Yes, there is a middle class in central Africa. I know, I was surprised too.
Stephanie McCrummen writes in today's WaPo about the growing middle class in Nairobi. Made up of small business owners, teachers, civil servants, farmers, recent college grads, and professionals, this group is fueling a bit of a construction boom in the burbs of the Kenyan capital and are buying consumer goods you don't normally associate with that part of the world.
THIS is where peace lies. When a substantial portion of a population starts to see an improvement in their lifestyle, when they start to HAVE SOMETHING TO LOSE, they start to think more rationally and to look for economic, political, religious, and social stability.
Of course, the key here is education. These folks are, for the most part, educated and employable. As in, they went to school and learned more than Koran verses by rote.
Not that I'm trying make any comparisons or anything...
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