International misconceptions
about Africa and South Africa in particular
The media industry’s practice of consistently committing journalistic
misconduct is deeply troubling
Stes de Necker
I have met many people from all over the world and I’m still
meeting more people every day.
The one thing that has always fascinated me is that whenever
you tell someone you’re from South Africa, in so many cases their initial
response is, “Whaat..! Africa
...?”
Most western perception of South Africa and Africa in
general, is that of a continent ravaged by disease, savagery, animism,
pestilence, war, famine, despotism, primitivism, poverty, and ubiquitous images
of children, flies in their food and faces, their stomachs distended.
The life ways of approximately 700 million peoples in
fifty-four countries representing, for non-Africans, unimaginable
multicultural, poly-ethnic, poly-religious, multi-political, and mega-economic
groups are perpetually denigrated.
Western News Media employ a myriad of malicious practices
to dump negative news materials and information when reporting, communicating,
or disseminating anything concerning Africa.
These "universal" but powerfully subliminal
message units, beamed to global television audiences, connote something not
good, perennially problematic unworthiness, deplorability, black, foreboding,
loathing, sub humanity, etc.
Little is said about Africa's strategic importance to the
so called industrialized nations; her indispensability and relevance to world
development, global technology, and the wealth of nations, derived from
involuntary African largesse. Without
access to certain raw materials from Africa, Western industrial capacity would
wither much like raisins in the sun.
Western Media treat the African continent as a malignant
appendage rather than as an integral, systemic part of the earth and all its
natural functions in accordance with universal laws. Its indigenous populations
are depicted as without value. One needs surgical removal while the other
should quietly accept his biblical destiny: the curse of Ham.
Western Media moguls, who can find only the negative when
Africa is the subject, create Africa's world image almost entirely to serve
their capitalistic greed while simultaneously denigrating the continent's
global image. It is an image again that is put on Africa and more specific
South Africa by outsiders, primarily Europeans, whose abiding motivation is
profit.
Africa's negative and contrived image, promoted in the
Western Media, pervades the psyche, pre-empts behaviours, infers worthlessness,
disregards African humanity and hospitality and devalues the mind, while it
attenuates human spirituality and connectivity: key ingredients in equitable
planetary wealth sharing.
How do the media justify perpetrating disparities,
circumvention of objectivity, and sometimes questionable journalistic and
professional ethics in reporting critical newsworthy African events for
domestic and global consumption.
The media industry’s practice of consistently committing journalistic
misconduct is deeply troubling. Continual portrayals of Africa and in
particular South Africa, in a bad light only perpetuates ignorance in a world
much closer in proximity than ever before a media industry that thrives on the
negative.
In almost all areas, plants, animals, birds, people,
language, climate, minerals, South Africa remains the country with
the world's richest and largest diversities in these areas.
When one looks at Southern Africa, which include the areas Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana,
there is no other country in the world where you can, within an area of approximately
2.5 million. Km² find 18500 different plant species, 750 types of Butterflies,
336 mammal species, 800 different bird species, and more than 60 types of
minerals.
According to the international classification of the
world's six major floral kingdoms, South Africa's “fynbos” region, an area that
stretches from the Olifants River 250 km. Northwest of Cape Town to Port
Elizabeth on the east coast, is the smallest of the six regions. Although the
smallest, this region has 8500 different plant species of which 73% can be
found nowhere else in the world. Table Mountain alone has more
plant species than can be found in the whole of Britain. Compared
to South Africa's 750 Butterfly species, only 75 species can be found in
the whole of England. Compared to the total of 125 kinds of land animals
found in Western Europe, South Africa has no less than 240 different kinds of
mammals. No less than 29 different antelope species can be found in South
Africa.
Add to this, 11 different indigenous peoples, 3 million
Hectares natural reserves and a shoreline where already 65 types of the world’s
Whales and dolphins species have been spotted, then it is understandable why
many foreign visitors have expressed the view that South Africa has the
potential to become the economic wonder of the western world.
As for as gold and diamonds are concerned, South Africa
accounts for 80% of the world's gold production while the bulk of the world's
diamonds currently come from South Africa. More than 60 minerals are mined
in South Africa, while about 90% of the world's vanadium, 89% of the
platinum metal group, 84% of the chrome ore, 93% of manganese and 64% of the
gold reserves, are concentrated in South Africa. Coal provides 80% of the
country's energy needs while great progress has already been made in the area
of additional nuclear power and wind power. Sasol currently supply more
than 30% of the country's liquid petroleum needs while the agricultural sector
still succeeds to feed approx. 45 mill. people daily.
South Africa’s major metropoles, Cape Town, Port
Elizabeth/Utenhage, Durban/Pinetown, Johannesburg/Witwatersrand and Pretoria,
are major economic centres buzzing with activity that can compete favourably
with most Western centres in the world.
South Africa is the most advanced economy on the
African continent, and has already established itself as the gateway to the
rest of Africa for investors who want to invest in Africa.
Unfortunately there currently exists a culture that
embraces a variety of ills, most of which are aimed at the erosion of our
constitutional democracy and the maintenance of an unscrupulous and incompetent
group of politicians in their fortified palaces, wood-panelled offices and
luxury limousines.
Like any other country in the world, South Africa too has its fair share of problems. But nothing remotely as deleterious as portrayed by the world news media. South Africa can, and will, solve its own problems. Without the hypocritical help of the west.
Like any other country in the world, South Africa too has its fair share of problems. But nothing remotely as deleterious as portrayed by the world news media. South Africa can, and will, solve its own problems. Without the hypocritical help of the west.
Fortunately however, the vast majority of citizens of
this country are learning fast that political survival and economic prosperity cannot
be created by plundering accumulated reserves. Economic prosperity can only be
achieved by innovative thinking, sound economic principles, hard work and
strict personal earnings.
Cape Town
Port Elizabeth
Durban
Johannesburg
Pretoria
