In to Africa

I must say I looked at her with worried eyes when Emily first said we were going to spend 3 months in Africa. Africa seemed to me like a dangerous place to go: poverty, famine, ethnic wars, and despotic leaders were what I had in mind.

Now I have seen a little bit I wanted to share with you how feel. We have spent 2 months here and visited, South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. I have been amazed! Everywhere I went I said: “This isn’t Africa!” And that is exactly the problem: Cape Town, South Africa, Southern Africa are all part of Africa even though they seem a very safe and extremely beautiful (not to mention a little pricy: thank you FIFA!) place.

We have seen the majestuous peace and quiet  and amazing wildlife of Kruger Park, the pristine landscapes of Swaziland, the casinos and waterfront bars and beaches of Durban, or the amazing views of Cape Town from overlooking Table Moutain or from a boat at sunset.

In Namibia I experiecened the great medical infrastructure (nothing bad), the beautiful sand dunes on which we sand boarded, and the wonderful crafts markets.  In Zambia we learned how to play the drums. We also visited the Vic Falls and our white water rafting experience there left me literally and figuratively breathless. We recovered with a sunset (booze) cruise the next day!

In Botswana keep your eyes peeled in Chobe National Park for a few days of wildlife watching and go camping in the bush with lions, leopards and elephants taking over the camp at night! Go on to one of the Mokoro stations for a little sunset “cruise” in the tiny woodcarved boats!

Sure there are still problems here but so are there back home. Name me one country in the world that has no issues whatsoever. I hear you: Africa is worse. To which I want to proose 2 things:

1.         Democracy in Africa is a lot younger. When Europe achieved political democracy, the world was in a phase of great economic expansion. And those countries and their political system have been shaped gradually over centuries of economic and military wars. Economic poverty inevitably destabilizes democracy as attests the current rise of nationalist in Europe (France, Holland, Norway) and the US (Tea Party). Israel & Palestine were given their borders at roughly the same time (after WWII) and they haven’t figured that one out yet.
2.        You judge Africa is worse because like me you a. see the news and b. think like a European. I don’t pretend I know how to think like an African (my kingdom for a glass of champagne) but I guess I am beginning to understand how they do. Africa is different. Africa is happy to be that way. The only reason people leave Africa is to find a job! Their lifestyle is not for me but what I’m saying is we need to stop judging them by our standards. Maybe they don’t want to be like us…

After stability, the next step is development and one of the main sectors where Africa has a lot of potential (in my view) is tourism. The gap between the perceived Africa and the real Africa reminds me of an article I read about the African brand in the magazine New Africa. In a nutshell it said that Africa needed to start marketing itself a lot better to match what it has to offer. And I agree. Although it is probably not in their instincts to go market themselves (essentially to their former colonizers), that is exactly what African countries should do.

So this is me, doing my part.

“There wasn’t  one morning when I did not wake up happy in Africa” E. Hemingway

Will