Afrika. Framtidens Kontinent (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I bought this for £1.50 at a charity shop. I began reading immediately, because I was excited by the promise of 30 years experience travelling and covering Africa and a semblance of historic context for the countries I've heard about, but know almost nothing about. That said, there are a lot of things that I enjoyed about this book, but mostly, what really stands out to me, is that it could've been a much better book. It irks me that Dowden can't shake off his white liberalism. Sometimes, he can be quite offensive like the chapter about Somalia where he pretty much says that Somali are, by nature and culture, violent. Like they are to blame for the war raging in their country. After so many years covering Africa, he still falls into the Western mistake of failing to separate African culture from politics. Somalis aren't violent because they have poems about revenge, they are violent, because any war in anyone's country raging for many years will make people take some hard decisions to survive. And there are opportunists in every story. I don't know if it's me, the way he mentions that Africa is not just a continent of war and atrocity and then, in every chapter, goes on to innumerate massacres nonchalantly - somehow it just doesn't sit right with me. Why say callous stuff like, and I paraphrase - War is normal in Africa. It's how they resolve their problems?For all his mention of war and history, he never really mentions the real problems in Africa (which according to most of history explained by Dowden is mostly Africans killing Africans anyway); the real economic and sociological impact of colonialism in Africans and the continued relentless exploitation of the continent and its people. He does touch on things, but never points fingers, never names names. And what good is spending 30 years learning about Africa when you still don't acknowledge most of its back story? Good reference on recent sub-saharan African history. Although subject matter is initially a little depressing as you read about country after country that has been looted by its head of state. The book presents a convincing case that Western governments are doing more harm than good with aid, because the aid keeps the robbers in power and hungry to remain there. Also convincing on China's involvement.The last chapter is uplifting because it documents the rise of the honest middle class due to developing service base economy fuelled by access to technology and mobile communication infrastructure. Although, the politicians could easily stop all that with their incompetent/dishonest activities.
What do You think about Afrika. Framtidens Kontinent (2010)?
Fantastic book! A must read for anyone who wants to know more about Africa...
—Nikki
One of the best nonfiction books I've ever read.
—camila
