What do you know about Africa, and how do you know it?
When you read about Africa, do you expect to hear about “tragic hellholes full of starving children with flies in their eyes” (Kristof 44)?
And when you hear about problems in Africa, do you respond with what Kristof describes as a “collective shrug” and say, “Too bad, but isn’t that what Africa is always like? People slaughtering each other? . . . we have our own problems?” (41).
In “How to Write About Africa,” Kenyan Binyavanga Waianana summarizes the many ways Western writers discuss Africa, her people, and the struggles faced by many nations represented on the continent.
How accurate are her observations? Have your views of Africa been influenced by the kind of writing she describes?
Will the kind of writing/campaigns advocated by Kristof help readers/viewers to see Africa in new ways? Or is Kristof part of the problem?
As usual, respond to the blog by commenting on this prompt or on the comments of other students.
25 comments:
What i know about Africa is what i have seen or read. Because i have not been. Kristof, i would assume, is the same way. The way she describes the situations in Africa may be true, but was worded in a very heartless and naive fashion.
Africa is an overpopulated place and home to the African people. They are struggling with their lives because of the environment they are living in. About 900 million people are starving and dying, which is unhealthy. Africans do not live the way we do, they have to suffer and find ways to keep them and their families alive. Binyavanga Wainaina writing, “How To Write About Africa” explains the difficult living conditions in Africa and no one is willing to help. When I read about Africa, I actually did expected to hear about the tragic hellholes full of starving children; however, I did not know that they had flies in their eyes. Reading about this makes me feel so much sympathy for these Africans because they have to find ways to live their everyday life. Especially reading about children’s hurts because it is not their fault that they are living in a horrible environment. When I hear about the problems in Africa I do agree with Kristof points and advice. Yes, we all have our own problems; but there has to be a time where we also have to fix problems that are not related to our situation. Being kind hearted and willing to help others will lift a lot of weight off ones shoulders.
Moreover, in “How To Write About Africa” many bad Western writers discuss Africa as something different; they do not mention the pessimistic things that are happening. I believe that Binyavanga is trying to reach out to her audience with a strong tone so her readers can understand what the Africans are experiencing, which is not a normal life. She is trying to say that writing about Africa is different than seeing the real life of it. Africa is not an ideal area; many individuals are in pain physically and mentally. Binyavanga writing has influenced my views of Africa; I understand what she is trying to approach to her audiences. She wants her readers to open their eyes clearly and see that this world is not perfect. There are many people who are struggling with their lives, not just in Africa; but other places as well. Therefore, Kristof message is to let the readers know that helping at least one person is just enough, than not helping at all. I believe that both Binyavanga and Kristof have great points, but the main reason is to reach out to their audiences and see how they feel about what they are trying to approach.
I honestly don’t know much about Africa. All that I know are the things that I have heard in class or on the news when my TV is randomly on that channel. I know that there is war, starvation, and other forms of helplessness in some parts of Africa, but I also know that in South Africa, there are peaceful and beautiful spots to visit for vacation.
When I read about Africa, I do expect to hear about what Kristof calls “tragic hellholes full of starving children with flies in their eyes”, only because that is what the readings in class , such as the articles on Somalia, depicted for me. They made all of Africa seem like one big hell-like country filled with famine, starving children, deaths, and much more. However, when I hear about problems in Africa, I feel sympathy, but also guilt for their hardships. I feel guilt because I feel like I have the opportunity to make their lives better but I don’t actually take the time to do so.
In “How to Write About Africa,” Binyavanga Waianana describes how to effectively write about Africa. The rules or guidelines that he stated, to me, seemed really stereotypical and discriminative. He made it seem like people from Africa were not normal human beings. Yes, they do live different lifestyles, but they are still human beings. This can be seen when he says “Make sure you show how Africans have music and rhythm deep in their souls, and eat things no other humans eat.” He also asserts that when writing about Africa, make the reader feel sympathy for the people of Africa by vividly describing The Starving African, who has flat and empty breasts, children who have flies on their eyelids, and all of them who look “utterly helpless.”
Binyavanga Waianana’s observations could be accurate since he was born in Nakuru, Kenya, and he could have experienced all of these hardships throughout his life. But the way he writes and presents his guidelines makes me believe that Africa is a country that is all bad, even though it is really not.
The way Kristof wrote and advocated campaigns might be a part of the problem because he tells people to bring back videos of one person getting help instead of a group of people. How is one person getting help significantly going to help Africa change?
Binyavanga Wainaina pinpoints Westerner’s thoughts by encapsulating her observations into a sardonic short paper meant to challenge the stereotypical humanitarian piece. She accurately portrays the overall ignorance of Western thought towards Africa. Within the first sentence, my mind instantly drew upon Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Allusions latently appear throughout the piece to novels of such content. Heart of Darkness, although mainly centering around Western exploitation of the Congo, constantly uses visual images Wainaina refers to, such as, “...rotting naked dead bodies.” Gruesome images like this provoke emotion, this much any reader knows, including Wainaina. Wainaina is not trying to say this Western thought process and writing proclivity is wrong. Wainaina attempts to show these repetitive descriptions are often so over used that they no longer can provoke emotion. Throughout the piece, she notes a lack of specificity. She states, “…treat Africa as if it were one country. It is hot and dusty with rolling grasslands and huge herds of animals and tall, thin people who are starving.” Is she wrong in saying this? Do we actually come off as that ignorant? But most of us do treat Africa as one country. How many people can name more than fifteen of the fifty-four countries? Africa is not doomed without our help, but Wainaina accurately points out that we believe it to be unless we intervene and write countless books and articles depicting the country as desolate, hopeless – a complete wasteland desperate for help from the Westerners who believe they caused the suffering to start.
I only know that Africa is a hellhole and millions of people are starving to death without any good forms or aid, along with that there is war and no central body of government. i know this because we have been talking about it in class the last few weeks and of course from ads about donating money. Actually yes when you hear about Africa in the media or read about it, it is always about suffering and poor, emaciated children. Well seemingly no one is really stepping in to solve problems in Africa so we usually shrug it off and accept the fact that there isn't anything that can be done. In the article titled "How to Write About Africa" I laughed. She is listing out everything we see, all the propaganda organizations and writers use to explain Africa. The things they lack, the real stories and progress and the good things in all the different countries of Africa. Not just an image of a skinny black child starving in the heat with flies around their eyes. I just never researched Africa and tried to ignore whatever I saw on T.V. commercials. Not all of Africa is portrayed and only the worst most plaintive views are subjected to the Western audience. She wants people to see what Africa really is and not just our skewed version, you can't really do anything if you don't clearly understand the people. Kristof advocates helping one person because most people don't care about millions of deaths but only one. Kristof is trying to help but even he i feel like is part of the problem, his is a solution to cope with the problem but it doesn't solve anything. Helping one person is great but in the overall scheme of things people's views on Africa still have not changed.
After reading Nicholas Kristof’s article “Advice for Saving the World”, it changed my perspective about Africa. When Kristof said, “tragic hellholes full of starving children with flies in their eyes” (44), I did not expect such a visual image to be so gruesome. I already knew that there was a bad situation in Africa because I knew there was a famine in Africa but did not anticipate their condition to be worst with such powerful descriptions. In addition when Kristof says, “collective shrug” and, “Too bad, but isn’t that what African is always like? People slaughtering each other?...we have our own problems?” (41), I do not respond as the same as the “collective shrug.” There is one thing that I do agree with is that we as a society in America also have our own problems. We would need to fix our own problems before fixing other problems in the world. If we first cannot fix our own problems then we cannot fix other problems. After reading “How to Write about Africa” by Kenyan Binyavanga Waianana, I believe the way she describes Africa is very accurate. The words she uses are overwhelming and gives a descriptive visual image. I believe that Waianana’s writing has influences my views because she gave me an insight how Africa is. I did understand and knew that the people of Africa were suffering from starvation and disease. Then Waianana describes the dead naked rotting bodies and naked people. This also tells me that people in Africa are having a hard life. When I compare my life to the Africans, I feel thankful about the environment I have grown up in. Waianana has taught me not to take anything for granted in life because I may have grown up worst than others, but at the same time others have grown up worst than me. Kristof’s writing can help readers/viewers see African in a new way by having people understand there are others in the world that have it worst than the readers/viewers. If people understand the story behind Africa, then the numbers of statistics that Kristof addresses would have a big influence on readers and viewers. This would help acknowledge the fact that people need help in Africa.
I do know a significant amount of things about Africa, but not nearly as much as people who dedicate their lives to the continent. I am educated about Africa for many reasons including, I have family and friends that have traveled and lived there, and I try my best to keep up with world news. When I read about Africa most of the time I do expect to hear about starving children or something along those lines. This is because the Western media almost always portrays Africa in that way. However, when I read reports about Africa in nonwestern media sources there tends to be more thank just stories about starving children. When I read these articles sometimes I think there is nothing that I can do to help solve the problem, but most of the time I think I can do something about it. I know that there are certain parts of Africa that are beautiful and that different parts of Africa were not always bad places This is because I know of people and organizations that have made huge differences in the lives of people across Africa.
In Waianana’s article the observations she made are accurate. When I read about Africa I do notice the things that she mentioned in her article to be present, but my views about Africa have not been influenced as much as the average person. This is because when I read about places, especially ones I am interested in, I try to look at multiple types of readings. I think the kind of writings and campaign advocated by Kristof will help people see Africa in a new way because he promotes educating people about successful things that aid organizations have done. Therefor, Kristof’s ideas will help people see a better side of Africa.
What do you know about Africa, and how do you know it? I know Africa is a beautiful place with the most preserved natural habitats in the world. It is impossible to talk about Africa without picturing all the history and beautiful cultures behind it. I know this because I like to watch television shows that talk about nature and history. But through class I have learned more about the poverty and sufferage that people go through in Africa. Whenever I read about Africa I either expect one of three topics: Nature in Africa, Culture, or Poverty. So I don't always expect to hear about “tragic hellholes full of starving children with flies in their eyes” (Kristof 44)?
When I read or hear about the problems in Africa, I dont respond
with what Kristof describes as a “collective shrug” and say, “Too bad, but isn’t that what Africa is always like? People slaughtering each other? . . . we have our own problems?” (41). Most of the time I feel pity for the People and I wish them the best since I don't know much about the case and I don't know which campaigns to trust with money.
I believe that Kenya Bingyavanga Waiana delivers a very strong message in “How to Write About Africa”. In her article she basically criticizes the way people describe Africa, putting aside all its beauty, significant figures, and accomplishments. Instead we only write articles of poverty and misery as if that those are the only things found in Africa. Kristof is part of the problem of which Waiana talks about, because he is encouraging audiences to write about the poverty and the unfortunate life on some infants from Africa.
I know that Africa is a very large with a massive overpopulation. There is a lot of disease and injustice there. I have worked with organizations that have taught me these things over the years. However, when I read about Africa, I would hope to hear about the natural beauty of the continent, not the starvation and death. Even though Kristof discusses that people should her about the tragedy among all the people, I try to think about Africa in a more optimistic viewpoint. When I hear about the problems in Africa, I do not respond like Kristof describes because I have already been exposed to the reality that Africa is in trouble as a whole. America may have its own problems, but they are not even close to as intense as the ones in Africa. My awareness about the problems makes my response a feeling of compassion and concern. Binyavanga Waianana’s observations are extremely accurate. If Africa is not described in the way that she explains, then most people do not show as much interest. Only the people who are capable of giving information about the continent have influenced my views of Africa. My cousin spent two months in Tanzania this past summer and he came back with pictures of the people and scenery there. These types of circumstances have led to the viewpoint that I currently have. I have heard stories about what the people are actually like and not the stories of what writers want me to believe. I think Kristof’s approach to helping readers and viewers see Africa in a new way can go either way. Some viewers may see his writing and campaigns as a call to action. On the other hand, some viewers may see his work as another reminder of a problem that people may never care about. All I know is, having people write about the problems in Africa are not going to solve the problem. I just think of the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words”. If people were exposed to more images of the realistic status of Africa, then the actions of Americans may change and they may try to take part in solving the problems.
To be perfectly honest I do not know much about Africa. I have never been and barley have heard about it. In school sometimes we discuss events going on in Africa but other than that it is not really discussed. I did not realize all of the problems that Africa is currently facing. The news and even the commercials I see do not do a good job showing how bad Africa really is right now. This is why the only things I know about Africa are things that I have learned and researched in regards to school.
I do not really read much on Africa; I see more commercials on Africa. Unfortunately almost ever commercial I have seen about Africa fall in to Kristof's argument. Kristof states that we expect to see starving children and them suffering, and sadly this is very true. All of the commercials I see about Africa are really sad and make me feel so much pain for the people in need. Even though I see these repetitive commercials I have never had a collective shoulder shrug like Kristof talks about. I do not think that these serious problems your can shake off. I also do not believe that anyone’s problems are more serious than another’s. It is very hard to help in these situations, but it is not right to compare their problems to ours. Or think that we have to many problems so we cannot help them. So I do agree with Kristoff when he discuses how we expect to see children starving, on the other hand I completely disagree with how he thinks most people just have a collective shoulder shrug in regards to this serious problem.
It was actually quite difficult for me to read “How to Write About Africa,” by Kenyan Binyavanga Waianana. I want to believe that nothing she said is true because it sounds so demeaning towards those individuals. Sadly I know that most of what she said seems like realty. All of her observations are very true when it comes to getting aid for Africa. My views definitely have not been changed by what she describes. Like I said earlier it was kind of upsetting for me to read her article because I felt like it was so demeaning to the people of Africa. It make it seem like Africa is just so out of control that there is nothing we can do, and that is not how it should be. I do not feel like Africa will be looked at differently after Kritsofs article, but at the same time I do not feel like he is part of the problem. I just think that it is what it is, although Africa should not be promoted as such a death hole. There are ways to get aid to Africa without making it seem so bad in my opinion. After reading these Articles I feel the need to promote aid to Africa in a different light.
Most of the things I know about Africa I learned from televisions, movies and articles I read in class. Some of the movies I’ve seen were Hotel Rwanda and Blood Diamonds and in both of these movies Africa is portrayed negatively. On Television I often see commercials about child sponsorship for kids who lost their parents and have to act as a parent to their younger siblings. As for articles, I don’t read them often but when I read an article for a class, that’s usually when I learn about the world around me, it’s pretty sad. Anyway, when I read about Africa I do not think about “tragic hell holes full of starving children..,” Africa is not the only place with poor countries. It’s definitely a place that I would think twice before I go, but I don’t think of it as a hell hole. There are safer places that one can go where they probably would not be put to harm. I would definitely say that when I hear about the raping and the murder that I too occasionally shrug it off, because in reality we as humans are selfish, we always worry about ourselves first before worrying about someone else. Africa is not the only place where people are slaughtering each other, I mean, there’s people slaughtering each other right here in America. In Africa however the slaughtering is multiplied a thousand fold, I not saying that we shouldn’t do anything to help Africa, I’m just stating that before we try to fix someone else’s problems we must fix our problems first.
Just by using the pictures in class and the articles about Somalia, I can definitely say that Binyavanga Waianana is very accurate in describing the ways authors write about Africa. If they did not write this way no one would bother trying to help Africa. I would definitely say that my views on Africa has been totally skewed by the way writers describe Africa, why wouldn’t people think Africa is the embodiment of hell when they describe it like that every time. The kind of writing that Kristof uses definitely helps in making Africa less hellish than it actually is, his writing shows that there is still hope that the people in Africa will stop slaughtering each other. He basically says that the best way to do this is by sponsoring children so that they may grow up educated so that they will never discriminate others that are different from them.
I don’t know a lot about what is currently going on now or Africa’s past but I have to admit everything that I have read about Africa does contain a lot of what Binyavanga Wainania talks about. I know there has been many issues with the government, wars, genocide and starvation but I also believe there are places in Africa where problems like this aren’t and issue and people thrive. Especially the beauty of the continent and the animals that live there, Africa is unlike any other. I am guilty of believing what is distributed by the media but it is rare the media is putting out positive information coming out of Africa.
I think this piece accurately depicts what the west believes Africa is like. I agree with what Wesley said, I believe Wainania is trying to show the readers that this tactic of writing about Africa has been exhausted. All of this has been said and re-said and nothing has come of it. All this does is generate a feeling of remorse and guilt and reiterating the feeling that there is no way we could help such a large issue. I think Kristof’s tactic of singling out individuals is a positive method in helping where help is needed. Not only is he promoting this he has implemented or promoted various campaigns that aim to help, educate, and deliver aid to many people. Personally I think this is shedding positive light on what is going on in Africa. Other people can disagree but I think these are steps in the right direction.
What I know about Africa is that many of its countries are embroiled in war and/or ravaged by AIDS and other diseases that aren't normally a problem even close to the same degree in developed countries. I know about these things because there were a few clubs at my high school that were dedicated toward efforts to give aid to countries like Darfur, and I have also seen the usual commercials that are on in the middle of the day on the subject. When I hear about Africa I do, frankly, expect to hear something about a)AIDS, b)Starvation, or c) War. Very rarely do I see anything positive being addressed when Africa is the subject. While I do not totally "shrug"at the problems in Africa(it's hard not to when you see human beings keeling over or 10 year olds shouldering AK-47 assault rifles),I realize still that there isn't much I can actually do, nor do I honestly want to do anything because I have my own concerns that take up time and money already. I do believe what Wainaina says about Africa and how westerners write about it is accurate, as they are trying their best to sell the situation to people that don't see it first hand in order to get their donation. As far as what Kristof advocates, his methods are much better for going about aid to Africa as the "old guard" techniques described by Wainaina really just make people feel bad about the situation, and that there isn't much to be done. Rather than selling pity and sadness and all kinds of statistics to the western masses, people like Kristof aim to sell hope and individuals overcoming adversity in order to convince possible donors that they can actually make a difference. Those people feel better about the situation and their possible impact and they make their donations with confidence rather than resignation.
As far as I've seen humanitarian efforts, there has usually been many images of Africa as a nation filled with poverty, war, and death. With the news broadcasts from Somalia, I'm sure that while the scenario is not as bad as advertised, it is nearing that status. In addition, I don't just view Africa as tragic hellholes, I also see them as a series of civilizations on the brink of anarchy due to the weaknesses of their current governments. Going back to the Somalia situation, the government was unable to control the Al Shabab, and now they're still unable to keep control of the nation even with the Shabab influence lifted. Knowing this, I believe that Africa will recover, but not without the cost of countless lives in the process. While the Shabab is finally gone, Somalia is still without aid, and vaccinations necessary for the upcoming disease wave once the rains start up. This is just one scenario in Africa, and odds are it will be many years before the horrible images clear up. For the most part, the Somalian disaster will end up disastrous, but future famines could be prevented if help would come by before such natural events strike.
Along with all of my classmates I as well do not know much about Africa except for what I have learned in class or saw in the news or on T.V. When I think about Africa I think of small villages that are over populated, where children are raising themselves and their siblings because their parents can’t or have died. Another dominant thought I have about Africa is that there are large numbers of people dying from HIV/AIDS, starvation, and war. If I were asked to draw a picture of Africa it would consist or huts and desert and look extremely poor. The way Kris off talks about Africa makes me believe that the things we learn and that we see on the news are all correct, and that these people are truly suffering day in and day out. Waianae writes about the very realistic and overwhelming views about Africa, although it is hard to accept this as reality it is for the people that are living in these conditions. The part of this reading that I found really disturbing was the paragraph on the second page when she talks about writing about all the dead and mutilated bodies you would see in Africa. When I visualized that paragraph I was appalled by what I was seeing, to imagine someone having to live in these conditions suck. No one should live in fear of death or having to have their gentiles cut, as a female that is a very scary thought that I would have to go through that just to stay alive. I feel as if although Wainaina writes what we know about Africa thus reinforcing our thoughts, that she has an underlying sarcastic tone as if she believes the way we write about Africa is completely wrong.
I have known for a long time that Africa is a continent that has been suffering. When I was younger and unaware of the problems I thought it was like paradise because of all the animals and jungles. But in recent years I've come to known that Africa is full of wars and starving people. I keep on hearing about diseases that affect people in Africa and it makes me never want to go there. Kristoff makes a valid point that an individual gaims more attention but I also feel that it is too hard to ignore the other people that are suffering. I don't believe in having preferences over whose life is better. I would love to help everyone but I feel that it is impossible. Wainaina made Africa sound even worst. It sounded like she was trying to sell the image of Africa to reporters or writers who want a really good story. It might be a good way to fund some money but it also makes a lot of people look like trash.
I have a general amount of knowledge of what is currently going on in Africa. I know about Darfur and other countries with daily conflicts that make it hard for citizens to survive. There is a ridiculous amount of poverty in Africa and many malnourished people fighting for food to survive. Terrorist groups are taking over several countries inside Africa and are destroying their governments. I have this knowledge from following the media and doing research for school assignments. Sadly, when I do read about Africa, I expect something along the lines of Kristof’s quote because it seems like most of the media’s stories on Africa include starving children. When I hear about these problems going on in Africa, I do not respond with a totally negative attitude and how I should worry about my own country. I feel sympathy for the tragedy going on, but I feel like I am one individual that cannot have a big enough impact on Africa’s current situation.
Waianana, in “How to Write About Africa,” is fairly accurate on how she summarizes the way Westerners describe Africa. It is usually portrayed in a very negative way and usually one-sided. I feel like I hardly hear positive news about Africa and there are many countries in the continent and there is bound to be good news somewhere. The Western media has heavily influenced my views because that is the only news I happen read or hear about. I do understand that there are other countries in Africa that are not affected by poverty or starvation and have positive influences on the world. I have started to gain a more favorable outlook on the continent after thinking about how it is so often portrayed. Kristof’s writing would help people see Africa in new ways, in terms of making an attempt to aid them. Kristof describes how people respond to different circumstances of victims and will make people think more often about making a difference. He sends a message to his readers, telling them that any donation or service to a group makes a difference.
I know that many parts of Africa are impoverished and politically corrupt. I find it ironic that growing up in the digital age of instant news, I have not seen many stories related to the atrocities that are happening in many different parts of the African continent. The only times that I have read about the circumstances of the situation in Africa are when it was required of me for one of my classes. When I hear or read anything about Africa it seems like I only hear about the suffering and violations of human rights that are occurring there. To answer the second question, yes I do expect to hear about the problems in Africa whenever I read up on news coming out of it.
I hate to say it, but because I've been hearing about the suffering in Africa for years now, anything that I hear about it now does not come as much of a shock to me as it used to. I've grown accustomed to the fact that although the situation is terrible, my individual efforts will not make a significant difference. While reading Waianana's article, I realized that her descriptions of how our media portrays the crisis matched a decent amount of the content of articles that I have read or seen. Some of the assumptions that I have about Africa were also discussed in her article For example while watching essentially any nature program about Africa, both the big red skied sunsets and vast, open lands are displayed. I do believe that my views on Africa have been influenced by many of the things she discussed, because they are what the mass media conveys to the public.
I believe that Kristof, or any person who tries to find ways to help others in need (even by simply suggesting methods of marketing), is doing good and in my opinion should not be contested against. To answer the final question, I believe that it is writers like Waianana who will help others see Africa under a different light, because her goal in writing this article is not to convince people to help, but to show how mass media misleads the public. Writers like Waianana give Africa a chance to say "hey, this is what life is really like here". To conclude, I also believe that Waianana may have written this article to confront those who use the plight of the African people to create headline news based on sympathy for those who are suffering, without providing readers with the whole truth surrounding the situation.
Like many of the others, I do not know very much about Africa. Aside from what I have read or heard i know basically nothing. whenever i do hear about Africa it is often about the negative things that are happening over there. Which is either about the famine or the economy problems. Sometimes I do hear good things about Africa. For example, the beaches and the great vacation spots on that continent. But the article, “How To Write About Africa,” the author Binyavanga Wainaina clearly mocks the typical Africa article. And I think she is completely accurate. When she lists the do’s, that is what every single person writes or puts into an Africa article. She mentions the starving tribal male. Or even the woman that struggle to raise their kids. Throughout the entire article she is being sarcastic. For example, she says to interview a white male activist on their ranch. And when talking to them, she she says to “never talk about how much funding they have, or how much money they make off their game. Never ask how much they pay their employees” She is clearly being sarcastic and it brings up the question, we don’t know how much these people make off collecting donations.
She also brings up animals. She says that writers always have good things to say about animals, they only focus on the positive. And ignore the fact that they destroy crops and homes, or even kill someone. But that is ignored. She suggests that animals get more respect that humans in Africa according to the media. Writers focus on the negative of the continent, people wise, and only focus on the positive of the animals, like how they are caring, and raise their offspring well.
I agree that every article is the same and its almost a scheme to get donations. My views have changed and I believe that there is a lot of good being done in Africa and the media just ignores it for a quick buck.
Kristof is sort of the typical writer that is mentioned in the other article. Prior to reading the other article I agreed with what Kristof was saying. Now I think that he is just worsening the public image of Africa. He may be helping those struggling with famine, but he is manipulating people by only giving the bad side of things.
When I think of Africa, I think of my sophomore year of high school when I was in a humanitarian club. However, the main idea of Africa that sticks out in my head in the devastation that is taking place in Darfur. When I have heard about Africa outside of the club, I always expect to hear the same stereotypes that we always hear. However, not only does this happen with Africa, but also every other country in the world, therefore, I feel as if the author should be more aware of this fact. Although we tend to stereotype, it still is not acceptable that we automatically do not offer our help because we may believe that their tragedies are common events. I believe this ultimate problem comes from our media because most of what we grow up believing is important is what the media tells us is important; therefore, we believe foreign places do not concern us. After reading this article, overall my views have not changed only because it is almost obvious, however, it does push me to look into it more in depth of her ideas. I do find her observations to be accurate, especially when she quotes about “treating Africa as one country” because for the longest time I could not name more than five countries located in Africa. This is wrong because although we do stereotype every country, I believe every country located in Africa gets it the worst. For example, we stereotype different countries in Europe, however, we acknowledge their wide varieties in culture, whereas when dealing with Africa, we view them as having one overall culture. I do believe that taking the advice of Kristof will be of help for gaining more aid, however, I do not believe that it will transition any stereotypes because stereotyping in evitable in today’s society. Although it is important that we astray from these stereotypes, the most important factor we need to focus on first is aid.
Kari Mitchell
Personally I have noticed some common themes expressed in "How To Write About Africa" in other pieces about Africa. I believe everything I know about Africa come from articles, books, commercials, films and stories like this. After reading Wainaina's text I almost feel lied to in attempts to gain my aid for Africa. I still believe that there are places in Africa with these unfortunate situations, but I now know to open my mind to other events and situations in Africa."How to Write about Africa" is basically about the rights and wrongs and what to include and not include when writing about Africa. The concepts to include are mostly those of tragedy, violence, or pity, but never of the prosperity or longevity of African peoples. I agree that it is important for people to help other people in need, but I don't agree to lying to people to achieve this. A proper way to get the attention and help of the common American in my opinion would be to set up activities, games, or things like dollar drives. Sadly not every American is generous and most likely will not donate any decent amount of money or time to help something so far away and with such a large dilemma. However, people are more likely to donate say the charge in their pocket or a dollar here and there and if every American did Africa would be set in the financial aid aspect. In addition, I have seen many fundraisers such as walks that raise thousands of dollars from participants every year. For example, the walk for Heart disease and the walk for Breast cancer are two of the biggest and most participated in events every year, raising large amounts of money to support their cause. Going back to Wainaina's text, the images and concepts depicted by writers like this shock people, make them feel guilty, and give them a sense of helplessness but in my opinion don't give them the inspiration needed to act. Given a campaign that seems achievable to the average individual, more people would get out and help.
In conclusion, yes, my knowledge of Africa is highly similar to the depictions of Wainaina's text and no, I don't believe their approach to getting aid is effective or honest. Thus, campaigns to help Africa should reflect on how they advertise Africa and its problems and hopefully come out with a better way to gain support.
What do I know about Africa? Not much to be honest. I do have plently of friends tha have families that are from there so I hear stories. I heard times where moms and dads couldn't eat because there was not enough for them and the kids. I know Africans as a culture are hard workers and does what ever needs to be done to get job completed. When I hear about problems in Africa I feel a lot of remorse nd some guilt because I know I can give a helping hand but I do not take the time to do it. I have friends that work out here in America so they can send money to support their family back home. In reading the article "How to write about Africa." I felt that it was over the top. From the reading my guess was that as the whole point of the reading but I believe it is not exactly how it was describe. There may be some truth but the way it was put was so it can be exaggerated. My views have not change, if anything they have gotten stronge just because how I feel about he writting. I fel more attachd to this blog mainly because I have close friends that actually have delt with the day to day struggle. I agree that these readings are going to help people donate money or time in effort to "Save" Africa. My final thoughts are we need to make a some kind of difference. If many people helped out a little it can make a big difference. Also we need to change our mind set towards Africa. We al should not think that they are all aids riden or starving dying people but do realize there are those who are and they need our help.
ANTHONY BALOCCO
I’ve heard many things about Africa over the years. Besides being home to many ancient marvels such as the pyramids and vast desert and jungle landscapes, Africa is also home to poverty, diseases, insurgents, and political strife. I’ve heard this from watching commercials on TV, which depict poor, starving children that need donations from people around the world just to stay alive.
When I hear about these problems, I am also guilty of “collectively shrugging”. However, I feel like I’m too young to be much help. I have no money to donate, and no time to fly over there and deal with issues there, and if I did, I wouldn’t have much to give. I guess the only thing I can do is advocate others to give support to this place.
Waianana’s summaries of how Western people view Africa are pretty accurate. Western people tend to be ignorant and not know the global status quo much of the time because they are too absorbed in their own world. Many of them don’t even know what’s going on outside of their own community. My view of Africa has been slightly changed by the kinds of writing she describes, although I try to have the most unbiased view as possible when looking at any situation.
I believe that the kinds of writing and campaigns Kristoff advocates will somewhat help readers see Africa in a new way, but it’s ultimately up to them to decide their stance on it. We live in a day and age where it’s OK to only worry about yourself and no one else, and there are no moral obligations that must be fulfilled. While this is perfectly fine from a legal standpoint, I believe that these kinds of people are morally deficient, and must learn how to help other people if the world is to become a better place.
sample
Post a Comment