The music is fast and relentless, it is loud and distorted and the rhythms are distinctly tribal. Through this mix comes an unfamiliar sound, highly amplified, demanding attention and singing. Reactions to Congotronics by the Kinshasa band, Konono no.1, are strong and immediate. This is by no means a “Best of Africa…” compilation; it is the sound of a band that has continued to create music throughout the troubled history of their country. Konono no.1 have been together for over 25 years, they have moved and played around their home country of Congo, and eventually settled in the suburbs of its capital city Kinshasa. Having no access to the kind of limitless excess of the western music industry, it was a case of creating new ways of achieving their sound. Car magnets joined with old copper wire became pick-ups for instruments traditionally acoustic. Walls of speakers were erected and the volume turned up.

The resulting sound is nothing short of hypnotic and the nucleus of the music, the band, are as tight as they have ever been, playing with the depth you’d expect of generations of experience. It is odd to encounter Konono no.1 so far down the road on their musical travels; we in the west have a tendency to think that the first time something new is brought to our attention is the first time it has existed with any importance. We view ourselves as a separate entity of the developing world, as a collective of individuals who deserve to get everything they want if they work hard enough. This has resulted in a complete lack of interest in the affairs of countries or continents we feel are beneath us. It is no surprise then that a band such as Konono no.1 could spend many years honing their talents and crafting their sound before being “found” by well-meaning Western record labels.

Where will this lack of interest and the resulting lack of understanding stem from? Is there more we could do to understand the political situations that give rise to conflicts, not just in Africa but also in the rest of the world?

We are all too aware of the plight of the African continent. Since the de-regulation of commercial television during the Reagan-Thatcher era, and the rise of Cable TV, channels have been battling for viewers and ratings have become all important. This has resulted in stations racing to entertain the viewers, and this has meant coverage of African events has become limited to War and Disaster. Our image of Africa as a continent in need of saving is the result of never being shown any different.

Charity fundraising adverts are constant reminders of struggles that are beyond comprehension for the comfortable western man. Donations are made out of a sense of duty rather than understanding or empathy. We give millions of pounds to charities at work all over Africa, though many of us never enquire as to where on this vast continent our money is being spent or if it is even being spent there at all. We know not what their long-term goals are, and we fail to question their motives for being there. This is a comfortable situation for many of us, we can give the money then we can forget about it, safe in the knowledge that we are helping in some way. Fundraising for causes in Africa, raises millions of pounds every year, and no doubt provides vital resources for many countries in Africa unable to rely on the state, but is it wrong to give out of duty and guilt? Shouldn’t the fact that we give be enough?

There is nothing wrong with the donations we make to the many charities at work in Africa, what needs addressing is the resulting sense of self-importance and the growing idea that Africa is a place in need of saving and that we in the West are the only ones who can do it. This sentiment was reflected in the Live8 global concerts of 2005.

Last year, on 2ndJuly, 10 concerts were held in Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Africa, America and Great Britain were organised by Bob Geldof, with the aim of making poverty history. It was a great feat, much like the launching of the Titanic, a spectacle of achievement for Sir Bob, that he was able to get so many rock-stars together. Their aim was to raise awareness of the plight of Africa and bring it to the attention of the G8 summit, which was being held that week in Scotland.

Three billion people watched the largest concert ever organised and about £250 million was raised; however the party for Africa was missing something, Africans. At first we assumed that Bob Geldof, having permanently just got out of bed, must have forgotten to send those invites to all the African musicians he knew. Maybe he had sent the invites but they hadn’t arrived in time, maybe the Africans had got the date wrong. But sadly this was not the case. Youss’n D’or was the only African act to play at Live8, in fact rather than put more African artists on the bills of the various concerts being held, Sir Bob an his team decided that it would do if they just flew Youss’n D’or to three different gigs! A few people noticed this absence of Africans at a party for Africans and protested. As the pressure mounted, the organisers, fearing a fate worse than death, to be labelled racist, put on a small concert at the Eden Project, Cornwall, featuring 100% African acts. This could have been taken in two ways, the believers may say, “Bob Geldof is doing more for Africa than any other celebrity, and giving African artists their own concert was a gesture of his continual good will.”

Whereas the sceptics say “Bob Geldof, having hit the male menopause decided not to buy a motorbike but to save Africa”-I am a sceptic. Rather than bring more African musicians into the existing line-ups, the organisers went to the extra trouble of arranging an entirely new concert. Why did they go to all this trouble? What would be the problem with adding a few names to the bill? The problem was that by adding African acts to line-ups that included Elton john, Joss Stone and the Scissor Sisters we could potentially be confronted with a side of African culture that “the organisers” must have felt we were not yet ready to face. We would have seen strong, independent representatives of Africa, accomplished musicians and exhilarating performers that would be a complete contrast to the image of the Africa we were trying to save- that image was children. Hungry, swollen bellied African children. These are people we could save, they needed our help and it was obvious. To re-iterate this message, someone at Live8 headquarters thought it would be the most delightfully splendid thing to book the African Children’s Choir. Marvellous.

Live8 was a poignant reflection of the attitudes we have towards Africa, and its culture. Raising awareness for African causes did not necessarily need to involve Africans. We did not want reality; we wanted to feel good about ourselves. Of course the official explanation was that the organisers wanted to attract the largest number of viewers and the absolute maximum publicity possible. To do this they said they only wanted artists who had sales in the millions. Was this true? Would we have turned off and tuned out had more African acts been involved?

For along time it has been the case of treating the symptoms and not the cause when dealing with crisis in Africa. We understand that famine and war ravages countries which are already in extreme poverty, but we have know idea as to how those countries got that way, or what part, if any we have played in their downfall? The role of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) has had a great deal to do with the sustained state of poverty that many Africa countries find themselves in.

“In the 1980s, as market prices for export commodities slumped and international interest rates skyrocketed, many African countries found themselves in economic crisis, unable to repay mounting foreign debts. In desperate need of new loans to pay off these debts, they turned to the World Bank and IMF, who were very willing to lend them money, as long as they instituted certain economic policy changes in return. These changes, called "structural adjustment programs,” adjusted the economies of borrower countries to suit the interests of the wealthiest players in the global economy. African countries, in need of these loans, had no choice but to accept the conditions attached. Over the past three decades, Africa's debt crisis has worsened, and the failure of World Bank and IMF economic policies has left African countries more dependent than ever on new loans. The World Bank and IMF, now major creditors to African governments, have gained huge control over the running of African economies.”*

* Taken from AfricaAction.org

The call from Sir Geldof and his disciples to “drop the debt” was met by the G8 summit, which in turn put pressure on the World Bank to drop $37 Billion from 17 of the poorest African nations. However there are still 20+ nations with collective debts of over $500 Billion. Is it a lack of faith that makes one say that only an act of God will be enough for the World Bank and IMF to drop all the debt owed by Africa? The foundations of our whole economy are Capitalistic. We encourage the survival of the fittest and reward those ruthless enough to get to the top with absolute power and luxury. It would take a drastic re-assessment of our place in the world and of our relationships with the other people in it for us to alter our way of life, perhaps accept less luxury so that other people could benefit. It goes against the very nature of our economy and flies in the face of our western competitiveness. Would we take less so that others could have more?

A good example is found in the diamond trade. These symbols of status for the rich and glamorous all over the world are often at the heart of bloody and brutal conflicts in many parts of Africa.

“According to U.S. State Department sources and independent experts, smuggled and illicit conflict diamonds may amount to as much as ten to fifteen percent of the $50 billion worth of diamond jewellery sold internationally every year. The United States accounts for sixty-five (65) percent of world diamond jewellery sales, which likely includes a significant portion of those conflict diamonds on the market. Thus, American purchases of diamonds provide substantial resources to insurgent forces which mine and/or steal rough stones, providing enormous profits to the diamond industry that export, cut, and sell these conflict diamonds.”

*Taken from Africa Action.org

It is a sad reality that the symbols and trophies of our wealth could have such bloody beginnings. However, mounting pressure from many human rights organisations has prompted many large international diamond traders such as De Beers, The Diamond High Council and The Israeli Diamond Exchange to threaten to ban any member who knowingly trades in diamonds obtained from rebel movements in Africa. This is a great start; it proves that enough pressure can make a change on a huge scale. If only we were told this more often.

And that is often the case when we are presented with news from the African continent. We are shown a scarred continent, racked by seemingly endless wars and disasters. We are shown families living in conditions that seem to exist only in the world of the News. We are not shown in any way, something that could give us a feeling of common ground with the African man and his family. We are given no opportunity to develop a mutual respect. There is no movement to foster a growth of understanding that will lead us from seeing Africa as an extreme of cases to seeing Africa as a deep well of culture with as much to teach us as we have them. It will only be when we drop our Knight in shining armour complex towards Africa, and decide to engage with Africa as equals with much to trade and learn from each other that we will see the African continent make giant leaps towards peace and stabilisation. The sense of having control of our own destinies is one of the fundamental human traits that allow us to develop opinions, will, and systems of governance that encourage growth. We must allow Africa to restore its control over its own destiny, for with that sense of control comes something all the more powerful, Pride.