I had no such reaction in the poor sections of Durban as I hiked through town or in any other less affluent places. One of my favorite memories involves those “rag tag” children on a beach in western Madagascar, who’d dance with me as I walked on the dusty road to my room every afternoon. We cut some mean moves in the dirt and I’ve never seen such bright smiles. They were rewarded with dried apricots… these were some very happy kids; their folks seemed pretty content too.

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Insightful, Jenny. I’m only beginning my worldly travels, but this observation does ring true – people adapt; some of us grew up in urban middle-class nuclear families and did not spend our lives lamenting the fact that we weren’t born millionaires (well, hopefully not). People around the around the world are born into their reality, their standard on what constitutes “normal”; how long does it take children to discover that there are creatures thousands of miles away with fresh water spewing from a magical fountain, so much food that some “must” be discarded, in a different world entirely…?

Even up to that point, they’re ruled by the same emotions that govern us all: feeling happy when something unexpectedly good happens (yes, which must eventually happen around the world), laughing at the ridiculous, accepting where they are from, and knowing what they are capable of – anything.

This is one reason I get so frustrated when I hear media stories along the lines of “we must save these few kids from this kind of life”… no, we must slowly improve the conditions of the world, to make these areas habitable and comfortable, not suddenly infuse with money that can’t be used over the long term, or have celebrities remove them to “more civilized” areas of the world.

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I also think that no amount of reporting about Africa will enact a shift in mindset about the continent and its complexities unless people also begin to travel there in greater numbers (and I mean really travel, not just hit up the Serengeti, Zanzibar, and the Pyramids). Ninety-five percent of the foreigners I met in Africa were aid workers, whereas in India, Asia and Central America, 95% were travelers. While aid workers and journalists offer valuable insight, I think it’s travelers who can shine light on aspects of Africa that don’t need to secure funding or sell newspapers.

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I think we become numb to the same image of Africa, the two-dimensional depiction which Wainaina was getting at in the Granta piece. The problems are undoubtedly more complex than what we’re shown, but all we see are the results: the slums, the starving. And how can you not? How can a reporter look at this and not be moved to say something to people who have no idea what’s out there?

We seem to be paralyzed at a certain level, and we need to progress beyond it – not ignore it, nor gloss over it with TIA – “This Is Africa.” We need to keep it in the foreground, and not just throw money at it like a bribe to shut up. We need the different angles to understand the problem and what can be done. We see the house is on fire, but not how to put it out – and you can’t do that unless you keep getting more insight on it.

I believe the future you see will be unchallenged without the constant wakeup call. But I can’t believe people have accepted that future yet. God, though – it’s so difficult to see the present as it is, let alone the future…

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Sarah, I think this is one of the best articles ever published on the Matador Network, and I really appreciate all the great comments so far – there are so many stories here, so many angles, so many paths of potential human effort.

I especially like one of the lines you ended with, Sarah:

“I felt beyond a shadow that I was looking at the makings of the permanent underclass required to support the polarized global economy we are shaping today.”

Yes. If I might pair the above quote with one from David Miller, when asked to define his editorial vision for the Matador community:

“Chief among [my] goals as Editor of Matador Travel is to publish stories that, while rooted in particular places and cultures, resonate with people everywhere.”

That resonance, and story-telling, is crucial to developing a healthy global economy that, as Shona notes, may not wholly resemble the American Dream.

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Just a thought.

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“In your text, treat Africa as if it were one country. It is hot and dusty with rolling grasslands and huge herds of animals and tall, thin people who are starving. Or it is hot and steamy with very short people who eat primates. Don’t get bogged down with precise descriptions. Africa is big: fifty-four countries, 900 million people who are too busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book. The continent is full of deserts, jungles, highlands, savannahs and many other things, but your reader doesn’t care about all that, so keep your descriptions romantic and evocative and unparticular.”

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