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Looking on the bright side of Africa
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Think about Africa for a moment. Did you conjure up images of poverty, disease, violence, hunger, AIDS, or all of these? If so, and you haven't been to the continent, it's not you who's to blame but rather the media and humanitarian experts, writes Selome Araya, a community activist, on African website Pambazuka News. The notion of Africa as the "dark continent" is perpetuated through the negative images and language used by most media, and outlets that present positive information are rare, laments Araya. Africa's crises are much sexier stories than the continent's more mundane good news. Various Western campaigns purporting to raise awareness about Africa only manage to "invoke pity for 'the other' and perpetuate the concept that Africa is backwards and in need of saving", says Araya. She singles out the "I am African" campaign, the '(Red)' consumer campaign that donates some of the profits from registered products to buying anti-retrovirals, and the numerous movements hoping to "save Darfur". To Araya, the "I am African" campaign, featuring European celebrities posing as Africans resplendent in feathers and facepaint, is simply offensive. Rather than achieving its aim of educating people about AIDS, it ends up portraying a continent full of death and HIV-positive people. Neither are international humanitarian organisations exempt from Araya's wrath. They propagate a negative view of Africa in order to receive more support and, ultimately, to ensure they stay in business. As Araya points out, "while it is imperative to raise awareness about global poverty... it is not helpful in the least to project an entire continent through a one-dimensional lens that is lined with despair and imbalance". The solution according to Araya? Provide the context and explain the causes of problems like AIDS and poverty. Report the other side of life in Africa: stories that show progress, unity, peace or strength. After all, as Araya points out, Africa is "much more than death".
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5 responses to “Looking on the bright side of Africa”
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17 Feb 2007 10:48:46 GMT
It's true that the media usually shows a negative Africa, riddled with AIDS, civil war, famine, poverty & war lords.
The current state of affairs, sadly, is not misrepresenting the plight of large parts of Africa. However, as written in this article, people are quick to make gross generalizations and apply a single situation to all Africa.19 Feb 2007 20:02:37 GMT
I agree that the media hasnt been fair to africa and this can be seen from the ways that Africa is depicted in the world.although its true the continent has its own share of problems on the other hand there are things about Africa the media doesnt seem to broadcast and this has led to the present misconception about Africa. similar to the writer i believe Africa has not been treated fairly in the media. although it cant be denied aid has helped the continent on the other hand it had its own side effects on the perception of people outide the continent about the continent at large.
22 Feb 2007 09:45:39 GMT
I am living in South Africa, believed to be the most developed country in Africa. The largest part of the population here (99.9% of woman, 80% men) wants a stable and prosperous environment to raise their children in. This will always just be a dream for us Africans, until the world wakes up.
The problem is with the men. Especially young men with little education and not able to sustain themselves economically, will join the easy and profitable life as a gangster or armed robber. This is a problem echoed in the poorer communities of most countries. See Africa as one big US inner city. PEOPLE OF THE WORLD TAKE NOTICE. If you give a poor man access to a gun, he will use it to get himself a better life. Give poor people Human Rights that they will be responsible with... Not access to Guns. If you want to help Africa, take the guns away first.25 Feb 2007 12:56:02 GMT
She is right: I worked in communications for a UN agency and I made the deliberate decision to ignore my bosses and give a more balanced view of the country I was in. We made sure to always show stories where people were taking action and sorting out the problems in their country. And when we looked for them, we found plenty. In fact, the foreign aid agencies fed off a diet of negativity, always peddling the same five stories to the international media. We, however, went out and worked side-by-side with the local population and came away with thousands of uplifting and engaged stories. And in turn generated thousands of stories in the global press. That's how to do it.
23 Apr 2007 07:47:33 GMT
This Blog was appreciated greatly.Opposing viewpoints are required in order to ensure fair assessment of any situation but is it fair to place blame on the humanitarian organisations for perpetuating bias, when in fact they are members of "the few" attempting to assist "the many" in need,not only in Africa but globally. As a reader,the article by Selome Araya is a reminder to use more than a few sources in order to form an opinion.Inspirational stories such as the type referred to by Bob Macdonald inspire people to become involved but without the constant media reminders that there are still ongoing crises would people do so , or in deed, would people even care.