<nettime> [ot] [!nt] \n2+0\

[integer@www.god-emil.dk]

apropoz amer!kan pedagog!e]

(4warded: a letter from a former president of the bank of botswana)

Subject: Ground Zero
Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2001 06:31:09 +0200


Dearest Di, Tim and Kath,

Thank you so much for your observations and insights, telephonic and via
email. They have brought the whole frightful affair into vivid
perspective.

I have spent much of the past week, when not glued to the TV (day and
night), trying to think through the possible causes and implications of
what happened. The latter are easier to comprehend than the former. The
economic implications are certainly crowding in on us faster than I thought
they would. There is now no doubt that there will be a serious global
recession.  Unemployment in the major economies will be significantly
higher than the most pessimistic analysts predicted. Third World countries
will feel the pain no less than the industrialised countries. Global
economic integration will be difficult to defend. All that seems quite
evident.

Distant as Botswana is, in terms of space and economic linkages, we felt
the impact immediately. Air Botswana had to fly plane loads of tourists,
returning home after holidays in the Okavango and Chobe, back to Gaborone
from Johannesburg and accommodate them here after their intercontinental
flights were cancelled. Debswana quickly announced plans to scale back
diamond production. Botswana's foreign exchange reserves, mainly in US$ or
$-linked investment instruments, took a knock. That means that the Bank of
Botswana's profits this year and next will be well below the figures
forecast, which will mean, in turn, less revenue to the Government and
therefore lower levels of economic activity in the years ahead. At the
micro-level, these developments are being cited by corporations and
individuals as a justification for not joining Transparency International
Botswana (TIBOT) at a time when I am trying to recruit members to help
combat corruption in Botswana. The ripples go on and on. The amount of
damage which a handful of fanatic suicide hijackers can inflict on this
closely knit world we live in is beyond comprehension.

How and why did it happen? We now have two lively FM radio stations in
Gaborone, one the brainchild of Solly Monyame who regards Tim as his role
model and went to Thornhill with Jen and Tess. Solly conducts an early
morning call-in radio talk show. The topic this past week has been terrorism
and the terrorist attacks in the US. The views expressed by callers seemed
to me to reflect the dichotomy of public opinion. About half the callers
grieved with America and recalled all the benefits which Botswana gained
from US involvement here: Peace Corps, capital investment, aid. They spoke
of their fondness for Americans and, in the case of Batswana who had
studied in the US, their admiration for America. There were lots of flowers
outside the US Embassy here.

The other half were less sympathetic. They pointed out that the US
Government had sided with and assisted virtually every undemocratic, racist
and oppressive regime and corrupt dictator which the world has known in the
past century, from apartheid South Africa, to Selassie, Tubman, Mobutu,
Savimbi and Moi in Africa, and has taken the wrong side in most national
and regional conflicts (e.g. Viet Nam, Iran, Korea, China (initially), the
Middle East, Cuba, etc). The obsession with communism was clearly a major
factor in many of these alignments. (Ironic to discover that Bin Laden was
himself recruited and trained to fight Russia!) America's unconditional
support for Israel was considered by many to be a tragic mistake.

It has also been striking to hear the word 'arrogant' used so often in
Botswana, as it has in CNN's many interviews, to describe Americans. All
the Americans I know are the opposite of arrogant: warm, friendly,
personable, egalitarian. But, watching CNN, one couldn't help noting, once
again, how often the American leadership seems to find it necessary to
describe America as the 'greatest country on earth' or 'in the history of
mankind' or 'in the civilised world'. Don't they stop to think how the
Japanese, Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Germans, Russians, French and Brits
might feel about that that? Several local callers in Gaborone made the
point that being the greatest country in the world has not caused the US to
honour its financial obligations to the UN, replenish IDA, or sign global
warming treaties.  Economic size, technological advancement and military
might does not equate to 'greatness' or 'civilisation', they say. I agree
with them.

To explain what has happened solely in terms of the chest-thumping
behaviour of American leaders is clearly ridiculous. There are so many
other factors involved, some global, others particularistic. Perhaps it is
too early to try to draw conclusions - the human tragedy is too immediate -
but it will be important, as America and the rest of the world grapples
with the aftermath of the recent hijackings, to consider what needs to be
changed if further tragedies of this kind are to be averted. Perhaps it is
naive to expect that there will ever be any protection from small bands of
totally committed, disciplined, suicidal terrorists?

One thing that has heartened me, as I mentioned in an earlier email, is to
observe two common reactions among so many young people in the US. The
first is their willingness to reach out and help others, to make personal
sacrifices. The other was their recognition of the importance of becoming
involved in the world, not retreating into fortress America and surrounding
themselves with hi-tec gadgets and suburban comfort. The anger of the
people who tried to disrupt the WTO and IMF/World Bank meetings was
terribly manipulated and misplaced, in my view, but at least it showed
concern for such phenomena as poverty, environmental degradation, cultural
diversity, global warming, and international corruption. Perhaps the recent
obscene acts of terrorism will make everyone understand that what happens
in Afghanistan or in the minds of religious zealots can affect us all. I
hope that I live to see the day when Cailan and Zorabel and Dale and ? are
not embarrassed to say that they, like their aunt and uncle, want to save
the world - and do something about it.

One last observation. I couldn't agree more with Di's view of shrub. (Why
do you call him shrub with a capital s?) Leaving aside the shenanigans in
Florida, how could 'the greatest nation in the world' elect such an
uninformed, insensitive and inarticulate man to be its President? His
sentences usually comprise five or six words only. But when he attempts a
slightly more complex statement and gets half way through it - usually
marked with ers and ums  - one wonders if he has any idea how to conclude
it. Often he doesn't! What a joy to listen to Colin Powell. On the other
hand, the street interviews conducted by CNN and the other international
networks revealed that most Americans, especially the younger ones, are
scarcely more articulate than shrub. (Perhaps that's why he won?) I have
never heard so many 'likes' and 'rights' and 'y'knows' and 'y'sees'. One
very brave young woman, whose interview was shown several times on CNN,
managed to cram 14 'likes' into one sentence. I counted. How's that for
efficient communication?

Enough pontification. Keep the emails and telephone calls coming.

I am copying this to the exemplary Eleys in London and the lovely Lambkins
in Rome to confirm that I have obtained the necessary sponsorship and visas
to attend the 10th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Prague in
early October and look forward to seeing them en route. I will send
further emails to them giving flight details.

Much love to you all,

Quill

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