“The news from East Africa is focused on the dire famine caused by one of the worst droughts in a generation and compounded by rising food prices, but a story at the other end of the food spectrum is quietly unfolding,” writes freelance writer Kirsten Drysdale in Crikey today.

She writes from a queue in front of the counter of Nairobi’s first KFC.

As Drysdale reports, dozens more of these outlets are set to roll out across Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania in the next few days. The fast food industry is taking off in these parts, even as people in other parts of the region starve.

But before you rail at the distasteful juxtaposition of Zinger burger meal deals v images from Dadaab, many Africans, writes Drysdale, see it as a “hopeful rather than shameful contrast.”

“As have many other Africans I’ve spoken to, Huzefa expressed frustration with being pitied by Westerners for the perceived hopelessness of his homeland… KFC is still an impossible luxury for an overwhelming majority of people here and it’s not without its detractors, but to many it’s a symbol of the sort of economic development that will bring benefits in ways that aid can’t.”

Most of the time the best way to challenge tired assumptions is to get out and speak to (or in this case, queue behind) people. Would you like to upsize that for an extra 50c?