Posted on July 24, 2010 - by Kambale Musavuli

Rhodes University Breaks The Silence

Where do I start? Writing about this experience is quite a challenge. The number one place that topped all the schools I have visited is Saint Michael’s College in Vermont. I also enjoyed the wonderful students at the University of San Francisco, given that they actually have a class on Congo. I must also say that the students at Saint Lawrence brought tears to my eyes when they sang STAND UP to move the students on their campus to get engaged with Congo advocacy. Now, I have just been to a college campus in Africa and must add Rhodes University on the list of schools to remember.

Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa

Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, had invited Friends of the Congo to come share with the delegates at their annual journalism conference about how it uses digital media, commonly called New Media, to expose resource exploitation on the African continent. Who would have thought ten years ago that social media could become a tool for advocacy? In the past two years I have seen the effectiveness of using social networks to spread information about the situation in the Congo. With these new tools in the hands of indigenous people, we are all bearing witness to a new digital revolution where the common medium is now controlled by the people rather than the mainstream media. Due to this fact, I saw myself embark on a new journey to break the silence on the African continent.

So… what is this conference that I attended? The fifth annual Digital Citizen’s Indaba (DCI) [www.dcindaba.com], held on July 7th at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, drew together citizens, advocates, bloggers and activists from around the world to discuss how new media can revolutionize development work and give a voice to the unheard or silenced. This year’s theme, “Africa’s Underdevelopment: Digital Citizens Talk Back,” explored citizen media and the exploitation of natural resources, disasters, climate change and mega events. The DCI is a project of the Highway Africa Conference [www.highwayafrica.com], which took place on July 5th and 6th.

It was a long trip to get to the campus. A 20-hour flight from New York to Port Elizabeth, followed by a 2-hour drive to the town, made me appreciate more the scenery of rural areas. It has been so long since I’ve been to Africa. It was nice to get to see the land of our ancestors once again. I completely forgot that I was in a country that had a huge British influence. I was shocked to see the steering wheel on the “wrong” side of the car and surprised to see the car driving on the “wrong” side of the road. Then came the discussion with the student helpers, who came to pick us up from the airport, about which side of the road is right. My argument was irrefutable when I stated “driving on the right side of the road is the right way to do it!”

In Grahamstown, after getting checked in at the hotel, it was with a bit of sadness that I watched the music channel that only played American music for about four hours; when there were South African musicians that came on, their music sounded so Americans that I literally thought that Viacom owned the South African Broadcasting Channel (SABC). Was I in Africa? I came from so far to realize that there is a slow death of the African culture as Africa is embracing everything from the outside without keeping its culture. I hope to expand on this matter in a future post, but this experience was quite telling.

Grahamstown, South Africa

The following day, I met two other speakers as we had breakfast together. They were South Africans who gave me a piece of their mind about FIFA and other local issues in South Africa. They both came from Jo’burg. I appreciated their openness in allowing me to see that the issues that Americans face are not so different than the ones that South Africans are facing. The pursuit of happiness is a fundamental aspiration for every human being, but sometimes the greed of certain individuals interferes with the lives of millions and puts ordinary, hardworking people out in the streets. It was nice to make that connection with them and appreciate the fact they were willing to share their experience.

When I arrived on campus, I really appreciated the hospitality of the student workers and people around campus. I have worked on conferences and know how frustrating it can be. From a pompous speaker who wants his hot water in the bathtub to be a certain temperature in his hotel room, to the students who forgot to go pick up a speaker at the airport where he has been waiting for three hours – all of these issues can be very frustrating. But what I noticed from the logistical team of the conference is the patience and grace it had in dealing with all the issues at hand and the hospitality which has been unmatched during my stay in South Africa.

After participating in a few workshops that day, I returned to my room to prepare for the presentation I had to give the next day. I was asked to give a keynote speech since the person who had been supposed to do it had had a death in the family and could not join us at the conference. I had lots of ideas of how I should be speaking to the delegates about the topic at hand and Congo. I am always keen on making sure that people understand the historical context of issues in order to know what to do in changing the present. But this challenge was greater: how to contextualize Africa from a digital media perspective and make the Congo the emblematic example of what happens in every African country. I was set for a long night with no sleep. But… the all-nighter paid off.

Delivering the keynote speech at the DCI conference for Highway Africa

The next day, I had 15 minute to make my case that the underdevelopment of Africa has its causes, but with tools at hand today we can address the many complex issues Africans face through technology. As I started my presentation, I was so happy to see so many young people in the audience. I have always been enthusiastic about the future of Africa when I see a lot of young Africans discussing African issues or even engaging in solving them. This event revitalized my resolve for a new Africa. By the end of the presentation, I made the critical point that Congo was a very important country for the future of Africa and therefore there is no greater issue today in Africa than the situation in the Congo, and it requires the participation of all.

The presentation was received well and I was added on a panel discussion on resource exploitation in Africa. This panel was quite interesting because at the end, a gentleman, if I should call him that, who I later found out works for a mining company, dismissed claims of the wrongdoing of a Canadian mining company by stating that they are doing a lot of great things. I will expand on this in a separate blog post. After that incident, I understood that what we do is so very sensitive and is being watched by all the forces against the Congo that I now have to be a bit wiser about how to bring truth to the people. I really am thankful that an employee of a mining company took the time to be disruptive at an event, thus exposing the true nature of what the companies are doing in Congo and now giving me more motivation to write about the actions on that one company in Congo so the world can see how the Congolese continue to be exploited.

Archbishop Tutu after giving the closing speech at the Highway Africa

After the workshop, I continued to attend the different workshops and later that evening, Archbishop Desmond Tutu gave a closing speech of the 4-day conference. His sense of humor is unique. He truly spoke to the heart of people. He reminded all of us how tough it was to fight apartheid by letting us know that not everyone supported their effort and some actually were OK with apartheid. He concluded his speech by telling us “Remember where you come from!” I really understood that as I have seen the many challenges that almost made me forget who I was – because when all is said and done, the only thing that is left in you is who you are. Who you are is defined by where you’re from. With no roots, a tree can’t grow! Strong roots will forever hold the tree through any turmoil.

Thank you, Archbishop Tutu, for a remarkable speech, and a very special thank you to Elvira, Jane, and Hailey (Digital Citizen Indaba’s coordinators) at Rhodes University and all the beautiful students there who demonstrated excellent professionalism!