A Place called my Mind
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Are we part of the Eco-Tourist plan?
I was watching a documentary about the Equator. It was a British guy who is going around the world crossing the equator. So he starts his journey in Gabon Wes Africa. i don't know a lot about this place but as i watch this documentary it looks familiar like i have there before. The only thing that is different and shows me reality that i wasn't there is because they speak French. Gabon is going thru a lot, first of all the country is so poor that they are not able to grow there own foods, second they are running outta resources, and third the president seems to be making random decisions that is harming the people and their history.
So as I watched this guy trying to be sarcastic about how excited the people in the train were about crossing the Equator, i started thinking, why do this people go to Africa with there big cameras and shoot all this images of people and how they are living? is it because there are animals in Africa and we got be treated the same way (Like animals) ? the other thing that didn't make sense to me as i watched this documentary was that the president of Gabon, how dare he kick the villagers from there own place because of his plan of expansion national park in order to increase the number of tourists coming to Gabon. He also made it illegal for the villagers to hunt and gather their foods as they were doing for as long as they can remember. And instead of giving them a substitute like land so that they can grow there own food and domestic animals so that they don't have to hunt, he just leaves them hanging with nothing.
And as Africans who are creative and carry music to there hearts, they village chief decides to make the villagers dance and entertain every tourist that comes..........this is when i got upset and decided to write on my blog. The way they watched them dance with the paints on there faces, the traditional clothes that are made from animal skin and there instruments that were all hand made from animal remains........
Their pictures were taken as if they were animals and i bet most of the people with the big expensive cameras are going to make post cards out of the pictures they took.....SAD!
i wish i could go to Europe and take pictures of the white people and put it in a post card and see how many people buy this pictures and as they show it to their co-workers and friends say "oh..how cute"...as a matter of fact i want to go to Europe with my big fancy video camera and make a documentary of how the white people live in there natural habitat.....
So as I watched this guy trying to be sarcastic about how excited the people in the train were about crossing the Equator, i started thinking, why do this people go to Africa with there big cameras and shoot all this images of people and how they are living? is it because there are animals in Africa and we got be treated the same way (Like animals) ? the other thing that didn't make sense to me as i watched this documentary was that the president of Gabon, how dare he kick the villagers from there own place because of his plan of expansion national park in order to increase the number of tourists coming to Gabon. He also made it illegal for the villagers to hunt and gather their foods as they were doing for as long as they can remember. And instead of giving them a substitute like land so that they can grow there own food and domestic animals so that they don't have to hunt, he just leaves them hanging with nothing.
And as Africans who are creative and carry music to there hearts, they village chief decides to make the villagers dance and entertain every tourist that comes..........this is when i got upset and decided to write on my blog. The way they watched them dance with the paints on there faces, the traditional clothes that are made from animal skin and there instruments that were all hand made from animal remains........
Their pictures were taken as if they were animals and i bet most of the people with the big expensive cameras are going to make post cards out of the pictures they took.....SAD!
i wish i could go to Europe and take pictures of the white people and put it in a post card and see how many people buy this pictures and as they show it to their co-workers and friends say "oh..how cute"...as a matter of fact i want to go to Europe with my big fancy video camera and make a documentary of how the white people live in there natural habitat.....
posted by my thoughts at 10:44 AM
3 Comments:
I can understand your frustration. Gabon has joined the ranks of non-functioning African nations and it is disheartening to watch how the people suffer. Like you, I am always offended at the portrayal of Africans by white Westerners. They've never really stopped their colonial outlook on us as a people and a land. Their intentions are always exploitative and their methods insulting.
May be the whole continent will be used by others, for it be place to chill, place to invade, or place to dominate. The fact is, if we don't see ourselves as valuable then no one else would. Perhaps we should record a different vision that can restore hope.
I have watched the Decomuntary and it had pretty good informations, though he was making smirk comments but at the same time, lets not see it as total negative. Remember for every negative situation, we can find positive one. May be, we can synergise within our own continent....see what we have within Africa before we invest our economy esle where. For instance, the dude was emphasise how Gabon imported most of its food from Europe, perhaps those same food can be found in Africa and Gabon can buy from there.
I hope we can learn not to disclose our need to those who care less. Besides the point....well put Werda...
hey they are having meetings on uniting all of africa under one government...so don't despair. I believe we Africans will win ... if nothing else will add color to the world........lolz
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