Susret mladih
Zadar Banja, 08.06.2009.
Times Topics: Cape Verde
“I leave Africa after this remarkable trip even more committed,” Mrs. Clinton said before leaving Cape Verde.
“I have seen the joy and energy Africans have, evidenced not just by the boogieing, but by the hard work and perseverance,” she said, referring to a recent comment from her husband, former President Bill Clinton, that she knew how to “boogie” with African dancers.
“And we’ve seen the worst humanity can do to itself,” she added, presumably referring to Congo, where Mrs. Clinton met some of the victims of the various armed groups that continue to rape, kill and brutalize civilians there.
Mrs. Clinton seemed satisfied that she had accomplished her mission: strengthening American relations with crucial allies on the continent, like Nigeria and South Africa, and sending a message of “tough love,” as she called it, to nations like Kenya and Nigeria.
Over all, she said, the United States wants to work more closely with African nations as partners, not simply as a patron or dispenser of aid. In exchange, she said, African leaders must deliver democracy and good government.
Mrs. Clinton said her focus on Africa would not end with her return to Washington, noting that her staff would continue monitoring the issues she addressed on her tour. She also pointed to Cape Verde, her final stop and a set of islands best known for their beaches and enormous tourist hotels, as an example of what good leadership can do.
“This is possible,” she said. “You create not just economic growth but a sense of human dignity and possibility.”
Kenya. South Africa. Angola. Congo. Nigeria. Liberia. And finally Cape Verde. The trip took Mrs. Clinton through some of Africa’s most promising countries — and some of its most troubled ones. In Kenya, she pushed for the government to prosecute perpetrators of the postelection violence last year. In South Africa, the big issue was Zimbabwe and how the South African government should do more to help ease the crisis there. In Angola, the theme was good governing practices and oil. In Congo, Mrs. Clinton was passionate about the need to end Congo’s rape epidemic.
In Nigeria, Mrs. Clinton pressed for electoral changes. In Liberia, she praised the country’s president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the only woman in Africa to be elected head of state.
The Liberian visit had a warmth, almost like a meeting of long-lost cousins. Liberia was founded in the 19th century by freed American slaves, and the country’s flag, the people’s names and even the police uniforms were all reminiscent of the American versions. Mrs. Clinton received possibly her most exuberant welcome there, and a Liberian man with a long wooden horn followed her around most of the visit, blowing out loud, funny noises whenever she said something striking.
“I love that — the horn — I want to take that guy with me wherever I go,” she said.
For Cape Verde, Mrs. Clinton seemed to have few issues to address. For once, she said, she had a cheat sheet on the country that included a list of far more positives than negatives. The country has fewer than 500,000 people and has escaped the turmoil that has engulfed so much of Africa. The all-inclusive, poolside buffet resorts here feel like something found in Cancún or the Bahamas.
Mrs. Clinton called Cape Verde, “a model of democracy and economic progress in Africa.”
On Friday, just as she had at every stop, she started her speech by saying, “I bring you greetings from President Obama.”
She called him a “son of Africa” and said that under the Obama administration, the United States was determined to help Africa reach its promise.
Autor: Vojkan