Letter: Signs of hope in Africa's conflicts
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Your correspondent Richard Dowden, commenting on events in Rwanda ('A wound at the heart of Africa', 11 May), is highly pessimistic with good reason. It is difficult to be other than pessimistic where ethnic strife engulfs a nation. (Why do we always refer to ethnic conflicts in Africa, with pejorative overtones, as tribal conflicts?)
However, pessimism in relation to caring for refugees is less warranted. Africa has a large proportion of the world's refugees, and much experience in dealing with them. Many African countries have refugee populations from neighbouring states that would cause European countries to panic and throw up barriers to 'maintain security'. Though international assistance is important, local initiative and self-help is vital.
Anyone who has travelled recently in Malawi will know that, for a long time, one in 10 of the population of that country was
a refugee from Mozambique - about 1 million people. Travelling the road from Dedza to Zomba, which for many miles is literally a few yards from the border, the scene was instructive. On the western side, Mozambique, there were scarcely two bricks standing. Every building was destroyed. On the eastern side, Malawi, hundreds of thousands of refugees lived in neat, thatched, African housing which bordered the road for miles. While they were fed with assistance from aid agencies, their lives depended on self-help over the years that the war persisted.
Africa is not a continent lost in despair. There is hope, and from within the continent itself. We do Africa a disservice to present it only as a basket case.
Yours faithfully,
GEOFF SAUNDERS
Dorking,
Surrey
12 March
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments