deSpite and in Spite of...

Je suis fiere  d’être Africaine. I feel extremely lucky to have an *ethnicity that has proven itself, despite the historical disadvantages and exploitation it went through, is going through and will always go through. There is a certain pride evoked in me when I think about all that the world has done to not only my country, but all the peoples – yes they are an assortment of different kinds of people in the collective sense. Africa’s story is a story of survival. The continent can be personified and characterized as a woman who has survived through the rape and plunder of so many violators. The Arabs, the Portuguese and other Europeans, the Indians, the Americans, the corporations, themselves in the form of wars, looting, trickery, brutality, education, politics, the dollar, the pound, Coca-Cola, assassination, Apartheid – the list goes on. Despite and in spite of it all, there remains so much more to be learnt and improved, so much beauty and hope. The fragility and impermanence of the African condition has created a simplicity where there is no room for materialism and individuality. There can only be a gratitude and celebration for and of the present and hope for tomorrow. Every time I think about being home, any of the several African countries I have lived  in, I’m filled with nostalgia for the simplicity of being African in Africa. Simple there is simply simple.

Despite and in spite of all that may be wrong with, about and in Africa, I am hopeful that there is a better tomorrow. No condition is permanent.

Despite and in spite of all that je suis fiere d’être Africaine.