Africans in WWII

During World War II many Africans joined in the battle against the axis, in particular the Italians led by Mussolini. Many of these Africans were from South Africa and were part of the South African Army. The South African Army consists of several branches including at least three Infantry Divisions and at least one armoured divisions.

Most of this membership came from alliance with British governments that colonized the area whether or not this was a happy cooperation or not remains a question due to political division within South Africa to honor the Pact of alliance with Britain or remain neutral. While they played important roles many Africans were denied high ranking positions or high profile missions due to the color of their skin. Thus for the most part people not of European descent were given largely domestic issues.

While Africa did not really need to be involved in WWII they were because of the colonization of the continent by European powers. So when European countries were attacked, their enemies also would target African colonies. There were significant losses of life for native Africans though, especially considering this was not a popular war in the eyes of the native Africans. Death numbers reached 77,000 for blacks and 46,000 for Asians and "colored."

Difficulty with Ancestor Stones

I did think Ancestor Stones was a fairly decent book but one thing I did not like about it was how many things in the book were left open to interpretation and guessing. This came up many times in the book, such as initiation for the women (female circumcision), and whether or not Serah's mother was unfaithful amongst other occasions.

It was an interesting book to read though and to see what these women went through in their lives and I think it is an understatement to say they went through a lot. From troubles in their home lives and with their families, personal struggles, and political turmoil. The war these communities were faced with were severe and devastating to families. People saw family members killed and lost to the rebel movement and child soldiers being recruited by the movement.

They appear to make some gains in their lives and experience some more setbacks as they go along. With the opportunity to vote given to the women it appeared to be progress but there are still many hurdles all Africans are faced with today especially women.

Gold, Sea Gods, and Labor Strikes

Well there was a little more drama in this portion of the book but still not much. OK so I know that the picture is not of Kasilla but, Poseidon is what I thought of when I read about the sea god capsizing the boat and killing the people of the village. Well at least the girls were happy they got their revenge on Ma Cook.

Oh and then the potential for a rebellion led by workers harvesting gold, that quickly sparked my attention, but that was sequestered rather rapidly and without much detail. Again my interest in the book began to wane.

It is obvious that the African people have continued to struggle with aspects of their lives, including religion, commerce, woman independence and economics. The lives of these communities have been forever changed and uprooted by the European presence. Women seem to suffer quite a bit through this time period, but the culture is so tightly embraced in the community and they do not want to change.

The role of women in Islam to me is brought into serious question. Women are expected to serve very subservient and non-authoritative role in the household and in the community. This was one of the most interesting parts of the book and how seriously Islam was taken by members in the community.

Ancestor Stones pt. 1

Well I am not too sure where this story is going, but it does provide an interesting look into the lives of woman of African native cultures. I do not enjoy the way the author jumps around from person to person and there seems to be no fluidity in the events of the novel. Instead the reader is left to join the stories and the characters together as needed. The African culture described in this book is receptive to the practice of polygamy and seems to focus particularly on Islam. While the author does not make any direct statements on the nature of polygamy, it is obvious that it has some demeaning nature in how it treats women.

One thing that seemed amazing to me was the amount of work that women in this culture actually do. They are the primary providers for the children and also do a substantial amount of work to provide for the husband and the good of the household while the husband seems to only provide some money for support. The women are responsible for cooking meals and also partake in the sale of handmade goods that they sale in community markets.

Women in this culture seem to be extremely subservient and are expected to not question male authority. Males are given much control over the household and the community and women are expected to follow suit. I was also shocked to see that there isn't more woman individualism and women standing up for better home lives, and any such rebellion is seen as disobedience that must be swiftly and firmly dealt with.

I am also curious as to why the author chose the title Ancestor Stones for the book considering they have not come up very much in the story at all. Maybe it is supposed to symbolize the ancestry of women and how they have gotten where they are today.

While this practice initially seemed rather weird to me and like some sort of primitive religion, the more I thought about it the more I realized we do the same thing with grave stones today!

He can't holla...

This was a very interesting book about how the effects of ignorance and lack of compassion can come back to haunt you. In the book Xala a curse is placed on a prestigious figure in African commerce as he neglects the people of his own community. When he is not able to fulfill his duties as a man his curse becomes the centerpiece for all his troubles but by the time he gets it resolved his life has changed dramatically and he has lost everything. The curse succeeds in proving a point to the main character and the oppressed get there revenge.

I thought that this book was very interesting and funny satire about the effects of European governments on post-colonial Africa. I was not quite sure where the story was going up until the last 5 pages, but that was all that was needed to prove the point of the story. In the end, the story proves that traditional customs will prevail over the capitalist system established by the European settlers. Also the neglected people in society is no one to mess with because they will cast some voodoo spell on people to prove a point.

I enjoyed the insult that was put on El Hadij in the end, being spit on by his own people which is about the lowest most disrespectful gesture one can make. So on top of now being broke, losing his wives, losing his money, losing his estates, and losing his reputation as a man, he has just been spit on by a bunch of lepers, cripples and degenerates. I guess that is what happens when you listen to Europeans.

The Struggle

The Algerian War was a long attempt at independence for the Algerian people. It was marked by many deaths, massacres, guerrilla warfare and eventually the independence of the Algerian people from France.

To the French the initial movements taken by their government was considered a "pacification," but it was far from that. A chief of police in Paris was responsible for an attack on a peaceful demonstration resulting in at least 40 deaths, the Setif massacre that killed at least 1000 Algerian demonstrators, and the Cafe wars waged on France resulting in the deaths of around 5000 lives.

The moving force in Algeria that began their struggle for independence was a group called the FLN whose political theorist was Frantz Fanon, and the MNA. I was able to find a brief clip of the FLN fighting against the French during the war on YouTube. Both of these groups engaged in violent warfare throughout Algeria in an attempt to gain independence from France. This resulted in the horrendous murders of many French living in the country at the time. Frances response was an increasing amount of countermeasures to sequester the guerrilla fighters and the leftist groups.

After many struggles and much bloodshed the French government decided in 1962 it would leave Algeria after a vote of independence, which did pass unanimously. Even after this there was still some violence carried out in Algeria by the FLN to purge it of the French citizens.

As I finished reading this I could not help but laugh at the hypocrisy of some of the European nations. We as people of the U.S. are often criticized for being war and power hungry, but in my opinion the atrocities pulled by many of these nation far outshadow some of the things the U.S. has done to other countries, after all they are the ones who colonized this country.

Underdevelopment

It is very evident that Africa has struggled to become an self-reliant country to no fault of its own. And the essay "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa," raises some very interesting points as to the reason it has not succeeded at becoming a "developed" country. Walter Rodney presents us with a very damning and controversial look at how the imperialistic countries of the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries manipulated and impoverished an entire culture.

When European countries began to colonize Africa they did so with the mind set of maintaining superiority in the eyes of the rest of the world. The easiest way for them to do this and reaps the most benefits from Africa was to exploit the nation. To me it seemed that the worst thing you can do to a country is deprive it of its' history and to deprive the rest of the world of its' history.

When Europeans came into Africa they totally disrupted and rejected the rich social and historical significance of Africa. Africa is one of if not the oldest civilizations in the world, and instead of learning about it the colonists destroyed it. I believe that there is much the world didn't and still doesn't know about the history of Africa that we should know. So instead of trying to learn about the society and cultures of the continent they manipulated and controlled it.

The first thing colonists saw when the arrived in Africa was an "inferior" culture/military force, and dollar signs. Knowing that they could control the area with brute force they decided they utilize the resources of the continent for there own benefit. This has had serious ramifications on African society that are still felt today.

To me the most serious of these deprivations to African society comes from the keystone aspect of all societies and that is education. Education is critical for the upbringing of societies all across the world and by depriving someone of education you deprive them of a livelihood.

While countries are trying to "help" Africa there always seem to be alternative motives for their help and they are still trying to gain something from the relationship. This has led to continuous troubles in Africa and these instabilities seem to not end. That is why I believe we must first focus on building a system of education on the continent so they can somehow hopefully take control of their own country.