Posted by mv on 10/31/23 11:46

In message <125c6sjokkd4183@corp.supernews.com>, Richard Crowley
<rcrowley@xpr7t.net> writes
>
>"Martin Heffels" <mot@sneeuw.nl> wrote in message
>news:av4c521ri7jb2hg408aofkjr7h9rkmilg5@4ax.com...
>> On 1 May 2006 06:53:27 -0700, "soundwhiz" <cineaudio@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>any where in africathe story is much the same ,difference in degrees
>>>
>>>lawlessness
>>
>> Truely ignorant words. Sorry to say that.....
>> There are only a few troublespots in Africa. Most of the continent
>>has no
>> wars. To call all of South-Africa lawless, is very ignorant.
>
>And your perspective is what?
>How long have you lived in Africa?


I work and film in Africa quite a bit. Over the last dozen or more years
it's mostly been all over Ghana but have also experience in Nigeria,
Ivory Coast, Sudan and others. I was born in Kenya, when it was a part
of British East Africa, I'm amongst the last of that Imperial
generation. Swahili was as much my mother tongue as English, but it's
been some years since I was in East Africa though I have memories of
Tanzania and Uganda too.

Some of the knee jerk statements being made here are typically half
arsed. I'd agree that Nigeria is not a place to be naive in, though once
you get out of Lagos and certain other cities, much of countries hundred
plus million population are very welcoming. Africa is much more diverse
than can be covered by the blanket statements of armchair travellers and
the despicably partisan, proletarian fodder of the trite media as
offered by the false integrity of most media worthies. However it's true
that for a self important Westerner there are many parts of that
continent best steered clear of, but more often due to the bad vibes and
presumption of that type of Westerner, who by a mere caprice of fate was
born into the lucky quarter of the world and is yet to have a clue about
the virtues of those who don't conform to their own trivial concepts of
moral worth. God help us.

As has already been pointed out, Jo'burg is a dangerous city for the
naive, just as are many localities throughout cities in the West, though
for a citizen of one of the most fratricidal nations on the planet to
cast aspersions, is a bit rich to say the least. Most of the rest of
South Africa is rather pleasant as it happens. I can also recommend
Ghana as a particularly friendly and safe place to be. I've walked about
alone at night in some desperately poor shanty parts of their towns
without the slightest hint of threat, as I have also done, perhaps to
the surprise of some, in Khartoum, on the contrary people come up to you
with extraordinary good grace, something I can't say for many fine
neighbourhoods in the West. Tanzania is rather decent too, as are Gambia
and Mozambique to my knowledge. My list being far from definitive. The
political boundaries of modern African nations too often hide the true
nature of tribal Africa. Once you are in the unsullied heartland's of
many of these often border straddling tribal societies, grace and
hospitality are the norm. The astonishing grace of many Africans in the
face of the cruellest of circumstances is a lesson many of us pampered
westerners might learn from. They say most Western societies are just
three meals from anarchy. Africans have put up with far more
deprivations that.
--
John Lubran

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