Questions about Africa (crime, unemployment, movies)

[pennylove76]

Hello,
I am truly ashamed to admit that I don't know much about Africa. I really would like for people who have lived or currrently live in Africa to tell me what it is like. My only impression of Africa is what is portrayed on TV and for the most part I only see negativity. I'm not saying what is on TV is false or true, i just want to know if there is anything else to the great continent.

At this point the only thing that I have really been told about Africa is that AIDS is rampant, government is completely corrupt and your entired family can be murdered for open disagreement with the government. Now, while some of that information has come from media, I have also spoken to a lot of Africans and most of them provide information like that. For example, I know several people who state that their whole family fled Africa after a family member was killed.

Don't get me wrong, I know corruption can happen anywhere. However, the stereotype of Africa is that people are so poor and without hope and living in fear.

So my question is, is the stereotype true? If it is true, why does that go on. If it is not true for all of Africa, where would the safe part of Africa be and what is that area like. When I say safe I mean compared to a Chicago or NYC.

I just want to know if there are quasi normal places in Africa where a person could have a good living and trust their government officials. Right now the media for the most part portrays all of Africa as comparable to Darfar. I don't know if that is a fair comparision or not and I love to hear what others have to say about it.

[LivingInExiles]

Originally Posted by pennylove76

Hello,
I am truly ashamed to admit that I don't know much about Africa. I really would like for people who have lived or currrently live in Africa to tell me what it is like.

Well, to start off, I was born in Nigeria, and lived there until I was eight, and have been living in the United States since. I can't really tell you about the whole continent of Africa, because Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal are the only countries I've been to on this continent, and Senegal was just a stopover, so my personal accounts will mostly be limited to West Africa.

Originally Posted by pennylove76

My only impression of Africa is what is portrayed on TV and for the most part I only see negativity. I'm not saying what is on TV is false or true, i just want to know if there is anything else to the great continent.

You are not alone in this statement. The majority of people around the world gather their opinions about Africa from what they see on T.V. shows, movies, news reports, etc, and for the most part, it's negative.

The negativity you see and hear about Africa is true, all of it, but it's nowhere near as bad as you're coaxed into believing. There is much more to Africa than starving children, Aids, and civil wars, much more.

Originally Posted by pennylove76

At this point the only thing that I have really been told about Africa is that AIDS is rampant,

This is a very common misconception about Africa. Aids is a very serious disease, and affects Africa more than any continent on Earth. What many people don't realize is that the vast majority of Aids cases in Africa come from the Southern region of Africa, with the highest instances of the disease coming from: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, and Swaziland.

Outside of Southern Africa, the virus isn't as widespread as you're led to believe.

Originally Posted by pennylove76

government is completely corrupt and your entired family can be murdered for open disagreement with the government.

Africa is notorious for having some of the most corrupt politicians the world has ever seen, and I don't doubt this at all, but the odds of having your entire family murdered by the government is about the same as any other nation in the world.

Originally Posted by pennylove76

Now, while some of that information has come from media, I have also spoken to a lot of Africans and most of them provide information like that. For example, I know several people who state that their whole family fled Africa after a family member was killed.

Like I said above, this situation is rare in Africa, unless you were talking to some 1990's refugees from D.R. Congo or Ethiopia.

Originally Posted by pennylove76

Don't get me wrong, I know corruption can happen anywhere. However, the stereotype of Africa is that people are so poor and without hope and living in fear.

Another common misconception about Africa is that half the population lives on $1 a day, and so on. The truth is, that's a lie. What many so-called "experts" forget to calculate when they measure GDP per capita, is the informal sector that is the backbone for many African economies.

When I say "informal sector", I mean street sellers, people who set up stalls in slums, etc... these people make way more than $1 a day, and this is the main source of income for the majority of Africans.

The extreme poverty you see in the media portraying Africa does exist though, do not get me wrong, but it isn't nearly as bad as they make it out to seem.

Originally Posted by pennylove76

When I say safe I mean compared to a Chicago or NYC.

You can't compare a continent to a city, but we can compare cities. When comparing safety of American cities to Africa cities, they're more similar than you'd think.

Just like in American cities, the majority of crime in African cities come from the poorer areas, with lots of unemployment. You don't want to be out in Kiberia (Nairobi) with your cell phone out, because you will get robbed. On the other hand, you can be in Ikeja (Lagos), using your laptop in a wi-fi hotspot, with no worries at all.

So, to survive in an African city, all you have to do is use your common sense, and you'll be good.

Originally Posted by pennylove76

I just want to know if there are quasi normal places in Africa where a person could have a good living and trust their government officials.

There are tons of normal places in Africa, sheesh. Abuja, Cape Town, Luanda, Nairobi, Casablanca, Gabarone, Johannesburg, Cairo, plus many more smaller cities offer pretty much all the same "western" amentities your heart desires, and if you're a law abiding visitor, and mind your business, you'd have nothing to worry about from the government.

[LivingInExiles]

Sorry if my response may seem a bit sub-par, but I'm in a rush right now. I'd love to explain more to you if you feel I left anything out (I'm sure I did).

[pennylove76]

Thank you so much for the information you have provided so far. This at least gives me a start. Another question I have is regarding references. Since most media & internet sources seem to focus on the negative side of Africa, can you or anyone provide a source for getting non biased and balanced information about Africa? Thanks.

[LivingInExiles]

You're welcome.

There are many websites out there that offer balanced coverage of Africa, but the one that has it all is allAfrica. This site features articles from all over the continent.

BBC Africa deserves a mention too, while it's not as detailed as allAfrica, it's easily the best out of all western newspaper outlets when it comes to balanced coverage of Africa. afrol News, and Panapress are also good sources.

Hope this helps!

[Calif1964]

I have noticed more recently that there are several Asian countries ( China, Korea) who are investing large amounts of capital in Africa in various joint deals. Both sides will benefit with African countries getting some infrustructure help and jobs.

Africa will become more and more of a stategic area in this century and I have felt that the US has not up to this point put enough interest in buiding freindships or investing in Africa. I hope that changes.

What's your opinion?

[LivingInExiles]

To be honest, I think it's great that finally somewhere business people are finally realizing all of the benefits in investing in the African continent. Africa has the worlds largest concentration of untapped potential, with the biggest contender being D.R. Congo. Unknown to many, D.R. Congo is blessed with an abundance of nearly every single natural resource you can think of, but sadly, conflicts, and foreign proxies keep the country from actually being able to exploit those resources to bring itself up.

As far as Asian investment goes, China is by far the biggest investor in Africa, with India being a very distant second. What China is doing in Africa, is something no other country has done. One good example of an African country that is tremendously benefiting from China's investment is Angola.

This country as recently in 2002 was in a full blown civil war, but in that same year, the conflict was revolved, and political reform took place. Within the next year, the national oil company "Sonangol" started exploration for oil off the coast, and from there, that's when the investment for Angola took off. In exchange for slightly lower costs of oil from Angola, China lent $10,000,000 U.S.D. to Angola, and this basically put the country on the map, and now it's receiving investments from nearly every corner of the globe you can think of.

Besides Asian investors, many Middle Eastern investors are also starting to see the vast potential in African nations. Sudan (which doesn't have a perfect image right now), is currently one of the most sought after country for investment for Middle Eastern, and Chinese investors alike.

The only problem I really have with Chinese investment, is that more often than not, Chinese contractors rather ship over workers from China, than to hire the local population. This tends to make my blood boil sometimes, because those jobs would be a great opportunity to employ the many unskilled workers who often have a hard time finding a job.

[DrVanNostrand]

Originally Posted by LivingInExiles

There are tons of normal places in Africa, sheesh. Abuja, Cape Town, Luanda, Nairobi, Casablanca, Gabarone, Johannesburg, Cairo, plus many more smaller cities offer pretty much all the same "western" amentities your heart desires, and if you're a law abiding visitor, and mind your business, you'd have nothing to worry about from the government.

Isn't Nairobi considered one of the more dangerous cities in the world?

[LivingInExiles]

No. You must be thinking of Kibera, which is a slum outside of the Nairobi city limits.

[FinnishAmerican]

Is it true that Africa has large amount of natural resources that aint being used? Like oil, gold, gas and stuff like that.


Only thing thats missing is WATER