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How geopolitics, foreign capital fuel terrorism, conflict in Africa

Thursday September 19 2013
book

Recruits of Islamist militant group Al Shabaab march during military training in Somalia. Left: Passage of Tears by Abdourahman A. Waberi. Photo/FILE/Jennifer Muiruri

The book Passage of Tears by Abdourahman Waberi, an award-winning Djiboutian writer based in France, is an eye-opener on the vicious reality of geopolitics, which reminds one of John Perkins’ non-fiction Confessions of an Economic Hitman.

The story is told in the structure of diary entries by twin brothers Djibril and Djamal, who have been separated for 15 years, in which time one has become an intellectual and the other a religious extremist and a jailbird.

Djibril left Djibouti to study computer science in Canada while his brother became an Islamic extremist with an international terrorist group.

Djibril returns to Djibouti to spy on his country for a North American company. He is now a high-flying intellectual who uses his expertise against his country like a mercenary, to further the interests of Western capital.

The company is interested in uranium mining and has sent him to Djibouti to assess its security situation so that it can proceed with mining.

Meanwhile, Djamal is in a high security prison but aware of his brother’s return and activities. His anger at his brother appears to be born out of jealousy, frustration and religious fanaticism.

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While Djibril’s diary entries are addressed to himself, Djamal’s are addressed to his brother and spew vitriol.

Djibril glibly tells us, “I have been trained to disorganise these states and weaken them still more, so as to benefit multinational companies and their stockholders. It is lucrative work but it has its dangers.”

As part of the theme of cold-hearted global politics, Djibril lets us in on the psyche of the aggressive Western states with regard to war: A stimulus to business. It “strengthens the muscles of the stockmarket. As business never stops, neither do armed conflicts.”

Angel of history

He underscores the rapacious nature of international capital, describing his sponsors as great financial experts “who are constantly selling and finishing off whole countries.”

The 20th century European philosopher Walter Benjamin and his idea of the “angel of history” is also central to the book. According to Benjamin, where human beings perceive a chain of events, the angel sees a single catastrophe that keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage. The angel would like to stay, wake the dead and make known what has been shattered but the storm which we call progress blowing from paradise blows him into the future, to which his back is turned, while the pile of debris before him grows skyward.

It is as though Waberi is trying to say that the colonial past was the catastrophe and the present exploitation of the continent is the continual piling up of wreckage.

Djamal gives us insight into the psychology of Islamic extremists. He says they do not lack recruits, what with their mosque schools full at prayer time every day.

From this we see that there is no end in sight to global terrorism as Western businesses seeking minerals and oil exploit marginal regions, which pushes idle youths into armed groups.

Djamal points out how the Djiboutian society has been used to serve foreign political, economic and spiritual interests. Through Djamal, who failed his bachelor’s degree course, could not find a job and stumbled on the Koran, Waberi explores the make-up of religious extremists, in a way that makes them fear not even death.

Highly sophisticated

The fact that Djamal and his colleagues know everything about Djibril’s mission, his daily activities, whom he communicates with, down to the title of the book on his hotel bedside, points to the fact that this is a highly networked and sophisticated group.

Religious fanaticism is portrayed as a form of madness; Djamal prays for the success of Qays, the man sent to kill his brother.

As the two voices speak, there is a growing consciousness in both. At Djibril’s arrival, he is detached from the conditions in his country and remorseless about what he is doing, but little by little, his conscience returns, making it hard for him to work.

It is the same thing with Djamal. Towards the end, he seems weary of extremism, no longer venerating his master but seeing his weaknesses.

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