Africa

I am in Africa. Egypt is an African country located geographically in the north-eastern corner of the African continent, and I am located in the African city of Cairo. Does this sentence sound strange to anyone else but me? The truth is, we don't associate Egypt with Africa. When we think of the ancient pharaohs and Egyptian civilization, we don't think of Africa. When we think of the current Arab Republic of Egypt, whose citizens speak Arabic and practice Islam or Coptic Christianity, and whose government plays a crucial role in peace or war in the Middle East, we don't think of Africa. When you think of Egypt, whether or not you think of Cleopatra or the Suez Canal Crisis, chances are, you aren't singing Toto's Africa. Without thought to the political or historical significance, the average American has separated Northern Africa from sub-saharan Africa. Maybe its because their image of an Egyptian isn't the "Black African" that they associate with Africa, or maybe because they assume that the "dark continent" could not have contained the superiority and sophistication which was the ancient Egyptian civilization. Part of me hates this chasm between the idea of "Africa" and the continent itself. Why shouldn't the diversity and various cultures of Northern Africa, including Egypt, be a part of our general image of Africa? In the US, if used without context, the word Africa conjures up three primary images: poverty, starvation and the "Black African". This distinct idea of Africa is reflected by the use of hugely ambitious sentences, such as "Raising money for children in Africa." "Oh she is studying in some country in Africa." or "Well what do you expect, it is Africa." Such ridiculous generalizations make you think that this "Africa" is an exclusive club, and that no matter how general your sentence is about this "club", it will some how apply to every African country. In fact, the only moments that I hear Americans refer to Egypt as a part of Africa is when remarking on the poverty of the country..."You know when I see the poverty here I remember that we are in Africa." This is the mindset of "Egypt is poor because it is African and Egypt is African because it is poor". When I hear such comments it is all I can do to ask the commentator if the extreme poverty they saw in Honduras was also because Honduras is located in Africa? Why is it that Africa is given the blame for Egypt's poverty but is refused any credit for her pharaonic glory? Personally, I don't think it makes much sense to force countries to obtain lifelong memberships with geographical continents, which make such odd pairings as Tunisia and Zimbabwe. Personally, I think it makes a lot more sense to ditch the idea that plate tectonics dictate social or economic boundaries, and rather use historical civilizations and movements to see how certain peoples are related to one another. With this method we can say that yes, Egypt is African. But it is also Mediterranean, and Arab, and Greek, and Roman, and Ottoman, etc. Egypt deserves to be more than simply another African country, and Africa deserves to claim Egypt as her own.