I am very honoured to introduce and welcome my first guestblogger Angry African on the Loose this month of women’s celebration. He speaks his mind with passion and I hope you enjoy his post. For more go to Guestbloggers Bench. 
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written and posted with passion by Angry African
I am always amazed at how people from outside Africa look at Africa and always have an “oh shame” expression on their faces. They somehow feel sorry for the people of Africa. You know. How could you not? How could you not feel sorry for the people of Africa when all you see in the papers and on the charity cars are the faces of hungry children and suffering women. You can’t have a heart and not feel sorry for them. Or can you?Sorry is not the emotion we want you to feel when you look at us. And sorry is not the feeling you should have when you look at the women of Africa. They have given birth to Africa. The children of Africa. And they carry Africa on their backs. The same way they carry the children of
Africa on their backs. They carry Africa and the children while they work in the fields. While the toil in the sun. Getting the food ready for our people to eat. Don’t feel sorry for them. Celebrate them. They are the power in our arms. The speed in our footsteps. And hands that feed us.Let me tell you a story that plays out in Africa every single day. And then you can see why you should never feel sorry for the women of Africa.
Every single day you will find women selling fruit next to the road. Walk the dusty roads of Africa and there they are. Working from before the sun rises to after the sun sets. To sell their goods as people commute to work and when they come back. And they walk for miles to go and buy those fruits. To get ready to open the “doors” of their business in time to hit the commuters before they are all off to work. And they sit their day in and day out. Selling their fruits. Bananas. Apples. Oranges. Mangos. Whatever goes and grows in that region – and what they can find in the main markets. Come rain or sun. They sit their and sell their goods. And you want to feel sorry for them?
Don’t. Do not feel sorry for them. Think of Bill Gates when you see these women sitting there. Sitting there running their business. With a hundred competitors each side. Competing for the same small group of buyers.
Celebrate them because they run their businesses with competitors on both sides. And hardly any schooling. And no business training. And they support an extended family. And you want to feel sorry for them? What is there to be sorry about? These are strong women. Women with pride. Women with a business sense that Bill Gates could only dream of. They run a successful business with nothing but the sweat on the foreheads and strength of their souls. They don’t suffer. They don’t suffer fools.
No. Don’t feel sorry for them. They are the arms who cradles Africa. Feel sorry for the men of Africa. Feel sorry for the men of Africa because they don’t know what they are doing. Feel sorry for the men because they make the wars. And the women bury the dead. Feel sorry for the men who beat our women. And the women give birth to them. Feel sorry for the men who have no pride. And the women pick up the pieces behind them. Yes. The women of Africa clean up after the men. These men with no pride. These women of strength.
You know why the men of Africa are so weak? Because the women of Africa is so strong. The men see it in the eyes of the women. This strength. And they know they can never be that strong. And they do whatever they can to kill that light in their eyes. But you can’t. Not with African women. They are too strong. And that is what makes the men so weak and so scared.
Yes. We men treat the women of Africa like second-class citizens. We treat them like that because we know we can never be that strong. We can never be the backbone of Africa. We can never be the women of Africa. That is why we call her Mama Africa. She is our soul and she is our life. She gives us life and she keeps us safe. Viva Mama Africa. Long Live the Women of Africa.
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6 responses so far ↓
Raisa // March 27, 2008 at 7:28 am |
Great post! I admit, I feel sorry when I see those photos that they need our help but after reading this, it is enlightening how strong they are to live a life with dignity every day of their life. They should be admired! I have an African friend. She is really bright and so glee. She is very happy about who she is. She is someone that is very opposite to images shown in mags and others.
Ashley // March 31, 2008 at 5:08 am |
this is a beautiful piece. thanks for writing and sharing it.
Baikong // March 31, 2008 at 10:57 am |
Thanks Raisa and Ashley,
I also love this piece very much. It shows what we should know about women, not weak but empowered in their own way.
Netty Gritty // April 7, 2008 at 2:54 am |
i love africa and i always will. africa gave birth to me. africa raised me for five years.
i will never ever feel sorry for africa. africa is too beautiful. yes, there are problems, and conflicts. but where are they not????????
i am proud of the african woman part of me.
Baikong // April 7, 2008 at 1:40 pm |
its good to know you have become part of africa.
i want to visit Africa someday. problem is anywhere, it only varies in level and intensity.
February to February: Blogging History 101 « The Life of a not-so Princess // February 26, 2009 at 12:49 pm |
[...] March 2008 I wrote stories about the plight of women in Mindanao. Above my expectation, I was so happy to see my blog as one of the fastest growing blogs in wordpress. 15-minute of fame ain’t bad at all! I also introduced my first guestblogger, Angry African on the Loose. I just admire his passion to what he is fighting for. And I ask him to write for my blog about women empowerment. And he did an impressive work, the story about her African mother. [...]