"Change we can Believe in," or Maybe Not.

Four years ago, Barack Obama promised a new dawn for America and the world. What exactly was to change and how that change would take place was not too clear. On the eve of this presidential election  president Obama stays the course with change and hope. The people of Libya, Mali, Egypt and Yemen are not on board.

When I was in the North African country of Mali two years after Obama’s election, I took a photograph of a little boy in the countryside standing by a tree. There he was in his faded Obama T-shirt, not able to read what he was wearing and living in one of the poorest countries on earth.

Libya borders Mali.  Maommar Qaddafiwhile he was dictator in  Libya used his power to build an opulent, sprawling government complex for Mali in the heart of its capitol, his gift to this desperately poor people. Even in death the dictator of Libya represents more positive change to the people of Mali than Obama can imagine.

Since that picture was taken, insurgents associated with Al Qaida have invaded the region of Timbuktu and destabilized Mali. The little boy with the Obama T-shirt is unlikely to be better off these days. Unfortunately, our country under President Obama has done little to assist Mali and children like the child with the Obama T-shirt, despite President Obama's words at the beginning of his presidency:

"I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world  --as a partner with America on behalf of the future we want for all our children." (Obama, speaking in Acera, Ghana, July 11, 2009)
 

Libya, Mali, Egypt with the rest of Northern Africa is emerging as a region rich in natural resources and with potential to grow their economies.  Yet, change for the boy with the five-word Obama slogan has meant less food, less access to health care, less opportunity than he had before. In Mali, it is also more dangerous for this boy and his village, too.Like Mali, Libya's new regime is fragile and ripe for takeover.

President Obama and Obama's supporters should realize that the United States represents hope to poor countries like Mali and Libya.  Kids like the boy with the Obama T-shirt see a black United States president and believe that just maybe their lives could change for the better.

In Mali, I saw another boy wearing a faded T-shirt depicting Muslim leaders. I still do not know who these figures were, but I wonder who is winning the hearts of young people in Libya, Mali and the rest of the Northern Africa.