Jill Rees: Welcome Press

There have been two pieces of news about Africa in the British newspapers this week. The first is a story about 6 Masai warriors who came to run in the London marathon. We have a belief here that all Africans are fantastic runners as they have to run away from the lions and tigers. I kid you not. The ‘Masai marathon runners’ story is ideal for the English, who already believe that all Africans are naked and barefoot and run around in the jungle with highly decorated spears (apologies if you actually live like that, no offense intended).

Africans in America and the UK report that white people are always asking them stupid questions, like, ‘Do you have to sleep in the trees to get away from the lions and tigers?’ and ‘How did you get to America?’ Africans reply in a variety of ways, saying things like ‘The lions are ok but the tigers in Africa are a problem sometimes’ or ‘I came by bus and it took months to cross the ocean’. When I came back people asked me where I managed to find food - in one of Abuja’s many fine restaurants of course. Anyway, I digress.

The main spokesman for the Masai warriors, a 24 year old named Isaya, seems to be some kind of young Bill Bryson, and wrote a diary of his stay for the Guardian Manchester. Apparently the Chief told them to come over, saying they would easily run the marathon as they were accustomed to running with the cattle. The aim of this exercise is to raise money to build a well. Apparently they share some kind of dam with the local wildlife, and the children often get eaten when they go to collect water. The obvious brilliance of this chief is striking, but the intelligence of this young man even more so. His first comment was that it is hard to get enough red meat in Europe. I keep telling my friends this, but they can’t get over the idea that Africans eat bashed maize from the Aid packages. He is singularly unimpressed with our cows, which are small and puny, and partially explain the small quantities of meat we eat. They were warned about the showers in the hotels, he says, being either too cold or too hot, which he found to be true. It impressed me that he decided to test this out.

The sparkling intelligence of so many young Africans is the thing which struck me most about Africa. Africans have the quality of being able to see things non-judgementally, so that they can understand different aspects of a question. They seem to be in touch with the essence of things, and especially with human nature. It is something to do with the essential humanity about African life, respect for the value of life. So often I have seen that polite smile touch the mouths of people in Africa, as they note the relative obliviousness of Europeans, who often seem to misread and misunderstand everything, and whose arrogance can prevent real knowledge. It is not wise, white people, to assume you know more than an African - the opposite may well be true. One guy asked a Nigerian on a chat site if there are computers in Africa. He asked this on email! The Nigerian mailed back that ‘No, we have no computers, I am communicating by means of traditional African magic’. The guy believed him!

Strange, says Isaya, how you look out of the window here and it appears to be good weather, but when you step outside it’s freezing. The sun is cold so far north. They ran the marathon in more or less traditional clothes, which helped raise money, but their running shoes were fabricated out of old car tyres (Yes, we have cars in Africa). Isaya reports that they were very comfortable to run in, and I can see a trend coming on. I hope the chief has patented the design.

Years ago a friend of mine made the first ever documentary film of the Masai, when they had not been in contact with westerners before. The film won the Cannes film festival and hundreds of fans descended on the Masai people, who quickly recognised the potential for money making. While keeping their own way of life, they have managed to exploit western interest to raise funds when needed. Even though they tend to ‘play the African’ a bit, Isaya was quite annoyed when they went to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, and everyone photographed him. I’m here to run a marathon, he said, I’m not a show. This brilliant young man intends to go to study community development in America, and I am sure he will do well.

Unfortunately the other big story, involving a woman, typified the other English view of Africans. As soon as I read the headline, I knew it was a Nigerian. Peace Sandberg smuggled a baby into the UK so she could continue to qualify for housing here, after her own child had been taken back to live with her ex-husband. She paid an advance of £200 when she bought the baby from a hospital. The stay in Nigeria lasted three months. She told her local council that the baby was hers, but was reported when they suspected it would be difficult to have a baby in such a short space of time. They longed to prosecute her for child trafficking, which holds extremely heavy sentences in the UK, but there is a catch. Trafficking means bringing a child in for prostitution or employment rackets. Bringing a child just to have a child with you doesn’t count as trafficking, but is straightforward fraud, and is apparently quite common among Nigerians living in London. Buying, taking, borrowing or otherwise using a child is considered completely abhorrent in the UK, a crime akin to cannibalism. The law is probably going to be reworded. Meanwhile, whoever the baby belongs to will probably never see it again, as it has been taken into care. The natural parent would have difficulty getting the baby back, having already sold it once.

Jungle runners wearing car-tyre sandals and crazed baby snatchers, such is life in Africa as represented this week by the English press. All I can say is, can you speak a bit of African for me? How come you speak English so well? Do you ride elephants to school? And do you live in trees?

1087 words

© Jill Rees

15 April 2008

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Tags: Africa, africans in america, masai warriors, Nigeria, Nigerian, stupid questions