Tale of "undiscovered" Africa, savannah, safari and annoying questions.


Let me paraphrase one of the famous quotes by an individual whose name I do not recall, it goes something like this "There is nothing like stupid question". Well, I do believe that a person who asks question he/she does not know an answer to is actually an inquisitive lot. On the other hand, there are questions that do not show curiosity but sheer ignorance or something closer to that. 

One term that makes me think more than I actually do is "undiscovered Africa". Africa, apparently is undiscovered, a term that is overused. And Africa in this context may not necessarily refer to a continent but any country within the continent, you see its easier to say Africa than Burkina Faso or its Capital Ougadogou. I honestly cannot say what are the expectations of non-Africans when they plan to come and pay the continent a visit. However, I can say that I have had a share of interesting questions that Google has an answer to directed towards me. See, geography is simple you do not have to pin point where Senegal is located on the continent, but it is important to know that it is in the West of Africa and not South or in a bad situation on the shores of Indian Ocean. Well, as an African, when someone blurts out, "You know Africa is undiscovered" I tend to think of a far place where human contact and interaction is limited, where everyday lifestyle is incomprehensible to the rest of humanity, and I, as an African probably live in a state of trance. Enough with Africa and discovery I want to talk about safari and savannah. Honestly the continent's environment is not predominantly savannah grasslands and safari is limited to Sub-Sahara regions nothing more to say here.

"Africa is full of AIDS, Can I get Malaria by drinking water here?, do you think I have yellow fever?, Well, Libya and Morocco is not really Africa" some of the questions I try my best to answer by simply nodding and agreeing with the person. It takes a few times before someone is worn out by what I will refer to as stupid questions, yes, there are questions that are unbelievably stupid! With the existence of online sources that can provide basic information on anything, I do not see the reason as to why someone will ask me as a Kenyan if I know someone in Nigeria or if I speak African, this is not curiosity but ignorance of highest order. 

It is easy to see someone's attitude and perceptions towards a place and its population by the way they react to an incident that does not require any form of reaction apart from "aha" maybe?. To begin with, I find it quite offensive when a person you expect a lot from because you assume they are knowledgeable turn out to be the opposite and  quite culturally insensitive as well. One thing for sure I do not get the concept of using hand sanitizers every now and then while you do not do that back in your own city. Well, I assume that this is because Africa is "full of AIDS, and germs", something that does not exist anywhere else on the planet. Paranoia of getting sick on this godforsaken place where everything can harm you especially if you are not native has somehow made some people quite retarded I can say. HIV/AIDS cannot be acquired through handshake nor pressing buttons in the lift, but somehow someone thinks so, so sad.  

Development is relative and so is wealth but understanding, cultural sensitivity and respect is not. It's something you have or not, it is universal and engrained in most of the society around the World. Disrespect, disregard and undervaluation of a culture, environment and people's contribution to their society is just not wrong but stupid as well. 


Sometimes, I tend to think that anyone who habours ignorance and disregard for the local culture should not be allowed to come to the country. And as an African, Kenyan, I would be quite happy not to deal with ignorant questions thrown at me. I say "thrown" because trust me those questions feel like a slap in the face of not just mine but of human race as a whole.






Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Analysis of London conference on Somalia

This particular conference was symbolically successful from the beginning in many aspects. It was the largest so far by attendance, not only by powerful states but also Muslim states like United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Turkey [1] , which will help in the positive reception of the outcome by the Somali people as “open, and fair” unlike previous ones dominated by either Ethiopia, Kenya and the Western states, perceived negatively as occupation of Somalia. Additionally, it is the only conference attended by the leaders of Somaliland, a self declared de facto independent state [2] . Having leaders of Somaliland participate and agreeing to the call is positive since long lasting peace needs as much regional approach as it can get. Furthermore, through this conference thrust Somalia onto world stage, unlike previous conferences where it was conducted along the corridors of East African states. Plausible outcome of the conference in regards to international security is recognising tha
Read more

Perspectives: Why has Africa grown slowly?

Paul Collier (1999) clearly stated his arguments and explanations why Continental Africa is lagging behind in terms of development and growth unlike other regions of the world. Africa’s slow growth was explained by grouping the perceived causes into two-by-two matrix separating on one hand policy and “destiny” factors and on the other external and domestic. Furthermore, he comes to his conclusion by saying that reforms, especially in areas of domestic policy dealing with service delivery needs to be intensified while finally stating that freedom will be helpful in strengthening democracy which will likely support economic reform.   Although extensive and valid explanations were given by the author, it is quite hard not to separate the author from the institution he is working for when he published the article. He was working as a director of development research with the World Bank, thus making it hard for readers to rule out institutional bias since he barely made reference to
Read more

State ineffectiveness in DRC

Rotberg (2003), explained what “failed states” mean, and he simply explained  it as a state that cannot provide positive political goods and services for its citizen and these political goods are obligations and expectations that entails political culture and social contract. Security is the most important political good, and its absence indicates state failure. State failure in DRC has been identified as one of its features since its establishment in 1885 as a modern state, from the time it was Congo Free State under Belgian King Leopold II to present day DRC under Kabila. Ineffectiveness of the structures of the state and the violence inflicted upon the people of DRC dates back to colonial period under the brutal rule of King Leopold II. King Leopold set foundation for the horrors that haunts modern day DRC, the country was used as an extraction field where mass violence and human rights violations was taken as an appropriate measure against the natives. According to Ntalaja
Read more