Over the past two months, I’ve been trying to make sense of what I’ve been seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching and feeling here in Africa. At times I wish I could share my journal with all of you so that you could get my viewpoints in a rather uncensored fashion. But since I’m not willing to share,in that way, I thought I’d offer some pictures and thoughts.
- There are a number of African business tycoons, intellectuals, and economists who argue quite fervently that despite meeting some very basic needs, foreign aid has actually crippled many of the continent’s 53 countries. They argue that money from rich countries has trapped nations in a pattern of governmental corruption, slower economic growth and poverty. The reality is that contrary to how Africa is depicted in the Western media, this continent does not need to be rescued, rather, it desperately needs a square deal. I wonder what Africa would look like if it had equal access to international markets?
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- While stepping off a coach in Kapiri, a small town located three hours north of Lusaka, fruit and water vendors rushed in hoping to earn some money. Unfortunately this picture doesn’t capture the number of vendors that are vying for our attention. It’s so easy for me, as a passenger, to be bothered by them, the vendors, after all, not only do get in your way when you’re trying to walk away from the bus, but they basically plead with you to buy something. Yet, if we consider their reality, which for the majority of them is one of extreme poverty, their desperate behaviour becomes understandable.
Just 44km south of Lusaka lies a small town of Kafue. I met these two boys at a service station off the main road. They showed up to drink water at the outdoor tap, which adults were strictly using to wash their hands. As I watched them repeatedly place their small hands under the faucet, lower their faces into them and guzzle down the water, as if they'd traversed a desert and were on the verge of dying of thirst, I wondered about their background. Where had they come from? Where were they going? We were unable to communicate in English, so I was left unknowing.
I was looking for the famous Soweto Market in Lusaka and came across this bustling place of commerce. Similar to my fascination with bus and train stations, markets, in non-western countries are always alluring. Rarely do I go to actually purchase goods, I rather enjoy observing the the relationship between vendor and buyer. Yes, such markets do offer cheap counterfeit products which are an obvious draw, but the conversations, the laughter, the disputes, the stares and the array of non-verbal communication are what bring markets to life.
Eight years after former President Frederick Chiluba officially declared Zambia to be a Christian Nation, Archbishop Mambo was quoted in the papers as saying, "There is very little to show that we are a Christian nation with so much wrong-doing, both in private and public life. There is nothing to distinguish us from secular nations. This is sad." Interestingly enough, throughout Zambia's twenty years as a Christian Nation there have been several other religious leaders that have pointed out the country's failure to live up to its name. In my conversations with everyday Zambians, the whole declaration is fundamentally perceived as a joke. Yes, there are preachers that get on coaches and urge passengers to choose Jesus or else face eternity in hell, but for the most part, the people just seem to want to live their lives the way they see fit. Shouldn't they be able to do that?