Introduction to Water and Food - The complexity of Africa
Water and food - two inextricably linked concepts which arguably define human existence. Unfortunately, when seating these two notions within the continent of Africa, generalisation and stereotypes typically bound the discussions. After reading the article by Wainaina (one must not ignore how satirical the piece is, and one may suggest that academic writing regarding African cultures and experiences has improved within the last 15 years, although a lot of work must continue to be done) I became aware of and confronted subconscious thoughts regarding my personal approach to writing about African countries and the attitude taken by other writers. Wainaina suggests how mainstream, Western media has perpetually fed readers a generalised meaning to African life, grouping countries together and a continuously reinforcing the theme of how the West urgently needs to help the African continent. This is particularly apparent within the discourse of water and food, so I will be cautious not...