- GHISLAIN
Money is great. The world over, it is considered a major reward for any serious undertaking. It facilitates almost every aspect of life. The accumulation of financial resources is called into question when people and the planet are hurt in the process. When there is no genuine and deliberate consideration for the needs of communities and the environment, the quest for money becomes a destructive force. The continued plunder of the African continent, as it is stripped off of its resources, has impoverished masses of people. The custodians of these resources are continuously compromised, influenced and lobbied to look the other way.
Logic demands that just like there are legal consequences for the perpetrators of genocide and mass displacement of people, similar mechanisms for economic and social destitution of whole sections of societies must be effected. Just like there are laws in place protecting people’s precious lives and property, similarly, effective laws that protect the rights of planet earth must be enacted and enforced. Left to their own ruses, the critical mass of governments, private institutions and individuals will not play ball. And the consequences will be dire.
Because when people die from the effects of a damaged planet, and lose their property…who will be held accountable? When 10% of the world’s population living along coastal lines is displaced by floods, who will be blamed? The famous picture of a child dying from hunger as a vulture circled above his head still haunts the world many years later. Who was held accountable? No one has yet been brought to book over this horrifying atrocity. What about the millions of people who died of hunger?
So then, who will be held accountable now, and in the future, when large swathes of farmland are rendered useless by drought and desertification? Climate change effects are certainly not an act of God, they are made by the hand of man. While everyone should be responsible, the leaders of the land must be held accountable. They have every possible tool at their disposal to install comprehensive yet sensible laws that protect the planet within their respective jurisdictions.
It will be refreshing when conscientious, purpose-driven entrepreneurs, business and government leaders begin to emerge. This will certainly be a game changer. These are leaders who care. How the conscious is grown – by force or otherwise – is a moot point for now. Leaders shape culture. And a culture of conscientiousness will only take hold if leaders espouse long-forgotten ethical values.
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Excerpt From Ghislain’s Story: ‘PILLARS OF AFRICA: They Dared To Dream’ – Compiled & Written by Sheida
