Main » 2009»May»11 » Africans in the Diaspora and the Obama Administration
Africans in the Diaspora and the Obama Administration
19:54
In an earlier article
I indicated that, contrary to worldwide expectations — especially in
Africa— President Barack Obama would spend a considerable portion of
his first term in office addressing domestic economic problems. In the
same article, I maintained that Obama could make his mark on Africa by
taking specific steps to address the continent's development needs. One
of the most intriguing possibilities for the Obama administration is
the unlimited potential to mobilize and engage Africans in the Diaspora
for that purpose.
Who are Africans in the Diaspora? This is not a trivial question. Considerable controversy exists over
the definition of Africans in the Diaspora However, the African Union,
through an independent continental meeting of experts, concluded that:
"The African Diaspora consists of peoples of African origin living
outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and
nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the
continent and the building of the African Union." The African Union
also tacitly designated Africans in the Diaspora as the organization's
"sixth" region.
In 2004, I noted with some colleagues in
another article that the Diaspora includes black populations in North
America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. A former top official
of the United Nations in 2006 discussed the "old" Diaspora, consisting
of individuals and families "involuntarily" taken from their homelands
in Africa to the Western Hemisphere more than 250 years ago. The "new"
Diaspora is comprised of individuals and families who "voluntarily"
moved to the West, post-World War II. Developing an African Diaspora Agenda in the United States In developing an effective agenda, Obama will have to deal with two
operational issues. First, his administration will have to address the
domestic needs of the Diaspora population in the United States so that
they can effectively advocate and mobilize to aid in Africa's
development. Second, ways will have to be found to understand and deal
with the Diaspora's concerns relating to Africa. These two distinct,
operational issues are at the core of past failures to mobilize
Diaspora communities for African development issues. The Obama administration will have to set the machinery in motion to
simultaneously meet the domestic priorities of African-Americans,
Afro-Latinos and African immigrants and take specific steps to address
their long-term concerns for development issues in Africa. The Diaspora
community will have to make strides on domestic issues by gaining
better access to education opportunities and facilities for their
children, quality and timely health services, financial credit and
housing finance facilities, rural farming services, strategic
decision-making positions in government, small and medium business loan
services, and by providing protection from environmental degradation
and brown fields. Along with attempts to improve the quality of life of Diaspora
communities in the United States there is a need to conduct a robust
White House inter-agency review of United States policies and programs
in Africa. This review should extend to all government departments and
agencies with four principal objectives:Establish current policies and programs on Africa, from executive action decisions to legislation and implementation plans.Determine potential gaps in current policies and programs on Africa and present scenarios for fixing those that are identified.Provide a blueprint outlining the parameters of an integrated and
comprehensive inter-agency United States strategy, policy and programs
for Africa.Present a roadmap on how Diaspora members can play specific,
verifiable roles in the implementation of the United States strategy,
policies and programs in Africa. The review should include public, private and civil society
technical representatives as well as Diaspora organizations. It should
also include staff members from Congress, members of the U.S. Foreign
Service, current and former ambassadors to Africa, as well as
think-tank and academic subject matter experts. Upon the completion of
the review, the Obama administration should organize regional meetings
with Diaspora organizations and other interested entities to discuss
the blueprint and how best to implement the proposed activities. Once feedback is received from stakeholders around the country, the
administration should refine the United States strategy, policies and
programs for Africa, where applicable. With a refined plan a White
House conference on Africa should be organized. White House Conference on Africa The proposed White House conference should focus on three
objectives. First, it should review the United States strategy,
policies and programs on Africa to ensure that they meet both national
strategic interests and the development priorities of Africa. Second,
opportunities should be provided for government, private and civil
society representatives from Africa to give insights and input on
development priorities in the continent and how best to address them.
Third, operational modalities could be developed on how Diaspora
communities can play specific roles in the implementation of the
strategies, policies and programs in Africa. Four specific "Achilles heels" of Diaspora issues should be
addressed, including the need to better organize the activities of
Diaspora organizations; the need to strengthen continental and regional
institutions in Africa so that technical expertise from the Diaspora
could be better channeled to meet development priorities; the need to
address the sometimes cat-and-mouse relationship between Diaspora
organizations and governments of some African countries, especially in
the areas of human rights, political plurality, economic freedom and
governance reforms; and lastly the need to address upfront the
potential conflicting priorities between "old" and "new" Diaspora
communities. The White House conference should conclude with broad outlines of
monitoring and evaluation benchmarks, which should be reviewed and
released publicly on a regular basis. The gathering should take place
at least once every four years to provide credible, bipartisan, and
transparent opportunities to review the United States policies toward
Africa. Conclusion President Obama, as the first African-American leader of the United
States, carries a special global burden of not only ending the American
recession but also leading the way in dealing with global economic
woes. The son of a Kenyan father, he has the weight of extraordinary
expectations among Africans in the Diaspora, and in Africa. The Obama
Administration should create verifiable avenues for Diaspora members to
actively participate in the implementation of United States policy to
Africa. In a forthcoming article, I will address specific technical and
operational areas where the Diaspora can have a major impact on
Africa's development.
Category: U.S. |
Views: 736 |
Added by: politic
| Rating: 0.0/0 |
In an earlier article
I indicated that, contrary to worldwide expectations — especially in
Africa— President Barack Obama would spend a considerable portion of
his first term in office addressing domestic economic problems. In the
same article, I maintained that Obama could make his mark on Africa by
taking specific steps to address the continent's development needs. One
of the most intriguing possibilities for the Obama administration is
the unlimited potential to mobilize and engage Africans in the Diaspora
for that purpose.