Part of this candid discussion was
to help the students develop "appropriate attitudes” when foreigners come
to work in Africa especially on development and conflict issues.
For a clearer understanding of what
the class thought of Africa, I asked them for random thoughts on their views of
Africa and what perceptions they had of Africans. I got beautiful, land of
opportunity, beautiful people and of course, that Africa is a continent, not a
country. Good start it was.
And so my rant began.
Oftentimes, there is a very
reductive narrative about Africa, a very reducible portrayal of African people,
and when Westerners are talking about Africa, it’s even more heightened by the
already terrible victimization of the continent. I appreciated that the class
was covering topics on African leaders and conflict.
My challenge though was that it
is an open secret that though there is crippling corruption perpetuated by people
in power in Africa; most of their pockets are lined by westerners and western
syndicates which benefit from ongoing conflicts to rip off resources such as
oil and minerals. They ensure that armed militia had weapons, and that their corrupt
African allies have offshore bank accounts, massive mansions in their counties
and some, guaranteed placement to high end schools and universities for their
kin.
It is no secret either that the Aid
culture has left African countries more debt ridden, more inflation prone, more
vulnerable to impulses of the currency markets, and has made the poor poorer,
and the growth slower. In my opinion, Aid is an unmitigated political and economic
power play, primarily because it is not sustainable. This is not to say that
aid is entirely bad for Africa, but because of the simple fact that Africa is a
rich continent, with vast resources, only that Africans have absolutely no
control over these resources.
Calls for more aid to Africa are
growing louder, from the international community. This kind of aid has provided
band-aid solutions to alleviate immediate suffering, but by its very nature
cannot be the platform for long-term sustainable growth.
ATTITUDE:
I am always appalled when foreigners
come back from their volunteer work or short term placement in some African countries
and when they come back; they give talks of how their experience was, and how, as
an outcome of work there, they saved entire villages.
I am reminded of an interventions
where families in rural African states have mosquito nets donated to them.
After a couple of nights, the women take the mosquito nets and use them in the
gardens, to shield their crops from preying birds and rodents. While the foreigners
pull out their hair about this inconceivable action, they fail to realize that
they completely missed the priority for such a family. Fending for children and
ensuring they have enough to eat supersedes the need to protect them from
mosquitoes. But instead of taking the bottom-up approach that is need based,
they do the opposite, by assuming what need is most important whilst in fact
ignoring the most crucial.
Generally, westerners ask
themselves how to deal with being a person of privilege while working in global
development. This school of thought assumes that African developing nations are
to be pitied. This attitude is despised by Africans, I can vouch for that. Every
year we see thousands of “privileged” westerners eager to come “help the
underprivileged” because they care.
This attitudes reeks of a
sanctimonious benevolent westerner who claim they are coming to rescue
the tragic continent that is full of a filthy, starving, uneducated population.
With this is mind, here is the
attitude that would be ideal:
- Africans would most likely want to be engaged with the people who believe that they are worth struggling with, not just to be pitied
- If you approach your work with an attitude that you are privileged and that only your help can help alleviate a situation, there will not possibly be authentic relations. No one, even the most underprivileged, likes to be looked down upon, even if they are in rugs
- If you have a condescending attitude towards other people, and ignore that you need to see other humans as also human, you are on the wrong path
- You may as well see yourself as the master and me as the slave.
I know that there are countless
people in the nonprofit world who have done a great deal of good. But anyone
who has a condescending attitude towards the poor should not set foot in the
continent. Many from the developed world – in government, multilateral
agencies, business, and academia – have a similar attitude.
Basically, it isn't so hard for
some humans to see other humans as also human. If one has a perception of
“privilege” we will welcome you with our African warmth, enjoy what your ‘privilege’
can offer and say good riddance when you leave.
And I sat back and watched the
faces of the class.
