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the Africa you dont see on tv.

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Original post by HumanSupremacist

Aid is itself problematic.

The way for the human to progress is by teaching him how to fish. You do not simply continue feeding him fish.

Many countries within the continent would be served well by increasing skills, intelligence and expertise. Cash should not simply be transformed into food and supplies and then leave it at that.

If a person was simply fed for many years and not taught how to get food for himself, laziness and apathy would set in. Charity, as welfare alike, can actually be very negative for human advancement.

True, but that's an issue with where the money goes, rather than it being given.

Reply 21

beansontoast93

I am half Moroccan and have to say I would agree with you. You only ever hear about the troubles going on in places like Egypt, well what about all the beauty it has. They don't give Morocco much coverage, because everyone is too happy over there to make a story about. Sometimes I feel they want to give the whole of the middle east (and north africa) this image of being extremly dangerous to set foot on regardless of where you go, that everyone is a terrorist there, and everyone is an islam maniac. I can safely say this is NOT the case. Especially in places such as Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia. I know Turkey is a very modern and metropolitan country, especially Istanbul, it has beautiful beaches and everyone wears bikini's there, basically no one at all wears a burka or even headscarf. Same thing in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, on the beaches everyone wears bikini's, even if they are natives.

Some Turkish beaches:

Moroccan beaches:

Tunisian beaches:

Egypt's beaches:

Reply 22

someonesomewherexx

Now I fucking miss Lagos :frown:

Reply 23

321zero

Original post by sixtus

i started a thread the other time here just to get an idea of how people think when they hear the name Africa. and i was surprised at the comments. so i decided to open another thread to show you another part of Africa you dont hear of that much.

what you hear about Africa and the middle east on western media is what someone called a "single story". the problem with single stories, she said, is not that they are not true, but that they are incomplete! so that you dont get the true picture of what a people are. what you did not say, she said, is as important the one you said.

here is a video for you. pls ignore all the nasty comments on that site. this video was made before 2007. the city is a lot better than that today. after watching it, tell me what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot1JtsOtDqA

Due to its oil wealth, I think Nigeria is bad exmaple. There are countless other countries in Africa that don't look like this, but I think you make a very valid point.

Reply 24

321zero

Original post by beansontoast93

Moroccan beaches:

Tunisian beaches:

Egypt's beaches:

sub-saharan africa (most of Africa in fact), on the whole, don't look so pretty...

Reply 25

HumanSupremacist

Original post by CoolStoryBroo

The government is having a huge reconstruction where i lived in Nigeria to build the streets and make thing look better so i guess there's a glimpse of hope.

And the only way Nigeria can drastically change within the next few decades is to have Nigerians that that have lived and studied in other countries as part of the government and politicians since fresh ideas and a huge change in culture is needed.

As a huge exporter of oil you'd expect it to be one of the richest countries in the world

That large country with some 1 billion citizens is already doing that. It's name? China. China, on point of being top superpower in the coming decades, aids its young citizens in studying abroad at the best institutions and then having them return home to enrich their society. And look at how it is affecting China - the country is developing very well. I myself see many, many Chinese students where I study - but the difference is that, when they're finished here, they're not going to look for a job in the UK. No, rather they'll whiz back off to China and advance Chinese society.

On the other hand, many young African students studying here stay here. There is also the phenomenon of "brain drain" from Africa. However, some do say that "brain drain" is being stemmed in some parts of the continent.

Regarding oil, it is very sad that Nigeria has much more oil than Saudi and the UAE and whatnot - and yet, it is not building skyscraper after skyscraper by the minute much like Dubai or Qatar is. Some even have so much funds flowing that they can easily whip up grand plans for new cities, education and hospital budgets. It really is disappointing that Nigeria is not much wealthier than it currently is now.

Nevertheless, I still have hope for the continent (although I am in danger of being clouded by emotion and dreams) that it will be world leader in the next few decades and put an end to the Eurocentric world view that is currently in operation. However, I believe Asia is already making headway to stomping on the Eurocentric world view.

For example, China does not mess about. They have grand plans (which are already in effect) stretching decades into the future - they plan ahead; hence why they're being extra serious about being in Africa; because they can see that the US and Europe are well into the Middle East; but of course, the resources of the ME will not last - Qatar itself recently budgeted for renewable energy resources programmes and development (why would you do that when you're supposedly sitting on a lot of oil? - but it won't last, will it?). China has gotten the first (as in, firmly entrenching itself more than the US and Europe) because it knows that when resources dwindle across the planet in the coming future, countries will scramble towards Africa.

That last prediction is no prophecy - it is scientifically and geologically inevitable. China is just getting there ahead of time before it truly becomes every man for himself.

Reply 26

beansontoast93

Original post by 321zero

sub-saharan africa (most of Africa in fact), on the whole, don't look so pretty...

what about Reunion, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar?

the mauritius:

The Seychelles:

Reunion:

Madagascar:

It looks like a paradise to me :h:

Reply 27

Rakas21

Africa as a whole certainly has a bright future being mineral and population rich in an era of increasingly free trade.

One thing which appears to have missed is that Africa is surprisingly unified in the same way as South America is becoming. On the one hand a group of South African countries have formed a customs union, West African nations have also agreed to the formation of a customs union with the goal of political union (de facto granting Nigeria dominance of west Africa) and a group of East African nations (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and a few smaller nations) are going for a fully fledged political union in what is probably the fastest growing region of the world economically.

Reply 28

321zero

Original post by beansontoast93

what about Reunion, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar?

It looks like a paradise to me :h:

The touristy pictures look lovely, however, the Seychelles for instance, has the highest levels of inequality on the planet. Congo, Liberia, Zimbabwe and Niger also, you will not find your paradise there. Images of sun seekers and sandy beaches don't show even 1% of these countries stories.

Reply 29

Calpurnia

I dunno, it's a tough issue. I feel like I'd rather be supportive of "helping" a continent that didn't need it, rather than not helping a continent who did need it because I was being shown a false prosperity. Whilst parts of Africa are clearly delightful, I expect there are also areas in need of serious improvement.

Perhaps it's time to stop thinking about Africa in broad continental terms, and start looking more specifically at countries regions. I'm sure many of you are already doing this, but I'm talking more about from a general-Western-populace perspective.

Original post by beansontoast93

what about Reunion, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar?

It looks like a paradise to me :h:

I really all like the pretty images you post, but I don't think they represent average standards of living :frown:

Reply 30

peter12345

Original post by CoolStoryBroo

Well duhh, every country has rich and poor parts. Are we supposed to be surprised or something

This. Some fancy buildings and a few rich people does not make a country good. There may be some parts that are like the west but the vast majority is a shithole.

more pics of Lagos

More pics

more pics

lagos skyline at night.jpg86.6KB

Lagos_By_Night_by_jotamyg.jpg58.6KB

Reply 34

sixtus

other ones

another one.jpg66.3KB

Reply 35

Steve1654

This video is a bias representation of Lagos, they have some of the most poor slum areas in wetlands and swamps. Child labour is common in Lagos, crime and gang culture is rife... but i do agree with your point about the medias portrayal of some African countries.

Reply 36

TheFrozenLake.

I do agree with the main message of the post, But the video is biased, You only have to type in Lagos slums into Google to see the other side for yourself.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=lagos+slums&hl=en&client=chrome-mobile&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-KJHUeD1H468PbOGgdAB&ved=0CC0QsAQ&biw=360&bih=567

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 37

Studentus-anonymous

I think the video highlights that Africa is a continent (duh) and a big one to, and like different biomes and geography, it has different levels of human development, economy etc.

So just as a picture of a naked starving Ethiopian kid in a desert isn't the sole story of the continent, neither is the success stories like the relative wealth of Lagos, and ignores other issues (such as mentioned, corruption still a major issue, etc).

Also like a lot of developing countries genuinely developing, while I'm sure Lagos is experiencing a boom, there are probably still vast swathes of the country that wouldn't even have realised the country is 'doing well'. Look at the legions of rural poor in India and China.

I also agree with the posts about western aid not helping the situation. Famine relief is one thing, but constant western aid and NGO activities when not done right are just creating an economy of reliance on aid and corruption.

Meanwhile the Chinese float right on in and make deals for resource extraction and export anyway leaving the west without anything.

Our misguided charitable moralising is not only not helping Africans in any real lasting sense (apart from a few enlightened efforts) but isn't helping us get a piece of the African resource pie, if that is our underhanded goal.

Reply 38

-Liberty

[video="youtube;xLBlQNF8dpQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLBlQNF8dpQ[/video]
Ghana is a better example I think, less corrupt. But all in all really annoys me that people are brainwashed into thinking Africans live in slums and war-torn areas. It's interesting when you compare this to what many know as Ghana through things like Comic Relief.

Reply 39

-Liberty

Compare it to this.
[video="youtube;hDZB9PnKlwg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDZB9PnKlwg[/video]
Obviously it's a good cause but when One Direction stay in a +hundred dollar a night hotel whilst in Ghana you really question their motives and angle.