Thoughts on paper

Jan 30th

I got a message from Ryan. He tells me that he reflects from time to time about his visit here, even when he’s surrounded by a Colorado winter. He saw a lot of things that are not pleasant and has posed a few questions that merit a little exploration. In fact, why is it that Europe and America pump so much money into Africa when it seems to cause as many problems at it helps?
I assume he’s referring primarily to Africa’s seemingly debilitating dependence on foreign aid. From where I stand, it seems like any major political, economic, or social institution in Burkina Faso is kept functional (if you can qualify it as functional) by a steady flow of dollars and euros. On a personal level, being accosted every day by grown men begging for change without the slightest hint of shame in their eyes elicits more anger than sympathy. It is believed to be a natural law here that white people have it all and they love to give, just ask. Being perceived as a giant free ATM can wear down even the most compassionate visitor. The real problem is that this mentality of dependence works against the self-sufficiency the aid is designed to produce. A malignant byproduct of good intentions. When I get the urge to react negatively to this bizarre racism, I remind myself that had I been born Burkinabe, I’d be trying to get my hands on that free money too. It sure beats at day in the fields or at the gold mine. I think its pretty safe to say that the donor countries are perfectly aware that they are not getting much bang for their buck, even if your average Joe Citizen can ignore the problems and ask no questions. So the question: Why do we do it when we see that its not working? Well I don’t consider myself a foreign policy expert (I’ve never picked up a book on the subject), but I am right here in the field and I have my observations.
I should preface my criticisms by admitting that it would be totally unfair to say the average citizen does not see any benefit from these ample aid packages. Countless lives have been saved by imported vaccinations and donated food surplus. I find a general sense of gratitude coming from the people here. Helping Africa meet its basic needs in the short term for food, clean water, and medicine is without a doubt a moral obligation of the developed world, especially when it costs so little. The reality of it all, and this is no big secret, is that only a tiny fraction of the money makes it past all the greedy hands that touch it along the way.
So we have all of these rich powerful countries handing over huge sums of money to these propped up African “democracies” in the hope that people will do the right thing and help their fellow man. I don’t believe it. No one is that gullible (except a peace corps volunteer). For this logic to work out there must be other political and economic forces at work, besides simple good will and amity. Again, I’m no economist, but I’ve found a lot of people here believe that in the end the whities (the French) somehow come out ahead. There is a conspicuous monopoly of French goods in every boutique. But I think it might e a little too cynical to say that foreign aid is another form of colonialism. I do notice some resentment when the Burkinabe talk about France. They LOVE America however (I’m pretty sure they tell me this because I am American). At any rate, this foreign money keeps these governments hobbling along, always being kept in line by their creditors. Not a very comforting thought, but I have to admit that a lot of these administrations need someone watching them closely. But this parent-child relationship takes its tools psychologically. The Ivoirians are pissed off right now, they just want everybody out of their country. But the UN cannot pull out because the country would descend quickly into civil war. And it is this type of complete dependence, which becomes a part of the social psyche that keeps Africa from trying to stand on its own two feet.
So what can be done differently to fix these problems? I don’t have all the answers, but I believe that higher standards of accountability and decentralization of power are going a long way towards getting more of the money to the people. Bani will be holding municipal elections for the first time ever in March. Having a transparent local government could go a long way towards lending credibility to the national. The villagers may not really understand democracy, but they damn sure love the idea. I could always go on about things I would like to see like free primary education, educational initiatives, and subsidized salaries for professionals, etc. But what is really missing is real leadership, because once that is found everything else will fall into place. To be honest, among all of the aid institutions working here, I think the missionaries do the best job. Not only is the church very generous when it comes to meeting basic needs, but they work to improve peoples’ quality of live in the long term by running some of the best schools in the country as well as other projects in almost all major development sectors. They work at every level from international to grassroots. Possible the most important is that they give people something to believe in.
Then there is the beloved Peace Corps, not fully tied to the American government, yet not an NGO, with a budget claiming no ambitions other than covering administrative costs and “salaries”. Sending educated idealistic Americans into tiny backwater African villages hoping that we can turn things around with people power and good intentions. We don’t rove around Africa in shiny SUV’s, and we don’t hand out any money that doesn’t come out of our $8 per diem. Its designed to tackle long term problems with sustainable solutions that come from resources within the community. The idea is rather inspiring, but the reality is just as sobering. Development is a slow process (on a two year scale), and the idea that transplanting someone into a community is going to catalyze some significant changes in behavior is quite an assumption. To carry the analogy further, a positive interaction is determined by the people involved as well as environmental conditions. Many time you end up with only a disillusioned American and a bunch of confused villagers wondering why their white person is “broken” because he/she isn’t giving away free money.

February 10th

It looks like I’m going to have to put my banking project on hold until after the municipal elections next month. I had a very encouraging meeting with the regional director of the Caisse Populaire. It seems that they had ben eying Bani as a promising site for a new branch for some time. He told me to organize some kind of town meeting so that he could come down and have a face to face with the people. Just a “causerie”, not an administrative meeting. I could attempt to do this myself, but in the interestes of empowerment, ability (do I speak Fulfulde?) and time constraints (lying to myself), I would rather the legwork be done by a community leader. I had chosen my prefecture friend, Kabore, for this task since it was his idea to begin with.
I’m pretty sure he wants to go ahead with it, but he is currently preoccupied with these upcoming elections. I don’t think he wants to invest his time and energy if he can’t take any of the credit. It’s just as well I suppose. Maybe it would be better to hold off on this until the local officials are elected, that could give the project a better chance of success. I do hope Kabore wins though, I’ve already established good relations with him. He did say something during our last conversation that made me cringe slightly. “If I become mayor, then we will see what the United States of America can do for me!”

Yes, we will see won’t we.

The cheese project has hit a supply barrier. Not enough milk. The majority is produced during the rainy season, so it looks like people just want to sell their milk while prices are favorable. No huge deal, Boly has bought himself a milking cow, which should produce enough for some good “R & D”.
Even without these projects on the front burner school is keeping me busy enough. The younger ones are starting to be a pain in the ass. I’m too nice to be a good disciplinarian, so they are starting to take advantage. I still fell I would have been better suited teaching at a higher level, but the Peace Corps has had problems in the past. But all in all my classes are going along.

February 17th (or 18th ?)

The Harmahtan winds kicked up yesterday, and I was reminded again that I live on the frontier of the Sahara Desert. There are no more sunrises or sunsets. Its around 8AM that the sun pierces through the thick haze of red dust that has enveloped the sahel. The sandstorms are intense. In 24 hours my house looks like its been gathering dust for 24 years. Its almost not worth cleaning. I never though I would have to really use my turban. Another annoying thing: Pens don’t work on dusty paper.