WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama set out on an eight-day trip
to Africa on
Wednesday that is aimed at reviving U.S. engagement with the continent but that
will be overshadowed by the uncertain health of South Africa hero Nelson Mandela.
Obama's trip, his second to
the continent as president, will take him to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. While the
president hopes to spotlight trade and economic development themes, his visit
would be dwarfed if Mandela's condition takes a turn for the worse.
The 94-year old former South African president
remained hospitalized in critical condition after being admitted more than two
weeks ago with a lung infection, the government said on Tuesday.
Air Force One carried Obama,
his wife Michelle, their daughters Sasha and Malia, as well as the first lady's
mother, Marian Robinson,
and an Obama niece, Leslie Robinson.
Africans feel a special bond
with Obama, the first African American U.S. president, and have been impatient
for him to make an extended visit to the continent. Africans are also
disappointed that the Obama
administration has not engaged with the continent as much as the
administrations of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Administration officials say the trip is an opportunity to jump-start
the relationship. Obama's first stop will be Senegal, where he will visit Goree
Island, the site of a monument to Africans who were sent to slavery in the
Americas.
His next stop will be in South Africa, where aides say he will be
available to visit Mandela but will defer to the wishes of the Mandela family
to determine whether the former South African leader is up to such an
encounter.
In South Africa, Obama is
due to make a speech outlining his Africa policy at the University of Cape
Town, where Robert F. Kennedy gave his famous 1966 address comparing the
struggle against apartheid
in South Africa with the struggle for civil rights in the United
States.
The president will also visit Robben Island, where Mandela and other
political prisoners were held, and visit a health clinic.
Obama's last stop will be in the East African nation of Tanzania, where
he will take part in events with business leaders and visit a power plant.
No comments:
Post a Comment