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The World Comes to Africa
As the World Cup gets underway this week in South Africa—the first ever to be held on the African continent—the world media is turning its attention there.
Typically, coverage of Africa by the international media is limited to stories about intractable problems—disease, war, famine, and corruption. Many of the World Cup stories are taking a similar tact. Stories about the South Africa’s five new stadiums underscore the nation’s mounting debt while other pieces highlight its security concerns.
A lot of the coverage reflects the world media’s skewed view of Africa as a monolithic place that’s plagued with tragedy. Severe challenges do exist, but many African societies are quietly building their institutions and infrastructures. It’s time the outside world views Africa through a broader, more accurate lens.
Scale and Diversity
Africa is a vast and diverse continent where triumph and despair co-exist with everything in between. It’s the “in-between” that tends to be overlooked in coverage about Africa.
Outsiders tends to underestimate Africa’s scale. As writer John Reader points out, the U.S., China, India, and New Zealand, together with most of Europe, could all fit within Africa’s coastline. This enormous continent contains almost a quarter of the world’s land mass.
The continent is amazingly diverse. The continent’s billion people inhabit 53 countries and speak over two thousand languages arguably making it the world’s most diverse region. Africa’s diversity extends to its topography, climate, and culture.
Despite its remarkable diversity, most outsiders tend to picture Africa as a homogeneous region instead of as a melange of distinctive ethnic groups and cultures that influence everything from art and music to social structures.
Author Richard Dowden observes, “Every time you say ‘Africa is…’ the words crumble and break. Every generalization must exclude at least five countries. And just as you have nailed down a certainty, a defining characteristic, you find the opposite is true.” Stark contrasts and rich diversity are Africa’s defining features.
Failed States and Model Nations
One need only look at Africa’s recent history to get a sense of its diversity. During the last decade, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was ravaged by an incomprehensibly violent civil war where millions perished. Somalia maintained its role as one of the world’s most lawless and dangerous states. Zimbabwe, endowed with abundant natural resources became known for its delusional ruler, Robert Mugabe, who decimated his nation’s economy. It’s understandable that such dire cases grabbed the headlines and shaped the world’s perception of Africa.
But during the same period, Botswana, Seychelles, Mauritius and, to a lesser extent, Senegal, Zambia, and Namibia encouraged private investment, grew their economies, and improved their living standards. Kenya focused on building its tech sector and similar initiatives were launched in Ghana and Tanzania. Oil-rich Nigeria took steps to reform its institutions and diversify its economy.
In light of Africa’s stark contrasts and rich diversity, it’s fitting that the World Cup is hosted by South Africa, a nation where eleven languages are recognized as official and many more are spoken. South Africa has the continent’s largest and most diversified economy, but it faces serious challenges including steep unemployment and the world’s highest HIV/AIDS rates. Here, too, great promise and opportunity co-exist with poverty and despair.
I’ve been traveling to Africa since the mid-80′s and whenever I think I’ve found an explanation for why things are the way they are, I’m proven wrong. There’s always an exception. Diversity rules in Africa.
I’ll be watching the World Cup matches and rooting for the six African teams who qualified. They’re all underdogs, but I’ve learned never to count Africa out.
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Post-script: It was a treat to experience the World Cup from Accra, Ghana. The country’s Black Stars team beat the USA to make it to the quarter finals. Here are images from that trip.
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What do you think? As always, I’d appreciate your perspective.
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Tags: africa, African diversity, FIFA, Finikiotis, football, John Reader, osprey, Richard Dowden, soccer, South Africa, World Cup
