The Images Of Sub-Saharan Africa

I don't blame people with their ignorance to Africa. How are people at fault when constantly reflected with the image of the poor starving African child I need of medicine or basic needs such as food or the American president who calls these countries "sh*t hole countries". See to be honest I moved to Europe Uk when I was around 8 and so I got to first hand experience the pure utter misrepresentation of Africa in the media and how disturbed people's perceptions are of not just the world but of sub-saharan Africa to be specific. It's truly crazy how far the perceptions have been destroyed that people don't even have an image of what Africa even truly is. The strangest thing is when people think of Asia they rarely think of it as a whole same with continents such as Europe. When you think of India you don't confuse it with China, despite their relatively close vicinity. This is not because they look different or have different cultures as countries in Africa have just as much variation whereas if I said Gambia and Senegal, I doubt you know anything relating to these countries. When you think of China although it may be a very disturbed image, you have an idea of what the culture is or what it looks like whereas if I say for example, Congo I doubt all you may know is the conflict it has.

This is not to hate on you but rather to make people think about how damaged their perceptions of certain countries are without their knowledge and how biased we actually are. Even though Africa is known as the most ethnically diverse continent people still prefer to group all countries into one small box. The realisation of these biases is extremely important because it shows how much media and representation affects our views on certain places. I remember when someone would make a snarky comment "oh Africa is poor and desolate" or "they walk around naked" I would say " no it isn't". Although I grew up in Africa for 8 long years. People who have never stepped a foot in an African country nor even have any relation to any African country or know its cultures they seem to believe they know a whole lot more about Africa, they believe they know more about my own continent, my own country although they know almost nothing about the individual countries and even what they cultures may look like. The image of Africa is so disturbed that people cancelled their trips to Tanzania and Kenya to go to European countries such as France and England during the ebola crisis when where the crisis happened was closer to France than Tanzania and Kenya. I mean "AFRICA IS THE SECOND BIGGEST CONTINENT". Actually "If you combine the USA, China, India, Europe and Japan - they all fit into the continent of Africa". Although, people still think everyone looks the same and acts the same and have the same cultures from the North, South to the West and East. It is crazy.

I'll take this opportunity to educate whoever whose reading this wth some ethnical and cultural facts so we can at least not say my positive views about Africa aren't misjudged. I will take this opportunity to reflect the Africa you don't see in the media. Firstly about the statistics 10 of some of the fastest growing economies are in Africa. These include, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Uganda, Siera Leone, Kenya and many more. Ivory Coast is outstanding in it's growth with 8.5% growth annually. Which is a lot although it doesn't sound like it as one of the countries with the highest GDP has a less growth. "China, despite experiencing a slowdown and an economic transition, was in 16th place with 6.5% expected growth".

Okay, since to not bore, I will also explain the difference ethnic and racial groups in Africa countries. The ethnicities in African countries can be grouped into many different groups. Here are some, Bantu, Arabs, Fulani, Khoisan, San, Oromo, Berbers and more.
Bantu people are used as a general label for around 300-600 ethnic groups around the continent who speak bantu languages. These languages are largely spoken is eastern south and central countries in Africa. Berbers are usually people who from the North of Africa. Commonly mistaken for "being white" although they are group of people who can have many different skin colours, facial features and more. They are typically mixed with any different people including arabs, sub-saharan africans and Europeans. Furthermore, Fulani or fula people are numbering around 20-25 millions of people who are traditionally believed to have roots in people from North Africa and the Middle East.

Stolen History

History is something largely important as African History has often being confused and lost and misjudged. For example the Great Zimbabwe which has an amazing structures built and a European observer denied it was actually built by Africans. Which now seems mad but it was used as an excuse to claim that country and culture for years. Furthermore, Egyptians which are often represented in films and media with white features and skin which is inaccurate to the actual Berber people and how they looked in the past. Furthermore, the little to no representation of the many different empires in African history, With the Mali Empire having a leader called Mansa Musa who was the richest man to ever lived and his tour to Mecca which caused inflation in many countries he travelled to and how many universities he created. Also the Ethiopian empires which were extremely powerful and long lasting. Also the trading histories of many African countries which had been trading with Arab countries and China for millions of years way before any European influence every even was reflected on the continent. 

Altogether, I care more about africans see themselves than how other countries see us. Us these selfish and cruel views we have towards Africa will not improve anything in the continent. Yes, it does have its problems but the answers have never been aid and giving random money to random money it is the history that china realised and created trading deals with the countries which have began rising Africa as a continent. If you give money to one child in one country it may help them escape death and heal their wounds but in the long run all it does is still leave the child to a life of poverty. We all need LONG-TERM solutions, LONG-TERM deals, My country in Kenya dealt with a deal of a loan with china and was able to built its first high-speed train which has not only imporved it's image but also has meant that business can increase throughout the whole country as before only sending something from one side of the country to other took hours and now a trip from Nairobi the city to Mombasa the second city takes only around 4 hours. These solutions make big changes, that offer solutions change, infrastructure and more. Also further improving comfort for African people and business throughout the country.

Here are some photos of sub-Saharan African creations:

These include countries such as (in order): Mali, Zimbabwe, Created by the Nubians, rest is east Africa trading stations and more: Kilwa Kisiwani and finally Ghana