Paying for Colonial Indiscretions?
With the news that Italy is going to be paying Libya $200 million a year for the next twenty-five years in compensation for the wrongs perpetrated during its 30 year occupation of the country what can we expect for the rest of the continent?
BBC News Online reports that the $5 billion will be spent amongst other things on infrastructure projects, including a coastal motorway stretching from the border with Tunisia to that with Egypt (the existing road proved especially significant in the North African campaign of World War II which led to Italy's subsequent departure from holding African colonies).
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, on his second trip to Libya since June, is due to sign the memorandum pledging the compensation package. Money from the package is also earmarked for student grants and pensions for Libyan soldiers who fought for Italy in WWII. One additional agreement in the package is that Italy will return the Venus of Cyrene, a Roman era statue removed by Italian troops in 1913. (Could we now see the British museum returning ancient Egyptian and other African artifacts?)
In return, it is expected that Libya will 'crack down' on illegal migrants using Libya as a departure point for Europe (Italy being the closest port of call).
Comments
The decision of Italy to compensate Libya for colonial indiscretion but with the condition attached is very unfortunate indeed. In the first place the injury inflicted was largely directed at individual while it lasted. On the other hand, the compensation is directed towards the people in government who sometimes turn out to be descendants of beneficiaries of the evil practices of colonialism and slavery. As the politicians in Africa have shown in the past years, the injuries perpetrated in the past by the colonial government remain the guiding method of governance. What therefore does the Italian Government hope to achieve other than strengthening the despotic tendencies of the African leaders? The people that struggle to go to Europe do so because every hope in the land to take care of their needs in terms of security and other essence of livelihood had been dashed. Any form of compensation that has any semblance of attack on African persons will require another compensation in another time in the future because of indiscretion.