An African Fairy Tale

ONCE upon a time there was a small country somewhere in Africa.

It wasn’t poor, it wasn’t rich, but its people lived in peace and happiness, for they had recently regained their freedom, having been colonised for many decades. Then, one day, there arrived an envoy from a big and powerful country, far away from the East.He said to leaders of the small country: “Be very careful, war is in the air.To help you defend yourselves, here is a little gift from our supreme leader.”The leaders of the small country did not really believe him, but they nevertheless accepted the gift, which was a little cannon.They polished it and kept it in immaculate condition.But they did not make use of it, because the envoy of he big and powerful country had not given them any ammunition.A year or so later, the same envoy again arrived in the small African country.He brought with him another free gift: Lots of brand new shells for the cannon, so that the small country could defend itself against the enemies that surrounded it.Sure enough, the small African country then tried its hand at a little war in one of the neighbouring states, but they did not make much of a success of it and went home after a few months of making war.Some time passed.Then the envoy from the big and powerful country paid the small African country yet another visit.He said to its leaders: “I have brought with me another free gift: Some experts at war, and lots of modern equipment.We are going to build for you a Military Academy so that you can learn how to make war in a proper fashion.”The leaders of the small African country became nervous in the face of such unselfish generosity.Also, they did not really want to make war against their peaceful neighbours.But they became increasingly uncomfortable.Some suspected that the big and powerful state from the Far East would sooner rather than later demand payment in money or in kind for the generous gifts which they distributed so unselfishly.But they did not do anything about it because they did not wish to offend their leaders.Some more time passed.Nothing much happened, except that the numbers of the representatives of the big and powerful country far away from the East increased and increased unrelentingly.Their workers worked hard, day in and day out for seven days a week, whilst the people of the small African country stood and watched in idle amazement This is where the fairy story ends.The motto of the story is: There is no such thing as a free lunch.Hans-Erik Staby WindhoekThen, one day, there arrived an envoy from a big and powerful country, far away from the East.He said to leaders of the small country: “Be very careful, war is in the air.To help you defend yourselves, here is a little gift from our supreme leader.”The leaders of the small country did not really believe him, but they nevertheless accepted the gift, which was a little cannon.They polished it and kept it in immaculate condition.But they did not make use of it, because the envoy of he big and powerful country had not given them any ammunition.A year or so later, the same envoy again arrived in the small African country.He brought with him another free gift: Lots of brand new shells for the cannon, so that the small country could defend itself against the enemies that surrounded it.Sure enough, the small African country then tried its hand at a little war in one of the neighbouring states, but they did not make much of a success of it and went home after a few months of making war.Some time passed.Then the envoy from the big and powerful country paid the small African country yet another visit.He said to its leaders: “I have brought with me another free gift: Some experts at war, and lots of modern equipment.We are going to build for you a Military Academy so that you can learn how to make war in a proper fashion.” The leaders of the small African country became nervous in the face of such unselfish generosity.Also, they did not really want to make war against their peaceful neighbours.But they became increasingly uncomfortable.Some suspected that the big and powerful state from the Far East would sooner rather than later demand payment in money or in kind for the generous gifts which they distributed so unselfishly.But they did not do anything about it because they did not wish to offend their leaders.Some more time passed.Nothing much happened, except that the numbers of the representatives of the big and powerful country far away from the East increased and increased unrelentingly.Their workers worked hard, day in and day out for seven days a week, whilst the people of the small African country stood and watched in idle amazement This is where the fairy story ends. The motto of the story is: There is no such thing as a free lunch.Hans-Erik Staby Windhoek