We know what Bob Geldof and Tony Blair think about Africa - as the continent that most needs salvation. But what do the people of Africa feel, in their diverse cultures and classes and nations? This special issue of Granta features new fiction by five new African writers from across the continent, including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Segun Afolabi, Doreen Baingana, Helon Habila, and Moses Isegawa. Plus John Ryle on whether Western aid is having any effect on the lives of Africans; Ivan Vladislavic on the perils and pleasures of Johannesburg; an account of the training the police in Liberia by Index on Censorship Book Award-winner Daniel Bergner; a conversation between Chinua Achebe and Caryl Phillips; and a picture essay about the ongoing plight of the Ogiek villagers of Kenya.