i find it rather interesting that while living in such an exotic locale such is Togo, West Africa, there are some days when seeing mud huts, women with bowls on their heads, naked children running and playing, and old men sitting under mango trees just does not inspire me. it sounds rather cold and negative but it really doesn’t seem to jump out at me when i see something that someone else would call “exotic”. i’m a firm believer in Africa and would gladly jump on the bandwagon which claims that the dawn of the new era is the era of Africa. even here in Togo, i like to state the mantra, “i believe in Togo” much to the cynical displeasure of others who visit/work here. regardless of what i believe, i still am not rendered awe inspired by the things that i have experienced. i’ve had close encounters with elephants and cape buffloes, snakes and scorpions, riotous crowds and extreme poverty, yet i am not overwhelmed nor brought to my knees. i do believe in Africa, but not in a fad-like, get on the bandwagon type of belief. i believe that many people like to stand up for the cause of Africa since it is relatively popular. i constantly hear about large corporations, singers, actors, politicians and other noteworthys who promote their committment to the continent but seem to be unwilling to go the distance. i hear alot about Rwanda and the tradgedy of the genocide and how so many governments, politicians, actors, singers, writers, clergy, missionaries, etc are all ready to jump on the bandwagon yet forget that as they focus attention on one place in Africa, they neglect another.
i’m not trying to say that one place is not so much more important than another but it seems that there is quite an imbalance in how we pay attention to the problems that plague Africa. i happen to live in a place that does not get much press nor international attention, only when something goes wrong. sometimes i think that i should just let it go. maybe it is just easier for people to go to places like Rwanda, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda… places where they can speak English and just enjoy their visit. either way, i’m happy to be where i am. maybe the reason that not much inspires me here is because i feel like this is where i belong.