I expected exuberance for Barack Obama in East Africa. A son of the soil becoming President of the United States!
So I more or less took pan-African support for Obama for granted. Not so, it turns out, in Liberia.
Now, my poll is highly unscientific. Many of the Liberians I work with benefited from Bill’s generous policy towards Liberians in exile. But even the youth, taxi drivers, and waiters we’ve spoken to seem to prefer Hillary.
“I would be happy to see that Barack Obama as President,” said one waiter “but I would vote for the wife of Bill.”
“You know,” he continued, “her husband, he was good for Liberia. So I think she will be good for Liberia too.”
How, I wonder, was Bill good to Liberia? Certainly massive amounts of humanitarian aid arrived from America. And thousands of middle class Liberians found refuge in the U.S. during the war. But under Bill the war reached some of its worst proportions, and Charles Taylor eventually bullied his way to the Presidency. I am still searching for a satisfactory answer.
A senior member of the government, who’s lived for years in the U.S., tells me that he likes Hillary for Hillary. “She’s a determined lady. I like her.”
“But you know,” he continued, “I would normally vote Democrat. But if I had just Liberia’s interest in mind, I would have to go with Republicans. When they make a promise to Liberia, they keep it. With the Democrats, you never know.”
In his mind, the war, the ascendancy of Taylor, and the continued participation of former warlords in government have much to do with the unreliability of Democrats in foreign policy. Indeed, Bush’s policy towards Africa is widely considered one of the most consistent, generous, and effective in living memory. Under him Taylor was forced out and aid has increased. There’s a naval vessel stationed in the port right now delivering supplies and skills.
And there was, of course, the dancing.
In contrast, Bill’s fumbles in Somalia, Rwanda, and Liberia are not easily forgotten. And I don’t know that the sax goes down as well as dancing here.
But back to Hillary. Our waiter was moved to qualify his support. “Of course, I don’t know if a woman can really be President.”
“What?” exclaimed Jeannie, “your President is a woman.”
“Yes but, you know, we are just a small country. The U.S. is a very big one.”
Well, at least some things in African politics are predictable.
One Response
Many of my friends in Uganda also prefer Hillary. I’ve even seen ‘Hillary for President’ T-shirts in Kampala.
Bill and Hillary Clinton seemed to be able to connect on a personal level with Africans that the current administration and Obama have not.
Many Africans are incredibly cynical and suspicious of US Goverment activity in Africa. That explains why AFRICOM was unsuccessful in finding a home on the continent. Outsourcing the war in Iraq to Africans has also created resentment and bitterness. Military contractors have found an endless supply of eager and desperate Africans that will work in Iraq for a tiny fraction of what it would cost to hire an American. Some call that giving employment to the jobless. I call it exploitation!
Do not be fooled by the Bush administration’s generosity toward Africa. There are strings attached. Oil. Cheap workforce for Iraq. Allegiance of corrupt leaders. Aid to Africa does not give us the right to exploit them.
For whatever failures and foibles of the Clintons, they were viewed as genuine and sincere when in came to policies in Africa.