Dinaw Mengestu Quotes

Politicisation of terrorism for narrow gains is not good for society in general and the country in particular.

And I believe that it becomes a troubled continent because there are those who must always cause confusion so that we do not keep these natural resources.

Virtually all of Africa's civil wars were started by politically marginalized or excluded groups.

The problem is that the good Lord didn’t see fit to put oil and gas reserves where there are democratic governments.

The U.S. cannot force Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds to make peace or to act for the common good. They have been in conflict for 1,400 years.

When resources are degraded, we start competing for them, whether it is at the local level in Kenya, where we had tribal clashes over land and water, or at the global level, where we are fighting over water, oil, and minerals. So one way to promote peace is to promote sustainable management and equitable distribution of resources.

Experience has shown how deeply the seeds of war are planted by economic rivalry and social injustice.

I would love it if we made more comparisons between current issues and issues of the past. Maybe we'd realize that sometimes 'current issues' and 'past issues' are one and the same. Our world's people still fight over natural resources, kill in the name of religion, occupy regions and give them up - just as we did 'so long ago.'

The economic and political roots of the conflicts are too strong for us to pretend to create a lasting state of harmonious understanding between men.

African history is filled with experiences of people shooting their way to power and then splintering into factions, like in Somalia and Liberia.

What drives the separation of groups of people into subgroups is the desire to control resources. We begin with a single culture, and over time the number of individuals within that culture expands.

If nothing happens, if we just keep doing what we're doing, tomorrow is not certain. We will see families killing each other. We will see chaos in the country. The day after tomorrow will disappear.... The next civil war in Burundi will absolutely be over land.

Human use of one resource runs squarely against human use of another resource.

Part of why civil wars are so difficult to explain is that so many different reasons are at work in different places.

Leaders of the various Iraqi elements will likely have their own militias, and there will be endless rounds of brinkmanship on the road to post-Islamic State boundaries, governing structures, and distribution of power and resources.

Did we think the charlatans and the con-men and the false prophets who have long dotted our history wouldn’t revisit us, once again prop up the immigrant as the source of all our troubles, and look to prey on the hopelessness and despair that has grown up in the hollowed-out cities and towns If it wasn’t clear before, it’s clear now: We are living through a battle for the soul of this nation.

If resources become scarce, people tend to fight for them. This is increasing the number of people on the move and the number of people forced to move. They're not refugees, according to the legal definition, but they represent a major humanitarian and human rights challenge, as well as a major challenge for world politics.

Iraq does have many, many different tensions.

In many respects, Afghanistan represents a more difficult problem set. It does not have a number of the blessings that Iraq has in terms of the oil, gas, land of two rivers, the human capital that Iraq built up over the years, the muscle memory of a strong government - albeit one that was corrupted over time.

Democracy for people who are not used to it can undermine stability, resulting in war.

Turkey must find its place if, of course, it can heal its internal sores, and none is more malignant than the perennial Kurdish issue.

I associate the metaphor of sport with war. The unrest in the former Yugoslavia, after all, started with a football match that then became charged in nationalist ways and ended in violence.

I'm driven by the gaps, the things that are missing, the areas where marginalized people exist - and where the least resources are available for them.

My son is not a tactic to be used in political arenas for relevancy and points.

Members of the military appear to be on this President's mind only when they serve a purpose. In Trump's case, that's popularity by association.