The one astounding characteristic of the western media is that they portray crime and corruption in Africa as evidence that Africans are unable to manage modern democratic states. At the same time they portray similar incidents in their own countries as opportunities for social transformation and change.
Take, for example, the recent parliamentary expenses scandal in the United Kingdom. Such a case, if it happened in any African country, would reinforce negative stereotypes and media reports would give the impression of a continent on the edge of collapse.
Such reporting usually comes under bleak headlines of the type we've seen in some recent western media, such as: Constant fear and mob rule in South Africa slum (New York Times); Kenya's decline and fall (The Independent); and Nation in disarray [Guinea-Bissau] holds few hopes for vote (New York Times again).
No one disputes the severity of the many challenges facing African countries, such as extreme poverty, civil unrest, crime, corruption etc. In fact, in many instances, our leaders are the first to concede the inability of their governments to win the war against poverty because of these and other challenges.
The question is: why is it that challenges in Africa are seen as pointing to the collapse of African states while incidents of a similar nature in the west are portrayed consistently as blessings in disguise, providing opportunities for rebirth and transformation?
Referring to several incidents of journalistic dishonesty among American journalists, British activist writer George Monbiot noted: "When they are faced with a choice between a fable which helps the Republicans [in government at the time the article was written, in 2005], and a reality which hurts them, they choose the fable."
"As their fantasies accumulate," Monbiot said, "the story they tell about the world veers further and further from reality. Anyone who tries to bring the people back down to earth is denounced as a traitor and a fantasist. And anyone who seeks to become president must first learn to live in fairyland."
It's worth noting that the New York Times article about "constant fear and mob rule" in South Africa was published eight days after the finals of a very successful 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup, hosted by South Africa. Although the contents of the article are generally beyond dispute, its timing and presentation cast a shadow over a crucial stage of South Africa's preparations for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Why does an esteemed publication such as the New York Times, having expressed concerns about South Africa's abilities to host the World Cup on previous occasions, publish as its first report on South Africa after the successful precursor to the World Cup an article that communicates fear and anarchy?
Much of the pessimism about South Africa's ability to host the World Cup is based on ignorance (as in Louise Taylor's article, "Why going to South Africa for the world cup terrifies me"). The pessimism can also be attributed to negative perceptions, prejudice and "“ most importantly "“ an alarmist interpretation of the crime situation in our country.
Not much is said about our country's proven track record in hosting major international events in conditions of safety. We have held, for example, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Rugby World Cup, the Cricket World Cup and several other major international events.
Recently, we have also held the India Premier League (which was moved from India, ironically, because of safety concerns), and the British and Irish Lions' tour of South Africa. And the conditions under which all these events took place can be described in a few words: safe, friendly, vibrant, rhythmic, colourful and uniquely South African.
We are yet to see a serious critic in the foreign press who is fair enough to point to the fact that Africans, in particular South Africans, are actually a compassionate people. Many people around the world still refer to South Africa's 1994 transition from apartheid to democracy as a miracle because they expected a civil war. Instead, they got the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and, ultimately, a united and prosperous rainbow nation.
Many people around the world thought a liberated South Africa would give to the world a terrible gift of another African civil war. Instead, our gift to the world is hope, personified in the life and times of our father, Nelson Mandela. And this hope is not just our gift to the world, but even to the many impoverished communities across the African continent, including South Africa itself.
Fortunately, for us, the pessimism we see in the foreign press is nothing new. We've been here before. The 2010 World Cup, therefore, gives us another opportunity to prove sceptics wrong. Will the World Cup also be called a miracle when we pull it off as successfully as we are confident we will? We'll wait for the verdicts.
In the meantime, as the important journalistic principle of fairness seems to elude many of those who predict doom ahead of the biggest soccer tournament in the world, to be staged for the first time on African soil, we see scare-mongering replacing balanced reporting. We also see otherwise reputable publications carrying poorly researched articles.
Veteran Australian journalist John Pilger could have been speaking for Africa when he said during a 2006 debate in New York: "If we journalists are ever to reclaim the honour of our craft, we need to understand, at least, the historic task that great power [of being a journalist] assigns us. This is to 'soften-up' the public for rapacious attack on countries that are no threat to us. We soften them up by de-humanising them."
We are not asking for a praise-singing media. We are asking for fairness. We want the media to show the other side of our country and continent. Is that too much to ask for?
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