Always time for Africa

I've been so busy with work lately that I hardly have had time to sit down on the computer and spend some quality time blogging. The fact that i've been working Saturdays for the past two weeks, not on my own accord but because due to company policy, made it even worse. Sunday's came and went, and left me the same - tired, totally not refreshed, and basically just not in a mood to write.

I've been so tired of doing the same things, looking at the same people, that I have these great urges to just be around new people. So the past two sundays I have spent some time at the Phoenix Mills mall here in Lower Parel, just to walk around, take in the scenery and just look at different people doing different things. There is just so much commerce around me, even in that speck of land that it often makes me feel so small. People buying something as pricey as an Armani suit to something as everyday as a kilo of vegetables.

In such a state of mind, anybody's philosophical bent automatically sharpens itself, or so I believe, and one starts to think about everything and anything under the sun, and at least for me, I started to think about this concept called happiness, the love of money, the need for affection, the exact meaning of being content, etc etc. Without doubt, when one is down, one looks at others happiness with a sense of envy, and even jealousy. At such times, when obviously everybody else seems to be much happier than you are, you begin to think of things such as unfairness, wrong, injustice, and why is God not giving you a break. As one falls further into this whole, then one starts questioning the very concept of God. Is there a God? Can there be a higher force that has purposefully designed such a world which is chaotic, brimming with its pain and misgiving and crime.

When I begin thinking of Africa, I begin to question the concept of a higher being even more. The hunger, the oppression, the physical and mental slavery that this continent has faced is beyond words. I often question, and pray (!!!) for an answer, are there different Gods for different races and people? This very concept itself is riddled with points and counterpoints. Its something to think about, definitely, but its not what I want to talk about. 

I've always wanted to be associated with the continent of Africa. Though I'm almost projecting the continent in the same stereotype that I often remind people of - projecting the continent as a land of homogenous people and similar cultures, the fact is that I love all of it. I've always wanted to go there, and I thought I almost had a chance to go and work there, in Kenya to be precise, but unfortunately things just didn't pan out in that direction. One fact that has always, and always pricked me, and i've often ranted about it here, is the total lack of media reporting on vast swathes of land which simply do not figure on the power list of the world. South America, though quite a well to do region with many advancing countries, though also filled with rife, is one, and the biggest overlook when it comes to global news as to be Africa. The seed of humankind for history books but not important enough to be reported to the rest of the world. 

I've been meaning to write on African issues more, and have started on an article on the need for aid in Africa, or rather, the need to not have aid. A very common proverb is applicable to the poor nations of Africa/other parts of the world that rely on the aid from the developed countries - give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, and teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life. Many regions of Africa are now dependent on this aid which the west tomtoms as its great support to the poor in Africa. Yet where is the investment in opportunities that will allow the poorest of African nations to earn a decent living daily, while strengthening the commerce of their country? Unfortunately that is not coming from the rest of the world.

India and China are now hounding the continent for resources, and while China has just plain offered it billions of its money and set up some snazzy complexes in exchange for its massive resources of ores and coal, India apparently has been more dedicated in the support it provides, even if it is quid pro quo. They've set up schools, some modest beginnings in IT and telemedicine are there, and one sector where India has been making a difference is in generic drugs. I wrote a long time ago on this blog about how the diseases of the third world are something the big drugs from the west mean nothing if they do not get their margins. For long they've lobbied against generic drugs for AIDS and other diseases being sold there, but till now, fortunately, they have not been able to armtwist the process.

If I have to be a hateful little wet blanket, then I will have to say that its not time for Africa just when its most developed country is hosting the football world cup so the masses of this world who otherwise don't give a rat's ass can dabble in some folk music, bright colors and come up with folk-art resembling designs on products, this world needs to make time for Africa every day. But I will say this, to counter my own argument, that awareness is important, and while even I am guilty of only talking about issues still, I must make a sincere effort to be more aware of whats going on, be ready to stand up for those issues, remove prejudices and misconceptions, and I am quite positive that the good vibes definitely will lead to something better.

I've RSS'ed news from http://www.allafrica.com/ on my desktop, and I am getting to read news from all across the continent, news which aren't even reported on Google. They're talking about the peace process in Khartoum, how the President of Nigeria has appointed 13 women as ministers, and how a political deal has cleared the way for 2012 elections in Lesotho. Good to look beyond whats happening in the developed west or India's tabloid media coverage.