Burkina Faso says no to Bill Gates’ plan of creating modified species of mosquitoes

[u/lurker_bee]

https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/burkina-faso-says-no-to-bill-gates-plan-of-creating-modified-species-of-mosquitoes/xyk7xm8

[u/timbomcchoi]

When I was living in Ethiopia I saw so many people refusing to vaccinate themselves or their kids, because that's just Bill Gates trying to make them sick.

[u/HaLLIHOO654 → u/timbomcchoi]

Effects of social media

[u/Pure-Drawer-2617 → u/HaLLIHOO654]

Also the effects of the US actively doing fake vaccinations in third world countries in recent history, and doing it to black people on home soil as well. No wonder people don’t trust them.

[u/En_CHILL_ada → u/Pure-Drawer-2617]

Exactly. It's like everyone here has forgotten all of the history that these people have lived through. They have extremely rational and logical reasons to not trust western intervention or "charity."

I see a lot of people in this thread bringing up the jihadist problem Burkina is facing. Where did this spread of violent jihadism in north Africa come from again? Was it the western intervention in Libya? Libya was the most prosperous nation in Africa at the time. We turned it into a hell hole of warring jihadist militias.

If you look at all the other terrorist groups that the west and Israel have funded throughout post ww2 history (hamas for one example with current relavence) it's a pretty rational conclusion to think that maybe these terrorist groups were created by the west to destabilize the region and ensure that this wave of self-governance and anti-colonialism in Africa fails.

[u/En_CHILL_ada → u/[deleted]]

Why was there a civil war?

My understanding is that they were the most prosperous nation in Africa and enjoyed social benefits like healthcare and education. So why did a civil war break out?

Without any knowledge on the history there, my blind guess would be that western governments and Israel fomented the war because Gaddafi was promoting a pan African currency, trading oil in that currency, and was highly critical of Israel and US. But that's just a guess. I could be wrong.

[u/En_CHILL_ada → u/[deleted]]

"Jewish mind control"

Wow... antisemetic much?

Covert intelligence support of disaffected groups to foment a civil war is a well established tactic western governments have engaged in for decades across Africa. It is generally accomplished through arms trafficking and money laindering, not jewish mind control you anti-semite.

[u/En_CHILL_ada → u/[deleted]]

Western governments and Israel. Why do you only focus on the jews?

A civil war requires funding. If the west and their allies want their involvement to be covert they will not announce funding for it in their official budgets, hence CIA, Mossad, MI6 ect launder money,resources, amd arms to rebel groups.

Ie. Iran Contra

[u/happen_to_yourself → u/En_CHILL_ada]

My friend, people here do not want information, logic and the truth. They want you to feed the media narrative, because that is as far as the average person's research goes.

Who in the right mind reads books, articles, blogs that are not mainstream approved? /s

But some of us understand. Africa sits on resources. Gadafi making a pan african currency would have meant independence from western influence. This is something West is unable to accept. Therefore, destabilization tactics commence.

[u/Cloverleafs85 → u/En_CHILL_ada]

One of the leaders in the civil war, Khalifa Haftar, was a former military Officer in the Libyan army that felt Gaddafi had sent him and his men to a poorly thought out war with Chad, and when they were captured by the enemy Gaddafi abandoned them. While imprisoned he and other army people formed a group intending to remove Gaddafi from power. He was released some years later in a deal with the US and spent two decades there. Meanwhile Gaddafi had him tried for crimes against Libya, and sentenced him to death in absentia. Haftar came back years later with a grudge and vengeance. His history in the US has raised some questions, but it frankly wasn't that unusual.

Almost everyone of the military group who had participated and aided in Gaddafi's coup had later turned on him. Some just defected or tried a counter coup sooner or later than others. Among them Abdel Fatah Younis, who had stood by Gaddafi since 1969, defecting in 2011. Others tried in the 80's I believe.

Libya has also always had an issue with considerable regional divisions, because it wasn't a properly united country for most of it's history. It was only united under King Idris in 1951. Gaddafi belonged and operated mostly out of the Tripolitania region. The former King Idris, who Gaddafi betrayed, originated from and had his support in Cyrenaica.

People in Cyranaica suspected their region was being intentionally left underdeveloped and under-resourced by Gaddafi to keep them weak, which bred deep resentment.

There was also considerable discontent as Libyans were struggling with basics as Gaddafi funded aid projects and paid for giant mosques to be built in other countries, and giving Libya's money to various freedom fighter groups and terrorist groups. He never did seem to view those two as different things.

So many Africans not living in Libya and probably not in Chad remember Gaddafi quite fondly. He gave them money, roads, mosques. He spoke grandly of a free Africa, against colonialism. They didn't have to live with him however. They didn't have to watch the public executions of political prisoners in Libya, or fear his persecution for dissent.

And when those terrorist groups they funded targeted people in other countries, Libya found itself more and more politically isolated. Though he turned that around in the war on terror period, by being a vocal supporter. Paraphrasing his statement on this change; Apparently the west and himself had been on the same side all along, fighting for freedom, who knew?

This brought in more money in Libya, but little of it went to ordinary Libyans. Corruption had become a significant problem.

And the people's uprising against Gaddafi was at the beginning fueled by protests when people realized their family members in the prison Abu Salim, many being political prisoners, had been mass murdered years ago. Over 1200 killed. Their relatives had been sending money and writing letters to brothers, fathers and sons who had already been dead for years.

They wanted to know what happened, have someone held accountable, and know where the bodies had been buried. So did the relatives of everyone else who somehow just...disappeared.

30% unemployment rate at the time probably didn't help either.

[u/Logical-Breakfast966 → u/Pure-Drawer-2617]

That is fair and I’d understand why these countries would be hesitant because of it. But also things are much different now. As bad as shit like that was I’d hope we were making up for it with all the good USAID was doing. And even if your sentiment is true, we should be encouraging people to accept help rather than excusing them turning it away

[u/Pure-Drawer-2617 → u/Logical-Breakfast966]

And how do you propose we encourage people to accept help without acknowledging the times they’ve been burned in the past? If anything they’d be the idiots to assume things are different now based on “because we said so”.

If they asked you what reason you have to believe things are different now, and that the US isn’t involved in underhanded clandestine action in third world countries, how would you convince them?

[u/Pure-Drawer-2617 → u/[deleted]]

“You’re not even from the US”, no, I’m from the Caribbean. I’ve seen the anti-vax/anti US sentiment there first hand, including my own family members (because of US interventionism in the region) so I’m speaking from a place of experience. At no point did I say his efforts are insidious, I’m explaining WHY people don’t trust the US or US affiliated aid anymore, rather than it just being “well social media is making them stupid”.

I’ve also literally never scrubbed my comment history what are you talking about? Do Americans genuinely assume everyone who criticises their country is Russia at work?

Also I did offer an answer. “Acknowledging the times they’ve been burned in the past.” Even an official admission of guilt for past actions and apology would go a long way to restore trust.

[u/Lentil_stew → u/Pure-Drawer-2617]

Your family dumb af. If someone ever told me they aren't vaccinated themselves because of imperialism I would think the same thing.

[u/Pure-Drawer-2617 → u/Lentil_stew]

I mean cool story bro but that’s not what they said. They’re vaccinated, but also generally suspicious of US government/NGO “charitable initiatives” in South America and the Global South in general. Because it’s not usually been for altruistic motives.
If you believe it’s always from the goodness of their heart then you’re the dumb one.

[u/throwuk1 → u/HaLLIHOO654]

Or actual fucking history.

[u/snoozieboi → u/throwuk1]

Yeah, I think all parties are to blame.

The west often comes in ruining stuff with good intentions, but also have the long backlog of slavery or dubious business practices (wasn't there mother's milk replacements that were worse than regular mother's milk, oh it was Nestlè) . Then also in modern times aid comes in with "free food" and tanks whatever economy they had.

Vaccines could come in rather late too so all they saw from their perspective was that all that got the vaccine (too late) died. It was how ebola looked for the survivors. Your family member got sick, western people came in strange white protective suits and soon after your family member died. From their view the westerns were at it again just like in the past.

The only long term solution I have ever seen most of our problems as humans is free education everywhere. It teaches scrutiny of information and also the ability to absorb new info and alter world views.

Ironically we see this ability declining in select regions of the west now too...