Comments on issues raised by BBC WHYS

American culture is dominant because of the means it has to flourish.

In terms of entertainment, The USA has 120,000 actors and 12,000 scriptwriters, plus the latest technology to make to make the best films. It’s no wonder if US movies have global appeal. American star actors and singers are famous worldwide. Once becoming a star in the USA- whether American or not- it’s a guarantee to become a star worldwide.

It’s hard to deny that American culture didn’t enrich or influence the cultures of other countries. In the Arab world, there are music channels showing video clips of singers in the American style. Young people there are more attracted to rhythmic songs with simple words, in which female singers have to be sensual in both voice and appearance. The most famous sensual Arab singer is Haifa Wehbi

In Morocco, the encroachment of American culture is visible through the spread- among other things – of rap music, now popular among the young. McDonald restaurants are in all the big cities in the country. Jeans are still very popular.

American culture has a great influence because it has the ability to renovate itself. It is itself the product of the mix of other cultures. The American movies aren’t all about the USA. There are for example movies about the East, bringing to viewers the aspects of other cultures.

When it comes to cultures, it’s better to get enriched by any of them. It’s a way to learn to appreciate those who are different from us culturally. What is unacceptable is to let one’s culture vanish because of the glamour of a foreign one that is constantly innovative, entertaining and more practical.

In developing countries, it’s all normal for children to start work at a very early age. Their parents consider this as way for them to get the skills of the job when they grow up, as it is a source of income for the family. Many parents can’t afford to send their children to school because of distance or the cost.

As compromise, working children should be given the opportunity to get basic education, at least not to remain illiterate. In poor countries, it’s hard to end child labour, as governments have no alternatives to help their parents to provide for them.

What is bad about child labour is when children are forced to do work beyond their capacity or when they are exposed to hazardous conditions. In as sense, it’s better to have working children rather than street children who resort to theft, prostitution and begging to survive.

As long as poverty exists and it is impossible to enforce laws regarding child labour, there will be in effect no age at which children shouldn’t work. There will continue to be very young girls working as maids in homes as there will be boys doing all types of jobs under the eyes of the authorities supposed to protect them.

Concerning the problems of Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa, it goes without saying that a government can’t solve the problems of another. The political forces in Zimbabwe should be above self-interest and join their heads to find lasting solutions instead of using fists, literally or metaphorically.

Continuous mistreatment of the Zimbabweans at home and in South Africa will just perpetuate their suffering that will need a long time to heal even after the outcome of a supposedly political settlement.

The situation of Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa and other neighbouring countries is the result of the political situation in Zimbabwe where the economic situation is probably much worse than anywhere in the rest of Africa.
South Africa itself still suffers from economic and social problems embodied in its poor shanty towns and the high level of crimes. It can’t alone bear the burden of another country’s problems, from which there are refugees in millions.

Surely the impoverished refugees don’t seek to overstay their welcome in a country where hostility was manifest in atrocious violence leading to death, injuries and confiscation of belonging.

The international community seems complacent about what is taking place in Zimbabwe, except for France, UK and the USA, which tried to impose economic sanctions on Zimbabwe, but which was vetoed at the Security Council by China and Russia.

What can save Zimbabwe is that they all should forget about their political differences and start a new approach to the chronic situation which is affecting Zimbabweans in their countries and in the neighbouring countries where they’re taking refuge.

Thabo Mbeki has failed to broker a deal between MDS and Zanu-PF. Mugabe has escaped Security Council sanctions, which must be a boost for him to continue his grip on power, but this is no boost for the parties to get Zimbabwe out of its current deadlock. MDC has popular support as its weapon. Robert Mugabe has the support of the army. These forces should come together for a peaceful and political agreement to save the country instead of continuing to flex the muscles that just keeps weakening the country to the level of total bankruptcy.

Mugabe was in a hurry to see Zimbabwe all black as if evicting the whites from their farms was for him exorcising himself from a devil that had been haunting him all his life.Mugabe could have made a compromise with the white without evicting them from their farms. They could keep the farms and get a certain proportion of the benefits that can be beneficial to all parties.

Evicting the white from their farms was like throwing an experienced board of a company and leaving the company to workers with no experience in management related to production and marketing.

Mugabe’s political blindness was probably related to his obsession with the past under white rules that prevented him from seeing the long-term effect of his rush actions.