Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Today's Quote

Hi chidi
I simply meant each case is sui generis. Catalonia's push to separate from spain is grounded in issues of language and culture, a desire to affirm a regional identity that is, in fact, continuous with Catalans in france—like basques with a homeland that crosses borders and is linked to a longstanding linguistic difference. They must also feel they are getting a raw deal from the national govt.

Northern Ireland affiliates w protestant England (though protestant England couldn't give a damn about Protestantism in Ireland), and resents their former subordinates, catholics ruled by the Anglican English, now dominating in the south, fearing they'd lose their upper hand.

Eritrea saw itself overwhelmed by Ethiopia, with no desire to be joined to coptics, to lose their advantages of having a coastline, of losing their own regional autonomy into a country with several major languages and a longstanding culture quite different from their own.

Kurds, like the basque, spill across national borders, were promised a homeland at the crucial moment of the end of the ottoman empires, and were betrayed by the brits and u.s. in the interest of cultivating arab oil connections, anglo-arab corporation, u.s. esso, etc.

Isn't each case historically different? Biafrans had their own reasons, and if I start enumerating them, people would jump on my head for ignorance. But couldn't it have to do, in part at least, with anti-igbo sentiments generated in the north, at somewhat in the west; in having access to the oil resources; in linguistic and cultural, and religious, differences, esp between the muslim north and catholic east? Something like the state of Israel, a homeland for people being persecuted outside their homeland, and identifying with a strong ethnic identity? and in the process being willing to override other ethnic groups, living within the region, who might not have desired to live under an igbo hegemony?

Pakistan, not decided for themselves, but obeying the logic of a british determined partition grounded in religious separation, like east Pakistan, but also tied to ethnic differences between themselves and most hindi speaking Indians. Bangladesh separating as Bengalis, not Pashtun or punjabi, despite sharing religion w Pakistan.

Each case historically quite different.

What principle should we seek to embrace in considering all this? that each region (how to define its borders?) should have the right to determine whether to belong or not to a nation? To be self-determining, or not?
If that sounds crazy, have you ever looked at the Caribbean, each island doing precisely that, and a few, like Guadeloupe and Martinique, choosing to remain in the metropolitan country, Bermuda too, while others, most, became independent. And those partly in, partly out, like Puerto rico, changing over time.

Consider Quebec, free to vote for its independence, choosing not to. Quebec being radically different from the other examples, historically, geographically, and even culturally where most of their cultural and social life is not particularly different from the rest of Canada.

Lastly, politically, even morally, do we want war to settle these questions? If so, it is the rule of the most powerful: Russia takes over all of east Europe, forces crimea now to separate from the Ukraine; china takes over Tibet; the u.s. incorporates half of mexico into the u.s., from texas up to California….

Or the most absurd of wars, thatcher's war, the damn argentianian generals' self-serving war, the falklands.

What is wrong with these people, so willing to go to war for territorial dominion? Who will rule, as if the rule of today will prevail tomorrow. What if the americans, and French, and Vietnamese had settled their differences without war. Today Vietnam would probably look the same, regardless, and the 3-4 million people who died for nothing whatsoever would still be alive. And have grandchildren. The war, over a few generations, made absolutely no difference.

A better world for our children would not have nations, and if we still have them, they would not be allowed to establish borders by arms. One day that has to come.

I would recommend reading Maps by Farah.

ken



Kenneth Harrow
Dept of English and Film Studies
Michigan State University
619 Red Cedar Rd
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-803-8839
harrow@msu.edu
http://www.english.msu.edu/people/faculty/kenneth-harrow/

On 27/09/2017, 01:42, "Chidi Anthony Opara" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com on behalf of chidi.opara@gmail.com> wrote:

".....Biafra doesn't equal Kurdistan or catalonia"(Professor Kenneth Harrow).

Please elaborate.

CAO.

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