‘African values’ in question
Challenges to the claim that homosexuality is contrary to African values, saying ‘No to xenophobia’, dismissing the prejudices of an American journalist, and calls for the continent’s musicians to be fairly remunerated for the commercial use of their intellectual property are among the inspiring stories presented by Dibussi Tande in this week’s round-up of the African blogosphere.
Following the sentencing of two Malawian gay men to 14 years of hard labour, Dispatches from Africa challenges the claim that homosexuality is contrary to African cultural values:
‘The sentence I hear most often round here when I say I think this is barbaric? 'You just don't understand African values'.
‘My Rwandan informants share this discursive move with much of Africa. All the big names (Museveni, Mugabe, Muthariku...) and everyone else besides defend their bigotry in a particular way: homosexuality is foreign to the African way of life...
‘Defence by authenticity is a peculiarly African trope, it would appear. And a particularly resistant one: homophobia appears to be on the wane elsewhere, but not here. Across the world there are 76 countries in which people can be prosecuted because of their sexual orientation. Half of those countries – 38 out of the continent's 53 states – are in Africa...
‘The whole discourse of whether or not something is 'authentically African' get applied as and when the leaders of this continent find it convenient ...The homosexuality laws used to oppress today are (most often) statutes given to these states by their departing colonial powers. The family values so zealously defended by the Kings of Uganda and other such bigots are similarly identical to the puritanical morality of Les Péres Blancs. They are no more authentically African than I am. But they are not the subject of this criticism, because they serve the interests of those in power.
‘And with regards to homosexuality itself, the point could hardly be clearer: look behind the speeches and rallies in Uganda, and Malawi and elsewhere, and you will find American money.’
Sangonet republishes an article by Deborah Walter which asks South Africans to commemorate Africa Day by saying No to xenophobia:
‘Celebrated since 1963, Africa Day is a commemoration of African unity. In celebrating the continent's diversity and achievements, there is also a need to keep stressing that unity is the only way to continue developing and progress further, and this includes unity against all forms of xenophobic or gender violence. Perhaps it is fitting that much of this year's celebrations are taking on a football theme - after all, the only way to win is if all members of the team pull together...
‘Two years ago, many expressed outrage at lack of action despite signs and warnings, while for others the violence came as a complete surprise. But, nobody can ever again say they did not see it coming. Everyone knows that xenophobia is a problem, and for all the promises made two years ago, how much has changed?
‘So, as we celebrate this Africa Day and enjoy the afrobeat from Nigeria and soukos from Congo, dance Mozambican passada, and sample Ghanaian fufu or Moroccan couscous, remember that unity is more than celebrating.
‘Few migrate by choice, and there is a need to make migration safer, taking into account the particular vulnerabilities of women and girls. Whether it is saying no to human trafficking or raising our voices loudly to say "never again" against xenophobic violence, 67 years after the idea of African unity was first introduced, it's more than high time.’
This is Africa tells the story of how his proposal for a story on pre-election violence in Burundi was repeatedly rejected by American newspapers because it was not relevant to the lives of their readers:
‘To be fair: the budgetary concerns and limitations of American newspapers in 2010 is hardly news, and that alone would have been, in this reporter’s opinion, grounds for a polite rejection.
‘But the idea that a story has to translate into something that readers can feel to be “relevant to their lives”? Really? Haven’t Americans’ onanistic media-consumption habits gotten us into enough trouble already? Can’t a story have a certain merit even if – or precisely because – it doesn’t matter to American lives at all? Do we really need more stories about African rape victims selling hand-woven baskets in Nordstrom and Macy’s, thanks to the plucky American woman who started a foundation to heal the lives of the tragic lost African masses? Really?
‘Undeterred by my failures, unmoved by the calamitous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the ominous ash cloud still blowing its way across Europe, the audacious people of Burundi have decided to go ahead and hold an election anyway – a bunch, in fact, stretching from now until September. So for a few glorious days, the world will take notice of little plucky Burundi – unless the elections result in widespread violence, in which case we’ll pay attention for a few weeks.’
George Ngwane reviews the state of the creative industry in Cameroon 50 years after independence:
‘The creation of the Ministry of Culture a few decades ago was arguably a launching pad for a cultural renaissance in Cameroon. The Ministry still remains a gateway for artistic blossoming if only like most Culture Ministries in Africa, it resists the temptation of civil service bureaucracy, the foibles of patronage and the virus of centralisation...
‘The way forward is to celebrate individual artistic excellence as has been the case in the last fifty years but with added administrative value in the manner which Indomitable Lions have been idolised. Any art form that borders on the commodification of art, the bastardisation of artists and the propagation of an ululation culture is anathema. Art advocates and cultural militants in Cameroon in collaboration with their counterparts in other African linkages like Arterial Network would have to craft a bigger picture of intercultural dialogue, cultural tourism and the status of the artist which all underpin the cultural dimension of development...
‘We can in the next fifty years create a more vibrant creative industry and even postulate as a cultural capital if local companies take a corporate social responsibility in promoting arts, if administrative authorities at home and abroad disconnect cultural showcasing from mere folklore during national events and if Cameroonians start emulating the global trend of patriotically consuming their own art goods and cultural services.’
Texas in Africa comments on a recent New York Times op-ed piece by Nicholas Kristof in which he uses the example of a family in The Congo to argue that ‘if the poorest families spent as much money educating their children as they do on wine, cigarettes and prostitutes, their children’s prospects would be transformed’:
‘Kristof's latest column not only presents the case of one family in one village in one country as representative of the entire African continent, but also manages to condescend to the people he purports to "understand" by stereotyping every poor man on the continent as a lazy drunk ...while of course there are poor parents with misplaced priorities who neglect their children in Africa, there are also neglectful parents in Paris and Tokyo and Lima and Bangalore and Des Moines and Oslo and even the Upper West Side. I daresay there might even be a big-time columnist or two who has gotten drunk rather than seen to a child's pressing needs.’
Wronging the Rights joins in the criticism of Kristof by arguing that there is no context for his conclusions:
‘Kristof doesn't spend much time imagining why people might want to spend money on things like alcohol or tobacco - or cell phone credit, which he mysteriously places in the same category. He clearly assumes that they are luxury items that ought to be cut from the budget. However, I'm not sure that's reasonable. A cell phone might be a luxury here in New York, where residents have myriad other reliable communications systems to choose from. (USPS, land lines, FedEx, Interwebs...) But without knowing why the people he interviewed spend that much on credit each month, I can't begin to speculate about whether it should be considered a luxury, a necessity, or somewhere in between... And, finally: how is it acceptable to insist that poor people sacrifice the few small pleasures within their reach in order to comply with a random American journalist's view of what is Really Important? That kind of supercilious morality seems to me to be a particularly judgmental form of cruelty. Color me unimpressed.’
Following the controversy over Columbian star Shakira’s unauthorised reinterpretation of a song by the Cameroonian group Zangalewa which is now the official anthem of the 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem, Scribbles from the Den demonstrates that this is part of a long tradition of undermining the intellectual and artistic rights of African artists:
‘The issue here is first of all about the respect of intellectual property and the right to be acknowledged and credited for one’s work of art. And it is also about being compensated fairly for one’s labor. [As Dolly Parton unequivocally pointed out during her May 21 appearance on the Oprah Show, “Every time [Whitney Houston’s version of “I will always Love you”"> is played, I receive a check”. That is how it should be for all artists irrespective of where they come from.
‘For decades, African artists have had their works plagiarized by the West with little or no compensation or acknowledgement. The most memorable example of the theft of the intellectual rights of an African artist is that of Solomon Popoli Linda who in 1939 wrote the song "Mbube" and received 10 shillings (less than $US2) for his efforts. The song which later became the pop hit The Lion Sleeps Tonight was reinterpreted by dozens of American artists without Linda or his family receiving a dime. In fact he died penniless. In 1995, the Lion Sleeps Tonight earned an estimated $15 million dollars just for its use in the movie Lion King – a movie which has since grossed about 800 million USD worldwide. Linda's descendants sued Walt Disney for 1.5 million dollars with the full backing of the South African government. Disney settled for an undisclosed sum just as the trial was about to begin.
‘Back to those who believe that the Zangalewa should just enjoy their 15 minutes of fame and shut up, I would like to remind them that Waka Waka is not just any song; it is the official anthem of the FIFA World Cup, the world's most popular and lucrative sporting event. Not only do the Zangalewa deserve a check from Shakira and Sony each time the song is played, they are also entitled to royalties from all FIFA merchandise that will be tied to the song (video games, action figures, toys, ring tones, etc.).’
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* Dibussi Tande blogs at Scribbles from the Den.
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