A first-hand witness on stereotypes about Africa

I stumbled on this blog post by Ryan Price, a missionary in Malawi, who writes honestly about stereotypes some people have about the continent of Africa. This being one of the themes of my blog, I decided to feature it for you esteemed blog readers. Ryan opens his blog post by writing:

It seems like more than any other place on earth, Africa has more mystery, depth and stereotypes.

The more and more I talk to people about my experiences in Malawi, I frequently hear something like... "Wait... but I always thought..."



Please read on this eye-opening post at his blog: Hope from Malawi

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Mistaking Africa

I am reading a book entitled Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind by Curtis Keim and in this post I will be posting some quotes from the book that I think I will have to share with you esteemed blog readers:

1. [Page 5]

A recent survey (1999) by a major American museum on popular perceptions of Africa found out many misconceptions such as the following: Africa is just one large country; Africa is all jungle; Africans share a single culture, language and religion; Africans live in "grass huts"; Africans mainly hunt animals for their subsistence; and Africa has no significant history.


2. [Page 7]

During much of [our] history, racism and exploitation of Africa have been considered acceptable to a large majority of [our population]. Although we never ruled colonies in Africa, [we] did enslave Africans and maintain both a slavery system and segregation. Moreover, we profited from our businesses in Africa, sent missionaries to change African culture and did not protest the colonization undertaken by Europeans. This exploitation of Africa, whether direct or indirect, required thinking about Africans as inferiors...The legacy is obvious in the words and ideas that we call to mind when we hear the word Africa...

3. [page 8]

We also perpetuate negative myths about Africa because they help us maintain dominance over Africans...Whereas in the past, the myth of the racial inferiority of Africans was the major justification for [our] control of Africans, now cultural inferiority is a more likely reason. Our news media are more likely to inform us about African failures than African successes. And the successes we do hear about tend to demonstrate that our own perspectives on reality are correct. [Some]... describe Africa in ways that justify the importance of their own work [in Africa].

4. Page 15

What is still lacking, however is a serious understanding of how people live currently in Africa. Today, 30 to 40 percent of Africans live in cities and most rural Africans are deeply connected to cities in one way or the other. Why then do the shows we see on television rarely ever show a city scene, a paved road, a farmer producing a crop that will be sold in a town or eventually reach us?...

5. On brain drain in Africa [page 77 - 78]

... Frequently those who gain special, modern skills dissociate themselves from their villages and countries. The "brain drain" of African professionals who emigrate to Europe and America is legendary. Less noticed, but equally significant is the drain of talent from African villages to towns and cities. Even more important in terms of damage done, are those who become westernized and then use their knowledge to exploit ordinary Africans...[the elite?]


I will be adding more quotes as I continue reading the book. I hope they are also providing a moment of reflection in your mind...

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Myths and realities about Africa

1. Myth: Africa is just one huge desert or rain-forest country
   Reality: Africa is a huge and diverse continent with 53 different countries. Africa is divided into several regions which are marked by striking climate variations. The continent features highlands on both the East and West coasts and plains in the middle. Africa has two deserts — the Sahara in the north and the Kalahari in the south-western region of the continent. Otherwise in most sub-saharan countries the vegetation is tropical savanna which is characterized by grasslands with drought-resistant trees. For whatever reason, some people would like treat Africa as one single country!
   
   
   
2. Myth: Africa is a continent ridden with war
   Reality: Africa consists of 53 countries. Of these, there is war (as of today 30th November, 2007), in countries such as some regions of Sudan, part of Chad, Somalia, part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, part of Ethiopia, Eritrea, northern Uganda. Therefore to make a blanket statement that all of Africa is at war is very fallacious since there are so many other very peaceful countries in Africa
   
   
3. Myth: Africa is a continent ridden with disease
   Reality: There might be diseases like Malaria, HIV/AIDS etc but believe you me Africa is not just about disease. Come to Africa, you will find very healthy people as well as sickly people. However, the main challenge is for African governments to give equitable access to health facilities to all their citizens: the poor and the rich, the literate and the illiterate, the rural and urban dwellers, etc And of course, Africa faces the major challenge of HIV/AIDS which apparently is not only hitting Africa hard but indeed the rest of the world.
   
   
4. Myth: Africa is a continent ridden with poverty
   Reality: As in other continents, there are people of different incomes or should I say social classes. On one end there is a group of people who are "stinking" rich while on the other extreme end are very poor people which unfortunately constitute a significant proportion of the African population. It is therefore a challenge to African governments to close this big gap through improved infrastructure, job creation, food security mechanisms, improved education systems, good governance etc
   
   
5. Myth: Africans are happy to be recipients of food aid, monetary aid etc from other continents
   Reality: Africans are never happy to be in this state. In fact we would desire to stand on our own as a proud people with direct control of our own future and destiny. But look at our sad history of slavery, colonization and partitioning of Africa, being forced to participate in WWI and WWII, being one of the battlefields in the Cold War, victims of Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPS) etc. Surely without these sad events, we could have not been in the state we are in. But we would rather not dwell in the past instead we would like to live for the future. That is why there is a renaissance now in Africa and we have realized the importance of African solutions to African problems. Many African countries have embraced democracy, people can vote, many people are getting educated, more infrastructure is built, etc. Surely the future of Africa is bright! With just a little bit of hard work and dedication, we will definitely do it.
   
   
6. Myth: Africa is a continent ridden with hunger
   Reality: Come to Africa and be assured that you will not starve to death. Much as there are some areas in Africa that are constantly hit by drought it is illogical to say that in the whole of Africa people are starving. A major challenge is to provide food to vulnerable groups such as war refugees, HIV/AIDS orphans, people living in drought prone areas, introducing water harvesting schemes, improving access to farm inputs etc
   
   
7. Myth: Africa does not have a rich cultural history
   Reality: Africa boasts of different tribes with different languages and very diverse cultures and traditions. Despite this diversity Africans know that they are one people through the 'African Spirit'. And let us not forget a historical fact that humankind originated from Africa.
   
   
8. Myth: Africans live in huts
   Reality: Come to Africa and see Africans live in modern houses although others still live in traditional houses (not necessarily huts). Imagine I am writing this post from my place (with electricity, piped water, internet access, etc)
   
   

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