GEO 160: Lands and Peoples of the Non-Western World
Fall, 2004

August 25: (1) We began the course by taking a sample of the National Geographic's geographic literacy survey. On average, 18-24 year old Americans corrected identified the correct location of only 3.1 of the 11 countries on the survey (Israel, Russia, Afghanistan, India, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, China, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Japan).
(2) After taking the roll, copies of the syllabus were distributed. We talked about what "non-western" means. What is the west and the non-west is a bit problematic, but has to do with the legacy upon which the civilization was built. The western countries' civilizations are built upon the ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The non-western countries' civilizations are built upon the ideas of other ancient peoples. Many of the non-western countries have been greatly influenced by western civilizations, but are still considered non-western because of the African, Asian, Amerindian, etc. people and their non-western legacy. The "west" and "non-west" dichotomy is sometimes depicted as: west/non-west ... have/have not; long life expectancy/shorter life expectancy; rich/poor; developed/developing; stable population/rising population; north/south; occidental/oriental; minority world/majority world; MDC (more developed country)/LDC (less developed country; core/periphery. There are some problems with this dichotomy, for example, Japan (a non-western country) does not fit the category. It is a rich, developed country, with a stable population and long life expectancy.

August 30: Homework: First understand what globalization is. Then explain how each of the key terms on page 45 is tied to globalization. Due Wednesday.

There are good reasons for couples in the non-western world to have many children: cultural/religious reasons, high death rate of babies, need agricultural help from children, lack of access to contraception, and so on. While most population increase is occurring in the non-western countries, western countries also are a tremendous part of the drain on resources: the problem? Affluence/consumption. So, population issues revolve around numbers AND level of consumption.

Thomas Malthus, in 1798, warned of an impending population crash. He thought that food supply would continue to increase arithmetically, but that population would increase exponentially. That never really occurred. In 2004, there is plenty of food, however, many times it isn't distributed equitably, and people starve. War, drought/floods, and other local circumstances can also cause acute, usually short-term shortages.

The world's population is currently 6.3 billion, with the most populous countries: China, with 1.3 billion; India, with 1.1 billion; USA, with 290 million.

From the Population Reference Bureau:
* A 1-inch stack of U.S. paper currency contains 233 bills. If you had a million dollars in 1000-dollar bills, the stack would be 4.3 inches high. If you had a billion dollars in 1000-dollar bills, your pile of money would reach 357 feet – about the length of a football field.
* You had lived a million seconds when you were 11.6 days old. You won’t be a billion seconds old until you are 31.7 years of age.
* The supersonic airplane, the Concorde, could theoretically circle the globe in only 18.5 hours at its cruising spped of 1340 miles per hour. It would take 31 days for a passenger to journey a million miles on the Concorde, while a trip of a billion miles would last 85 years.

We watched a 1999 documentary entitled "Population Six Billion." Following are the notes I took as we watched the film. All babies born on this planet, whether born into affluence or poverty, deserve health care, education, and the right to be respected as human beings. Unfortunately, 1/3 of all children are born into severe poverty. Half of those are born where conflict is disrupting lives. About 130 million children will receive no education and the problem is worse for girls than boys. Of the world's one billion illiterate people, 2/3 are female. Other problems for females include genital mutilation, pregnancy during teen years, and maternal mortality. Every minute, a woman dies in childbirth or as the result of an unsafe abortion. The population is also putting stress on the natural world; every year, the world loses about 27,000 species of plants and animals. This is the greatest extinction period in 65 million years (when the dinosaurs became extinct). The demand for water is outstripping the supply. Per capita food production is on the decline in many countries. Nearly half of food is produced on irrigated land; food stocks are at a 20 year low. One billion people are unemployed or earn less than a living wage. Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, said that population impacts all of us, whether rich or poor. Populations in the western countries are stable or declining, but many countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa will see population doubling or tripling by 2050.
Case Studies:
1. Vietnam: In a community in northern Vietnam, there is no electricity, no running water, work in the rice paddies is by hand. In one lodge (home), four generations live together. In this part of Vietnam, many are malnourished. Food production is not keeping up with population growth. In 1996, this area began getting assistance from a government health worker. She comes and provides health care and contraceptives. The 74 year old matriarch said that she was pregnant 10 times - the first time when she was 14 and the last when she was 42. Today, the younger women don't want so many children. The health worker says that a woman's right to choose the number of children is her greatest power. We then travel to Hanoi. In 1986, after restrictions on trade and money were eased, many migrated to Hanoi hoping for more opportunities. Few found these opportunities. Instead, it is very overcrowded and many live in poverty. One elderly man, who retired from the transportation department, has no retirement and no social security. He and his wife sell sandwiches to get by. In the 1960s, the Vietnamese government stated that the population increase was destabilizing. By state decree, families were allowed no more than two children. Because of international criticism, these decrees were rescinded. Today, Vietnamese see slogans such as "oral contraception is the key to happiness." Since 1960, the infant mortality rate has declined 25% but maternal mortality is still high. About 3000 women die each year in childbirth. Boys are considered large blessings while girls are only small blessings. The fertility rate has declined by half in 40 years, in large part because of abortions. There are about 1 million abortions in Vietnam each year (300,000 on teenage girls) and since the cost is low ($2) and there are many clinics, it is the defacto birth control method. In fact, about 1/3 of the females lack access to birth control. And, while there is no sex education in schools, the ignorance and sexual activity of young Vietnamese has made them vulnerable to pregnancy and disease. Now some reproductive health discussion groups are being hosted in schools; the attendance is high. A new radio call-in show, called "Window on Love," is also answering questions. Some clinics in Hanoi are now open to single people. One aspiring architect is worried that her boyfriend uses drugs and may transmit HIV to her. The clinic staff give her the needed information to make choices.
2. Uganda: Throughout the world, there are 500 million chronically ill people; most of them are in developing countries. As of 1999, there were 40 million cases of HIV/AIDS. This pandemic has struck Sub-Saharan Africa particularly hard. In Uganda, 25% of all adults are HIV+. There are many households headed either by orphans or grandparents. One grandmother had already lost 5 of her 7 children to AIDS. An Anglican priest, who works with HIV/AIDS programs, also found out that he is HIV+ (after his wife died in 1991). Some influential Ugandans began to argue that talking about sex is not immoral - that it must be discussed. There is now a National Reproduction Health Curriculum, approved by the government. The government has approved education for the first 4 children in each family; however, many families have 7 or so children. These children are often unable to go to school. We then hear from a Catholic priest who says there are two trains of thought about child-bearing in Catholicism: (a) God gives you children and you should be able to provide for them and (b) God gives you children, but you have the freedom to plan your own future. With 50 ethnic groups in the country, traditions are often at odds with the reality. In some areas, older women practice intergenerational counseling as a way of preparing youths for adult relationships. Still, Uganda's fertility rate is one of the world's highest. About 2/3 live below the poverty line and cannot afford hospital care. Delivery is often by midwives. Today, in 7 of 45 districts, TBAs (traditional birth attendants) are linked by radio to a clinic. If a problem arises, the mother can be taken to a hospital. In these areas, maternal mortality is down by half. In another area (Sabinyi), female genital mutilation (or circumcision) is the issue; there are over 100 million woman who have endured this procedure around the world. It causes pain, bleeding, infection (sometimes), and scarring. One mother said she had two babies at home before the circumcision, but the other deliveries were very painful and she had to go to the hospital. A female government official declined to have the procedure, asking why she should. Traditions are hard to set aside, however, and older men are especially resistant to change. Some of the elders are beginning to change their minds.
3. Mexico: Urbanization is an issue exemplified by Mexico City. Today, there are 3 times as many city dwellers as in 1950. Three billion people live in cities (half the world's population). By 2050, 6 billion will live in cities. Mexico City is a megacity of 18 million. There is great affluence and cutting-edge architect and then there is unbelievable poverty. We saw the garbage dwellers who live near the dump and eke their livelihoods from collecting discarded materials. About 80% of Mexicans live in poverty and 30% live in extreme poverty. We then saw an illegal squatter settlement of 400 families. They are using land on the outskirts of Mexico City. The government is not doing much for them, but the community is providing itself with electricity, running water, and other necessities. The government did build a new school next to the garbage dump and the children go there, in spite of the stink. At school, children are provided with pretty explicit sex education. During Mexico's better economic times, population growth was encouraged. In the 1970s, the problems were recognized. In 1950, one of every 100 humans was a Mexican. Today, one of every 60 humans is a Mexican. Still, progress has been made. A generation ago, the average mother had 7 children; today, she has 2.5. Because of so many young people, however, the population is continuing to grow at 1 million per year. In very rural areas, the number of babies born is still pretty high (about 6) and there is little access to contraceptives. Some get contraceptives at a milk stand. We then travel 1000 miles north, to the border city of Cuidad Juarez. This maquiladora city has one of the country's highest rates of unemployment, poverty, and population growth. People typically earn less than $30 per week. Living conditions are horrid. Still, many migrate to Cuidad Juarez, where they encounter airborne toxins, raw sewage, and other environmental problems. The National Health System is overwhelmed and some seek health care through charitable organizations. One of the big problems is premature babies. The bottom line is that poverty affects women more than anyone. Women (and their children) must be helped - must be empowered - if conditions are to improve. Women need improved prospects, such as micro-loans. We saw two women who have succeeded (one in clothing and one in grocery sales) as a result of micro-loans. A little investment goes a long way. One woman asked why more is not being done? In developing countries, the conditions are desperate: high national debt, HIV/AIDS, and conflict. Still, the international community met in 1994 to develop a new population strategy. The women's groups, population groups, environmental groups, and human rights groups all came. A 20-year plan of action was developed: guaranteed reproductive health care by 2050, a 3/4 reduction in maternal mortality, a longer life expectancy, and a reduced infant mortality rate. The premise underlying this plan of action was that the realization of smaller families will be the result of a woman have free choice. The cost of achieving these goals was estimated at $17 billion per year, with $5.7 billion per year of this amount to come from the rich (mostly western) countries. Unfortunately, the amount for 1997-1999 was only about $2 billion per year (far short of the $5.7 commitment).

In class exercise: Students were given a piece of scrap paper and were asked to list the places that we saw in the documentary and write down the population issues encountered in each.

September 1:
Population:
Total fertility rate: the average number of children a mother has during her life. Replacement rate is 2.1.

Infant mortality rate: the most important single demographic statistic; the number of babies per 1000 born who do not live to their first birthday. Highest rates are in countries with war or other serious problems.

Crude birth rate: the number of births per 1000 population. If someone says that a country has a life expectancy of 75 years, this means that babies born today will, on average, live 75 years.

Crude death rate: the number of deaths per 1000 population.

Annual rate of natural increase: the number of births/1000 minus the number of deaths/1000, converted to a percentage.

Doubling rate: the length of time it takes for a place to double its population. If the annual rate of natural increase is steady from year to year, you can closely approximate the length of time by dividing 70 (the constant) by the annual rate of natural increase. World's birth rate is 22. World's death rate is 9. World's annual rate of natural increase is 1.3%. World's doubling rate (if the 1.3% is maintained) is 54 years. If that happens (not likely), the world's population will be 12.6 billion in 2058.

Examples from the 2004 World Population Data Sheet (Population Reference Bureau)
U.S.     population = 294 M; birth rate = 14; Death rate = 8; increase at .6%; double 70/.6 = 117 years
Iraq    population = 26 M; Birth rate = 36; Death rate = 9; 2.7%; 70/2.7 = 26 years
Russia    population = 144 M; Birth rate = 10; Death rate = 17; .7%; 70/.7 = 100 years to half

Population pyramid: graphs showing the number of males and females in each age group.

Demographic transition: A model based upon Europe's experience. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, both birth rate and death rate were high. Then, with some improved public health measures, the death rate began to decline. The population exploded. Then, with more urbanization, options for women, and education, birth rate began to drop. Today, birth rate and death rate are again low.

Globalization
Globalization is important because underlies most geographic issues.
Characteristics include:
•    plethora of goods/services;
•    international workers;
•    global communications;
•    global transport;
•    TNCs; (sweatshops)
•    free flow of money around globe;
•    trade agreements;
•    market economies replace state-controlled economies;
•    privatization of formerly government services.

Students gathered in groups of 4 and discussed how (if) globalization ties to each of the key terms. The definitions of the key terms follow:

areal differentiation – geographic description and explanation of spatial differences on Earth’s surface; this includes physical as well as human patterns

areal integration – geographic description and explanation of how places, landscapes, and regions are connected, interactive, and integrated with each other

asymmetrical warfare – describes the differences between a powerful country’s military technology/strategy and the lower level technology/guerilla tactics used by terrorist organizations and insurgent groups

bubble economy – highly inflated economy that cannot be sustained. Bubble economies usually result from rapid influx of international capital into a developing country

centrifugal forces – cultural and political forces, such as linguistic minorities, separatists, and fringe groups, that pull away from and weaken an existing nation-state

centripetal forces – cultural and political forces, such as a shared sense of history, a centralized economic structure, and the need for military security, that promote political unity in a nation-state

colonialism – formal, established (mainly historical) rule over local peoples by a larger imperialist government for the expansion of political and economic empire

core-periphery model – the US, Canada, western Europe, and Japan constitute the global economic core of the north, while most of the areas to the south make up a less-developed global periphery.

cultural imperialism – active promotion of one cultural system over another, such as the implantation of a new language, school system, or bureaucracy. Historically, this has been primarily associated with European colonialism.

cultural landscape – primarily the visible and tangible expression of human settlement (house architecture, street patterns, field form, etc) but also includes the intangible, value-laden aspects of a particular place and its association with a group of people

cultural nationalism – process of protecting, either formally (with laws) or informally (with social values), the primacy of a certain cultural system against influences (real or imagined) from another culture

cultural syncretism (hybridization) – blending of two or more cultures, which produces a synergistic third culture that exhibits traits from all cultural parents

culture – learned and shared behavior by a group of people empowering them with a distinct “way of life”; it includes both material (technology, tools, etc) and immaterial (speech, religion, values, etc) components

decolonialization – process of a former colony’s gaining (or regaining) independence over its territory and establishing (or reestablishing) an independent government

demographic transition – four-stage model of population change derived from the historical decline of the natural rate of increase as a population becomes increasingly urbanized through industrialization and economic development

economic convergence – notion that globalization will result in the world’s poorer countries gradually catching up with more advanced economies.

economic growth rate – the annual rate of expansion for GNI (gross national income)

ethnic religion – religion closely identified with a specific ethnic or tribal group, often to the point of assuming the role of the major defining characteristics of that group. Normally, ethnic religions do not actively seek new converts

ethnographic boundaries – state and national boundaries that are drawn to follow distinct differences in cultural traits, such as religion, language, or ethnic identity

geometric boundaries – boundaries of convenience drawn along lines of latitude or longitude without consideration for cultural or ethnic differences in an area

globalization – increasing interconnectedness of people and places throughout the world through converging processes of economic, political, and cultural change

gross national income (GNI) – value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders (gross domestic product, or GDP) plus the net income from abroad (formerly referred to as gross national product, or GNP)

gross national income per capita – the figure that results from dividing a country’s GNI by the total population

lingua franca – agreed-upon common language to facilitate communication on specific topics such as international business, politics, sports, or entertainment

nation-state – relatively homogeneous cultural group (a nation) with its own political territory (the state)

natural increase – annual growth rate for a country or region as a percentage increase

overurbanization – process in which the rapid growth of a city, most often because of in-migration, exceeds the city’s ability to provide jobs, housing, water, sewers, and transportation

purchasing power parity – method of reducing the influence of inflated currency rates by adjusting a local currency to a composite baseline of one U.S. dollar based upon its ability to purchase a standardized “market basket” of goods

region – making sense of the world by compressing and synthesizing vast amounts of information into spatial categories based on similar traits; the resulting areal units are regions

squatter settlements – makeshift housing on land not legally owned or rented by urban migrants, usually in unoccupied open spaces within or on the outskirts of a rapidly growing city

sustainable development – vision of economic change seeking a balance with environmental protection and social equity so that the short-term needs of contemporary society do not compromise needs of future generations. The operational scale of sustainable development is local rather than global

sweatshop – crude factories in which workers sew clothing, assemble sneakers, stitch together soccer balls, or perform similar labor-intensive tasks for low wages

total fertility rate – average number of children who will be borne by women of a hypothetical, yet statistically valid, population, such as that of a specific cultural group or within a particular country. Demographers consider TFR a more reliable indicator of population change than crude birthrate

transnational corporation (transnational firm) – firms and corporations that, although they may be chartered and have headquarters in one specific country, do international business through an array of global subsidiaries

universalizing religion – a religion, usually with an active missionary program, that appeals to a large group of people regardless of local culture and conditions. Christianity and Islam both have strong universalizing components. This contrasts with ethnic religions

urban form – physical arrangement or landscape of the city, made up of building architecture and style, street patterns, open spaces, housing types, and other features

urban primacy – a country in which a disproportionately large city, such as London, New York, or Bangkok, dominates the urban system and is the center of economic, political, and cultural life

urban structure – distribution and pattern of land use, such as commercial, residential, or manufacturing, within the city. Often, commonalities give rise to models of urban structure

urbanized population – that percentage of a country’s population living in settlements characterized as cities. Usually, high rates of urbanization are associated with higher levels of industrialization and economic development, since these activities are usually found in and around cities. Conversely, lower urbanized populations (less than 50%) are characteristic of developing countries

September 8:

Chapter 2: A number of the topics in Chapter 2 are connected with the Non-Western World. Agriculture, upon which millions depend, is one of those important connections. Many in the Non-Western world practice various forms of subsistence agriculture: a method that works well with low density populations is slash and burn (also known as milpa and swidden; this involved burning vegetable off a patch and, with the ash as a fertilizer, using the land for several years before moving on to another patch); and a method that worked well with high density populations - the Chinampas (pieces of land reclaimed from the shallow lakes that used to cover the Valley of Mexico, where Mexico City stands today; the people of Mexico City were nourished by food grown on the chinampas for centuries). In the 20th century, agriculture became increasingly industrialized. In the 1960s, the Green Revolution (an industrial agricultural regimen) was introduced to South Asia and Southeast Asia and elsewhere. News seeds, hailed as high yield were introduced. The seeds were more accurately high response as they required water (irrigation), artificial nutrients (synthetic fertilizers), pest abatement (synthetic pesticides). Being able to afford these inputs meant that wealthier farmers were the ones would used the Green Revolution seeds. Indeed, their yields did increase. They bought tractors, planted monocultures, expanded their lands, and go hooked into the energy treadmill. Green Revolution came to central India, where one finds the rich black soils and rivers, such as the Narmada. In 1970, Union Carbide built a pesticide plant in Bhopal, a city of 800,000. In 1978, the company decided to store methyl isocyanate (MIS) on site. On December 3, 1984, the accident occurred when MIS dripped into a tank of water. MIS, an extremely toxic chemical, is highly reactive, highly flammable, and has a low boiling point. It reacted with the water, producing heat. The gas exploded out of the tank, killing 3500-7500, seriously injuring 150,000-500,000, and permanently disabling 25,000. The primary cause of death was pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) and, secondarily, from bronchitis and pneumonia. At sub-lethal concentrations, MIS burns the eyes
and skin, irritates the respiratory system, causes reproductive harm (stillbirths, spontaneous abortions, suppression of lactation), nausea, gastritis, sweating, fever, chills, liver damage, and kidney damage. To top it off, Union Carbide had no emergency response plan. The poor people who lived around the plant had no idea what was produced at the plant. Union Carbide had no warning system to tell the people to evacuate. On January 20, 2002, Bhopal survivors demanded that Dow (the company that bought Union Carbide) provide clean drinking water and other services to families harmed by the accident. They claim increases in cancer, tuberculosis, and mental retardation as a result of the MIS exposure. Some money was distributed (from a total of $470 million). As of July 19, 2004 (almost 20 years later), India’s Supreme Court has directed $327.5 million (this is the rest of the $470 million that was never distributed) to be distributed among over 500,000 victims and dependents. So, while the Green Revolution did have positive results (higher grain yields), it also had/has some very negative results.

Students watched a 45 minute film entitled "Toxic Legacies: Playing with Poison," narrated by David Suzuki. Elizabeth Gillette, a nurse turned PhD Anthropologist studied children in the Yaqui Valley of Sonora (a state in Mexico). In the valley, 31,000 hectares have been converted to industrialized production of fruits and vegetables for export to the U.S. Many pesticides are used on the cropland and in the homes. The people of the foothills share the same culture with those in the valley, but without the pesticide load found in the valley. In 1994, when she began her study, she found that the valley children had hand-eye coordination, memory, and other neurological problems not experienced by the foothills children. Most shockingly, the valley children were unable to conceptualize a human figure and when asked to draw one, scribbled lines and curves that in no way resembled a human. In 1998, she published her findings in the peer-reviewed journal "Environmental Health Perspectives." In 1990, her husband, investigating alligators in Lake Apopka (Florida) found malformations in baby alligators, primarily affecting sex organs. A few years prior to the study, organochlorine pesticides had accidentally been spilled into the lake. We then learn that organophosphates were originally developed during WWI as nerve gas. Pesticides generally act by attacking the nervous system. Moving back to the Yaqui Valley, in 2000, a medical team visited to follow-up Dr. Gillette's work. They found early breast development (at about 7 years of age) among the valley children, while foothills children developed breasts at the normal age of 12 years. The doctors suggested that the pesticides might be acting like estrogens (same as in the baby alligators). They visited a pesticide dump and determined that most of the pesticides used in Mexico are also still being used in the U.S. and Canada. A possible result of exposure to pesticide mixtures is Parkinson's disease. Leukemia is also possibly linked to pesticide exposure. It is also a fact that one of six children in the U.S. today suffers from autism, ADD, dyslexia, or some other neurological problem. The exposure can come from household use, agricultural use, and/or from urban spraying to control pests (such as spraying malathion to kill mosquitoes). Dursban and diazinone are being phased out in the U.S. because of their known dangers to children, but, overall, household use of pesticides is increasing. Because of these concerns, Halifax, Nova Scotia has outlawed pesticide use for cosmetic purposes. It is the first major city in North America to do so; the law became effective in 2003. Review questions (see narrative above): (1) Elizabeth Gillette studied two Mexican communities in the _ Valley, one of which used synthetic pesticides and the other did not. (2) In terms of the children, what did she find in the course of her study?_ (3) In Lake _, Florida, alligators were found to have sexual malformations, a few years after a pesticide spill. (4) When a medical team visited the Mexican communities in August 2000, they noted early onset of puberty among the community’s children. They suggested that pesticides may be acting like _, triggering early breast development. (5) In the United States, many children are exposed to organophosphate pesticides. In the program, the narrator raised the question of whether these exposures might be related to high incidence of _.
6. The first major city in North American to ban pesticides for cosmetic use was _. (7) How is this film related to the Green Revolution?_ (8) How is this film related to economic globalization? _

September 13:

BBC article entitled "Earth Warned on 'Tipping Points'": The world has barely begun to recognize the danger of setting off rapid and irreversible changes in some crucial natural systems, a scientist says. Professor John Schellnhuber says the most important environmental issues for humans are among the least understood. He told a briefing in Sweden that the Asian monsoon was one of the 'tipping points' that could change very quickly. He said a better understanding of the risks was as important as the program to prevent collisions with asteroids. Professor Schellnhuber is research director of the UK's Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research. He was speaking at the EuroScience Forum in Stockholm, at a briefing by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program entitled Beyond Global Warming: Where on Earth are we Going? Professor Schellnhuber said 12 "hotspots" had been identified so far, areas which acted like massive regulators of the Earth's environment. If these critical regions were subjected to stress, they could trigger large-scale, rapid changes across the entire planet. But not enough was known about them to be able to predict when the limits of tolerance were reached. "We have so far completely underestimated the importance of these locations," he said. "What we do know is that going beyond critical thresholds in these regions could have dramatic consequences for humans and other life forms." One example of a hotspot was the North Atlantic current, the ocean circulation pattern responsible for bringing warmer air to northern Europe, the collapse of which could lead to a very large regional climate shift. Others were the West Antarctic ice sheet, the Sahara desert, and the forests of the Amazon basin. Yet another hotspot, Professor Schellnhuber said, "was the Asian monsoon system. He told BBC News Online: "Modelling has shown that if air pollution and land use change, this could alter the albedo, the reflectivity, of the land. This in turn could weaken or even suppress the monsoon, and there is evidence that several times in the last few years it has in fact been weaker. We're investing too much in things like improving the accuracy of our weather forecasts, while the really vital elements in the Earth's system are the unstable phenomena like the monsoon. We should have a much better understanding of these tipping points, and we have to do everything we can to stop short of triggering these instabilities. That means we have to know where they are, and they've been off the radar screen for far too long. Scientists hav begun to realize that change could be sudden, not gradual - in some cases it could happen within a few decades." Professor Schellnhuber urged a corrdinated global effort to improve understanding and monitoring of Earth's 'Achilles' heels.' He said: "Such an effort is every bit as important as NASA's valuable asteroid-spotting program designed to protect the planet from colllisions. "If we can afford to gaze up at the sky looking for asteroids, we should be able to watch our own planet with as much care."

We then discussed the Koppen climate classification system (in some cases, the landscape has been altered so that the vegetation expected is no longer there). Here is the way the classification works (see your textbook for a map): A (humid equatorial) + f (no dry season -- tropical rainforest) or w (dry winter -- savanna) or m (short dry -- monsoon); B (dry) + S (steppe, semiarid) or W (arid, less than 10" precipitation per year) + h (hot) or k (cold); C (humid temperate) + f (no dry season) or w (dry winter) or s (dry summer -- Mediterranean) + a (hot summer) or b (cool summer) or c (short, cool summer) or d (very cold winter); D (humid continental) + f (no dry season) or w (dry winter)  + a (hot summer) or b (cool summer) or c (short, cool summer) or d (very cold winter); E (cold polar) + F (ice cap) or T (tundra) or M (marine); H (undifferentiated highland). The letters are combined, for example Af, Cfa, BSk, ET. An Af is a tropical rainforest, a Cfa is a temperate place with rain throughout the year and hot summers, BSk is a cold steppe, ET is tundra.

We then proceeded to our first non-western region: Latin America. Latin America is so named because of the "Latins" (Spanish and Portuguese) who conquered it about 500 years ago. The countries are now independent. Latin America is made up of Mexico, Central America, and South America. Reference to "Middle America" includes Mexico and Central America. Following the theme of globalization, we watched a film entitled Guns and Greed. This film was produced to raise awareness of the SOA (School of the Americas). The SOA was established after WWII, originally in Panama. It later moved to Ft. Benning, GA. The US government has trained over 60,000 Latin American police and military. The film begins by noting some of the crimes committed by SOA graduates: the March, 1980 murder of Bishop Romero (2 of the 3 killers were SOA graduates); the December, 1980 murders of four American church women in El Salvador (3 of 5 were SOA graduates); the December, 1980 murder of 900 men, women, and children in El Mozote. The Pentagon confessed that the manual used had provided techniques on torture (this manual has been rewritten). In November, 1999, 12,000 people gathered at Ft. Benning to protest the SOA. One young person stated that "We are not here for ourselves, we are here for others." Some of the protestors carried caskets, others carried crosses. With each name of a victim, the protestors sang out "I am here." If the protestors cross over a particular line on the Ft. Benning base, they are subject to arrest. They can get up to 6 months in prison and/or a $5,000 fine.
A bishop in Mexico was murdered two days after releasing a report on Mexico's human rights violations. In Colombia, 250 military personnel were cited for human rights atrocities; half were SOA-trained. In Chiapas (in southern Mexico), the peasants stood up to the military. Prior to 1994 and the Zapatista rebellion, few had been trained by the SOA. After 1994, at least a thousand have been sent. Eighteen of these have been implicated in human rights violations. This cycle of exploitation began 500 with the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors. They exploited the riches of the Americas and became very wealthy. Today, the IMF (International Monetary Fund), World Bank, and sweatshops are the new conquistadors. They need the military to protect their wealth. One way to protect the wealth is by busting unions. The corporations' worst nightmare is for young people to begin asking questions about how the clothes they wear are made. From the sweatshops comes the clothes Americans buy. These sweatshops employ children, require overtime, and fire pregnant women. Environmental, social, and human costs are the consequences of cheap clothing. Americans don't really want to hear that our wealth is built on others' poverty.
In 1990, the SOA protests began. The early one was a hunger strike down at Ft. Benning. Then, small groups went to Washington to lobby their Congress people. By 1998, over 7000 had come to protest and over 2000 crossed the line. People protested in front of the Pentagon in May 1999; 60 were arrested for civil disobedience. Other lobbied, asking that their Congress person vote to stop spending on the SOA. One youth stated that the SOA is the military arm of the IMF. The structural adjustment programs (when indebted countries cannot buy their debt, the loan is restructured to insure repayment) force countries to cut back on education and health care. When the poor are hurt, they often protest. The military squelches the protests.
Back at the Ft. Benning protest, 4000 crossed the line in the largest act of civil disobedience since the Vietnam War. We read on the screen that we must work for a new world without greed (the quote comes from Ellacuria, who was killed by a SOA graduate). Some were arrested. At the time of filming, 50 men and women had served over 30 years for protesting the SOA. The SOA was closed and then reopened as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.
Critical Thinking Essay #1: Please see syllabus for instructions. Read the following article:
“Slavery Exists Out of Sight in Brazil,” September 5, 2004, Kevin G. Hall of Knight Ridder, http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington
In addition, select at least four of the following articles:
“Brazil’s Economy Suddenly Blooms,” September 9, 2004, Kevin G. Hall of Knight Ridder, http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington
“Social Ills Make Latin America Susceptible to Authoritarian Rule, U.N. Chief Says,” September 8, 2004, Susana Hayward of Knight Ridder, http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington
“Clashes as Chile Marks 1973 Coup,” September 12, 2004, BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk
“UN Warning Over Haiti’s Militias,” September 10, 2004, BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk
“Hurricane Sends Oil Prices Higher,” September 13, 2004, BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk
“Colombia Says Drug Profits May End Soon,” September 10, 2004, USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com
“Colombia’s Oil Pipeline is Paid for in Blood and Dollars,” August 20, 2004, Isabel Hilton of The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk

September 15: Latin America

Table 4.1 (page 142): Most Populous: Brazil (171.8 M): Least Populous: Panama (2.9 M); Most densely populated: El Salvador (788 per square mile); least densely populated: Bolivia (20 per square mile); Highest rate of natural increase: Nicaragua (3%); lowest rate of natural increase: Uruguay (.7%); highest total fertility rate: Guatemala (4.8); lowest total fertility rate: Uruguay and Chile (2.3); highest percentage under 15 years of age: Guatemala (44%); highest percentage over 65 years of age: Uruguay (13%); highest urban level: Uruguay (92%); lowest urban level: Guatemala (39%)

Table 4.2 (page 161): largest economy: Brazil ($730,424 M); smallest economy: Nicaragua ($2,012 M); highest per capita GNI: Argentina ($7,550; $11,940 PPP); lowest per capita GNI: Nicaragua ($410; $2,060 PPP); highest economic growth 1990-1999: Chile (5.6%); lowest economic growth 1990-1999: Venezuela (-.5%)

Table 4.3 (page 170): life expectancy in all countries is greater for females than for males; longest life expectancies: Costa Rica (75 for males and 79 for females); shortest life expectancies: Bolivia (60 for males and 64 for females); in all countries, under 5 mortality declined between 1980 and 1999; highest under 5 mortality: Bolivia (170 in 1980 and 83 in 1999); lowest under 5 mortality: Costa Rica (29 in 1980 and 14 in 1999); the illiteracy rates of females tend to be equal to or higher than that of males, with two exceptions: Uruguay (males=3% and females=2%) and Nicaragua (males=33% and females=30%); Females make up 42% of Uruguay's total labor force (the highest female labor participation in Latin America); the lowest female labor participation is Guatemala (28% of the total work force are women)

Students learned from studying the chapter maps. The following review is based upon that study: (1) Mountains are found in what part of South America? __ (2) Lowlands are found in what part of Brazil? (3) Of the several tectonic plates in the region of Latin America (and its surrounding oceans), the largest is the __ Plate. (4) The __ is a large, elevated plateau between the eastern and western branches of the Andes. (5) A city success in South America is the Brazilian city of __. (6) The __, one of the great natural grasslands of Latin America, is being steadily converted to cropland and pasture. (7) Several countries in Latin America have some Cfa climate, but only the country of __ is entirely Cfa (the same as Kentucky’s climate). (8) There are several very large cities in Latin America. One is Mexico City. Name one of the others: __ (9) Many Latin Americans migrate to North America. There are three other primary destinations outside Latin America for migrants. Name one of the three: __ (10) While many indigenous languages continue to be spoken in pockets across Latin America, the dominant languages of Latin America are __ and __. (11) Most of the countries of Latin America were independent by the year __. (12) Name the Latin American country(ies) that are part of NAFTA (trade block)__ (13) Today, most Latin American coca (for cocaine) is produced in the country of __.(14)The total fertility rate has dropped dramatically in some Latin American countries. In the country of __, the average woman now has over 3 fewer babies than the average woman did in 1970.

September 20:

Latin America, so-called because of the deep influence of the Spanish and Portuguese imperialists/colonizers, includes Mexico, Central America, and South America. Mexico and Central America are sometimes referred to as "Middle America." South America's population is 357 million and Middle America's is nearly 179 million.
The Spanish and Portuguese left their mark (the "legacy of colonialism") on Latin America: (a) while a number of indigenous languages survive, most speak either Spanish (2/3) or Portuguese (1/3). (b) The Spanish and Portuguese brought Catholicism; it is still widely practiced. (c) The land tenure system, of large holdings called latifundia, are still evident in many countries. (d) Most of the people have mixed blood (Indian and European or black). In some countries, such as Argentina, a majority of the people are European. (e) The economic system, legal system, architecture, etc. are legacies of the Spanish and Portuguese.

Because of tectonic plate boundaries, the western coast of Middle America is prone to natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Weather systems also generate hurricanes.

In Middle America, one finds culture hearths, from Mexico City to central Nicaragua. The Maya (or Mayan) culture dates back 3000 years, with the Mayan people found in Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, southern Mexico and the Yucatan peninsula. The Mayans built stone pyramids, were noted for their innovations, enjoyed a zenith between the 3rd and 10th centuries AD, with a population of 2 to 3 million. The Mayan had a theocracy, which means that the political leader and religious leader were one and the same. Another of the notable cultures was the Aztecs. The Aztecs came from the north into Tenochtitlan (a city destroyed by the Spaniards and rebuilt as Mexico City). Teotihuacan, the true urban center in the western hemisphere was the largest city in pre-Columbian times (the population was greater than 125,000). This city, which flourished between the 4th and 7th centuries AD, was just north of today's Mexico City; it is known for its spectacular pyramids.

In the early 1500s, the Spanish conquered Middle America. The indigenous population plummeted, from over 15 million to 2.5 million by the early 1600s. Conquest was accompanied by rapid deforestation, pressure on vegetation from grazing animals, wheat replaced maize (corn), the concentration of Amerindians into newly built towns, exploitation of labor, the slave economy, and extraction of gold and silver.

Mexico: Today, Mexico's population is 104 million, of which about 10% are Amerindians, 9% are European, and the rest are mestizo. Because of economic problems, an estimated 4.5 million Mexicans have crossed the border into the U.S. Mexico has 31 states and a federal district (Mexico City). It is the 3rd most biologically diverse country in the world. The president is Vicente Fox, an ex-Coca Cola executive. In 1800, Mexico was an extremely inequitable country. Fewer than 3000 families owned half the country and most of the people had no land at all. A revolution resulted. Zapata led the 1910 Mexican Revolution. In 1917, the constitution was changed to allow the perpetuation of the ejido (communal lands) system. From 1917 to 1992, about half the land in Mexico was redistributed. In 1992, the Mexican constitution was again amended, this time to allow privatization of land (so now the corporations could come in and sometimes buy or at least lease land). This amendment was in preparation for the implementation of NAFTA. On January 1, 1994, the Zapatistas staged an uprising, focused on the damage that NAFTA would do to the people's lives and livelihood. The Zapatistas come from Chiapas, the poorest Mexican state. It is home to 4.2 million, many of whom are Mayan. About 13% of Chiapas is covered by the Lacandon Forest, the second most biologically diverse forest after the Amazon. On its 2.5 million acres arefound 43,000 species of higher plants and animals. A hundred archaeological sites have been identified and 400,000 people live in the forest. According to a January, 2002 article in the Christian Science Monitor, the Lacandon will disappear in 10-30 years, if the current rate of deforestation continues. Another NAFTA-related issue concerns the assembly plants along the Mexican border. These assembly plants, known as maquiladoras, have been around for awhile (79 of them in 1968), but since NAFTA went into force, there are many (Ciudad Juarez is a major maquiladora city). Over one million Mexicans now work in these assembly plants. Nearly all of the maquiladoras are owned by US corporations, the wages are very low (often less than $20 per week), the workers tend to be young, unmarried women from the rural areas of Mexico. The environmental and safety
regulations are lax. Taxes in Mexico are low. The result is often serious pollution of the land, air, and water. The
pollution is caused by the factories' effluent but also by unplanned worker settlements. Services are poor, schools are inadequate, and family violence is on the rise. Workers live in slum conditions because they are not paid a living wage.

Guatemala: Today Guatemala has the most unequal land tenure in all of Latin America, with less than 2% controlling 65% of farmland. About 27% of the total population is landless. Poverty is worsening, with 63% in poverty in 1981 and 86% in poverty now. About 2/3 of the original forests aregone, the forests could disappear in 25-40 years. To understand how this dire situation arose, one can go back to the 1950s. In the early 1950s, Jacobo Arbenz was elected president. As a socialist, his government gave 100,000 landless families plots of unused land, instituted the country’s 1st social security system, legalized unions, and dramatically expanded public education/literacy. In 1954, a CIA-backed military coup overthrow Arbenz. The coup aimed to protect the interests of the United Fruit Company (a US corporation that owned 550,000 acres in Guatemala; the Guatemalan government had threatened to redistribute 210,000 acres of its land; at the time, United Fruit was the largest landowner and foreign corporation in Guatemala). During the 1950s and 1960s, US Agency for Int’l Deve (AID) provided cheap loans to transform the “backward” Guatemalan economy. The idea was to produce cash crops (sugar, coffee, cotton, bananas). The result was loss of forests, increasing hunger, pesticide contamination.In the 1960s and 1970s, Guatemala experienced a cattle boom. Grazing land increased by 2125%. As cattle export increased, so did unemployment (not very many people are needed to raise cattle). In the 1970s and early 1980s, a war was waged against the people by their own government. 100-200,000 were killed and 40-50,000 "disappeared." Over 400 villages destroyed and death squads terrorized the population. In 1990s, peace talks culminated with a 1996 peace agreement. The peace is uneasy, e.g., in the spring of 1998, Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi was killed after releasing report on the war’s atrocities. Since the 1990s, as the prices of coffee, cotton, beef, sugar went down, lending entities began encouraging Guatemalan farmers to grow snow peas, broccoli, cauliflower, melon, flowers, again for export to the US and Europe. In addition to wide-spread poverty, Guatemala is also experiencing large-scale pesticide contamination, with bird & bee kills.

In South America, inequitable distribution of land (and of wealth in general), along with fragile democracies and the drug trade result in massive instability. Cocaine is of particular concern. Coca is native to the Andes, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia. Students watched a film about Colombia, entitled "The Americas: Get Up, Stand Up." The video begins with a man going from his car to his home surrounded by armed guards. It turns out that he is the leader of one of the guerrilla groups. He says that guns have replaced the state's ability to rule. Armed groups have taken over. The two political parties haven't represented the poor well, so people turn to guerrilla groups as an alternative. We see an army checkpoint, where officers are on the look out for guerrilla sympathizers. Colombia is one of Latin America's oldest democracy, but their history has been very bloody. During the 1950s and 1960s, 100s of 1000s died during La Violencia. In the subsequent power-sharing between the Liberals and Conservatives, many people felt so excluded that they took up arms. The result has been a 30+ year civil war between the state and the guerrillas. The guerrillas are strongest in the eastern Andes of Colombia. We saw some 1989 film footage of the Popular Liberation Army, led by Gutierrez. The leader is building "an army of the people". They go through their military training maneuvers and shout "long live Marxism-Leninism!" The guerrilla groups collect their own taxes and impose their own laws. They are a threat to state sovereignty. The government focuses on the urban areas, and has virtually abandoned the rural people. After years of neglect, many rural people face daily struggles for survival. To survive, many have turned to growing coca. They see coca production as their only option - "the coca leaf is all we have". Many in Peru and Bolivia are also growing coca. Coca production is at the base of an enterprise that is another threat to state sovereignty. Next, we travel to Medellin, the cocaine capital of the world. Cocaine is hugely profitable. As the power of the drug traffickers increased, they went to the unemployed youth in Medellin for their hired guns. As one 16 year old said, "If it's profitable, we do the job." He goes on to say that in Medellin you have to execute your own justice, that the people have no mercy, and so you must have no mercy either. Next we see a man's bloody body. Part of a judge's job in Medellin is to pick up the bodies. There are, on average, 18 murders per day in the city, not all of which are drug-related. Many perceive killing as a solution to even minor conflicts. After the murders, no one will talk for fear of being killed too. So, in only one of every 1000 murders is there an arrest. The "law of silence" prevails. The female judge says that it is very hard to carry out justice and that even the judges are afraid. There is no money to protect them, so when they get threats over the phone, they become fearful. Many feel that drug trafficking has replaced the state. In parts of Medellin, vigilante groups enforce law and order; this is an extreme example of how law and order have broken down. One of the group members says that the state abandoned them, that children were afraid to go outside and today, only two years later, the vigilantes have cleaned things up. The children go to school and the people are outdoors. A resident basically asks the group to kill "Crackhead", a member of a killer gang who escaped from the hospital. The group assures him that he will be killed. In Medellin, few people vote. When the state is replaced with violence, people lose their civic consciousness. The traffickers have amassed fabulous empires, bought political influence, and even funded their own private zoos. There is a booming illegal economy and private armies. Some argued that the drug money would reactivate the sluggish economy, but instead the industrialists have fled. In 1989, Luis Carlos Galon was assassinated as he campaigned. He was mowed down by the drug traffickers. The next day, the President came on TV and told the people that Colombia was at war - at war against terrorism and the drug traffickers. When judges, political candidates, and elected officials are threatened, it is also a threat to state sovereignty. The U.S. got involved. Many in Colombia saw US involvement as a big threat. The $65 million for armed helicopters and guns was money to make war (note: since this film was produced, a great deal more money has been pumped into this operation). Presidents Barco and Bush (the elder) made an agreement that, in return for the aid, traffickers would be extradited to the US for trial. The extradition would be left up to the judges. In response, up to 60 members of the judiciary were murdered within six months. The female judge said that, at every moment, the US made them feel inferior. Instead of helping, the US created a war. We then see burial sites, while hearing a protest song that ends with the plea: "We Want Peace". In 1990, newly elected President Gaviria promised to have a Colombian solution to the problems. Some of the biggest traffickers actually surrendered. There was a call for a new constitution. Constituent groups were represented in the National Constitutional Assmebly. It was an attempt to reestablish the state's role, as the entity in control. Some of the guerrilla groups were encouraged and lay down their arms. For many the prospects were looking up, but the two biggest guerrilla groups were still fighting. The violence has many roots, and peace is contingent upon addressing the fundamental problems in Colombia today. The judge stated that the situation may improve slightly, but she doesn't think that the violence will stop. The population is growing, as is poverty. Many see no option other than that of a beggar or thief. To quote her, "There has been a total breakdown of civilized values." She asks that the US leave Colombia alone; let the US deal with its own problems. The video ends with a soccer game. Colombia wants peace, progress, development, harmony, reconciliation. The people want a real sovereignty for the country. The soccer game symbolizes, if for a fleeting moment, that peace is possible.

Review questions: (1) If you had been able to travel to Guatemala 2000 years ago, you would have encountered a people called the __ (2) The first true urban center in the western hemisphere was the city of __, the ruins of which are near today’s Mexico City. (3) What was one impact of the conquest of Middle America by the Spaniards? (4) In Mexico, the 1910 revolution was led by a man named __. What was the revolution all about?__ (5) On January 1, 1994, NAFTA went into effect. The Zapatistas, from the poor Mexican state of __ staged a rebellion. The rebellion was/is against NAFTA. Briefly explain the connection. (6) Over 1 million Mexican now work in maquiladoras. What are two of the issues associated with work in these assembly plants? (7) The country with the most unequal land tenure in all of Latin America is __. (8) During the 1950s and 1960s, 100s of 1000s died in Colombia during a civil war called __. (9) The Colombian city of __ is the cocaine capital of the world. (10) What is one threat to Colombian sovereignty?__ (11) How is the U.S. involved in Colombia?

Sovereignty … complete independence and self-government

Themes in South America:
•    Inequity of land, wealth, power
•    Inequity in spite of openly elected governments – democracy is fragile and superficial; power not because of public support, but backed by elite alliances (military, rural landowners, wealthy urban entrepreneurs, foreign corporations and governments)
•    Inequities, poor governance result in: corruption, violence, subversion of democratic process; international drug trade – coca for cocaine, poppies for heroin, and marijuana


Cocaine is of particular concern. Coca is native to the Andes, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia. It has traditionally been chewed to fight fatigue, hunger, thirst, the cold. It has been used in religious ceremonies. Commercial production of coca began in the mid-1970s.

Today, Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine (it provides 80% of the US supply). About 600,000 acres of tropical forest have been destroyed for growing coca. For a poor farmer, the profits from growing coca are four (or more) times what he could make growing a legal crop (such as avocadoes). The prices for major exports, such as petroleum and coffee, are down, further pushing people into coca production. The standard of living is falling at a result of a structural adjustment program. And then, the US is involved via the "war on drugs" (called Plan Colombia). A broad-spectrum herbicide (which means that it kills all vegetation, not just targeted species) is sprayed from airplanes. A great deal of money has been invested in Plan Colombia, with little to show for it. Another part of the problem in Colombia is the civil war. The roots of the current civil war go way back, but going to the 1940s helps us understand. During those years, there was animosity between the two official parties (the Liberals and Conservatives), the urban labor movement, and the newly organized peasants. In 1948, a populist leader was assassinated. This sparked "La Violencia", during which 300,000 died (from 1948-1953). In 1953, a coup d'etat brought an end to most of the fighting. From 1953-1957 a military government ruled. In 1957, the Liberals and Conservatives signed an agreement to share/rotate power. Power continued to reside with a small elite. The gross inequality in wealth and access to land festered and, in the early 1960s, the Liberals/Conservatives started using the military to repress the poor. In response, and using Fidel Castro as the model, the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) guerrilla group was established in 1964. In 1966, another guerrilla group known as ELN was formed. These guerrilla groups are generally on the "left" meaning that they purport to support
the poor people. Colombia's military created and supported paramilitary groups. About 1980, the narcotraffickers began funding their own private militias. Today, the war involves these four combatant groups. In addition, Colombia is an oil-producing country; a 500 mile long pipeline is frequently sabotaged and must be guarded by armed troops. Colombia is in an economic crisis; over half the people live in poverty; malnutrition is rising; unemployment is high.

 Brazil is South America's largest country; ½ area of South America; 5th largest country in the world (in population – 175 M – and in territory). The northern 2/3 is Amazon  and the southern 1/3 is highlands. Brazil has 26 states and federal district of Brasilia (construction began 1956, moved from Rio in 1960). Brazil is very inequitable: richest 10% own 2/3 of land; richest 10% control over ½ country’s wealth; poverty up 50% since 1980; poorest 20% of population lives in most squalid conditions of anywhere on planet; at least ½ of all Brazilians suffer from chronic malnutrition. This is ironic since Brazil is a leading agricultural exporter of soybeans, coffee, citrus (OJ), and meat. The big farms in the south are very mechanized and don’t need much labor. Those who are pushed off the farms generally go either to one of the large, dangerous cities (e.g., Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo) or to the Amazon, in particular the states of Para and Rondonia.

Argentina:
Less than 100 years ago, Argentina was more prosperous than Spain, Italy, or even France.
In 1975, 10% in poverty.
After the economic collapse in 2001, over half the population was living in poverty. There’s a small but very wealthy upper class and few in the middle.
The economic collapse was caused by massive privatization, increased government spending (e.g., the 1980s, Falklands war with Britian), lowered wages and increased public debt, hyper-inflation.
Public protests began December 19, 2001. Government put restrictions on people’s access to its own cash/savings. Over the next few months, four presidents.

September 27:

The Caribbean. Homework for Wednesday: Know what the key terms on page 215 mean.

Map on page 178: Belize and the three Guianas are included as part of the Caribbean because of their similar historical experiences. The islands of the Caribbean were colonized by the Europeans. After killing off the indigenous people, Africans were imported as slaves to work on the sugar plantations. Some ran away, creating maroons. Today, most of the islands are independent, but a few are still territories of stronger countries (e.g., Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory; Montserrat is a United Kingdom territory). Economies today are based upon agriculture (sugar, bananas, coffee, tobacco), tourism, off-shore banking (these islands are lucrative in that wealth is taxed very little; a business can incorporate and avoid American - or European - taxes), and maquiladoras. The countries of the Greater Antilles are: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Hispanioloa (Hispaniola includes Dominican Republic and Haiti). The small islands are part of the Lesser Antilles.

Be familiar with these maps:
Map 182 – environmental problems
Map 186 – climate
Map 187 – hurricanes
Map 198 – language
Map 201 – colonial history

Points to remember about Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba (from maps in the chapter):
All three have been denuded of tropical forest. All three have Aw climates (tropical savanna, meaning there's a dry period during the winter). Emigration from all three countries is a reality, given the limited economic opportunities; destinations include the U.S., Canada, French Guiana, and the United Kingdom. Some of the people in all three countries have adopted/adapted African animist religions. The official language of Cuba is Spanish, of Haiti is French, and of Jamaica is English. Cuba and Jamaica are quite reliant upon tourism dollars.

Jamaica has a population of 2.6 M, with a current annual rate of natural increase of 1%. The GNP/capita is $1740. The Arawak Indians called the island Xamayca (land of springs); probably about 60,000 Arawaks lived on Jamaica when the Spaniards arrived in 1494. Although Columbus came to Jamaica, it was his son, Diego Colon, who conquered the island in 1509. The Arawaks were wiped out. The Spanish brought in sugarcane, cotton, and cattle - worked by perhaps 200,000 slaves. The British dislodged the Spanish in the late 1600s. By the late 1800s, Jamaica was home to 800 sugar mills and over 1000 cattle ranches. In 1942, bauxite (for making aluminum) deposits discovered. Bauxite replaced sugar and ALCOA, ALCAN, Reynolds, and Kaiser Aluminum came into Jamaica. Jamaica became independent in 1962. In 1973, Jamaica was the #2 bauxite producer in the world, but while bauxite accounted for half of the exports, the industry employed only 1% of work force. The TNC did not reinvest their earnings in Jamaica. Taxes and export/import duties were extremely low.

Film clip on Jamaica (The Americas). The film begins with the 1962 independence ceremony. Princess Margaret came to turn over sovereignty to Jamaica. A huge celebration ensued, with fireworks lighting up the night sky. The moderator asked how much sovereignty this small island country could really hope to have, in a world of much stronger political powers? The film then cuts to an advertisement from the Jamaica Tourism Board, with pretty music and pretty scenery. We are reminded that the image of a paradise is undercut by the reality of poverty. In 1972, Michael Manley was elected Prime Minister. He campaigned using the slogan "Better Must Come." After his election, he imposed a levy on the bauxite, making the corporations pay 10 times more than before (a bauxite miner says that, in the 1950s, the corporations paid only a shilling for each ton mined). Manley wanted social justice for his people. Bob Marley's "Stand Up for Your Rights" was a song written to celebrate this period of optimism in Jamaica. Street art proclaimed "proud to be Jamaican." Manley improved schools and hospitals and became a local hero, under the banner of democratic socialism. He warned that, under capitalism, money is more important than people. In July, 1975, Manley went to Cuba and met with Fidel Castro. The western countries accepted the levy on bauxite, but rejected his friendly relationship with Castro. More and more, he was cast as a communist. A climate of hostility led to a decline in tourism and investment. As tourism dollars declined and, in the face of world oil crisis, Jamaica went into an economic tailspin. Manley was obliged to sign a loan with the International Monetary Fund. Manley was blamed for the economic woes. In 1980, 800 lives were lost through gang warfare. The government appeared to be no longer in control. The political campaign included Seaga (right wing) calling Manley a communist dog and Manley (left wing) calling Seaga a fascist nincompoop. Seaga won, by a landslide. Not surprisingly, he severed ties with Castro and introduced neoliberal reforms. The affluent benefitted from privatization and deregulation as tourist and investment dollars began to flow. The world was in a recession, however, and with Jamaica's social programs slashed, the poor continued to suffer. In 1989, Manley was re-elected. By this time, he had come to grips with the political realities: he must adopt a capitalist model. He reassured western investors that Jamaica was open for business. For the poor, little changed: dirty water, unaffordable food, poor living conditions. At this point in the film, we meet a Jamaican musician/poet who wants to continue the socialist programs of the 1970s. Manley, though, says that small countries must face their economic constraints. And so it goes. The poor continue to fare poorly, whether the party in power is left or right - and the disillusionment is palpable.

Follow-up note: In 1992, Percival Patterson (a black man) replaced Manley who resigned, following a long period of illness. Patterson has also followed the neoliberal model, privatizing and deregulating industry. His term lasts until 2007.

Review: (1) Three coastal countries in South America are usually included in the Caribbean region, because of their similar histories. Collectively, these three countries are called the _. (2) The Greater Antilles is comprised of the islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and _. (3) Much of the tropical forests on the Caribbean Islands has been destroyed. Another pervasive environmental problem is _. (4) Caribbean economies are still based upon agriculture (e.g., sugar, bananas, coffee, and tobacco). Today, many of the islands are also dependent on _ to bring in some money to the islands. (5) Depending on the island, Spanish, French, English, and Dutch is spoken. Name one country in the Caribbean region where French is widely spoken: _ (6) Prior to the European conquest of the islands, an indigenous people called the _ lived on the island of Jamaica. (7) In 1942, _ deposits were discovered in Jamaica. The big aluminum corporations came into Jamaica to exploit this resource. (8) A famous reggae musician from Jamaica,_, wrote many political songs including “Stand Up for Your Rights.” (9) How would you characterize the following Jamaican politicians’ political perspectives:
Manley: _ and Seaga: _

September 29:

Be sure that you know what the following key terms mean:
African diaspora, brain drain, capital leakage, Caribbean Community and Common Market, Caribbean diaspora, Chain migration, Circular migration, Creolization, Free trade zones, Greater Antilles, Houseyards, Hurricanes, Indentured labor, Isolated proximity, Lesser Antilles, Maroons, Mono-crop production, Monroe Doctrine, Neocolonialism, Offshore banking, Plantation America, Remittances, and Rimland.

On the island of Hispaniola are the countries of Dominican Republic and Haiti. The indigenous people called it Quisqueya. Then Columbus landed on the island in December of 1492. After the Spanish conquered the island, most of the indigenous people died. Africans were imported as slaves. In 1697, Spain ceded the island to France. Today, the Spanish influence is dominant in the Dominican Republic, where the people speak Spanish. In Haiti, the people speak a French creole. In 1804, the island was united as the Republic of Haiti. Then, from 1809-1821, the eastern part of the island (today's Dominican Republic) was restored to Spanish control. The island was once again reunited under Haiti from 1822-1843. In 1843, the eastern part of the island revolted and in 1844, the Dominican Republic was formed. In 1865, the Dominican Republic declared its independence. From 1907-1924, the Dominican Republic was a U.S. protectorate. In 1930, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo came into power. He was ruthless and, in May of 1961, he was assassinated. In 1963, the Dominican Republic had its first democratic elections, although the country continued to be plagued with poor governance. Students watched "Mirrors of the Heart" which is part of the Americas video series. The film begins in Santo Domingo, on the dock. Later on in the film, we see fairly narrow streets with cars but also with horses pulling loads. There are palm trees that line the highway leading out of the city. The homes are tidy, and modest in size. The film begins with a little history. Europeans came to the Caribbean islands five centuries ago. The indigenous people died soon thereafter. Africans were imported as slaves. They spoke different languages and had different cultures, but when they arrived on Hispaniola they lost all identity. They were just slaves. Today, the people of Dominican Republic come in many shades. According to Carlos, who is interviewed for the film, the mulatto has a black/white ancestry, but there is a nearly complete denial of blackness. Blacks are treated badly. One distinguished looking black man said that others wouldn't accept it when he described himself as black. Very dark people say they are dark Indian and light mulattos may say they are white or maybe light Indian. At any rate, to have light skin is to "improve the race." Carlos said that he was treated as a black in the U.S.; that the U.S. is very racist. Next door is the Dominican Republic's much disliked neighbor, Haiti. The poverty is obvious in Port-au-Prince, although it is a colorful city with lots of action. A Haitian says that most Haitians are proud of their African heritage. In the 1700s, Haiti was the richest colony in the Caribbean. It was an economy built on slave labor. In 1791, the voodoo priest Bookman called for the slave to rise up against their oppressors. They did and after a protracted conflict, Haiti won its independence from France. According to Carlos, in 1822 Haiti invaded the Dominican Republic. He sees this invasion as the genesis of the Dominicans hatred of the Haitians. We then learn that not only light skin but straight hair ("good" hair) is a symbol of being developed. The people want to look like the people in North America and Europe. In the Dominican Republic, traditionally everything Spanish has been glorified. The ideal was "purity of blood" - to be Spanish, white, and a Catholic. We then meet a Spanish woman whose family has inter-married to maintain their purity of blood. She, however, broke with tradition and married a black man. Her father disapproved. His mother approved. The husband is a physician and so he was helpful when the father got sick. By the time the father died, he no longer referred to the daughter's husband as "the black man" but as Enrico, my daughter's husband. We go back to Haiti and learn that 1 million Haitians have migrated to the Dominican Republic to cut sugarcane. We see a celebration and learn that, during slavery, African culture was forbidden. Only during Easter could they disguise African practices as Christian ones. We go back to the white wife/black husband with the family. They have 3 adorable children. Both the husband and wife state, at different times, that racial barriers must be overcome. The color of one's skin is not what matters.

Cuba: Cuba was colonized by the Spanish. In the late 1800s, they were fighting a war of independence with Spain. The U.S. stepped in, the 1898 Spanish American War. After winning this war, the U.S. felt that they had liberated Cuba, but Cuban felt that they had just switched colonial masters. Many Americans thought of Cuba as an extension of our country. Americans would go to Havana (dubbed "Sin City") for holidays. In 1934, Batista came to power; he was supported by US government - and a supporter of the inequitable status quo, with sugar plantations controlled by US interests. He didn't have the support of the peasants and urban workers. Eventually, he even fell out of U.S. favor. As that happened, in 1953 and 1956, Castro attempted overthrows of the government. On December 31, 1958, Batista fled. In 1959, Castro came to power. The initial reaction to Castro was good. Some college students (the beatniks) emulated him, wearing goatees, berets, and artsy-looking clothing. It looked like he would be a liberal - reform is okay, within certain parameters. Soon after coming into power, Castro confiscated $1 billion in North American property and investments. Castro wanted to end latifundia, limit foreign ownership and establish cooperatives, nationalize public services, enact social legislation (e.g., for education), and industrialize. Peasants and workers supported Castro; elite and the middle class fled. In January 1962, US broke off diplomatic relations. Castro turned to the USSR for loans, markets for Cuban products, defense, technical assistance. In 1961, the U.S. tried to overthrow Castro with an invasion of Cuban exiles: the Bay of Pigs. It was a fiasco. In October 1962, the U.S. realized that launching sites for USSR rockets were being constructed. In 1963, the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred. J. F. Kennedy and N. Khrushchev engaged diplomatically and turned us back from the brink of a nuclear war. This successful negotiation was the first step in dealing with problems of nuclear weapons. We all know that Cuba has a repressive political system and that people can earn better livelihoods in the dollar economy than in the peso economy, however, Cuba has excelled in some regards: (1) education free nursery through university (2) health - life expectancy up, child mortality down, general health better (3) low housing costs. After collapse of USSR, Cuba went into an economic tailspin, but they have survived through putting their efforts into organic agriclture, alternative transportation modes (e.g., bicycles), and emphasizing tourism.

Key:
If question #1 of your test begins with "Various characteristics ...," then here's the key: (1) b (2) c (3) b (4) d (5) c (6) c (7) c (8) c (9) b (10) c (11) d (12) ba (13) ha (14) bb (15) pd (16) ae (17) pb, ra (18) md (19) mb (20) za (21) zb (22) me (23) tb (24) mc (25) la (26) pc (27) pa (28) aa (29) ci (30) gc (31) sb (32) ya (33) ad (34) bc (35) cg (36) ua (37) sd (38) ch (39) cc (40) af (41) ga (42) ea (43) da (44) cj (45) td (46) ac (47) va (48) mf (49) cl (50) ma

If question #1 of your test begins with "Country X ...," then here's the key: (1) c (2) c (3) c (4) c (5) b (6) c (7) d (8) b (9) c (10) b (11) d (12) ba (13) gc (14) sb (15) ya (16) ad (17) bc (18) cg (19) ua (20) sd (21) ch (22) cc (23) af (24) ga (25) ea (26) da (27) cj (28) td (29) ac (30) va (31) mf (32) cl (33) ma (34) ha (35) bb (36) pd (37) ae (38) pb, ra (39) md (40) mb (41) za (42) zb (43) me (44) tb (45) mc (46) la (47) pc (48) pa (49) aa (50) ci

October 6:
We began our study of Sub-Saharan Africa. This region includes the area south of the Sahara Desert, called the Sahel. The Sahel is becoming ever more desertified. In eastern Africa, one finds a number of slender lakes. These are forming where tectonic plates are slowly pulling eastern Africa away from the rest of the continent. Most of Sub-Saharan Africa is several hundred feet above sea level; a high plateau.

I read the following article, then students identified the countries and the issue on base maps that I provided.
U. N. Says Sub-Saharan Africa Faces Food Emergency
ROME, July 6 (Reuters) - Millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa face food emergencies this year because of locusts, poor rains, civil strife and HIV/AIDS, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Tuesday. Twenty-three countries in the region are seriously affected by food insecurity, according to FAO's latest Africa Report. Sub-Saharan Africa's food aid requirement for 2004 is estimated at 2.9 million tonnes, compared to about 4 million tonnes last year, the FAO said. In Sudan, the humanitarian crisis in the greater Darfur region has had grave consequences with more than 1.2 million people forced from their homes and fields, the report said.
Despite good rains and a record cereal crop last year, prospects for the 2004 season are extremely poor as a result. "Reports paint a grim picture where the conflict has engulfed almost all parts of Greater Darfur, disrupting agricultural production and other essential activities." In eastern Africa, poor rains and the lingering effects of past droughts and conflicts have increased the likelihood of serious food shortages in several countries. "In Somalia, the situation is very alarming," the report said, singling out the drought in the northeast as particularly worrying. In Ethiopia, rains have been inadequate, while in Eritrea the likelihood of another drought-reduced harvest is very high. In Uganda, crop prospects are unfavorable because of erratic rains and Kenya's unfavorable crop prospects are compounded by cases of aflatoxin poisoning, a poison found in moldy crops. In western Africa, the overall food supply situation remains satisfactory reflecting good harvests in 2003, the FAO said, but food difficulties persist in several countries. An upsurge of desert locusts poses a serious threat to this year's coming crops in the Sahel, while insecurity and the lack of agricultural input continue to cause problems in Ivory Coast. In the Central African Republic, cereal production is expected to fall for the third year running as a result of civil strife, while in the Congo a delicate security situation is still hampering humanitarian assistance. Southern Africa is beset with HIV/AIDS and drought and the preliminary estimate of the 2004 cereal harvest there puts production at about 20 million tonnes, roughly a 4 percent drop from last year. Production of maize, the region's most important crop, declined by 9 percent from the previous year to 14 million tonnes. In Zimbabwe, cereal production remains well below average levels, with anticipated food shortages for 2.3 million rural people -- and at least as many in urban areas. The report cited a number of underlying factors including erratic rains, shortages of seeds and fertilizer, underused commercial farms, and the impact of HIV/AIDS. "Hyper-inflation, combined with extremely high levels of unemployment, greatly limit access to food for the most vulnerable people," the FAO added.

We discussed whether or not African countries would prefer to receive money or food as aid. They generally prefer money, so that they can buy food from African farmers that are producing.

We discussed the HIV/AIDS pandemic. As of 2003, in southern Africa, 20% or more of those 15-49 years of age are infected with HIV. The 2004 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic was released on July 6, 2004. Some of the points made: (a) Since the first diagnosis of AIDS in 1981, 20 million have died and 38 million are currently living with it. In 2003, 5 million became infected and 3 million died. (b) The number of AIDS deaths is comparable to a 747 airplane crashing every hour. (c) The global spending on HIV/AIDS was only $300 million in 1996. In 2003, it was $5 billion. By 2007, an estimated $20 billion will be needed annually to combat this scourge. (d) In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are now 12 million AIDS orphans (and will probably be 20 million by the end of the decade). In 2003, 3 million were infected and 2.2 million died. A total of 25 million have HIV/AIDS (with 10% of the world's population, this region has almost 2/3 of all cases). Fifty-seven percent of HIV/AIDS infections are among women.

In the last several centuries, Sub-Saharan Africa has faced many changes, challenges, and great exploitation. We've already talked about the slave trade, that depopulated west and central Africa. Islam and Christianity also diffused, marginalizing indigenous animist faiths in a number of places. The Bantu, people from west Africa, diffused east and south.The Bantu diffused east from western Africa and then south, bringing with them their languages.Today, Bantu languages are spoken throughout much of Sub-Saharan (south of the Sahara) Africa. The Europeans colonized Africa. Colonialism has had a devastating impact on Africa. In 1884, little of Africa was colonized. In that year, European countries convened the Berlin Conference and divided up Africa. No Africans were asked to participate. The Europeans had found quinine effective against malaria and had heard of the wealth of Africa. The scramble was on. By 1895, most of Africa was colonized. In 1914, all of Africa was colonized except for Ethiopia (which was later briefly colonized by the Italians). Liberia, the country created for freed American slaves, was also listed as independent, yet the freed slaves who went to Liberia basically colonized the indigenous people.
Homework: In your own words, define the key words at the end of the chapter on Sub-Saharan Africa.

October 11:

Kenya has a population of about 29 million, with a 2% annual rate of natural increase. The life expectancy is under 50 years and the per capita GNP is about $320. Kenya was a British colony; it gained independence in 1963. In 1998, 213 were killed when terrorists (reportedly associated with Osama bin Laden) blew up the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. Two of Kenya's main exports are coffee and tea. The Kenyan diet is heavy on maize (corn) and beans, with some meat (especially goat meat). Tourism is a very important commercial activity: Mt. Kenya, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Lake Victoria, Amboseli Reserve, etc. In addition to the savannas and the mountains (the two tallest mountains in Africa are in Kenya), miles and miles of white sand coastline draw tourists. The hotels along the coast are grouped - there are a few hotels in which the Germans stay, then some for Italians, Jamaicans, etc. If someone is interested in purchasing land in Kenya, they can do so. There are no requirements that the person be a citizen of Kenya. Kenya has 42 tribes and although the British imposed the English language on Kenyans, each tribe speaks its own language (or dialect). To communicate, Swahili has been adopted as, basically, a lingua franca. The two biggest cities are Nairobi (the capital) and Mombasa (the primary port). If you go swimming in Mombasa, look out for the sharks as they come in to feed off the trash. In the U.S., we are often struck by the ability of Kenyan runners. A former Kenyan student said that the runners come from the highlands and, having trained at high attitudes, running at sea level is a piece of cake. They can run and carry on a conversation while the other runners are huffing and puffing.Kenya is also very deforested and suffers from severe soil erosion. Part of the erosion problem is associated with replacement of indigenous bean crops with European varieties of beans and corn (not well adapted to the soil, plus corn is very hard on the soil). One person, Wangari Maathai (featured in the July 2004 issue of the New Internationalist) has worked long, hard, and well to reforest Kenya. Through her Greenbelt movement, poor women are paid for the tree seedlings that survive. It is an excellent incentive to care for the little trees. Wangari Maathai, now a government minister, was the first woman in east Africa to earn a Ph.D. On October 8, 2004, Wangari Maathai became the first African women to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The $1.36 million prize recognizes her Green Belt Movement (30 million trees planted), family planning, nutrition, fight against corruption. She said that “Many wars in the world are actually fought over natural resources. In managing our resources…we plant the seeds of peace, both now and in the future.”

South Africa: South Africa's population is about 40 million and, while Sub-Saharan Africa's population is in excess of 611 million, the economic power of South Africa is comparable to that of the rest of Africa. The original African peoples of South Africa were the Khoi and the San, who were killed and enslaved by the Dutch who settled the Cape in the mid-1600s. Today, the Khoi-San are found in desert land to the north of South Africa. The Xhosa appear to have been in South Africa since the 1500s. The Zulu exerted a powerful presence in the 1800s. South Africa was colonized by the Dutch in the mid-1600s; the Dutch settlers came to be known as Boer or Afrikaner. Early on, the Afrikaners were slave-holders, as most were agriculturalists. The British came into South Africa in the early 1806 and being a stronger country, began to call the shots. The British outlawed slavery in 1833, which greatly angered the Afrikaners. The Afrikaners migrated from the Cape area (in southwest South Africa) to the northeast. In the mid to late 1800s, diamonds and gold were found in the areas occupied by the Afrikaners. Conflict between the various parties ensued. In 1910, the independent country became the Union of South Africa (part of the British Commonwealth, a relationship it ended in 1961 when the country was renamed the Republic of South Africa). The Afrikaners' Nationalist (now, the "National") party came into power in 1948. While discrimination against non-whites had existed prior to 1948, the Nationalists institutionalized a system of Apartheid. Today, the population is 76% black African (with Zulu and Xhosa being the largest groups). Nelson Mandela is a Xhosa. Thirteen percent is white (with 3 Afrikaners for every 2 British). The coloured population (mixed black/white or Asian/white heritage) makes up nearly 9% of the population and Asians (primarily from South Asia) comprise about 3% of the population. While the majority population in South Africa is black, up until a few years ago, a white minority controlled the country. Apartheid, an Afrikaner word meaning "separate development of the races" really meant oppression of and discrimination toward non-whites in South Africa: South Africans were classified by race, marriage/sex between races was prohibited, facilities were segregated, blacks had no political rights, homelands were established, pass laws kept blacks from moving freely in the country, and blacks were grossly discriminated against in the workplace. Note: these homelands were rural, usually marginal to poor land, were often not the "home" of the residents (since blacks were forcibly removed to homelands from elsewhere in the country), and were over-crowded. In contrast, the townships were urban and were not intended as permanent homes for the blacks; they were slums around the cities where blacks could live while in the white man's employ (Soweto is South Africa's most famous township). The ANC's (African National Congress) sought peaceful resolution for years, and then turned to rebellion/revolution to change the oppressive system. The ANC's most famous leader, Nelson Mandela, was imprisoned for 27 years on charges of terrorism. In 1990, as a result of negotiations with President deKlerk, he was released from prison. The institutions of Apartheid began to be dismantled. In 1994, for the first time, all adults in South Africa (black, white, Asian, and coloured) were given the opportunity to vote. The people overwhelmingly chose the ANC party, and Nelson Mandela became the President of South Africa.

We watched a video, entitled "Mandela's Promised Land", about the days leading up to the 1994 election. The video begins in Mqekezweni, the village of Mandela's childhood. Here, students line up for a third rate education, where history begins with the Dutch settlers, not with their own African history. Only one of 70 will probably make it past high school. If he had stayed in the village, Mandela would have become the village chief. The man who is chief today thinks that Mandela made a mistake leaving. He says that it is more important to help your own people. In this village, the old are respected and the young are cherished. Mandela said it was a primitive life where everything was shared. Mandela comes to visit his village. The villagers are hoping that Mandela will deliver the promised land: electricity, schools, hospitals, new homes, and jobs. He moves on without saying how he'll get the billions needed to fulfill the promises. Next we go to Soweto, a township where blacks were forced to live. In an especially poor part of Soweto called Kliptown, seven million live in shacks. There is scattered garbage, open drains, and no electricity (except for batteries). Mandela came to Soweto with the ANC in 1955 to draw up the Freedom Charter. This Charter demanded jobs, houses, and so on in a non-racial South Africa. Mandela had been banned by the government, so he had to hide in the crowd. The demands have not been realized. Attitudes, however, have changed. One woman says that Mandela "gave us the light" - that before "we were stupid". She said that, in the old days, Africans would thank a white man for giving them a "clap" (a slap on the face). Actual physical conditions are worse now than in 1955. There is no sewer system, so toilet buckets must be emptied by hand. Emptying these buckets is a desirable job, in a country where black unemployment is 50%. Many have unrealistic expectations about how quickly the changes can be made. Mandela warns that, in some cases, it will take as much as five years, but some hope for changes within months. Next we travel to the Harrison's farm in the Orange Free State. Whites and blacks have received death threats, but many show up anyway. Mandela patiently writes down the workers' concerns. A white farmer, who was willing to be interviewed, said that the "Afs" aren't well enough educated to farm, although it would "be lovely to see". Mandela, though, wants everyone on board and he assures them that all, white and black, have a place in the new South Africa. After leaving the farm, we go to Mandela's neighborhood, an exclusive community in Johannesburg. It is ironic that today the whites live behind bars. The white family living across the street from Mandela says that, while he was convicted of terrorism, that nothing could really be further from reality. He is a "very, very, very nice man". This obviously wealthy family is confident that their privileged lifestyle won't change and, in fact, they don't think that they should even help pay for the changes. Mandela agrees, saying that the basic needs of the people can be addressed without bringing down the lifestyle of others. Next we see one of South Africa's exclusive schools, where poor black children are bused in for extra studies on the weekends. The children admire Mandela and say that he went to prison for the blacks. In reality, Mandela went to prison for a non-racial South Africa. He said that white domination should not be replaced by black domination, and that he would give his life to that cause. He was sentenced to life in prison, going first to Robbineiland, where he and the other prisoners had to set the tone for how they would be treated for the rest of their lives (they refused to walk fast). In the late 1980s, Mandela began secret negotiations with the ruling Nationalists. He saw it as his duty to change his enemies, not to destroy them. He asked people to forgive others, including black collaborators who did the dirty work for the whites. He spoke to a stadium full of very hopeful and excited Africans, who wanted the corrupt black mayor off the stage. Mandela, again, asked them to work with their former enemies. In the case of the Mayor of Maokeng, the people hated him. They had burned his garages, but hadn't killed him. He had gotten rich oppressing them. The mayor, however, was under the impression that he was popular and respectable and that people jealous of his status had burned his garages. He carries a gun because it is "my right". Mandela says that one of the most difficult things is to move people to a new position. We saw just how difficult when we traveled to Natal province, a stronghold of the Zulu's Inkatha party (a political party in competition with the ANC). A war there had already claimed 10,000 lives. We saw how a warlord named Ntombela could distort the truth and raise the level of violence. An ANC organizer had been killed and some of Ntombela's men were being held for the murder, but Ntombela told a group of fearful villagers that the ANC had killed one of their people. He told them he had many guns and medicines to keep the bullets from hurting them. Soon, the villagers were ready to do battle. As the reporter said, this was a case of a cynical man playing on people's fears. Dealing with violent opposition will be Mandela's first challenge; in fact, the area could become South Africa's Vietnam. The video ends with the reporter asking Mandela if he is a brave man. Mandela replies that, in his language, there is a saying "that the family of a brave man cries every day and sometimes it is not wise to be brave." There is little doubt, however, of his bravery and commitment, but he is also old and future leaders may have to carry out the promises made today.

Review: (1) Kenya, like the rest of Africa, was colonized. The European country of _ colonized Kenya. In 1963, the country gained its independence. In 1998, terrorists struck the U.S. Embassy in the country’s capital. The capital is _. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner has just been announced. The winner is _, the first African woman to receive the prize. What, specifically, is she known for?_ (2) In South Africa, the original inhabitants were the _. Nelson Mandela’s tribe, the _, probably immigrated to South Africa in the 1500s. In the 1600s, Europeans who came to be known as _ colonized. Then, in the early 1800s, another European power, the _, colonized.  (3) The video, The Promised Land, recounts the days leading up to the election of _, the first black president of South Africa. While convicted of terrorism in the 1960s, he always said he went to jail for a social cause. What exactly did he want to see in South Africa? _ After visiting the village of Mqekezweni, we visited the poor black township called _. In 1955, the African National Congress (ANC) marched in protest and drew up a list of demands. The document they produced is called the _. It called for jobs, houses, and education in a non-racial South Africa. Why were the people so angry at the mayor of Maokeng?_

October 13:

South Africa: The ethnic composition is as follows: 76% black, 13% white, 9% colored, and 3% Asian. Since the 1994 first all-race election (the ANC won, and selected Nelson Mandela president), there have been some changes in South Africa. The following are some examples: (a) To help heal the pain and bitterness of Apartheid, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 1996. This Commission was headed by Desmond Tutu and gave amnesty to those who confessed to and apologized for political crimes during Apartheid. (b) Today, Soweto has improved (in terms of housing, public amenities, tourists) but crime is very, very serious. (c) Black debt feeds into crimes of desperation, e.g., the deregulated small loan industry is able to charge unbelievable interest rates. As a result, many blacks are constantly taking out new loans to repay the old ones (millions of loans each month).(d) The 1994 Restitution of Land Rights Act was passed to allow return of confiscated lands to black African families.

Rwanda: The population of Rwanda is about 8 million, with a life expectancy under 45 years. Most of the people live in rural areas and the income is very low. The two main groups in Rwanda are the Tutsi (14% of the population) and Hutu (85% of the population). Historically, they have shared the same language, religion, beliefs, and customs. Being a Tutsi was associated with owning cattle. Under colonial rule, the Belgians used the minority Tutsis to enforce their rule over the majority (and poor) Hutu. They imposed an Apartheid-type system. In the late 1959s, the Hutu rebelled and oppressed the Tutsi, in a reverse Apartheid-type system. Many Tutsis left the country and formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). In 1990, the RPF invaded and finally negotiated a power-sharing settlement with the President. For many of the Hutu, sharing power was the one thing they could not stand and they began to plan an end to the arrangement. They named themselves the "Interhamwe" (meaning "those who attack - or fight - together"). In late 1993, a small (2500) contingent of UN Peacekeepers arrived to help hold the fragile peace together; the troops thought it would be an easy mission. In January 1994, a man who had been training the Interhamwe came forward, revealing that the aim was to kill the maximum number of Tutsi civilians possible. An urgent message was sent to UN headquarters in New York. Headquarters told UNAMIR (the name of the UN Peacekeepers) to stand down and not go after the caches of weapons. The reason? No one wanted to risk another Somalia, where the graphic killing of 18 US soldiers a few months earlier was burned into the public's brain. In hindsight, the UN realizes that it made a big mistake. On April 6, 1994, the President of Rwanda was flying back home after further negotiations with the Tutsis. His plane was shot down by missiles. The extermination plan began to unfold. Roadblocks were set up to identify and kill Tutsis. Most were hacked to death with machetes. The Hutu extremists said that "the Tutsi must become nothing but a memory." Radio announcers told where Tutsis were spotted and to go get them. The lives of moderate Hutu officials also came under threat. In the first few days of the killing, at least 18 other moderate Hutu leaders (who might have been able to turn the tide) were killed. Tutsis who managed to evade the roadblocks made their way to safe havens, for example schools guarded by UNAMIR. Then, 10 Belgian troops were trapped, tortured, mutilated and killed. UNAMIR troops were horrified, but not inclined to leave. On the other hand, Belgian officials lobbied countries to vote to pull out UN troops. The UN Security Council voted to pull out UNAMIR. The US State Department constructed the issue as a break down in the peace process, not ethnic cleansing or genocide. But, within a few days, 10s of 1000s were already dead. American, Italian, Belgian, etc. civilians were airlifted out. The French, the Belgians, the Italians did the same. By April 21, the Red Cross was estimating that perhaps 100s of 1000s were already dead. The 250 troops who were left were powerless to do anything. With UNAMIR essentially gone, all hell broke loose. No longer were there any sanctuaries. Bodies were strewn across the countryside. But, while some knew that this was a genocide, the UN was hesitant to say so. If this was called a genocide and the UN did nothing, how would that look? Then the objective reality in Rwanda got a little harder to ignore, as bodies began floating out of the country. By mid-May, 500,000 had been killed. Finally, the US called for action, asking that additional troops and artillery be sent to Rwanda. No timeline for implementation was set and the countries quibbled over the details. Finally, the APCs (armored personnel carriers) were shipped over, but they were unloaded in Uganda, where they stayed until the killing was over. The killing stopped when the RPF prevailed. An estimated 800,000 were killed in 100 days. The UN called it genocide. Today, the president is a Tutsi; his name is Kagama.

Democratic Republic of Congo (watch the name, there's also a smaller country called the Republic of Congo): Moderate Hutus and Tutsi fled to the Congo, and a war erupted there (the war in Congo is now referred as the First African World War). First, a little history. Via the Berlin Conference, Belgium's King Leopold took Congo. While King Leopold never set foot in the Congo, his people exploited it ruthlessly on his behalf. Half of the people of Congo died, from disease from also from trying to carry out impossible tasks from the Belgian taskmasters. In 1908, the Congo became a Belgium colony (rather than the private property of the king of Belgium). Rubber, cotton, peanuts, coffee, sugarcane, palm oil, forest, copper, etc. were exploited for white gain. In 1957, the formation of African political parties began. In 1960, with independence, Lumumba was elected Prime Minister; he was abducted during a coup just a few days later and killed in January 1961. A civil war ensued that ended with the rise of Mobutu, a kleptocrat who renamed the country Zaire. Uranium, manganese, tin, copper, cobalt, diamonds, coltan were extensively mined. Mobutu was brutal and continued to plunder the country. The IMF directly controlled the economy after 1980. Student protests began in 1990; military killed many of the protestors. The problems continued. In 1995, Laurent Kabila led a resistance alliance; in 1997, he became president (and the name changed back to the Democratic Republic of Congo). In 1998, war erupted again, this time involving the surrounding countries (including Rwanda). Kabila was assassinated in January 2001. His son, Joseph, is now president. The war has killed 3 million people (people are unable to grow food because of the war; rape is used as a weapon of war; the primates and other species are being decimated). Joseph Kabila began peace talks in 2002. Peace deal in 2003, but the situation is still not stable.

Moving on to west Africa, we turn to Nigeria. Nigeria is the most populous country in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a population over 129 million. It was a British colony until 1960. Three major ethnic groups: the Yoruba (southwest, Christian), the Ibo (southeast, Christian), and Hausa-Fulani (north, Muslim) live in Nigeria. A civil war, from 1967-1970, claimed one million lives; the Ibo had hoped to become an independent country named Biafra. Nigeria is an extremely corrupt country. Oil was first drilled in Nigeria in 1965. Today, it is a major oil producer, taking in $100 million per month in oil revenue and $400 billion from oil since 1970. Nigeria is the 10th largest producer in the world and the 5th largest foreign supplier to the US, yet it is one of the world's poorest countries (mostly because of government and corporate corruption). Lagos, the largest city with 13.5 million people, was established as a farming and fishing village. From the mid 1700 to the mid 1800s, it was a slave trading center. In 1861, the British took it over. Today it has been called "the biggest disaster area that ever p