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< | China’s Hand in Africa | >
> | The Advice | | | | |
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< | -- By UchennaIbekwe - 27 Feb 2009 | >
> | Last semester I went to career services to get some last minute pointers on how to make my resume “stand out.” The woman gleaned over my resume in silence, and then suggested we revise my “Interests” section. At the time I had “Nollywood films, gender and ethnic studies, African history, and Soukous and Highlife Music,” listed as my interests. She told me to get rid of Nollywood films because she said: “you only want things on your resume that show skill.” I said okay. She asked me what Soukous and Highlife music is, I explained to her that they are genres of music that originate from Central and West Africa and she said interesting, maybe we should call that “world music.” I said okay. After further probing me about my interests and past experiences, my “Interests” section became “Volleyball (competed nationally), classical music (studied the violin), and international travel.” | | | | |
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< | I. Introduction
II. Advantages and Disadvantages of Chinese Investment
III. The Difference Between a Contract and a Swindle
IV. Feelings of Relatedness--Two-Fold
V. Why the Con is Working | >
> | At the end of the meeting, I thanked the woman and went home. Though we revised my resume quite extensively and it reveals an aspect of me, I remember feeling annoyed and not really helped. Or at least not in the way that I felt best represented me. I felt as though she was portraying me to be something that I was not. And that the resume changes and suggestions about how to dress and speak during an interview was an effort to make me more “neutral” and appealing to majority-populated law firms. | | | | |
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< | Introduction
I have followed China’s increasing investment in Africa for several years now. They have made major investments in places like Sudan, Nigeria, and Zambia—promising to develop the countries in exchange for access to natural resources. Most recently, China made a $22 million donation in aid to Tanzania and gifted a $150 million conference center for the African Union headquarters. In doing so, China has demonstrated its commitment to investment in Africa. However my concern is, at what costs? Unlike other funding sources such as the World Bank or International Monetary Fund (IMF), China signs contracts over to African countries with no strings attached. They do not require transparency, democracy, or minimum standards for human rights. Instead, they are solely interested in Africa’s abundance of resources and purposely avoid involvement in internal affairs. As a result, African leaders are jumping at the “no strings” attached funding and we now see modern hospitals, fútbol stadiums, roads and railroads developed throughout Africa. Personally, I do not believe these are equitable deals for African counties, because without conditionalities African leaders will not be held accountable for maintaining the new facilities. I fear these new structures will soon become relics of the past. | >
> | The Problem: Making Sense of It | | | | |
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< | So how do we define China’s presence in Africa? Is it a swindle or a contract? And if it is a swindle is China the con man? Or is this title more appropriate for the African leaders who agreed to these deals? | >
> | Looking back on the situation, I realize the woman’s intentions were not ill willed and she genuinely thought that she was doing me a favor by helping my resume “pass.” Although, I felt uneasy about it, I followed her advice. Growing up as a Nigerian-American woman and attending majority-populated institutions for undergraduate, graduate and now professional school I have gotten the sense that in order to be successful, fit in, get what I want, etc…I can not be “too Black.” I have to “play the game,” which translates into not being “black centered”—being neutral. Why? Because the idea is that being “too black” is equated with trouble and the idea that potential employers may not want to hire me if they perceive me to be a potential problem in their office. So I have come to believe that it is in my best interest to appear “neutral” in order to “pass.” And because I had this apprehension in the back of my mind, I allowed the woman in career services, representative of Columbia generally, to dictate whom I should be, where I should work and what I should aspire to. In the process, I began to undermine my values and individuality. I began to lose sense of who I am. | | | | |
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< | Advantages and Disadvantages of Chinese Investment
The advantages of Chinese investment are clear. African nations gain much-needed infrastructure and amenities that they otherwise would not be able to 1) provide for themselves or 2) receive assistance from funding sources such as the World Bank and IMF. Because it is much easier to qualify for Chinese investment, one could argue China’s presence is helping African countries become developed. As they provide for jobs, both during and after construction, and lead to increased trade between the countries. Once more, China’s success in Africa is bringing attention to the continent and attracting foreign investment. | >
> | Who I am | | | | |
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< | However there are disadvantages to Chinese investment, because China does not require African countries to meet certain standards. In particular, they do not require a system to preserve these new projects. Without actively creating plans to maintain the new facilities and training African citizens to fill the skilled positions that come with modern facilities, it will be impossible for these developments to have long-lasting effects. In addition, these investments are completely Chinese-owned. The funding, labor, and materials are Chinese and the jobs available to locals are limited. In instances where jobs are available, they are the low-level positions and pay as little as $2US per day. | >
> | Before law school I was unapologetic about who I am, where I come from, and my aspirations. I followed my passions and pursued my interests. In high school I refused to take random Advanced Placement courses simply because they would look good on college applications. Instead I took classes that allowed me to explore my interests in African history and civil wars. In college I pursued International Relations as a major and took Igbo language courses so that I could learn more about my heritage and language. I also seized the opportunity to write research papers on development and ethnic conflict in Nigeria. It was through my exploration of Nigeria and Africa, generally, that I learned about the many difficulties the continent is having and that I wanted to help make change there. It was also how I decided that attending law school will be the best way for me to impact change—to make something happen with my words. | | | | |
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< | The Difference Between a Contract and a Swindle
There is little difference between a contract and a swindle, as both require a “deal” to be struck and a cooperative relationship. The distinction is the end result. If the end result is one party essentially got something for nothing, then there is a swindle. However, if both parties achieve what they agreed to, then the relationship is a contract. | >
> | Make Things Happen With My Words | | | | |
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< | Here, China’s growing presence in Africa is characterized as a swindle and China is the con man. As described in A. Leff’s Swindling & Selling piece, a con man is one who swindles another out of something of value in exchange for nothing (or at least something significantly lower in value). China needs resources to feed its fuel burning economy and African countries desperately need foreign investment to create infrastructure and necessary services. It is only together that the two can maximize their total utility in their joint system (Leff p14). On its face, it seems that various African countries are attaining new facilities, roads, etc. upfront and that there is a mutually beneficial exchange. But when looking at end results, we learn these developments are temporary. Moreover, because there is no system in place to maintain these new facilities, it is likely they will become dilapidated. Nonetheless, in exchange China gains long-term access to oil in Angola and Sudan and minerals from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among other things. | >
> | My passion is Africa. I love watching Nollywood films, learning about gender and ethnic strife in developing countries, and listening to Soukous and Highlife music because it reminds me of home. It is who I am and why I chose to come to law school. | | | | |
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> | I am here to gain the training and credentials necessary to gain access to do what I want to do—to learn to make things happen with my words. At this point in my academic career, I hope that by simply discussing poverty, war, sickness, and crime in Africa that I can 1) keep myself informed and 2) interest others in becoming more involved. So I guess my underlying intentions in talking about Africa, is an attempt to make things happen with my words. | | | | |
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< | Feelings of Relatedness—Two-Fold
The idea of “feelings of relatedness” is that human relationships are being exploited because of their desire to “belong.” As discussed in class, for the same reasons that commercial retailers prey on people who spend money on items to “belong.” China is preying on African leaders who desire to live lavishly and for their country to “belong.” China is exploiting the African leaders feelings of relatedness, and in turn conning them, in order to further their agenda to become “developed.” Along those lines, the spark for China’s action is also a result of feelings of relatedness. China wants to become recognized as a regional power and wants to have more global influence, hence the answer is to modernize their country and strengthen their economy. The problem is China does not have enough natural resources to fuel this ambition, so in order to gain access they exploit Africa. China constructs new facilities and makes large donations, which are trivial in comparison to the exponential and long-lasting returns on their investment. | >
> | But how can I make things happen with my words, when I am hesitant to be who I am? How can I represent Africa when I am struggling to represent myself? I am certain that being a Nigerian-American woman in a majority-populated school and heading toward a majority-populated profession has had some role in me feeling that I should “soften” my interests. At the same time, I realize that inherent in making things happen with my words is disruption, because after all the point it to change the status quo. | | | | |
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< | Why the Con is Working
The con is working because both parties believe it can gain more than the other from the deal. As touched upon in class, these deals prove successful because “an honest man can’t be conned.” China is conning the corrupt African leaders. They are exploiting their feelings of relatedness (desire to look developed, live lavishly, etc.) in order to further their personal goals of becoming a regional power. Does this make China a modern colonizer of Africa? Or is this simply business as usual? Whatever the case, the reality is Africa needs foreign investment. Perhaps a solution may be to require a system that ensures new developments become long-lasting. | | | | |
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- I don't think that Leff would recognize his ideas in this
- context
- he is engaged not primarily in describing confidence games but in showing how people might join academic disciplines to make a theory of social action, as we are doing in our class. You could leave Leff out of this essay without hurting the essay in the least, and it would simplify matter for your reader. You would then be talking about resource imperialism, which has also been practiced in countless contexts. The whole problem is unlikely to matter very much, as the Chinese will almost certainly depart Africa rather abruptly now, leaving not completed projects that Africans are unable to maintain, but rather half-built projects that Africans are unable to complete. Still, to the extent that there is any longer a point in debating whether Chinese investment used to be a good thing or not, I think you explained the background and the contending positions clearly and insightfully.
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> | The Reality | | | | |
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This essay reinforced the idea that I had two years ago. While in the middle of the French presidential election, both second round contenders called for a new and modern French involvement in Africa, in order to stop the Chinese imperialist aspirations over the continent. Historically deprived of its resources by France and the UK-moderately by Germany too- it seems that China is now the gaining an extreme influence. It is all the more substantial as China has always been considered as an ally for every single country in Africa, because of the moral support they brought to the population during the independence era. Colonization was a substantial trauma for the African populations, although imperialists would consider that the developed world brought 'Light and Progress' ( Still now, this idea is prevailing, if we just look at the 2005 French bill which recognized the positive effects of colonization on the African continent, without however acknowledging any harm). But China has quite successfully adopted a strategy that conciles its interests with the population's ones. They are not willing to take the political power, deprive the population of their lands , submit the officers to their wills and 'enslave' the locals. Rather, their imperialism is an economic one, with respect to the people's right to dispose of themselves. The means are different, but the outcomes are pretty similar: The African continent is still under the yoke of an imperialist power, our political elites are probably getting more bribed, and there can't be any progress of democracy. Sadly. I can't wait for the day that Africa will finally be colonized by its own assets, scattered all over the world, educated and worried about their roots, and the situation of their community at large. Because our people deserve better than illiterate 'spiritual guides', self-proclaimed 'presidents' and other outrageous dictators. | | | \ No newline at end of file | |
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> | At the end of the day I cannot continue to allow the ideas of others to shape my life. If I truly want to make the change that I proclaim, then I have to pull myself out of this rut that I created. There is nothing about this school, my professors, or peers that should make me undermine who I am. And realistically, no matter how much I change my resume or “soften” my interests the reality is I will never appear to be completely like the majority, because I am not that. I can’t change it, and I don’t want to. |
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