Do I really know Africa? Do I know the continent like the back of my hand?
No. Not at all. Perhaps if I had been to all 54 countries in the continent rather than one, I would feel comfortable relating the ‘Africa’ I know.
The only ‘Africa’ I know, is Angola, a country in the southern part of Africa. It’s the only country in the continent that I could tell detailed stories about.
Therefore, it’s quite interesting to me when I hear others discuss Africa as if it were country, saying they’re going to Africa but without stating which country, and act as if all of Africa is the same.
It’s extremely interesting to me when I hear people say Africans live in huts, that all Africans are hungry, it’s outstanding to me when I see that the outside world assumes that Africa hasn’t reached the 21st century yet.
The topic of Africa is touchy to me because all 19 years of my life I’ve been forced to listen to ignorant comments regarding the continent.
The most irritating one being, “Africans…” This doesn’t seem like it could be irritating, or ignorant but the truth of the matter is, that it is.
There are multiple countries in Europe, each country has a different culture and has different people. French people are referred to as French, just like Italian people are referred to as Italian, same goes with Greece, Finland, and all the countries in Europe.
Yet, when it comes to the countries in Africa, why is every bunched into one group, named and labeled as African?
How come people refuse to acknowledge the different cultures and languages each African country has.
Why is it that Ghanaians and Nigerians are referred to as Africans, rather than their own respective nationalities?
How come people can easily differentiate the identities of European countries for example, but not African ones? Although Spain is in Europe, Spaniards have their separate identity from Europe and are called Spanish.
Zimbabwe is in Africa, yet they are simply given the general label of African, rather than Zimbabweans.
Why can’t people educate themselves? Why can’t they respect others?
Of course, there’s the other issue of people assuming that all Africa consists of is safaris, land dominated by animals, hunger and poverty. This is partly due to the media’s tendency of showing only one side of Africa, but nonetheless, there’s more to Africa.
It may be surprising, but technology has reached Africa, it is possible for Angolans, for example, to be obsessed with getting the latest iPhone.
Just like the United States has movie theaters, malls, grocery stores, and schools, so does Angola.
A functioning world does exist outside of developed or developing countries (is any country fully developed?)
African countries are advanced, and although it may not always reach the “standards” other countries have set for themselves, it deserves the same amount of respect just as any other one.
The ‘Africa’ I know is indescribable, if people educated themselves, and respected others, they could see that too.
