Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The Big Picture
The world as we know it today has generated some of the greated technologies known to man. These days we can travel just about anywhere in the the universe to discover what's going on there. Many are known to spend their weeks traveling around the world on "business". Others have access to traveling to new and exciting places in the name of "pleasure" or vacation. But as the world finds more ways to connect itself, we discover that the world is not exactly a beauty for everyone. Only a certain population of the world can afford to make a trip to the airport, let alone get on a plane. In some parts of the world, wars have caused good health to be on the bottom of the priority list, as basic survival supersedes anything else. In looking at the big picture of the world, I understand that while a small population has access to the biggest chunk of resources, most of that small population does not exist anywhere near Africa. In all statistics and charts and diagrams, it is obvious that the sub-saharan Africa as it's called is quite synonymous to words like death sentence, hell, 'get out if you can'. etc. Now, since it's home to me, I have to take a step back and check my emotions. The video with Hans Roslin clearly showed how most of the world has developed forward, but somehow the dark continent remains stunted in growth with the highest number of anything bad. The portrayal of the dark continent has some accuracies which should be corrected through interventions and aid, but with such change should come a revolution of the perception of what Sub-Sahara Africa is. I hope to use this forum to enlighten my colleagues, not only about my thoughts about the subject discussed in class, but also to bring about my home.
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4 comments:
Gracie,
I'm looking forward to your thoughts about Africa, it really is a clear demonstration of the 80/20 Rule (20% of the world having 80% of its resources while 80% has 20% of the resources).
It's terribly sad.
Grace:
While things are hard for many in Sub-Saharan Africa at the moment, and it is almost inevitable that things will likely get worse for most people in the region before they start getting better, I am confident that there is light at the end of the tunnel..
My projections are that things will start turing around for most Sub-Saharan Africans starting about 2014/2015, and that many countries in the region will be among the fastest growing countriesin the world (economically and socially) by mid-century...
Hard as it might be for some to believe this now, given current realities, I am confident that the future for this naturally well-endowed and culturally rich region of the world is very bright.
g
Grace, I am looking forward to you changing our views. You speak so passionately about Ghana and the home you love. I cant wait to see what materials you give us that reflect your views on these issues.
Dr. Shahi,
I'm glad to see you're optimistic about the dark continent. Truth be told, I agree with you; and I understand that this will not come without a struggle. The first thing I will like to change is the division in Africa between "North Africa and the Sub-Saharan Africa. This division can never be beneficial to the promotion of unity.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-saharan_africa "Cultural writer and filmmaker Owen 'Alik Shahadah adds "the notion of some invisible border, which divides the North of African from the South, is rooted in racism ... This barrier of sand hence confines/confined Africans to the bottom of this make-believe location, which exist neither politically or physically". Shahadah argues that the term sub-Saharan Africa is a product of European imperialism, "Sub-Saharan Africa is a byword for primitive African: a place which has escaped advancement. Hence, we see statements like 'no written languages exist in Sub-Saharan Africa.' Egypt is not a Sub-Saharan African civilization"
So let's start changing the world by changing ourselves. North Africa's problem is Africa's problem as Sub-Saharan Africa's problem is Africa's problem. When we talk about Africa as a continent (not a nation as Bush likes to say),let's respect that both North and Sub-Saharan Africa belong to Africa.
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