Mariama,

I am not saying what I think is right or wrong for Africa, as you so rightly
point out.  It is absolutely not my place to do so.  I was simply stating
that the depictions I have seen of Africa are ALWAYS and UNIQUELY the
so-called "traditional" portrayals, very much idealized, I should add, at
the expense of a more balanced presentation encompassing various ways of
living in Africa, including urban and rural.  I was expressing my desire to
see images of urban Africa in the media, rather than village life only.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mariama Diop" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2001 4:37 PM
Subject: Re: African Culture Or A State Of Underdevelopment?


> Hi Maria,
> I'm not sure what exactly you're trying to convey when you said that you
> 'have always yearned for urbanised Africa" ....a shock for me , on the way
> to Dakar to observe mud and straw huts..."  What yardstick are you using
to
> measure what's "proper or nice "? Whoever said that urbanised rather
> westernised Africa was right for Africa? I believe that Africa should
remain
> true to its values  even if this means dancing in masks and skimpy skirts.
> Africa got into trouble by embracing foreign cultures and values at the
> expense of its own. It is not by imitating X and Y that Africa will put
its
> house in order. It is  our languages, our food, our huts ( well adapted to
> our environment) our masks, our warmth, our generousity  etc. that
> distinguish us as Africans.  Until and unless as Africans, we take pride
in
> who we are, we would remain a confused continent at the mercy of other
> cultures. I do not believe that we should waste our energy on fighting
> steroetypes. The uphill task is convincing Africans all over the world to
be
> proud of their heritage and to join the struggle for Africa's economic and
> political liberation
>
>
> >From: Maria Caterina Ciampi <[log in to unmask]>
> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
> ><[log in to unmask]>
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: Re: African Culture Or A State Of Underdevelopment?
> >Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 08:45:48 -0400
> >
> >Thank you, Momodou, for this refreshing piece.  I am responding as a
white
> >Canadian whose compatriots are guilty of ascribing to Africa images of
huts
> >and wells and dancing peoples.  I have seen many films produced in
Africa,
> >especially from Senegal and Burkina Faso, portraying "traditional"
African
> >village life as the be all and end all of African life.  In fact, I must
> >say
> >that as romantic and idealized as these images are, I have always been
> >irked
> >by this one-faceted view of African life.  I have always yearned for more
> >accurate portrayals of urbanized Africa, rather than scenes of villagers
> >dancing about in masks and skimpy outfits, which I doubt would even be
> >acceptable in a Muslim community, for example.  It was indeed a shock for
> >me, on the way to Dakar by road, to observe mud and straw huts along the
> >countryside, with baboons crossing it!
> >
> >I must tell you that even in Canada, we are guilty of subtly putting down
> >the First Nations and Inuit (formerly known as Eskimo) communities by
> >pigeon-holing them into an idealized "traditional" lifestyle rather than
> >asking them to define for us what are the essential values of their own
> >culture.  I had the pleasure of working North of the Arctic circle with
the
> >Inuit population just before visiting The Gambia, and up until yesterday,
> >friends were shocked to discover that they no longer live in igloos or
> >tents!  Yes, "modernization", for better or for worse, has struck the
> >North.
> >People live in pre-fabricated homes that are well-heated and have all the
> >amenities like running water and functional toilets.  People have adapted
> >to
> >a more sedentary lifestyle, and now hunt on their skidoos with rifles,
> >rather than being pulled by dog sleds and killing animals with harpoons.
> >As
> >far as family life is concerned, it is of outmost importance.  Similar to
> >African culture, the extended family is the "lowest common denominator"
and
> >safeguarding healthy social relationships between members is considered
> >crucial to survival.  In a harsh Northern climate, one is obliged to
depend
> >on others for survival.  When social workers like myself are called upon
to
> >intervene sometimes quite brutally in family life under the pretext of
> >guaranteeing child protection, and must separate children from their
> >parents, it is heart-wrenching.  By doing so, we are destroying the very
> >fabric of the society that makes them strong and allows them to survive
> >against all odds.  I have questioned myself about my role as a Southern
> >white worker hired by the local government to address issues of family
> >violence and child neglect just as I question myself about my potential
> >role
> >as a Western worker in an African refugee camp.  I have no answers, but
am
> >committed to keep reflecting on the topic and to maintain a healthy sense
> >of
> >auto-criticism.
> >
> >I was outraged by the Toronto mayor's comment about Africans as
cannibals,
> >but cynical as I am (I have been told by a few members of this list
serv),
> >I
> >am not surprised.  We Canadians are not exposed to the realities lived by
> >the original dwellers of our own country, much less about those of the
> >international community, and the media does not serve us well as long as
we
> >rely on the mainstream and do not seek out alternative depictions of life
> >beyond our borders.  It becomes a uniquely personal responsibility to
move
> >beyond stereotypes and to inform ourselves on these realities, and let me
> >tell you, it is hard work!  It takes a lot of time and effort to seek out
> >fora of discussion such as this one to demystify our pre-packaged
concepts
> >of "the other".  As for me, I have vowed to myself that I will what I can
> >to
> >educate my fellow Canadians and will keep on searching and be open to
being
> >challenged, so that I will be able one day to impart a more balanced view
> >of
> >life around the world to my friends and children.  Thank you again for
> >sharing your thoughts.
> >
> >Maria Caterina
> >
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Momodou Buharry Gassama" <[log in to unmask]>
> >To: <[log in to unmask]>
> >Sent: Monday, July 23, 2001 6:18 PM
> >Subject: African Culture Or A State Of Underdevelopment?
> >
> >
> >Hi!
> >     As some have registered a desire to once in a while have
non-political
> >discussions, I thought I would throw in this butut on an issue that I
have
> >pondered for many years. This is the issue of African cultural identity
or
> >what it means to be African or Gambian. Ask any Samba or Demba in the
> >streets of Gambia to give you a symbol of Gambian culture and the odds
are
> >that he will show you a hut, some forest or some animal like an
elephant -
> >which we incidentally do not even have. Is this truly what our culture is
> >or
> >is it a state of our backwardness or underdevelopment?
> >     All the societies on this earth have at some point in their history
> >lived in a state of underdevelopment and some have through some form or
> >other evolved into advanced societies socially, technologically,
> >economically, politically etc. This means that all societies have
> >historically lived in huts, roamed forests etc. in their days of
> >underdevelopment and Africa therefore does not in any way have a monopoly
> >on
> >the claim to huts as a symbol. Many of the societies that have advanced
in
> >the aspects mentioned above have however thrown away the symbolism of the
> >huts etc. that used to be their reality in their days of
underdevelopment.
> >This is to due to the fact that a stagnated culture is one that is not
> >conducive to development and innovation. Should we therefore accept the
> >continued symbolism of huts and other signs of underdevelopment as what
> >rightly describes us? It is granted that a vast number of Gambians and
> >Africans live in huts in villages near the bushes but should this mean
that
> >this state in our development cycle should be what we should be stuck
with?
> >Should this mean that cities and all they encompass should be discounted
as
> >not being part of our culture?
> >     We have so readily accepted the symbolism of underdevelopment that
we
> >have tended to miss its psychological effects. It is a given that one of
> >the
> >most effective ways to perpetually keep one under one's influence is to
> >make
> >him or her feel inferior. This has been practised since time immemorial
and
> >is most vividly illustrated in modern times during the Atlantic slave
trade
> >and the colonisation of Africa. It is the lingering effects of such
> >practices that we are witnessing. Look at African especially Senegambian
> >music videos and films and this fact becomes glaringly evident. In order
> >for
> >the producers to feel that they are portraying ''African culture'', they
> >have to shoot most of the films and clips in the bush or in village
> >settings. This tends to keep alive the stereotypical impression promoted
in
> >the West of Africa as a backward jungle. I sometimes feel so enraged that
> >the beauty of Dakar is nearly never portrayed in the Senegalese films -
> >films produced and financed by Senegalese. No wonder most of the African
> >films financed through Western agencies such as Channel Four, French
> >Ministry of Culture and others plus African books tend to be given
acclaim
> >only when they portray village life. I am yet to see an African film
> >financed by Western institutions that positively portrays the nice
> >infrastructure of African cities. Why? Because Africa does not have nice
> >skyscrapers, roads, bridges, villas etc. to show or is it because it is a
> >means of keeping the stereotypical impression of Africa as a backward
haven
> >of man-eating savages alive? Imagine a Canadian mayor in 2001calling
> >Africans cannibals!
> >     It is a fact that a lot of the African city life is influenced by
> >Western culture yet one has to understand that no society has a claim to
> >technology or development. The mistake that is made most of the time is
to
> >equate technology and development with the West. This is a grave fallacy.
> >It
> >is true that the West is more developed than others but no one society or
> >race has contributed all of the development that has led to the current
> >state of the world. When African civilisation, technology and science was
> >flourishing in ancient Egypt, most of Europe was populated by uncivilised
> >cavemen yet when Egyptian influence reached Europe, the Europeans didn't
> >cling on to their underdeveloped ways as a means of maintaining their
> >''culture''. They quickly embraced all the positives they could find in
the
> >African civilisation and suited the scientific, technological, religious,
> >social etc. aspects to their ways of life and it is those positives that
> >have laid the foundation for the science, religion, technology etc. of
> >modern times. Europe would not have been able to transform itself from
its
> >state of backwardness to its current position if it had clung on to its
> >culture of caves, huts etc. It realised that culture is dynamic and
needed
> >to change in order to develop. It is the same thing Africans need to
> >realise. We need to throw away the notion that culture is stagnant and
that
> >our African culture is the rigid form of life  lived by ancestors. We
need
> >to take cognisance of the fact that culture is an evolving process and
that
> >technology is a tool to use in this process. We need to promote
innovation.
> >Take the example of the typical ''fanaal'' competitions. Innovation or
> >creativity in coming up with new designs is not rewarded. It is rather
the
> >''fanaal'' that most resembled the ones built by our parents and their
> >parents that are rewarded. What is wrong with adding a category for the
> >best
> >innovation? A friend once jokingly told me that if ''kankurang'' was a
> >Western phenomenon, people would not in this day and age have to go into
> >the
> >bush to cut ''jaffo'' and leaves. One would instead go to the mall and
buy
> >the costume ready-made and not have to worry about leaves and branches
> >cutting and stinging one.
> >     This piece is getting long and I'll just cut it here. Before doing
so,
> >I
> >would like to make an illustration. I visited a Swedish museum depicting
> >the
> >Swedish way of life some time ago and the similarities with the Gambian
way
> >of life are chillingly similar. The huts, the small sleeping cubicles in
> >the
> >huts where one would not fit if one is a tall person, the charcoal
clothes
> >irons, the baths in which the same water
> >had to be shared by the whole family with the father taking the first
bath
> >followed by the mother and the rest in terms of age or position within
the
> >family etc. The Swedes are not hounding these aspects of their
> >underdevelopment as  their culture. They are rather in museums to show
the
> >young generation how tough they had it in their days of underdevelopment.
> >Would Sweden be in the position it is today had it obstinately held onto
> >that period of underdevelopment and thoroughly identified with it? My
> >belief
> >is no. It is also my belief that the huts etc. that we portray as African
> >or
> >Gambian culture are but a state of our underdevelopment. In order to get
> >past this state, we have to realise that culture is an evolving process
> >that
> >needs to use science and technology in order to progress and
evolve.Thanks.
> >
> >Buharry.
> >
>
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