The Harry and Berniece Gockel International Symposium April 13 and 14, 1998 Webster Auditorium Missouri Southern State College Joplin, Missouri

Africa: A Safari in Words

 

A safari to Africa by words begins at the traditional European gateway of Morocco, described as a trekker's paradise with four magnificent ranges of the Atlas mountains. Morocco also harbors the urban adventures of Fes and Marakesh, cities that were said to entrance the soul with their serpentine alley-ways and arabesque skylines. This is NORTHWESTERN AFRICA: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Western Sahara. Most of the peoples of the region are Arabic- speaking Muslims whose ancestors came from the Middle East. The region was part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire until the 1830s, and then it was ruled by France, Italy, and Spain until the various nations gained independence in the mid-1900s.

Just south of Morocco begins the world's largest desert, the vast and imposing Sahara which virtually dominates all of Northwestern Africa. Its scorching sand and rocks harbor daytime temperatures up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, freezing nights, and years on end without rain. Yet, some amazing animals, such as the fennec fox, have adapted to survive the conditions and inhabit the desert. For centuries, the Sahara was the lifeline for bringing goods from the southern interior of Africa. Today the desert is expanding at an alarming rate. Land at its edges is overgrazed and gradually turning to dust.

Morocco is a popular tourist destination and tourism is vital to its economy as are agriculture and phosphate production. The main issues facing Morocco are said to be Islamic fundamentalism and the undecided fate of Western Sahara.

Western Sahara is a desert region south of Morocco with a population of about 200,000. Since 1976, Morocco has been fighting a war for control of the region and its valuable mineral resources. Moroccans are opposed by the Polisario, a guerrilla force of desert tribesmen who want complete independence for Western Sahara.

Algeria is the second largest country in Africa. Its economy is dependent on its oil and gas reserves which come from large deposits in the Sahara desert. Algeria supplies both France and Spain with gas.

Tunisia is Northwestern Africa's smallest country and was, in the fourth century B.C., at the heart of the ancient empire of Carthage. Later it became part of the Roman Empire. Once a leading exporter of oil and gas, Tunisia today relies more on textiles and agricultural products. The country is one of the world's leading producers of calcium phosphates, and in agriculture its chief crops are cereals, such as wheat and barley, citrus fruits, grapes, figs, dates, and olives. Tunisia is the world's fourth largest producer of olive oil.

Libya is home to some of the finest Roman ruins in North Africa and during its long history has been part of the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, and Ottoman empires. Oil makes up 99 percent of the nation's exports, and since the discovery of oil in 1959 Libya has been transformed from a poor to a wealthy nation.

Next in the "web safari" is a tour of NORTHEASTERN AFRICA which includes Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, the latter four being among the poorest nations in the world. The boundaries that create these countries are of colonial days, and the people that inhabit the countries and the nomadic herders take little notice of the borders as they travel in search of pastures for their animals. Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea have been devastated by wars for the last few decades. In fact. Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after a 20-year civil war. Somalia is still torn apart by civil war which has resulted in widespread famine. In Sudan conflict continues between the Arabic-speaking Muslims of the north and the Africa, non-Muslim peoples of the south. A major famine swept through Ethiopia in 1984-1985, and all these nations are responsible for many of the contemporary images Americans have of Africa.

Egypt is known for its pyramids, the Sphinx, Cairo, and its place in biblical history. Sudan, the largest country in Africa, is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. Its capital is Khartoum, famed in history. Ethiopia is a nation of poverty and refugees but rich in its own unique traditions. Somalia gained independence from Italy in 1960, but the country has yet to achieve peace. Djibouti became independent in 1977 and its importance lies in its port and capital city, also called Djibouti, which provides almost all of the nation's income. Eritrea, also once an Italian colony, is working to rebuild its shattered economy.

West Africa once was home to the great civilizations of the Ashanti and Mali. Then gold was discovered, and Europeans flocked here and by the 1880s had colonized most of this vast region. It is a region rich in oil, gold, timber, and other natural resources, but it is a region of 15 mostly poor nations¾ Mauritania, Niger, Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Burkina, Togo, Nigeria, and Benin.

Mauritania is called "one of the emptiest countries in the world." The country in area is twice the size of Spain but has a population less than the city of Madrid. Its people are leaving the countryside to live in cities since two-thirds of the country is covered by the Sahara and only the land along the Senegal River is suitable for farming. The economy depends on phosphates, copper, gold, and other minerals.

Niger is completely surrounded by other countries, has few natural resources except uranium, and most of its eight million people live in the semi-desert Sahel region. Although uranium brought in considerable wealth during the 1980s, most of the residents are poor, earning their living herding flocks or growing crops in the few fertile parts of the country.

Mali is a poor country where most of its ten million people earn a living from farming or herding cattle. Mali is famous for one city in particular: Timbuktu, whose name became a byword as the most inaccessible of cities. The legendary city on the banks of the Niger River, rising up on the gold and ivory trade that was to make it the wealthiest city in Africa, achieved fame because of its position on the trade route across the Sahara, and it became famous as a major center of Islamic learning.

For many centuries much of what Europeans knew about Africa came from the 1526 writings of a man who had been given the name Johannis Leo de Medici. He had been born El Hasan ben Muhammed el-Wassan-ez Zayyati in the Moorish city of Granada in 1485 but was expelled along with his parents and thousands of other Muslims by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492. The family settled in Morocco, he studied in Fes, and as a teenager accompanied his uncle on diplomatic missions throughout Northern Africa and to the sub-Saharan kingdom of Ghana. He was captured by Christian pirates and given as an exceptionally learned slave to the Renaissance pope Leo X who renamed him a de Medici and commissioned him to write in Italian the story of Africa. It was this work which formed the basis of Europeans' knowledge of the continent for centuries to come. He had visited Timbuktu when it was somewhat past its peak but it was still a thriving Islamic city noted for its learning. Of the city he wrote:

". . . . In the center of the city is a temple built of stone and mortar, built by an architect named Granata and in addition, there is a large palace, constructed by the same architect, where the king lives. The shops of the artisans, the merchants, and especially weavers of cotton cloth are very numerous. Fabrics are also imported from Europe to Timbuktu, borne by Berber merchants. . . . The inhabitants are very rich, especially the strangers who have settled in the country. . . . There are in Timbuktu numerous judges, teachers and priests, all properly appointed by the king. He greatly honors learning. Many hand-written books imported from Barbary are also sold. There is more profit made from this commerce than from all other merchandise. . . .The people of Timbuktu are of a peaceful nature. They have a custom of almost continuously walking about the city in the evening (except for those that sell gold) between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., playing musical instruments and dancing. . . ."

Yet today Mali is known for its cultural wealth, which may be most visible in the masterful artwork of its native people, the Dogon. They, however, have gained fame for totally astonishing astronomical discoveries well before 3000 B.C. The Dogon over centuries have demonstrated an extraordinary knowledge of the system of the stars Sirius A [i.e. Sirius, the Dog Star], Sirius B, and a possible Sirius C. The Dogon, further, maintained that Jupiter has four moons (not correct, however), that Saturn is encircled by a series of halo-like rings, that the planets orbit the sun, that the Earth is round, and that it rotates upon its own axis. They even spoke of the galaxy of stars, the Milky Way, as being spiral in shape. Yet they had no telescopes and all their ideas were contrary to the simple mythologies and beliefs of their time and of centuries to come.

Senegal was once an important part of French West Africa and still maintains close ties with the French. Among the mix of ethnic groups such as the Wolof and Mandinke, there are still many French inhabitants. The chief occupations are farming and fishing, and poverty can be found in its capital city of Dakar alongside expensive restaurants and hotels.

Gambia was carved out of Senegal, has a population of 900,000, has English as its official language, and at its widest point measures only 50 miles. Peanuts are a major crop in the agricultural economy.

Guinea, once a French colony, is a fertile, hilly country rich in minerals and has perfect weather conditions for growing many crops. It is, however, one of the poorest nations in the world in which citizens have a life expectancy of 44 years, there is one doctor for every 50,000 people, and the adult literacy rate is 27 percent.

Guinea Bissau, once ruled by Portugal, is very poor and heavily dependent on financial aid from other countries. Most people scrape a living from agriculture, and timber and fishing are also important.

Sierra Leone is another of the poorest nations in the world. Life expectancy is 42 years; the literacy rate is 24 percent, and three-quarters of its people make their living from small-scale farming. The region was colonized by the British in 1787 and they created a settlement for freed African slaves. That's how the capital city, Freetown, got its name.

Liberia has never been colonized. It became an independent country in 1847. It is, thus, the oldest independent republic in Africa. Thousands of freed American slaves settled here and gave it the name Liberia, which means "freed land." Since 1990, Liberia has suffered from civil war, and the economy has virtually collapsed.

Ivory Coast has the reputation as being one of the most politically and economically stable nations on the continent. A former French colony, it has retained strong ties with France since its independence in 1960. For 33 years, until his death in 1993, Felix Houphouet- Boigny was the only president Ivory Coast had. Ivory Coast is a fairly prosperous country. It has been the world's leading cocoa grower, is Africa's biggest coffee producer, and grows immense amounts of pineapples and bananas.

Ghana was the first black African nation to gain its independence from its colonial rulers, doing so in 1957. It is a nation with great promise and possibilities, but years of unstable government, low earnings from exports, and bad management of the economy have hindered Ghana's development. Its many riches include fertile farmland, reserves of gold, bauxite, and oil, and a young population that is among the best educated in Africa. The literacy rate is at 63 percent. The official language is English although more than 50 different ethnic groups live in Ghana, each with its own language and traditions.

Burkina Faso is a landlocked nation which also can claim the title of being one of the world's poorest nations. The adult literacy rate is 20 percent; life expectancy is 48 years; the country is at constant risk from drought; there are few cities and most people live in village, making a living from farming and herding. The country is so poor that one-third of the workforce must go abroad to find jobs. The country is very dependent on foreign aid.

Togo lies between Senegal and Benin. It also is very poor. Its chief export has been phosphates but the changes in world phosphate prices has seriously damaged the nation's economy. Despite its poverty, however, the country produces nearly all of its own food. The capital city is Tome, one of the major ports of West Africa.

Nigeria has 88 million people, the largest population of any African nation. It is also one of the best educated populations in Africa. Crippled by huge debts incurred in civil wars, Nigeria struggles to modernize its industry and agriculture. It is seeking to diversify its production instead of relying on oil, as it once did.

Benin was originally called Dahomey, taking the name Benin in 1975. Since gaining its independence from France in 1960 it has had a series of military governments and has been a one-party state. In 1991 it became the first African nation to move from one-party rule to a multi-party democracy. It is a poor nation with a growing economy based on agricultural products.

CENTRAL AFRICA is fertile with steaming rain forests clustered around the Equator and the mighty Congo River snakes its way through Congo and the Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). Countries range from prosperous Cameroon to the Central African Republic which has been crushed by poverty and harsh dictatorships. Other nations are: Equatorial Africa, Chad, Sao Tome and Principe, and Gabon.

Cameroon is a relatively stable, prosperous nation which has used money earned from oil exports to develop its economy. Natural resources include bauxite, iron, and gold, and there is an expanding timber industry. There are extensive forests, and mahogany, ebony, and teak are exported.

Central African Republic has an unstable economy, endured a 14-year reign of terror followed by a military dictatorship which ended in 1993, when multiparty elections were held, suffers from prolonged droughts in part of the C.A.R., and is one of the poorest places in the world. A large part of the country's income is from diamonds but there is potential for developing other industries since gold, uranium, copper, and iron ore are also found here. These mines, however, are in areas where heavy seasonal rains cause flooding of the mines.

Equatorial Africa is a tiny, beautiful country which includes five islands and which endured a brutal dictatorship during the 1970s. The current, more moderate government is working hard to rebuild the economy. Hampering efforts are an unskilled workforce and the lack of good roads.

Chad is the site of frequent droughts, and these are ruinous to the economy which is based on agriculture. Politically Chad is unstable and recent decades have seen a series of military coups and civil wars.

Sao Tome and Principe are volcanic islands lying off the coast of Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The islands were ruled by Portugal until 1975. When the Portuguese first landed on these islands in the 1400s, no one was living there. Soon a population was built of slaves imported from the mainland. Today one of the main groups of people combine both African and Portuguese ancestry and have created a "creole" culture. The population of 117,000 make a living from farming and fishing, and cocoa remains a vital crop.

Gabon sits astride the Equator. Three-quarters of the nation is covered with tropical rain forest, and timber is a major industry. Oil, however, is the biggest earner. Wasteful management under a one-party rule after independence was achieved in 1960 made Gabon a poor nation; in 1990 Gabon became a multiparty democracy.

Congo is one of the richest countries in Africa because of its oil reserves. Money from oil has been invested in dams, paper mills, transportation systems, and reforestation.

Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) is one of the poorest nations in the world. Constant civil wars, a former harsh dictatorship, and falling prices for its products are to blame. Mining would seem to hold the key to its economic future, for there are vast seams of copper, cobalt, gold, uranium, silver, and diamonds.

CENTRAL EAST AFRICA is marked by dramatic highlands, volcanic mountains, gorges, and vast lakes running through the region from Uganda in the north to Malawi in the south. The countries of the region are Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia.

Uganda, prior to independence in 1962, was referred to by Winston Churchill as "the Pearl of Africa." Then came Idi Amin and his reign of terror and corruption, followed by another seven years of disruption after his overthrow. In 1986 the new government began to restore peace and to rebuild the economy and reestablish democracy.

Rwanda has been in the news since 1993 because of ethnic wars, and it is, as a result, one of the poorest nations in the world.

Burundi and Rwanda once formed one country until independence in 1962. Today Burundi struggles to cope with huge numbers of refugees from Rwanda.

Kenya has been stable and relatively democratic since independence from Britain in 1963. Kenya is one of Africa's richest countries, producing crops such as coffee and tea for export and welcoming tourists to its vast game reserves. Kenya has one of the world's fastest growing populations.

Tanzania was created in 1964 when the mainland country of Tanganyika and the island of Zanzibar united. Much poorer than neighboring Kenya, Tanzania is one of the least urbanized countries in Africa.

Malawi is one of the most stable countries in this region of Africa. Its six major tribal groups live together peacefully. Its principal industry in agriculture, but the government is trying to encourage related industries, such as food processing and cooking oil manufacture.

Zambia is the world's fourth largest producer of copper, and the country's economy depends almost entirely upon this industry. The country is less affected by ethnic conflicts than many African nations.

SOUTHERN AFRICA has eight countries, all once governed by European settlers and most endured years of vicious warfare. The eight countries are: Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, and Lesotho.

Angola has been torn apart by civil war since 1975. Few parts of the country have been unaffected by the fighting which has killed or injured thousands of people and reduced the nation to poverty. Potentially it should be one of the most successful African nations because of rich, fertile farmlands and huge oil and mineral deposits.

Botswana is one of Africa's real success stories. With the discovery of diamonds in 1967 and the development of vast cattle ranches, it has become one of the fastest growing economies in the world and it enjoys a stable, democratic government.

Namibia is rich in minerals and other natural resources. Originally a German colony, it was governed by its neighbor South Africa from 1915 until independence in 1990.

Zimbabwe has one of the most diverse and successful economies in Africa. However, ethnic tensions and the constant threat of drought hinder development.

Mozambique has become one of the poorest nations in the world due to years of civil war, drought, and flooding. The land, however, is rich and fertile and its mineral resources have been largely untouched so far, so the future could be bright.

South Africa has had a history of apartheid, and now that the system is being dismantled under the presidency of Nelson Mandela, the nation is resuming full international relations with nations which had shunned it. Mandela is the first black president of the nation.

Swaziland is a kingdom and is dominated by its neighbor, South Africa, relying on it for much of its wealth and energy supplies.

Lesotho is entirely surrounded by South Africa. It is a mountainous kingdom. Its chief resource is water, and a huge hydroelectric power plant will eventually supply all of Lesotho's energy needs as well as vast amount of water for South Africa.

And finally, there are two other nations which most regard as part of Africa: Madagascar and Mauritius.

Madagascar lies off the east coast on Africa, and because of its isolation is home to many unique plants and animals. Most residents scratch out a living by farming, and the chief export is vanilla.

Mauritius is an island east of Madagascar and is home to one million people.

Seychelles with its 68,000 people, an "island paradise," and Comoros, another island, with 600,000 people, are also considered by some "African." So, also Maldives, a coral atoll with 200,000 people.

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