Are we scared of the Third World?

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In the 15th-16th century, part of Congo-Brazzaville was under the Portuguese. There was an "independent" kingdom named Kongo---but the Portuguese were overseers. Then the Portuguese were expelled.

Some of the early slave trade came from this region. A little later, West Africa became the focal point of the slave trade.

Life is a little easier in Congo-Brazzaville than Congo-Kinshasa. They both have the same problems: poverty, disease, occasional civil wars, etc. And both have much corruption; bribes are a part of life. For a time, one couldn't travel the railroad in Congo-Brazzaville without being set upon by robbery gangs known as Ninjas.

The people of Congo-Brazzaville think of the people of Congo-Kinshasa as being arrogant.

You seem to know a bit. Have you been to Africa before?

I have been reading up a bit on the countries Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the DRC quite a bit but most of the continent seems alien to me.

Is their any country there that interests you in particular?

Nope...never been to Africa, but want to go some day.

Ghana is a fascinating country, with lots of history. It is considered "Africa Lite" because it's a relatively prosperous country (though they have typical "African" problems, too).

Mali, too. The Dogons are fascinating, and there's Muslim scholarship there, too. You should read about Timbuktu.

And, the Congo region. You should Google "Congo River Boat Tour," and see what you find.

In fact, the Federal government has money to offer them, but they won't take it on principle, and I can see why ... They would prefer to have their land back.

Meanwhile, they freeze and starve to death. There are ways to help, thing is, Pine Ridge is virtually invisible ... very few know about it.

Just googled them in images. Are they those floating markets where people sell produce?

I've always been a fan of Ghana.
A distant relative of mine was a missionary priest there for 50 years.
He would return to the States every few years and tell us about life there.
He wanted to retire to Accra, Ghana,
but had cancer so was finally made to come back to the USA for medical treatment.

Ghana is quite a Christian place, actually. Strong Christianity, and strong "animist"-type religion, too.

Even their tro-tros (minivans) bear names like "Jesus loves you," and that ilk.

Too bad your friend had to come back for medical treatment.


As for the floating markets in the Congo. Yep. Most definitely. They sell things we would find shocking---like monkey meat. In order to make a living, the local people have to risk their lives adhering their pirogues (canoes) onto the larger market boats with a rope. It's not easy. Sometimes, in the process, the pirogues capsize; once in a while, somebody drowns as a result.

Sounds like a grim life. What about Mali?

It really depends upon the part of Mali we're talking about.

Most of Mali, even out of the desert, is a pretty dusty place. The winters are not so hot and dry---but the dry season is REALLY DRY AND HOT. There is a rainy season in the southern part of Mali; none really as you go north into the Sahara.

Mali is quite a poor country in general; but its citizens, for the most part, are able to earn some sort of living. They are very resourceful. They do things their way. Agriculture is a mainstay. Tourism is, too, in certain parts.

There are many places in Mali where tourists flock. Dogon Country is especially popular. Places like Djenne and Gao used to be popular; but the security situation for both places is pretty dire; sometimes, you are required to be accompanied by a convoy of military vehicles because of the risk of banditry.

The north of Mali is also meant to be very war torn not a place I would visit.

How is the South, is it stable also do you know much about the recent history?

I have read a bit about Mali. During the Medieval Empire it was a very prosperous influential country. Songhai I know very little about, but seems one of the most interesting countries in history I have come across. Their system struck me as brutal and I always thought their policies were pretty terrible and downright suicidal in the long term. By being a slave empire they allowed European powers to grow in strength and eventually destroy them. A very strong class system also persisted there, a small elite and a large slave population, this is why in part they feel so quickly to Morocco.

i think that there are 2 factors in people's reluctance to consider the third world suffering.

1. people do not wish to seem hypocritical in decrying the circumstances of extreme poverty whilst they are living a comfortable existence. the only way for any conscientious objector to seem genuine is if they surrender their assets and money to infuse the lot of the starving with "hope".
so the ideal world according to the poorest is for everyone to throw their entire financial savings and their properties into a world wide "pot" and for that wealth of the globe to be equally distributed among all.

this would result in borderline poverty for all.


2. we are scared of the third world's desolate conditions, and while we try to voice our disapproval, that does not extend to joining into that poverty.

the wealthiest people can buy gratitude by contributing 1% of their superlative fortune to charity.
wow....(sarcasm (i do not use emoticons)) it does make a difference in some ways but the benefactor's way of life would not be significantly affected in any way.

the only thing that may sustain the present population of the earth in satisfaction of their needs and desires is to find a way to provide free and unlimited energy to everyone on earth.

then the starving ethopians (for example) can build desalination plants that require no funding to operate, and suk in the ocean and supply fresh water irrigation to all their currently barren lands.

so many other things too. landlocked countries could construct pipelines for only the cost of the pipes rather than the energy required to build them.

no-one should be able to "own" energy. the world is held to an imposing ransom and they pay exorbitantly for the energy they use, and while it is the payments that enable the continued supply of that energy, "that" energy is provided by companies that buy patents for free energy for un-refusable prices, else be eliminated by other means.

anyway i was going to talk about terraforming is better done on earth than on mars (due to the absence of a magnetic field there that deflects the solar wind from constantly eroding the atmosphere as we try to produce it ( a monumental task beyond any capacity we can invest),..........

but there is a story on the news now that a 600m wide asteroid is going to pass within 1.8 km of the earth tomorrow according to the news, which i now know must be wrong since that is only about 10,000 feet up, and that would be a catastrophic event, or do they mean the outer edge of the frictional atmosphere we have, any way that is off topic.
i just have to go and look it up now. it freaks me out a bit.

sorry the news was wrong and it is 1.8 million kilometers at the closest approach. no worries.

Do any of you know much about Liberia and Sierra Leone?

In the last couple of years I have met two guys from Sierra Leone. One a husky round faced guy with light skin, but Black features. The other a wiry guy with a narrow bony face and projecting nose (very Arab looking in features), but with coal black skin. Interesting, but contrasting, specimens both.

The first guy was part of the staff of Mom's assisted living home. He showed mom and I many pics of his homeland. Sierre Leone (a small country on the Atlantic coast) could be mistaken for a Caribbean island from the many lovely tropical beach scenes in his pics.

The other guy is a coworker. He is from a muslim family in a village in Sierre Leone, but has lived all over Britain and the US, and coaches local Washington DC teens in soccer. We have talked about his muslim parents,back in his home village. We had an interesting conversation about current cultural clashes within the Muslim community in Sierre Leone itself. Folks have been Muslim for centuries there, but recently some go to madras schools in Pakistan in come with militant Wahabist notions indoctrinated into them in Pakistan that clash with the laid back type local take on Islam in Sierre Leone. My buddy said "the Koran says 'dress modestly'. It doesnt say 'cover your whole body in a sack from head to toe!! !!' Thats crazy stuff".