Kenyan Cartoonist Issues Travel Advisory to Africans Visiting U.S.

A satirical travel advisory to Africans traveling to the United States is making rounds on social media. It warns Africans against visiting states, such as North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Milwaukee, which have recently experienced heightened instability and civil unrest.

The travel advisory, issued by popular Kenyan cartoonist Godfrey Mwampembwa or GADO, is meant to mock the many travel advisories issued by Western countries against different African nations that have been struggling with terror-related attacks.

These travel advisories have a devastating effect on African tourism and economies in general.

“It’s funny because many African countries go through those travel advisories – issued by mostly Europe and U.S., all the time,” Gado told Quartz in an interview.

In recent months, the United States has suffered terror-related attacks, police brutality, and mass shootings that have left many travelers worried about their safety.

In the interview, the Kenyan cartoonist stated that recent protests held by the Black Lives Matter Movement over the fatal shooting of a Black man in Charlotte have certainly shocked and caught the attention of many Africans.

“I think most Africans relate to the Black Lives Matter Movement because they face police brutality all the time and have been fighting against it all along,” the cartoonist said.

Last Tuesday, many Africans were shocked to learn that California police had fatally shot an unarmed Ugandan immigrant who was allegedly mentally ill.

Mr. Alfred Olango, a 38-year-old refugee who moved to the United States as a child, was shot after he reportedly brandished a vape smoking device.

Many Africans took to Twitter to express their shock and anger at the incident, terming it a “terrorist act against the Black community”:

Although many Africans were pessimistic about the impact the travel advisory will have, they supported the idea, saying it represents the feeling of a majority of Africans toward the West.