Africa has to be experienced
Most people would say that Africa is an abandoned place. A place of poverty, hunger and disaster. That people in Africa are stupid because they don’t step up to authorities, that they are being used. That they are stuck in history. That they should lose all traditions and rituals and move on. They would also say that Africans are no hard workers.
But the way I see it, Africa is a new beginning. You may not see this but this is true. There are so many opportunities in Africa, opportunities that others don’t see and most likely don’t want to see. African people are so different from the people in the Western world.. They are open, welcoming, and they smile.
I really believe that Africa is more likely a world of its own and has to be discovered. In Africa you never know what to expect, feel, see and discover. I would say if you are in for an adventure, full of unexpected things, you should go to Africa. I speak out of experience. I myself was born in Africa, but I moved before I was 2 years old. I came back when I was about 5 years old and returned in 2010 when I was 17. Before the summer of 2010 I used to say that I came from Africa, Senegal to be exact, as if it was a standard thing to say. For me it had no real meaning, I knew my grandmother and other family members still live there… But that was all there was to it. But since the summer of 2010, the word ´Africa´ came with depth, and a whole lot of memories.
Now I know what it really means to come from Africa. Now I know how Africa smells like, feels like and looks like. I know people, family and friends by name and would recognize them if I would randomly see them, and I even know the way from my grandmother’s house to the market! I know that African people aren´t as materialistic as Western people. I know that African people are very welcoming. They would offer you everything they have in order to make you feel good and comfortable. Here, I am lucky to be greeted by my own neighbours. Or I am lucky when after helping someone, I get a ´thank you´. And don´t get me wrong, not all Western people are ungrateful, but I am just stating the obvious facts here.
In Africa, to be greeted is not a casual ´Hello´ it means that you will be talking about everything you can imagine, that you will get at least food and drinks, and watch some television. African people that are not welcoming, sounds like an African party with no food. African people with no smile on their faces, sounds like African parents in the Western world who don´t threat their kids to send them back to Africa. All I am saying is that African people are not taking life for granted. I guess they try to smile all the time because they know how hard life can be and that being a life is the greatest blessing of all. Though they probably don’t have as much to smile about as you.
You on the other hand, you probably take too many things for granted. My question is: When was the last time you did something for someone else other than yourself? The elderly woman from this morning, did you help her cross the road safely? Probably not, you were too busy whatsapping your colleagues or your friends that you had to rush… Sad though. I once read that we Africans have something called ‘Ubuntu’. Ubuntu is about the essence of being human, it is part of the gift that Africa will give the world. We Africans believe that a person is a person through another person, which my humanity is bound up, inextricably, with yours. When I dehumanize you, I inexorably dehumanize myself. The solitary human being is a contradiction in terms and therefore you seek to work for the common good because your humanity comes into its own in belonging.
And don´t get me wrong, I am not saying that all Africans are good people, or do the right things, but I think it is amazing that there is a name for this. And to be honest, I believe every human being has this Ubuntu. But it is upon man himself to seek it, I am not asking for people to help Africa.. One must help himself before he helps others.
Khady
Khady’s website: The African-ish Fashion Blog
