"We have all these preconceived ideas of a kid in Africa...dudes in their African cloths singing under a tree with a stick, you know, and it's not like that. It's way more progressive. It's way more progressive than music in the West."
MIA’s comment really struck home the past couple of weeks. My ignorance realization came through the most trivial sources of all: Hollywood. Being a couple of years late, recently I rented Blood Diamond and Hotel Rwanda. I feel ashamed that I was so unaware of the critical situations surrounding diamonds and the cruel genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda.Its hard to digest the girl’s obsession with diamonds only promotes mutilation, torture, rape, boy soldier’s recruitment and most important finances the civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands. Next time you crave a diamond, ask yourself if this supports these atrocities and then do your homework and look for conflict free diamonds, you’ll feel better about yourself.
In 1994, while worrying about mindless stuff like the amount of mousse my hair hold and getting caught with my fake ID in bars and clubs, the Hutus rebels persecuted the Tutsis, mostly because they were favored by the Belgian colonists. Why feel ashamed all of the sudden? Because as a puertorrican I can’t deny my African roots (yes, we are snobs and believe we are Europeans) and feel proud that my best assets, my hips, wide lips and strong legs come from the slaves who worked the cane fields.
Africa is more progressive and more urban than I thought. Behind were the days when I thought that Africa was a vast savannah of lions, elephants and giraffes. Yes, is still violent (Darfur, anyone?) but my new knowledge has help me recognize my ignorance. Africa continues to try and move forward to compete with the rest of the world, and they need our help.
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