Obama Devalues
the Legacy of Slavery
Amanuel
Biedemariam
There
is nothing more disturbing and frustrating than to see the legacy of blacks and
slavery evoked incorrectly or to see someone using it for cheap PR point and
demean its importance. But when it is the president of the US doing it against
people of an African nation on a global stage it is outright shameful.
In
a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), President Barack Obama raised
the issue of human trafficking as a scourge that needs serious global
attention. In his speech, President Obama likened the current global human
trafficking situation to slavery.
President Obama said that he does not evoke the word slavery lightly but
to underscore the importance his administration places on human trafficking he
is compelled to do so.
Human
trafficking presents great challenges to humanity and is a subject that
requires urgent attention. However, President Obama's attention to it is
dubious, ill hearted and misleading designed to evoke actions against targeted
nations. President Obama said,
"I
recently renewed sanctions on some of the worst abusers, including North Korea
and Eritrea. We're partnering with groups that help women and children escape
from the grip of their abusers. We're helping other countries step up their own
efforts."
President
Obama is a legal scholar that understands the laws. Moreover, President Obama
took his family to the coasts of Ghana on a tour to understand the legacy of
slavery. As an Eritrean African American, it offended my sensibilities for
American president to throw a statement of this magnitude and sally the image
of people and nation for political expediency. It is outright blasphemy and
wrong.
President
Obama has used democracy, terrorism and humanitarian causes to further his
interventionist agendas in many parts around the globe particularly Africa.
This is the first time he evoked slavery.
It
is outrageous to demean good humanitarian causes by using it pursuit of
geopolitical agendas unrelated to the causes. It is also bad for the US long
term because it keeps stripping away any moral high ground on related causes
thus strip its leadership role.
President
Obama's mention of Eritrea has nothing to do with human trafficking. The
sanction he mentioned are based on fabricated grounds. The US has targeted
Eritrea for a long time. The Bush administration tried very hard to place
Eritrea on the List of Countries that Support Terrorism and the late Congressman
Donald Payne stopped them for it was groundless. In 2009, on Christmas Eve US
ambassador to the UN Ambassador Susan Rice pressured a sanction measure against
Eritrea and placed an arms embargo and denied Eritrea the right to self-defense
based on fabrication and by creating unfounded connection between Eritrea and a
militant group in Somalia. Tens of thousands of Eritreans came out to express
their outrage against Obama's decisions. In 2011, they fabricated yet another
story this time relating it to Djibouti based on fabrication in the most
lopsided process making a mockery of the UN.
There
is no government-sanctioned slave trade in Eritrea. There is no slavery in
Eritrea. Furthermore, President Obama has never been to Eritrea. But, if he is
to take his family to Massawa the port city of Eritrea, he will not find Cape
Coast Castle; he will see beautiful pristine beaches populated by Eritreans
from every corner around the globe. President Obama will not see the legacy of
slavery as he saw in Ghana. Instead, he will see a legacy of Eritrean gallantry
unmatched by any. He will see a country reeling from colonialism, World War II
and, Cold War legacies that debilitated the country. He will see Eritreans
rebuilding their infrastructures and rehabilitating communities that were
devastated by decades of US sponsored hardships. He will see Africans that have
taken ownership of their destiny.
The
human trafficking President Obama is referring to is not unique to Eritrea. To
single out Eritrea is wrong because it diminishes the cause and overlooks the millions
displaced and seeking refugee escaping from brutality by regimes the Obama
Administration props up. If the Obama Administration truly wants to address
human trafficking all he has to do is encourage the people of Africa to build
their countries and, encourage the youth to remain in their countries by
educational exchange programs, economic and cultural cooperation and bring the
people close to Americans genuinely. If President Obama wants to curb on human
trafficking genuinely he needs to stop his hyper-aggressive Africa policy that
is terrorizing Africans and work for justice, stability and economic stability
of the region.
It
is wrong for President Obama to use slavery as a cause celebre to further his
aggressive Africa agenda. When one talks of slavery, the thoughts that come up
are the hundreds of thousands traded in the Port of Alexandria, the men, women
and children torn apart from their families hunted by White slave traders. What President Obama is doing should outrage
Black Historians and Blacks all over.
President Obama would not dare compare anything to the Holocaust but he
concluded that the Eritrean American communities in the US will not be a threat
to his election bid so decided to brazenly mention in passing and incriminated
a nation and people brazenly.
Human rights, freedom and democracy are
not values espoused by the West only and should not be exploited for political
expediency.
Awetnayu_at_hotmail.com
Received on Fri Sep 28 2012 - 14:48:07 EDT
