Enough, we have had enough.

We as Africans are sick and tired of being belittled and overlooked

for somebody else's humanitarian agenda. So allow me to make this abundantly clear:

Africa is not a country.

It is a continent, a big one

with 54 countries and a lot to offer.

We could fit North America, China and Europe in our boarders and still have space.

We are one of the biggest continents on the planet,

and yet we are conveniently overlooked. When you ask me questions about Ebola, you

should know that I've never even been to West Africa.

I am 4000km away. And whilst I know enough to differentiate

the countries and the different customs, I cannot even begin to tell you what it's like there.

When I tell you that I live in Rwanda, you ask me "Isn't that dangerous?"

I am genuinely appalled by you who claim to

be knowledgeable, and up to date with global affairs,

but you don't know that the genocide ended 20 years ago.

When I tell some people that I am Zimbabwean and South African,

but I live in Rwanda and I moved around several countries in Africa,

I was asked whether I was a refugee. Because I couldn't possibly have the wealth

or reason to travel around by beautiful continent without the threat of death.

I refuse to stand any longer and let people

tell me about the country in Africa where I'm from

where we are too poor to function and that our government - "singular" -

is corrupt and we have no idea of what we're doing.

I refuse belittled and treated like a second class citizen.

I refuse to be made into a novelty when I achieve something great.

You know, you all think that the way you put Lupita Nyong'o on a pedestal

and nearly worshipped her is amazing, like it's the higher honour or accomplishment

for an African. Don't get me wrong, we are very proud of her,

because one of us achieve something great, we celebrate as communities.

But if you think that you have painted Africa in a positive light through her,

you've actually done the opposite. When you make someone an idol like that,

it says to us that you are so surprised that an African could achieve something that great,

like no one has ever done it before Our continent is full of amazing and inspiring

Africans who are making difference in their communities,

so it's not a surprise to us when one of us succeeds exceptionally.

It seems like you think that is all we have to give

and that couldn't be further from the truth. We really have gotten the raw deal throughout

history. We've been looked down upon, colonised,

our resources have been stolen, we've been segregated, subjected to violence,

institutionalised racism. We as Africans have accomplished so much:

Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Paul Kagame, Wole Soyinka,

Wangari Maathai, Strive Masiyiwa, Chimamanda Adichie, just to name a few.

Why can't you see our achievements rather than the single story of poverty and

helplessness? So I want you to do a few things for me today:

take five minutes out of your day to open Google and look up the map of Africa.

Look at the different countries, learn a little bit about them

and the great things that we have achieved. Never address Africa like it's a country again;

Next time you refer to a place in Africa, be specific.

Don't ask if we speak "African", don't confuse it with Afrikaans,

which is a Cape-Dutch language mostly spoken in Southern Africa.

Don't ask us if we know each other just because we come from the same continent.

Do not ever assume that we are poor or refugees. Don't ask if we live in huts.

Don't ask if we live amongst wild animals. And remember that we as Africans were performing

successful c-sections and brain surgeries, thousands of years before European doctors

took it upon themselves to wash their hands before surgery so their

patients would stop dying. We have been asking for years to be respected,

to little avail. Today I put my foot down and I am calling you out.

To quote Kapuscinski

"the continent is too large to describe. It is a veritable ocean, a separate planet,

a varied and immensely rich cosmos, only with the greatest of simplifications

can we say "Africa". And so I say to you, the rest of the world,

that it is time to pay attention to us. We are very quickly overtaking you

and we refuse to be overlooked any longer, from Iwani.

If you want to learn more about the points I raised in this letter, please follow the

link down below. I will be also be posting it to my Tumblr

page from where you can reblog and share to other people.

Thank you for watching this video, please subscribe to my channel,

follow my links down below, share, like, and comment,

I would love to hear your thoughts. My name is Iwani Mawocha

and this is Pepper and Sol, my Youtube channel, and I will see you the next time I post a video.