Sunday, October 14, 2012

Misconceptions (part 1)- I'm sorry Africa




Since I arrived in Africa over a week ago, I have dealt with this issue quite a lot. 

I have come to realize that we so often draw conclusions based on huge misconceptions. It's actually really sad the way we can see a small piece of the picture and assume we know the whole story. 

I for one know I am guilty of this. 

Just for example, for my whole life I thought (please don't laugh at me) that Africa was so so poor that there was nothing nice there. I thought that only South Africa had "some" good things. But the rest of the country, I was sure had only dirt roads, and people walked or drove the worst cars in the world. And that there would be lions and giraffes all in the middle of the streets, and many other things. But it wasn't because I imagined all of these things, or wanted to judge the country wrong. It's because of what I've always seen in the media. 

They paint a picture that everyone in Africa is starving and dying and that there is nothing good there. But that is a bunch of garbage. I saw many beautiful things and places in just three countries so far. And by the way Windhoek and Gaborone in Namibia and Botswana had roads that were more organized and clean and neat that many American roads. 




Take a look. This is Namibia behind me. Does it look horrible?


Again, does this look horrible?



Here is the city center of Maputo, Mozambique. Are these dirt roads?


So the point is, that it was a total misconception. Of course there are some people struggling and hungry, but that is not the majority in some countries of Africa. 

So what is the main point of this... 

That I will tell you in the next post. Just know that it will be worth reading.

For now, I would just like to say sorry to all the African people and to the country itself for judging wrongly. 







Equívocos (parte 1) - Me desculpe, África

Desde que eu cheguei na África, há mais de uma semana, eu lidei muito com essa questão.

Eu percebi que nós muitas vezes concluímos coisas baseados em conceitos muito errados. Na verdade é muito triste como muitas vezes vemos uma pequena parte da figura e a partir dela assumimos que sabemos de toda a história.

Eu, particularmente, sei que sou culpado nesse ponto.

Só um exemplo, por toda a minha vida eu pensei (por favor, não ria de mim) que a África fosse tão, mas tão pobre que não existisse nada de legal lá. Eu pensava que somente a África do Sul tivesse "algumas" coisas boas. Mas o resto do território, eu tinha certeza de que só tinha vias sujas, e de que as pessoas andavam a pé ou dirigiam os piores carros do mundo. E de que haveria leões e girafas no meio das ruas, e muitas outras coisas. Mas isso não acontecia porque eu queria imaginar essas coisas ou porque eu queria julgar o continente de forma errada. Isso acontecia por causa do que eu sempre via na mídia.

Eles pintam uma figura de que todo mundo na África está passando fome e morrendo e de que não há nada de bom lá. Mas isso é tudo porcaria. Eu vi muitas coisas e lugares bonitos, e até agora só estive em três países. Falando nisso, Windhoek e Gaborone na Namíbia e em Botswana têm rodovias mais organizadas e limpas do que muitas rodovias americanas.

- Dê uma olhada. Essa é Namíbia atrás de mim. Isso parece horrível?
- De novo, isso parece horrível?
- Este é o centro da cidade de Maputo, Moçambique. Essas vias estão sujas?


O ponto a que quero chegar é que tudo foi um grande equívoco. Claro que existem algumas pessoas lutando e famintas, mas isso não acontece com a maioria em alguns países da África.

Então qual é o objetivo principal disso...

Eu vou dizer no próximo post. Saiba apenas que vai valer a pena ler.

Por enquanto eu gostaria apenas de pedir desculpas para todos os africanos e para o continente todo por julgar erroneamente.












4 comments:

  1. I totally agree with this Pastor. I'm facing the same thing because everytime people ask me where i was born and i tell them but than they dont believe because they have misconception about that specific town. People think that every one in that town looks dirty and miserable and that there is nothing good in that specific town, which is not true at all. i am glad some one got the courage to tackle this issue so openly, so that people can start opening their minds and stop judging others based on what they see through the media and what they have heard

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  2. Wow I didn't know it looked like that, its definitely the media with world hunger, but I think this can be applied to having the misconception of people, wat they hear or see about people. Like stereotypes. Rey ypg houston, tx

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  3. What can i say. We sure do have a beautiful country indeed. Big Ups to Namibia.

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  4. A lesson I have learned, we cant live our life's based on what people or what the media say's, we should first do it or be present in a certain place than we can make our conclusion.

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