I recall the often times that people would point to the tall buildings in Africa as evidence that Africans were and are not backwards tree dwellers. The thing was I never until recently asked
who was doing all that building. It is an important question when we look at Detroit or any other large black cities. Why is it that Detroit's black population was unable to retain the city which they rested political control of? It's easy to simply say, the white folks left. But really the issue is why did you not pick up where they left off? It's a fair question.
So going back to Africa look at this:
Mozambique's new national stadium, Estádio Nacional do Zimpeto, is on the outskirts of Maputo, not far from the Chinese-built international airport. The Chinese have also overseen the construction of the new parliament building and a new "Palace of Justice" in the last few years. The main institutions through which a sense of Mozambican national life is constructed — the laws of the nation, international departures and arrivals, and its most spectacular public moments of heroism — now take place in Chinese-built structures.
Why are the Chinese building African stadiums, court houses and airports?
No seriously.
Is anybody, anybody at all asking for Nigerians or whomever to come to their country and build anything?
No seriously.
How do you talk about being independent and cannot build your own fucking parliament building?
How do you field a national team for football and NOT be able to finance and build your own stadium?
Wouldn't you think that if you can't afford to, or have the knowledge to contract a stadium that maybe you have more pressing issues than football?
The impact of this most concrete form of soft diplomacy is difficult to assess in terms of hard cash. But there's little doubt about how it is supposed to work. For relatively small outlays — usually well short of $100 million — China constructs a sterile national arena that can be opened with long speeches and presidents in tailored suits kicking balls for the cameras, in return for sweetened access to natural resources, votes at the United Nations and the marginalization of Taiwan. Domestic politicians point to highly visible new infrastructure as evidence of their success as managers of the national development agenda; China and Chinese businesses gain, at the very least, an entrée into the highest circles of government.
Of course.
Here's a suggestion to the African so called "leadership". Pay Chinese (or whomever) to train YOUR people in the various skills and industries needed to build a stadium (including perhaps making the machinery as well) and then build the stadiums, airports, parliament buildings and courthouses yourself?
Similar advise for Detroit. Stop complaining about where the white folks went (and what they took with them) and build and maintain Detroit for and by yourselves. Why this total dependency on other people to do stuff they did for
themselves?
That is the question.
