Africa’s conflicts: Back in the news - 2013 IN REVIEW - Al Jazeera English
It was a year that seemed destined to be shot through with the ‘Africa rising’ debate. Much of the world’s media had over the last couple of years moved from one simplistic narrative when covering the continent: war and famine. To another: booming economies and a newly confident middle class.
It was a story that was written so often that, though many African countries were and are growing impressively, it started to look like an apologia from mostly Western correspondents for years of coverage perceived by some to be overtly dark.
Many Africans, initially pleased that the foreign media was telling the good news, had started to question the impact – on policy, on aid, on the poorest - of replacing one distorted and reductive narrative with another. Still, though, there is hope in growing economies and Africa’s as a whole grew by 4% this year.
That debate about Africa is now often of the economic variety is a sign of a burgeoning continent – giddy on its potential – and changing at speed.
In January, however, France went to war with al-Qaeda-linked rebels in Mali and a different major news theme for 2013 appeared: conflict. The rebels were chased across the Sahara but, despite a recent election, the situation in the country is still very volatile and will continue to be so into 2014.
Amid conflict, there is hope in growing economies in Africa [Reuters]
