Maybe I haven't looked hard enough, but it distubs me that there is little African critique of this project by musician @akon to build a city in Senegal. forbes.com/sites/zackomal…
And funnily enough, the loudest voices in the US against the model of philanthropy, voices like @AnandWrites, seem silent.
I find it interesting that when progressives in the West talk of global solidarity, Africa seems to be missing from the "global."
We still have our voices
I find it interesting that when progressives in the West talk of global solidarity, Africa seems to be missing from the "global."
We still have our voices
Akon city is problematic on many levels.
1. Akon has made a ton of money from a country where most people have no access to medical care, where 1/4 of kids grow up in poverty. At the very least, he needs to question the system that makes him so rich amidst so much suffering.
1. Akon has made a ton of money from a country where most people have no access to medical care, where 1/4 of kids grow up in poverty. At the very least, he needs to question the system that makes him so rich amidst so much suffering.
2. The idea of a city driven by money, rather than democracy is problematic. Cities are the people, they grow organically from the synergies and histories and creativity of the people. What are the Senegale people where they live now? Why not be part of that?
3. Why doesn't Akon speak up against the global exploitation of Senegal and neighboring countries, so that Africans don't need a city dropped from the sky in the first place? What has he said when people get fired for criticizing French neocolonialism? cnn.com/2019/10/16/afr…
I encourage us to follow thr work of Anand Giridharadas in critiquing what is wrong with philanthropy by people who get rich while the 99% of the world is poor. As he says, win-win is a lie. Money doesn't make one more deserving than the rest of us.
Apologies for the typos.
