Africa: a difficult man-child

The BBC is at its worst at the moment and there's not a lot to say. All we're getting is the BBC notion of what the news is- the politically inspired clap-trap of Live 8 and various supportive articles- like this environmental cartoon... er, animation. This isn't really news at all; just a philosophy to deal with the news they can't face up to either practically or morally. If they put correspondents in harm's way and reported every semi-genocidal act committed in the dark continent, then that would be news- or exciting, anyway. And I do mean exciting. In Africa they have bandits, rustlers, turf wars, kidnapping, forced marriages, polygamy, magic, and all sorts of other ways of having fun.

And that's the problem, really. It's fun to be an African of a traditional sort. Mostly for men, it's true, but women may appropriate the right to saunter around a lot with breasts dangling as they play earth mothers (remember the sexiness of the Beatles' song Lady Madonna? It's like that, continent-wide. It's not all bad.) Plus you don't have to bathe a lot, and you can go to the loo wherever takes your fancy, or dutifully wave your ass over a gaping hole above a cavern of faeces. This is the BBC's picture of an African woman's life- educated by the BBC World Service, naturally.

It's not that people actually find fulfilment (ie., it's not good, it's tragic etc.- and despite the etc. I genuinely feel it and desperately would like to see change) from treating their exotic environment like some dangerous playground for adults, but that actually no real alternative is offered that doesn't involve some absurd play-acting the victim (which only the worst sort do very well). They're not victims; just without compelling alternatives.

Of course it's unacceptable that people, and especially their children, live in poverty- but the only realistic assistance would be to abandon subsidies- which is most unlikely to happen, though it must for any sanity to enter things. Beyond that VSO is a good idea, if you're prepared to accept that what you have to offer, being (unless you can demonstrate otherwise) generally technical and practical, is rather boring and you're nothing special in a continent of exotica.