Kruse's Keys: Read "She Would Be King" to Experience Liberia's Birth (Liberia)

In Philip Hitti's History of the Arabs, he highlights the long-standing Arab appreciation for oral story-telling and poetry which they call sihr halal.  He further describes this ingrained love for "the rhythm, the rhyme, the music, [which] produce on them the effect of what they call "lawful magic" (sihr halal). "  In her debut novel Wayetu Moore channels this idea of lawful magic as she joins magical realist authors like Couto, Martel, and Marquez in her telling of an alternative origin story of the Pepper Coast lands that would become Liberia.

In her novel, Moore has decided to focus not on Liberia's historical realities and details but rather on highlighting the people and ideas that would become Liberia.  This shift allows the reader to more thoughtfully ponder the roles of justice, religion, and slavery against the backdrop of the most unique colonialist setting on the continent.

Envisioned as an alternative to the emancipation of black slaves in the United States, the west coast African colony began through the efforts of the American Colonization Society (ACS) in 1822.  Twenty-five years later it would become an independent nation--Liberia.  The entire venture was embroiled in controversy as many freed blacks in the United States viewed this as an affront to their efforts and rights to exist in America.  That many members of the ACS were prominent white politicians further served to support this viewpoint.

Like all colonization, Liberia's was rife with bloodshed, betrayal, theft, and violence.  The initial land purchase was only successful when the US Navy Lieutenant leading the expedition "encouraged" the local tribe leader King Peter to sell them a tract of land at gunpoint.  The colony's further expansion came at the expense of the bordering native villages and tribes over the ensuing century.

That history, however, is not the author's focus--instead she has created the story of three superhumans from three groups who eventually made up the country of Liberia.  The first is Norman Aragon, the son of a white colonialist and a free Jamaican woman.  He inherits his father's pale skin but his mother's ability to disappear and move invisibly.  The second is June Dey, the son of an American slave woman and a ghost.  He soon discovers that he has superhuman strength and that bullets and blades have no effect on him.  The last is the heroine Gbessa who is outcast from a local Vai tribal village after she is proclaimed a witch as a young girl.  She soon finds out that while she can be hurt and feel intense pain she cannot die--she is eternal.  Moore weaves the tales of these three lives into an intersection that climaxes as they seek the future of a land and country.  This beautiful tapestry will leave a lasting impression on any reader--Africanist or not.

*One of my Reading Around the Continent books--the full list is here.
See our 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 Reading Lists.

Key References:
Library of Congress primary source information on ACS and Liberia origins
Powell's Interview: Wayétu Moore, Author of 'She Would Be King'
She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore review – magical visions of Liberia
In Wayétu Moore’s Ambitious Debut Novel, Liberia Is Reborn
A SENSE OF GOD: SHE WOULD BE KING BY WAYÉTU MOORE

Kruse's Keys: Read "The Insanity of God" To Change Your Perspective (Audible) (Somalia)

When many critics of Christianity think of missionaries they picture black-clad old-fashioned looking men and women proselytizing loudly in the streets--calling adamantly for repentance. If you fall into that category I challenge you to read this book--it will upend your perspective.

At one point Ripken's NGO was the ONLY ONE operating in Somalia--his team of 8 was feeding 50,000 refugees a day and running mobile health clinics around the country.  Without his efforts countless hundreds of thousands would have starved.  When no one else was there--he was--serving and loving the Somali people.    It was in his years there that he also learned the costs though of following his calling--he lost a son and hundreds of Somali friends who ended up believing in Jesus. He had this to say about religious persecution:

“I’d never met a believer in persecution that wasn’t running for their life,” said Ripken. “In those years in Somalia, we had 150 followers of Jesus in the country. When we left, only four were left alive. They hunted them down like we would hunt animals in rural Kentucky. They killed four of my best friends in one day in Somalia."

But in a lifetime spent serving in high risk, war torn, countries he shares what he learned firsthand from persecuted Somalis, Chinese, Russians, and Ukrainians: persecution isn't something to be lamented:

“The reason for persecution, then, is that people keep finding Jesus—and, then, they refuse to keep Him to themselves.”

These firsthand lessons are the result of what has turned into his life's mission--learning and sharing the stories of God at work throughout the globe--to date he and his wife have conducted more than 600 interviews in 72 countries.  

Regardless of your faith background, this book will challenge your perspective. 

*One of my Reading Around the Continent books--the full list is here.
See our 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 Reading Lists.

Key Quotes:
"Our hope is that believers around the world will get close enough to the heart of God that the first images that come to mind when we hear the word “Muslim” are not Somali pirates or suicide bombers or violent jihadists or even terrorists. When we hear the word “Muslim,” we need to see and think of each and every individual Muslim as a lost person who is loved by God. We need to see each Muslim as a person in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. We need to see each Muslim as someone for whom Christ died.”

“Don’t ever give up in freedom what we would never have given up in persecution!

“The reason for persecution, then, is that people keep finding Jesus—and, then, they refuse to keep Him to themselves.”

“one of the most accurate ways to detect and measure the activity of God is to note the amount of opposition that is present.”

“Don’t you steal my joy! I took great joy that I was suffering in my country, so that you could be free to witness in your country.”

“You can only grow in persecution what you go into persecution with.”

"Lost people have a greater right to access Jesus than I have a right to exert my religious freedom.”

“I had always assumed that persecution was abnormal, exceptional, unusual, out of the ordinary. In my mind, persecution was something to avoid. It was a problem, a setback, a barrier. I was captivated by the thought: what if persecution is the normal, expected situation for a believer? And what if the persecution is, in fact, soil in which faith can grow? What if persecution can be, in fact, good soil? I began to wonder about what that might mean for the church in America—and I began to wonder about what that might mean for the potential church in Somalia.”

Key References (For Further Study)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TAbJeFMrvM

Baptism: The Point of No Return A story from Somalia

Nik Ripken: Lessons from the persecuted world for America

https://www.nikripken.com/

Nik Ripken Suggested Book List

Kruse's Keys: Read "Mister Drainpipe" to Discover the Power of Restored Dignity (Ethiopia)

Author Marc Secchia took a hiatus from his slew of successful fantasy novels to pen this heartfelt love letter to the homeless of Addis Ababa. I tore through this book in less than two days and I’ll warn you that this story will pierce even the hardest heart and (hopefully) change the way you think and interact with the homeless and “least” in your daily life.

“Mister Drainpipe” takes the reader into the mind of a deranged, older homeless man who can no longer recall his past identity and calls himself “Drainpipe” after the dank lodging in which he discovered many years before. When not begging for his daily “injera”, he spends his hours babbling senselessly and scaring women and children. These babblings are interrupted by rare moments of lucidity, however, as he considers the passersby and asks at one point:

Why did people who had so much grow tired of giving a few santimes?

This question frames a narrative that unfolds as part mystery, part searing indictment of how we treat (or totally ignore) the “least of us” in society. Indeed it only takes one small act of kindness, to arrest Drainpipe’s descent into madness and fundamentally change his life’s arc. As the net of generosity grows, Secchia’s Ethiopian characters offer sharp insight into the broader issues of endemic poverty noting that: “until we are able to address the fundamental restoration of human will and dignity, no program, no effort and no intervention, will truly succeed.” These observations land poignantly as they are balanced against the reality of a man for whom no program, effort, or intervention has helped.

Will Drainpipe rediscover and recapture his dignity and past identity? This question is answered against the backdrop of Ethiopia’s history over the past 75 years. One learns not only of the Derg’s genocidal horrors, but also the oblivious Emperor’s rule that let hundreds of thousands perish in famine. This history further covers both the unlikely ascension of Abiy Ahmed to the position of Prime Minister, as well as the efforts of the controversial activist Jawar Mohammed. Along the way, Secchia also treats the foreign reader with cultural insights that both educate and enlighten such as the use of the feminine in greeting between two males to denote a special and close friendship (i.e., Dehna-nesh, my brother?). It’s clear through this story that the author has a heart for not only Ethiopia as a country, but for its people, great and small.

As we follow Drainpipe’s journey, we see the miraculous, contagious power of generosity but we also see the hard work and personal sacrifice it requires. As Drainpipe notes near the story’s end: “it is strange how easily one forgets miracles.”


Related Ethiopian Reading:

The Shadow King
Beneath the Lion's Gaze
Prevail

*One of my Reading Around the Continent books--the full list is here.
See our 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 Reading Lists.


Key Quotes:

But now and again there might be a treasure. A smile. A kind greeting; not the automatic or guilty sort, but a genuine word. A murmured blessing. The brushing of fingertips against his upraised palm to give a coin rather than just to toss it toward his mat. These moments mattered.
Location: 691

Was the whole city one big diseased organ waiting to seize up?
Location: 843

The irony of severe water shortages in a country that supplied an estimated eighty-five percent of the water of the Nile, while Egypt built rice paddies in the desert.
Location: 1,640

History would record something about this year, 1985, in facts and figures and charts. They would agree how awful it all was. People would be unable to believe this had once been a green and fertile land, and too soon, the international news media would turn to another issue. Another need. Another disaster. And these faces would be lost forever.
Location: 1,851

People kissed hands or cheeks all the time when they were especially grateful. Maybe that wasn’t Oromo culture – he did not know – but it certainly was his, just like the shoulder bump signified informality and friendship.
Location: 2,329

And we use the feminine suffix to indicate a special fondness for someone. So I might say dehna-nesh rather than dehna-neh to tell someone that they’re my special friend. Dehna-nesh, my brother?”
Location: 2,490

Inibila, or ‘let’s eat together,’ meant unity. In the same way, Irreecha was a peaceful celebration of the year which had been, a time to thank Waaqa, or God, for one’s blessings. It was meant to be a time of thanksgiving and unity for the Oromo people.
Location: 2,501

“Under brutal suppression during the reign of Menelik II and subsequent regimes, Oromo cultural and religious gatherings were outlawed for over a century. However, in the last decade there has been a concerted revival of important Oromo practises, particularly at the Irreecha religious festival on the shores of Hora Harsadii, or Lake Hora. The deep values underpinning a uniquely Oromo worldview which are celebrated at Irreecha include peace and stability, abundance and provision for life, the preservation of law and order, and protection of the environment. These values describe the Oromummaa, or the core identity of Oromos.”
Location: 2,570

Why did people who had so much grow tired of giving a few santimes?
Location: 2,862

Their cars were 30 to 40 years old and required constant nursing and tinkering. After the Communist revolution, he remembered, cars used to be imported from the USSR – the little Ladas, which were renamed Fiat 131s. Few people could tell the difference, so everyone called them ‘Lada.’ The city’s lifeblood ran blue. The little Ladas were painted a cheerful blue colour with a white roof, as were the bulkier minibus taxis which were licensed to run regular routes in the city. They carried anything and everything on their roofs, from fridges to boxes to the odd goat bound for a family celebration.
Location: 2,979

The bars quietened.
Location: 3,034

‘Until we are able to address the fundamental restoration of human will and dignity, no program, no effort and no intervention, will truly succeed.’
Location: 3,322

Licking his fingertips despite the rudeness of the gesture. He left no portion upon the plate to politely indicate satiation and the host’s excellent provision, but
Location: 3,363

titbits.
Location: 3,395

How could a man mourn for what he had forgotten? Only that his interior felt hollow.
Location: 3,463

What a droll expression. Tafa, was how friends greeted each other after a long separation. ‘You disappeared.’
Location: 3,645

Touching the instrument to his dry, cracked lips, he let the music run through him like a river.
Location: 3,684

Every person, from the lowest to the highest, should be afforded dignity. It’s a travesty of our society that we strip people of self-respect and opportunity, and treat them as outcasts. Dignity is the air and water of life. You need to rediscover your dignity, Tuhbo.”
Location: 4,095

If abstinence made the heart grow fonder
Location: 4,142

“Egzharbier ystillyn. I cannot thank you – how can I thank you? Egzharbier ystillyn … it still doesn’t say enough.”
Location: 4,248

Midday was not the hottest time of the day, but rather nine in the afternoon, according to Ethiopian time-telling which counted dawn as the ‘zero’ and midday as the sixth hour. Foreigners would say three o’clock.
Location: 4,393

And then came Nelson Mandela – did you know he has an Ethiopian passport? He received it in 1962 under the name of David Motsamayi, when he trained here in our country in guerrilla warfare.
Location: 4,430

and now he vividly recalled watching Timket in Gondar at Fasiledes’ Bath, a unique ceremony where the Orthodox believers leaped fully clothed into the waters of a huge pool surrounding that small medieval castle.
Location: 4,471

Toxic history required healing.
Location: 4,501

Tuhbo remembered the legend of the negarit, the great Ethiopian drum hollowed out of a baobab tree that was meant to be heard fifty kilometres away!
Location: 4,559

Always rumours, or wiray in Amharic, the word-of-mouth that often served best – or worst when the media was tightly controlled and real journalism, curtailed.
Location: 4,688

Some stones were only ever lifted by laughing at oneself.
Location: 4,771

“Y’zare injerachinen,” she agreed, quoting from the Lord’s Prayer. Our daily injera.
Location: 4,776

Fikir Indegena – Love Again.
Location: 4,813

He used the Amharic form meliaki, my angel, the fonder, more personal term – a term sometimes used as a nickname or endearment between lovers.
Location: 4,937

But it is strange how easily one forgets miracles.

Kruse's Keys: Read "Beneath the Lion's Gaze" to Experience the Horrors of the Derg in Ethiopia

One of the only African nations to never have been colonized (the five year occupation by Italy is generally not categorized as colonization), one of its darkest periods came during the 13-year socialist-Lenninist-Marxist rule of the Derg. This military junta overthrew an increasingly oblivious Haile Selassie (ending a succession of “solomonic rule” dating back to the 1200s) and set about consolidating power (aka the “Red Terror”) under the leadership of despot Mengistu Mariam. Beneath the Lion’s Gaze is a retelling of this time period through the eyes of one Ethiopian family.

The family’s patriarch is a renowned doctor named Hailu who is ordered to keep the victim of a barely-alive Derg torture victim alive--ostensibly so that she can be tortured further. As he struggles with this dilemma, his son Dawit becomes a freedom fighter who becomes known as “Mekonnen Killer of Soldiers.” Author Maaza Mengiste uses the arc of this one family’s struggles to bring to life the experience of Ethiopians who starved under Selassie, only to be persecuted and killed under the Derg and starved again under its leader Mengistu’s reign.

While Mengistu was eventually toppled, like all civil war tales, no one is left unscathed in Beneath the Lion’s Gaze. All resistance, no matter how passive--or how righteous, bears a cost. Hailu in particular at the story’s conclusion, is broken so thoroughly by torture that he carries the “appearance of a man dragging death with him through life.” And it is this notion of the inseparable presence of death within everyday life that Mengiste best captures the reality for generations of Ethiopians.

*One of my Reading Around the Continent books--the full list is here.
See our 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 Reading Lists.
You must read Maaza Mengiste's masterful novel on the resistance to the Italian invasion: "The Shadow King"--my review is here.
"Prevail" is a comprehensive history of Ethiopia's fight against Italy, my review of it is here.

Key Quotes:

• “The nature of love is to kill for it, or to die.” 
• “Hope can never come from doing nothing.”
• “Those who are dead aren’t worth dying for.”
• “Who’s left to rule if everyone’s in jail."

Key References:

NPR: In Ethiopia, A Monarch Falls In 'The Lion's Gaze'

Chapter 2

3:09 Traditional Ethiopian dance description: “The heart follows the body.”

Chapter 3

07.24 Obelisk statue with lion commemorating . Also describes 12 martyrs square--victims of Italian massacres

09:24 Tradition where women have a cross carved into skin

https://copticliterature.wordpress.com/2012/08/19/a-vanished-coptic-cultural-practice-from-the-13th-century-the-branding-of-children-with-hot-iron-to-make-crosses-on-their-skin-bishop-jacques-de-vitrys-evidence/

Chapter 4

12:16 Famine used by Derg as a justification for many actions.

“Hope can never come from doing nothing.”

Chapter 15

09:50 Wine cellar at the palace used as a prison.

“Who’s left to rule if everyone’s in jail.”

Chapter 22

04:23 8-sided church in Addis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George%27s_Cathedral,_Addis_Ababa

Chapter 25

08:54 scene of Emperor being smothered to death

Chapter 26

07:50 monument obelisk by hospital memorial to one man’s growing rage toward his people. Russian role described as a group that came to Ethiopia to help destroy it.

Chapter 36

01:55 “A missing beat can fell a man.” in discussion on the role of the heart

Chapter 39

03:35 “Those who are dead aren’t worth dying for.”

Chapter 43

09:23-09:40 Revolutionary Lion Resistance. Anbessa (Lion)

Chapter 51

13:15 Makonnen

15:44 Makonnen collects the bodies and guides them to angels, avenger of the weak...legend grows

15:58 killer of soldiers

Chapter 54

01:17 in order for families to claim the bodies of their loved ones, they would have to pay the “bullet fee” --125 birr to pay for the cost of the bullet used to kill them

Chapter 58

05:28 “Hailu had the appearance of a man dragging death with him through life.”

Kruse's Keys: Read "Beyond the Rice Fields" to Experience the Beauty, Love and Tragedy of Madagascar (Madagascar)

It’s hard to express how much I looked forward to reading this book.  I spent three years living and working in Madagascar beginning in late 2013 (my collected writings from that time can be found here and here).  Prior to my arrival, I had scoured the libraries and internet for anything that I could find in English on Madagascar (my list of collected articles and books can be found here and here.).  Unfortunately, this was a rather small task once one gets beyond the myriad travel guides and nature-oriented literature.  

Then near the end of 2015, I came across a post from Ann Morgan, who spent a year reading a novel from EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.  In the post, she lamented the fact that not a single novel from Madagascar had ever been translated into English, but that a translator named Allison Charette had received a PEN grant to translate one and  she’d chosen “Beyond the Rice Fields.”  So I’d been literally waiting for the last two years for the book to be released and it did not disappoint.  

Malagasy author Naivo has crafting a heart-wrenching tale of love sets amidst one slave’s seemingly impossible yearning for success and upward mobility.  Impressively, the author’s expansive piece of pre-colonial historical fiction doesn’t hold back in addressing some oft-considered taboo subjects in Madagascar such as slavery and the wholesale execution of Christians under Queen Ranavalona’s reign in the 19th century. The narrative centers on Tsito, a child whose family were “forest people” and captured, then sold into slavery by the ruling Merina highlanders (called amboalambos, i.e., pig-dogs by the atandroy or antakarana--it’s unclear which tribe the author refers to when he uses the denotation ‘forest people).  He grows up with his master Rado’s family and develops a bond with Rado’s daughter Fara.  The story unfolds through dueling narratives between these two characters.  

The book reads as a mixture of hainteny (oral tale/poetry) and tantara (historical narrative) with a liberal dosing of Malagasy proverbs/adages (I counted 29 of them).  One in particular proves emblematic as Fara ponders her destiny:

Love is like rice, when you transplant it, it grows, but never in the same way.  It retains a bittersweet memory of its first soils. Every time it’s uprooted it dies a little; every time it’s replanted, it loses a piece of its soil.  But it also bears fruit (188).

Fara’s observation captures the tension and movement with Beyond the Rice Fields as the central characters and family find themselves uprooted numerous times amidst shifting factions as King Radama dies and the throne is passed to his wife Ranavalona.  Her reign marks the beginning of an increasingly fraught relationship between Christianity and political power in Madagascar, especially since the crown Prince becomes a Christian.  

While neither Fara nor Tsito are themselves Christians, they find themselves caught in the ill effects of Ranavalona’s power consolidation as she upends traditional tribal power alliances and eventually publicly executes thousands of Malagasy Christians.   Within all this chaos, however, Fara and Tsito ultimately find each other.  

In one key conversation, we hear echoes of the fampitaha song from the novel’s beginning as Fara lovingly spars with Tsito:

“And how will you love me?”  

He replies: “I will love you like my eyes, the windows of my soul; without them, I am as weak as a child, but with them, the world smiles at me.”

“Then do not love me, for I will be of no use to you in the darkness.”

“I will love you like the door to my home, protecting me from enemies and keeping the hearth warm.”

“Then do not love, for you push through me without shame to achieve your ends.”

“I will love you like the Sovereign of this realm, mistress of the our lives and destiny.” (238)

Naivo proves himself a skilled and brave writer in Beyond the Rice Fields. With the publication of his novel in English, he has illuminated a period of Malagasy history previously hidden from most of the world.  Along the way, he has brought to life the rich traditions and deep culture of a country and people that are all too often wrongly associated solely with lemurs and coups by radio DJs.  

*One of my Reading Around the Continent books--the full list is here.
See our 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 Reading Lists.

Key Quotes:

“Sing for your highest dreams, dance for your most starstruck plans.  Then you cannot lose (120).”

Key Takeaways:

• Unless you live in Madagascar I don't think that I can ever make you understand how important rice is to Madagascar, to its culture.  For starters, Malagasies eat rice AT EVERY MEAL. Living in its capital you see the rice fields everywhere, they are inescapable--RICE IS LIFE in Mada! 
  
• Book captures a tension that exists today between the Merina highlanders, who consolidate power across Madagascar and everyone else (in the novel’s case the ‘forest people’ who refer to the Merinas as pig-dogs). While many would disagree as to the level of this tension today, I saw evidence of it, particularly between the Merina highlanders and those living on the coasts (6).
• Torture as a whole plays a central role throughout the novel, whether in its use to break down slaves (9), or as an overall method of societal control.
• The idea of “purification” also plays an important role in the culture and tradition of the villages and the palace.  Earlier on, we see the ‘witch doctors/seers’ practice of determining a child’s purity by putting them in the path of stampeding cattle and seeing if they live (56).  
• Fara’s belief that “the city is my destiny” is a harbinger of doom (64)
• Short hair done as a sign of mourning (72)
• Keen insight into rather insidious ways that early white missionaries exercised control and ensured their livelihoods as they spread rumours that “killing a white man will give you leprosy” or “vazaha blood was a slow poison that made anyone who spilled it go deaf” (90).
• Fampitaha singing/dancing competition is seen as elemental part of Malagasy society (117). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBUxRMAZ6oM 
• Merina referred to themselves as “People under the sky” (117).
• Lanterns and lights are associated with childhood and celebration of children (133)
• Annual Bathing feast described as essentially a sexual free for all, as long as the participants hide while they do it (144)
• While the Queen starts anti-Christian actions (171), they also had the effects of galvanizing the spread of Christianity (175).
• Tangena poison test played a huge role until the Queen’s successor outlawed it.  Anyone so accused would be required to drink the poison (derived from the toxic nuts of tangena tree.  Then they’d have to swallow three bird skins.  If they could vomit up the three bird skins without dying then they’d be declared innocent.  Evidently this was a widely accepted method of guilt determination with something like 2% of the population dying from it every year (much more during Ranavalona’s reign) (216).  
• Under the quee, the palace/government started to confiscate everything from the people (220).  
• Beautiful writing: “I will love you” (238)
• Words in English as holding no sacred virtue (267)
• More beautiful writing: “My heart is as solid as a shield” (274)
• It becomes evident under the queen that the military generals wield the real power (342)
• Habits of a slave described (23)

Proverbs:

1. A slave skilled at valiha: when you ask him to play, he refuses, but as soon as you speak of work, he goes mad for the music. (9)
2. A crying orphan, only pitied by the back of his own hand. (10)
3. Do not cook meat without knowing its name (15).
4. The seer who wants to make the impossible believable is not afraid to make dying men dance (17).
5. A banana threatened with a knife with eventually be pierced (33).
6. A lie likes to dress itself up as a story (40).
7. A servant’s undivided piaster is the master’s esteem (48).
8. You must not judge the stranger by his yellowish face but think of his family on the other side of the earth (58).
9. Better a small soul respected by his friends than a great soul who perishes in vain (69).
10. The tree that grows too tall will be thrashed by strong winds (70).
11. The sovereign’s word is law; it enters our homes not on tiptoes, but stomping its feet (88).
12. He who changes lords changes status (93).
13. The City’s great houses, the first built are soonest dissatisfied (107).
14. Hope cannot vanquish destiny (110).  
15. Only simpletons want to be like their fathers (116).  
16. He who shows his back hides what’s in his soul (125).
17. He who has a white soul is like a bird of ill fate (125).
18. If the waterfall rumbles, it is because of the rocks; if kings rule, it is because of the vahoaka (128).
19. The poor are not friends of the affluent (171)
20. Love is like rice, when you transplant it, it grows, but never in the same way.  It retains a bittersweet memory of its first soils. Every Time it’s uprooted it dies a little; every time it’s replanted, it loses a piece of its soil.  But it also bears fruit (188).
21. They can rise to the top as cream does, but milk will always reveal a common ancestor (189).
22. A meeting of dogs where they only sniff each other’s asses (199).  
23. Those who are unified are like a rock, those who are divided are like the sand (221).
24. Love is like the silkworm in winter: touching it makes its eyes open wide(232).
25. Only halfwits have less ambition that their fathers (242).
26. The soul is what makes us human (251).
27. Everyone is in himself a noblemen (251).
28. Destiny is a chameleon on a tree branch, it only takes a hissing child for it to change its color (318).

Songs and Hainteny:

We’ll go to the City of Thousands

To eat the laying hen

To eat the fatty zebu hump (18)

The village is rich with children

Grandmother is lucky indeed

Her home has a hundred slaves

Her home holds a hundred cattle (26)

To mediate the difficult

        As saffron does (73)

Come forth! Let them appear

        And the most beautiful will triumph

They will be judged

And the ugliest will disappear (126)

Tell me how I can keep your love:

        If I knot it into a corner of my gown

        The thread might break it and I could lose it.

        If I place it in the palm of my hand

        I’m afraid it might dissolve into dampness…

Instead, I’ll put it in my heart

Although it will make me perish

Will that not make me love you all the more? (131)

Bulls fighting within the herd

        The victor is not cheered

        The vanquished is not booed (135)

The trees of sweet-smelling wood

        Counting two, there finding three

        There on the tall mountain

        On Mount Adrigiba

They wanted to sleep

Pressed against each other

At least rejoice, oh my soul,

That you do not possess

The one you do not love (146)

A thousand words

        A hundred stories

        But all talk ends

        At the hour of confrontation (275)

I implore your forgiveness, O my earth

        I appeal to your mercy, O my earth!

        You, who cover our dear ones

        You, their final shelter

        We trample you underfoot

        But you are the water’s cradle

        And you grow the ears of rice

        And you absorb all sorrow

        O my earth (348).

Key References (for further study):

• Fampitaha competition (12)
• Fara name (15)
• Kalanoro (96)--mythical creature--there’s some weird stuff on the internet about this one
• “Paul and Virginia”  love story of star-crossed lovers in Mauritius.  You can read more about it here(123)
• Christian holy man who was killed by the Queen--more about him here. (162)
• Fara describes the dying away of fampitaha competitions, are these still held today? (192)
• Mantasoa, man-made lake/Laborde built the city there is and is buried there. (193)
• Royal decree for export rights (227) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Laborde 
• Menamasos artists society to surpass Vazahas (236) reference book
• Zafamanelo family right to recite kabary was rescinded by the Queen(239)
• Crown prince Radama I a christian (243)
• Madagascar sent ambassadors to England and France in the 1800’s (247)
• Sidikina derivation of God Save the King played when foreign rulers would visit Madagascar (259)
• http://kruzoo.blogspot.com/2016/08/veloma-list-of-madagascar-posts.html
• http://kruzoo.blogspot.com/2016/08/veloma-list-of-poems-written-while-in.html
• http://kruzoo.blogspot.com/2016/08/antananarivo.restaurantlist.bestofmadagascarhediard.html
• http://kruzoo.blogspot.com/p/mada-articles.html
• www.brooklynbookfestival.org/authors/naivo/
• http://ile-en-ile.org/naivo/
• http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/article/december-2015-the-conspiracists-naivo-allison-m-charette
• https://pen.org/introducing-the-literature-of-madagascar-on-translating-naivo/

Kruse's Keys: Read "Dead Aid" Because--Wait You've Haven't Read Dead Aid?!

My complete collection of Grad School Notes can be found here (Africa, IR, Ethnic Conflict, Economics, Writing, Islam, Comparative Politics).

These are some throwback notes that I came across from a few years ago.  "Dead Aid" is a foundational work for anyone working in developing countries (formerly known as third world).  It is controversial but that's kind of the author, Dambisa Moyo's, thing.

Key Takeaways:

• CENTRAL POINT:  Aid drives and accelerates African poverty, stunts growth ix.
•  4 alternatives to aid:
• *Access interknational bond markets
• *Large scale direct infrastructure investment (China model)
• *Free agricultural trade (international community must stop their domestic subsidies)
• *financial intermediation via microfinance institutions x-xi.
• Economic development must trump multi-party democracy for poorest countries—in these countries a ‘benevolent dictator’ may be the best solution.  Good luck finding a benevolent dictator xi.
• 5 year countdown to aid stoppage xi.
• “Africa needs to learn from Asia” xi.

PREFACE

- Important transition point is that from single party state to multi-party democracy xiv.

 - Moyo emphasize the incredible linguistic, cultural, historical and political diversity of the continent and observes that even the states that have been prosperous can not exist as their own microcosms in the long term—surrounded by corruption, disease, instability, violence and infrastructure desolation.


PART I: THE WORLD OF AID (45 PAGES)

THE MYTH OF AID
- A glimmer of a revival has emerged since the beginning of the 20th century; there are contributing factors:
1.  Surge in commodity prices that drives exports and associated revenue
2.  Positive policy dividend due to 80’s market based policies
3.  Increase in free and fair regular democratic elections—even though part of her argument is that these aren’t necessarily that important.  This is more of an offhand statement at this point that actual quantitative proof of anything 3.

- Economically and from an investment standpoint, Moyo points to numerous positive
factors emerging throughout Africa.  She picks and chooses her dates, countries and evaluation factors, however, leading most readers to question whether these are anomalies or true trends 4-5.

- Average per capita income of $1 a day in sub-saharan Africa.  It must be noted that there lies a propensity among economists and political scientists to separate the continent of Africa citing cultural and ethnic differences.  This is a disservice and handicaps many possible solutions. 5.

- Life expectancy in Africa in markedly lower, however, I question some of her hyperbole and numbers.  She cites Swaziland as having a “paltry life expectancy” of just 30 years.  Since 1960’s the world bank database shows it never being lower than 44 years old.  5.

 - Moyo does a good job painting a bleak economic and political picture of Africa as it stands today, especially in comparison to the rest of the world.

- Moyo then lays out her research questions:
“Why is it that Africa . . . [is] locked into a cycle of dysfunction?”
“Why is it that . . . Africa seems unable to . . . get its foot on the economic ladder”
“Why . . . did seven of the top ten “failed states” hail from [the African] continent?”
“Are Africa’s people universally more incapable?”
“Are its leaders genetically more venal, more ruthless, more corrupt?”
“[Are its] policymakers more innately feckless?”
“What is it about Africa that holds it back, that seems to render it incapable of joining the rest of the globe in the 21st century?” 6-7.
*Moyo then lets out a teaser of her thesis: “The answer has its roots in aid.”

WHAT IS AID?
- 3 types of aid:
1.  humanitarian or emergency aid
2.  charity-based aid
3.  systematic aid (bilaterally and multilateral) 7.

- While Moyo takes issue with the first two forms of aid, she discards them as small change compared to the billions in systemic aid.  She also points out that the first two reflect a western mindset that all aid is good aid. 7-8.

 - loans and grants have largely come to be viewed as nearly the same due to decades of corresponding policy patterns.  This book treats them both as the same in its evaluation 8.





A BRIEF HISTORY OF AID

- Aid as we know it today originated during World War II in Bretton Woods, NH in 1944.  10.
- the evolution of post-war aid had roughly 7 stages
1.  Birth at Bretton Woods
2.  Marshall Plan in the 50’s.
3.  Industrialization in the 60’s.
4.  Aid as an answer to poverty in the 70’s
5.  Aid as a tool for stability and structural adjustment in the 80’s.
6.  Aid as a tool (buttress) for democracy and good governances in the 90’s.
7.  Aid as the only solution to all of Africa’s problems today. 10.

- The Bretton Woods meeting was a precursor to:
The World Bank, the IMF and the International Trade Organization.
The Mandate of the World Bank and IMF originally was that of reconstruction (and an emphasis on risk diversification) 11.

- Marshall was a rescue aid package to repair existing infrastructure and was largely successful.  12.

- Aid’s success in Europe led many nations look to Africa as a good place for future aid.

- An assumption made by the IMF and World Bank was that if a country was poor, it would not have enough financial capital to encourage development—thus foreign aid was the only answer 13.

-  Additionally, the decolonization occurring encouraging aid from an altruistic (guilt) and stability perspective.  13-14.

-  Aid also became a weapon for the US and the Soviet Union during the cold war


THE 1960’S: THE DECADE OF INDUSTRIALIZATION

- aid was focused on ‘large-scale industrial projects’ thought to be neglected by the private industry because of their long-term nature.  Unfortunately records from this era are lacking and its unclear how much infrastructure was built.  Herein lies one of the major problems with infrastructure development—it also requires a capacity to maintain that infrastructure—something rarely done. 14-15.

THE FOREIGN AID AGENDA OF THE 1970’S: THE SHIFT TO A POVERTY FOCUS

- This era saw a pronounced new focus on poverty—even though much of this was lip service since the bulk of aid still went to infrastructure—although by the 80’s just over 50% was geared toward poverty reduction.    This was done amidst an oil crisis that crippled African economies even further.  Much of it was also done as loans—that most nations would never be able to pay back.  16-17.

- nearly none of the aid was effective

THE FOREIGN AID AGENDA OF THE 80’S: THE LOST AGE OF DEVELOPMENT

- by the end of the 70’s Africa had received $36 billion in foreign assistance. 17.

- with floating interest rates on the rise, numerous nations defaulted on their loans.  18.

- to deal with this crisis—the IMF came up with a debt restructuring plan.  This amounted to two new programs that first emphasize stability and then structural adjustment (ex. Structural Adjustment, and Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facilities) 20-21.

-  this amounted to budgetary aid with philosophical and practical strings attached.  The nations would have to agree to “free-market solutions to developments.”  Among many things it meant the privatization of most industries and the axing of subsidies.  Practically this meant austere conditions for the common citizen  21-22.

- this period also saw an increasing shift toward grants.  22.

THE FOREIGN AID AGENDA OF THE 90’S: A QUESTION FOR GOVERNANCE

- with the Cold War a fading memory, the international aid organizations shifted their focus to that of good governance.  This meant that aid was no longer doled out indiscriminately or as a proxy tool against the Soviets—nevermind that this only fueled cycle of corruption. 22-23.

- This focus on governance and democracy as the ultimate solution remains to this day.  24.

- two themes became prevalent: multilateral agency dominance as the lead in aid distribution and that of donor fatigue.  Thus while substantial aid was still being doled out it was declining.  Unfortunately for many African nations, the foreign aid was (and still is) the largest source of financial income.    25.

-  the idea that if only the yoke of western debt could be thrown off, Africa could be free to thrive also emerged. 26.

THE FOREIGN AID AGENDA OF 2000’s: THE RISE OF THE GLAMOUR AID

- this era saw the rise of the celebrities seeking their own fundraising as a development solution (traditionally they had focused on emergency aid fundraising).  26.

- most hurtful was that this led to a dumbing down of discourse on aid and how it should be used most effectively (if at all).

- Moyo
  displays a penchant for cliché at times: “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.”  28

 -  there is little evidence that any economic growth has occurred as the result of aid in the last 50 years.  28.

- today the west used aid as a moral tool/arbiter.  This stands in stark contrast to the Chinese that are ‘human rights blind’ in their aid and investment.  While the US human rights vetting may send a message to governments that we value this, it sends a contrary message to the common people of a country who feel they are being double punished—but a jerk of a dictator/presidents and by the lack of aid from the US.


CHAPTER 3: AID IS NOT WORKING

- traditionally there are 5 main reasons offered to explain dismal status of many African nations:

Geographical
Guns, Germs and Steel argument—economic record dependent on geography and topography.
Collier’s study showing that land-locked countries suffer most whether resource rich or not.
There are of course land-locked desert countries around the world that have overcome these obstacles. 29-31.

Historical
Colonial legacy that left behind administrative and bureaucratic structures ill-suited to the populations.  It also created borders haphazardly—the OAU’s endorsement of the borders only aggravates the situation.  31.

Cultural
The racist, genetic argument that Africans do not have the same work ethic  or intelligence.
Whether spoken or not, some variation of these sentiments no doubt lies behind the aid-dependency model for both the West and the African population—where they are almost treated as children instead of equal parties.  31-32.
That said, there is also a cultural dimension wherein a lack of nuanced understanding has led to policies that only hurt the population.  An example of the cultural nuance is the prevalence today in microfinance to ensure the money/budget is handled by the matriarch—as they have been found to be most responsible.



Tribal
1000 tribes in Sub-saharan Africa.  This can elevate the risk of civil/ethnic con
 flict. 32-33.    Moyo offers several assessments that certainly make sense anecdotally but anyone reading the myriad of analysis on the numerous conflicts finds out that it is never that simple.  The most important takeaway is how different each and every situation is.
There are also cases where there has been peaceful co-existence and cooperation.  Moyo closes this by saying that there is no policy prescription so it’s not even worth considering regardless.   I think there may be policy solutions but they just require more study.  33.

Institutional
Economic performance is driven by level of competence in government institutions.  Moyo gives most credence to this argument, pointing to success stories such as Mauritius and Botswana.
The problem in most African nations is that the institutions exists but in an impotent form—with the exception of the executive branch.  33-34.

- Moyo closes by giving credence to all of these explanations but holding aid dependency as the common thread in almost every African nation. 35.

DOES AID WORK?
- $1 trillion in aid has gone into Africa since the 1940’s.
- There are six examples most commonly given to show how aid CAN work:

The Marshall Plan
This is different from African aid because the European nations had other resources to draw upon than solely aid: 3% of GDP vs. 15% GDP in African.
The plan in Europe was finite—5 years and then it was over—versus 70 year flow of aid in Africa.
The plan in Europe was reconstruction of institutions that had once worked.  In Africa there is not the collective memory or history of working institutions.
The plan in Europe focused almost exclusively on physical infrastructure—not so in Africa. 35-37.

The IDA graduates
Graduates of the International Development Association all relied on aid but no longer do so.  However, they all took relatively small amount of aid for a finite period.
The 3 african graduates are Swaziland, Botswana and Equatorial Guinea.  Botswana in particular focused on market economy solutions to quit their aid dependence. 38.




With Conditionalities
Normally 3 types of conditionality:
Procurement:  Aid must be spent on goods and services and staff from
donor nation.
Preselection:  Donor selects the sector/project for their aid money
Policy based:  Aid is based on agreement to economic/political policies
- The biggest fault to all of these things is that most of the time, the nations ignored or obfuscated the conditionalities and the aid STILL flowed!  38-39.

In Good Policy Environments
Democracy is an important variable—but only at the RIGHT time. 44.
For all the studies trumpeting the linkage between economic success and a democracy—most often ignored is the fact that in its beginning stages democracies ADVERSELY affect the economy (and stability) of a country.  42.
Moyo points out that what many nations need at the onset is a benevolent dictator who can push through and enact the needed economic/market reforms—unfortunately benevolent leadership has been notably absent in Africa.  She also point to numerous success stories in Asia and with Chile in Latin America.
Foreign aid has definitely increased democracy in Africa—but not necessarily liberalism.  But democracy has not definitely increased economic growth.  43-44.

AID EFFECTIVENES: A MICRO-MACRO PARADOX

- most often aid is a short-term solution without long-term benefits.  The example of the donor who gives 100,000 mosquito nets to a country and then puts all the mosquito makers out of business.  In the short term, people were helped, but in the long-term there are no longer those businesses.    44-45.
- instead aid such as food aid needs to focus on local cooperation.  Instead of shipping food from US, buy from local farmers etc.  45.
-  aid is still being poured in despite the fact that it is still being diverted for other uses.  46.
- even the IMF has acknowledged the limited efficacy of aid—but all in in all—despite the numerous studies showing it as a poor solution at best—and a detrimental one at worst—aid continues to come in.  46-47.

CHAPTER 4: THE SILENT KILLER OF GROWTH
- “Corruption is a way of life” and occurs because of aid and natural resources looting 48.

THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF AID
- corruption leads to more corruption.  In other words, the aid enable corrupt governments to continue to rule—these regimes abuse their power and prevent liberalism which hurts FDI and DI.  This damages economic growth and raises unemployment which increases poverty—they then need more aid. 49



CORRUPTION AND GROWTH
- Corruption hurts growth and does NOT build up the civil service contrary to development agencies.  Instead it is just another avenue to that enables graft and drives
away the principled servants, leaving posts filled by the second tier.
- this also happens with public contracts and government budgets. 50-51.
- Corruption is correlated to GDPs—higher the corruption, the lower the GDP.  51.
- opacity index: how much a country lacks clear and accurate business, investment and government practices.  This affects per capita income and FDI.  51.

AID AND CORRUPTION
- estimates vary, but it is clear that from its onset aid has been misused—studies continue to show that aid increases corruption—countries often use is as a sub for tax revenues.  52-53.

AID GOES TO CORRUPT COUNTRIES
- Despite rhetoric to the contrary, aid continues to go to corrupt countries—there are no real or effectives checks and balances. 53-54.

WHY GIVE AID IF IT LEADS TO CORRUPTION
- there’s a pressure to lend because aid is a business—agencies are evaluated on the size of their donor portfolio—NOT on how the aid is used.    They also need to “use it or lose it” due to FY budgetary concerns.   Compliance be damned. 54

- no international agreement on what counts as corruption.  Thus the corrupt countries can count on the aid money coming from somewhere 56.

CORRUPTION: POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE
- it would be one thing if the stolen aid money was invested and kept in Africa but unlike in asia, the money is Africa is quickly deposited in foreign bank accounts. 57.

AID AND CIVIL SOCIETY
- Africa does not have the middle class that it needs, largely because the government has made allegiance to the political elite more important than the economy
- Africa is missing the social contract of we pay our taxes and you provides us services.  By and large, Africa doesn’t extract the taxes it needs. 57-58.

AID AND SOCIAL CAPITAL: A MATTER OF TRUST
- aid erodes trust or social capital because the government doesn’t need its citizens to trust it because it has all free unaccountable cash 59.

AID AND CIVIL WAR
- 3 truths about conflicts:
Start out of a struggle for resource controls
Mainly occur in poor economies
More often internal conflicts 59.
- Aid contributes to all three factors.  Collier cites low average incomes and regressive economic growth as key predictors for civil wars. 60.

THE ECONOMIC LIMITATIONS OF AID
- Aid adversely affects poor countries in 4 key ways:
Aid reduces savings and investment
Increased aid is correlated to decline in domestic savings
Increased aid discourages high quality foreign investment 61.
Aid can inflationary
Increased demand for unavailable goods increases prices—this inflation
Erodes the economy 61.
Aid chokes off the export sector
Dutch disease:  increase in foreign aid/currency causes an increase strength of domestic currency which causes an increase in export prices for goods on the international market. 62-63.
Aid causes bottlenecks: absorption capacity
Countries with poor financial development don’t always have the capacity to use the aid money immediately.  If they just sit on it, they still owe interest on it.  If they issue bonds on it, the domestic taxpayers are paying the interest on it. 64-65.


AID AND AID-DEPENDENCY
- Aid promotes sloth among African policymakers because they view aid as part of their permanent income.
- Aid also encourages governments not to pursue a tax base and collection—this erodes the social contract.
- The power of aid (and its parent governments and agencies)  takes the power from African policymakers. 65-66.

AID OBJECTIONS
- these arguments still haven’t convinced the aid decision-makers
-  one of the greatest problems is that viable alternatives have not been offered 68.













 PART II: A WORLD WITHOUT AID (83 pages)

THE REPUBLIC OF DONGO

- Offers a proto-typical fictional country as a means to illustrate the plight/situation of mo
st African nations
- Point of the book:  “How to finance development agenda so that . . . economic prosperity might be realized.” 72.
-  Despite the fact that Moyo’s solution stems from a free-market solution, she is quick to point out that it can be used to finance a capitalist or socialist agenda—the financial alternatives to aid are multi-faceted.  73.

CHAPTER 5: A RADICAL RETHINK OF THE AID-DEPENDENCY MODEL

GOVERNMENT NEEDS CASH
- the government’s role is especially important in poor developing countries because a strong central intervention is required to set policies in place in a way that the private sector can’t fill. 74.

WEANING OFF THE ADDICTION: NO ONE SAID IT WOULD BE EASY
- Moyo calls for a solution that gradually lessens aid over a 5-10 year period.

CHAPTER 6: A CAPITAL SOLUTION
- Commercial bonds differ from aid in 3 ways:
1.   Their interest rate is higher
2.   Their maturity is much shorter
3.   More severe default terms 77.
- Issuing bonds enables a country to finance development and/or day to day costs
- Assessing the bond market is relatively simple:
1.  Get a rating.  This is the fundamental starting point.  It may not be the best rating but a country must start somewhere.
2.  Court investors.  This often means a tour/roadshow.
3.  Receive your money.  78.

- A market for emerging countries exists!
1. When a country issues bonds, it encourages other private investment since it signals stability
2.  Investors like the chance for high returns.
3.  It offers portfolio diversification.
*Emerging market debt is often counter-cyclical to the global business cycle.
79-81.
-  Challenges include a poor credit rating which affects the rating possibilities of private companies within the nation (sovereign ceiling) 84.
- The idea of contagion risk is diminishing meaning that investors are not as apt to punish one country because its neighbor defaults. 84.
- Borrowing is cheaper now than ever.  85.
REBOUNDING FROM A DEFAULT
- “Defaulting is not the end of the world” 86.
-  If a country puts forth necessary reforms, the markets have a history of forgiveness.  87
Instead of reform though, most African nations just choose aid.
- No African nation has return to the bond market after defaulting in the last 30 years 87.
- It’s imperative that African countries develop domestic bond markets too—one reason being that they must be established prior to the development of a stock market.  88.
-  Moyo discusses the world Bank’s GEMLOC program (a ten year program) that helps develop local currency bond markets among other things—thus far only Nigeria and South Africa qualify but there’s not reason other countries can’t in the future.  90-92

CAN DONGO TAP THE MARKETS?
- Most African countries haven’t accessed the bond markets because they didn’t want to NOT because they couldn’t.  93.
-  In determining how much to borrow, countries can also consider pooling their risk (a collective bond)  together as a region etc… 94.
- One can also offer insurance/risk guarantee:
Ex. South Africa’s Pan-African Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF)
Ex.  World Bank can also guarantee 95-96.
-  A final option is to securitize the bond:  devote a certain budgetary portion of a resource to repayment (e.g. oil revenues).  96.



THE CHINESE ARE OUR FRIENDS
LET’S TRADE
BANKING ON THE UNBANKABLE
DONGO REVISITED
MAKING DEVELOPMENT HAPPEN