The African connection

Somy Solomon, a Malayali who had made big news by starting a library in the African country of Tanzania, responds to PM’s ‘Somalia’ comment.

When you hear a mention of Africa, there is a certain perception that comes with it. The starving children of Somalia, hunger, calamity, and other such visuals undeservingly paint a sorry picture of the continent which is much more than what is seen in the mainstream media. “Thanks to colonialism they labelled Africa as a Dark Continent,” says Somy Solomon. Four years have passed since she settled down in the place. She had stepped into the African country of Tanzania after her marriage in 2012 and did something that would make the world take notice. Somy’s project of Kichangani Library, a social media driven initiative, made big news back then, and in the years that followed, got much appreciated and supported, nationally and internationally.

“Me me nini do,” she says in Tanzanian language Swahili and English. It means, “What to do.” The recent remark of Prime Minister Narendra Modi comparing people of Somalia and Kerala, had angered both the people in Kerala and Africa. Somy, a Malayali who has been breathing the air of Africa and working closely with the children there, has this to say: “Even now, only stereotyped news is coming up in mainstream media.”

“For instance, the mainstream media never discuss the art biennale going on Senegal. It doesn’t want to talk about the writers’ festival happening every year in Kampala Uganda. The media also failed to notice the amazing women entrepreneurs in World Economic Forum in Kigali Ruwanda. They just want to show the poverty porn. They don’t want to show the survival stories. They don’t want to show the rising face of Africa,” she fumes.

It’s all based on a racial outlook, she says. “When the Prime Minister compared Kerala, a state in India, with a country in Africa with wrong statistics, it became racial. Even the trolls in Malayalam ended up as racial abuse. There are pre-conceived notions about African countries. I want to say, Africa is the land of diverse culture and amazing nature. It is not all famine and poverty. It is neither war nor ethnic conflict. It is true that there is poverty, famine and war, but that is not what Africa is all about. A tumultuous history stained by colonial forces, is what destroyed African history.”

Doing her bit, Somy explains her journey with the library. “My friendship with my husband’s staff, who are from the village, led me to know about life in Kichangani. I started learning about them and tried to understand their issues. India has a good relation with East African coasts. But our contribution to the African society was very little. The East African coast has a very heavy Indian presence. I used to share my thoughts on what prevents us from the cultural exchange, and a friend asked — why don’t we start one?”

With the cooperation of Facebook friends, Somy and her team collected 7,000 books from all over the world. “Kichangani Library is not just a library. It is also a learning centre. When I met Saidi Juma Pasi (village chairman, Kichangani sara) for the first time to talk about the library, he happily offered space in the village office building. The village community too extended all support. There were two major issues — lack of access to education and of drinking water. After the new president Magufuli came to power, education became free. New leaders said no to European aid. They said ‘if you want to help, give us technology, not charity’.”

Now, team Kichangani Library is helping dropouts go back to school. There’s also Team Ubuntu, formed from the village community, getting trained to be librarians and teachers. “The basic hindrance is lack of financial assistance. We are still figuring out the solutions.”