of the family life on Tutu’s process of acquisition of virtues. Tutu was deeply rooted in the ways and culture of his family. The acquisition of other virtues later on was possible because of solid foundations acquired at the family level. His anthropological convictions acquired at the family level were a tremendously important element in his whole process of acquisition of virtues. In general terms, it may be said that the situation of the family somehow determines how virtuous a child may be. In most cases for instance, a dysfunctional family will more likely produce children less inclined to a life of virtue. Therefore the way a society deals with family values may constitute an important hermeneutical tool to understand the process of acquisition of virtues in that society.

DESMOND TUTU: AN AFRICAN LEADERSHIP ROLE MODEL (Part IV)

TUTU’S VISION OF THE GOOD LIFE

By Mathieu Ndomba Ngoma

i. – Characteristics of Tutu’s vision of the good life

In sufficiently general terms, affirms John Kenneth Galbraith, “the essence of the good society can be easily stated. It is that every member, regardless of gender, race or ethnic origin, should have access to a rewarding life.”[1] If the rewarding life meant a flourishing life and a life free from injustices, then Galbraith’s vision of the good society would be close to Tutu’s vision of the good life. One thing makes the difference, though, between Galbraith and Tutu. Life should be rewarding not only at the individual level as Galbraith implies, but also at the community level.

A society divided into classes, for instance, may experience a rewarding life at the individual level but may not at the community level since they will not be living in a community. The dimension of community is important for Tutu in his vision of the good life. His ubuntu anthropological conviction led him to conceive the good life from both individual and communitarian perspectives. For, as Smit explains it, Ubuntu “has to do with solidarity, with mutual responsibility, with taking care of every member of the group, with respect, equal dignity, social concern – in short : with involving and sharing.”[2] These basic elements of Ubuntu are also the main characteristics of Tutu’s vision of the good life.

Tutu affirms that the summum bonum, that is, the greatest good, is “communal harmony that enhances the humanity and personhood of all in the community.”[3] The greatest good for him is harmony which is possible only in a community where the humanity and personhood of the members are promoted and guaranteed. South Africa as well as the whole world has to become a classless community with members enjoying a rewarding life.

Tutu also understands the good life in terms of God’s shalom. For him, “God’s shalom, peace, involves inevitable righteousness, justice, wholesomeness, fullness of life, participation in decision making, goodness, laughter, joy, compassion, sharing, and reconciliation.”[4]

ii. - Basic aspects of Tutu’s vision of the good life

The characteristics of Tutu’s vision of the good life show that this vision has two principal aspects: an attitude and a virtue. Contrary to the principles of apartheid which defined the value and dignity of a human being from the color of his or her skin, the attitude behind Tutu’s vision of the good life is that every human being counts as a human person. This is an attitude where the humanity of others is recognized, counted and respected. Such attitude denies that contingencies are the sole basis for the definition of human dignity and humanity. It means that the color of skin, the social status and other contingencies should not constitute exclusive hermeneutical tools to understand humanity. For Tutu, “That is contrary – totally contrary - to the Scriptures, which say our value is because we are created in the image of God.’”[5]

The second aspect of Tutu’s vision of the good life is a virtue: the virtue of reconciliation. The concept of reconciliation is what, for Tutu, will help to achieve the good life in South Africa. This conviction dominated the Truth and Reconciliation Commission he run at the beginning of the democratic era in South Africa in order to heal the wounds of apartheid. He used the concept of reconciliation as a hermeneutical tool for the type of justice South Africa needed in order to become a community and bring a rewarding life to all South Africans. South Africa needed justice in terms of reconciliation for its transition from the apartheid era to the democratic era. This type of justice included amnesty for those who publicly confessed gross human rights violations but also retribution and forgiveness.

Tutu’s model of justice is a successful story to the extent that South Africa is a strong example of how oppressors and oppressed can build a political community and live in harmony and peace.


[1] John Kenneth Galbraith, The Good Society: The Humane Agenda (Boston, New York: Houton Mifflin Company, 1996), p. 23.
[2] J.H. Smit, “Ubuntu for Africa…” p. 13.
[3] Tutu, No Justice Without Forgiveness, p. 35.
[4] Naomi Tutu, The Words of Desmond Tutu, p. 47.
[5] Michael Battle, Reconciliation: The Ubuntu Theology of Desmond Tutu (Cleveland, Ohio: The Pilgrim Press, 1997), p. 8.

DESMOND TUTU: AN AFRICAN LEADERSHIP ROLE MODEL (PART III)

SALIENT VIRTUES IN THE LIFE OF TUTU

By Mathieu Ndomba Ngoma

Thomas Aquinas defines virtue as a “habit by which we work well.”[1] It is an operative habit which makes its possessor good; or a “perfect habit by which it never happens that anything but good is done.”[2] The life of Desmond Tutu manifests many operative habits leading not only to the good of the South African society, but the good of the whole humanity. Three of these operative habits can be seen in Tutu’s character as a just man, as a courageous man, and as a peaceful and non-violent man. This section aims at showing how these habits are operative in the life of Tutu.

i. – Tutu’s habit of bringing justice through reconciliation

The issue of human dignity has a tremendous importance in the life of Tutu. His fight against apartheid was motivated by the desire to give back dignity not only to the oppressed but also to the oppressor. In fact, Tutu believed that the act of dehumanization affects the dignity of both the oppressed and the oppressor. For him, “To dehumanize another inexorably means that one is dehumanized as well.”[3] Since the character of Tutu was the one of building bridges between people, he understood such rehabilitation of human dignity through reconciliation and forgiveness. His approach to justice and rehabilitation of human dignity springs from his character as a reconciler. He had “showed himself as a reconciler in every dimension of his life –including humour.”[4] “Tutu is by nature a reconciler; his wish is to build bridges rather than destroy them.”[5]

Building bridges through reconciliation was not only the way he understood justice, but also the way he lived and practiced justice. He lived and practiced justice not exclusively in terms of retribution but also in terms of reconciliation. In this sense, justice implies building bridges between people as a way of rehabilitating the dignity of the unjust and of the victim of injustice. Two facts of the life of Tutu can elucidate this way of understanding justice. First, it is elucidated through his stubborn willingness to negotiate and to dialogue. For instance, in 1980 when the Black resistance was becoming more and more violent, he encouraged the members of South African Council of Churches (SACC) to seek for a meeting with the Prime Minister. The meeting was obtained but it did not advance to anything concrete. People claimed the naïve method of Tutu. Yet Tutu responded by referring to the story of Moses and Pharaoh. Moses had to go many times to negotiate with Pharaoh. He committed himself to go back to the table of negotiation. He preferred “to negotiate rather than to confront, and to reconcile rather than to attack.”[6]

The second and perhaps the most important element showing Tutu’s habit of bringing justice through reconciliation is his work at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission at the beginning of the democratic era. Nelson Mandela, the first Black President elected in 1994, appointed Tutu as the Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission addressing human rights violations in South Africa. The idea of this commission did not come from Tutu at first. It was suggested by a member of Nelson Mandela’s party, Kader Asmal, who was a professor of human rights and law. Asmal suggested that instead of Nuremberg trials, South Africa should look at a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Tutu endorsed this idea because this commission viewed justice not in terms of witch hunting enterprise, but in terms of reconciliation.

ii. - Tutu as a courageous man

The apartheid regime was so violent that Church leaders who were against it were too afraid to speak out. The situation required a lot of courage because all those who spoke out against the system were threatened with death. Daring when there is death threat is what Thomas Aquinas calls fortitude or courage. For him, “it belongs to the virtue of fortitude to guard the will against being withdrawn from the good of reason through fear of bodily evil…. And the most fearful of all bodily evils is death, since it does away all bodily goods.”[7] Tutu at many occasions showed that he had the firmness not to withdraw before death threats coming not only from the government, but also from the people who supported the system. Opposing apartheid was a very risky business indeed. It meant to be ready to go to prison or to die. The case of Mandela who spent 27 years in prison explains well the situation. Many were killed including children.

Tutu received a remorseless stream of death threats, obscene telephone calls and bomb scares. Du Boulay reports that, “Tutu has declared that, whatever the cost to him, he will do all in his power to destroy apartheid; Leah, with typical wry humour, is sure that even if his tongue were cut off, he would not be prevented from speaking.”[8] Du Boulay actually compares Tutu to a prophet when he writes that “Tutu’s stand on apartheid is unequivocal and, like the prophets, he speaks out courageously, with insight as much as with foresight.”[9]

The courageous character of Tutu became even more manifest after two events. First, when, on March 1st, 1978, he became the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC). Second, Tutu became even more active when all black organizations were banned. After these two events, he became the voice of the oppressed, a vehicle of black aspiration for freedom and liberation. From that time, he engaged the SACC to the process of disobeying unjust laws of apartheid. The SACC accepted the principle of civil disobedience. It therefore gave a “moral justification to any of its members who felt their cause could be furthered by refusing to co-operate with laws they considered unjust.”[10] Only after this that it was, for the first time, officially reported, in the news, that Christianity and apartheid could not co-exist.

The courageous stand of Tutu against apartheid was perceptible through his conferences, meetings, letters, homilies, telegrams, statements… In 1980 he marched with other Church leaders to the police headquarters in Johannesburg. He was arrested and put to jail. He was freed after one day because of worldwide protest against the action. Yet he did not give up till in 1994 when finally the country could hold free and democratic elections.

iii. - Tutu, a peacemaking man through non-violent methods

Peacemaking is a virtue because, to paraphrase Aquinas, it makes a peacemaker a good person. For Aquinas, a peacemaker “is one who makes peace, either in himself, or in others: and in both cases this is the result of setting in due order those things in which peace is established, for "peace is the tranquility of order," according to Augustine.”[11] The life of Tutu fits very well in this definition of a peacemaker. Tranquility and the order maintained by justice and reconciliation were Tutu’s vision for South Africa. He is a man of peace. And the peace he longs for is more than the absence of war. For Professor Villa-Vicencio, one of the Fathers of the African Theology of Reconstruction, the peace Tutu has come to symbolize is “the active, positive exaltation of justice and social harmony.”[12]

Violence never became an option for Tutu during his struggle against apartheid. His Christian and religious experience led him to strongly believe that peace is the fruit of justice and it can only be achieved through non-violent methods. He said once, “There is no peace in South Africa. There can be no real peace and security until there is first justice enjoyed by all inhabitants of that beautiful land.”[13]

Tutu lived on his conviction on the connection between peace and justice. He denounced violence and brutality, whether it came from the government or from Black people. He always asked people to avoid bloodshed. Du Boulay reports one of the many incidents showing Tutu’s struggle for peace and his effort to hold back a tide of violence. During a funeral of four Black young men, when people turned violent, Tutu asked them to abstain from violence and to change apartheid by peaceful means. He then “tried arguing with them. ‘Why don’t we use methods of which we will be proud when our liberation is attained? This undermines the struggle.’”[14] At another funeral in Duduza, when people turned violent, Tutu had this to say out of anger: “If you do that kind of thing again I will find it difficult to speak for the cause of liberation.”[15]

The peacemaking efforts of Tutu were internationally recognized. First, they were recognized by the Nobel Peace Prize committee which awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. The Nobel Prize Committee considered apartheid as a system which was against peace. Consequently, fighting apartheid was considered as an action for peace. Fighting with peaceful and non-violent means even added to the restoration of peace in South Africa. The second international recognition of Tutu’s peacemaking efforts came in 1986 when he received, in Atlanta, United States, the Martin Luther King Peace Prize.



[1] Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, IIa IIae, Q.56, art.3.
[2] Ibidem, Q.56, art.5.
[3] Desmond Mpilo Tutu, No Future Without Forgiveness (New York: Doubleday, 1999), p. 35.
[4] Du Boulay, Tutu… , p. 100.
[5] Ibidem, p. 166.
[6] Ibidem, p. 168.
[7] Aquinas, IIa IIae, Q. 123, art. 4.
[8] Du Boulay, Tutu…, p. 157.
[9] Ibidem.
[10] Du Boulay, Tutu…, p. 160.
[11] Aquinas, IIa IIae, Q. 45, art. 6.
[12] Villa-Vicencio is cited by Du Boulay, Tutu…, pp. 232-233.
[13] Naomi Tutu, The Words of Desmond Tutu (New York: Newmarket Press, 1989), p. 47.
[14] Du Boulay, Tutu…, p. 222.
[15] Ibidem, p. 223.

DESMOND TUTU: AN AFRICAN LEADERSHIP ROLE MODEL (Part II)

INFLUENCES WHICH SHAPED TUTU’S LIFE OF VIRTUE

By Mathieu Ndomba Ngoma

At least three elements played a major role in Tutu’s process of acquisition of virtues. The first element was his African culture characterized by the concept of ubuntu which conjugates together individual flourishing with community flourishing. The second element was the social and political context he lived in. This context was dominated by the system of apartheid. And the final element was his religious and Christian experience which led him to become archbishop of the Anglican Church. This section briefly examines these three influential elements at the basis of Tutu’s character formation.

i. - African Ubuntu culture

The most important influence which shaped Tutu’s life is his African Bantu culture. One of the aspects of the African culture which is very influential in the life of Tutu is its anthropology. Bantu anthropology focuses on a communitarian understanding of humanity known as “African communalism.”(1) This anthropology dominates the cultures of Africa in the South of Sahara. In the Bantu culture in which Desmond Tutu grew up, that communalism is known as Ubuntu. The word Ubuntu is from Zulu and Xhosa languages but has equivalent words in most of Bantu languages. In Zulu and Xhosa languages, spoken by Desmond Tutu, ubuntu means humanity understood from a community perspective. It is used in the saying Tutu usually quotes: Umntu ngumntu ngabantu which means a person is a person by means of other persons, that is, “we find our humanity in community.”(2)

The Ubuntu culture shaped the life of Desmond Tutu to the extent that he usually referred to himself as “we.” Tutu “points out that when a Xhosa is asked how he is and says ‘we are well’, he is not using the ‘royal we’, he is reflecting his membership of the family of mankind.”(3) This African communalism in which Tutu grew up made him aware of the need of equality, justice, community, and communal flourishing. It is the basis of the value of social solidarity, justice and peace in the life of Desmond Tutu.

ii. - Experience of an oppressed man and victim of the Apartheid system

The laws of apartheid, defined between 1950 and 1957, classified every South African according to race, prohibited black people from establishing registered labor unions, enforced social and residential separation, and prohibited marriages between Blacks and Whites.(4) They resulted into a total domination, oppression and pauperization of the majority of Blacks (73 %) by the minority of whites. Blacks were put into reserves and treated like animals. This situation of oppression led many Black kids to assimilate their situation to the extent of associating themselves to that fate and believing that that was the way God made things. It led them to self-doubt and self-hatred.

Apartheid, however, did not make Tutu angry; it rather gave him a better understanding of the dynamics of human relations. This positive twist in the formation of Tutu’s character was the result of at least three moments in his life. The first moment was when he read the stories of some successful Blacks such as Jesse Owens (Olympic Champion in 1936 in the Germany of Hitler), Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, and Marion Anderson. These stories helped the young Tutu not to sink into self-doubt and self-hatred. The second moment was the fact that early in his life, he related with some White people who gave him a different picture of a White man. The most prominent of the White people he related with, starting at age 12, was Bishop Trevor Huddleston who became his lifelong friend. From this relation Tutu discovered that oppression was not tied to the white skin. The third important moment was Tutu’s experience of freedom in London while studying at King’s College. Indeed in London, Tutu and his wife Leah and children had their first experience of a country where people of different races and backgrounds lived in peace and mutual respect of each ones’ dignity. This made Tutu dream of harmony in South Africa.

Consequently, as an oppressed man, Tutu had a mixed experience. On the one hand he felt the hatred and discrimination from White people through the system of apartheid. He realized that there was no community in South Africa or, at least, it was a divided community. And, on the other hand, he realized that life in freedom and respect was possible between Whites and Blacks. He understood that Blacks and Whites can respectfully live together in harmony. This shaped not only his struggle for freedom and justice but also his non-discriminatory and non-violent approach.

iii. - Religious and Christian experience

The religious experience of Tutu had a tremendous impact on his character formation. His first important religious experience took place when Fr Trevor Huddleston often visited him when he was sick in a hospital. There started a friendship which gave depths to his faith. It is after that experience at the hospital that he became a server at his parish church of St Paul’s in Munsieville and started a life of prayer. Along with Fr Huddleston there were Father Sekgaphane and Pastor Makhene who were such an inspiration for him that he considered following their footsteps.

Tutu became so committed to the Church that, in 1955, he became a Sub-Deacon at Krugersdorp. Three years later he joined St Peter’s Theological College in Rosettenville. Here Tutu was fascinated by the Fathers of the Community of the Resurrection running St Peter’s Theological College training Africans into the ordained ministry. They were not only committed to a life of prayer, but also taught by example and identified themselves with the oppressed and the suffering. (5) The Fathers of the resurrection had a tremendous impact on Tutu that when he recalls he says that they “enabled me to see very clearly something that I hope has stayed with me- the centrality of the spiritual.”(6) They shaped the ideal of priesthood in the mind of Tutu: a priest committed not only to prayer but also to justice; a priest identified with the oppressed and the suffering. Such a formation prepared him to endorse, many years later, Black Theology of Liberation. For Tutu, “Liberation theology becomes part of a people’s struggle for liberation: it tries to help victims of oppression to assert their humanity and so look the other chap in the eye and speak face to face without shuffling their feet and apologizing for their black existence.”(7) His ministry was his translation of liberation theology in religious, social and political terms.

All these experiences in the life of Tutu shaped in him the strong virtues South Africa needed to achieve the ideal of the good society.

(1)For a review of arguments and expressions for African communalism, see Joseph Nyasani, The Ontological Significance of "I" and "WE" in African Philosophy, found at http://home.concepts-ict.nl/~kimmerle/frameText8.htm, accessed on May 6, 2005.
(2)J.H. Smit, “Ubuntu for Africa: A Christian Interpretation,” in Ubuntu in a Christian Perspective (Potchefstroom, South Africa: Institute for Reformational Studies, 1999), p. 13.
(3)Shirley du Boulay, Tutu: Voice of the Voiceless (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), p. 114.
(4)Hendrik J.C. Pieterse, “The Context of Apartheid,” in Desmond Tutu’s Message: A Qualitative Analysis, edited by Hendrik J.C. Pieterse, Empirical Studies in Theology, Vol. V., Gen. ed. Johannes A. Van Der Ven (Leiden, Boston, Koeln: Bril, 2001), p. 15.
(5)Du Boulay, Tutu…, p. 48.
(6)Ibid.
(7)Ibid., p. 85.

DESMOND TUTU: AN AFRICAN LEADERSHIP ROLE MODEL (Part 1)

Part I: INTRODUCING DESMOND TUTU AS AN AFRICAN LEADERSHIP ROLE MODEL SERIES
By Mathieu Ndomba Ngoma

The South African Desmond Mpilo Tutu (1) was in 1984 the laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize. This is one of the most prestigious prizes in the world. Through this award the world recognized in Desmond Tutu a man of peace. He is most importantly known as one of the key figures in South African struggle against apartheid. On the one hand, he played a major role as a theologian, a preacher, and a church leader in the peaceful change in South Africa from an apartheid system to a non-racial and democratic society of today.(2) On the other hand, his wisdom was crucial in the peaceful transition from the apartheid era to a democratic era through his work at the Truth and Justice Commission whose goal was to heal the wounds of apartheid and build a peaceful and just, multicultural and multiracial South Africa.

The main question all Tutu’s accomplishments raise is how was he able to achieve all these things? The answer to that question requires a closer look at his life. And such look reveals, this is the argument of this series, that these achievements are in fact the result of his character shaped by a set of virtues and his vision of the good life.

This series on Desmond Tutu as an African leadership role model looks at the virtuous life of Tutu in order to discover the most influential aspects in his acquisition of virtues (i), identify his most salient virtues (ii), and define the vision of the good life flowing from his character and virtues (iii).

(1) Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born on October 7, 1931 in Klerksdorp, Transvaal, South Africa. Baby Tutu found a country dominated by a policy of racial segregation, political and economic domination by White South Africans. He attended segregated schools. In 1955 he married Leah Nomalizo Shenxane with whom he had four children: Trevor, Theresa, Naomi, and Mpho.
(2)Hendrik J.C. Pieterse, “Preface,” in Desmond Tutu’s Message: A Qualitative Analysis, edited by Hendrik J.C. Pieterse, Empirical Studies in Theology, Vol. V., Gen. ed. Johannes A. Van Der Ven (Leiden, Boston, Koeln: Bril, 2001).

DUMBO: UN PIONNIER MAGNA CUM LAUDE

OGOBARA DUMBO: UN PIONNIER MAGNA CUM LAUDE


Le Professeur Malien Ogobara Dumbo est lauréat du prix Christophe Mérieux pour ses travaux et ses recherches sur le paludisme au Mali. Il travaille actuellement sur un vaccin antipaludéen qui est déjà à l’étape des essais cliniques.

Il y a bien évidemment plusieurs centres de recherches en Afrique sur le paludisme et le Sida. C’est le cas de l’Institut de Recherches Médicales de Nairobi qui s’est illustré en Novembre 2006 à travers le prestigieux prix Pfizer reçu par le Docteur et chercheur Congolais Alexis Nzila. Ce dernier a réussi à démontrer que les médicaments antifolates utilisés contre le cancer peuvent aussi traiter le paludisme quand ils sont utilisés à faible dose et en combinaison avec certaines molécules folates.

Le Professeur Dumbo n’est donc pas le seul Africain à travailler sur le paludisme ni à recevoir un prix prestigieux. Cependant, je le considère comme un pionnier pour sa méthode et son style de travail. Trois éléments sont à souligner dans ce style. D’abord il décide de s’installer en Afrique, dans son pays le Mali au lieu des grands centres de recherches aux Etats-Unis et en Europe. Ensuite, il recrute ses étudiants sur place, les forme et les envoie en Europe et aux Etats-Unis poursuivre les études avec la ferme décision de repartir travailler au Mali. Enfin, il équipe son centre avec le matériel le plus performant qui soit et dont il a besoin pour sa recherche.

Le Professeur Dumbo, qui aurait plus de 73 publications, ne transmet pas seulement les connaissances médicales aux jeunes scientifiques Maliens. Il démontre que la recherche de haut niveau est possible par les Africains et en Afrique. Il transmet la passion de la recherche en Afrique. Il reçoit donc sur ce blog la grande distinction (Magna Cum Laude).

UNE GRANDE BIBLIOTHEQUE A BRULE EN AFRIQUE

UNE GRANDE BIBLIOTHEQUE A BRULE EN AFRIQUE: LA MORT DE SEMBENE OUSMANE

Par M. Ndomba Ngoma

Sembene Ousmane (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)


Sembene Ousmane meurt à 84 ans. Selon un proverbe ivoirien, quand une vielle personne meurt c’est comme une bibliothèque qui brûle. La bibliothèque Sembene Ousmane est bien particulière. Il n’est pas seulement pionnier du cinéma africain, mais il a aussi défini une perspective authentiquement africaine dans le cinéma. Avec lui il y a eu irruption de la culture africaine sur le grand écran. C’était un grand défi quand on sait que dans les années 1960, quand il a commencé le cinema, certains pensaient que l’Afrique n’aurait ni culture, ni civilisation ou histoire.

J’admire le courage de cet homme qui, malgré son expérience de tirailleur Senegalais et le nom qu’il s’est fait dans la littérature et le cinéma, est resté authentiquement africain. Je me rappelle encore mon professeur de Français m’expliquer avec une grande émotion la signification du titre du roman « Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu » de Sembene Ousmane. Selon lui on ne pointe pas du doigt les humains quand on veut en connaître le nombre. On utilise plutôt des bouts de bois. Chaque bout de bois représente une personne. Une personne humaine en Afrique est si sacrée qu’on ne compte pas les hommes comme on compterait des animaux. C’était une occasion pour lui de nous faire aimer et célébrer la culture et la littérature africaines. Ce roman a servi de cadre pour cela.

Sembene Ousmane restera une icône dans la littérature et le cinéma africains.

HUMANIZING GLOBALIZATION

HUMANIZING GLOBALIZATION: AFRICAN DEBT CRISIS AS A STUDY CASE
By Mathieu Ndomba Ngoma

While globalization carries the promises of the market economy (growth, jobs, opportunities for the poor, and the good life for all), it also has a wide range of discontents. Roughly speaking it carries promises for the Center (Developed countries) and discontents for the Periphery (developing countries). African debt crisis, for instance, represents one of the bi-products of globalization in peripheral countries. In fact, the debt crisis started with the expansion and the intensification of global financial flows which are part of financial and economic globalization.

Yet it is my belief that globalization can be given a human face. A certain approach of African debt crisis, for example, shows how the humanization of globalization can be achieved.

The debt crisis is one of the worst discontents of globalization in Africa. Because of its colossal debt the whole African continent, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, is experiencing a new form of slavery whereby people are compelled to work even harder in order to service the debt from the masters of the financial world. That debt servicing forces governments to cut off budgets for health care, education, infrastructures and others. It is understandable that people I meet here in California in the United States of America have a totally different understanding of globalization from those in Africa. Indeed, a person living in an African village where the hospitals and schools have been closed because of debt servicing would not have the same definition of globalization with a person living in New York, Paris, and London. If global interconnectedness (globalization) cannot be avoided, at least, people from Africa would want a kind of globalization with a human face. Globalization takes a human face when it fosters global interconnectedness leading to global well-being, global common good, and global human flourishing. This kind of globalization can be achieved.

If the debt crisis were to be used as a study case in a way of achieving a humanized globalization, three aspects would emerge. First, such a globalization with a human face would require a vision of the world where people consider one another as fellow human beings and where people associate their own well-being with the well-being of other people around the world. Second, it would call for a new vision of justice as virtue and as principle combined in the same movement. Justice as virtue would help to value solidarity and common well-being around the world. And justice as principle would remind Adam Smith’s concept of Impartial Spectator which can be embodied in institutions witnessing and monitoring fairness in international trade and global well-being. Third, after achieving the first two aspects, the cancellation of the debt would become a moral imperative. However the resources from the debt cancellation would be managed not only by governments, but also by Non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, and Churches so that they (resources) benefit to the poor directly in line of what these groups are already doing in relation to income generating projects in so many developing countries.

Civil society organizations, Non-governmental Organizations, and Churches have a tremendous responsibility in the process of humanizing globalization. They can help to achieve a new worldview that includes global justice and global common good.

DETTE AFRICAINE ET DEVOIR DE JUSTICE

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THE COLOR PURPLE

The Color Purple (1):
An Artistic Presentation of Some forms of Violence in America

By Mathieu Ndomba Ngoma

The Color Purple is a movie directed by Steven Spielberg and an adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel of the same name. Alice Walker is a womanist (2). She uses the experiences of African American women as an inclusive method or hermeneutics for analyzing reality. Thus, the story of Celie told in The Color Purple is more than a mere narrative. The experience of Celie opens the eyes to see some expressions and dynamics of violence. Capturing the story of Celie, Steven Spielberg offers a powerful movie which helps the viewers to see the dynamics of violence through the imagination and creativity of Alice Walker and the experience of an African American woman called Celie.

These lines analyze the forms of violence unveiled in the movie, The Color Purple. There are two parts in this analysis. The first part explains the plot of the movie. The second part points out the main expressions of violence underlined in the movie.


i. - Summary of the plot of the movie

The movie is mainly about the story of a rural African American woman called Celie (Whoopi Goldberg) between the age of fourteen and her old age. The story starts in the early twentieth century. In the first scene, Celie appears with her sister, Nettie (Akosua Busia), playing in a field of purple flowers. The first images contrast with the following scenes where, at fourteen years old, Celie gives birth. The viewers learn that the baby is a result of an incestuous act from the father. They also learn that the father takes away the baby as he did with the previous one. This scene gives the tone of the movie. At fourteen, Celie is a mother of two children taken away from her by her father.

Then comes a man, Albert (Danny Glover), asking to marry her in order to watch over his children. Albert is an evil man. He is so brutal and violent that Celie just calls him Mister. Celie turns to be for Albert a wife, a maid, and a slave. She is abused, beaten, insulted to the extent that she is ashamed to smile. She is so frustrated that she develops a kind of hatred towards Mister and has two possibilities: whether to leave him or kill him. The first possibility prevails. She leaves Mister, gains her freedom and happiness. She sets up a pant business. At the end she is reunited with her sister Nettie and her two lost children who, after growing up in Africa, speak two African languages: Lingala (3) and Swahili (4).

However many things happened between her enslaving marriage and freedom. The movie, following the novel, shows the journey to freedom through some characters brought into the story. The most prominent characters are: Nettie, Shug Avery (Margaret Avery), and Sofia (Oprah Winfrey). Nettie is the younger sister of Celie. Early in the story she goes to Africa as a maid of the missionary who adopted Celie’s children. She ends up marrying the missionary after the death of his wife. Nettie kept on writing letters to Celie, but Mister (Celie’s husband) kept on hiding them.

The second prominent character is Shug Avery. This is a beautiful singer with whom Albert (Mister) is in love. When she falls sick, Albert takes her to the house where he lives with Celie without caring about Celie’s feelings. When Shug meets Celie, she compares her ugliness to sin. This sad beginning however turns out to be the starting point of Celie’s liberation. Shug helps Celie to find the letters of Nettie hidden by Mister. After finding and reading the letters, Celie comes to know about the life of her children and her sister in Africa. Through Shug, Celie learns to smile again and to realize that she has a nice smile. There starts a healing process inside her. She learns that sex can also be an expression of tenderness and love. For the first time, somebody who is not Nettie expresses love to her. They even kiss. Shug makes money with her singing career and gets married. Later she helps Celie not to kill Mister. She also helps her to set up a pant business.

Sofia (Oprah Winfrey) is another important character in the story. She is Celie’s sister in law because she is married to Mister’s son by a first marriage. Sofia represents the female patriarchy. She is strong and treats her husband in a way closer to the way Mister treats Celie. This will work till the days she lands a blow on the face of the local white mayor of the town. She is shot, wounded, and taken to prison. She becomes later the maid of the mayor. When she goes back home, she is a psychologically wounded person. As a character, Sofia is the opposite of Celie. Celie is dominated in her marriage life. Sofia is the one dominating in her marriage life. Celie is vindicated at the end. Sofia is played down.

ii. - Forms of violence in America unveiled in the movie

Kathleen J. Greider defines violence as “force against persons, objects, or principles that intentionally or unintentionally injures, damages, or destroys.”(5) Violence is related to a violation of somebody’s integrity, freedom, well-being and dignity as a human being. The Color Purple underscores many forms of such a violation of human dignity and personhood. The most prominent forms of violence highlighted in the movie are: sexual violence (through incest, child abuse, and rape), physical violence, and psychological violence.

The first time Celie comes into clear view on the screen, she is pregnant from her own father. The movie opens therefore with sexual violence through incest, child abuse, and rape. In fact incest does not come alone. There are many other expressions of violence around incest. Celie is only fourteen when giving birth to a second child from her father. The violence of incest in the movie comes then with the violence of child abuse. Celie is not only sexually abused. Her father also abuses her by taking the children away from her. Celie is deprived of the joy of raising herself her children. Since at fourteen, we would hardly talk about consent on the part of Celie, therefore the incestuous act is also a rape case. The movie emphasizes the violence of rape not only through the incestuous act of the father, but also with two other scenes. First, the movie shows that sexual intercourse between Celie and her husband has a lot more to do with rape than with love. Second, Mister, Celie’s husband, tries to rape Nettie, his own sister-in-law. The Color Purple underscores three types of rape cases: rape by a family member (the incest case), marital rape (Mister’s sexual abuse of Celie), and the attempt rape of Nettie by Mister. This last case also applies to rape by a person who is not in the family circle.

The experience of sexual violence Celie undergoes, unveils a dramatic form of violence in America. In fact, according to Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), “Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.”(6) Through sexual aggression, the movie is dealing with a serious form of violence in the American society.

More generally, physical violence comes with the way Mister treats Celie. Celie is beaten, insulted, humiliated all the time by her husband. This situation depicts marriage as a place for physical violence. If the experience of Celie is used as a window to see what is happening in society, then we may trust the statistics showing thousands of women who are victims of violence from their male partners. However the movie shows both male and female patriarchy. Domestic physical violence may come either from the husband or from the wife. On this point the movie gives a correct picture of society. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin, “in 1991 nearly two-thirds of the women in prison for a violent offense had victimized a relative, intimate, or someone else they knew. Women serving a sentence for a violent offense were about twice as likely as their male counterparts to have committed their offense against someone close to them (36% versus 16%).”(7)

Whoopi Goldberg (in the role of Celie) is magnificent in showing the inability of Celie to smile. This powerfully unveils the psychological violence part. Celie is affected to the extent of lack of self esteem. She is unable to smile and unable to think of her life outside the horrible patriarchy of Mister. She needed a friend (Shug) to open her eyes to other alternatives. Incest is not only physical violence, it is also psychological. “Where incest occurs, the consequences for a girl may include neurotic symptoms, depression, disturbed self-evaluation, and mistrust of men, the latter often having an adverse effect on subsequent marriage.”(8) However incest is not the only cause of Celie’s lack of self esteem. Another important cause of this lack of self esteem is the fact that she is considered ugly. Mister finds her ugly and he says it without hesitation. Also, at first when Shug meets Celie, she says that she (Celie) is as ugly as sin. Her ugliness is then established both by men and women. Celie has then no reason to be proud of her body and her smile. Here the movie is unveiling a tremendous form of unseen violence. Today millions of women are victims of this form of violence because they do not meet the criteria of a beautiful woman. The society and especially the Medias seem to decide the features of a beautiful woman. The women who do not meet the criteria undergo the experience of Celie. The high number of women using cosmetic and plastic surgery today may confirm what Alice Walker is inviting to see through the declared ugliness of Celie.



These lines have shown that the forms of violence Celie undergoes in the movie, The Color Purple, are indeed the most common forms of violence in America. This defines artistic character of the movie. In fact, art is about using imagination in order to express ideas, feelings… As such, The Color Purple is a great piece of art revealing some of the worst forms of violence in the American society.

(1) A movie directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Quincy Jones. Screenplay by Menno Meyjes, based on anovel by Alice Walker. Music by Jones. Running time: 150 minutes. Classified PG-13. Year: 1985.
(2) For Cheryl Kirk-Duggan, “womanist thought requires that we engage skills and histories out of the lived experiences of African American women.” Cheryl Kirk-Duggan, Misbegotten Anguish: A Theology and Ethics of Violence (St Louis, Missouri: Chalice Press, 2001), pp. 9-10.
(3) Lingala is spoken in two African countries: The Republic of Congo and The Democratic Republic of Congo.
(4) Swahili language is spoken in Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, The Democratic Republic of Congo.
(5) Kathleen J. Greider, Reckoning With Aggression: Theology, Violence, and Vitality (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997), p.9.
(6)See www.rainn.org/statistics.html. This is the website of Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN).
(7) David Throop, Violent female inmates and their victims, at www.menweb.org/throop/battery/studies/by-gender.html
(8)Elizabeth R. Moberly, “Incest,” in The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics, edited by James F. Childress and John Macquarrie (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1986), p.295.

CHINE - AFRIQUE

CHINE-AFRIQUE : POUR UNE COOPERATION VERITABLEMENT « GAGNANT-GAGNANT »

Par Mathieu Ndomba Ngoma


0.- Introduction

C’est comme une lune de miel entre l’Afrique et la Chine : les dollars pleuvent, les investissements des entreprises chinoises en Afrique connaissent un boom extraordinaire et le commerce entre la Chine et l’Afrique pourrait atteindre 100 milliards dollars d’ici 2010. La Chine dépasse désormais les donateurs traditionnels de l’Afrique au point de se demander si le salut de l’Afrique viendrait de la Chine. Les Chinois qualifient leur coopération avec l’Afrique de «gagnant-gagnant». C’est serait donc une coopération ayant des avantages mutuels spécifiques.

Cependant au delà de cette lune de miel et ces déclarations, la question est de savoir si la coopération sino-africaine est fondamentalement différente de celle que l’Afrique entretient avec l’Occident. La perspective est certes différente, mais les ingrédients semblent être les mêmes : prêts, investissements et annulation des dettes. Cette trilogie est fort louable, mais elle ne constitue pas en soi une coopération «gagnant-gagnant» pour l’Afrique. En tout cas elle ne l’a pas été dans la coopération entre l’Afrique et l’Occident. Il est question donc de formuler de manière claire les termes d’une coopération spécifiquement et véritablement « gagnant-gagnant » pour l’Afrique.


i.- L’expérience amère de la trilogie prêts, investissements et annulation de la dette

Selon la Conférence des Nations Unis pour le Développement et le Commerce, l’Afrique a reçu au titre de prêts plus de 540 milliards de dollars entre 1970 et 2002. Le moins que l’on puisse dire de cet endettement colossal c’est que l’Afrique n’y a rien gagné sinon l’augmentation de la pauvreté de ses populations. Elle a plutôt perdu sa souveraineté et son indépendance dans les politiques économiques, financières et sociales.

La politique de coopération que la Chine déclare «gagnant-gagnant», est aussi faite principalement de la même trilogie : prêts, investissements des entreprises chinoises et annulation des dettes. Officiellement la Chine à un engagement de 5 milliards de dollars de crédits et de prêts à accorder l’Afrique jusqu'en 2009. A cela s’ajoutent les 20 milliards de dollars de prêts et crédits que Eximbank, la banque chinoise d’import-export, s’apprêterait à investir en Afrique dans les trois prochaines années selon Donald Kaberuka, le président de la Banque Africaine de Développement.

La coopération chinoise est sans nul doute très bénéfique pour l’Afrique. L’ouverture par la Chine des lignes de crédits que les pays Africains n’auraient pas obtenues de leurs créanciers occidentaux habituels apparaît pour ces gouvernements comme une manne tombée du ciel. Cependant l’expérience amère de la trilogie prêts, investissements et annulation de la dette avec l’Occident suscite des questions et inquiétudes légitimes. En tout cas cette trilogie n’a pas constitué une coopération «gagnant-gagnant» entre l’Afrique et l’Occident. Elle a plutôt entraîné l’Afrique à un niveau d’endettement qui a causé des situations dramatiques et même tragiques à des millions des populations africaines. Certains ont même parlé d’une nouvelle forme d’esclavage où les pays africains ont été condamnés à sacrifier leurs budgets de développement, de la santé, de l’éducation, etc. afin de se plier aux exigences du service de la dette. Il est légitime de se demander si la coopération avec la Chine ne conduirait pas l’Afrique à la même impasse.

ii.- Pour que l’Afrique gagne dans sa coopération avec la Chine

Les chinois comme les Africains savent que quand on veut aider un pêcheur on ne lui donne pas du poisson ; on lui apprend plutôt à pêcher en lui donnant les instruments nécessaires pour pratiquer la pêche. Une coopération véritablement «gagnant-gagnant» pour l’Afrique devrait se baser sur ce principe. Pour que l’Afrique puisse véritablement gagner dans sa coopération avec la Chine, les investissements chinois doivent s’accompagner du transfert de la technologie pouvant permettre à l’Afrique de transformer ses ressources naturelles sur place.

Nombre de pays africains souffrent de ce qu’on appelle la malédiction des ressources naturelles. Plus de la moitie des populations des pays possédant d’énormes ressources naturelles en Afrique vivent en dessous du seuil de pauvreté. C’est le cas de l’Angola, de République Démocratique du Congo, du Congo-Brazzaville, etc. La plupart de ces pays pratiquent encore une économie basée sur la «chasse et la cueillette» des produits naturels sans impact majeur sur la création d’emplois et sans valeur ajoutée significative. Par exemple la différence entre le pourcentage de la contribution des industries pétrolières aux les budgets des Etats pétroliers africains et le pourcentage de leur contribution a la création des emplois dans ces mêmes pays est énorme. Pourtant dans une situation où la corruption est rampante, la disponibilité et les opportunités des emplois sûrs ont un apport essentiel pour sortir les populations de la pauvreté.

C’est l’appropriation de la technologie qui peut aider l’Afrique à transformer son secteur des ressources naturelles en un secteur pourvoyeur d’emplois et un secteur ayant des effets d’entraînement dans les économies locales. L’acquisition du savoir-faire dont les Africains ont besoin pour le développement passe par la création des institutions de la science et la technologie. La coopération avec la Chine ne deviendra «gagnant-gagnant» pour l’Afrique que quand les prêts et investissements permettront le transfert et la vulgarisation de la science et la technologie à travers des institutions spécialisées.


iii.- Conclusion

La Chine ne peut pas définir la spécificité de sa coopération avec l’Afrique en utilisant comme seuls critères ses prêts et les investissements de ses entreprises. Si la Chine veut parler d’une coopération «gagnant-gagnant», elle doit aller au delà des sentiers battus. C’est seulement une coopération qui donnera à l’Afrique des outils et instruments nécessaires pour un développement durable qui constituera une coopération «gagnant-gagnant». Et ces outils et instruments sont la science et la technologie.

AN ETHICS OF VIOLENCE

VIOLENCE AS INJUSTICE: TOWARDS AN ETHICS OF VIOLENCE
By Mathieu Ndomba Ngoma
Email: matndomba@gmail.com

0.- Introduction

It looks odd to view violence in terms of injustice. We seem to overlook the intersection between violence and injustice. People generally look at violence from an exclusively physical perspective. Such view puts violence at odd with justice or injustice. However, a comprehensive understanding of both violence and justice draws striking similarities.

The Latin phrase suum cuique, which captures the traditional understanding of justice, means to each his own. Can the failure to attribute to each his/her own be regarded not only as an injustice but also as an act of violence? The argument of this reflection gives an affirmative answer to this question. Thus this argument carries a fundamental assumption that the following lines will clarify. It assumes that the content of the word “own” in the phrase to each his own constitutes a crucial ground for a comprehensive understanding of the notion of violence, the relation between violence and injustice, and for the construction of an ethics of violence.

i. – A sketch of the panorama of violence

How do we determine the content of the word own in the phrase suum cuique (to each his/her own) leading to a comprehensive understanding of both injustice and violence? A fair answer to this question must address the distinction between contingencies and necessities. A comprehensive understanding of violence would methodologically exclude contingencies. For instance the particular pair of pants I am wearing today belongs to me. It is part of the word “own” in relation to me today. Yet this aspect of the content of “own” constitutes the contingent aspect my “own.” The “own” in the phrase suum cuique certainly goes beyond contingencies to encompass necessities and ontological assets and attributes. The question therefore concerns the determination of such ontological assets and attributes.

From a Christian perspective, the theology of creation can provide fundamental hints in the determination of such ontological attributes. The theology of creation teaches us that God made human beings in God’s image and likeness. As such, they share with God, freedom or free will, dignity, and well-being as their ontological assets. Freedom, dignity, and well-being express therefore God’s image and likeness in human beings, and represent God’s violence free and just order of creation.

From a theology of creation perspective, freedom, dignity and well-being constitute the content of the “own” in the phrase “to each his own.” Accordingly injustice translates a failure to attribute, in certain circumstances, to a person his/her freedom, dignity, and well-being.

If we assume that violence translates any violation of the person, concretely speaking, such violation can only happen through the “own” or attributes of that person. It comes down to the same definition as that of injustice. Injustice translates the failure to respect or to give back the “own” of a person while violence translates any violation of the “own” of a person.

Such content of the word “own” also provide a criterion to discern violence. Thus a comprehensive understanding of violence looks at all aspect of the failure to respect people’s freedom, dignity, and well-being.

The definition of violence in relation to the theology of creation thus includes all violations of freedoms, dignity, and well-being. As such it goes beyond the issue of aggression which usually characterizes violence. Aggression implies taking action, going forward or approaching others in unfriendly ways. Yet, violence does not only translate a negative use of aggressiveness. Withholding an action, for example, can also be, in some circumstances, an expression of violence.

The understanding of violence at stake here encompasses a wide range of situations. Violence can be overt or covert, direct or indirect, intentional or unintentional, known or unknown, individual or systemic or social… An overt violence refers to objective and visible unfriendly attitude against others’ freedom, dignity, and well-being. Overt violence relates to the use of physical and/or mechanical force, strong words, threatening expressions, etc. Covert violence, on the contrary, refers to emotional abuse.

An intentional or known violence concerns deliberate unfriendly attitudes. An intentional violence comes from deliberate unfriendly choices. On the contrary, unintentional violence relates to harm inflicted out of deliberation. Unintentional violence may be known or unknown. For instance an unintentional pollution of the environment is an unintentional violence. It is known when, for instance, a person knowingly throws harmful chemicals without any recycling work like it was down in Abidjan in Ivory Coast or Pointe-Noire in Congo-Brazzaville. It is unknown when the person involved in the process ignores the harmful consequences of his/her polluting actions.

Violence may be individual or social. Individual violence is related to individual or personal unfriendly attitudes. Social violence, on the contrary, proceeds from culturally unfriendly accepted attitudes, institutions, and social patterns. Racism for instance is at the same time individual and social violence.

The common element of these different types of violence is the fact that there is always an unfriendly and a disrespect of freedom, dignity, or well-being for the victim. Freedom, dignity and well-being are rights and duties to be observed in any relation between people.

ii. – Towards an ethics of violence

Viewing violence as an injustice helps to build an ethics of violence on the category of justice. In fact, as an unfriendly attitude towards other people’s freedom, dignity, and well-being, violence is obviously an ethical subject related to justice. In fact, violence refers to human conducts which harm freedom, dignity, or well-being of other people. In most of the cases, violence springs from a choice to be unfriendly to others. As such, violence, just like justice, is a relational issue. The ethics of violence therefore deals with relation based on the respect of other people’s freedom, dignity and well-being. The ethics of violence deals with fairness and just relations between people. Basically therefore, the ethics of violence deals with justice.

Justice is primarily about fairness in relationships. It is about fairness in giving “to each his own.” Yet an ethics of violence goes beyond the understanding of justice exclusively and singly based on fairness. Understanding violence in terms of unfriendly attitudes brings the notion of friendship in an ethics of violence based on justice. Yet the introduction of friendship in the definition of justice is not new. Aristotle actually foresaw the necessity to include friendship in the understanding of justice. In his Nicomachean Ethics, he contends: “Friendship seems also to hold cities together, and lawgivers to care more about it than about justice; for concord seems to be something like friendship, and this is what they aim at most of all, while taking special pains to eliminate civil conflict as something hostile. And when people are friends, they have no need of justice, while when they are just, they need friendship as well; and the highest form of justice seems to be a matter of friendship.”[1]

The principle of justice most likely works where there is a psychological or spiritual binding element between people. Friends form a bond because they like and support each other. Thus, friendship defines an sort of unharming relationships between people. A comprehensive ethics of violence therefore includes not only fairness but also "friendship" understood as a psychological or spiritual binding element helping to build altruistic and even supererogatory interactions which exclude violence. This type of altruism and supererogation including friendship can have different expressions. What is crucial here is that fairness is not enough for an ethics of violence. There must be other psychological and spiritual dispositions and attitudes making violence irrelevant. We designate those psychological and spiritual dispositions and attitudes as friendship simply because there does not seem to be a better word. Only such friendship or only such psychological and spiritual dispositions and attitudes can stop all forms of violence.

iii.- Conclusion

This reflection shows that theology of creation can help the understanding of the intersection between a comprehensive understanding of violence and that of injustice. The notions of freedom, dignity, and well-being define fundamental and ontological assets or attributes of every human being. Anything that disregards these assets is considered as violent and unjust at the same time. An ethics of violence is therefore based on the promotion and respect of freedom, dignity and well-being of all people through fairness and friendly attitudes and dispositions.

However since violence seems to be an intrinsic part of human experience, it raises the question of the effectiveness of any ethics of violence. Human finitude seems to always open to the possibility of evil and violence. Yet an optimistic reading of reality encourages looking at peace and justice as a possibility rather than an impossibility just as experience shows that the positive evolution wins over the negative evolution of the world.

[1] Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Trans. and Ed. Roger Crisp (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 144.

Ndomba Ngoma and Shawn Copeland.
Shawn Copeland is an African American Systematic theologian. Her research interests include political theology. She is the author of "Black Political Theologies" published in The Blackwell Companion to Political Theology, edited by Peter Scott and William Cavanaugh (Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers, 2004): 271-287. Her current research project is African American critical thought.

She delivered a speech today at JSTB graduation ceremony and received a Doctorate of Divinity, Honoris Causa. Her speech was brilliant, prophetic, and energizing. She has left a memorable impression at the school.

BOOK REVIEW

Robert J. Schreiter, The New Catholicity: Theology between the Global and the Local (New York: Orbis Book, 2000), pp. 140.

Book review by M. Ndomba Ngoma


The aim of Robert Schreiter’s book (New Catholicity: Theology between the global and the local) is to suggest a theological response to the change of context and circumstances inherent in the phenomenon of globalization. For him the concept of new catholicity is the appropriate paradigm or framework of which the Church might understand itself and its mission at the age of globalization. Any theology needs to attend both its contextual and its universalizing dimensions. Attending the new context of globalization gives a new shape to theology.

Robert Schreiter starts his reflection by analyzing the meaning of globalization and the context of theology. For him globalization is about the “increasingly interconnected character of the political, economic, and social life of the peoples on this planet” (p.5). Three processes have shaped the globalization phenomenon: political (with the fall of communism in 1989, the world has moved from a bipolar to a multipolar world), economical (the world-wide expansion of market capitalism as a single world economy), and technological (especially with the new communications technologies). Globalization is the convergence of these three aspects. In fact it is on the one hand an extension throughout the entire world of positive and negative effects of modernity; and on the other hand, it is the compression of the world. With means of communications (Television, internet…), we participate in world history simultaneously. The flow of information and capital does not consider the boundaries between States. However the intercultural encounter between the global and the local (also called glocalization) is conflictual.

If there are global systems in economics, science, medicine, and education, religion does not function as global systems. So the role of religion in the globalized world is only a powerful and unified force in smaller scale levels such as a nation or a region. It can mobilize antisystemic feelings in cultures, and can provide answers to problems created by global system. It can shape the vision of coherence and order that the global system lacks.

There are in fact four global theological flows addressing the contradictions or failures of global systems: liberation theology, feminist theology, ecology theology, and human rights theology. These theological flows are so ubiquitous that they can be considered as universal theologies. They do not go without the “cultural logics” coming from the local situations. There are three cultural logics animating theology today: first, antiglobalism (manifest in fundamentalist forms of conservative responses to modernity and to globalization) and revanchism (attempt to regain territory where it has been lost); Second, ethnification (the process of rediscovering a forgotten identity based on one’s cultural ties); Third, primitivism (attempt to go back to an earlier, premodern period to find a frame of reference and meaning in order to give focus and direction to the present).

Globalization has changed the context of theology. This new context is characterized by three elements. The first element is deterritorialization. With the compression of space, there are no boundaries of territory any more, rather boundaries of difference which highlight issues of difference rather than elements of commonality as the basis for identity. The second is hyperdifferentiation. It is the multiculturalism in which people struggle to find a “way of dealing with a variety of cultures, or fragments of cultures, occupying the same space” (p.26). The third element is hybridization which makes the purity of culture an untenable concept.

This situation of multiculturalism stresses the importance of intercultural communication shaping the intercultural hermeneutics. Intercultural communication might be defined as the ability to speak and to understand across cultural boundaries. The epistemology of the intercultural hermeneutics has four characteristics. First, the meaning, which comes from the social judgment of those involved in the intercultural communication event. Social judgment entails the interaction of all parties in establishing meaning. Second, truth is embedded in the narratives of living communities. Third, intercultural hermeneutics balances differences and sameness. It is wary of homogenization and resists easy absorption or assimilations. “Balancing difference and sameness has ethical as well as epistemological significance. Denial of difference can lead to the colonization of a culture and its imagination. Denial of similarities promotes and anomic situation where no dialogue appears possible and only power will prevail” (p.43). Fourth, intercultural hermeneutics emphasizes the importance of the agency. “There can be no passive or inert players in the intercultural communication event, no subjects robbed of their subjectivity” (p. 43).

The concept of culture itself is also undergoing changes. Two sets of concepts of culture can be identified. First, integrated concepts of culture depict culture as “patterned systems in which the various elements are coordinated in such a fashion as to create a unified whole. The patterned nature provides a sense of recurrence and sameness that gives to those who participate in the culture a certain identity (the etymological root of which is “same”). The familiarity of the patterns offers a sense of security and of being “at home” (pp. 48-49.) Second, globalized concepts of culture reflect the tensions and pressures arising out of the globalization process. They are found first in postcolonial theory where culture is “not understood in terms of ideas and objects, but principally as a ground of contest in relations”. Culture here is something to be constructed rather than discovered, and it is mapped out on the axes of sameness and difference, comparability and incommensurability, cohesion and dispersion, collaboration and resistance. “Diversity is prized, but difference is valued even more highly.” Globalized concepts of culture are also found in the globalization process made of networks of communication, symbols and patterns circulating through various regions. “Global culture in this sense is a hyperculture or a cultural flow that moves in and out of local cultures, but is constituted as a culture itself only in the mind or in fantasy” (p. 55). The two sets of concepts of culture have strengths and weaknesses which influence theology.

The cultural flow raises the issue of religious identity which, in this situation, can only be defined between synthesis and syncretism.

These different changes in social and cultural context show that contextual theology in Europe as well as in the Third World should take new directions. In Europe there are three elements which will constitute the focus of contextual theology: secularization, dechristianisation, and the reality of a multicultural society. In the Third World, liberation theology should also operate a shift. In fact though there still is the situation of the poor, there has been, since the end of socialism, the loss of a horizon of utopia and prophecy which constituted the basis of the theology of liberation. Liberation theology should imagine an alternative utopian horizon. Charles Villa-Vicencio’s theology of reconstruction may be one of the new directions of the theology of liberation. The theological task of the theology of liberation in consideration of the changes of circumstances is (i) to determine the mode of response which is most appropriate and most effective in its setting, (ii) to explore the Scriptures and subsequent tradition, and to find the images and narratives that give rise to utopian vision and hope, (iii) to seek for provisional definitions of human and of a just society to which the message of the Gospel can contribute, and (iv) to elaborate an interdisciplinary approach of liberation theology especially in situations of reconstruction.

Now the work ahead is the one of bringing globalization theory into closer dialogue with theology. This work can only be done by finding concepts in theology that globalization can inform but not determine. The most appropriate concept is the one of new catholicity. New Catholicity means new wholeness, fullness of faith and exchange and intercultural communication. “New Catholicity is marked by a wholeness of inclusion and fullness of faith in a pattern of intercultural exchange and communication. To the extent that this catholicity can be realized, it may provide a paradigm for what a universal theology might look like today, able to encompass both sameness and difference, rooted in an orthopraxis, providing teloi for a globalized society”(pp.132-133).

This book is highly commended for applying the subject of a previous book of Robert Schreiter on constructing local theologies.[1] The importance of this book comes therefore from the importance of contextual theologies in the Church. Contextual theologies update the understanding of faith and keep it alive. The book seems then to answer the question of how to keep alive faith at the age of globalization. Thus the importance of this book lies more on the new horizon of theology it is pointing to, than on the concept of new catholicity it has coined. Its importance lies not only on defining a new paradigm for contextual theology but also in giving a push for new horizons in theology.

[1] Robert J. Schreiter, Constructing Local Theologies (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1985).

DETTE AFRICAINE ET DEVOIR DE JUSTICE

DEVOIR DE JUSTICE ET USAGE DES RESSOURCES DE L’ANNULATION DE LA DETTE AFRICAINE
Par M. Ndomba Ngoma

Il existe un paradoxe autour de la question de l’annulation de la dette africaine dont l’enjeu mérite d’être pris au sérieux. Il y a en effet, d’une part, ceux qui réclament l’annulation de la dette, avec l’illusion d’augure d’âge d’or, dans les conditions définies par l’initiative Pays Pauvres Très Endettés (PPTE) et d’autre part, ceux qui, se basant sur la corruption et le déficit démocratique dans la plupart de ces pays, combattent un tel processus qui, selon eux, ne profiterait nullement aux pauvres qui sont les vraies victimes de la crise de l’endettement. Cependant, pour les uns comme pour les autres, ce paradoxe rencontre une double exigence de justice : la réparation de l’injustice du caractère odieux de la dette d’une part, et d’autre part, la réparation de l’injustice contre les pauvres qui subissent des effets négatifs du service de la dette. Si le principe de l’annulation de la dette est acquis dans le cadre de l’initiative PPTE et que si son aboutissement n’est retardé que par la corruption ou l’incompétence de certains gouvernements, alors l’une des solutions pour résoudre un tel paradoxe serait de transformer le service de la dette en une épargne constituant un fonds géré par les institutions multilatérales et qui serait utilisé pour des objectifs bien ciblés comme l’accroissement des capacités des institutions et ONG de la microfinance permettant aux pauvres d’accéder aux capitaux et de financer leurs microprojets.

L’objectif de cette réflexion est d’expliquer comment le besoin de créer un fonds alimenté par le service de la dette des pays engagés dans le processus de l’initiative PPTE, découle du devoir de justice à l’égard des populations démunies.

i.- Annulation de la dette africaine : entre l’exigence de justice liée au caractère odieux de la dette et le devoir de justice à l’égard des victimes des effets négatifs du service de la dette.

Il y a une littérature abondante sur le caractère odieux et même illégitime d’une bonne partie de la dette africaine. Point n’est donc besoin ici d’y revenir. Il convient cependant de rappeler que non seulement le surendettement a été encouragé et surtout facilité par des facteurs douteux et par la complicité de certains créanciers, mais aussi qu’une bonne fraction des fonds empruntés a été replacée dans les banques occidentales. Parmi les cas les plus cités, il y a Mobutu Sese Seko, ex-président de la République Démocratique du Congo (Ex-Zaire), qui aurait mis hors de son pays une somme de 18 milliards de dollars Américains. L’aspect odieux et illégitime de la dette Africaine est aussi justifié par le fait que l’Afrique a déjà remboursé la totalité des sommes empruntées mais est toujours écrasée par le poids des intérêts. La Conférence des Nations Unies sur le Commerce et le Développement (CNUCED) rapporte que sur les 540 milliards de dollars que l’Afrique a reçus entre 1970 et 2002, elle a déjà remboursé 550 milliards, pourtant l’encours de sa dette s’élève encore à 295 milliards.[1]

La situation de l’encours de la dette africaine donne la fâcheuse image d’une forme moderne d’esclavage. Comme l’esclave travaillant pour son maître, les Africains devront travailler sans interruption pendant longtemps pour rembourser la dette, finançant ipso facto les économies des pays riches. C’est cette forme d’esclavage qui fait de l’annulation de la dette une exigence morale. En effet, au regard de la misère entretenue et aggravée par le service de la dette qui ponctionne une bonne partie des budgets de l’éducation, de la santé, des infrastructures de base et autres secteurs vitaux, la question de la dette sort de l’univers purement économique. Elle devient un problème moral, social et sécuritaire pour la communauté internationale. Elle est un problème moral parce que, comme l’a dit Tony Blair, le premier ministre Britannique, lors d’une conférence du parti travailliste, « la situation de l’Afrique est une blessure dans la conscience du monde. » En conséquence, la pauvreté entretenue par la crise de l’endettement fait de l’annulation de la dette une exigence ou un devoir de justice.

L’initiative PPTE lancée en 1996 et renforcée par l’accord sur l’annulation à 100% de la dette multilatérale le 11 juin 2005 à Gleneagles trouverait son fondement sur une telle exigence morale. Elle est un engagement de la part de la Banque Mondiale et du Fonds Monétaire International d’alléger puis d’annuler la dette des pays dont le niveau d’endettement est insoutenable. Le processus de l’allégement puis de l’annulation se fait en trois étapes. La première étape, qui est celle de l’éligibilité, est marquée par l’établissement de l’insoutenabilité de la dette, la définition des critères macroéconomiques, juridiques et financiers comme objectifs à atteindre, et l’élaboration de Documents de Stratégie pour la Réduction de la Pauvreté (DSRP). La seconde étape est celle du point de décision qui est atteint s’il y a de bons résultats sur les critères établis à la première étape. Le point de décision s’accompagne de l’allégement de la dette du pays concerné. La dernière étape est le point d’achèvement. Il est atteint quand un pays maintient sa stabilité macroéconomique et respecte les engagements pris au point de décision. Au point d’achèvement et aux termes de l’accord du sommet du G8 de Gleneagles, la décision d’annulation à 100% de la dette devient permanente.

Cependant, si l’initiative PPTE améliorée par l’accord de Gleneagles a tout au moins la présomption de satisfaire l’exigence de justice liée au caractère odieux et insoutenable de la dette, l’autre exigence de justice, celle liée à l’amélioration des conditions de vie des pauvres, reviendrait exclusivement aux gouvernements des pays concernés. En conséquence, nombre d’organisations non gouvernementales et membres de la société civile font remarquer qu’il n’y a aucune indication que les gouvernements qui ont conduit l’Afrique à sa situation d’insolvabilité actuelle soient subitement en mesure de transformer le processus de l’annulation de la dette en une mesure de lutte contre la pauvreté. En effet, dans un grand nombre de pays africains, les hommes politiques qui étaient au pouvoir au plus fort de l’accumulation de la dette et de sa gestion calamiteuse, dirigent encore leur pays et certains sont même parmi les plus loquaces sur la question. Les gouvernements d’un grand nombre de pays africains sont gangrenés par la corruption qui, du reste, est l’un des plus grands problèmes du développement du continent. Récemment, M. Nuhu Ribadu, directeur de l’agence anti-corruption du Nigeria citait l’Union Africaine en rapportant que le continent perdrait annuellement 148 milliards de dollars (soit 25% du PNB) à cause de la corruption. Dans un contexte où un chef d’état peut non seulement changer la constitution à volonté mais aussi amasser à lui seul une somme de 4 milliards de dollars US en cinq années de pouvoir, comme c’était le cas de Sani Abacha du Nigeria, les ressources générées par l’annulation de la dette auraient bien du mal à parvenir aux populations des pays concernés dans les conditions actuelles du processus. En effet, les scandales de corruption et de gabegie foisonnent sur le continent. D’où le besoin paradoxal de maintenir le service de la dette comme moyen de réduire la marge de corruption et de gabegie.

Au delà de la corruption et de la gabegie tous azimuts, il y a un manque de volonté politique scandaleux pour s’engager résolument dans la réduction de la pauvreté. Ce manque de volonté est décelable à travers la surprenante échelle de valeur utilisée dans les dépenses publiques. Par exemple, les phénomènes des frais de déplacement exorbitants, des dépenses de luxe et de construction des aéroports et autres investissements improductifs dans les villages des présidents sont toujours observables sur le continent.

Le cas de l’Ouganda est très instructif sur les inquiétudes concernant le sort des pauvres en aval du processus de l’annulation de la dette. Après avoir bénéficié de 650 millions de dollars de dette annulée, la première chose que Yoweri Museveni (le président Ougandais qui, du reste, vient de changer la constitution pour se faire élire une troisième fois) aurait fait, aurait été de s’acheter un nouveau jet présidentiel. Pire, il est estimé qu’il aurait dépensé une somme équivalente pour son engagement militaire en République Démocratique du Congo.[2] En d’autres termes, l’annulation de la dette, au lieu de servir au maximum les programmes de lutte contre la pauvreté, a plutôt permis à ce pays de faire la guerre à son voisin et d’allonger la liste des dépenses de luxe. Dans le cas de ce pays, si l’exigence de justice réparant le caractère odieux de la dette a été satisfaite, le devoir de justice à l’égard des pauvres ne l’a pas été. Cet exemple est assez éloquent pour comprendre que si l’annulation de la dette se passait dans des conditions actuelles, ce serait comme un coup d’épée dans l’eau et que très tôt les mêmes pays seraient encore lourdement endettés. Ceci est d’ailleurs le cas de certains pays parmi les premiers à bénéficier de cette mesure.

Dans la mesure où la médiation gouvernementale ne garantit pas toujours les effets escomptés, pour que l’annulation de la dette africaine satisfasse la double exigence de justice, elle doit inclure des mécanismes de réduction de la pauvreté qui sont concrets, efficaces et directement accessibles aux pauvres.

ii.- Annulation de la dette et constitution d’un fonds pour les micro-crédits aux pauvres

L’initiative PPTE renforcée par l’accord du sommet du G8 de Gleneagles est assortie d’une supposition selon laquelle, suivant certains critères macroéconomiques, juridiques et financiers, la dette insoutenable des pays pauvres sera totalement annulée. Selon cette initiative, le principe de l’annulation totale de la dette par les institutions multilatérales (Banque Mondiale, Fonds Africain de développement et le Fonds Monétaire International), tout au moins, est donc acquis. Cependant, bien que le principe soit acquis, l’atteinte du point d’achèvement peut prendre plusieurs années au cours desquelles le service de la dette empire la situation des pauvres. Jusqu’au mois de mai 2005, en dehors des pays comme l’Ouganda, le Mozambique, la Tanzanie, le Burkina Faso qui sont passés du point de décision au point d’achèvement en quelques mois, le processus prend plusieurs années pour le plus grand nombre des pays. Il a pris cinq ans par exemple pour le Rwanda et la Zambie alors que le Cameroun, la Guinée, le Malawi, le Sao Tome, la Gambie, etc. qui ont atteint le point de décision en 2000 attendaient toujours leur point d’achèvement. Pire encore, des pays éligibles au processus comme le Burundi, la Côte d’Ivoire, le Liberia, etc., n’étaient pas encore au point de décision. Pour les pauvres, retarder une telle mesure salutaire c’est prolonger leur calvaire. Un tel retard serait aussi une nouvelle forme d’injustice contre les populations démunies dans la mesure où il serait une manière de leur faire payer les effets de la corruption ou de l’incompétence de leurs gouvernants.

Par conséquent, si le processus de l’annulation de la dette est vraiment engagé avec le souci de soulager la misère des pauvres, il doit conjuguer, de manière effective et efficace, le principe de l’annulation de la dette et la réduction de la pauvreté dès l’établissement de l’éligibilité d’un pays à l’initiative PPTE, sans, bien entendu, sacrifier les critères de bonne gestion et d’assainissement macroéconomique et financier exigés. Une telle conjugaison exigerait la définition de la fraction des montants qui seraient affectés directement aux pauvres dans les programmes de réduction de la pauvreté. La proposition ici faite est qu’une telle fraction soit affectée à la création d’un fonds pour financer les activités qui pourraient directement soulager la misère des pauvres. Si l’on prend une fraction de 25% par exemple, cela reviendrait à dire que le quart du service de la dette serait déduit pour constituer une sorte d’épargne obligatoire gérée par les institutions multilatérales et utilisé pour financer des projets ciblés dont les pauvres seraient directement bénéficiaires, telles que des activités génératrices de revenus.

Cette proposition de créer un fonds alimenté par le service de la dette au profit du financement des activités des pauvres présente deux aspects importants. D’une part, pour éviter les simples effets d’annonce et faire preuve d’engagement sérieux aux côtés des pauvres, l’éligibilité d’un pays à l’initiative PPTE devrait nécessairement être accompagnée, de la renonciation de la part de la communauté financière internationale, de disposer d’au moins un certain pourcentage des versements au titre du service de la dette du pays concerné. Théoriquement une telle renonciation fait déjà partie intégrante du principe même de l’annulation de la dette. Par conséquent, elle doit être effective, ne fut-ce qu’en partie, dès l’établissement de l’éligibilité d’un pays. Une telle renonciation définirait le sérieux de l’initiative et unirait le principe de l’annulation et le devoir immédiat de justice à l’égard des pauvres. S’il est compréhensible que des critères soient imposés pour atteindre les points de décision et d’achèvement, il n’est pas compréhensible que les institutions multilatérales continuent de disposer de la totalité des fonds versés au titre du service de la dette malgré la connaissance parfaite de la précarité que ces versements engendrent auprès de la plus grande partie de la population.

D’autre part, l’une des propositions d’affectation du fonds ainsi constitué serait le renforcement des capacités des institutions et ONG octroyant des microcrédits aux pauvres. Les données sur les microcrédits venant de plusieurs pays d’Afrique comme le Madagascar, la Tanzanie, la République Démocratique du Congo, le Kenya, l’Ouganda, etc, montrent que le financement des microprojets générateurs de revenus a un impact réel et immédiat sur la réduction de la misère. L’accès des pauvres aux capitaux n’est certes pas la panacée étant donné l’importance des facteurs macroéconomiques, démocratiques, juridiques, sécuritaires, etc. Il a cependant un effet indéniable sur l’amélioration des revenus des pauvres surtout quand il est accompagné d’une initiation de base aux outils essentiels de gestion.

Le principe de base des microcrédits comme le comprend son fondateur Mohamad Yunus est bien simple. Pour un pêcheur par exemple, la somme nécessaire pour acheter un filet de pêche serait suffisante pour lui permettre de démarrer une activité génératrice de revenus et d’un certain bien-être. Cette analyse expliquerait l’efficacité de la méthode de microcrédits dans la réduction de la pauvreté. En effet, ce dont on ne se rend pas souvent compte, c’est que ces pauvres ne manquent pas généralement d’aptitudes et de qualifications. Ils sont menuisiers, charpentiers, couturiers, cuisiniers, pêcheurs, fabricants de savon ou d’huile, forgerons, cultivateurs, éleveurs, etc. La plupart des pauvres en Afrique ne sont pas totalement ignorants ou paresseux au point d’être incapables de se prendre en charge. Même quand ils n’ont jamais été à l’école, ils ont, en plus du savoir-faire venant de leurs traditions culturales et culturelles, la simple force physique et la volonté de travail qui constituent des atouts importants pour les activités économiques. Paradoxalement, est c’est l’un des plus grands problèmes des pauvres en Afrique, malgré ces atouts, ces aptitudes et ces qualifications, ils ne peuvent pas vivre de ce qu’ils savent faire à cause du manque de moyens financiers. L’accès aux microcrédits leur permettrait donc de valoriser leur savoir-faire et de parvenir à un certain bien-être.

Le soutien financier des pauvres pour l’épanouissement de leur savoir-faire aurait des retombées considérables aussi bien à court qu’à long termes. A court terme, il permettrait de sortir immédiatement des milliers de personnes du cercle infernal de la misère. A long terme, il permettrait de favoriser une culture de l’investissement venant de la base. L’Afrique a encore un long chemin à parcourir dans la culture de l’investissement. C’est pourtant une telle culture qui, conjuguée avec la technologie, ferra sortir l’Afrique d’une médiocre économie uniquement basée sur la chasse et la cueillette des produits naturels sans impact majeur sur la création d’emplois et sans valeur ajoutée significative. Devant la réticence des investisseurs étrangers, l’Afrique n’émergera significativement dans les échanges internationaux que quand il y aura une classe importante d’investisseurs Africains nantis de la technologie et capables de considérer la transformation sur place de leurs matières premières comme l’avantage comparatif qui redéfinira l’importance du continent dans le commerce mondial.

En conclusion, le débat pour ou contre l’annulation de la dette des pays africains gangrenés par la corruption et le déficit démocratique et juridique, peut trouver des solutions satisfaisant l’exigence et le devoir de justice aussi bien pour réparer le caractère odieux de la dette, que pour transformer de manière effective et efficace l’annulation de la dette en une mesure permettant aux pauvres d’accroître leur revenu et d’atteindre un certain bien-être. La création d’un fonds alimenté par une fraction du service de la dette pendant l’attente du point d’achèvement serait donc une solution transversale entre les gouvernements corrompus et incompétents qui réclament l’annulation de leur dette et les membres de la société civile soutenant les pauvres et qui font le lobbying pour qu’une telle mesure ne soit pas prise à cause des risques de détournement de fonds et de gabegie tous azimuts.

Ce débat soulève par ailleurs une autre question très importante : la question du modèle de développement adéquat pour l’Afrique. Comment penser le développement de l’Afrique avec des gouvernements pour lesquels la corruption semble être une fatalité ? Dans l’état actuel des choses, tout modèle ou stratégie devrait revoir la prééminence actuelle des gouvernements africains dans le processus de développement et de la lutte contre la pauvreté.

[1] United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Economic Development in Africa: Debt Sustainability: Oasis or Mirage? Geneva: United Nations, 2004, p. 9.
[2] George Ayittey, Africa Unchained: A Blueprint for Africa’s Future, New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2005, p. 299.