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High Tech in Africa: Geeks Needed
srl writes: "The Boston Globe is running a series about high tech in Africa--- talking about how the continent needs a lot of geeks willing to work there to build Net infrastructure. (Anyone want to take on a big project?) The series as a whole is interesting and sheds light on a topic that most American geeks probably don't spend time thinking about. See also part 1, about the new high-speed fiber link to Africa and part 2, about cybercafes in Africa."
OK, some of you talk about the bad things. Let's look at these:
As a former PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) I can attest to the value of PC on your resume. Also, believe it or not, there is more to life than money. You might just learn something about yourself and/or the world if you get out of your server room.
Humans have been on this planet for an awful long time and PC, for one, has excellent healthcare. So what if you get Dengue fever (I did) or a few parasites (got them too). The benefits of your experience will far outweigh any foolish American fears of a few microbes. There are 750 million people in Africa - obviously Africa is a great place to live, else there'd be zero. Finally on this topic - most diseases/parasites are easily avoided by simple hygiene - boil your water, don't have unprotected sex...
yes, some of these places have violence and most are very corrupt (by the American definition) but, then, that's why they are developing countries. Look around you. violence and corruption are a part of even an American life. Are you so naiive as to believe our gov't. is free of corruption? Go to a developing country, learn to work the system and when you return, you'll be like one of Paul Atredies' Fremen on a new planet - you'll work circles around your stupid co-workers. (ok, bad analogy)
You gain strength from doing the thing you think you can not do. I built a computer lab in a rural rice-farming village where there is no running water and little electricity. If you've got what it takes, you can do anything!
Still reading? Maybe YOU have what it takes. PeaceCorps The toughest job you'll ever love!
Actually, you *do* need "tech" people to set up running water, wells, power grids, solar/wind energy, better crop yield and that sort of thing. It's called appropriate technology, and people study to do basically that sort of thing in poor countries. A college roommate of mine studied that for a couple years.
Of course it's a slightly different kind of "tech" than your average geek. But there could be some overlap.
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And I would have to say that is more critical than internet connectivity.
.JPGs and fiber optics will do the trick, by all means, that's a worthy goal. Still, the only useful wealth in the long term comes from within an economy, never from without.
/. (where this over-focus on technology is not only appropriate but part of the appeal), it seems like talk of wiring up Africa is another pathologically Western case of putting the cart before the horse.
Hard to use a keyboard when RUF rebels have chopped your hands off (Sierra Leone), when your entire city has been murdered (Rwanda), or you're dizzy from exhaustion because the food and supplies to your region have been obliterated by land mines for the third time in as many months and you're starving to death (Angola), or you're busy dying of AIDS (one out of every four people in subsaharan Africa). An ISP is not going to help the common man in these countries nearly as much as an international body with a spine (eg. one that would not agree to make Foday Sankoh, the leader of the vicious, terrorist RUF rebels in Sierra Leone) or something akin to dignity, especially on the part of the US and France. God knows it couldn't hurt to have more of the world's masses aware of the hell that exists in most of West and Central Africa, though -- if
As usual, foreign 'aid' is best suited for generating contempt and dependency. Vietnam, for example, is doing quite well these days, in spite of America's best efforts. Meanwhile the majority of Africa outside of Egypt and Tunisia continues to go straight to hell, as the world cynically manipulates the 'leaders' to exploit its resources, and ignores millions of civilians being killed as an indirect consequence of our (Western) foreign policy decisions.
Somehow, even in a forum like
Remember that what's inside of you doesn't matter because nobody can see it.
What do you think they send trained folks out for, to dig furrows? Naw it's folks to help with water systems and modern accounting & yes, bringing the internet out to rural villages.
I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
This is the second time in the past few weeks that I have ended up posting a reply about South Africa. I'm South African myself, and I've lived here my entire life ( 25 years ) and I'm puzzled by some of your comments.
In particular, I don't know what the fluctuating laws are that you are referring to. The government in power ( ANC ) has introduced a few laws but I hardly think that the situation is as you describe it. Granted, some of the laws have been dumb. However, the yanks have the DMCA, so I guess we're even on that score.
The big problem down here is crime. Like you implied in your post, crime is incredible. It's violent in a way that I doubt Slashdot readers could comprehend. We have the highest rape and murder rates outside of a warzone. That's a fact, not exaggeration.
The other big problem is HIV / AIDS. It has taken ( and will continue to take ) a massive toll on the country. Some figures say that as many as 1 in 5 sexually active adults is infected with the HIV virus. This is complicated by the fact that our current president ( Thabo Mbeki ) does not believe that AIDS is caused by the HIV virus. He seems to think it is caused by poverty ( Nelson Mandela, however, knows that HIV causes AIDS. Compared to Mbeki, he's a saint ).
As far as the IT side of things goes, I think that Americans would be surprised. I have worked as a Linux sysadmin for quite a few companies down here. The biggest problem is the so-called 'brain drain' which has been caused by all the skilled ( mostly white ) workers who have departed these shores for greener pastures. I can't blame them. I'm emigrating myself in a few months time.
It's tough here for whites. It's tougher for blacks. Even the average black person here believes that life is worse now than under the previous National Party government ( Apartheid ). Crime is worse. Poverty is worse. Unemployment is worse. It's really a tragedy, when the completely corrupt and evil system of apartheid is remembered by some people ( many of them black ) as the good old days.
As for the topic of this Slashdot story: I can't recommend to the average American to come here. I don't think that he would have the stomach for the conditions. You would have to be an a real thrill-seeking nerd with brass balls to survive it. I suggest that you all continue to write the fine open source software that you have being pumping out from the comfort of your home countries ( In the USA and the rest of the world ). If anything is going to liberate and empower people here, it will be knowledge and education. That's the kind of knowledge that the Linux community has been passing on through the wide range of free ( as in beer and speech ) software.
Free software levels the playing field. It is just as accessible to the first world as the third world. It costs $0 for both of us.
Best Regards,
Peter Knowles
If you are interest in volunteering, check out the Geek Corps. It like the Peace Corps but for the technical able. They are looking for both volunteers and donations.
I have no relationship with Geek Corps but I've always thought it looked like a great idea.
I'd look into the GeekCorps if you're really interested. They send teams on 4 month journeys to countries to help develop their network and computer infastructure.
There's a volunteer project that sends geeks to Ghana to help businesses. You can read about it at geekhalla. I'm pretty sure /. has even had a story about it at some point in the past.
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I hope you're not pretending to be evil while secretly being good. That would be dishonest.
In my spare time I write books and have done several MCSE study guides (just released a Linux LPIC one!). I got email from people in Africa a *LOT*. Many people there are studying up to get certifications thinking that is the way to get to Europe and the US.
I'd say at least 2/3 of my mail was from Africa, usually Nigeria.
I was actually thinking about this a few weeks ago. I got the idea in my head that I might want to join the peace corp, but when I did some research, it seemed like all they were doing was teaching people how to build lakes and fish more efficiently. Not that they arn't useful skills, but it's not where my strength lies. I would jump at the chance to go and help with computer related endevors. Perhaps the Peace Corp could work this out? I'd love the experience.
Check out my sysadmin blog!
They don't need the kind of help that the western world primarily gives them, which is just enough assistance to help themselves stay poor. What they need is infrastructure development:
* Viable microeconomic development, so that average entrepreneurs can make a living.
* Eradication of tarrifs from the developed world, which hinder African nations from exporting
* Real education for more than just the elites.
* Fundamental change in the regional politics of Africa, which would allow nations to concentrate on development rather than ethnic and border feuds.
The fact is that Africa's history has put it so far to the back of the pack that even with a concerted effort among European and North American countries to assist African nations in a structured, long-term manner, to talk of "little African kids" working for a bowl of rice and putting us out of work is patently absurd.
There is no "tough call" here. We either help African people climb out of poverty, cyclical famine, and oppressive politics, or all of us will pay the price sooner or later. It's enlightened self-interest for us to help African nations help themselves.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
"My mom says there are a lot of black people in Africa"
But on a serious note, it would be nice to see the rest of the world jump onto the information superhighway. It'd be nicer to have the starving suffering people fed first, but hey.... can't win them all.
In the project I participated I was responsible for the webpage and some other computer oriented stuff. I just want to remind you that this is also a way in which you can help. It doesn't need to be infrastructure or humongously big projects. You can add your little share here and there.
Finaly don't judge the entire African continent from what you've seen in one country! It's like havin been to Albania and judging Monaco based on those experiences. Africa is bigger than Europe!..
Cheers...
P.S. The humid air in the Gambia did wonders to the junk that gets stuck on the mouses "scrollers"!!.. .*shrc is
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$HOME is where the
$HOME is where the
-- silver_p
Everytime there is an Africa/Internet related storry a lot of people start screaming "Give Africa food/celan water/medication before tech/Internet/bandwith" and many a good modpoints get wated on those coments. Have you been to Africa? Yes, the countries in that continent are generally poorer but remember that what you see in the news is not the entire picture. When I was living in Bulgaria (before the perestrojka) whenever there was some news report from the US on TV they were filming in some backalley with homless people lying arround drinking liquor from papercovered bottles... When there is a report from Africa in the West it's allways famine, war and catastrophes. Don't you realize that if those were the only things that happened in Africa the continent wouldn last even 5 years? On the streets of Stockholm I see as many beggars/homeless as I saw in Serekunda (the Gambia)!.. Yes, many parts of Africa need all those things but the situation is not the same everywere. Getting access to information on the Internet will also rise the awareness regarding many of those problems and probably even partially help solve them. Developement doesn't need to be made in a linear/serial fashion. So: Africa does need Internet/tech/modern infrastructures!.. .*shrc is
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$HOME is where the
$HOME is where the
-- silver_p
No, that wasn't a troll, but perhaps I misspoke myself. Okay - after reading the replies I got I guess I should clarify - what I was referring to is the fact that there are few to no human rights laws in African nations - and what is happening with manufacturing industries in Mexico and Indonesia could happen in Africa with code - people turn from being impoverished to being slaves. Yes, something must be done - buts first things first these people need governments that wont sell the populace out to the highest bidder for slave labour, or proclaim holy war against their neighbors. Otherwise, poverty gives way to slavery - the people have something useful to do, but they still live in sht.
I know these countries deserve a break, and need records. However, with the records of human rights and oppressive governments there, wiring Africa could be dooming ourselves. Can you compete with the cost undercutting of an african code sweatshop? We always toot that information is free, and once you get online, even with an old discarded 486 running Arachne, you've got access. This means that, theoretically, anyone with access can become a coder. Even little African kids who'll work for a bowl of rice. Will you work for a bowl of rice? Then why hire you? There's no shipment cost for software, the primary weakness of exporting work to abusive sweatshop countries like indonesia. On the other hand, do we have the right to deny them this tech? To keep them out of this economy? They do deserve their chance to level the playing field.... And its not like they don't deserve a break. Tough call.
Connecting impoverished villages stricken by AIDS with T1 lines simply isn't going to have a substantial effect on the common welfare.
Don't worry about it. You just bombed the interview.
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Give me liberty or give me something of equal or lesser value from your glossy 32-page catalog.
I'm an international development professional. I live in the developing world. I'm a believer in the potential for IT for the developing world, though as with everything else Internet-related it has been way overhyped in the last few years.
IT will not spontaneously feed the hungry or cure the sick, but everyone here knows from their own lives what a uniquely multipurpose tool it is. If people in developing countries can use IT to find and share solutions to their own problems, get the latest information on medical, economic, agricultural, political, and other developments, and smooth over some of the inefficiencies in their economies, then it will be a real tool for development. None of that is unrealistic.
The UN Development Programme, the Markle Foundation, and a consulting firm called Accenture recently put out a report on potential applications for IT in the developing world. It gives real-world examples to support its conclusions. Please give it a look before you contribute yet another comment to the effect that nobody in Africa can type because their hands have been cut off, they have no water, etc. You might not agree with the relentlessly cheerleadery tone of the report -- I'm not sure I do -- but it shows you what people are really proposing to do with the technology.
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Give me liberty or give me something of equal or lesser value from your glossy 32-page catalog.
I just have to say: What the f**k is wrong with the slashdot crowd? I guess most of the crowd is American, but I always sincerely thought that Americans where better than their reputation (I guess I have to reeavaluate these thoughts).
People considering a) probably never spent a single day outside the comfort of their hometown (or neighbouring town). So what if the standard of living is a bit lower where you get to live in Africa? I mean, I haven't been there myself, but common sense makes me see that there's a bit more to Africa than people living in bungalows and eating each other for dinner.
People considering b) must have their head so thight up their arse that they're only able to consider a direct route from A to B as the only true solution. Get a life. This is the real world. It's not some derivate of a Populus like game where evolution happens to take one specific route. Does anyone actually believe that improvement of, e.g., the net infrastructure does have to occur after other improvements are finished? Does anyone believe that improvement of the net infrstructure is completely orthogonal to othe improvements in the societey, that, e.g., the health sector can not benefit from improvements in the IT sector?
Moreover, anyone taking on a job to build a net infrastructure in Africa (even if their salaries might be lower) will at least be able to help 3rd world countries in a concrete and very useful way. It will probably help more than giving a $10 donation to some random help organization every year. Having someone use their acquired skills to do real, much needed work will usually be way more helpful. In addition, living in another country for some time tend to give you a more unbiased view of the world.
Now that being said, if you're not married, get married before you go, because you do *not* want to start a sex-life anywhere in Africa right now...
We all know, of course, the marriage is the sure-fire way to prevent a sex-life.
Beware typoes.
What africa needs more than internet connection is clean water, stability of government, debt relief, and most of all: peace. This is sort of adding the frosting before baking the cake.
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -- Carl Sagan
Personally I'd rather if African governments concentrated on building the foundations of law and democracy on their soil and eradicating the rampant corruption and crime that sweeps the continent. They need to address issues like fighting famine and building roads infrastructure before they can shift to building IT/telecoms. That's my opinion anyway.
Your pizza just the way you ought to have it.
With this crowd getting politically active and motivated, and the job market shrinking, maybe this is the right time?
www.lucernesys.comHorizon: Calendar-based personal finance
Lets say I was to go to Africa, put up with e-bola, aids, malaria, violence, insane governments, and rebel factions; what would they pay me. I mean, come on, it would have to be a pretty large number if they wanna lure geeks over there, can they afford it?
"We had gay burglars the other night. They broke in and rearranged the furniture." -Robin Williams