This book review was written by Eugene Kernes
“Not everyone is allowed a complex
identity. Throughout history,
individuals and entire communities have been systematically stripped of their
personhood and idiosyncrasies, often to make them easier to demean, denigrate,
and subjugate – and, in some cases, eradicate.
Being able to define yourself openly and fully is a privilege; it is a
grace many take for granted. The ability
to walk into a meeting or an interview, or to interact with a police officer,
and be given the respect and opportunity to present yourself without
pre-judgement, can be life-defining, life-affirming and life-saving.” – Dipo
Faloyin, Prologue: Identities, Page 9
“Hovering over the conference was the inconvenient question
of whether any of this was even legal, according to well-established
international law. As a sidestep,
Bismark announced that the conference wouldn’t bog itself down in discussions
about the legal quagmire of sovereignty, or whether any of the gathered
delegates actually had the authority to claim inhabited land for
themselves. They would, instead, just
focus on establishing guidelines that would govern everyone’s behavior when it
came to picking which bits of prime-cut Africa they wanted for their respective
empires.” – Dipo Faloyin, Part Two: By the Power Vested in Me, I now Pronounce
You a Country, Page 23
“When required, quick aid can do some good in certain
circumstanced, and certainly there are lots of organizations that do
astonishing work. But when imagery that
perpetuates negative stereotypes is utilized, it regularly blocks the continent
from receiving the sort of long-term investments enjoyed by the Western world,
through business opportunities and broad sustainable tourism that empowers
local populations and doesn’t exploit them for quick hits.” – Dipo Faloyin, Part
3: The Birth of White Saviour Imagery or How Not to Be a White Saviour While
Still Making a Difference, Page 83
Is This An Overview?
Africa contains a diverse set of complex identities, whose
identities have been removed, stolen.
Africa has become linked with poverty, misery, and the safari, even as
there is wealth, and rapidly developing urban cities. The removal of a complex identity has been
used to reduce the effort needed to persecute people, to justify the
persecution. Harmful claims about people
spread, to become cultural information that lasts generations. Foreign charitable organizations might want
to help Africa, but do more harm when they continue to spread an African image
of desperation, as that prevents business opportunities, and sustainable
tourism.
Africa does have challenges that need to be overcome. Ignoring the challenges would be a distortion
of an identity. Due to how the
colonizers divided communities, forced antagonistic groups together, and stole
the material cultural legacy, Africa developed leaders who are dictators. Although only few states in Africa are under
authoritarian rule, Africa becomes stigmatized as ungovernable, and prone to
conflict. Although portrayed by saviors
as in need of help, the people of Africa are handling their problems such as
removing dictators, without international assistance or awareness.
What Was The Scramble For Africa?
Rival foreign states wanted to take pieces of Africa. Rather than compete for African land, for the
competition would cause an international conflict, an all-out war. The foreign states decided to come together
to decide what to do. They did not
consider the concerns or sovereignty of the people already there. The colonizers would develop a communal
understanding for the siege on Africa during the Berlin Conference in
1884. The conquest would not be legal
according to their international laws, but they avoided this topic. What the colonizers wanted to know is how the
other states would behave.
The conquest of Africa was justified as a civilizing
mission. To being commerce, religion, and
to help the natives become wiser and better.
The borders created by the foreign states, created conflict
for African states after gaining independence.
Organisation of African Unity was meant to foster cooperation across the
continent. The Organisation of African
Unity decided to refrain from redrawing the borders, because at that point, it
would cause more conflict even as African states were gaining
independence. Accepting known problems
with borders, rather than take on new problems that could potentially become Black
imperialism.
Various states had their politics influenced by foreign
states. Within the Cold War, America and
Russia were providing funding and warfare support to leaders they
selected.
What Is The Effect Of Charity Organizations?
People in foreign states use charity for self-serving means,
while simplifying serious issues. What
charity organizations did was try to raise awareness about African problems,
and shame their governments into intervening into African states, without
considering what sustains the problem.
As if Africa cannot be saved until the rest of the world knows what is
happening. The white savior portrays
Africa as incapable of fixing African problems on their own, and reinforces
derogatory negative stereotypes of Africa.
The white savior arrives to save the people, and places oneself as
center even to those who the savior is trying to help. Charity campaigns provided wealthy people with
a philanthropic cause.
Charity requires more than money, but also a dedication to
understanding the problem. The people of
Africa have agency, and are capable of taking care of African problems, Africa
has been taking care of African problems, without the need for international
support. Dictators have been losing the
fight for governance. The negative
portrayal of Africa fosters donations initially, but also creates a negative
attribute of Africa that persists. The
attribute prevents sustained business opportunities and tourism. There have been cases with charity money
being used by governments to persecute dissidents.
Caveats?
Various African states are represented, in their complexity. But there is still not much information about
each state. To understand each state,
would require more research. African
states are given a complex identity, but foreign states and perspectives appear
to be similar in wanting and justifying the conquest of Africa, and how they
view Africa.
