Much of the inhabitants of Africa south of the Sahara experience a mostly undiagnosed, but overwhelming sense of mental displacement. The existing state of diminished self-awareness among Africans can be traced to historical antecedents such as the unchecked looting of the continent’s artifacts during the colonial era. Africa’s living memory and chronology of achievements live scattered in numerous museums and private collections in Europe and North America. George Clooney speaking of the effect of such experience on any society notes that, “you can wipe out an entire generation, you can burn their homes to the ground, and somehow they will still find their way back. But if you destroy their history, if you destroy their achievements then it is as if they never existed.” Mr. Clooney made the statement in his 2014 movie The Monuments Men, where he had to put his life and that of six of America’s best museum directors, art historians and curators on the line for the protection and recovery of European artworks from the Axis forces during World War II. Africa’s past and present are often portrayed to depict darkness and deprivation. This is partly due to the absence of in-depth studies on African history conducted using the continent’s ago-old artifacts. Regius professor of History at Oxford University speaking in 1965 declared Africa’s history as nothing but “the unrewarding gyrations of barbarous tribes in picturesque but irrelevant corners of the globe.” The portrayal of Africa’s past as emptiness has been linked to the low level of creativity and innovation, and the dearth of motivation to transform the continent based on authentic African experiences, which several Africans display
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 16:16:43 +0000