Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN) -- President Barack
Obama held a town hall meeting Saturday with a group of young people in
the Soweto section of Johannesburg, with video links to similar groups
in other cities in Africa.
Here are five things that
he said in response to questions from the participants in a format he
called "a little humbling" but energizing. CNN Johannesburg
correspondent Nkepile Mabuse moderated the town hall.
Praise for Mandela
Obama paid homage to
former South African President Nelson Mandela, the 94-year-old founding
father of the country's modern democracy who is in critical condition in
a Pretoria hospital. "Obviously, he is on our minds today, and we join
the people of the world in sending our prayers to Madiba and his family,
because he still inspires us all," Obama said, referring to Mandela by
his clan name.
Obama noted that Mandela
held on to his optimism during his 27 years in prison under South
Africa's apartheid regime, and he urged his audience to learn from that.
"There will be time to test your faith, but no matter how old you grow,
I say ... don't lose those qualities of youth: your imagination, your
optimism, your idealism, 'cause the future of this continent is in your
hands, and if you keep your head pointed toward the sun, and you keep
your feet moving forward, I promise you will have no better friend and
partner than the United States of America."
Mandela showed that
"through a commitment to the constitution and rule of law and equal
treatment for all people that a country can prosper despite a tragic
history."
A bright view of Africa's future
Africa's role in the
world economy as a provider of raw materials to other parts of the world
dates back to colonial days and must be changed, Obama said. Though
foreign aid remains critical in some parts of the continent, "It is very
clear that people want to break out of a dependency trap. The idea is
not that Africa should be the ward of some other country. What we need
is an Africa that's building, manufacturing, creating value, inventing
and then sending those products around the world and receiving products
in return. ... If we do that, there's no reason why Africa cannot
succeed."
Progress against terrorism
Though "some progress"
has been made in dealing with extremist groups, "the problem has
metastasized" to include more regional terrorist organizations such as
Boko Haram in Nigeria, Obama said. "Though they may not have the same
transnational capacity that some of the earlier organizations did,
they're doing great harm in Africa and in the Middle East and in South
Asia."
The terrorist threat
affects more than Western countries, he said. "The number of people
killed by terrorist attacks in Africa or South Asia far outstrips deaths
by Westerners," he said. "This is not just a problem for us; this is a
problem for everybody."
Terrorism is more likely
to emerge in countries that are not delivering for their people, "and
where there are areas of conflict and underlying frustrations" that have
not been adequately dealt with, he said.
He cited responsive
governance and strong democratic institutions as bulwarks against
terrorism taking root. "They're the most important defense against
terrorism."
American ambitions
Obama rejected "this
notion that we want to somehow expand our military reach," citing the
end of the war in Iraq and plans to end the war in Afghanistan as
evidence. "This idea somehow that we want to get more involved
militarily around the world is simply not true," he said. "First of all,
it costs a lot of money, and the United States -- just like every
country around the world -- has to think about its budget. And where we
intervene, oftentimes it's not very effective because, unless you've got
a local population that is standing up against terrorism, we end up
being viewed as interlopers and intruders."
He said he wants the
African Union and other regional organizations to beef up their capacity
to send peacekeepers "to nip terror cells that may be forming -- before
they start and gain strength."
The United States, he added, can provide advice, training and, in some cases, equipment.
Global warming looms
The world's biggest
environmental challenge is climate change, Obama said, adding that
carbon emissions are warming the planet and threaten to cause the
problem to spin out of control. "We are going to all have to work
together to find ways in which, collectively, we reduce carbon," but
wealthy countries must do more than companies that are still developing,
he said. "Obviously, they shouldn't be resigned to poverty simply
because the West and Europe and America got there first. That wouldn't
be fair, but everybody's going to have to do something."
If, however, everyone
buys cars, installs air conditioners and moves into big houses, "the
planet will boil over unless we find new ways of producing energy," he
said.
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