Thus Spoke The Hypocrite
Hameed Abdul Karim
When Barack Obama visited Africa the people there did not give him the kind of welcome you would expect when a village kid who has made it good in the big city comes a calling. Probably that was what the first black US president had expected, but he was to be disappointed.
Nelson Mandela’s family did not see it fit to allow him a hospital visit as the anti-apartheid icon battled for his life. Before his departure Obama had said he was hoping to see his ‘inspiration’ Nelson Mandela. So the spin was that he did not want to visit the great man because he did not want to disturb his ‘peace and comfort’.
When Obama became the first black president of the U.S, Nelson Mandela, in the first flush of victory, congratulated him with these words. ‘“We wish you strength and fortitude in the challenging days and years that lie ahead. We are sure you will ultimately achieve your dream of making the United States of America a full partner in a community of nations committed to peace and prosperity for all”. It didn’t take long for Obama to disappoint Mandela. After the congratulatory note which contained the message for peace and prosperity for all, there was hardly a word on Obama by Mandela. Perhaps the pithy message from the leading U.S. critic Noam Chomsky stating there will be no change in the U.S. or in its foreign policies with Obama’s entry into the White House because the president is and always will be a prisoner of Wall Street and the gigantic U.S. military machine. This testimonial from a man who knows his onions would have put paid to Mandela’s hopes.
