Demisting the Picture

This view has largely been promulgated by messages flighted by the North through various mediums. The over emphasis on the negative side of the South has resulted in a gloomy picture of the region. Moreover what the South is going through is simply a carbon copy of what most of the Northerners has gone through a few decades ago – The great depression is a good example of how some of the economies in the North once failed, and yet the situation is still far from that in the south today. The only difference is the environment, under which this situation is prevailing within the South as economies now heavily depend on each other. In their interpretation of the situation in the South, the northern ideology of the South has failed to incorporate these facts in their view of the South.

On the other end everyone is to blame for the prevailing image of the South, within the North, media, academia, aid organization and governments in general. The media today, both in the North and South, today strives on negative publicity. This is on both economic and political grounds. The academia on the other hand only concentrates on the negative side of the South. As much as a lot is known, about the North, very little has been explored in the South. In the South, so much references is given to the North, without a critical appraisal of the situation at hand, for instance, there is not much references given to unfair trade practices under the guise of trade liberalization, which benefits the North at the expense of the South. Some. Aid organizations, paints imaginary pictures of a near collapse, that requires electronic resuscitation if there is any hope of a South again. The North is now peddling, this wrong image, without them trying to find out for themselves what the situation on the ground is like. The leadership of the south (governments) has also failed to give clear accounts of the situation at hand in their countries; this has resulted in imaginary pictures of the South being painted.

Students in Zimbabwe are an influential group, by their position, they have a better chance of understanding issues around them and articulate them. They also have better chances of coming up with collective actions. As such students can organize and come up with campaigns, debates and write ups which are meant to signal the correct image of Zimbabwe and the South. Students have recorded a lot of success with issues such as HIV and AIDS, students’ rights to health at national and regional levels. Exchange visits are one other act that students can use to paint the correct picture of the south.

Norwegian students want an empowering education that can transform them and prepares them for life after school. They also fight for respect of their rights as students. Students in the South learn of the North as free of any problems, very democratic, and very economically sound.

No nation or continent is without problems of its own, not even the so called developed nations are facing challenges. There maybe differences in the types and magnitude of the prevailing challenges and most importantly the courses of action being taken to solve these problems.