Page 58 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 7

MY AFRIKA
Afrikan way of life by those who
think we are never supposed to
rise out of the past, that even
though we still have poverty
and diseases in our land, that
even though the voices of the
helpless in our societies are still
drowned in the ocean of politi-
cal madness, even though the
world system still thinks that we
as Afrikans are only as good as
lab rats for evil vaccine tests,
I still declare that I, too, have
a dream. It is a dream deeply
rooted in the God-given Afrikan
dream. A dream which was
ingrained in the very foundation
of this continent as the cradle
of humanity and which will also
manifest in this continent, even
as she takes a step higher to
become the nest of safety for
the world in the nearest future.
I have a dream that one day
Afrikans will again walk on this
mother of all continents as free
Afrikan citizens with no need for
passports or visas, which are
nothing but the inventions of
men, designed to create segre-
gation between who is deemed
worthy of passing through a
port or not. I have a dream that,
one day, the colonialist border
lines, which are nothing but the
reminders of where we were
conned, will be removed and
national boundary lines will no
longer be the places where
demeaning questions about the
integrity of our Afrikan brothers
and sisters will be asked, but
places where Afrikans will wel-
come their Afrikan and sisters
brothers with joy and music.
I have a dream that someday,
not too long from now, Afrika
will stop being just a place for
wildlife tourism, but a place
where men will come to learn
life and living in the true sense
of it. I have a dream that,
someday, not too far from now,
58 | heal . restore . rebirth . Afrika
men from all over the world
will come to Afrika for spiritual
and life changing pilgrimages,
which will not only bring Afrika
back to her place as the Moth-
erland but also as the place of
refuge for those who can no
longer live in the wicked system
that the world has created. I
have a dream that instead of
Afrika being the perpetual loan
beggar and aid taker that she
will be the continent that gives
and provides for other nations.
For such is the good heart and
attribute of a true mother. I have
a dream that my children will
grow to love Afrika because
of who she will have risen
to become, instead of loving
the false greener pastures of
Europe and America that keep
stealing our kids from us.
Tourism in Afrika
I have no issue whatsoever with
the tourism industry in Afrika,
but I think Afrika is beyond
tourism and whatever gains
that sector professes to bring
to Afrika. For tourism the way
it's been used has also become
a tool for the defamation and
degradation of Afrika and her
people. It seems to me that
we have not yet elevated our
tourism industry to become
our Afrikan brand or the face
of our Afrikan life to the world.
I am a photographer, so I love
good photos. But have you ever
noticed that when you search
for photos of Afrika on Google
or any other search engines,
you will find more photos of
malnourished children in some
remote villages, with almost
no photos of children in school
or at best you will see chil-
dren in some under-the-tree
classrooms. But is that the true
image of Afrika? Not at all. And
I have also noticed that while
you easily find the negative
photos of Afrika for free online,
you only find the good ones on
some website for sale for hun-
dreds of dollars. But the ques-
tion is this, who are the ones
taking these photos of a broken
down Afrika? The very tourists
we celebrate at our borders.
This is just one example of how
tourism that is just gain based
is affecting the Afrikan narrative.
Am I saying that photography in
Afrika should be about just the
good things here? Not really. All
I am saying is that, as regards
tourism, which is one of the
many frontlines of our interac-
tions with the world, we need to
upgrade from wildlife and hotel
tourism to what I like to call Life
Tourism.
What is Life Tourism?
It is simply the combination of
two words: Life and Tourism, to
create a new concept of how
our Afrikan tourism should both
engage the world, represent
us in good light and also how
we become the change that
the world needs and not those
who only relate to the world as
beggars. The concept is quite
simple; we just need to un-
derstand what life is and what
tourism was supposed to be.
Life for me is the ability to live
in a healthy balance with each
other, creation, the environ-
ment, the cosmic natural order
and God the Creator. An Afrika
without God is both foolishness
and vanity of mind. Are we not
foolish to think that we can
talk about Afrika and not talk
proudly of God who made it all?
Tourism, as defined by online
Encyclopedia Britannica, is the
act and process of spending
time away from home in pursuit
of recreation, relaxation, and
HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY