TEDxTerryTalks - Iris Amuto - 10/03/09
Africa where Millions emerged some 4 million years ago from where some hundred years ago Homo sapiens spread all over the World Africa the mother of us all good morning or good afternoon yes the reason why I'm giving you this talk today is partly because of this book Africa ordinary States altered I mean sorry Altered States ordinary Miracles by Richard daon when I first came across it I was like okay here's another European man talking about Africa's problems and what needs to be fixed HIV AIDS poverty hunger the list is endless but to my surprise this is not the case D talks about things we are not exposed of every day Africa's Humanity its Rich culture and its Traditions as a community I feel it is time for us to know the vibrant color colorful inspiring side of Africa so in London New York Paris you know Africans do not lose the habit of catching your eye as you walk past they stop raise an eyebrow in greeting and and a flicker of a smile starts in their eyes a small thing no it is the prize that Africa offers to the world Humanity in Africa the very Essentials of existence light earth water food family love sickness death are more immediate more intense we have lost human values that are still abound in Africa we rely on this to tell you what Africa is all about but but this is just a fraction to the whole picture to the realities of Africa I want us to see more of this the color the inspiration the laughter the the children everything you'll tell me that it's the journalist to blame they say look at the pictures for proof the media's defense is that it feeds on the wars and the disasters not all Africans are fighting or starving right I repeat that not all Africans are fighting or Starving in fact Millions have never known hunger or War the ordinary gets ignored in Africa as it does in Asia or South America normality is nice but does it sell newspapers no the problem is not ignorance but the preconceived ideas that people have of the cont continent Tony Blair once called it the scar on the conscience of the world Africa is not a scar but a beauty mark on this planet okay so I want to share a crazy story with you in my first year here at UBC um I attended a fraternity party and I got there with some friends and I had noticed that I was the only African girl okay it's fine so um this handsome young man he was strikingly beautiful um he walked up to me and he was like hey are you all right he was American your skin color is very exotic yeah had noticed that my skin color was exotic thank you thank you thanks so where you from oh oh I'm Kenyan Kenya wow you have brilliant marathon runners there that handsome strikingly beautiful man identified me in my country to that in my mind I was laughing uncontrollably but in my heart I was annoyed and and I was so disappointed I had realized that as a community we need to be more exposed very much exposed the man blew his chance I feel that we should include more African books by African writers in our University education there are some courses here that offer that this is when we truly know African African culture and tradition through their eyes through their thoughts and through their words literature is a medium of communication that we can use to explore the unknown so last year I was part of Africa awareness initiative I was the VP external and um as a student club we organized the social and cultural events and as well as the educational events so it opened up a medium for students to come and create dialogue about the African continent so in Africa you are yet to find an African Community that does not celebrate with music give me a second okay okay take Ethiopia one of the oldest countries in the world or the Republic of South Africa famous for its rhythmic dance and song or Kenya my home country known for its tea and the messai tribe so music in Africa is as natural as breathing no sound or beat is entirely the same like the diversity of music there's also the diversity in customs these Customs not REM remain with remain beyond the boundaries of the continent a majority of people of African descent living outside the continent still make it an effort to connect whether it's practicing common culture or sharing beliefs I remember this past summer I went back home um I hadn't been home for about a year and I saw my mom in the airport and I ran and I gave her a hug I was like oh mom I've missed you so much and you know she gave me a hug and everything and I noticed from the corner of my eye she just gave a nudge to my aunt and she's like someone's clearly come back with a foreign accent so she she thought that I'd lost the Kenyon what makes me Kenyon but it was very much in me so what's behind the name in southern Africa the name bongani means be grateful in Zulu in Kenya the name AO means one who is born at night or Chiang born when the Sun rises the name is derived from belu Chiang meaning son in Nigeria the name akuchi means wealth from God and in Ghana the names Koo and AA mean one who is born on a Monday let's not forget Barack meaning blessing in Arabic naming is like a commissioning into the world where your parents bless you and express hope for the future of your legacy apparently our Chinese friends are the same a close friend of mine from Singapore told me that her father's name hong King g means conqueror of the Universe I mean Africa daon calls it the most the most diverse zone of planet Earth it is not just the animals so many of them from the rainless deserts of Namibia the diminishing Snows of Kilimanjaro to the forests of the Congo Basin so what am I trying to say you cannot fully grasp the fullness of Africa's Humanity the richness of its culture and its diversities until you have experienced it follow yourself in the midst of it and just breathe it in as a UB as UBC in a community I feel it is time to include and involve Africa in the creation of Global Citizens okay so I'm more a politician than I am a poet but I thought I would end with a piece I had scribbled down when I was planning this talk Africa Africa come closer let me look at you they do not see you the way I see you from The Plains of the vast savanas to the tropical forest I see you let them look at you turn around and around let them see you H the dress you wear is full of complexities but tell them to explore your Mysteries don't cry you are not the Dark Continent a Heart of Darkness a place of horrific savagery you are not inhuman you are not one big country tell them you are not a scar on the conscience of the world you are so much more you are my mother see her Africa the motherland thank you w