Greece had demonstrated that sovereignty still means something. It is now for Greece's creditors- the EU, IMF, and others to recognize and respect the free verdict of a majority of the Greek people. Greeks have suffered enough. International credit has not worked in Greece as was promised and it has not been for lack of trying by the Greeks. Hard negotiations on realistic and workable solutions will be necessary moving forward. International credit should support not stultify economic growth as seems to have been the case with Greece.
The assumption underlying the credit terms and conditions forced on Greece were so idealistic that they had to be impractical. Their ultimate rejection by the Greeks was always a matter of time. A good medical doctor should save not strangle their patient. It is okay for medicine to be bitter. It is not okay for it to worsen rather than relieve the state of health of the patient. The hope must be that all have learned from what seems to be International lenders' misadventure in Greece.
Could the Greeks' rejection of international credit terms and their government that accepted and enforced them have happened in an African or some other developing countries? I am inclined to say no. While elections are generally free and fair in Greece, it is much less so in many developing countries. Citizens in the countries do not have a real say in the important public affairs' decision-making in their countries. Elections are in many cases, periodic rituals that are intended to paint a picture of presumed normalcy that does not exist and was never intended to.
oa
-----Original Message-----
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Emeagwali, Gloria (History)
Sent: Friday, January 30, 2015 11:45 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - A slap in the face of Euro- SAP by the Greeks
In the 1980s, the belt-tightening, stringent monetarist program called SAP was deployed on various African countries. Many of us felt that the policy should have been rejected outright.
Students marched, journalists wrote articels, cartoonists sketched their views and artists their depictions. Academics wrote books, websites were created and all activists hoped
that the message and their voices would be heard. The basic point propounded was this:
Stringent, onerous austerity programs do not create wealth. They are only great for the bankers and lenders and are anti-people. They do not create employment but provoke endless lay -offs and the medicine usually kills the patient.
Indeed these 'progroms' hurt African countries in the 80s and 90s and some argue
that the ebola crisis of today in G,S & L was facilitated, in some ways, by health systems compromised by
war and SAPs.
Well although the model deployed on Greece was not as utterly severe as the one imposed on Africa and the Caribbean, it was still a nightmare for the population.
This week the Greeks took their future into their hands and rejected the onerous package. The electoral victory of Syriza gave the new government a mandate to reject the monetarist package and poisonous brew that the Troika (ECB, IMF and EC) had deployed.
Congrats to Syriza and the Greeks for challenging the monetarist orthodoxy.
Professor Gloria Emeagwali
History Department
CCSU. New Britain. CT 06050
africahistory.net
vimeo.com/user5946750/videos
Gloria Emeagwali's Documentaries on
Africa and the African Diaspora
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