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sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
4.0
‘Mercy to guilty is cruelty to the innocent.'
-Adam Smith
Slavery, Apartheid, Colonalism … What are the oppressed to do once the oppression has stopped and they becomes judges of oppressors? The question was a big one for Africa – with social reforms like those relating to the death of apartheid in South Africa. How are Natives to treat the white population who has enjoyed the benefits of the oppression?
The question is a lot more difficult than it may appear. When those crimes against humanity were committed, they weren’t still crimes in eyes of law. So, they can’t be punished unless a law with retrospective effect was passed.
Soyinka is sure that Africa must answer the question for herself. He doesn’t want to let West, the original source of much of the oppression, be involved. And when question is of political liberty within Africa, the Diaspora in West is also to be excluded, because they aren’t connected enough with their African roots.
Assuming a civilized society, revenge is out of question. While it might appeal emotionally to people who have faced centuries of oppression, the actions are always scored at later on. And everything done in name of vengeance on such times boils down to some opportunists involved in disgusting crimes for personal advantages.
And assuming an intelligent population, the idea of forgetting everything is out of question. How do one create such a mass amnesia in first place! Soyinka is very particular on this point. He appeals to African governments, to not destroy the documents about oppression of their people, even if they are about times one can't remember without pain. Those who don’t remember history…..
Then there is famous forgiveness. Forgiveness should be a matter of personal choice; you can’t group people into a race and expect them all to forgive the oppression they have suffered. And since the oppression has lasted for centuries, who is to forgive for crimes committed against the dead? I don’t think that even children have the right to forgive for the crimes done against their parents.
Also, remember that the oppressors are still enjoying the benefits of the past oppression. They are still rich with money that was earned by oppression.
So what kind of reconciliation is to be expected? Soyinka has a few suggestions to make.
To begin with, the wrong-doers must accept moral responsibility and their guilt followed by an apology. Another measure Soyinka points out as necessary is monetary. While monetary compensation can in no way redeem the centuries of oppression, it is a necessary component for a better future.
The example Soyinka gives is of African Americans who, at the time of civil war, were offered a compensation of ‘forty acres and a mule’ (not enough to begin with)by way of agrarian reform, for having served as slaves for so long. Some land was distributed but only to taken back away later- and all African Americans got was freedom to earn wages. A comparison of income distribution across races in U.S.A. a century and half later, is enough to show us inadequacy of social reforms that are not backed by economic ones.
The reason why I used words oppressed and oppressors rather than westerns and Africans or White and Black; is because they are as close to truth as it gets. Africans were enslaved by Arabs long before they were enslaved by Europeans and Americans. And so on that point, Arabs (including African Arabs) are among oppressors but, when talking about colonialism, Arabs are among victims. There were slave traders within native people, and in Soyinka’s list are also included the present day native tyrants who continue to oppress people – a result of nations created in Berlin conference of 1884 for benefit of colonizers. African Diaspora in West, are among victim on question of slavery and colonization but, not so much, on question of these present tyrants.
The last one-third of the essays is Soyinka taking a look at the Negritude movement in Europe, Africa and America as a sort of Sarte like ‘anti-racist racism’.
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