Only it's not a standard western. It's Africa. Extended drought is pitting ranchers against farmers as both vie for control of the remaining arable land.
In mid-October, people in the central Nigerian village of Nkyie Doghwro desperately sought shelter in a schoolhouse. Yet they did so in vain. Ultimately, 29 of them lost their lives; the victims of an ongoing conflict between ranchers and farmers in the region. Over the last 15 years more than 60,000 people have died in this forgotten conflict – almost four times as many as have been killed by the terror group Boko Haram.
Conflict between ranchers and farmers is a classic motif in Hollywood westerns. But conflict is also very much part of everyday life in many African nations – and the reality of it is far more brutal than that which is portrayed on the silver screen. Such conflict becomes unavoidable when ranchers seek new pastures after traditional grazing lands dry up, just as it does when climate change forces farmers to plant in areas where cattle had previously been herded.
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In 2012, several agencies within the United States' intelligence community prepared a report that predicted: "Many countries that are of strategic importance to the USA will suffer water shortages or flooding over the next 10 years." The report added that such situations would increase the risk of instability or even lead to failed state status as well as contributing to regional conflict.
.. one is left curious & concerned which African regions or countries are of strategic importance (and why) to the USA.. Are they as strategic to Canada ? I would ask the same questions regarding on a more global stage.. Pakistan and India.. China' France? Spain? Mongolia? North Koreas for sure. Drought means you end up eating your cattle, goats, pigs, oxen, poultry, even dogs and horses as you cannot feed or water them.. yes.. right down to the last breeding and milk producing stock. From there, peoples migrste.. first to local town or village.. then larger urban centres for support. They move towards food and water.. survival
ReplyDeleteI've been following America's involvement in Africa for years. The first posts on this blog go back to 2007 when the Pentagon's overtures were initially rebuffed by African heads of state who would have then been well aware of all the goodness America had brought to Afghanistan and Iraq. For some time, AfriCom had to be based in Germany which speaks for itself.
ReplyDeleteGradually the Americans got a toe hold in the Dark Continent and its been Sturm und Drang ever since. Africa today holds a much greater strategic significance. In the north, Islamist extremism has spread all the way west past Morocco. In the rest of the continent China is establishing a diplomatic and economic presence and working to bring Africa into its sphere of influence.
China is, of course, looking to sew up mineral rights but it also views Africa as a source of invaluable food stuffs for its people at home. The Europeans have done that same thing for decades.
China is, of course, looking to sew up mineral rights but it also views Africa as a source of invaluable food stuffs for its people at home. The Europeans have done that same thing for decades.
ReplyDeleteYet the USA seems to see Africa as a military strategic issue, as usual!
TB