the Africa they Never show You

Anonymous asked: Are your parents/grandparents from there?/Were you born there?
No. I have some African descent, being from Latin America, but no recent direct ancestry as far as I know.

Have you ever visited the continent? No, unfortunately.

Who are your fav African athletes? Didier Drogba, Seydou Keita, Asamoah Gyan.

What are you studying in school? I majored English and Comparative Literature in college, with a strong emphasis on post-colonial literatures. This included some 20th century African literature as well.

What African countries would you like to see more posts about? Ethiopia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.

Which countries would you like to visit and why? Mostly countries in the Western African coast (Benin/Nigeria/Cote D'Ivoire/Ghana/etc) since so much US and Latin American Black culture is derived from there. I'd also like to visit Ethiopia and Mozambique.

What African-related topics interest you? Contemporary arts, film, music and literature.

Why did you decide to following me? You have a pretty cool blog. I haven't seen anything similar here on tumblr : )

What do you want to learn more about? More contemporary African culture, film, literature by people in the African continent. And relationships between Africans and the African diaspora in Latin America.

Who are your favorite African authors? Nuruddin Farah, Tsitsi Dangaremba, Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, J.M. Coetzee, Dinaw Mengestu.

Are Africans doing enough to help themselves? These types of questions are always so complicated. Of course the region has to contend with a long history of colonialism and disastrous intervention by Western countries which has had a deleterious effect on most of the continent's present possibilities, but it goes both ways as well. More local African enterpreneurship would be good, but I have to admit I'm not particularly well-versed about this particular issue. However putting the onus solely on the people of African when those issues have such global roots and global impact is a bit problematic as well.

Hey Anon!!

Who are your fav African athletes?

Didier Drogba, Seydou Keita, Asamoah Gyan.

I like Gyan as well.

During the World Cup, I wanted Ghana to score so I could see his teammates do one of their dances:

What do you want to learn more about? More contemporary African culture, film, literature by people in the African continent. And relationships between Africans and the African diaspora in Latin America.

Definitely!!!

More local African entrepreneurship would be good, but I have to admit I’m not particularly well-versed about this particular issue. However putting the onus solely on the people of African when those issues have such global roots and global impact is a bit problematic as well.

I agree!  I’m learning about all of these issues as I go along and seeking answers from my parents, friends and family members who still live there and other people who are knowledgeable about these issues.

Why did you decide to following me?

You have a pretty cool blog. I haven’t seen anything similar here on tumblr : )

Thank you for subscribing!!!  You’ve given me a few ideas for future posts :)

mazungu asked: Are your parents/grandparents from there?

No, they're from the Netherlands.

Were you born there?

No, I was born in Canada. My wife was born in Bujumbura, Burundi.

Have you never visited the continent?

Not yet (for shame)

Who are your fav African athletes?

George Weah, Samuel Eto'o, and El-Hadji Diouf.

Have a funny story about your African family??

The Dutch are generally very plain-spoken and forthright while Burundians are generally very diplomatic and will circle around a point very descriptively and poetically without stating their intention directly. Let's just say that when my father-in-law and my father discuss important things, my father gets very confused.

What are you studying in school?

I studied history, poli-sci, and education.

What African countries would you like to see more posts about?

Burundi!

Which countries would you like to visit and why?

Burundi (family and friends), South Africa (tourism), Rwanda (family and friends), Ethiopia (tourism) and every other country.

What African-related topics interest you?

History. I also enjoy African art, music, and literature.

Why did you decide to follow me?

You post topics of interest. I particularly enjoy that you post items of hope and pride, because the mainstream media seems to only turn its attention to the continent of Africa when something negative happens.

What do you do for a living?

I work in an embassy.

What do you want to learn more about?

That's a very long list.

What are your opinions about aid to Africa?

Most aid only increases debt, inflation, currency destabilization, and the unlikelihood of strong investment. This, in turn, creates an unstable country as the poorest of the poor can easily be driven to arms while the richest of the rich can just as easily be driven to corruption. Basically, the government is not accountable to its people, it is accountable to its donors/debtors.
Good aid focuses on education and providing tools and empowerment to the people themselves. Top-down aid simply doesn't work very well except in cases of emergency.

Who are your favorite African authors?

Chinua Achebe, J.M. Coetzee, Alan Paton, Nuruddin Farah.

What do you think about the Western media’s portrayal of Africa?

Western movie-makers have this need to insert American actors into African stories. Even roles that are supposed to be African are given to American actors. Who can play Africans best? Americans, of course. One day African film-makers will have the budgets and influence to tell their stories their way.

Are Africans doing enough to help themselves?

With so many people that have been working against the betterment of Africa for so long, the fact that African countries are doing as well as they are is a testament to the work of those fighting for its continual improvement.

Hey Mazungu!!

No, I was born in Canada. My wife was born in Bujumbura, Burundi.

:)

 What African countries would you like to see more posts about?

Burundi!

I will do my best!!

Who are your favorite African authors?

Chinua Achebe, J.M. Coetzee, Alan Paton, Nuruddin Farah.

I want to look into those three (J.M. Coetzee, Alan Paton, Nuruddin Farah).  Are there any particular books from those authors that you would recommend?

With so many people that have been working against the betterment of Africa for so long, the fact that African countries are doing as well as they are is a testament to the work of those fighting for its continual improvement.

Sadly, too many of those working against them are their own countrymen and “leaders”, yet they endure.  Look at the instability with electricity (truly unacceptable), yet Africans stay connected with family, create businesses, get food to feed their families, continue to be engaged with event around the world all through mobile phone.  

No matter the barriers, they still manage to find a way to succeed :)