The German newspaper the Spiegel has a fascinating article up called “Africa’s Plight: How Europe Lost Africa.” Please head on over there to read it. Below some excerpts and my own thoughts on this matter:

Africa currently has bad press in Europe. In Kenya, rigged elections recently triggered ethnic unrest (more…). In South Africa, political tension accompanied the rise of populist Jacob Zuma (more…) to the leadership of the ruling African National Congress. These events, among others, give the impression that even Africa’s model states are at risk of backsliding, to say nothing of the perennial problem nations like Sudan, Somalia, or Democratic Republic of Congo.

But Europe currently has bad press in Africa too. The pressure exerted by the European Union on African governments to sign new free trade deals, the continuing crisis over illegal migration (more…), and a perceived reluctance of European institutions to engage with their African counterparts have created the impression that Europe is an unreliable partner for an Africa seeking to redefine its place in the world order. This crisis of mutual perception between Europe and Africa is real and, with hindsight, 2007 may come to be regarded as the year of missed opportunities — the year when Europe finally lost the preeminence it once had in Africa.

One on the - seemingly negative - changes in Europe’s attitude towards Africa, is that it has started to negotiate (about trade agreements) with individual countries, instead of with the African Union. “This has caused a great deal of concern in Africa,” the Spiegel reports.

There are a number of problems with free trade agreements with Africa, the most important one of which is that Europe wants complete free trade. Europe wants to bring European products to African markets, while Africans can, then, bring African products to European markets. That sounds good, at least to me, but many African countries aren’t quite ready for that. “Governments feared the loss of customs revenues that account for around a quarter of state revenues in Africa, and business communities feared unfair competition from subsidized European imports.”

Despite those concerns, Europe continues to push Africa into opening up its markets completely.

To me, the problem isn’t free trade - in fact, truly opening up the markets will be beneficial to both Europe and Africa - it’s that the trade isn’t fair. The reason: subsidies. Europe is subsidizing certain products, which makes it impossible for Africans to compete in certain markets. If Europe wants Africa to open up its borders, it should get rid of the subsidies first, it seems to me.

Another major issue is immigration. Africans consider this to be a very personal issue. Europe has made it almost impossible for Africans to legally move to the EU. In response, Africans simply try to migrate illegally. This often results in casualties: they go by boat, but many boats sink and as a result people drown.

Many individuals die every year. Yet, Europe doesn’t care.

Fishermen from Tunisia and Italy have even been prosecuted for abetting “human trafficking” because they rescued migrants at sea. Illegal migration is seen exclusively as a security issue by Europe, and in the course of 2007 the European Union decided to make its maritime frontier patrols, organized by the EU border security agency, permanent. This may have deterred some crossings, but the body count shows that it has not provided security to migrants. The European Union is also increasingly relying on North African countries, especially Algeria and Libya, to do some of the dirty work in repelling migrants on its behalf by rounding up, interning, and deporting illegal sub-Saharan travellers. Despite shocking reports of abuse in desert detention camps in Libya, none of the many state dignitaries from Europe visiting North Africa last year voiced concern about the matter. In fact, European leaders are instead in stiff competition to close the best business deals (more…) with the Libyan dictator, Muammar el-Qaddafi, who is never subjected to the same criticism regarding democracy and human rights as sub-Saharan governments.

Obviously, this doesn’t exactly make us very popular in Africa.

And that’s not all:

African observers take note of this much more than European observers do-and much more than Europeans think Africans do. It fundamentally alienates them from any European rhetoric about democracy. Africans also note with incredulity that anti-African racism is still a feature of European political discourse. Nicolas Sarkozy, the newly elected French president, caused a storm of protest throughout Africa on his first visit to the continent in July when he gave a speech riddled with racist clichés at the University of Dakar in Senegal. Colonialism, he said, was not responsible for genocide, dictatorship, fanaticism, and corruption in Africa today. “Africa’s tragedy is that the African man has not entered into history sufficiently. The African peasant, who since time immemorial has lived according to the rhythm of the seasons and whose ideal is to be in harmony with nature — he knows only the endless return of time structured by the endless repetition of the same gestures and the same words. In this mode of thought there is no place for the adventure of humanity or the idea of progress … That is Africa’s problem.”

It’s clear that Europe needs to change its ways somewhat. I’m for restricting immigration, but you don’t have to do away with it completely. These days, economical refugees are considered some kind of lowlives by many Europeans. “They only come here to make a quick buck,” my fellow Europeans say.

So?

What’s the problem with that? These people live in poverty in their own countries. If I were one of them, I’d try to migrate to Europe as well. There’s nothing bad or low about that: it’s call self-preservation.

On the other hand, Africa has to take some responsibility as well. I often call for a big Marshall Plan in order to help Africa develop, but the fact of the matter is that the West has already invested the equivalent of four Marshall Plans in Africa. Yet, to no avail. Instead of using the money to build their economies, African governments have used it to buy arms, only to use those arms against their own citizens and foreign governments.

Above all, Africa, the Spiegel article says, is sick and tired of being “seen primarily as a problem.” Increasingly more African countries are doing business with China, because China doesn’t consider Africa a problem; it considers it to be an opportunity.

Perhaps, in other words, it’s time to take Africa more seriously. Lets treat Africa as an adult. But we need something in return for that: African countries need to act like adults from now on as well. Spending money on weapons - in order to use it against their own citizens - isn’t exactly productive. If Africa wants to be treated as an equal, it has to behave like an equal.