We're both women of African heritage who had good education and were raised in a middle-income families. We lived under the rule of military repressive governments in which bread and marmalade were sometimes a privilege. We both lived in a foreign country for many years where we heared all sorts of assumptions about our home countries. Finally, we both had the opportunity to reflect a new and bright perspective about where we're from.
Although Saudi Arabia isn't far from Sudan -only separated by the Red Sea- , the stereotypical image about it was strongly present. I lived there for 15 years and questions like "do you live in the trees?" and "is English your mother language?" were commonly asked. First, I found it funny and I answered them politely to correct the misconceptions. Then it became clear to me that I may be able to correct this misconception only in a limited area because of the international media coverage of a single story about Africa. Chimamanda said that " a single story creates stereotypes which is not untrue but it's uncomplete and makes a one story is the only story". Which I totally agree with because why would anyone disbelief a story that's repeatedly said, focused on and agreed upon unanimously on a global scale? She said "a single story allows no possibility to connect as human equals", "It makes our recognition of our equal humanity very difficult. It says we're different rather than similar".
As Chimamanda, I faced many challenges as a young African women living in a developing country. It may be not quite similar to the challenges faced by a white women living in America for example, but I believe that it represents human suffering no matter how different.
