It has been a little quiet here and for that I apologise.
By way of catching up I have decided to revisit the issue of Africa rebranding itself.
I spent the best part of last week up in Birmingham at the BBC Gardeners World Live, show casing the fine work of the various women that I work with in Africa. It is an interesting but incredibly exhausting exhibition. The show provides an opportunity to get feed back on the quality of the women’s work and whether or not there is a market for their accessories.On the whole the accessories were loved for being colorful, well finished and practical, and this was a great relief.
handmade African basket from Madagascar
So why must Africa Rebrand itself? Whilst at this event I also learned how little folk out there really know about Africa and what it is they know tended to be negative.
African Cotton Tote
Man and wife approached my stand and immediately told me that they sponsored a child in Africa. The man told his wife that they should buy one of the cotton bags made by the women in Tanzania. She told him that they didn’t need it. He whispered to her “we’ve got to help those people woman”. I was tempted to ask them not to do us any favours but realised Ethnic Supplies is not really about me so I bit my tongue.
Then came a woman whose question nearly blew me off my feet! She too was interested in the same bag and having paid for it she asked me if there were schools in Ghana and if so do English people provide them?
Now I am very chatty and I must confess to being dumb founded.
Whilst thinking about those comments I noticed that I was very cold and I asked people on nearby stands if they too were feeling cold and they were, the Air conditioning was on very high. I complained to the organisers about this and they sent a rep to my stand, who promptly asked me if I had just arrived to the UK! I did wonder whether he assumed that there is no Air conditioning in Africa?
I did wonder whether this was a new form of discrimination or an unfortunate comment form an idiot. Well as luck would have it the chap came back and I told him how disappointed I was with his remarl. he apologised and said he had merely been making small talk!
Now folk I would really like to think that I can take a joke like the next person and that I am not an overly sensitive grumpy old woman, but I struggled to see how any of these comments could be taken lightly.
The comment about school in Ghana left me in no doubt that Africa must do more to report the good news from Africa instead of leaving it to the popular media. Why? Good news from Africa does not sell papers no make television headlines which is where some of these folk get their information about Africa= no incentive for the popular media house to report it!
Having written the first draft of this blog an email has since dropped into my in box from a German guy who had previously approached me about providing work experience for his talented African friend. My last response to him was that I was not in a position to do so for various reasons.
In his latest email he says his friend really needs my help as he is so intelligent that it is as if he was not born in Africa! I don’t know about your folk but I can only read that one way. People in Africa are stupid and those that are not must be helped to leave as soon as possible. Did I let him get away with that comment? Absolutely not!
Have you got a view on any of the issues raised here? Well lets here them
About idahorner
Hi I agree with you that Africa must re-brand itself, but unfortunately the people of Africa are so somehow engaged with proud and fear of a white man and they don't dare to say or argue back at these kinds of issues, and until Africans stop worshiping the white man and remember what the white man did to their ancestors and heal from the Stockholm syndrome that makes Africans have this positive attitude towards their oppressor, there will be no re-brand for Africa, I don't say we should hate them but they should understand that whites will never respect an African ever, and it's the attitude we show to them as if we can't really live without them, but as history tells as that white man's knowledge and wealth is because of Africa. And Africans must do research to realize that they are in fact a people of a great history that was robed by the westerners and took credit for themselves, and for the last 500yrs African generations have been taught by the whites that we are nothing but savages and a stupid poor race and sadly many of us think that way…. Africa needs to wake up and stand up against it's oppressor, otherwise we will just stay in the shadows of the white man forever.
Great article! Africa has sources, Africa has knowledgeable people, Africa is huge market place…you can do it yourself…export to Europe, USA… other continents and than build up what is the most important in Africa….be united in archiving one goal…prosperity for all the African countries…
White people should have apologize to many nations, Africans especially…for what the have done in the past…they should have help you now on your way to the have better future…but i am afraid that they are “helping” you so they could help themselves..in other words to fill in their own pockets…
UNITED….YOU CAN ALL….
Thank you for your comments. Time has come for Africans to take back control and start telling our own stories as a start. It is interesting that you mention knowledge, last month I was in Uganda and during a conversation with a University lecturer I learned something that bears out what you are saying. A faculty of this University carried a piece of research and at some point a University from the US turned up and they jointly took this research a step further. The Americans left with a view to publishing the research in an international journal with both teams taking credit for the work. A few months later someone that had been aware of this work called the Prof from the Ugandan University and alerted him to the fact the work had indeed been published but there was no credit to the team in Uganda. The Ugandan University contacted to the US team to protest but it was too late!!
There is no doubt that there is a huge amount of ignorance about Africa, but imagine what impression you would have about the UK if you did not live here and oly had the news headlines to rely on – crime, unemployment, strikes, war – but our daily life putts all those things in context. Most people have no other regular source of information on Africa. It is changing as people take more and more long haul holidays but the internet and blogs like this help to create that context.
There is also increasing evidence that aid, other than emergency aid, is actually destructive of development. If the developed world is serious about helping, it needs to stop subsidising its farmers and restricting market access. However, it will be 'a long day' before that happens. Meanwhile, Africa needs to sort itself out. It is a market of over a billion people but you try moving goods even from one ECOWAS state to another, including time, road conditions, corruption at borders and £ for mile it is the most expensive freight you can move in the world. African government have the ability to deal with this and build proper economic communities that make it practical to nurture and grow intra-African trade. It is a matter of will and self confidence.
Welcome to the discussion Mike. I think you have articulated what I was trying to say in your comment about life in UK. It is about what gets reported, whilst growing up in Uganda and largely to date the “bad” news of day to day life in the UK did not and does not filter through to the media in Africa and as such isn't widely reported. Most Western countries have grasped the point of promoting themselves and made themselves attractive to others either to visit or to invest. My point therefore is Africa must get smart at reporting the good news from Africa and some how figure out a way of getting that news to the masses, then and only then would the the sort of people I came across at the BBC GWL get a more balanced perspective of what Africa is.
You raise an important point too. They are that many more consumers in Africa and African countries could improve trade relations amongst each other instead of looking to the West or East for trade opportunities as the only choice.
The key is to own your own media to tell your own story and especially in the days of the internet that is becoming easier. Believe me when you see American made films about history, the role of other nations is downplayed completely regardless of colour. There is a hugely successful African film and even more so, music scene, African Sky channels and most African economies are growing faster than the rest of the world economy. The tools are all there. The political will and the belief are what is missing to follow the path of India, China, Brazil, Japan, Thailand etc.
Oh I agree, most leaders are merely grabbing what they can for themselves and stashing it all away into Swiss banks..*SIGH*
I think we need to figure away of managing those resources in order that they do not become a curse. Some African leaders are greedy and have no due regard for the ordinary citizen this means that they sell out the highest bidder pocket the money for themselves and families! This is something that has to end if we are to get ahead
Oh I agree, most leaders are merely grabbing what they can for themselves and stashing it all away into Swiss banks..*SIGH*
I think we need to figure away of managing those resources in order that they do not become a curse. Some African leaders are greedy and have no due regard for the ordinary citizen this means that they sell out the highest bidder pocket the money for themselves and families! This is something that has to end if we are to get ahead