subject: Poverty for sale by Non-Owner [print this page] Poverty for sale by Non-Owner Poverty for sale by Non-Owner
Most Americans and Europeans know very little about Africa and its people. It is also unfortunate that whatever little they know is from biased movies and cable documentaries. They see one hungry, war-mangled African country not 54 independent states. Movies are meant to entertain so they naturally twist the reality or present only elements that produce the desired shock effect. In the process Africans are portrayed as unintelligent and primitive people waiting for foreign heroes to rescue them.
On television, documentaries programs meant to show traditional richness end up depicting African natives with some primitive flavor- some sub-human unintelligence. All these images perpetuate commonly held stereotypes and reinforce racist attitudes. It should also be noted that the misinformation has a profound effect on how the Africansliving abroad are treated and regarded.
African poverty has a big market. As long as cable channels can increase viewership, Hollywood can sell millions of copies, shady charities can stay in business and rogue African elites can maintain their lifestyles using foreign aid, this is a foolproof business model. This unholy alliance drives away potential direct investors. That means more poverty and consequently more images to harvest and sell. The vicious circle of misery continues.
Of course some parts of Africa have real problems that sometimes benefit from media coverage and foreign aid. We definitely have some charities that do great work. But the fact remains that most non-emergency issues can be solved by encouraging private enterprise.
What would other communities do if they were negatively portrayed? Try these on Italians or Jews! What are the 50 million Africans who are already middle class doing to break this vicious cycle? Yes, we have 10 Million middle class Africans living abroad, more than 2 million of those live in USA. Another 40 million well to-do Africans live on the continent's numerous modern urban centers. This is a group that has access to new media. Did you just say smart-entrepreneurial tech-savvy middle class Africans in modern urban centers? How dare you? This is the Africa they don't want the world to see.
Billions of dollars have been poured into Africa for the last 50 years by donor nations, charities and Africans living abroad. The results dictate a need for a swift change of strategy to a more sustainable one: Private enterprise. One of the major obstacles of Africa's attempt to attract investors and tourists is the unbalanced reporting and gross negative portrayal of Africa by Hollywood and the western media. This has driven most investors to India, China and other Asian countries. Most western investors are not aware of the plentiful low-cost labor, fertile land and under-exploited potential for tourism that Africa offers. Africa's potential is as good if not better than Asia.
