Battleangel

Via Slashdot. Colonialism still lives in Redmond, or at least their local office in Nigeria. Though this shouldn’t be taken as the offical view of Microsoft, it does raise questions about how corporations in general interact with developing countries.

ZDNet – Microsoft has claimed the cost of software is not an important issue in the developing world.

In response to a question on the role of open source software in Africa, Gerald Ilukwe, the general manager of Microsoft Nigeria, said that cost is not important, even though he admitted that the average annual salary in the West African country is only $160 (£91).

“It’s easy to focus on cost and say how much is a product, but at the end of the day it’s the total impact that’s important. You can give people free software or computers, but they won’t have the expertise to use it,” he said. “Microsoft is not a helicopter dropping relief materials; we’re there in the field.”

And being there in the field is exactly what is worrying me. It’s like when the US government claims that they’re dealing with the AIDS issue. Of course they are. By combating generic drugs, supporting missionary work that destroys indigenous culture and enforcing Christian sex ethics. It could be argued that both are making the overall situation worse, even if a few lives are saved (though that is argued) and consequently, people are getting computer training. It’s the weasely agenda obscured by seemingly good deed that is at fault here. And both in the case of AIDS and Intellectual Property (it’s great when you can get both of those in the same sentence), it’s not like there aren’t other groups who’d like to help, only without the fraudulent intent. There is generics and there is open source.

It would also help if Microsoft could be a little less belittling of Africa. Certainly, when one wants to help one often deprives people of their agency but this is just blunt. Like using a computer takes “expertise?” The whole view smacks of colonial sentiments. The enlightened and burdened white man and the simple natives who can never, at least not without OUR patient guidance, expect to aspire to our heights. It is distressing that “Gerald Ilukwe,” being I assume Nigerian, has this to say about his fellow citizens. Kind of says something about internalizing the way people perceive you. Not to mention the pervasiveness of working as a manager for a big corporation, slowly accepting the company culture.