AFRICA DAY 2011
Africa and the Diaspora
AFRICA DAY 2011 ROUNDTABLE
THEME: PROMOTING AFRICA IN UKRAINE
UKRINFORM, KIEV
25 May 2011
Speech delivered by Ms. Heather Fabrikant
Deputy Cultural Attache,
Embassy of the United
States of America
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Ms. Heather Fabrikant |
Etey Sene (Twi – Ghanaian dialect)! Jambo (Kiswahili)! Marhaba (Arabic)!
I fell in love with Africa when I visited the continent for the first time, on a trip to Cameroon for New Years 2000, over a decade ago. I knew when I left the continent after two short weeks that I had left a piece of my heart in Africa and that I would return.
Since then, I have been lucky enough to live and work and visit African countries as diverse as Ghana, Togo, Gabon, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Benin, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mali and Mauritania.
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Participants of Africa Day 2011 Roundtable |
Just like me, my country, the United States, also maintains very strong ties with Africa. Not only because a large percentage of Americans trace their roots to Africa - around one-fifth - but also because we are committed to the development – political, social and economic – of each of the 53 nations that make up this diverse continent.
In 2009, President Obama spoke to the Ghanaian Parliament after a trip that started in Russia. He touched on issues of development and democracy that still ring true today and not only for Africa. He said that “Development depends on good governance” and that “Governments that respect the will of their own people, that govern by consent and not coercion, are more prosperous, they are more stable, and more successful than governments that do not. He mentioned that “capable, reliable, and transparent institutions are the key to success -- strong parliaments; honest police forces; independent judges; an independent press; a vibrant private sector; a civil society.”
Africa is such a diverse continent. Africa is Egypt – where the Arab Spring has recently bloomed, South Africa - where Nelson Mandela fought and helped end apartheid and the Ivory Coast - where last week we saw democratically elected President Ouattara sworn in. From Robben Island to Tahir Square, Africans are fighting for their rights on their own soil and winning battles every day.
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Participants of Africa Day 2011 Roundtable |
Here in Ukraine, the US Embassy works to combat racism and xenophobia and promote tolerance. Through our Democracy Grants programs we have funded press-conferences and seminars on promoting ethnic tolerance in Crimea, fostered debates on tolerance in Luhansk and with high school students in Dnepropetrovsk, and last year we hosted an African-American Fulbright student studying the lives of the small but dynamic group of Afro-Ukrainians living in Ukraine.
Events like todays confirm our commitment to promoting human rights. Almost 40 years ago, on May 25, 1963, 30 independent African Nations signed a founding charter of the Organization of African Unity.
We commemorate Africa Day along with you and hope we have helped shine light on some of the many success stories that can be seen all over Africa every day.
Over 50 years ago, a Kenyan student studying in Hawaii met an American girl in University and fell in love – at a time when it was illegal in some of the States of the American South for blacks and whites to marry. The child of their union is the first US president of African ancestry - President Barack Obama. Africa has given us so much - Africa gave us our president.
Related links:
Speech delivered by H. E. Mr. Saubry Abdeljalil, Ambassador of Morrocco to Ukraine
Speech delivered by H. E. Mr. Yasser Atef, Ambassador of
Egypt to Ukraine
Speech delivered by H. E. Mr. Ibrahim Pada Kasai, Ambassador
of Nigeria to Ukraine
Speech delivered by Charles Asante-Yeboa, President of African Center