By Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa
“This is Africa” (TIA) is used in the context of what is perceived to be “African” versus “unAfrican”. For this article, unAfrican includes, but is not limited to, systems that work, clean places and timeliness. African, however, is dirty, tardy and disorganised. Even though I surround myself with Afro-optimists, I have never heard TIA used in a positive context. As such, it perpetuates negative stereotypes of Africa. TIA is used by Africans and non-Africans alike but the tones are sometimes different. For non-Africans it is said with a certain nostalgia of home and worse yet an acceptance of Africa as a place to survive to tell the tale of a unique adventure endured. Africans say it with a sense of jest or a degree of resignation of the current state of affairs. For the Africans who travel beyond the continent, there is a certain longing for their country to morph into whatever country they have been to. This makes me envious of those who have not travelled as they do not miss what they have never experienced, that is no longer the case.
Africa isn’t dirty, it’s charming
Rwanda in many ways defies the TIA phenomenon. Rwanda like many other African countries had a history of many things considered African. But the current government is changing that. For instance, visitors to Kigali express shock that, “Kigali is so clean”. Why should it be such a shock that an African city is clean? In fact, Rwanda is now leading a continental campaign for sanitation. Contrast New York City to Kigali or other African cities. Some parts of NYC are much dirtier than the downtown areas of Cape Town or Harare (yes, even Robert Mugabe tries to keep his capital clean). Those not mortified by trash, mould, rats, sometimes the smell of urine in the subway system and sometimes graffiti-laden buildings consider NYC charming. There is no charm in disease-laden critters!
Organised chaos is still a form of organisation
Visitors to Rwanda also express shock at the general sense of “organisation”. The motorways in some African cities tend to give the faint of heart an experience that leaves them groaning; not Kigali. Kigali streets are limited to vehicles and motorcycles (where both passengers and drivers are required to wear helmets). Further, the drive from Kigali’s airport to the city centre is laced with palm trees, new shiny buildings, non-potholed roads and without beggars or touts (other than those representing MTN or Tigo). The ever-present traffic police impose bribe-free fines. Kigali has its share of chaos, it is just organised.
Cities are ‘the real Africa’
I often wonder what people mean when they say they want to see “the real Africa”. Is it the Discovery Channel picture of a lion chasing an antelope or slum dog voyeurism of a big-bellied child with a fly on its mouth sitting next to an open sewer? Sometimes when those seeking authentic African experiences go to African cities, they quickly protest saying they did not go to Africa to have indoor plumbing and electricity. They want to live as Africans do. News brief: Africans have indoor plumbing and electricity (not all, but the number is increasing). In fact, Rwanda aims to be 50% electrified by 2017. Bottom line is, bush and poverty alone do not define Africa. According to the United Nations, by 2050, 67% of the African population will be urban and modernisation will have taken place. Good luck finding “the real Africa” then.
‘African time’
African time is the stereotype that Africans are never punctual. It is a peculiar feature of African time that one can set up an appointment and show up late, if at all. Count yourself lucky to be contacted the next day to reschedule, but punctuality is still in question. These situations happen in Rwanda too, but in my experience considerably less than in other African countries. The notion of African time is an excuse made up by the irresponsible and incompetent trying to justify their lack of respect for others. There are people who turn up late all over the world yet no one accepts it as normal. Why are low performance standards accepted and even expected in Africa?
TIA indeed
Despite pre-existing stereotypes, Africa is quickly changing and the notion of TIA is hampering people’s mental progress of these changes. How can you expect change to happen when you constantly repeat a vote of no confidence by expecting the worst or expressing shock when the worst does not happen? Furthermore, it is unrealistic to make blanket assumptions about the continent. Despite the human need for even a little morbidity, it is high time we redefined our mental frame of reference to acknowledge the positive of TIA.
Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa runs Hoja Law Group, a boutique New York and Kigali (Rwanda) law firm that uses the law to bridge the African development gap through advising on deals that create wealth for Africa. HLG advises investors investing in and companies expanding within Africa. She is a frequent speaker and writer on African affairs. She is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.
“Why should it be such a shock that an African city is clean?” Yeah, it also annoys me when people say they are “shocked” when they mean surprised. Not to stereotype though, but I’ve only ever heard black people commit this particular offence.
“In fact, Rwanda is now leading a continental campaign for sanitation.” I guess the stereotype must be true then. Why else the campaign?
“Some parts of NYC are much dirtier than the downtown areas of Cape Town or Harare.” No guesses as to which parts of NYC and what else those parts have in common with CT and Harare.
Is it true that the Tutsi/Hutu war was a class war between the Tutsi aristocracy who owned all the cattle, and the Hutu peasants who rented them?And is it true that neither slaughter the cattle but only drink the blood and milk?
As an African living abroad, I’ve found amusement in the things people choose to believe about a continent of 900+ million people. It has to be a funny joke I’m not quite in on, lest I’m forced to re-evaluate the average mental capacity of most descent, college educated non-Africans (and unfortunately often Africans too) who say/think half the things they do.
What’s been most encouraging recently though is not hearing smarter or more informed journalism from mainstream media countering popular misconceptions about TIA, but the plethora of rich African voices that have cropped up and offered more holistic accounts of their own experiences.
Few sites are as refreshing as Missla Libsekal’s http://www.AnotherAfrica.net. I wept last night reading K’naan’s very eloquent, beautifully poetic and sadly, very humanly true New York Times op-ed on the famine ravishing Somali, his homeland. And I like to think readers learn something new visiting our blog, which that showcases African design and thought, http://www.KoKOFIFI.blogspot.com.
Africa is close to a billion people. How can that kind of plurality ever be summed neatly into a static and decisive definition statement?
A charming piece my dear sister. I hope those accustomed to making such negative inferences don’t turn up shocked that this was actually written by an African; a young lady at that.
It is largely a matter of leadership; would that South Africa had a Paul Kagame.
T.I.A indeed! I would have loved if we referred to all the creative arts and music as well as our unparallel colourful talent to being, T.I.A-timeless innovations of Africans!
Great post, Muna! I look forward to making a trip to Rwanda. I might need to put that on the list for next year.
I so look forward to visit Africa someday. Not because of what I’ve heard, but to see what it really is like.
I find most often than not, listening to people’s takes on anywhere in the world, and trusting that it is fact, is not a good idea. I was told India, for example, would be all yoga and beautiful and full of amazing things. I got there, and was surprised. Yes, there were beautiful spots, but finding yoga wasn’t always easy, and there were a lot of areas that were full of a lot of poverty and other things many of my visiting friends never witnessed.
@Robard: Actually, many parts of NYC are, frankly, pretty dirty, and it’s hardly confined to the poorer areas. And the size of New York rats is just astonishing. You’re never quite the same after walking down the street, seeing a cat, and then realizing, “That’s a rat.”
And on a hot and humid summer day, the prevailing odor in many areas is the unmistakable stench of urine.
I don’t understand why Pan Africanists decree that Rwanda can’t have a feudal aristocracy of Tsutsis, but the Swazis and Zulus can have feudal monarchies?
Whenever I see articles or statistics on Africa I look for my country Botswana. I guess we are not African. Stories from “Africa” always surprise us just like the Europeans and Americans.
Great piece JMM!
The best thing about African development is that it seldom must tie in with elderly infrastructure; there is open space to lay modern foundations in order to develop up-to-date living and working areas. Can you imagine laying new infrastructure in New York against creating a new city in Africa? Sadly, in SA we seem to add on low-cost development which is neither beautiful or well planned. Take Atlantis…which seems to be an afterthought rather than a dynamic new centre that thrives. So sad…
@Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa – What is the immigration laws like for Rwanda? The job market? Will I be treated with respect as a white person willing to work hard to build up a last home to retire in? What is the dominant language?
@Rich Brauer – Well, we’re really comparing apples to pears here. New York has a population density roughly ten times that of Kigali. And I wasn’t really alluding to poverty levels, but to ethnic composition. The city is now majority black and hispanic with whites comprising only 44%.
Back in 1992 I found Bujumbura in neighbouring Burundi an amazingly organised little city. Little Rwanda and Burundi were both so different to the enormous DRC and the big Tanzania next door!
@Robard: I see. So your argument is that Hispanics and blacks are dirty.
That cat-sized rat that I saw? On the Upper West Side — a very white neighborhood. The smell of urine? Noticeable in many places, but the memory that came to mind was around 14th St. — also a predominantly white neighborhood. Overflowing dumpsters can be found throughout Manhattan. If anything, the other boroughs, where most of the population is actually found, are actually cleaner.
This is such an interesting article Muna. I would like to add that it’s only in Rwanda that you can register a company within 24H. It is only in Rwanda that one can work without being harassed to pay bribes for certain contracts. Since I registered my two companies in Rwanda, I have never offered a penny to anyone to have a job/contract.
Many at times, I wish my people from West Africa could just come and see that positive things can happen in Africa if only there is a Will and a good Leadership.
The notion of TIA is unfortunately very present in many African countries because we simply accept mediocrity and sit in it. Every African should fight the TIA behavior in our daily personal attitudes.
Nicely done muna and lets hope people will start learning from this that Africa is not what is in there heads
I see your point Muna, but have a niggly feeling that some of us in Africa, tend to use the TIA expression with some form of admiration…not so sure about those outside the Continent.
To me it is this kind of self mockery that makes us who we are, a conitnent that can lough at its misfortunes. For Example,the other day someone said Nairobi., but a Kenyan quickly loughed and said you mean “Nairobbery”! While there is nothing funny about crime, which by the way happens everywhere, it is the ability to refuse to live in fear and to insist on seeing the humorous side of the entire situation that keeps our spirits high .
Africans are quite adaptive, and their humor is but one way of getting by. TIA, a Continent of misery but the happiest. So TIA expression, at least to me, is not always a vote of no confidence by expecting the worst ..it is a way of appreciating and coping with our situation, which in no way means we have resigned ourselves to expecting the worst all the time. If that were the case, then all hope would be lost, and what Rwanda is doing today would be futile.
Finally, I have heard the expression..”this is America buddy, a Dog eat dog society”..now what does that mean?
I dont know, I know though that this is Africa, and action packed continent….and I love Africans just the way they are…happy always!
One thing Africans often seem ignorant about in Europe, and to a lesser extent the United States and Canada, is just how many people have lived or visited, or have family who have lived or visited, Africa.
There are far more so than in Asia, although that is changing with the opening of China and India and the western help (not just military) in Afghanistan.
Remember that for every “do you have tigers in Johannesburg?” question you also probably have people in the group who have had first-hand experience of Africa.
And that experience often included being in functioning, modern cities when the wheels come off due to political greed and ineptitude.
Let us hope that Kigali and Rwanda, which unfortunately often seems isolated in pan-African bodies, does not suffer that fate.
Same questions as X Cepting.
@Rich Brauer – No, not exactly. t is about their environments. Manhattan is part of a city that is 55% (some sources claim 65%) non-white. I suspect that its sanitation department reflect that demographic, as there was a well publicized case a while back in which black aspirant firemen took the city to court for disparate impact of its entrance exams. As for urinating on the streets – I observe that often in my own neighbourhood but I am confident that the perpetrators don’t actually live here. I just had to pick up some discarded chicken bones and a styrofoam container in front of my gate. Somehow I don’t suspect any of my neighbours for this…
Africans have always been made to believe that there is something better than what they have that they should gravitate to. You are right about the shift in “mental frames of reference” being necessary. But the change we need is a bit deeper than that. What generations of Africans have thought of themselves and their kind over the years needs to be challenged. It is more a healing than a change. [Internalisation of Black Conciousness concepts]
A very interesting article Muna. It is us Africans who will change the stereotypes. Let us not rely on others affirming us we need to do it ourselves. I am impressed with the developments in Rwanda. It is my wish that Africans will never, never again allow to be fed the tribal trash by foreign forces with vested interests. The Rwanda genocide of the Tutsi could have been avoided if only Africans had believed in themselves. I do not want to go deep into how the saga unfolded. It is better not to blame anyone and look to the future. Admittedly, what happened in Rwanda has affected a large part of the Great Lakes Region and the exploitation of Congo raw materials by foreign concerns. Its actually a pathetic situation
Come take a ride on the New York City Subways, or take a stroll to where I live in outer Brooklyn, and you can see for yourself that cleanliness is very much in the eye of the beholder. I have seen rats the size of small children running around here. Tons of roaches. Every city in the world has its shitty side and its beautiful endearing side. Its endemic to HUMANS, not a race or ethnic thing.
Thanks a lot everyone.
@Lyndall Beddy – There are lots of books on Rwanda’s history. Ones that you might easily find on Amazon.com are Mahmood Mamdani’s “When victims become killers” or Stephen Kizner’s “A Thousand Hills” or Scott Peterson “Me against my brother” (but it also deals with Sudan and Somalia).
@mm – I totally agree with you that lumping Africa into one is an injustice to the rich diversity of people and experiences. It’s time for Africans to step up and set the record straight.
@Kimberly W – I agree. India is great, but there are a lot of issues there too. Lucky for them, the main focus in the press is the economy and its “wannabe” super power status, but the poverty there is very sad.
@X Cepting, Kwame and Chantelle – check out Rwanda Directorate for Immmigration and Emigration at http://www.migration.gov.rw/ . The visa application is online and very easy. I encourage you to visit. Please look me up when you do. As for jobs, it depends on what you do. Contact me if you are really interested.
@Al – you are right, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC and Tanzania are all very different. They all have their own charm and negative points. Africa is rich with diveristy of climate, landscape, people, language, infrastructure, etc.
@Sandra – to add to your point, I think other Africans should visit Rwanda and see what is going on.
@Mokwadi – Botwsana is another country that is doing great developmentally. I’ve spent lots of time in…
Jaquelijne
I have read some of those books – which say that Rwanda was 1 race and 1 tribe in feudal catagories which survived for 800 years without disruption until colonialism and “democracy” dictated there could be no aristocracy of Tsutsis. I am asking if what I have read is true or not!
Proud of my Country (RWANDA), proud of my continent (Africa), I don’t like T.I.A, I hope one day it will be transformed into T.W.A (That Was Africa) at least. Blessings to all of you who are working for the best of Africa! Birthplace of humanity!
@Robard – I’m a proud resident of Queens and my neighborhood is very ethnically and racially diverse. Some streets are cleaner than others and it has no corrolation to race.
@mm – Thanks for the links. I agree that the Somali situation is sad. I’m glad that K’Naan is sensitizing people to the issues. We need more African starts to champion African causes.
@Steve Goodrich – You hit the nail on the head; it’s about leadership.
@Ngasuma – Timeless innovations for Africa indeed.
@Rich Braur – Cat sized rats…*giggle* Those are my greatest fear on subway platforms. I love NYC summers, but you are right about that smell (34th Street is bad too).
@MLH – Investment is sub-standard infrastructure is a serious problem of Africa’s modern development. We need greater controls. The 60s-70s Soviet type building are ugly, but they have lasted. How can a building built less than five years ago be crumbling? Aesthetics is also an issue. I hate these new shiny, reflective blue glass windows that are cropping up all over the continent.
@Joseph – Being able to laugh at ourselves is important. I love Africans just the way they are too..happy always.
@John, Una and Afropositiv – a mind and conscious healing, shift, evolution is critical. I remain eternally optimistic.
While living in Nz I decided to get away for a bit so I did a round-the-world excursion.
My travels led me to Africa where I traveled through Egypt and made my way deep into Sudan. There I came across a woman who had been stoned to death. As I stared at the fly covered body a local police man came to me concerned saying over and over “is ok. violation, violation” and pointed to the mush that was the womans head. I then remembered what a white zimbabwaian mate had told me a few years earlier: T.I.A. (This Is Africa).
What he meant was there will be things you will see on the continent that may disturb you but a foriegn white man protesting to the locals about the norms in Africa will do nothing but land him in trouble. I was to accept what I saw and move on quietly or I could be on deck for the next violation of local law.
If Americans/Europeans travel there and complain about the room they stay in or the condition of the streets and mutter T.I.A. then I believe the meaning is lost.
The true meaning is for visitors to keep their heads down and their mouths shut. If what you experienced is that bad then save it until you get home and blog about it. Getting your knickers in a twist on the continent will surely get you killed.
Nothing personal mate… T.I.A.
Mind you, returning to Arizona after 13yrs T.I.A. has taken on a new meaning: This Is Arizona (or America for that matter). Everything and everyone has changed so much I don’t recognize my people anymore. Back to Nz…
@Joseph…
I’m an American but been living abroad since ’97. I returned to the states in 2010 to find this entire country and everyone in it has changed so dramatically I hardly recognize it.
In my youth I always figured “it’s a dog eat dog world” was just a phrase people throw around when they tried to explain the bad things people do to each other in America but upon my return I do find everyone is feeding off each other. Everyone here has some hussle or scam to doop others out of their coin or possessions. Never has it been more true here, the phrase “buyer beware” because value and honesty has lost its meaning here.
The rich get richer and the poor have more taxes placed on them to pay for the wars that benefit the rich.
Besides, the common belief here is the poor are lazy and I’ve heard it said “The poor need to start contributing to society. How dare they be poor. Get a job.”
Since my return to the states I’ve had to hold down two jobs and I still struggle to pay my rent. My home and my people breaks my heart. I just don’t understand these folks anymore.
As I stated earlier… Guess it’s back to Aotearoa for me. At least people there know what it means to stand by their word.
I don’t hate America I’m just sad it has all come down to this.