The Economist has written a lot of articles recently about China’s investments in Africa, including articles about the prevalence of Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa. I got it in an overly-intellectual way that had to do with flow of money and tolerance for corruption. Then, I arrived in Uganda and started seeing the physical manifestations of it everywhere.
You can pick up any piece of plastic in America and read “Made in China” stamped on the bottom, but here it’s more overt. Chinese characters are everywhere; walking through the taxi park in Kampala last week, we saw toilet tissue being sold in stacks, all labeled in Chinese rather than English. Half the matatus (minibus taxis) have Chinese on their sides, showing their origins. English lettering is expected: it’s the language of government thanks to the British, and the alphabet of Luganda thanks to the missionaries. The occasional “halal” sign in Arabic is old hat and targeted at the relatively small immigrant population. Somehow, seeing Chinese everywhere is more startling. It’s a reminder that globalization is a dynamic force, constantly rearranging the relationships of not just political bodies but also cultures and peoples.
It’s hard, though, to imagine what significance this has for people’s everyday lives. The development projects in Nkokonjeru are funded by international NGOs and governance bodies, American universities, and African governments. The fashion is a hybrid of African and Western styles; the radio plays Bugandan and American music; the televisions show Nigerian, Argentinian (dubbed into English), and American shows; the theaters play American movies; the bookshops sell books only in English; and no one has any idea what the characters on the sides of the matatus mean.
“China” is an abstract—though “America” is too, rich and peopled with blondes and rap stars. All Asia is China (Heehyun could not convince one bored teenager she was Korean) and all Asian-looking people are Chinese (my well-practiced spiel about how America is a nation of immigrants is only about 50% effective, though that beats its 0% efficacy in America). Not too many people could point to either country on a map, they just know that both are somehow very important to the world.
You can pick up any piece of plastic in America and read “Made in China” stamped on the bottom, but here it’s more overt. Chinese characters are everywhere; walking through the taxi park in Kampala last week, we saw toilet tissue being sold in stacks, all labeled in Chinese rather than English. Half the matatus (minibus taxis) have Chinese on their sides, showing their origins. English lettering is expected: it’s the language of government thanks to the British, and the alphabet of Luganda thanks to the missionaries. The occasional “halal” sign in Arabic is old hat and targeted at the relatively small immigrant population. Somehow, seeing Chinese everywhere is more startling. It’s a reminder that globalization is a dynamic force, constantly rearranging the relationships of not just political bodies but also cultures and peoples.
It’s hard, though, to imagine what significance this has for people’s everyday lives. The development projects in Nkokonjeru are funded by international NGOs and governance bodies, American universities, and African governments. The fashion is a hybrid of African and Western styles; the radio plays Bugandan and American music; the televisions show Nigerian, Argentinian (dubbed into English), and American shows; the theaters play American movies; the bookshops sell books only in English; and no one has any idea what the characters on the sides of the matatus mean.
“China” is an abstract—though “America” is too, rich and peopled with blondes and rap stars. All Asia is China (Heehyun could not convince one bored teenager she was Korean) and all Asian-looking people are Chinese (my well-practiced spiel about how America is a nation of immigrants is only about 50% effective, though that beats its 0% efficacy in America). Not too many people could point to either country on a map, they just know that both are somehow very important to the world.
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