stop trying to save africa

Here is an article I read in a Peace Corps newletter that I thought was worth posting. I have mixed thoughts on the point of view presented, but I won't post those right now.
Here it is:

Stop Trying to Save Africa
by Uzodinma Iweala (author of " Beasts of No Nation, " a novel about child soldiers)

Last fall, shortly after I returned from Nigeria, I was accosted by a perky blond college student whose blue eyes seemed to match the " African " beads around her wrists.

" Save Darfur ! " she shouted from behind a table covered with pamphlets urging to TAKE ACTION NOW ! STOP GENODICE IN DARFUR !

My aversion to college kids jumping onto fashionable social causes nearly caused me to walk on, but her next shout stopped me.

" Don’t you want to help us save Africa ? " she yelled.

It seems that these days, wracked by guilt at the humanitarian crisis it has created in the Middle East, the West has turned to Africa for redemption. Idealistic college students, celebrities such as Bob Geldof and politicians such as Tony Blair have all made bringing light to the dark continent their mission. They fly in for internships and fact-finding missions or to pick out children to adopt in much the same way my friends and I in New York take the subway to the pound to adopt stray dogs.

This is the West’s new image of itself : a sexy, politically active generation whose preferred means of spreading the word are magazine spreads with celebrities pictured in the foreground, forlorn Africans in the back. Never mind that the stars sent to bring succor to the natives often are, willingly, as emaciated as those they want to help.

Perhaps most interesting is the language used to describe the Africa being saved. For example, the Keep a Child Alive/ " I am African " ad campaign features portraits of primarily white, Western celebrities with painted " tribal markings " on their faces above " I AM AFRICAN " in bold letters. Below, smaller print says, " help us stop the dying. "

Such campaigns, however well intentioned, promote the stereotype of Africa as a black hold of disease and death. News reports constantly focus on the continent’s corrupt leaders, warlords, " trival " conflicts, child laborers, and women disfigured by abuse and genital mutilation. These descriptionsrun under headlines like " Can Bono Save Africa ? " or " Will Brangelina Save Africa ? " The relationship between the West and Africa is no longer based on openly racist beliefs, but such articles are reminiscent of reports from the heyday of European colonialism, when missionaries were sent to Africa to introduce us to education, Jesus Christ and " civilization. "

There is no African, myself included, who does not appreciate the help of the wider world, but we do question whether aid is genuine or given in the spirit of affirming one’s cultural superiority. My mood is dampened every time I attend a benefit whose host runs through a litany of African disasters before presenting a (usually) wealthy, white person, who often proceeds to list the things he or she has done for the poor, starving Africans. Every time a well-meaning college student speaks of villagers dancing because they were so grateful for her help, I cringe. Every time a Hollywood director shoots a film about Africa that features a Western protagonist, I shake my head—because Africans, real people though we may be, are used as props in the West’s prominent role in creating many of the unfortunate situations on the continent, they also ignore the incredible work Africans have done and continue to do to fix those problems.

Why do the media frequently refer to African countries as having been " granted independence from their colonial masters, " as opposed to having fought and shed blood for their freedom ? Why do Angelina Jolie and Bono receive overwhelming attention for their work in Africa while Nwankwo Kanu or Dikembe Mutombo, Africans both, are hardly ever mentioned ? How is it that a former mid-level U.S. diplomat receives more attentionfor his cowboy antics in Sudan than do the numerous African Union countries that have sent food and troops and spent countless hours trying to negotiate a settlement among all parties in that crisis ?

Two years ago I worked in a camp for internally displaced people in Nigeria, survivors of an uprising that killed about 1,000 people and displaced 200,000. True to form, the Western media reported on the violence but not on the humanitarian work the state and local governments—without much international help—did for the survivors. Social workers spent their time and in many cases their own salaries to care for their compatriots. These are the people saving Africa, and others like them across the continent get no credit for their work.

Last month the Group of Eight industrialized nations and a host of celebrities met in Germany to discuss, among other things, how to save Africa. Before the next such summit, I hope people will realize Arica doesn’t want to be saved. Africa wants the world to acknowledge that through fair partnerships with other members of the global community, we ourselves are capable of unprecedented growth.

working hard… ou bien ?

With a few CEG classes taught, community meetings had, and some developing potential ideas, I feel like I am starting to get into a good rhythm of formal work. And I mean that in the most optimistic way possible. About class. As I previously mentioned, I am going to be teaching two classes, about the equivalent of sixth and seventh grade, on lifeskills. So far we’ve talked about relationships in general, more specificially about characteristics of a good friend and peer pressure, and about managing emotions. Let’s just say that it’s been a good learning experience, hopefully for them but most definitely for me.

The sixième class is the first class in CEG, so generally the kids are younger, which means their French is about as good as mine. This makes it hard to communicate well since they’re trying to understand a non-native language coming from a non-native speaker. Not to mention the fact that these are relatively abstract subjects coming at them in an informal and unfamiliar way. The predominent (I want to say almost exclusive) teaching method used is lecture and memorization. I try to be conscious of this when I plan my lessons, but I also want to make it as participatory and interesting as possible while still maintaining order, which has proved to be a challenge for a number of reasons. Between the two classes, cinquième has been the harder of the two, because of some particular personalities plus the number (76 !) of students in the class. The nice thing about this class is that since they are one more year into CEG, their French level is better which makes it easier to communicate. Another nice thing about cinquième is there are a few students I know fairly well outside of class. I’ll leave this CEG, lifeskills class thing on a positive note. Moving on.

I’ve had three meetings with people from the same quartier and I would say they’ve gone pretty well, all things considered. They’ve been short, somewhat organized, and to the point. My purpose in holding the meetings in the first place (after some abiguity on my part) was to get an idea of what they believe and the community’s needs and see what kind of work can be done to meet, or address, those needs. I’ve learned how difficult it is to facilitate this kind of conversation and come up with concrete, feasible ideas. At this point I need to get myself better organized and better at discerning actual needs versus nonpressing desires. I hope the community will be serious about getting organized with me and honest about their needs. Please pray that this be the case.

My developing ideas are, well, developing, so I’ll share those as they progress. That’s that.

Doing everyday life has been a challenge in itself, but how does the saying go? What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right? Well, I'm still alive and hopefully stronger than I was before I started.