Africa Rising?

Every few months, the world's finest newspapers and magazines seem to do an in-depth cover story on Africa and its prospects. Almost invariably, they reach one of two conclusions:  that Africa is rising and that we are entering an "African century" or that the continent's challenges remain so vast that any sense of progress on the surface is fleeting. Certainly, there are more nuanced versions (the Economist's special report, last year, is a good example) that take into account the diversity of the 50 nations of Africa and the internal tensions and contradictions that characterize African nations (and all nations!) 

I write this sitting in the comfortable departures area of the Ouagadougou Airport, awaiting a flight on a African airline to Cotonou. I booked this ticket several months ago online in the United States with my credit card through an international site (at the suggestion of my travel agent). I payed a very reasonable price. I arrived at the airport, presented my documents, my record was found, and I was quickly and efficiently checked in for the flight, one of about 20 departing Ouaga for 15 cities in Africa today. Immigration and security checks were quick and efficient. Although there are still horrific airport experiences to be had in Africa (my own experiences in Bangui, Bunia, Douala, and Lagos come immediately to mind, some with a bit of a shudder), this kind of connectivity would have been quite rare even 10 years ago. The world is indeed changing. 

On the edges of Ouaga stands the independent municipality of "Ouaga 2000," the new center of Burkinabé government. The legacy of the French remains strong, with the broad boulevards of the new city, dominated on either end by the "Presidence" buildings. New government ministries, many built in a distinctively west African style, line the boulevards. Embassies and the homes of the rich dot the landscape, many still under construction. A number of buildings stand half completed, including an enormous new mosque. Why? Because the resources for some of these buildings were coming from Qadaffi's Libya before his fall. The flow of Libyan resources into Burkina, which was significant, has now dried up. Yet the broader influence of the North African and Middle Eastern world remains strong, and is probably growing as the percentage of Muslims grows (largely due to demographic issues). France, the United States, and Canada, also have a palpable presence. 

Monument des Martyrs in Ouaga 2000 (from wikipedia.fr)

I visited yesterday a "center for development" attached to a local Pentecostal church. This center serves about 200 children from ages 3-16 every day, providing them with schooling, very basic food, and, perhaps most importantly, a sense of care and belonging. Many of these children are orphans, being cared for by relatives who lack the financial and/or emotional resources to properly care for these children. The stories of grinding poverty are sobering, as tales of lives truly without choices unfold. Public schooling is available in the neighborhood only on Thursday mornings, and that is if the teacher shows up. The only options for regular schooling are to travel to other parts of the city by foot or bicycle and pay school fees that are far beyond the reach of most of the residents of the neighborhood. 

Children at Development Center in Ouaga

How encouraging it is to see communities of believers, with few resources themselves, reaching out in whatever way they can. Although the students study under make-shift tin roofs hold up with tree branches, the make-shift walls are lovingly painted with biblical scenes, encouraging words, passages of scripture, and cartoon characters. I encounter this kind of holistic vision more and more as I travel in Africa, especially Francophone Africa. Yet the truly systemic issues of poverty seem a mighty wave flowing against a meager stream. 

At the same time, stories abound about the effectiveness and character of the mayor, under whose watch most major city thoroughfares have been well paved, with barriers dividing 3 lanes for pedestrians, bicycles, and lanes for car traffic. I heard numerous stories of all-season roads reaching remote parts of the bush that have never had roads before. Anyone who has set foot in Africa can see the value of this. Young, bright people cluster around the university, and I'm told that the "back-flow" of many Burkinabé educated abroad is growing. I met several of these people, educated in the United States or Europe, who have chosen to return and invest in their nation. 

"Moto" parking in Cotonou

Africa is undoubtedly changing. Is it for the better? It's impossible for me to say. Is it easier for a foreigner (or a relatively wealthy African) to travel in Africa today? Unquestionably. Are more commodities and better infrastructure available to wealthy urban Africans? Unquestionably. Are systemic issues that leave millions in grinding poverty being addressed? Are these infrastructural improvements allowing for true development at the community level, or merely facilitating the extraction of agricultural commodities? It is very hard to say, and I'm sure that the answer differs from country to country and even from community to community. 

But one thing that is clearly untrue is that Africa is static. Africa, as always, is moving, albeit with contradictions.