Sunday, March 20, 2011

It's Still Women's Month

I am seriously excited to share this commentary by freelance journalist and Africa blogger Belinda Otas. This commentary focuses on the progress of African women, which in some countries it has been fantastic (Liberia elected their first female president) and others it has been beyond dismal (the Democratic Republic of Congo was called the rape capital of the world last year by the UN).

I don't have a lot to say at the moment, but all I ask is for you to check this out. It left me with some things to think about and hope for.






Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Fela! in Lagos


Oh, how fitting! The successful Broadway musical "Fela!" is going to Lagos in April to honor the late Fela Kuti, according to BBC News. Kuti is from Lagos and is applauded as the King of Afrobeat and one of the greatest musicians of the second half of the 20th century. This musical chronicles his life and the executives producers are Jay-Z and Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith.

What I like most about this is not only the fact that Nigeria's economic potential and strength is being recognized by some prominent African-Americans, but also that this is to pay homage to someone who help shape the way Nigeria is today. Also, this move shows the growing and more apparent middle class in Nigeria.

Tiny Kingdom/World of Difference


I found this interesting story on gender equality in Lesotho, a small African kingdom landlocked by South Africa. I felt it was appropriate for today, since it is International Women's Day. Ladies, celebrate your contribution to this great world, because with out you, none of us would be here...literally.

Go ahead and read this fascinating article. The photo above is from BBC News.


All This Drama

Many of you are familiar with the events in Egypt and now Libya and I have talked about what has been going on in Tunisia, which sparked a lot of the happenings in the Middle East. This drama seems to be lurking south of the Sahara, too. I will try to give a run down of my thoughts all this drama.

Ivory Coast

Oooo...this is irritating. CNN International reported that "President" Laurent Gbagbo nationalized cocoa and coffee - the countries two main cash crops. Ivory Coast is the world's largest exporter of cocoa. Apart from the fact that this man went ahead and nationalized two very important parts of this country's economy, he also should have stepped down as president a while ago, since an electoral commission declared his opponent Alassane Outtara the president (and is backed by United Nations). Since Gbagbo refuses to step down, all this chaos runs amidst a country that has been relatively peaceful. Maybe if he steps down, some of the recent violence can subside.

Sudan

Sudan is on it's way to turning into two separate nations, but meanwhile, there's some drama in Southern Sudan. A rebel army, the Sudan People's Liberation Army, and Southern Sudan's militia have been going head-to-head and an estimated 40 people have been killed, according to CNN International. What I am trying to understand is...since there is a clear path for being separated from the North, why is this rebel army still around? I thought the armies were going to join forces and be the new military for Southern Sudan. More on this later...

Djibouti

A planned protest against the president was curtailed on Friday by the government and security forces, according to the Canadian Press. This sounds eerily similar to some of the things that have been going on the in the Middle East, all these "preventative" measures. If people are really passionate about something, not even guns can stop them...

Let's hope based on how things have been going on in North Africa/Southwest Asia that leaders make their judgement without greed and with fairness to hopefully give the people what they want.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Nigerian Man/Korean World - Conversations About Africa - Part 2


I've been here for about a week and a half now. Seoul still amazes me. There's still so much more of Seoul to see, things to do, and many more people to meet. European style waffles are a lot cheaper here than they are in the US, so that makes me very happy!

What has been most interesting is how I have been perceived as a black person in one of the world's most homogenized countries. Generally, I have noticed a genuine curiosity. Some Koreans have excitedly approached me to take pictures with them. Some have spoken about their love for music created by African-Americans. Some have even asked genuine questions about Africa.

The questions about Africa were not necessarily surprising, nor was I offended. I think the only thing that bothered me was for such a highly advanced country that pushes such a strong emphasis on education was the ignorance about Africa as a continent. So far, almost all of the Koreans I spoke to expressed their ignorance about Africa. But, the difference that I have noticed from the ignorance of Africa here to the ignorance of Africa back in the United States is that it seems to almost always have this innocent vibe, as in Koreans really want to know to more about Africa.

The images here of black people are very few. I saw a poster of Ne-Yo outside a store in COEX Mall, one of Seoul's most popular shopping venues; I watched My Wife and Kids with Korean subtitles; and so far I have seen commercials about donating 500 won to help the poor in Africa. That's it. I have stated several times the power of the media and how omitting images can be just as dangerous as giving a false image.

A Korean guy I met a few days ago, who knows a lot more about the Blues than I do (or possibly ever will) told me that the general perception of Africa is that everyone is poor and suffering. I explained to him, and others who have posed questions about Africa that even though there are plenty throughout the continent that are living at or below the international poverty line, many African countries are actually experiencing explosive economic growth, growing middle class groups, and governments that are finally attempting to clean up corruption (or at least we hope). Several African countries (Nigeria and South Africa, for example) have been repeatedly sited for being among the next global economies within a decade (Nigeria and South Korea are on the same list).

Another Korean guy expressed his interest in doing humanitarian work in Africa. I asked him where and he didn't know. He assumed that majority of the continent was poor. I had to explain to him that each country has its on unique successes and problems and some countries are easy to get into and others are not. I also had to explain to him that the culture(s) in each country is different and in many African nations, there are many cultures, sometimes in the hundreds within one nation. I told him think of how different South Korea is from China. There might be some similarities, but there are some very distinct differences.

After giving these explanations (and I am sure these will not be my last here), what I found most interesting was the response. Each person I spoke to wanted to learn more. I left with a feeling that they are all going to Google about Africa and check out my blog and other blogs dealing with the Black World. They are going to educate themselves.

When I am dealing with Americans, I rarely have that feeling. It seems like the learning stops once our conversation is over. Then again, I believe the American way of learning has been Amero-centric for so long that it is hard for many Americans to educate themselves outside of what directly affects America, even though I think (hope) that is beginning to change since the world is increasing becoming smaller and countries are becoming more dependent on each other.