The below content is
that of my own opinion, it is not intended to cause malice or offence, neither
is it comprehensive or endless. It is not endorsed or supported directly by VSO
or the ICS programme. Africa is referenced due to it being my current location
and the forefront of discussion.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We had a very interesting discussion today surrounding the
stereotypes associated with Africa and what we can do to change the negative
attitudes surrounding Africa’s development. In my opinion the Media has a huge
piece of blame pie to eat with regards to how the attitudes and stereotypes
have evolved in the Western World regarding developing countries. We also lack
the education of such subjects. Yes, if you are genuinely interested you can go
online and hunt round for reports from the government or charities – but surely
this information should be in plain sight and not hidden under a rather large
carpet.
Hands up if you have seen an advert for one charity or another
featuring an image of an African woman or child, most probably naked or wearing
dirty clothes, covered in flies, in poor health and eating something we would
be repulsed by. Did you give your £2 a month when you saw that advert? Do you
think you £2 a month helps? I recall a poster from the trains when I was
commuting which featured a young girl and the caption said “Do you remember
leaving school, getting married, your first period and having your first child?
She does, she is 12 years old”. I was horrified. Sadly, I feel that so many of
us are desensitised to these images because they have been shoved in our faces
in so many media forms that we don’t even think twice about them now. They will
do anything to evoke and emotion and get their dollar out of you. It is also
then a fair assumption that we all associate the things we see with the whole
of Afica generally, because of course it’s the same everywhere.
Those of you who put your hand up for the adverts, if it was
a TV advert, did you change the channel before the advert ended? Yes, I thought
so.
Do we have to be horrified by the information we see to be
moved enough to try and make a difference? Surely, as human we should naturally
care for human welfare. Why can’t we be moved enough to help when we see
something positive. For example, Water Aid have an advert that starts off a
little like that described above, but end with scenes of the changes donations
have brought; new wells, new water filter systems, people rejoicing because
finally they have a resource available which should be available to everyone in
the world as standard.
Throwing money at a problem does not fix it. We can safely
say that about most scenarios, not just development. What image does this
portray for the Western World? Sure, money helps, money is essential for some
things to be implemented. It can do a world of good, but it can work in the
opposite way also.
One of the national volunteers today mentioned that some
parts of Africa, who receive regular material aid (food packs, clothing,
medical supplies) often rely on receiving them so much so that they become too
lazy to sustain themselves. Surely this works against the point of providing
aid.
It is a vicious circle, to assist developing countries we
have to provide skills, doing this cost money, money doesn’t make itself and
therefore donations are required, and there we are back at square one with the
adverts that spread the stereotype that we should be avoiding.
When we flipped the discussion to stereotypes Africa has
about the Western World we heard that most people believed the West give aid in
exchange for something they want or need, not out of goodwill. What does this
say about us? It was also noted that the Western World does not come to see the
changes, there is very much a stigma attached with Africa regarding your safety
as a foreigner. Rightly so in some cases, particularly with the large scale of
civil unrest there has been throughout the continent in recent times. If we are
too afraid to go, see for ourselves, investigate and share our findings, how
will we know if we are making a difference? How do we know if the images we see
regularly are current and accurately portray the living conditions we are
trying to improve?
As you can imagine this topic opens up a lot of debate, it
is an endless conversation. I could write more and more about it, but I hope
you get the gist and that you are having a rethink of your own attitude towards
Africa and providing aid.
If we can’t get the Media to pull its socks up and make a
difference to the attitude it creates, it is down to individuals like me and
other volunteers around the world, people like you reading this now, and the
people you will share this with to make a difference. I am by no means
preaching, but it is very easy to accept a stereotype as truth, it happens
every day in all sorts of ways. We have to educate ourselves – just as well we
have the World Wide Web to do just that.
Kx
~~~
I appreciate that this is a very serious topic, I have tried
to make light of it for the purpose of my blog being a place for me to express
ideas and share my experience. I would be grateful for comments or to hear that
you have opened debate with your friends and family about this. The debate we
had raised a lot of issues, ideas and food for thought from both UK and
Ethiopian volunteers. It is refreshing to have such a healthy debate on matters
like this without it escalating to arguments or absolute rule. I by no means
imply that any efforts made by readers to support charities for various causes
should cease, more that if you want to make a difference you need to know your
stuff!
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