Saturday, June 12, 2010

Open letter to Bono and Bob Geldof from an African woman...

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I also feel that nobody can develop a strategy for Africa’s future without speaking to all Africans. Selecting a few African celebrities or well know names will not give you a complete picture of what is really going on. On the One blog Listening and learning in Africa, you pledged to listen and learn from Africans and Africa, something I know you have already been striving to do on your visits to the continent. But this is not enough. Why should Africans write to you — Bono and Sir Bob Geldof — about their future? What can you do that you have not done already? Why haven’t you asked the Globe and Mail to use a different format after the recent controversies surrounding you. Don’t you recognise that your approach has often been the wrong one; failing to engage sufficiently with ordinary Africans, sometimes refusing to hear more critical voices and using your influence in ways that do not always benefit the continent, while some much-hyped targets – the millennium goals for example – will almost certainly be missed? Don’t you think that Africans deserve an apology or at least an explanation for these failures? Don’t you think that this all smacks of arrogance? Full story...

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2 comments:

  1. Judging from the Bono-related articles you choose you seem to be very anti-Bono.

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  2. I tend to be weary of "saviours" who want to save the world, the planet, Africa, etc. They drive me up the wall. Usually, it's just an attempt to highlight themselves in the eyes of the world at the expense of those who are suffering. And it really annoys me that Africans are considered, in this instance, to be too dumb to "save" themselves and need an outside force to come and deliver them.

    ReplyDelete