Swaziland Final Presentation

Problems Swaziland is facing today

Background

Swaziland is a small landlocked nation surrounded on all sides by South Africa and on the east, it borders Mozambique. The Swazi nation came from Mozambique during the Bantu migration, but fled from the Pongola River valley in KwaZulu Natal in the 19^th century which was their original home. They fled under the leadership of Sobhuza I to the Ezulwini Valley which is now known as Swaziland today[1]. Under the reign of Sobhuza I they were able to drive away the Sotho groups making Sobhuza I the most powerful ruler in the area. Sobhuza I was a talented diplomat and warrior making him able to avoid many conflicts with the Mfecane and Zulu groups, and he reigned until 1868 leaving Swaziland secure.

Colonization

However, the security of Swaziland came into question later in the 1800’s when European settlers, traders, missionaries and hunters began moving into the area making it their home [2]. The heaviest influence was from the British who annexed them in 1877 and even though they were ensured their independence by the Swaziland Convention of 1881 that was just paper. In 1894, they became a protectorate of the Transvaal Colony and later after the Second Anglo Boer War was under British control. Swaziland would remain under British control until 1968 under British control it was relatively peaceful, but after gaining independence Sobhuza II they were still a part of the Commonwealth of Nations and the king. After gaining their independence the constitution the British had created was suspended by Sobhuza II in 1973 and created a new one in 1977 making him the absolute ruler of Swaziland[3]. Sobhuza II remained in power until 1982 when King Mswati III came into power with his self-elected advisors.

Problems Begin

By 1992 things in Swaziland were beginning to change even while under the rule of Great Britain they still lived a relatively calm life not many quarrels, but after gaining their independence and King Mswati III taking over things turned for the worse. Severe drought plagued Swaziland and Swaziland is known for their natural resources especially their forests. However, in 1992 due to the drought their crops struggled, and the country’s cattle had died during the drought and half of their population relied on international food aid. Along with the drought came political unrest in the country in the 1990’s there were riots and protests especially by the Swaziland Youth Congress who were not happy with the government. The people wanted to rid their nation of the absolute monarchy that was established under King Mswati III and set up a democracy. The Youth Congress set fire to the national assembly in 1995 with strikes becoming a normal occurrence[4]. King Mswati III had and still is promising to make changes to the government but so far has not kept his word, and has in fact down the opposite. In 1997, some of King Mswati’s powers were reduced but he still predominately holds most of the power. He has banned opposing parties which in turn just causes the union to continue more strikes and bans on imported goods. The result is King Mswati III holds the power and no one has a way to really stop him. We continue to see droughts occur the most recent one in 2002 where the UN had to get involved and give food this drought had continued into 2004 where it was declared a humanitarian crisis[5]. Unfortunately, the droughts, disease, and the King are what Swaziland’s biggest problems are with AIDS and the King at the top of the list.

As I explained before the droughts have caused a shortage of water and being a nation that is landlock with no major water sources droughts hit them hard. The droughts cause the water to become scarce, crops to fail, and the cattle to die. So, with the droughts brings on sickness and disease. Swaziland has the highest incident rate of TB which is Tuberculosis at 7% but the disease that is the most prevalent is HIV at 31% of the those who have Tuberculosis 80% of them are also infected with HIV. This makes Swaziland the world’s highest prevalence rated for HIV-infected adults[6]. In fact, King Mswati III made a law prohibiting men have sex with teenage girls for 5 years to stop the spread of AIDS. There is a dance called the Umhlanga or “Reed Dance” that occurs every year and is an eight-day ceremony. At the reed dance the girls who participate cut reeds and present them to the queen mother and dance. The stipulation is you must be a virgin and unmarried to participate, and before they participate they must be checked to see if they are still virgins. This dance to supposed to preserve girl’s chastity, pay tribute to the queen mother, and produce solidarity by working together[7]. On the last two days of this ceremony the king attends and is in fact able to pick one of the girls to be his next wife because polygamy is practiced there. Another reason HIV/AIDS is so high and the King created the no sex with teen girls law.

The final problem we see with Swaziland is the King himself. While the poverty level is so high in Swaziland due to the droughts, and lack of food King Mswati III lives lavishly even considered one of the top 15 richest monarchs in the world. He acts as if he is benevolent and his word is all if any opposition occurs he will put them in jail. He has no care in the world and women hope for a fling with their King in hopes to get out of poverty[8]. There are many problems in Swaziland and without taking King Mswati III out of power or a change of heart for him the people of Swaziland will continue to suffer. There are groups however as far as disease and control are concern that have come to Swaziland to deal with the many medical problems in the country. One group is the Luke Commission a medical missions group that I hope you will all pray for them in their battle in helping this nation physically and spiritually.

Bibliography

"CULTURAL RESOURCES: Swazi Culture." Swaziland National Trust Commission. n.d. http://www.sntc.org.sz/cultural/umhlanga.asp (accessed February 7, 2017).

"Global Health- Swaziland." CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. n.d. https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/countries/swaziland/default.htm (accessed February 7, 2017).

"History of Swaziland." History World. n.d. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad30 (accessed February 7, 2017).

"Major problems facing Swaziland." AricaW Africa of the World. n.d. http://www.africaw.com/major-problems-facing-swaziland-today (accessed February 7, 2017).

"Swaziland." South African History Online. n.d. http://www.sahistory.org.za/places/swaziland (accessed February 7, 2017).

https://youtu.be/0UzFFInJ9lc

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[1] South African History Online. http://www.sahistory.org.za/places/swaziland (accessed February 7, 2017)

[2] South African History Online. http://www.sahistory.org.za/places/swaziland (accessed February 7, 2017)

[3] South African History Online. http://www.sahistory.org.za/places/swaziland (accessed February 7, 2017)

[4] History World. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad30 (accessed February 7, 2017)

[5] South African History Online. http://www.sahistory.org.za/places/swaziland (accessed February 7, 2017)

[6] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/countries/swaziland/default.htm (accessed February 7, 2017)

[7] Swaziland National Trust Commission. http://www.sntc.org.sz/cultural/umhlanga.asp (accessed February 7, 2017)

[8] Africa and the World. http://www.africaw.com/major-problems-facing-swaziland-today (accessed February 7, 2017)