Proud to be African

Dear Editor

I get ridiculously annoyed, yet amused by the narrow-minded and condescending attitude most people in the Western world have about Africa. Their perception is skewed by non-objective history books and media reports. They equate the value of the African people to civil wars, diseases, hunger, wild animals, mud huts and "backward" living, and AIDS, but sometimes fail to acknowledge their own faults. To break some of these misconceptions, let me tell you: I come from an Africa you're not used to hearing about; an Africa with contemporary sky-scrapers, million-dollar mansions, tarred roads; an Africa where luxury cars and domestic workers are the norm - all of these, indulgences of the so-called "First World" nations.

But why on earth should I evaluate my worth as an African by Euro-centric standards?

Trapped in the claws of a dilemma, I often wonder how "they" can define something so complex. I'm African by birth and I appreciate my heritage with the utmost pride and unwavering sentiment. I come from an ancient land of Kings and Queens, and born of a people whose beauty and essence will never truly be defined by magazine covers and supermodels. My home is a wide expanse of space, with snow-capped mountains, luscious green forest, undulating sand dunes and thundering waterfalls. I am a descendant of a people that discovered chemistry; a people who built granite temples that glistened under the rays of the beautiful African summer sunset. I hail from a land where bedtime stories are not read from commercialized children's books, but are told by grandmothers sitting in the dim darkness before flickering flames, as the sound of nature haunts the night. I come from a land where the spirit of music beats like a drum – powerful and strong; a place where every melody tells a story and every story teaches a moral; a place where every name has a meaning. In my heart is an indivisible tie to a land where life is nothing without love and love means nothing without God.

I have always believed my African ethnicity to be a great privilege. Being African is not defined by race, religion, gender, geography or politics, but by ideologies rich in morals, ethics and culture. In essence, being African is a state of mind - the ability to exude nobility, purity and strength. Africa is a land of endless beauty and resources, and blessed with a beautiful people.

OOOOh AFRICA! MY BELOVED AFRICA!

Kufakunesu Mawira
Hwange