The Real Africa

Either I have been paying more attention lately, or this idea seems to be quite present these days…the idea of the ‘Real Africa.’ Im sure you can all imagine what im talking about. Villages, thatched roofed houses, no running water or electricity, and of course, poverty, malnutrition and AIDS. These are the images we have been made to think about when we think about Africa.
Is it referred to as ‘real’ because that is what life was like before colonization, ‘modernization’ globalization and all the other ‘ion’ verbs that Africa has been presented with in her history? Fair enough. But how come we never refer to poor and rural India as the ‘Real India’ or the ‘Real China.’ What is really real after all? What countries have not been influenced by all the ‘ion’ verbs? So why is it that we deny Africa’s ‘development’ and ‘progress’ (I use these in quotations, as these terms and theories can be quite controversial…I am using these terms for simplicity), as a reality?

I am not going to deny the fact that my opinion is biased. I am living in a stable and peaceful African country, in its capital city. Undoubtedly where I am living and what I am experiencing is much different than a small village in the northern region, or of a town in the Congo. This being said, my experiences are real, and the life that I am living here, amongst my Ghanaian counterparts is ‘real.’

To digress a tad, I was in Togo (Ghana’s neighbor to the East) a few weeks ago with a friend, and we met up with her French teacher (Togo was colonized by France) who happen to be in Togo the same weekend as us. He was originally from there, but moved to Ghana to pursue greener pastures. Anyways, we had a great time with him and he took us to his village to show us around. We were in a small town called Kpalme, where the local transport is on the back of a moto (motorcycle). So all of us on board, we drove up through the mountains, which was stunning. I felt like I was in a fairytale.

Anyways, where I was going with this, was when we arrived at his village, after drinking wine with his grandmother, he descried the village as ‘The Real Africa.’ I didn’t think much of it. A few days later, I was speaking with a friend where she was asking me if I had been to a certain part of Accra. She was trying to explain it to me, and the word she used was it was like ‘The Real Africa.’ She used this in reference to the fact that there were tons of people, it was dirty, and I probably would not want to go there.

I totally understand where people are coming from with this. We are taught to think this way. And when someone says ‘The Real Africa’, I unfortunately know exactly what they are talking about. And I have a big problem with this. Although, yes I am living in Accra, in a safe country, this is still Africa, and I don’t think it should be denied of that. Africa is huge, and it varies. The majority of countries here have undergone years of political unrest fighting for independence. Since this time, it is indeed true that many have been politically unstable, with civil/ethical conflict, coups and full-fledged wars. This being said, life does go on. Countries here have developed at different rates from one another, with the larger capital cities undoubtedly holding more wealth. I have been to a number of African countries, and they are all different. Many similarities, yes, but all different.

My life here in Accra is similar to my life at home in Canada. I work, meet friends for dinner and drinks, buy groceries, wait for the bus at 5:00 to head home amongst others in business attire after a long day at work etc. etc. I have some very close Ghanaian friends, those whom I work with, and those who I do not. They are very smart and educated and live their lives just as I do. So why cannot this be considered ‘real’? My work place, at the university is such an inspiring place to be. Although it is hotter, there are more trees and people arent chugging down coffee, it reminds me of McGill. Students going from one lecture to another, strolling around with their friends, talking about life, politics, their futures and what is going on Friday night. So why is this not considered 'real' when this is the reality for many.

There are malls here, Chinese, Indian, Lebanese, and Italian restaurants. Highways and traffic lights, air conditioning, gyms, and Irish pubs. Yes, these things are primarily located in Accra, but its still Africa, and Ghanaians are enjoying these luxuries. Yes, the upper end restaurants, and fancy hotels are not accessible to your average Ghanaian, but isn’t that the same everywhere?

I guess what I am getting at is I think we need to re-imagine what we see as ‘The Real Africa.’ Yes, many people on this continent unfortunately suffer from poverty, malnutrition, AIDS, a lack of water and electricity, but on the other spectrum, there are those who do not…and I don’t just mean the upper crust of society. There are those who have university degrees, work at restaurants, banks, café’s, shops, schools, hospitals etc., and if we deny these of being the ‘Real Africa’, how will its perception change?

Just some food for thought!