RE: [wanabidii] Re: You Lazy (Intellectual) African Scum!

I love Walter

Cheers

Herment

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Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 17:16:46 +0300
Subject: Re: [wanabidii] Re: You Lazy (Intellectual) African Scum!
From: paulinemengi@gmail.com
To: wanabidii@googlegroups.com

This has really got me thinking, where at first I was angry - and not even sure if I could get to the end of it. 

Any idea who authored this "chain-email"? 

I have a mind to suspect Walter did it again! 

On Sat, Feb 11, 2012 at 10:33 AM, Leila Abdul <hifadhi@gmail.com> wrote:

A Zambian's response to "You Lazy (Intellectual) African Scum!"

By Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa

I read the "transcript" of your conversation with my compatriot with
much intrigue. Your view of the "third world" is not only dated in
nomenclature, it is also dated in reality. When was the last time you
were in Zambia? The Zambia of the 1980s is not the Zambia of 2012!
Zambians are far from sleepy and lethargic (though I do not see sleep
or dreaming as a bad thing). Perhaps it is because I subscribe to
Rabindranath Tagore's words, "I slept and dreamt that life was joy, I
woke and saw that life was duty. I acted and behold, duty was joy."

I know many other Zambians who live by the same value. I know doctors,
artists, cleaners, entrepreneurs, innovators, and intellectuals,
amateur and seasoned, small and big, who, despite the odds, work
slavishly to improve Zambia. Some work 9-5 and others do not, but
rather than focus on "billable hours", they focus on results. People
see the light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps because you spent your
time behind a wall fence-watching the people rather than interacting
with them, you failed to notice that.

Lastly, I contend there is no Lake Zambia. As the Chinese proverb
goes, "Water not damned won't rise." Dams are being built. No longer
will anyone rape, pillage and exploit Zambia. Zambians will not accept
the morsels. People are tired of being sick and tired. In case you did
not understand the lyrics to the popular Dandy Crazy song, "Don't
kubeba", citizen action is in full swing – we just have not told you
yet.

"What is different?" you wonder. In 2011, the World Bank categorised
Zambia as a lower middle-income country, which means the per capita
gross national income is between $1,006 and $3,975 per year. This
categorisation came with pride and sorrow. Zambians know development
is more than statistics. Zambians understand that development is an
inclusive process; decreasing poverty is a priority. Zambians
peacefully elected a new government thus demonstrating that the
government is one of the people, by the people, for the people.

Arguably, Zambians have not always made the best political decisions,
but the last election was testimony that the people command the way
forward and will not blindly allow government to regress national
progress. If government does not serve the people, the people will get
a new government. Good governance in action is in Kalingalinga. No
longer is it the neighborhood (where I went to school as a child) from
where we would hear gunshots at night. Flimsy housing structures are
replaced with brick houses, street kids are going to school thanks to
free education offered from primary school to basic school (grades 1 –
9), sanitation has improved and it is a bedrock for micro, small and
medium enterprises.

Not all Zambian intellectuals are sitting twiddling their thumbs
"waiting for Godot". We are not willfully sitting as our people die.
The sad reality is that it takes time, time to reverse the rot in the
system and time to create new visions, innovations and achievements.
While Zambia may not have many patented inventions, Zambian products
are part of the global supply chain. We subscribe to the "Made in the
World" concept. According to the World Trade Organisation, "The
statistical bias created by attributing the full commercial value to
the last country of origin can pervert the political debate on the
origin of the imbalances and lead to misguided, and hence counter-
productive, decisions." Nevertheless, we bear much guilt because
people die under our watch. That forces us to work harder to make good
on our commitments to Zambia.

Though we sometimes get sidetracked by intellectual banter, fail to
connect theory to life's realities and get frustrated by our history
and point fingers, we know it is our responsibility to build Zambia.
Granted, there are some Zambians in the diaspora who want nothing to
do with Zambia; those are not our concern. There are many Zambians,
who if called home to serve, would. Diasporans spill their sweat in
other countries to be able to provide for their extended families and
invest in Zambia. In 2010, remittances were over USD $68 000000.
Whether from Timbuktu, Mali or Namushakende in Zambia, the money many
Zambians earn invariably goes into the Zambian economy.

I recognise the fact that we all need to make a living, but you
working for a vulture fund makes me question where you get the
authority to apportion blame? Though we might not have domestic legal
resources to go up against your New York or London lawyers, we will
fight to the end, be assured. There are resources like the Africa
Legal Support Facility (affiliated with the African Development Bank)
that provide legal assistance to African countries to fight vulture
funds. In case you did not learn this in Zambia, here is for a lesson,
"Wanya!". It will not be like the Donegal case. This time Zambia will
win the case, plus costs.

I agree all humans are equal and we have quirks. Yes, some Zambians
drink more than they should, and others have a negative self-
perception about their black skin and their abilities compared to
other races, while others do nothing but pull others Zambians down.
Luckily, that is not the whole population. Furthermore, I cannot say
any human is incorruptible. What I can say is that we do have
institutions in place to enforce anti-corruption laws. In case you
have not paid attention to the news, the current government is slowly
trying to eradicate institutional corruption. Obviously, it will take
time.

Rather than criticising Africa, I think you need to be critical of
human nature generally; after all it is not Africa that caused the
current global economic crisis. Lastly, if you want an example of a
president that has not fallen for "the carrot at the stick", look at
President Kagame of Rwanda. Rwanda has in successive years ranked as
the least corrupt country in East Africa. According to Transparency
International, "The likelihood of encountering bribe demand
occurrences is 3.9%, the prevalence of bribery is 2.15% and the impact
of bribery on service delivery is 1.98%, while more than 80% of
Rwandans have neither encountered nor witnessed corruption." Botswana,
Cape Verde and Mauritius all rank in the top 50 least corrupt nations
in 2011.

Didn't you know, anyone with money, black or white, is a bwana? So no,
I do not think you are racist. Misinformed and prejudgmental, yes. You
might have interacted with "old school" Zambians. Let me tell you, we,
the "new school", are dancing to a new beat. We are innovative and
driven to find solutions to the challenges, we are globally connected
and getting more people exposed and we have learned from our
ancestors. Failure is not an option.

I know that when my child sits in a plane next to yours, they will be
having a very different conversation.

Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa runs Hoja Law Group, a boutique New York and
Kigali (Rwanda) law firm that uses the law to bridge the African
development gap through advising on deals that create wealth for
Africa. HLG advises investors investing in and companies expanding
within Africa. She is a frequent speaker and writer on African
affairs. She is a Mo Ibrahim Fellow at the World Trade Organisation
and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

On Feb 7, 3:51 pm, Mbija Mbogolo <panafn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> An excellent piece of literature this  short story about laziness! I
> wish all African intellectuals could see this painful truth
>
> On Jan 22, 4:37 pm, Y Kitutu <kitut...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > *Hili ni tusi kwa waafrica au ndio ukweli wenyewe...**So I got this in my
> > email this morning… *
>
> > They call the Third World the lazy man's purview; the sluggishly slothful
> > and languorous prefecture. In this realm people are sleepy, dreamy, torpid,
> > lethargic, and therefore indigent—totally penniless, needy, destitute,
> > poverty-stricken, disfavored, and impoverished. In this demesne, as they
> > call it, there are hardly any discoveries, inventions, and innovations.
> > Africa is the trailblazer. Some still call it "the dark continent" for the
> > light that flickers under the tunnel is not that of hope, but an
> > approaching train. And because countless keep waiting in the way of the
> > train, millions die and many more remain decapitated by the day.
>
> > "It's amazing how you all sit there and watch yourselves die," the man next
> > to me said. "Get up and do something about it."
>
> > Brawny, fully bald-headed, with intense, steely eyes, he was as cold as
> > they come. When I first discovered I was going to spend my New Year's Eve
> > next to him on a non-stop JetBlue flight from Los Angeles to Boston I was
> > angst-ridden. I associate marble-shaven Caucasians with iconoclastic
> > skin-heads, most of who are racist.
>
> > "My name is Walter," he extended his hand as soon as I settled in my seat.
>
> > I told him mine with a precautious smile.
>
> > "Where are you from?" he asked.
>
> > "Zambia."
>
> > "Zambia!" he exclaimed, "Kaunda's country."
>
> > "Yes," I said, "Now Sata's."
>
> > "But of course," he responded. "You just elected King Cobra as your
> > president."
>
> > My face lit up at the mention of Sata's moniker. Walter smiled, and in
> > those cold eyes I saw an amenable fellow, one of those American highbrows
> > who shuttle between Africa and the U.S.
>
> > "I spent three years in Zambia in the 1980s," he continued. "I wined and
> > dined with Luke Mwananshiku, Willa Mungomba, Dr. Siteke Mwale, and many
> > other highly intelligent Zambians." He lowered his voice. "I was part of
> > the IMF group that came to rip you guys off." He smirked. "Your government
> > put me in a million dollar mansion overlooking a shanty called
> > Kalingalinga. From my patio I saw it all—the rich and the poor, the ailing,
> > the dead, and the healthy."
>
> > "Are you still with the IMF?" I asked.
>
> > "I have since moved to yet another group with similar intentions. In the
> > next few months my colleagues and I will be in Lusaka to hypnotize the
> > cobra. I work for the broker that has acquired a chunk of your debt. Your
> > government owes not the World Bank, but us millions of dollars. We'll be in
> > Lusaka to offer your president a couple of millions and fly back with a
> > check twenty times greater."
>
> > "No, you won't," I said. "King Cobra is incorruptible. He is …"
>
> > He was laughing. "Says who? Give me an African president, just one, who has
> > not fallen for the carrot and stick."
>
> > Quett Masire's name popped up.
>
> > "Oh, him, well, we never got to him because he turned down the IMF and the
> > World Bank. It was perhaps the smartest thing for him to do."
>
> > At midnight we were airborne. The captain wished us a happy 2012 and urged
> > us to watch the fireworks across Los Angeles.
>
> > "Isn't that beautiful," Walter said looking down.
>
> > From my middle seat, I took a glance and nodded admirably.
>
> > "That's white man's country," he said. "We came here on Mayflower and
> > turned Indian land into a paradise and now the most powerful nation on
> > earth. We discovered the bulb, and built this aircraft to fly us to
> > pleasure resorts like Lake Zambia."
>
> > I grinned. "There is no Lake Zambia."
>
> > He curled his lips into a smug smile. "That's what we call your country.
> > You guys are as stagnant as the water in the lake. We come in with our
> > large boats and fish your minerals and your wildlife and leave
> > morsels—crumbs. That's your staple food, crumbs. That corn-meal you eat,
> > that's crumbs, the small Tilapia fish you call Kapenta is crumbs. We the
> > Bwanas (whites) take the cat fish. I am the Bwana and you are the Muntu. I
> > get what I want and you get what you deserve, crumbs. That's what lazy
> > people get—Zambians, Africans, the entire Third World."
>
> > The smile vanished from my face.
>
> > "I see you are getting pissed off," Walter said and lowered his voice. "You
> > are thinking this Bwana is a racist. That's how most Zambians respond when
> > I tell them the truth. They go ballistic. Okay. Let's for a moment put our
> > skin pigmentations, this black and white crap, aside. Tell me, my friend,
> > what is the difference between you and me?"
>
> > "There's no difference."
>
> > "Absolutely none," he exclaimed. "Scientists in the Human Genome Project
> > have proved that. It took them thirteen years to determine the complete
> > sequence of the three billion DNA subunits. After they
>
> > were all done it was clear that 99.9% nucleotide bases were exactly the
> > same in you and me. We are the same people. All white, Asian, Latino, and
> > black people on this aircraft are the same."
>
> > I gladly nodded.
>
> > "And yet I feel superior," he smiled fatalistically. "Every white person on
> > this plane feels superior to a black person. The white guy who picks up
> > garbage, the homeless white trash on drugs, feels superior to you no matter
> > his status or education. I can pick up a nincompoop from the New York
> > streets, clean him up, and take him to Lusaka and you all be crowding
> > around him chanting muzungu, muzungu and yet he's a riffraff. Tell me why
> > my angry friend."
>
> > For a moment I was wordless.
>
> > "Please don't blame it on slavery like the African Americans do, or
> > colonialism, or some psychological impact or some kind of stigmatization.
> > And don't give me the brainwash poppycock. Give me a better answer."
>
> > I was thinking.
>
> > He continued. "Excuse what I am about to say. Please do not take offense."
>
> > I felt a slap of blood rush to my head and prepared for the worst.
>
> > "You my friend flying with me and all your kind are lazy," he said. "When
> > you rest your head on the pillow you don't dream big. You and other
> > so-called African intellectuals are damn lazy, each one of you. It is you,
> > and not those poor starving people, who is the reason Africa is in such a
> > deplorable state."
>
> > "That's not a nice thing to say," I protested.
>
> > He was implacable. "Oh yes it is and I will say it again, you are lazy.
> > Poor and uneducated Africans are the most hardworking people on earth. I
> > saw them in the Lusaka markets and on the street selling merchandise. I saw
> > them in villages toiling away. I saw women on Kafue Road crushing stones
> > for sell and I wept. I said to myself where are the Zambian intellectuals?
> > Are the Zambian engineers so imperceptive they cannot invent a simple stone
> > crusher, or a simple water filter to purify well water for those poor
> > villagers? Are you telling me that after thirty-seven years of independence
> > your university school of engineering has not produced a scientist or an
> > engineer who can make simple small machines for mass use? What is the
> > school there for?"
>
> > I held my breath.
>
> > "Do you know where I found your intellectuals? They were in bars quaffing.
> > They were at the Lusaka Golf Club, Lusaka Central Club, Lusaka Playhouse,
> > and Lusaka Flying Club. I saw with my own eyes a bunch of alcoholic
> > graduates. Zambian intellectuals work from eight to five and spend the
> > evening drinking. We don't. We reserve the evening for brainstorming."
>
> > He looked me in the eye.
>
> > "And you flying to Boston and all of you Zambians in the Diaspora are just
> > as lazy and apathetic to your country. You don't care about your country
> > and yet your very own parents, brothers and sisters are in Mtendere,
> > Chawama, and in villages, all of them living in squalor. Many have died or
> > are dying of neglect by you. They are dying of AIDS because you cannot come
> > up with your own cure. You are here calling yourselves graduates,
> > researchers and scientists and are fast at articulating your credentials
> > once asked—oh, I have a PhD in this and that—PhD my foot!"
>
> > I was deflated.
>
> > "Wake up you all!" he exclaimed, attracting the attention of nearby
> > passengers. "You should be busy lifting ideas, formulae, recipes, and
> > diagrams from American manufacturing factories and sending them to your own
> > factories. All those research findings and dissertation papers you compile
> > should be your country's treasure. Why do you think the Asians are a force
> > to reckon with? They stole our ideas and turned them into their own. Look
> > at Japan, China, India, just look at them."
>
> > He paused. "The Bwana has spoken," he said and grinned. "As long as you are
> > dependent on my plane, I shall feel superior and you my friend shall remain
> > inferior, how about that? The Chinese, Japanese, Indians, even Latinos are
> > a notch better. You Africans are at the bottom of the totem pole."
>
> > He tempered his voice. "Get over this white skin syndrome and begin to feel
> > confident. Become innovative and make your own stuff for god's sake."
>
> > At 8 a.m. the plane touched down at Boston's Logan International Airport.
> > Walter reached for my hand.
>
> > "I know I was too strong, but I don't give it a damn. I have been to Zambia
> > and have seen too much poverty." He pulled out a piece of paper and
> > scribbled something. "Here, read
>

> ...
>
> read more »

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