My biggest disappointment: Africa

Africa: the birth-land of creation. The continent of warm people; of good food; of excellent fruit; of unforgettable sunsets; of beautiful landscapes; of diversity and of magnificent artists.

However, I feel deeply disappointed at the Motherland as a whole, why (you may ask)? Because of what it has become:

A: the world’s number one beggar

Africa is happy with the handouts kindly given by Western countries; so happy that they just lay back, do nothing, knowing that we (suffering from the guilt complex) we’ll be there to throw them crumbs and financial aid whenever they need it.

Instead of waiting for the fish to eat for a day, Africa should ensure a peaceful and safe environment so that its people could learn how to fish and eat forever.

B: the stage of violence and wars

Long gone are the days when one could walk freely in most African countries without being mugged: nowadays one cannot walk in the streets wearing Nike’s (and alike), golden chains, rings, earrings or even a good shirt without being targeted as a possible mug victim.

When people think of Africa, the first two words that come to their mind are “war” and “hunger” (even though there are plenty of peaceful and stable African countries), and I can’t blame them for that is the image that is transmitted to all over the world – thanks to African leaders.

C: a Bacchanalia

Africans drink till they drop; they fornicate to exhaustion with no protection (if a man has five women, he can be sure that these five women have each 2 or 3 other men; which in turn will have 5 or more women and so on so forth); they contract diseases, they spread them like butter; and they seem to have lost their traditional values.

Even when at war, they find ways to rape women and children. I was under the impression that African wars were being fought to achieve ideological liberation but now I see they are an excuse to obtain sexual gratification by force.

D: China’s lollipop

China sucks, sucks, sucks, and sucks Africa’s natural resources (to ship them to the PRC).

Africa has stigmatised Europeans due to the colonisation period, but now it allows the Chinese to colonise them in an appalling way: the People’s Republic of China retrieves from Africa whatever it needs, it does not build anything, it does not transform the raw materials in African territory, and it does not employ African workers (in fact, it brings Chinese workers from back home). The PRC unethically exploits & explores with permission.

At least, the Europeans viewed Africa as something more than a mere lollipop or Chiclets.

E: the nasty nest of corruption

Corruption is everywhere in the world, and it will always exist as long as there’s a human being on earth. When corruption occurs yet the infrastructures, schools and hospitals are there, it may be viewed as being human. However, when corruption occurs but there’s no potable water for all, no sewage system, no water treatment stations; no schools, no hospitals, no electricity for everyone; no properly equipped and trained police officers, no fire fighters etc – this is utterly unacceptable.

F: the safe haven for Islamists

Africa has this annoying feature of welcoming criminals into its territory. In the past, criminals would live their lives and mind their own business; but Islamists do not wish to mind their own business: they set their mind into converting the African youth into junior terrorists and future suicide bombers; only to serve their one and sole purpose – a Zorka free Africa. Look what was happening in Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Mozambique: children were being kidnapped, by the hundreds, in order to be placed in madrassas in order to be brainwashed into becoming martyrs.

And to think that all this is happening on the African Union’s watch. One may wonder: who’s paying whom?

Whenever I hear that a westerner has been kidnapped in the Middle East, or in Latin America, I ask myself “But why don’t this people go to Africa on vacations/backpacking?”...Then I wake up, smell the coffee and reply “But how? Africa doesn’t offer any ethical or moral security". For example: who can savour succulent and tasty game meat, knowing that outside 50 hungry children wait for a handout? Only a diplomat; since he/she was exhaustively trained to ignore other people’s misery.

Image: African Warrior [detail of a postcard] by Lombe (a Zambian female artist)