European Imperialism Destroys African Lives

Two articles in recent editions of the NY Times (1/14 and 1/15 Elisabeth Rosenthal and Sharon LaFraniere), exposed a manifestation of Western imperialist domination and exploitation of Africa. Europe is now the leading consumer of fish, so much so that Europe’s own stock of fish has diminished, and global fishing fleets are scouring the globe to satiate the appetite of Europeans.  This should remind us that imperialism is an economic system, and is not confined to the greed and expansionist conduct of one nation-state. 

With Europe over-fished, subsidized fleets have been focusing on the fish stocks of Africa, and now the fish are disappearing from African waters, and many Africans who lived for generations as fisherman have become desperate. They frequently try to cross the ocean to get to Europe, with 31,OOO trying last year. In addition, we are told that some 6,000 Africans “died or disappeared.”

The situation begs for international intervention, as well as corrective action by the European Union and the nations that make it up. Will the U.N. do anything? Count the number of African countries that are permanent members of the
Security Council (answer: zero). More Africans will die, and more will become impoverished and desperate. The heavily subsidized fishing fleets from Europe, however, will do well-until all the fish are gone.  –Rob Moir