Africa satisfied?

There was an interesting piece in the NYT yesterday on the opinions of Africans polled in 10 different Sub Saharan countries .... according to Lynda Polgreen .... Despite a thicket of troubles, from deadly illnesses like AIDS and malaria to corrupt politicians and deep-seated poverty, a plurality of Africans say they are better off today than they were five years ago and are optimistic about their future and that of the next generation ....

Now whilst i hate it when foreigners prophesise doom and gloom for the continent .... and i find stereotypes of Africa as a backward, war-ravaged continent of famines and disaster deeply offensive .... i have to admit that Africa is indeed quite a lot like that in many many places .... and so i am totally flabbergasted that apparently the majority of those surveyed were apparently satisfied with their national governments and their economic situation .....

A continent which answers for the majority of the world's poorest nations .... where foreign aid props up many a government .... and where images of starvation, water shortages and disease are an everyday reality .....

Satisfied with their governments??!! What about the strikes here recently in SA? Or the fact that several African countries have seen their GDPs slide ever downwards since independence (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland to name but a a few ....) .... Or the fact that aside from a few countries such as Botswana - elections can barely be held without violence, allegations of vote rigging and panoramic corruption ....

And that's not even starting to mention the crippling burdens of HIV, TB, Malaria and the list goes on and on .... The fact that even if the cure for AIDS was as simple as half a glass of clean water - we still wouldn't be able to supply it to all of Africa - is simply criminal on behalf of all African governments .....

Perhaps people are unwilling to admit to the failings or their loss of hope in their own governments .... and need to believe that things will somehow get better ..... perhaps there is still some remaining trust that post-independence - governments made of their own people need to be given more time to fulfill all the promises made at independence .... I however am just gobsmacked ....