Vita vya Kwanza vya Dunia viliharibu nchi za Ulaya, ambazo zilitawaliwa na ubepari. Vita hivyo viliteketeza maisha ya raia milioni saba na wanajeshi milioni kumi, huku zaidi ya watu milioni ishirini na moja wakijeruhiwa80. Bila kuingia katika maelezo, ilidhihirika mwishoni mwa vita jinsi Uingereza na Ufaransa zilivyoeneza mkono wao wa kikoloni juu ya eneo kubwa la dunia (Mashariki ya Kati, Afrika na Kusini-Mashariki mwa Asia). Ubeberu na ukoloni vilikuwa matokeo yaliyoonekana zaidi ya vita hivyo; si jambo lisilo la kweli kusema kwamba ubeberu ulikuwa sababu kuu ya vita hivyo tangu mwanzo. Ubeberu unadhaniwa na wananadharia wa kikomunisti kuwa hatua ya juu kabisa ya ubepari32. Wengine wanauona ubeberu kama njia inayotumiwa na ubepari kupata vyanzo vya malighafi, kazi ya bei nafuu na masoko (41, 42). Makoloni ya zamani ya nchi za Ulaya yanaendelea hadi leo kuteseka kwa ukandamizaji mkubwa, udikteta, umaskini na kurudi nyuma.
The First World War ravaged through European states, which were dominated by capitalism. The war consumed seven million civilian and ten million military lives, with more than twenty-one million wounded80. Without going into details, it was evident at the end of the war how Britain and France spread their colonialist grip over a vast area of the world (Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia). Imperialism and colonialism were the most visible outcomes of the war; it is not far-fetched from the truth to claim that imperialism was a major factor of the war to begin with. Imperialism is thought of as the highest stage of capitalism according to communist theoreticians32. Others perceive imperialism as a method utilized by capitalism to secure sources of raw material, cheap labor, and markets (41, 42). The old colonies of European states continue to suffer until today from deep oppression, dictatorships, poverty, and backwardness.
Vita vya Pili vya Dunia viliangamiza zaidi ya watu milioni sititini; milioni arobaini kati yao walikuwa raia81. Raia wengi walikufa kwa sababu ya magonjwa, njaa, mauaji ya halaiki, mabomu, na mauaji ya kimbari yaliyopangwa kwa makusudi, kama lile lililofanywa dhidi ya mamilioni ya Wayahudi nchini Ujerumani na Ulaya. Vita vya Pili vya Dunia vilizaa kambi mbili zilizoshindana, WARSAW (muungano wa Umoja wa Kisovieti na nchi za Ulaya Mashariki) na NATO (Shirika la Mkataba wa Atlantiki ya Kaskazini), pamoja na vita baridi vilivyogharimu mabilioni ya dola kwa muda wa miongo mitano. Vita hivyo pia vilianzisha utandawazi, ambao unaendelea kuongeza pengo kati ya maskini na matajiri, na kuzidisha ukosefu wa usawa kati ya watu wa dunia.
The Second World War consumed more than sixty million lives; Forty million were civilians81. Many civilians died because of disease, starvation, massacres, bombing, and deliberate genocide such as the one committed against millions of Jews in Germany and Europe. The Second World War gave birth to the two competing camps, WARSAW (alliance of Soviet Union and Eastern European states) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and to a cold war that consumed hundreds of billions of dollars during five decades. The war also introduced globalization, which continues to increase the gap between the poor and the rich, and deepen the inequality between the people of the world.
Vyombo viwili vikuu vya utandawazi, ambavyo vilizaliwa katika tumbo la Vita vya Pili vya Dunia, ni Shirika la Fedha la Kimataifa (IMF) na Benki ya Dunia (WB). Vyombo hivi viwili vimevunja uti wa mgongo wa uchumi wa nchi kama Mexico, Uturuki, Indonesia na Korea. Chini ya sera za IMF na WB, nchi zinazoendelea (nchi za Dunia ya Tatu) barani Asia, Afrika, na Amerika ya Kusini na Karibiani zimeendelea kutekeleza nafasi ileile kwa miaka hamsini iliyopita: kutoa malighafi, soko la kuuzia bidhaa, na nguvu kazi ya bei nafuu kwa mataifa ya viwanda yanayozalisha faida.
The main two instruments of globalization, which were born in the womb of the Second World War, are the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. These two instruments have broken the backbone of the economies of countries like Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia, and Korea. Under the policies of the IMF and the WB, the developing countries (third world countries) in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean continued to play the same role for the last fifty years: supply the raw material, the consuming market, and the cheap labor to the profit-generating industrial nations.
Vita vya Dunia vya kwanza na vya pili vilizaa tatizo la muda mrefu huko Palestina kwa kuunda dola ya Israeli. Tatizo hili limetishia utulivu na usalama wa eneo hilo pamoja na wa dunia kwa miongo mingi. Limeteketeza maisha ya maelfu kwa maelfu ya watu na linaendelea kufanya hivyo hadi leo. Limeionyesha dunia aina ya ukatili usiowahi kushuhudiwa, pale mizinga, bunduki za mashine na ndege za kivita zinapowakabili watoto wadogo wenye silaha ya mawe pekee. Mataifa ya Kiarabu pamoja na ya Kiyahudi yamekuwa mafuta ya vita vya kikoloni vinavyoungwa mkono na kuendelezwa na Ulaya, kisha na Marekani. Mauzo ya silaha kwa eneo lote la Mashariki ya Kati yamedumishwa hasa kutokana na vita vya Waarabu na Israeli.
The first and second world wars produced a long-lasting problem in Palestine by creating the state of Israel. This problem has threatened the stability and security of the region as well as of the world for many decades. It has consumed hundreds of thousands of lives and continues to do so until today. It has shown the world an unprecedented form of brutality, when the tanks, machine guns, jet fighters face young children equipped only with stones. Arab as well as Jewish nations have become a fuel for imperial wars supported and sustained by Europe and then by the United States. Arms sales for the entire region of the Middle East have been sustained mainly due to the Arab-Israeli war.
Mfumo wa dunia chini ya utawala wa mataifa makubwa ya Magharibi yaliyoongozwa na Marekani haukuweza kuzuia uvamizi wa Afghanistan mwaka 1979 uliofanywa na Umoja wa Kisovieti. Baada ya uvamizi huo, mujahideen (wapiganaji wa mapinduzi wa Afghanistan) walipigana vita vya wakala kwa niaba ya Marekani kwa karibu miaka kumi; katika kipindi hiki, Marekani ilisaidia kutoa silaha, taarifa za kijasusi, mafunzo, na msaada wa kimataifa kwa mujahideen. Vita hivyo vya miaka kumi viligharimu maisha ya Waafghan zaidi ya milioni 1.5 na maisha ya Wasovieti zaidi ya 25,000. Vita vya Afghanistan vilihitimisha vita baridi vya zaidi ya miaka arobaini kati ya itikadi za ubepari na ujamaa.
The world order under the dominance of the Western superpowers led by the USA could not prevent the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 by the Soviet Union. In the aftermath of the invasion, the mujahideen (Afghan revolutionary fighters) fought a proxy war on behalf of the USA for almost ten years; during this period, the United States facilitated arm supplies, intelligence, training, and international support for the mujahideen. The ten years war consumed more than 1.5 million of Afghan lives and more than 25,000 of the Soviet lives. The Afghan war culminated more than forty years of cold war between the ideologies of capitalism and socialism.
Mfumo wa dunia chini ya utawala wa mataifa makubwa ya Magharibi uligharamia vita vya miaka minane kati ya Iraq na Iran (1980-1988) kwa sababu nyingine yoyote isipokuwa kudumisha udhibiti juu ya maeneo ya mafuta katika Ghuba ya Uarabuni/Uajemi na kuhakikisha mafuta yanatiririka kwa uhuru hadi ulimwengu wa viwanda; lengo hili linaendana kikamilifu na nia za kibepari kama zilivyotangazwa na Mafundisho ya Carter: "Majeshi ya Kisovieti nchini Afghanistan yalileta tishio kubwa kwa mtiririko huru wa mafuta ya Mashariki ya Kati"83. Vita hivyo viliteketeza zaidi ya watu nusu milioni, na wengi zaidi walijeruhiwa.
The world order under the dominance of the Western superpowers financed an eight-year war between Iraq and Iran (1980-1988) for no reason other than to sustain control over the oil fields in the Arabian/ Persian Gulf and the free movement of oil to the industrial world; this objective is in complete harmony with capitalist motives as proclaimed by the Carter doctrine: “Soviet troops in Afghanistan posed a grave threat to the free movement of Middle East oil”83. The war consumed more than half million lives and many more wounded.
Vita vya Ghuba ya Pili kilikuwa kipindi kingine cha azma ya mataifa makubwa, hasa Marekani na Uingereza, ya kudhibiti eneo lenye utajiri wa mafuta. Kwa mara ya kwanza katika historia ya kisasa, Margaret Thatcher (aliyekuwa Waziri Mkuu wa Uingereza) na George H. Bush (aliyekuwa Rais wa Marekani) walitumia Sura ya VII ya Mkataba wa Umoja wa Mataifa, ambayo inaruhusu matumizi ya nguvu dhidi ya Iraq ili iondoke Kuwait84. Wakati huo Katibu wa Nchi James Baker alikuwa mkweli kupita kiasi alipoeleza sababu za vita vya Ghuba85:
The Second Gulf War was yet another episode in the determination of the superpowers, especially the United States and Britain, to control the oil rich region. For the first time in contemporary history, Margaret Thatcher (former prime minister of Britain) and George H. Bush (former president of the USA) invoked chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows the use of force against Iraq to force it out of Kuwait84. The then secretary of state James Baker was too frank when he explained the reasons for the gulf war85:
Uchumi wa ulimwengu wa viwanda unategemea akiba ya mafuta ya Ghuba ya Uajemi, na hatuwezi kuruhusu dikteta kama huyu kukaa juu ya njia hiyo muhimu ya uchumi; ili kuliweka katika kiwango cha raia wa kawaida wa Marekani, niruhusu niseme kwamba hilo linamaanisha kazi. Kama unataka kulieleza kwa neno moja, ni kazi.
The economic lifeline of the industrial world runs from the Persian Gulf oil reserves and we cannot permit a dictator such as this to sit astride that economic lifeline; to bring it down to the level of the average American citizen, let me say that means jobs. If you want to sum it up in one word, it’s jobs.
Mbali na maelfu kwa maelfu ya waliouawa na waliojeruhiwa, vikwazo vilivyowekwa dhidi ya Iraq baada ya kumalizika kwa vita vilichukua maisha ya zaidi ya watoto milioni mbili.
Besides the tens of thousands of casualties (dead and wounded), the sanctions imposed upon Iraq after the end of the war consumed more than two million children’s lives.
Mataifa ya Afrika yamepata maumivu makubwa na kupoteza mamilioni ya maisha katika vita vya kiwakala kati ya makundi yaliyoungwa mkono na moja au jingine la mataifa makubwa ya kibepari barani Ulaya na Marekani. Mamilioni ya watu wanaendelea kufa katika migogoro ambayo imethibitika kuwa inatumikia maslahi ya mashirika ya kimataifa tu, yanayochimba dhahabu, mafuta na almasi barani Afrika.
African nations suffered great pains and lost millions of lives in proxy wars between factions supported by one or another of the super capitalist nations in Europe and the United States. Millions of people continue to die in conflicts that have proven to serve only the interests of multinational corporations digging for gold, oil, and diamonds in Africa.
Pesa za almasi zilifadhili mashambulizi ya UNITA ambayo katika miaka ya 1990 yalipandisha vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe vya Angola hadi kiwango kipya cha ukatili. Zaidi ya Waangola laki tano walikufa. Mabomu ya ardhini yalilemaza takriban watu elfu tisini. Mapigano yaliwahamisha Waangola milioni nne, na takriban milioni moja bado wanategemea msaada wa chakula kutoka nje. Blaine Harden86 anaeleza vyema zaidi vita vya almasi barani Afrika katika makala yake ya mwaka 2000 katika gazeti la New York Times, "Africa's Diamond Wars," ambapo anasema,
Diamond money paid for Unita offensives that in the 1990s elevated Angola’s civil war to a new plateau of savagery. More than half a million Angolans were killed. Land mines maimed about ninety thousand. Fighting displaced four million Angolans, and about one million continue to depend on foreign food aid. Blaine Harden86 best describes the diamond wars in Africa in his New York Times 2000 publication “Africa’s Diamond Wars,” where he says,
Matatizo ya Afrika ya kisasa, kwa njia nyingi, ni urithi wa historia yake ya ukoloni. Ukoloni uliharibu utamaduni wowote wa kisiasa ambao huenda ulikuwepo kabla ya kuwasili kwa Wazungu. Uliunda mataifa makubwa ambayo mengi yake yalikuwa ya kubuniwa tu. Ili ujenzi wa mataifa hayo uwalipe, wakoloni walitumia nguvu kuchukua kila kitu, kuanzia pembe za ndovu hadi mpira, na hata binadamu.
The miseries of modern Africa are, in many ways, a legacy of its colonial history. Colonialism demolished whatever political culture may have predated the arrival of Europeans. It invented huge, largely fictive nations. To make their nation-building pay, colonialists used force to haul off everything from ivory to rubber to human beings.
Katika Kongo, serikali ya kikoloni ya Ubelgiji ilikuwa maarufu kwa uchoyo na ukatili.
In Congo, the Belgian colonial state was famously greedy and cruel.
Mawakala wake waliweka malengo yasiyowezekana ya uzalishaji wa mpira na pembe za ndovu,
Its agents set impossible quotas for production of rubber and ivory,
kuwaua au kukata mikono ya wanakijiji walioshindwa kuwatimizia matakwa yao.
killing or chopping off the hands of villagers who failed to meet them.
Tangu miaka ya 1940, wawindaji haramu wanaosafirisha almasi nchini Sierra Leone wamebadilisha kila kipengele cha maisha ya kiuchumi na kisiasa ya taifa hilo.
In Sierra Leone, since the 1940’s, predators who smuggle diamonds have warped every aspect of the nation’s economic and political life.
Angola, Congo na Sierra Leone zilikuwa na almasi nyingi zilizochochea tamaa.
Angola, Congo and Sierra Leone had plenty of diamonds to excite greed,
kuchochea vita na kununua upendeleo.
fuel war and to buy favors.
Hadithi za mamilioni ya maisha yaliyopotea katika vita zilizoanzishwa kwa ajili ya kuteka mtaji zinajirudia nchini Vietnam, ambako maisha milioni 5.5 yalipotea, na nchini Korea, ambako watu milioni 3.5 walikufa. Hadithi kama hizo zinatoka pia Columbia, Venezuela, Mexico, Guatemala, Grenada, Cuba, Chile, Argentina, na orodha inaendelea. Inakadiriwa kwamba katika karne ya ishirini pekee, zaidi ya watu milioni mia mbili walikufa katika shughuli zinazohusiana na vita.
The stories of millions of lives lost in wars launched for the conquest of capital are repeated in Vietnam where 5.5 million lives vanished and Korea where 3.5 million people died. Similar stories come from Columbia, Venezuela, Mexico, Guatemala, Grenada, Cuba, Chile, Argentina, and the list goes on. It is estimated that during the twentieth century alone, more than two hundred million people died in war-related activities.
