News Archives

Don’t ignore Africa, pan-African president says

 


Don’t ignore Africa, pan-African president says

LINK: Click to open full size version of image
A UMNS photo by Erik Alsgaard

Tanzanian Ambassador Gertrude Mongella meets with (from left) the Rev. Charles Stith, the Rev. Chester Jones and Jim Winkler.
Nov. 16, 2004

By Erik Alsgaard*

WASHINGTON (UMNS) — Africa is the "continent of the future," and the United States should not ignore it, said the president of the new Pan-African Parliament, in a meeting with United Methodist leaders.

Gertrude Mongella, who is also ambassador from Tanzania, met for nearly two hours Nov. 11 with a small group of social justice and advocacy leaders in the United Methodist Church.

"Africa is going to be the continent of the future," Mongella said. "We are rich in both human and natural resources."

Despite that richness, she said, many people feel that the United States is ignoring Africa.

"It is very immoral to ignore people," she said. "You, the United States, cannot close your eyes to Africa."

The United States is very powerful, she said, noting that even in small villages of her home country, people were "engaged" in the recent U.S. presidential elections. "That doesn’t happen if you’re a nobody," she said.

"We are frightened about the U.S.," she continued. "What’s next? Will the U.S. march into Tanzania any time today? Or will they ignore us completely?"

While Mongella and the United Methodist leaders discussed Africa’s place in the world, they also addressed how the church can play a positive role in areas such as Sudan’s Darfur region or the Ivory Coast, which have been torn by violence.

"We had a chance to talk about what’s happening in the Ivory Coast and in the Sudan and all across Africa," said the Rev. Chester Jones, top staff executive with the denomination’s Commission on Religion and Race, after the meeting. "One of the things that becomes clear is that we, even as a church, need some kind of comprehensive plan and policy as we deal with issues around the continent of Africa."

The commission, along with the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, co-sponsored the ambassador’s visit.

Mongella, sometimes known as "Mama Beijing" for her role as chairwoman of the fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, met the group Nov. 11 in Washington at the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill.

Former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania and himself a United Methodist, the Rev. Charles Stith introduced Mongella. The goal of bringing her to the United States, he said, was to enable her to present the vision of the parliament. Mongella, born on the island of Ukewere in Lake Victoria in then-Tanganyika, has represented her country in a variety of national and international settings.

The Pan-African Parliament, an organization with 202 legislators from 41 of the 53 member states of the African Union, will have consultative and advisory powers in Africa, with the aim of evolving into an institution with full legislative powers. Mongella was elected its president March 18.

Mongella said that too often Africa is mentioned with a negative slant in the media.

"Is Africa a hopeless place?" she asked. "No, it is not, but we have learned to talk of Africa only in such terms."

Even Africans, she said, have grown tired of reading about themselves in purely negative tones. "People need to see the positive side of Africa," she said.

Jones agreed. "There are a lot of good things that are being done in Africa," he said. "The media’s going to print what the people are buying, so we really have to look for the positive news as we work toward the future."

One success story is United Methodist-related Africa University, with its impact on educating people across the continent, Jones said. He noted afterward that Mongella affirmed the school, based in Mutare, Zimbabwe.

"Education was the thing that she lifted up as being so important in terms of the continent of Africa, and we know that if we can’t educate our folks, we really cannot empower and liberate them," Jones said. "We’re grateful for what the church is doing in terms of working with the central conference bishops. We’re doing much more than we thought we were." The central conferences are regional units of the church in Africa, Europe and Asia.

"Getting everybody reading and writing is very important," Mongella said during the meeting. "But how do you make it effective and affordable?"

In the United States, items such as pencils and paper are taken for granted, she said, but in Africa they can be scarce commodities. The same goes for books.

"Physics is physics, either here (in the United States) or in Africa," she said, as an example. "And yet, we often have only one textbook for 50 children. Here, books are thrown away when they get tired or old. We could use those books."

Responding to a question about "brain drain," Mongella said it is better to have people educated than not. Africa must find ways to bring people back after they have been educated abroad, instead of having them move away from Africa, she said.

For Jones, the issues about education work both ways.

"We need, as a church, to become educated as to what the issues are in Africa," he said. "We can’t teach what we don’t know, and we can’t lead where we won’t go. It’s time for us to become educated about what the real issues are that are going to empower the people as we look to the future. I’m just grateful for the church and all that it does to help us do that."

Alsgaard is co-director of communications for the Baltimore-Washington Conference, and managing editor of its newspaper, UMConnection.

News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

Ask Now

This will not reach a local church, district or conference office. InfoServ* staff will answer your question, or direct it to someone who can provide information and/or resources.

First Name:*
Last Name:*
Email:*
ZIP/Postal Code:*
Question:*

*InfoServ ( about ) is a service of United Methodist Communications located in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 1-800-251-8140

Not receiving a reply?
Your Spam Blocker might not recognize our email address. Add this address to your list of approved senders.

Would you like to ask any questions about this story?ASK US NOW


Contact Us

This will not reach a local church, district or conference office. InfoServ* staff will answer your question, or direct it to someone who can provide information and/or resources.

Phone
(optional)

*InfoServ ( about ) is a ministry of United Methodist Communications located in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 1-800-251-8140

Not receiving a reply?
Your Spam Blocker might not recognize our email address. Add InfoServ@umcom.org to your list of approved senders.