Week 2- Assignment

[Mohammed]

I am putting here a text for you. Please, translate the text and post it in the thread. After we finish with the current cycle, we will all have a copy of the English copyedited text. You will have then to prepare for a 10 minute presentation through Zoom to share with us all what you think you can learn from that translation.

أنتم طلبتم مني أن أتكلم عن إفريقيا في القرن الحادي والعشرين .. وبودي أن يفيد كلامي ليس الأفارقة فقط، ولا أنتم طلبة أكسفورد، ولكن أن يفيد العالم كله.

في فترة سابقة عندما كانت إفريقيا في فترة ما يُسمى الحرب الباردة، كانت تتصارع عليها قوى كبرى، يعني كان المعسكر الشرقي والمعسكر الغربي والاتحاد السوفيتي وأمريكا ووارسو والأطلنطي (الناتو).

وهذا كانت له في الحقيقة نتائج سلبية ضارة جداً على المستوى العالمي وعلى المستوى الإفريقي.
أولاً إفريقيا تأثرت كثيراً بهذه الصراعات ، وأصبحت مسرحاً للصراعات الأيديولوجية والنفوذ السياسي والعسكري لأمريكا أو للاتحاد السوفيتي، وأصبحت ساحة صراع بين من يريد أن يستحوذ على هذه القارة وينال أكبر عملاء وأكبر تبَّع لكي يستحوذ على الخامات وعلى ثروات إفريقيا ويكسب الأفارقة كتبَّع له في المحافل الدولية، فالصراع كان موجوداً على أشُدّه بين الشرق والغرب.

فكنا نحن ضحية لهذا الصراع، والعالم نفسه لم يستفد لأن ساحة أخرى أضيفت إلى ساحات الصراع .. كان الصراع في أوروبا الشرقية والغربية وانتقل إلى إفريقيا، وأصبحت إفريقيا بعضها يتبع المعسكر الشرقي وبعضها يتبع المعسكر الغربي.
واستنزفت إفريقيا بوضعها هذا ، كما استنزف هذا الصراع حتى القوى الكبرى.

الاتحاد السوفيتي وأمريكا استنزفا إمكانيات كبيرة من أجل أن يسيطر كل واحد منهم على أكبر مساحة من إفريقيا، فكانت النتيجة سلبية على السلام العالمي ، وعلى الاستقرار العالمي، وعلى الأمن العالمي، وعلى الاقتصاد العالمي، وكانت ثورات وحروب وقتال وعنف واغتيالات وتصفيات، وكان هناك إلى حد ما ـ ولكن ليس نفس الشيء في أوروبا ـ الصراع والحرب الباردة مثلما كانت هناك الحرب الساخنة.

وهذا كان يدور فوق أوروبا ودار فوق إفريقيا أيضا وخاصة شمال إفريقيا والمكان الذي فيه أنا الآن.
أقصد عندما تكون هناك قارة من القارات مثلما كانت إفريقيا وأوروبا هي مسرح صراع بين القوى الكبرى سواء كان الصراع ساخناً أو بارداً، فإن نتائجه ستكون سلبية على المستوى العالمي أو على المستوى الإقليمي.

من هنا بودي أن يفهم العالم من خلال هذا اللقاء وعبركم، وأن يأخذ الدروس المستفادة من تجربة الماضي، ويقلع عن الأساليب التي كانت في ذلك الوقت.

[Mohammed]

Taroub Here you are!

[Vicky]

By vicky
You asked me to talk about Africa in the twenty-first century..let my words benefit
not only Africans,nor you ; students in Oxford,but the entire world .
Earlier on ,when Africa was in the period of so-called Cold War, the Superpower;
meaning ; the Eastern camp,the Western camp,the Soviet Union,America,Warsaw,and the Atlantic (NATO) ,were sruggling to take control over it.
Africa and the world had both suffered intensly from these conflicts.Africa

was a feild for ideoligical and political conflicts.It was placed under the military influence of either America ,or the Soviet Union, it became an arena of conflicts between those who wanted to take over it to acquire numbers of Africans as alliences, and those who wanted to make use of its' natural resouces and wealth,and to get more followers of Africans to support them in international forums.Àll this was happening while conflicts were most intense between the East and the West.Hence, we have fallen victims to this conflict,the ,world had fallen short of any gains.,the conflicts extended its wings from Eastern and Western Europe to Africa,This extension added a new struggle .

Africa ,therefore was divided between the Eastern,and the Western camps.
As a consequence,there were revolutions,wars ,fighing,violence,assissinations and killings .
To a certain extent ,but differently, there was the Cold War,the conflict, in Europe ,as there was the hot war too.
This was going on over Europe and over Africa ad well ,especially North Africa the place i am now.
I mean,when one of the continents as Africa and Europe were the scene for a struggle between the Superpower regardless if it is Cold War or Hot War,the consequences will eventually have adverse impacts on both regional and global levels.From this stand ,i would like for the world to understand through you,and this meeting, to learn a lesson from the past experiences,to abondon methods that were at that time.

[Mohammed]

Thank you Vicky! Try to finish it by Monday. I will post the copyedited translation on Tuesday.

[Taroub Al Aref]

You asked me to tell you about Africa in the twenty-first century. I hope my words would be of value not only to Africans, nor you, Oxford students, but also for the whole world.

Earlier, when Africa was amid the so-called Cold War, it had been the prey of major powers’ struggle. These powers are the eastern camp, the western camp, the Soviet Union, America and the Atlantic (NATO). This, in fact, had had enormous harmful negative consequences globally and on the African level.

First: These struggles had greatly affected Africa . It had turned it more to an arena for Soviet Union and American ideological and political influence, than a mere battlefield for whoever wanted to acquire this continent and ultimately gain the largest agents and followers to steal and exploit Africa raw materials and wealth. Moreover, they did try to rally Africans as supporters in the International forums. In fact, this struggle had been fierce between the east and west.

This conflict victimised us while the world did not have any gains because another arena was added to the battlefield. The conflict that once was in Eastern and Western Europe had moved to Africa dividing Africans between these two camps. Such a status had not drained Africa only but also the major powers.
The Soviet Union and America have exhausted great capabilities through aiming to control the largest area of Africa.
World peace, global stability, security, and economy all suffered negative results. Revolutions erupted, wars, fighting, violence, assassinations, and liquidations. Europe witnessed the same but not the same extent. Conflicts and the Cold war are the same as hot war.

This had taken place in Europe and in Africa, especially North Africa, where I come from. I mean that when a continent such as Africa and Europe likewise were the major power struggle battlefield, regardless of whether this conflict was cold or hot, the result had been always negative at the global and regional levels.

Now, and through this meeting and through you, I would like to call on understanding to prevail and let this experience encourage the world to abandon such means that were used at that time.

[Rasha Ybb]

Upon your request, I will talk about Africa in the twentieth-first century. I like to think that my speech will not merely benefit the Africans or the students of Oxford, but also it will benefit the entire world.
Previously, during the cold war, major powers such as the Eastern bloc, the Western bloc, Soviet Union, United States, Warsaw Pact, Atlantic Alliance, and the Nato, all together were competing over Africa. As a result, this fight led to such a harmful negative results on the Global or the African level.
First of all, it is obvious that this conflicts deeply affected Africa. At that time Africa became a theater for ideological disputes and economical and political dominance of the United Stated or the Soviet Union. Africa got stuck/got involved between those who wants to dominate over its content for the purpose of winning more clients and followers to exploit the riches/wealth of Africa. Their target was to use the Africans as their own allies in the international forums. The existed conflict was between the west and east, in fact, all of us were a victim to it. This increased the load on our world leading to another theatre of conflict.
The dispute started in Eastern and Western Europe then moved to Africa. Part of Africa was under Western Europe rule, the other part ruled by Eastern Europe. Under such a situation, both Africa and the major powers were totally drained.
The United Stated and the Soviet Union exhausted their large capacities in order to prevail over the largest lands of Africa. This in turn affected negatively on the world peace, stability, security, and economy. Revolutions, Wars, fights, violence, assassination, and liquidations emerged due to those conflicts. To some extent-not the same thing happened in Europe- this conflict and the Cold War took place just the same as the Hot War.
Those wars involved Europe and Africa, particularly the north of Africa and the place I am in now. My point is, when there is a theatre of conflict between major powers, whether the dispute was cold or hot, the result will affect disastrously on both, global and regional level.
Through this meeting and you, I wish we can understand our world, learning lessons from the past, and quitting the methods used before at that time.

[Assar Shamma]

You asked me to talk about Africa in the 21^st century. My hope is that my words today will not only benefit the Africans or you, Oxford students, but will also be of value to the whole world.
During the previous period of the so-called Cold War, the major powers namely; the Eastern Bloc, the Western Bloc, America, the Soviet Union, the Warsaw pacts and NATO were competing over Africa. To be honest, this war and conflicts had very negative and harmful consequences on Africa and the whole world too. First, Africa was severely affected by those conflicts. It turned into an arena for the ideological conflicts and for the military and political influence of America and the Soviet Union. Each party sought to extract and exploit the continent’s resources and obtain the largest number of lackeys and customers. Besides, they sought to obtain Africans as lackeys at international forums. Thus, the conflict between East and West existed and reached its peak during this period. We became the victims of this horrible conflict and the world did not have any gains because another arena was added. The conflict was in eastern and western Europe but widened to include Africa thus, the competition between the western and Eastern bloc eventually shaped the continent. America and the Soviet Union had exhausted great capacities to expand their influence over Africa. The reverberations of this cold war destabilized the whole word for years to come, leading to more revolutions, wars, conflicts, violence and assassinations. To a certain extent, these tensions, in Europe, almost boiled over into a cold and hot war too. This war occurred across the globe, in Europe and Africa, especially north Africa, where I come from. I mean, when a continent as Europe and Africa became an arena where conflict was waged between the superpowers regardless of whether this conflict was cold or hot, outcomes would be eventually negative on both regional and global levels. Now, through this meeting and through you, I would like the world to put away the former means and build the future on past experiences.

[Yousra]

You requested me to talk about Africa in the 21st century.. Hopefully, my speech will benefit people from all over the world, not only Africans, nor you; Students of Oxford University.
Earlier, during the so-called Cold War, major forces competed over Africa, namely the Eastern Block, the Western Block, Soviet Union, Warsaw and NATO.
This had extremely harmful impacts on both the world and Africa.
Africa has been severely affected by these conflicts. it, also, became a theater of both ideological conflicts and military and political influence.
The conflict was between states seeking to dominate this continent and obtain its major clients and allies (in international forums) in order to monopolize the African raw materials and fortune.
The world has not benefited from the conflict of which we have been victims. Since another region has been added to the theater of conflict.. The conflict which erupted in Eastern Europe and Western Europe extended to Africa which has been divided into countries allied either with the Eastern Block or the Western Block. Moreover, even the Major forces have been exhausted by this conflict.

[Alaa Ahmed]

You asked me to talk about Africa in the 21st century. I hope my words would make sense for you all. Not only the Africans nor Oxford University’s students but also all the world are my words important for.

Early, during the so-called cold war, major powers conflicted with each other to dominate Africa. That is to say, the Eastern power symbolized in the dissolved Soviet Union and the Western power symbolized in the U.S.A. stood against each other. The Soviet Union constituted Warsaw Pact and U.S.A. and Europe later constituted the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) NATO(.

The Soviet Union and the United States of America drained great potential for the sake of dominating the largest areas of Africa. Both the Soviet Union and the United States of America committed a worldwide breach of the peace.
The two powers affected gravely the global stability and safety and as a result the economy was seriously affected.
Consequently, the two powers threatened the world peace and the global security.
Needless to remember the revolutions, wars, fights, violence and assassinations occurred in the oppressed Black Africa.
There were ongoing conflicts and the cold war - not the same case occurred in Europe – as the hot war had been.
That war and its repercussions occurred in Europe and in Africa as well, specially in North Africa and where I’m existing now.
I mean that when there is two continents like Europe and Africa, where the war was raged. Africa which has unfortunately become the battlefield for the two major powers. If the war is hot or cold its consequences will be catastrophic either globally or regionally.
So, I would like the whole world, through this interview and through you, to learn the lesson from history and to quit that conquer polices adopted in that time.

[Alaa Ahmed]

Dear *** Muhammed, I have not translated the whole text.
Thank you!

[Mohammed]

This is the copyedited translation for reference.

You requested me to address the question of Africa in the 21st century. My hope is that what I am going to say will not only benefit the Africans or the students of Oxford University, but will also be of value to the whole world.

During the bygone era of the so-called Cold War, the major powers namely; the USA, USSR, the Eastern Block, the Western Block, NATO and the Warsaw Pacts were competing over Africa. That conflict and competition had very negative and harmful consequences on Africa and the whole world.

Africa was severely affected by those conflicts. It turned into an arena for the ideological struggle. The competition between the US and the USSR for military and political influence shaped the continent. So did the rivalry between those who sought to monopolize its resources and obtain the largest number of lackeys and clients. The struggle between East and West was indeed fierce. Its coveted prizes were Africa’s raw materials and having African countries as allies in international fora.

We were the victims of that struggle. The world drew no benefits from it either. All that happened was the creation of an additional battlefield. Traditionally, the conflict used to be in, and on, Eastern and Western Europe. Then it was extended to Africa. Africa was divided into countries allied with either the Eastern Block or the Western Block. Like it sapped the energies of the major powers, that conflict exhausted Africa.

Both the US and the USSR squandered enormous resources in order to dominate the largest possible part of Africa. That reflected negatively on world peace, stability, security and economy. Revolutions, wars and fighting erupted. Acts of violence, assassinations and physical liquidation took place. Though not to the same degree, similar things happened in Europe by way of conflict, cold war and occasionally hot wars. The conflict was over Europe, like it was over Africa and in particular North Africa and, more specifically, the place we are in right now.

What I mean is that when a continent like Africa or Europe finds itself the theater of a hot or cold war between major powers, that situation is bound to have extremely negative consequences both regionally and globally. It is therefore my ardent wish that the world, through this meeting, will draw the necessary lessons from the past experience.

[Mohammed]

Let us meet for the presentations on Thursday at 9 PM. I suggest Abdel Moneim to start because of time difference.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81750466227?pwd=aktWeWlsYUZSQ0h1eU0ybUdLR0NEQT09

Passkey 1235

[Abdel Moneim]

Noted with many thanks.