Radovan Karadzic: bonfire of the racist vanities

If there is one thing I am enjoying more than seeing Radovan Karadzic, former leader of the Bosnian Serbs, facing trial in the Hague for genocide and crimes against humanity, it’s reminding racists here and abroad that Europe, supposedly the centre of civilised humanity, is also the master of butchering its own. Dr Karadzic, indeed a psychiatrist, not only slaughtered civilians in Sarajevo but went on to massacre a further 8 000 Muslims at Srebenica.

Of course in the Soviet Union Joe Stalin managed to murder anywhere between 30 and 50 million of his own people while Germany weighed in with a further six million Jews in terms of the Holocaust and a war that claimed 55 million in total.

Yet time and again whenever we look at the issue of African despots, the recurring theme among our more right wing brethren appears to be that Africans and their leaders will never learn, are hopelessly corrupt, power crazy and trying to make them see reason is a waste of time. The continent and all who stay here are doomed.

In case anyone is wondering African means a person who comes from Africa while a European sees Europe as his home. Of course I’m aware of the racial mix — that’s why I want to throw it back at you.

Let’s face it: nobody does tyranny and genocide quite like the Europeans. When it comes to starting wars, invading countries, creating empires and even starting coups in Africa we need look no further than these fine democracies. Yes they have evolved quicker than most other continents, which explains why they’re so good at killing people. When they go to war whole countries are leveled, populations bombed into oblivion and finally crushed.

How can we in Africa ever compete with that?

Next time we have the discussion and you condemn African problems as beyond salvage and its people as lambs to the slaughter, give consideration to the fact that the overwhelming majority of people in this country and the continent would like to achieve solutions. Have a full go at the despots of Africa and those that preach hatred but do it as a way of expressing your expectation of a better future and higher standards. Spare us the “Africa is doomed and nothing can be done”.

What I would like to know is how Rent-a-van Cars-in-a-ditch ever became a psychiatrist. What did he do when some genius came in to consult and told him that he was Napoleon, planning to conquer Europe and would slaughter anyone who tried to stop him? To Rent-a-van this wenner would probably have seemed quite normal. Probably given him a sick note to have the day off so he could go out and buy some arms and ammunition.

Apparently when they caught him he was practicing “alternative medicine”. To Rent-a-van alternative medicine is probably mass euthanasia against the patients’ consent. “Take two cyanide capsules and call me in the morning”. If they called he knew that idiot at the pharmacy couldn’t read his prescription again.

Africa is a million miles from where it needs to be. That does not make it beyond redemption.

It’s time we started seeing the good as well as the bad.