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AFRICA DESERVES MORE ATTENTION

AFRICA DESERVES MORE ATTENTION

“What the hell would I want to go to a place like Mombasa for? I just see myself in a pot of boiling water with all these natives dancing around me.” These are the words of Toronto (Canada) Mayor Mel Lastman, before traveling to the Association of National Olympic Committees in Kenya to campaign for his city’s bid to host the 2008 Games. Lastman later apologized for the rather ‘unfortunate’ comment. Too late, his city lost the bid to Beijing, the capital of the Peoples Republic of China.

Darkest Africa or the Heart of Darkness. That is how many Westerners see this wretched continent of Africa, cursed with “war, starvation, a lot of poor people, and exotic animals.” They imagine it as a huge, animal and disease-infested jungle, sprinkled with tribes of primitive people, some of whom are glad to meet white people…for they like variety in their diets.

Only a few Europeans, such as philanthropist David Livingstone and one explorer H...

Posted by: Andres Cisneros

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