Triple heritage

Gamal Nkrumah sounds out members of the Congressional Black Caucus delegation on their first official visit to Egypt

---

Click to view caption

Carolyn Kilpatrick, leader of the Congressional Black Caucus; Ambassador Ahmed Haggag welcomes the CBC delegation at the African Society, Zamalek

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), representing some of the most influential African-American law-makers in the United States, paid a courtesy call on President Hosni Mubarak on Monday. This is the first time that such a high-powered African-American delegation has visited Egypt specifically to meet Egyptian officials to discuss bilateral relations and African affairs.

The CBC delegation, led by the dynamic Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick is in Egypt to "increase understanding of Egypt's political and socio-economic challenges, foster awareness of the impact of US policies in Egypt, Africa and the Middle East, and ultimately to strengthen US-Egyptian bilateral relations," said Kilpatrick.

Members of the visiting CBC delegation are almost all exclusively members of the Democratic Party and most of them have vehemently opposed the foreign and domestic policies of United States President George W Bush.

Kilpatrick stressed that Egypt is an integral part of Africa and that it is crucial for Egypt to work hand-in-hand with the US in Africa. "Egypt is an indispensable partner of the US in Africa," she pointed out.

What Africa is crying out loud for is not another series of promises, but leadership committed to genuine reform. And, members of the CBC delegation said they were here to help. African Americans are in a unique position to support continental African, including Egyptian, political and economic reform. "We're African. We know who we are. We intend to connect and network with both Arabs in America and Arabs in the Motherland," Kilpatrick told Al- Ahram Weekly.

Michigan, she stressed, is the state with the largest concentration of Arab-Americans. Indeed, the CBC trip was sponsored by the Arab American chamber of Commerce in Detriot. "We want to connect with the people of Africa. We want to see the connection and the partnership," said Kilpatrick, who is a member of the House Appropriations Committee. "A united Africa is a strong Africa," said Kilpatrick, whose son Kwame Kilpatrick -- named after the late Pan-African leader Kwame Nkrumah -- is the current mayor of Detriot.

Kilpatrick has opposed American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)-endorsed legislation in the past and is an outspoken critic of discrimination.

Members of the CBC delegation also met the chief of Egyptian intelligence Omar Suleiman and Gamal Mubarak, head of the ruling National Democratic Party's Policies Committee and Mrs Suzanne Mubarak.

Pressure is building on Africa's faultlines: and in particular the Arab African divide. And, no more so is this disturbing phenomenon more glaringly obvious than in Sudan. It is in this context that talks between members of the CBC and Egyptian officials also spotlighted Sudan.

Sheila Jackson Lee, a lawyer and an ardent critic of the Bush administration, said that the CBC delegation raised the question of Sudan and especially the humanitarian crisis in Darfur with President Mubarak. Jackson Lee flies to Darfur next week to assess the situation for herself. She said the CBC is particularly concerned about the state of deplorable affairs in Darfur.

Barbara Lee of California concurred with Lee. She describes what is happening in Darfur as a "catastrophic event ... the tsunami without publicity." She further described the Sudanese government as "rigid and isolated" but said she wanted to hear what all the different parties to the conflict had to say. "I don't want to condemn," she explained. "But I do want to challenge and shame."

"Collectively, our voices have to be raised for justice and the upholding of human rights," she said. "Conflict in Africa, and especially the crisis in Darfur are a silent death knell for the continent."

Barbara Lee of California was the only US law-maker to oppose the resolution authorising the use of force in response to the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington. She opposed US military intervention in Iraq in 1998 and 2002, Afghanistan and Serbia. Lee has worked diligently to end the US-imposed economic and trade sanctions against Cuba. "Genocide is a crime against humanity," she stressed and that is why we in the Black Caucus are very concerned about the atrocities committed in Darfur."

Members of the CBC delegation are urging disinvestment in US companies doing business in Sudan -- there are about 44 US companies investing some $8 billion in the country. "We want to do something similar to what we did against apartheid South Africa in the 1980s," Lee, who visited refugee camps in Chad and Darfur, told the Weekly. She sits on both the financial services and international relations committees. "We want to help the various women and youth organisations in Egypt and throughout Africa," she said.

The CBC delegation paid a visit to the African Society in the Cairene island suburb of Zamalek which, in the 1950s and 1960s, was a hub of activity for freedom fighters from across Africa. Many African liberation movements were headquartered at the African Society and African-American leaders such as Malcolm X and poet-activist Maya Angelou spent some time in the historic building.

The Secretary-General of the African Society Ambassador Ahmed Haggag welcomed the CBC delegation on Monday. "We spoke on the role of women in Egyptian society and the participation of youth in public life in Egypt today. We also spoke frankly about Islam. We asked them not to make their African policy hostage to one issue such as oil," Haggag told the Weekly.

Another member of the CBC delegation, William Jefferson of Louisiana, is a staunch advocate of free trade, who supports efforts to pass legislation creating a US-Egyptian free trade agreement. Jefferson has been to practically every country on the continent. This is "not just a romantic connection with Africa, but a practical one," said Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York. Meeks believes that trade is an important component of diplomacy and international relations. He has taken a keen interest in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and hopes to see the Egyptian private sector more actively involved with AGOA.

Liberal trade remains the foundation upon which Black Caucus hopes for Africa are pinned.