Asking the right questions
Today, we’re going to tackle an interesting topic that will help us think and grow. Have you ever wondered why some countries are rich while others are poor? How is it that some people live in abundance and comfort, while others live in misery? Did the rich inherit their wealth from their ancestors or parents? When did some of their ancestors become rich, while others remained poor? What is the definition of wealth? Who decided that anyone who owns a piece of paper printed with a face and a number is rich, while those who don’t are poor?
An interview with a pretty smart kid
If you’re asking yourself these questions, you’re on the right track. Recently, an exchange took place with a 10-year-old boy. This kid wondered why his father had to go to work. He was told it was to make money. He asked again why his father needed the money, and was told it was to buy food, guarantee a good life, good health and enable him to go to school. Then he asked when all this had started, why his father had to give his time and energy in exchange for a piece of paper to buy food.
Finally, he asked who had created this system where you had to sacrifice your time, family, ambitions and love to earn a piece of paper and be able to feed yourself. The bottom line is that this boy had some excellent questions.
Unfortunately, this is the reality we live in. Many people never ask the question of who created this system, when the rich became rich by today’s definition of wealth, and why the poor remain poor and continually dependent on the rich to meet their basic needs such as building roads, hospitals and infrastructure. Who created this unfair system? Is this the justice in which we live today? Inequality is not the fruit of modernity. To understand this, we need to go back in history.
Read more: Senegalese fight back against imperialism and neo-colonialism
A step back in history
Before the arrival of Westerners in the world, each society lived according to its own principles and concepts. In many cases, people lived in peace, without major difficulties, although there were occasional wars. However, the arrival of the West brought war, force and rape, imposing a system called democracy. This system was supposed to allow us to live in total harmony, but in reality it was imposed by force, pressure, bombing, massacre and rape. Today, we are the descendants of this system, the fruit of this transfer of mentality. Everyone is now clamoring for democracy without really understanding its origins, forgetting that endogenous societies functioned well with their own rules, with the exception of a few difficulties here and there.
It’s interesting to note that Western countries often put pressure on countries that don’t follow their business plans, demanding respect for the constitution, people’s rights and freedom of expression. It’s paradoxical, because one wonders what freedom of expression, democracy, constitution and morality they can offer us. One example is the Chagos archipelago, forcibly occupied by the British in 1814. The British massacred, enslaved and deported the inhabitants of this island, which had long been inhabited by Africans. The British then imported more slaves to work the fields on these islands. To this day, Great Britain still occupies these islands and has established military bases there. The populations are enslaved and subjugated.
Similarly, in Madagascar, France exercised its domination through force and oppression. In 1896, the French National Assembly declared the end of the Kingdom of Madagascar and transformed the country into a colony. The inhabitants were colonized, mistreated and exiled to Réunion Island. In 1960, Madagascar gained its independence, but France refused to liberate the four scattered islands that belong to Madagascar. In 1979, the UN ruled in Madagascar’s favor, declaring that France was violating the principle of respect for Madagascar’s territorial integrity. However, France has refused to return the islands.
Understanding the reality in which we live
It’s essential to speak plainly, because many people don’t understand the reality in which we live. Many people think that we are free in a just world, but this is not the case. Freedom depends on power, strength, means, money and might. We live in oppression and hardship because we are not united and do not have an army capable of resisting. We’re accused of immigration, but let’s not forget that the first immigrants were those who colonized and oppressed others. It’s important to understand where we’ve come from to know where we’re going.
The world we live in is not balanced. Justice is a myth, and law is not equal to justice. We need to be equipped to know where we’re going, and that means understanding our history.
Totally inspired by Zack Mwekassa’s video
