The black lives will never matter as long as the western world continues to rip Africans off their natural resources.
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) as you know is a global human rights movement, campaigning against inequality, systemic racism towards black people and violence.
The movement which was formed way back in 2013 but resurfaced and became more popular around the world after the death of George Floyd who was murdered by white Minneapolis police officer.
In a viral video posted online on 25 May, the white Minneapolis officer was captured kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for more than eight minutes which resulted to his death.
George Floyd’s death sparked outrage around the world and since then people have been protesting, calling for a systematic change against the black people.
Since the motive of this black lives matter movement is purely to restore equity among the black people,I think Africans should not be excluded in this fight too. Of course we all know that all blacks have African ancestry, so it shouldn’t be overlooked.
The wealth of the west was built on Africa’s exploitation, for without Africa and its Caribbean resources extensions, the modern world as we know it would not exist.
Profits from slave trading and from sugar, coffee, cotton and tobacco are only a small part of the story, Its palm oil, petroleum, copper, chromium, platinum and in particular gold were and are crucial to the later world economy.
Do you know that up till today the Africans is still being exploited?
France For instance, is still manipulating the economies of 14 African countries that use the CFA franc, a currency underwritten by the French Treasury and pegged to the Euro.
The leaders of this 14 African countries can be corrupt and not working in the interest of their citizens but, even if they wanted to be honest leaders, they would not be able to do so. How so?
After World War II, the colonial pact maintained the French control over the economies of the African states; it took possession of their foreign currency reserves; it controlled the strategic raw materials of the country; it stationed troops in the country with the right of free passage; it demanded that all military equipment be acquired from France; it took over the training of the African police and army; it required that French businesses be allowed to maintain monopoly enterprises in key areas (water, electricity, ports, transport, energy, etc.). France not only set limits on the imports of a range of items from outside the franc zone but also set minimum quantities of imports from France. These treaties are still in force and operational.
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For the past half-century, the secretive and powerful “African Cell” has overseen France’s strategic interests in Africa reporting only to one person: the French president. Some of the consequences for the Africa countries of a policy of dependence are obvious: dependence on the French economy; dependence on the French military; and the open-door policy for French private enterprise.
Beside being forced to pay a “colonial debt”, 14 Western and Central African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon) have their national reserves held by France into France’s Central Bank. It is estimated that France now holds nearly $500 billion every year of African countries’ money in its treasury and will do anything to keep it. Moreover, the African countries do not have access to this money.
In fact France forced its former colonies – CFA countries – to put 65% of their foreign currency reserves into the French Treasury, plus another 20% for financial liabilities, thus leaving them access to only 15% of their own money. If they need more they have to borrow their own money from France at commercial rates. Thus these African states are French taxpayers but their citizens are not French and do not have access to public goods and services their money helps pay for.
France has the first right to buy any natural resources found on the territory of its ex-colonies. The African countries are also not allowed to seek other partners freely as the preference is given to French interests and companies in the field of public procurement.
France has an exclusive right to supply military equipment and training to the African military by deploying troops and intervening in the African countries to defend France’s interests.
Moreover, France’s former colonies are forced to use the colonial currency FCFA (the CFA franc) and to send France an annual balance report. Besides, they are obliged to ally only with France during a situation of war or crisis.
The big question here is, do French people know they’re living off the wealth of African countries and have been doing so for over half a century? the answer is yes, they do and they don’t care at all.
Over the past few decades, the british government as in the colonial period has used its power and influence to ensure that its 101 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) have mining operations in Africa – and combined, they control resources worth in excess of $1 trillion.
They also ensure that these British mining companies have access to Africa’s raw materials.
Under the guise of helping Africa in its economic development – a mere continuation of the colonial paternal narrative – $134 billion reportedly flows into the continent each year in the form of loans, foreign investment and aid. But at the same time, an estimated $192 billion is extracted from Africa mainly in the form of profits by foreign companies, tax dodging, and the costs of adapting to climate change.
In short, the continent is a net creditor to the rest of the world to the tune of as much as $58 billion a year.
This year alone, American President Donald Trump issues new travel restrictions on some African states.
These visa ban will affect nearly a quarter of the 1.2 billion people on the African continent, including many hoping to join loved ones already in the U.S.
This travel bans have never been rooted in national security as cited by White House, but they’re about discriminating against Africans, they are, without a doubt, rooted in anti-immigrant, white supremacist ideologies
So when you talking about the black lives matter, please have it at the back of your mind that is not all about African Americans but Africans as a whole.
The black lives will never matter if africans living in African states are still being exploited by the western world.
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