We all know it's Christmas.

Last week I sat through the video debut of the newest Band Aid resurrection of that horribly patronizing Christmas classic designed to inspire us to loosen our purse strings and feel bad about the size of our Christmas dinners, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" This time the focus is on Ebola-ridden Africa and not poverty-stricken Africa, but always Africa. I don't know what I was expecting to have changed, but I was bitterly disappointed that so much remained the same.

There are 54 countries in Africa. It is a widely diverse continent in socioeconomic situation, natural resources, religion and even weather. Contrary to Geldof's lyric, there is usually snow in Africa at Christmas time. It is not the sweltering hot desert populated by children with flies in their eyes and distended bellies. Of course those images we see on infomercials and in Bob's vision are real, but they are not representative of all of Africa.

I worked in fundraising for 7 years, so I understand better than most that these are the images to invoke when you're on the other end of the phone with me and I'm asking you for £3 per month. The same images we use to threaten our ill-behaved and greedy children when they hide their vegetables under their meat. "Starving kids in Africa would be grateful for those broccoli florets." This is how I recognize the dangerous and demeaning message we send to Africa about how we, the intentional community view its citizens. No campaign has demonstrated this to us in the west better than the satirical Radi-Aid Campaign created by Africa for Norway: see it here.

Currently the Ebola outbreak is affecting 6 of Africa's 54 countries, all in West Africa and yes, this is a terrible and catastrophic epidemic in these countries, but not in all Africa. It would be as if the recent snowstorm that left Buffalo, NY under 6 feet of snow was reported as if it were the whole USA that was in a deep freeze. It's totally inaccurate. But we're not talking about something as banal as snow, we're talking about a virus that kills people in ways so violent and painful that to even think about it causes widespread panic.

This panic is detrimental to Africa's recently burgeoning tourism trade. Countries like Kenya and South Africa are suffering as people are confused about what countries in Africa are at risk. These are the same people who think Africa is a country. Formerly plagued as a continent of crime, hunger and poverty, now Africa is contending with the plague of the bloody plague and singles like  "Do They Know It's Christmas?" aren't helping.

I'm not saying don't give to charity, not at all, but know what you are giving to. Do your research and know your cause as well as where your money is going. If you're donating to help treat Ebola and your money's going to "Africa" that shouldn't be good enough. You want it going to Sierra Leone or another affected country. Ask before you donate.

As someone who works for a volunteer organization I know how damaging these perpetuated assumptions can be to a country, or in this case a whole continent. Africa For Norway's latest offering sees a white European desperate to volunteer to "save Africa" but the Africa she wants to save is nothing like the majority of the continent's reality and it's our collective ignorance damaging the international perception of Africa as a whole. Videos like Live Aid's gang of rich, white celebrities continue to sell the "white man's burden" bullshit that we, since colonial times should be trying to distance ourselves from.

Where are all the African artists? Why were Emilie Sande's more sensitive revisions to the song binned? Was changing a few odd lines really enough when the shitty, condescending chorus remains? Of course people in Africa know it's Christmas. The problem is so many of us know nothing about Africa.