When someone asked Abdoulaye Traore how he got to the United States from his home in Burkina Faso, he said he swam all the way from Africa.

The questioner did not seem to think Traore could have flown, even though that is how most people travel internationally.

“It’s very frustrating because people don’t think we have planes,” Traore said Wednesday at a panel discussion about Africa. “People think that Africa is not very sophisticated. All they see are animals and safaris.”

Traore and three other African students talked about this and other misconceptions about Africa during November’s international forum, “The Emerging Phase of Africa and the Challenges of Darfur,” in the Charleston/Mattoon Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The international programs department and the African Student Association sponsored the forum to share a different perspective on Africa.

“It’s interesting to see Africa through African eyes,” said Sue Songer, international student adviser. “I do think Africa is on the rise and I think young men and women like this will be the key.”

The panelists said Africa has the potential to become a strong nation or union because of its resources, but it is struggling because of problems like poor education, health care and leadership.

“African leaders are responding (to these problems) by collectively insisting that the current situation is unacceptable,” said Bright Appiah, a graduate student from Ghana.

He said Africa has long been regarded as a country rather than a continent. This concept makes it difficult for other countries to separate the Darfur conflict in Sudan from the rest of Africa.

While Africa needs to overcome conflicts such as Darfur to continue its growth, the entire continent is not suffering from conflicts like Sudan, Appiah said.

The panelists said Africa needs international help to overcome its struggles, but countries must also help themselves from the inside.

“In order to find the capital for our development, we shouldn’t be waiting on investors,” Traore said. “Every country needs to develop their own strategy to raise that capital.”

Appiah agreed.

“It is the African people that can bring along the future that we deserve,” he said. “Anything that is imposed in Africa from outside Africa never works.”

The four panelists brought up one problem Africa is dealing with: the need for a better education system.

“If we get a good education and we learn, I think (Africa) could make it,” said panelist Ziad Chummun.

He grew up in Mauritius and came to the United States for a better education.

Chummun plans to return to Africa after school to help build his country’s economy.

The fourth panelist, Wondwessen Bishu from Ethiopia has the same plan.

He moved to Chicago with his family six years ago to get a better education.

Today, he said the education in Africa is starting to improve, along with the use of technology.

“People in Africa are having a better education now and they’re learning more about the outside world,” Bishu said.

He said he was frustrated with Americans when he first came to the United States because they were misinformed about Africa. Now, he says he can not blame them.

“Most students get the wrong perception from the media,” he said. “I don’t blame them, I blame the media. Don’t believe everything you see on TV.”

Bishu hopes to have another discussion about Africa so that more people can become better informed.