--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The West is anxious about becoming…" description: "\"The West is anxious about becoming another Africa, and it has dug deep moats in the hopes of preventing that, but it's too late: it has already become ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/andre-naffis-sahely-20813_africa_the-west-is-anxious-about-becoming-anoth_2368178.jpg" --- # The West is anxious about becoming another Africa, and it… ![“The West is anxious about becoming another Africa, and it has dug deep moats in the hopes of preventing that, but it's too late: it has already become another Africa.” quote by Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/andre-naffis-sahely-20813_africa_the-west-is-anxious-about-becoming-anoth_2368178.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/andre-naffis-sahely-20813_africa_the-west-is-anxious-about-becoming-anoth_2368178.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/andre-naffis-sahely-20813_africa_the-west-is-anxious-about-becoming-anoth_2368178.jpg) > “The West is anxious about becoming another Africa, and it has dug deep moats in the hopes of preventing that, but it's too late: it has already become another Africa.” [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The West’s fear of becoming like Africa led to defensive policies, but it has already taken that path, rendering the defenses futile. **In simple terms:** West tried to prevent decline but failed. Key Takeaway Address root causes, not barriers. Themes decline policy failure colonial critique Mood critical analytical Type political sociological When to use this quote - government policy - development aid - urban planning Key Concepts systemic inertia economic disparity Questions to Reflect On - What structural changes are needed? - How can societies avoid self‑fulfilling prophecies? A Different Perspective May simplify complex geopolitics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Africa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africa/) [Africa Dug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africa-dug-5822799/) [Anxious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxious/) [Anxious Africa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxious-africa-5822797/) [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Late Africa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late-africa-5822800/) [Moats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moats/) [Moats Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moats-hopes-5822801/) [Preventing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preventing/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) [West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west/) [West Anxious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west-anxious-5822798/) ## Related quotes > [I want a big house with a moat and dragons and a fort to keep people out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-beckham/i-want-a-big-house-with-a-moat-and-dragons-and-a-fort-to-keep-people/) [Victoria Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-beckham/) > [I have built a moat around myself, along with ways over that moat so that people can ask questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/i-have-built-a-moat-around-myself-along-with-ways-over-that-moat-so/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [the wealthy ... live in marble mausoleums surrounded by the suspicions and neuroses that have replaced the medieval moats which once isolated so-called aristocrats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsa-maxwell/the-wealthy-live-in-marble-mausoleums-surrounded-by-the-suspicions/) [Elsa Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsa-maxwell/) > [The minorities have been confined to the city by a moat of bigotry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/the-minorities-have-been-confined-to-the-city-by-a-moat-of-bigotry/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [Here we find the moat of thieves. And just as a lizard, with a quick, slick slither, Flicks across the highway from hedge to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/here-we-find-the-moat-of-thieves-and-just-as-a-lizard-with-a-quick/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [You dwell in whitened castles with deep and poisoned moats and cannot hear the curses which fill your children's throats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-dwell-in-whitened-castles-with-deep-and-poisoned-moats-and-cannot/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Let the space under the first storey be dark, let the water lap the stone posts, and vivid green slime glimmer upon them; let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/let-the-space-under-the-first-storey-be-dark-let-the-water-lap-the/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [No formula in finance tells you that the moat is 28 feet wide and 16 feet deep. That's what drives the academics crazy. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/no-formula-in-finance-tells-you-that-the-moat-is-28-feet-wide-and-16/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [George W. Bush's position on illegal immigration is a perfect example of a political compromise. A true conservative would have built a border fence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-gannon/george-w-bush-s-position-on-illegal-immigration-is-a-perfect-example/) [Jeff Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-gannon/) > [You can have the most advanced and efflorescent cultures. Get your politics wrong, however, and everything stands to be swept away. This is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/you-can-have-the-most-advanced-and-efflorescent-cultures-get-your/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [How do you compete against a true fanatic? You can only try to build the best possible moat and continuously attempt to widen it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/how-do-you-compete-against-a-true-fanatic-you-can-only-try-to-build/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I remember my daughter Deni coming along, and she was so pure and caring of everybody and everything. And somehow, this little being managed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/i-remember-my-daughter-deni-coming-along-and-she-was-so-pure-and/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [In business, I look for economic castles protected by unbreachable 'moats'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/in-business-i-look-for-economic-castles-protected-by-unbreachable/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Winds flap the sail, tortoise and snake are silent, a great plan looms. A bridge will fly over this moat dug by heaven and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/winds-flap-the-sail-tortoise-and-snake-are-silent-a-great-plan-looms/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [Go to the place where the thing you wish to know is native; your best teacher is there. Where the thing you wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/go-to-the-place-where-the-thing-you-wish-to-know-is-native-your-best/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) ## More by Andre Naffis-Sahely > [Translators who choose to work on canonized writers can usually lean on an extensive critical apparatus around either the author or the book in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/translators-who-choose-to-work-on-canonized-writers-can-usually-lean/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [The real question should be: what makes a good political poem? 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There's no middle ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/poetry-either-pulses-with-real-life-or-it-s-just-an-aborted-simulacra/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [Whenever poetry and politics are mentioned in the same breath, we tend to miss the point entirely - as I often have - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/whenever-poetry-and-politics-are-mentioned-in-the-same-breath-we-tend/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [I don't like poems that invent memories, I have enough of my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/i-don-t-like-poems-that-invent-memories-i-have-enough-of-my-own/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [ That boom town \[Abu Dhabi\] proved to be the reef against which my family crashed, the story of many who seek the promised land,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/that-boom-town-abu-dhabi-proved-to-be-the-reef-against-which-my/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [Most of us have been subjected to terrible political poetry at least once or twice in our lifetimes, and so we tend to shy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/most-of-us-have-been-subjected-to-terrible-political-poetry-at-least/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [Regardless of whether the authors I've translated have been "dead and canonized," or "living and established," or even simply "emerging," I must put myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/regardless-of-whether-the-authors-i-ve-translated-have-been-dead-and/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [ Abdellatif \[Laâbi\] was wildly popular with his students and it wasn't difficult to see why: like them, he knew that average Moroccans were hungry,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/abdellatif-la-bi-was-wildly-popular-with-his-students-and-it-wasn-t/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [One cannot simply decide to write apolitical poetry, in the way one decides to drink lemonade instead of tea, it's far more subliminal than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/one-cannot-simply-decide-to-write-apolitical-poetry-in-the-way-one/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) > [I'm of the opinion that poetry is always political, and cannot help but be so, regardless of the poet's intent, given that refusing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/i-m-of-the-opinion-that-poetry-is-always-political-and-cannot-help/) [Andre Naffis-Sahely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) [Explore all 30 Andre Naffis-Sahely quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/) ## More Africa quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Africa, being the major target of colonial plunder, therefore becomes a major source of conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-horne/africa-being-the-major-target-of-colonial-plunder-therefore-becomes-a/) [Gerald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-horne/) > [I'm in 'Madagascar 2.' I'm Testy the Lion. The franchise moves to Africa, and Bernie Mac is also in the film. I loved working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lister-jr/i-m-in-madagascar-2-i-m-testy-the-lion-the-franchise-moves-to-africa/) [Tom Lister, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lister-jr/) > [South Africa needs a second liberation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mugabe/south-africa-needs-a-second-liberation/) [Robert Mugabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mugabe/) > [There's a place in Botswana where there are 100,000 elephants living in a single population. Think of the amount of space they need. Remember,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bergin/there-s-a-place-in-botswana-where-there-are-100-000-elephants-living/) [Patrick Bergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bergin/) > [If you followed the media you'd think that everybody in Africa was starving to death, and that's not the case; so it's important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/if-you-followed-the-media-you-d-think-that-everybody-in-africa-was/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [Africa for the Africans... at home and abroad!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/africa-for-the-africans-at-home-and-abroad/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [In Africa, animals and the natural landscape allow local communities to support themselves, as there is a constant source of money from tourism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lidington/in-africa-animals-and-the-natural-landscape-allow-local-communities/) [David Lidington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lidington/) > [My mom is from Ghana, and my dad is from Detroit, so I would go back and forth to Africa a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-richardson/my-mom-is-from-ghana-and-my-dad-is-from-detroit-so-i-would-go-back/) [Sam Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-richardson/) > [I've never been invited to do an exhibition or do a talk in England, except once, about 10 years ago. I've given talks all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wildsmith/i-ve-never-been-invited-to-do-an-exhibition-or-do-a-talk-in-england/) [Brian Wildsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wildsmith/) > [I represent my country, but I also represent the continent of Africa when I play in Europe. That's why it's important to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaya-toure/i-represent-my-country-but-i-also-represent-the-continent-of-africa/) [Yaya Toure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaya-toure/) > [What we need in South Africa is for egos to be suppressed in favour of peace. We need to create a new breed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hani/what-we-need-in-south-africa-is-for-egos-to-be-suppressed-in-favour/) [Chris Hani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hani/) > [I was learning to track rhinoceroses in Africa and tracked right up on an animal that really I thought was going to kill me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/i-was-learning-to-track-rhinoceroses-in-africa-and-tracked-right-up/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [I am interested in bringing Africa to the foot of the Cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhard-bonnke/i-am-interested-in-bringing-africa-to-the-foot-of-the-cross/) [Reinhard Bonnke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhard-bonnke/) > [My mother is a huge fan of my work. I told her about 'Coraline' long before the film was made, and she got the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-selick/my-mother-is-a-huge-fan-of-my-work-i-told-her-about-coraline-long/) [Henry Selick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-selick/) [Browse all 1,665 Africa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africa/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The West is anxious about becoming another Africa, and it has dug deep moats in the hopes of preventing that, but it's too late: it has already become another Africa.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andre Naffis-Sahely" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/the-west-is-anxious-about-becoming-another-africa-and-it-has-dug-deep/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Africa" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/the-west-is-anxious-about-becoming-another-africa-and-it-has-dug-deep/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/andre-naffis-sahely-20813_africa_the-west-is-anxious-about-becoming-anoth_2368178.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/andre-naffis-sahely-20813_africa_the-west-is-anxious-about-becoming-anoth_2368178.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/andre-naffis-sahely-20813_africa_the-west-is-anxious-about-becoming-anoth_2368178.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The West is anxious about becoming another Africa, and it has dug deep moats in the hopes of preventing…” — Andre Naffis-Sahely", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andre Naffis-Sahely", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-naffis-sahely/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The West is anxious about becoming...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/the-west-is-anxious-about-becoming-another-africa-and-it-has-dug-deep/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-naffis-sahely/the-west-is-anxious-about-becoming-another-africa-and-it-has-dug-deep/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```