Wars, human equilibrium, and development

From the era of independence (in the 1960s), Africa has generally continued to be afflicted by insecurity and instability. Armed conflicts, sometimes very long and devastating, in many ways, have seriously affected various African countries; preventing them, at least in part, to concentrate on their development. When we try to analyze the situation of man in relation to his environment in general we find that normally, every man longs for tranquility and peace – both domestic and external. When a war breaks out, the men who may be directly affected feel, particularly and rightly so, insecure and their projects compromised – if not permanently, at least temporarily. War affects man in his ‘indoor environment’ in the sense that, logically, all the relations of man with his environment in general reflect and depend on his intimate situation (sentiments, emotions…). The war, adversely affecting the individual personally, also influences, in one way or another, the kind of relationship that the individual is brought to tie with the outside world. It’s also not a casual coincidence that we find many people traumatized in countries emerging from violent and deadly conflicts. Here we can give the example of Rwanda, after the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994 (knowing, of course, that genocide cannot be simply reduced to or confused with war), and without ignoring other numerous examples of African countries whose populations have been affected by the horrors of armed conflicts. We know that man is a social being. In other words, he cannot be what he is or what he should be if he is living apart from his peers. By multiple interactions and cultural ties, men are doomed to continually develop links of various kinds between them, through their social organization. But, alas, war affects these interpersonal and inter-linkages that exist naturally between people in society. In addition, in all cases, it causes difficulties and often tears apart society, whose healing often proves to be very long and arduous. In fact, when we observe with great attention the evolution of societies that have experienced very violent conflicts like wars, we find that these wars cause incalculable damage to these societies, in general, so much so that the return to normal may sometimes take a long time, or even entire generations. As I wrote earlier, man cannot live as truly man if he is not interacting with others. Similarly, man cannot live if he really is not in contact with other creatures, living and nonliving. Indeed, man with these creatures, together, form an ecological complex. This is why man himself must always ensure harmony and balance between all the elements of this ecological complex in general, to avoid damage which may, in turn, have adverse impacts on man himself. Indeed, as has been underlined by Pierre Guru, ‘’there is no crisis in the use of nature that is not a crisis in the way of life of man. The internal security of a country is one of the prerequisites to allow possibly its development. A threatened or disturbed people cannot devote to serious work. No loyal and conscious investor wants to put his money in a country that does not provide strong enough guarantees to work. It is quite obvious that each investor is seeking to maximize the profits and to grow up his investments. Finally, to be brief, countries in war devote a significant part of their resources to finance these wars, instead of development. Moreover, as countries do not live in autarky, insecurity in a given country may cause, directly or indirectly, instability in its neighbours and partners. Although I have chosen to concentrate particularly on Africa, trying somehow to castigate and lament the fate meted out to this continent, it is clear that war, human equilibrium and development concern all humans in all places. Africa has continued, for some time, to live in devastating conflicts (wars of independence, liberation and civil wars) which, no doubt, have had and still have various implications on its development. We do not want to stubbornly assert that if there are no more wars in Africa the process of the development of the continent will necessarily be automatically and immediately triggered and sustained, but we must highlight that wars and violent conflicts inhibit real development. For individuals or countries, security and peace, whether internal or external, are pillars of genuine development. The writer is a lecturer at Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Education of Kibungo (INATEK).

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Wars, human equilibrium, and development