Global Voices » Cameroon

Africa: 2012 Cup of Nations Delivers Many Surprises

Jane Ellis — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:42:35 +0000

Unlike Senegal, who failed to win their opening match in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana, another competition favourite, managed to win their opener, beating Botswana, who were participating in this tournament for the first time. This, the first match in Group D, took place on Tuesday 24 January in the Stade de Franceville, Gabon.

The Black Stars of Ghana finished the match with ten men following a red card for John Mensah in the 66th minute. They did all they could to win [fr], and were not phased, according to FourFourTwo, who tweeted:

#Ghana show no remorse over Mensah red bit.ly/xkpul2 #AFCON2012

Botswana fought bravely during their first ever appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations. A video summary of the Ghana-Botswana match is available here [fr], courtesy of Direct 8 Sport.

Mali met Guinea for the other opening day Group D game, which saw the Eagles off to a promising start in the tournament, beating Guinea 1-0. Boukary Konaté, a Global Voices author who tweets under the name @Fasokan [fr], posted reactions from the stadium in Macina, Mali:

@Fasokan: Grand bruit et applaudissement à Macina pour le but malien #can2012

@Fasokan: Loud noise and applause from Macina following Mali's goal.

and also [fr]:

@Fasokan: les supporters de Macina espèrent sur un deuxième but malien

@Fasokan: Fans from Macina are hoping for a second goal from Mali.

On Wednesday 25, the first match on Day 2 of Group A, Zambia versus Libya, resulted in the first nil-nil draw of the competition. Torrential rain caused kick-off to be delayed by an hour and a quarter with the match finally starting at 6.15pm, after some doubt as to whether it would go ahead.

Zambia were anxious to secure their place in the quarter finals against a Libyan team who seemed re-energised following their defeat on the opening Saturday of the tournament. The match was played on a waterlogged pitch, as can be seen in this photo posted by Alexandre Nakbi (@Alex_Nak), showing its condition moments before kick off [fr]:

@Alex_Nak: Voila l'état du terrain actuellement. #CAN2012 #Libye #Zambie pic.twitter.com/MSHrD1ae

@Alex_Nak: Here is the state of the pitch right now. #CAN2012 #Libye #Zambie pic.twitter.com/MSHrD1ae

Rain also delayed the Day 2 Group A match between Senegal and Equatorial Guinea. Tournament favourites Senegal were eliminated in a surprise 2-1 win for Equatorial Guinea, assuring a place for the latter in the quarter finals. The defeat of the Lions of Teranga greatly disappointed [fr] their fans:

@observateurs: Le Sénégal sort de la CAN. “On aurait dit des jeunes de centre de formation” #can2012 fb.me/10kgX5eNf

@observateurs: Senegal exit the Cup of Nations. “They looked like kids from a training camp” #can2012

@founseni_soro: Sénégal Grande nation de football, . mais aussi grande déception de la CAN2012. Allez les zelephants #civ2010

@founseni_soro: Senegal - a great footballing nation, but great disappointment in the 2012 Cup of Nations.

In Day 2 of Group B, Angola could not overcome Sudan, one of the weakest teams in the Cup, despite two goals from Manuchi on Thursday 26 January in Malabo Stadium, Equatorial Guinea. If they had won, Angola would have qualified for the quarter finals. The four goals from the match can be seen in the following video [fr]:

Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso met at Malabo later that day for the second match in Day 2 of Group B. The Elephants of Ivory Coast beat the Stallions 2-0, qualifying for the quarter finals while Burkina Faso were eliminated.

Fans of Ivory Coast watching the match against Sudan by @FlorianK_Sport

Day 2 of Group C on the Friday saw Gabon beat Morocco 3-2 and Tunisia beat Nigeria 2-1, securing quarter final places for the Panthers of Gabon and the Eagles of Carthage.

The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations can be followed on the BBC website and on Twitter using the hashtags #CAN2012 and #AFCON2012.

Africa: 2012 Cup of Nations Kicks Off!

Dan Horlor — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:47:12 +0000

[All links to external content are in French]

The Africa Cup of Nations began in Bata, Equatorial Guinea this Saturday January 21, 2012, kicking off three weeks of fierce competition. The Cup of Nations, the most important international football competition in Africa, is taking place in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea between January 21 and 12 February.

Supporters in Africa and around the world have been enjoying the build-up to the two opening matches; dancing, light and sound were all part of the spectacle:

GaGuie the Mascot! With GAGUIE : GA as in Gabon, GUI as in Guinea and E as in Equatorial! Image from fr.cafonline.com with permission

Here is a round up of the first three days of the tournament.

Matchday One

Libya took on Equatorial Guinea in the curtain raiser on 21 January, and it was co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, making their tournament debut, who took a surprise 1-0 win.

With just six minutes remaining, Balboa, the Equatorial Guinea number 11 finally opened the scoring after a one-on-one with the Libyan goalkeeper. The score stayed 1-0 until the final whistle, to the delight of the Equatorial Guinea fans who had packed the stadium.

The Senegalese fluffed their entry to the competition with a 2-1 defeat inflicted by Zambia on the same day. Senegal fans took to the web to place the blame on coach of the national team.

Touy wrote on Seneweb News [fr]:

le souci avec un entraîneur local c'est que même s'il se rend compte que le capitaine par exemple Niang n'est pas au niveau il aura la crainte la peur ou la pudeur de le faire sortir au détriment de la victoire bien sur!!

The problem with having a local coach is that even if he realises that the captain, let's say Niang, is not good enough he'll either be afraid or too modest to take him off, to the detriment of getting the win of course!

Amara Traoré [fr] on RFI sheds some light on the subject for us:

Tout le monde savait avant même le début de la CAN que les zambiens sont très vifs et utiliseraient cette vivacité pour gérer les sénégalais beaucoup plus costauds. Alors lui l’entraîneur et son staff devraient trouver un bon système pour les contenir avant de les attaquer.Donc je trouve kil n'a pas fais son boulot qui était de voir les choses venir et de jouer avec des joueurs rapides mais surtout de ne pas trop bourrer cette attaque ou personne ne se retrouve .

Everyone knew, even before the Cup of Nations began, that the Zambians are very energetic and would use that energy to combat the much bigger and stronger Sengalese. So the coach and his staff should find a system to contain thembefore going on the attack. He hasn't done his job which is to anticipate and play fast players but above all not to throw men forward who then can't find each other.

Matchday Two

The second matchday saw the entry of one of the competition favourites: the ‘Elephants' of Côte d'Ivoire. A magnificent strike by Didier Drogba in the 39th minute secured the victory for Côte d'Ivoire over Sudan. The win for the Elephants wasn't enough for every Ivorian fan on the net however. Many felt that they could have done better.

Phox Hermann [fr] said:

la vérité est bonne à dire heinnn. ELEPHANT ke moi jai vu là c N'IMPORTE KOI

Good to tell the truth, riiight. That was no ELEPHANT that I saw

Bi Tia Vincent Toh [fr] added:

la conservation d'un unique but nous a donné des sueurs froides.
Que Mr Gervino soit un peu plus réaliste devant les buts,
Que Mr Yaya Touré regagne sa place au milieu et joue effectivement comme à city
Que la defense cesse d etre trop permeable,

keeping hold of a one goal lead brought us out in a cold sweat.
If only Mr Gervino [sic] was more realistic in front of goal,
If only Mr Yaya Touré could get his place back in the middle and play as well as he does at city
If only the defence stopped leaking,

Angola also played their first game and overpowered Burkina Faso with a 2-1 victory.

Matchday Three

Gabon, the second co-host team of the 2012 Cup of Nations showed their strength with a 2-0 win over Niger, the opening Group C match of the tournament played in a fantastic atmosphere in the Stade de l'Amitié in Libreville.

Rodrigue Magaya [fr] commented on Aubameyang's goal on Facebook:

que dire?!!!merci aux gars, il fallait ça pour la beauté du spetacle et naturelement monter a tt nos adversaires que nous sommes la!!bien en place et on a pas peur!!!vive la can, et vive encore plus nos pantheres;que Dieu benisse le gabon!!!!!!

what can I say?!!!thanks to the lads, we needed that for the beauty of the contest and naturally to show all our opponents that we're here!!right on the spot and with no fear!!long live the cup of nations, and may our panthers live even longer;God bless Gabon!!!!!!

The 2012 Cup of Nations can be followed on TV5 Monde, Canal+ Afrique and on Twitter and Google+ via the hashtags #CAN2012 (in French) et #ACN2012 (in English).

Cameroon: Essayist and Blogger Arrested and Charged with Robbery

Julie Owono — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:48:36 +0000

Enoh Meyomesse, a Cameroonian writer and blogger [fr] was arrested on November 22, 2011, at Nsimalen airport in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on his way back from Singapore. Charged with robbery by the military court of Bertoua, in the east of the country, he is now detained at Nkondengui prison in Yaoundé, where Amnesty International has documented severe over-crowding and life-threatening conditions.

Meyomesse's arrest has sparked many reactions among the Cameroonian online community.

Enoh Meyomesse and his alleged accomplices - Military Tribunal of Bertoua - From Patrica Nganang Public Facebook profile

Cameroon, which reelected Paul Biya for the sixth time as president in October 2011, after a highly criticized election, was ranked 40th out of 53 African countries in terms of governance and human rights, according to the 2011 Mo Ibrahim Foundation Report.

A political plot against Enoh Meyomesse?

This is what journalist Juliette Abandokwe argues in an article on her blog entitled “Cameroon: Political Plot against Enoh Meyomesse, dissident and inflexible thinker” [fr]. She writes:

L'illustre détracteur de la machine à terroriser du régime Biya, victime aujourd'hui d'un complot digne des années staliniennes les plus sombres, est accusé de “vol aggravé et de détention d'armes de combat”. C'est avec ce chef d'accusation inventé et orchestré de toutes pièces, que Meyomesse est présenté au public et à la presse en tant que “bandit de grand chemin”, en compagnie de ses soi-disant trois complices, dans un climat d'humiliation extrême.

The illustrious critic of the terror machine of the Biya regime, is now the victim of a plot worthy of the darkest Stalinist years, he stands accused of “aggravated robbery and possession of weapons of combat.” It is with this charge, invented and orchestrated from scratch, that Meyomesse is presented to the public and the press as “highway robber”, with his three alleged accomplices in a climate of extreme humiliation.

Joël Didier Engo continues on his blog [fr]:

Ce serait le gag de noël au Cameroun de Paul BIYA: “Enoh MEYOMESSE à la tête d’un gang de braqueurs d’or dans l’Est du Cameroun…” De quoi perdre la raison, y compris dans ce pays coutumier des campagnes publiques de délation et de lynchage, orchestrées en haut lieu contre tous les empêcheurs de tyranniser en rond

This would be the Christmas prank in Paul BIYA's Cameroon: “Enoh MEYOMESSE as the leader of a gang of gold robbers in eastern Cameroon…” This is insane even for a country accustomed to public campaigns of denunciation and lynching, orchestrated in high places, against all opponents of tyrants.

On Facebook, writer Patrice Nganang regularly posts pictures and news of his imprisoned colleague. His personal profile is also becoming a forum of discussion for some Cameroonian netizens. Amougou Herman for instance commented [fr]:

Je pense que ce qui se passe au cameroun aujourdhui en politique, est le véritable problème qui mine les pays en voie de developpement de toujours penser que celui qui ne partage pas nos opinions est notre ennemi . le problème devient d'autant plus grave lorsqu'on a en face une machine judiciaire corrompue qui ne fait pas son travail.

I think what is happening today in politics in Cameroon is symptomatic of the basic problem that plagues many developing countries of always thinking that those who do not share our beliefs are our enemies. The problem becomes more serious when we face a corrupt judicial machinery that does not work.

Enoh Meyomesse's testimony

Meyomesse has been able to meet Jean-Bosco Talla, a journalist from Cameroonian newspaper Germinal, who visited him in Nkondengui prison on December 31, 2011. Meyomesse told the story of his arrest [fr]:

À mon retour le 22 novembre 2011, si mes souvenirs sont exacts, dans le hall de l’aéroport international de Nsimalen, j’aperçois deux personnes qui brandissent une de mes photos (…). Je me dirige vers ces personnes pour chercher à savoir ce qui se passe et tenter de comprendre d’où leur vient ma photo. Soudain, l’une des personnes me fait savoir que je suis en état d’arrestation. C’est plus tard que j’apprends qu’il s’agissait du colonel Oumarou Ngalibou, commandant de la légion de gendarmerie de l’Est-Cameroun. Je suis conduit manu militari au secrétariat d’État à la défense (Sed) à Yaoundé où on me livre à deux enquêteurs pour exploitation. C’est au moment de l’interrogatoire, quand les enquêteurs me demandent de leur indiquer notre cache d’armes que j’apprends que je serais à la tête d’un gang de braqueurs et qu’en complicité avec des forces étrangères, nous serions en train de fomenter un coup d’État. (…)

If I remember correctly, when I returned to Cameroon on November 22, 2011, I saw two people waving my photo in the lobby of the Nsimalen International Airport (…) I walked up to these people to find out what was happening and try to understand why they were waving my picture. Suddenly, one of them informs me that I'm under arrest. Only later did I learn that the person I talked to was Colonel Oumarou Ngalibou, commander of the gendarmerie in eastern Cameroon. I was then forcibly led to the Secretariat of State for Defence (Sed) in Yaoundé. It was during the interrogation, when investigators asked me to reveal our weapons cache, that I learned that I was accused of being the leader of a gang of robbers in collusion with foreign forces trying to foment a coup. (…)

Meyomesse continues:

Le 21 décembre 2011, un gendarme vient nous demander de nous apprêter. Quand nous sortons de nos cellules, nous sommes surpris de nous retrouver au milieu d’un attroupement dans la cour de la légion de gendarmerie de l'Est à Bertoua. Une mise en scène destinée à nous présenter au public comme de vulgaires malfrats. Il se dit que presque toutes les autorités de la ville de Bertoua étaient présentes. Les populations, les journalistes, les photographes y étaient également. Menottés, ils ont donné à chacun de nous des papiers sur lesquels ils avaient pris soin d’écrire nos nom, âge et le soi-disant motif de notre arrestation (…) C’est après cette mise en scène que nous avons été transférés à Yaoundé. Le jeudi 22 décembre 2011, nous sommes passés brièvement devant le tribunal militaire qui a décidé de nous placer en garde-à-vue à la prison centrale de Kondengui.

On December 21, 2011, an officer came to ask us to prepare. When we exited our cells, we were surprised to find ourselves in the midst of a crowd in the courtyard of the gendarmerie in Bertoua. Everything was staged so that we would be introduced to the public as common criminals. It was said that almost all authorities in the town of Bertoua were present. Citizens, journalists, photographers were also there. Handcuffed, they gave each of us papers on which they had written down our name, age and the alleged reason for our arrest. (…) It was after this spectacle we were transferred to Yaoundé. On Thursday, December 22, 2011, we were appeared briefly before the military court which decided to detain us at the Central Prison of Kondengui.

The Cameroonian Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, commented [fr] on the affair during a press conference in December. According to the Cameroon Tribune, the minister claimed Enoh Meyomesse was named by alleged accomplices in an armed robbery at a mine in November:

… “vu qu'il s'agit d'un vol à main armée, Enoh Meyomesse est mis à la disposition du tribunal militaire”.

… “since this is an armed robbery, Enoh Meyomesse has been sent to a military court”

A fundraising campaign has been launched by Internet Sans Frontières (Internet Without Borders) to assemble a team of international lawyers who will ensure that Enoh Meyomesse receives the legal defense he is entitled to.

Global Voices in Dutch Looks Back on 2011

Percy Balemans — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:00:05 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices in 2011.

While the year 2012 is already well on its way, the translators of Global Voices in Dutch look back on 2011. Which posts stood out and what makes Global Voices so special?

Marjolein Snippe writes:

A while ago I had been translating a short documentary on the Belo Monte hydroelectric power plant and the arguments of indigenous people opposing it. Then I saw this report on Global Voices. I was glad the issue is still receiving attention and that the (mainly) indigenous people opposing it are getting their voices heard in Brazilian courtrooms, by the Brazilian government and by worldwide sympathisers and supporters.

I was very much touched by an article about Syria I translated back in March. All the personal stories and deep worries made the impact the struggles had on the people living there so much more visible and “tangible” than most official newspaper reports!

Mieke Tulp writes:

Being asked which GV posts from last year made an impression, it seems inevitable to come up with something about the Arabic Spring. One article that struck me was a report about day-to-day life on Tahrir Square. It focussed on the positive attitude and feelings among the protesters. Little Utopia amidst explosive surroundings

Another story from an Arab country that touched me was the arrest of Razan Ghazzawi. The article was translated into virtually every language Global Voices covers, and rightfully so. She was released on 18 December.

Something that had an absolutely negative impact on me: Troy Davis’ death. He was executed in September. I do not know what to say about it. It should not have happened.

And an interesting story about children who have to work. In Bolivia the working children formed unions to ensure better wages and working conditions. It is a story about strong children who work and go to school and are determined to create a better future for themselves.

Percy Balemans writes:

Last year I translated a lot of stories about the Arab Spring, a subject that was also covered extensively by regular media. But they mainly showed images of huge crowds. This is why I was touched by the story about Egyptian Nadia El Awady who took her 73-year old father to Tahrir Square. What a wonderful way to get a taste of the atmosphere and to read how a 73-year old experiences it all!

I also enjoyed translating the article “African Women Striving to be Heads of State“. A perfect example of the kind of subject you won't read about in regular media, but which is covered by Global Voices.

Saskia Bliemer writes:

I found “North Korea Threatens to Disclose Recordings of Talks with South“, written by Lee Yoo Eun, very interesting to translate. Though we have seen lots of images from North Korea on the news lately, the country remains a mystery to me. The good thing about Global Voices is that you can read the opinions of the local population, making it possible to get a more complete idea of the situation.

A huge thank you to all Global Voices in Dutch translators [nl] for their contributions in 2011! Would you like to contribute as well? Contact us.

This post is part of our special coverage Global Voices in 2011.

Cameroon: Violent Clashes Between Motorbike Taxi Drivers and Douala Citizens

Julie Owono — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:28:15 +0000

On December 31, 2011, in the popular district of Deido in Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, riots broke out between the inhabitants of the district and motorbike taxi drivers, also know as “benskiners”. The violence is ongoing according to this article in the daily newspaper Le Jour and several testimonies by Cameroonian netizens.

Elie Kopter explains the reason for the riots on Facebook [fr]:

un jeune homme de deido rentrait de boîte avec sa copine (05h du mat ) ; elle se fait arracher son sac à main par le passager d'une mototaxi et comme son copain tentait de s'interposer il reçoit un coup de couteau à la base du cou , et en décède . Les jeunes du quartier alertés décident de faire la peau aux conducteurs de moto qui arpentent le quartier . En réaction les conducteurs de moto saccagent les kiosques et autres commerces dans le quartier . Les forces de l'ordre s'interposent pour ramener le calme

a young man from Deido was on his way home from a club with his girlfriend (at 5 a.m in the morning) when her handbag was snatched by the passenger of a taxi motorbike. As her boyfriend tried to intervene, he was stabbed at the base of the neck, and died from the wound. When the youngsters of the neighborhood learned of the news, they decided to go after any motorbike taxi drivers who roamed around the neighborhood. In retaliation, the ”benskiners” sacked kiosks and other businesses in the neighborhood. The police are intervening to restore calm

The following video posted on YouTube by user on January 3, 2012, shows inhabitants destroying a taxi motorbike in Deido:

User Gefcasting shared a video recorded from Cameroonian private television channel Equinoxe TV which reported the event on January 3, 2012:

According to a government report, the riots have already caused the death of four people. The day after in Deido, confusion still seems to reign [fr]:

Les motos-taxis men qui ont donné hier l’impression de reculer sont revenus en nombre.
Massés par centaines aux portes du quartier, ils ont tenté de casser les barrières de police afin d’aller en découdre avec leurs vis-à-vis, eux aussi sur le pied de guerre.
Des commerces ont à nouveau été incendiés, des motos vandalisées, sous le regard des forces de l’ordre quelque peu débordées.

The motorbike taxi drivers who seemingly were laying low yesterday, are now back in great numbers. Hundreds of them gathered at the gates of the district as they tried to break police barriers and go after their rivals.

Some shops were vandalized in the process and more motorbikes were burned as the police forces looked on, seemingly overwhelmed by the situation.

From Sidi Bouzid to Kinshasa: Francophone Africa in 2011

Lova Rakotomalala — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:53:05 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage:

Algeria Protests 2011

Cameroon Elections 2011

Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011

Gabon Unrest 2011

Morocco Protests 2011

Tunisia Revolution 2011

Marwane Ben Yamed of Jeune Afrique sums up succinctly but accurately the year that was for Francophone Africa when he writes [fr]:

Quelle année !

What a year!

Indeed, it would be an understatement to say that 2011 was an eventful year for the African continent. The usual year-end review would hardly do justice to the epic changes that have turned the continent upside down, driven by the collective courage of its citizens, who often faced violent repression while striving for emancipation from various dictatorships.

Through the eyes of local citizen media, here are some of the highlights of what transpired in the year 2011, a year that has left many citizen media contributors breathless, hopeful and disillusioned all at once.

Tunisia

It all started in Sidi Bouzid where protesters decided against all odds and 40 years of the authoritarian police regime of Ben Ali that they “are not afraid anymore“.

Sidi Bouzid banner illustration from Nawaat.org

The prescient words of Mohamed Ali Chebâane took a whole new meaning when he wrote on December 29, 2010 [fr]:

Vos jeunes se sont soulevés et il sera difficile de les faire taire : Ils s’immolent, s’électrocutent, et je ne pense sérieusement pas que des coups de matraques ou des longues nuits dans les commissariats vont leur faire peur.

Your youth has risen up and it will be difficult to shut them up now: they set themselves on fire, electrocute themselves so I don't think that getting beaten up with sticks or long nights at the police station will scare them either.

The uprising across Tunisia resulted in the fall of the Ben Ali regime, the initiation of the process towards a new constitution and the election of a new interim president.

The spirit of Sidi Bouzid was carried over in many other nations in Northern Africa and the whole continent in general.

Gabon

A few weeks after the fall of Ben Ali, the West African nation of Gabon also erupted in protests against the rule of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, son of long-time strongman Omar Bongo. Citing allegations of election fraud, opposition leaders formed a breakaway government on January 26, 2011, with former presidential candidate André Mba Obame as the self-declared president.

After weeks of protests that were repressed violently by the government, the uprising did not result in political change but the Tunisian revolution clearly inspired Gabonese citizens. This sign below held by protesters summarize in a few witty words the inspiration that Tunisia provided to other countries:

Meyo-Kye, North Gabon, 2 February, 2011. Banner reads: "In Tunisia, Ben Ali left. In Gabon, Ali Ben out." Image provided via Julie Owono

Algeria

Algerian citizens also followed up on holding the authorities accountable for the high levels of corruption, unemployment and the rise in basic goods prices. Inequalities are growing wider even though the country is the fourth largest exporter of crude oil in Africa and an important producer of natural gas.

Protests were initiated shortly after the ones in Tunisia and climaxed on February 12, 2011 (#Feb12). Additional demonstrations followed for a week in several cities and all were violently repressed by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika regime. Eventually, the protests fizzled, sapped by the violent repressive measures and national media blockade.

As the status quo remained, a few Algerian bloggers were left disillusioned about the idea of an “Arab revolution”. Khaled Satour wrote in February of 2011:

We have to free ourselves from this harmful siren call of the “Arab revolution” that deludes us into thinking the slate has been wiped clean and all alliances are possible. Sadly, we already know some of the apostles of “democracy” who are protesting once again

Morocco

Another democracy-driven movement grew from streets protests in Morocco. The demands of the February 20 movement centered around reforms that would promote a better democracy and reduce corruption. The youth-based movement has not resulted in fundemental structural change in the Moroccan Kingdom but some reforms were granted by the King.

In the following video, members of the movement provide the details of who they are and why they are protesting [ar]:

Cote d'Ivoire

Following a contentious presidential election in 2010 opposing incumbent Gbagbo against Ouattara, Côte d'Ivoire was rocked in 2011 by its second civil war in less than a decade that resulted in the arrest of then President Gbagbo at his residence on April 11.

Protests at the French embassy in Berlin, against French military intervention in Cote d'Ivoire. Image by Thorsten Strasas, copyright Demotix (09/04/2011).

Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook played an important role in sharing information in real-time from the ground during the crisis, but citizen media was also often used as vectors for hate. To counter this ill-use of information technology, Ivorian social media contributors undertook multiple citizen media-driven actions to promote peace and humanitarian efforts during the crisis and in the post-crisis recovery period.

Edith Brou, a community manager in Abidjan, explains how curated social media can make a difference [fr]:

@edithbrou: Let's tweet usefully and tweet efficiently, to save lives, vi@ [via] the Ivorian Web. #civsocial… one tweet can make the difference -

A concrete example of such action was described by blogger Cartunelo who tweeted [fr] in April of 2011:

@cartunelo: #civsocial, We need a doctor at the Star 6 area, the sister of a friend has just been shot!! If you know one, we urgently need his/her contact details!!!#civ2010

@cartunelo: Thanks to your help, the bleeding has stopped. Now we need xylocaine. Contact 10003480/03784354

Cameroon

Despite a diverse showing of candidates for the presidential elections in Cameroon that took place on October 9, the status quo remained as incumbent Paul Biya remained in power. The campaign prior to the elections lacked intensity has many Cameroonians seemed resigned to the foregone re-elections of Paul Biya, in power since 1982.

Bloggers seemed to mostly blame the lack of alternative in Cameroonian politics on the inability of the opposition to present a credible united alternative to Biya:

18 individuals gather in total 5.01% ! What a joke! Give us back our dozen millions that you received for the so-called campaign! We don't know you! The whole opposition together doesn't even reach 25% of the ballots, what a shame!

Democratic Republic of Congo

The outcome of the presidential election in DR of Congo that took place on November 28, 2011, is still disputed by the opposition candidate Étienne Tshisekedi. The official results announced that the incumbent Joseph Kabila won the elections but the electoral process was marred with fraud allegations.

The official results prompted riots and violence in Kinshasa and other cities in DR of Congo. Outrage even spread in the Congolese diaspora abroad where unrest rocked several cities of Europe and North America. The Wikipedia page of the DR of Congo as of January 2, 2012, even lists Tshisekedi as the current president.

Congolese bloggers documented many irregularities during the pre-electoral campaign. Alex Egwete details one of the issues that was encoutered during the pre-elections period:

The electoral commission is in the midst of yet another controversy, this time over the discovery of phantom polling stations in the “cartography” of polling stations CENI recently published. Some opposition groups and journalists have given CENI Chair Rev Daniel Ngoy Mulunda 72 hours (commencing yesterday) to come up with a coherent explanation for those phantom polling stations.

Senegal

Senegal has also experienced its share of protests in 2011. The demands were spurred on by perceived nepotism by President Wade in favor of his son Karim and by frequent power outages throughout the year. Presidential elections are set for February 26, 2012, and many observers fear that additional unrest may follow.

Recent protests in December have focused on the legal case of Barthelemy Dias [fr], a member of the opposition who was arrested for an alleged homicide:

Une situation née des violentes manifestations produites à Dakar par des jeunes de l’opposition pour réclamer la libération de Barthélémy Dias.
Les forces de police comme celle de la gendarmerie sont aux aguets pour parer à toute éventualité.

Violent protests begun in Dakar when youth from the opposition demanded freedom for Barthélémy Dias. Police forces are preparing against any additional unrest.

This post is part of our special coverage:

Algeria Protests 2011

Cameroon Elections 2011

Côte d'Ivoire Unrest 2011

Gabon Unrest 2011

Morocco Protests 2011

Tunisia Revolution 2011

A Radical Solution For Global Poverty: Open Borders

Andreea Ungureanu — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:21:20 +0000

18 December was the occasion to celebrate The International Migrants Day [fr]. During the current global financial crisis, immigration from developing countries has been blamed by several political parties as the source of unemployment in their countries. Even though there hasn't been a single study, so far, that has proved that immigration has had in fact a meaningful role in the employment crisis, this belief remains strongly anchored in the minds of many.

Another phenomenon is also strongly anchored in the fabric of many developed societies: the increase in frequency of humanitarian campaigns around the holiday season.

Indeed, at every year's end in the more developed countries, one can observe campaigns that encourage their citizens to make donations to fight poverty in distant, less fortunate countries.

In addition to the recurring images of extreme poverty around the holidays (also referred to as “poverty porn” in the development sector whenever pictures of poor people are excessively exploited by charities), there are some worrying statistics: 1.4 billion people live with less than $1.25 a day. Despite some undeniable economic progress in many African nations, social inequality is still even more striking on the African continent.

Economists also project that 1/3 of the poor in the world will reside on the African continent by 2015. In fact, economic hardship is one of the key factors mentioned by the 700 million people worldwide who are eager to leave their countries of origin.

Nomads in Morocco on Flickr by Antonioperezrio (CC-NC-2.0)

It often seems that the least developed countries just cannot escape the scourge of poverty, apparently powerless against the magnitude of the task at hand. Moreover, these countries are often reminded of their inability to meet the needs of the population without international support. Although international aid is a consequence of urgent crises, this situation is often felt as a recurring affront to national pride.

Various experts postulate, however, that extreme poverty isn't inevitable. The most radical solution to drastically reducing global poverty would be, for many economic experts, opening the borders between countries and allowing workers to migrate where labor is most needed.

Professors Marko Bagaric and Lant Pritchett are two of the first scholars to introduce the concept of “open borders” as a solution to reducing global poverty.

To this effect, Bagaric writes::

Sending resources to impoverished places has merit. But it is a slow and fickle way of enhancing well-being. Instead, we directly pursue this aim by freeing up the flow of people so they can travel to where the goods are. [..] The starvation crisis is simply one of food distribution, not shortage. The best way to ameliorate Third World poverty is by massively increasing migration to the West. Left to their own devices many people would gravitate to life-sustaining resources, leading to a rough equilibrium between the world's resources and its population.

Lant Pritchett explains this notion in details in his book: Let Their People Come: Breaking the Policy Deadlock on International Labor Mobility. He quotes the results of a study claiming that:

Eliminating the planet’s remaining trade barriers would increase global GDP by around $US100 billion.
Eliminating immigration barriers, by comparison, would as much as double world income: that is, increase global GDP by $US60 trillion.
This added wealth would be shared, but the overwhelming beneficiaries would be people who now live in poor countries.

Demonstrations held in favor of the immigrants’ right to work in Paris by austinevan on Flickr (CC-NC-SA-2.0)

The World Bank published a study about immigrants' contribution to the economy of their native countries through remittances from abroad. The study also shows that remittances are expected to reach as high as 351 billion dollars to the developing countries, and 481 billion dollars globally including the high-income countries. The study also mentions that:

Remittance flows to four of the six World Bank-designated developing regions grew faster than expected — by 11 percent to Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 10.1 percent to South Asia, 7.6 percent to East Asia and Pacific and 7.4 percent to Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the difficult economic conditions in Europe and other destinations of African migrants.

Needless to say, these non-orthodox theories are questioned by various experts and politicians. Frank Salter explains that the main concerns come from the inherent dysfunctions of every multicultural society:

Unrestricted migration would harm (Australia’s) national interests in ways documented by scholars in economics, sociology and related disciplines. Much of the harm is predictable from what is known about the dysfunctions of diversity. They include growing inequality in the especially invidious form of ethnic stratification [..] Diversity has also been associated with reduced democracy, slowed economic growth, falling social cohesion and foreign aid, as well as rising corruption and risk of civil conflict

From a political point of view, Europe is far from opening the borders, rather the contrary. In France, the Guéant Act restricts foreign graduates' possibility of recruitment, giving birth to various reactions. Julie Owono, Global Voices member, describes the implications of this law and the reactions of various African bloggers that see this law as an additional reason to contribute to the development of their countries. On the Rue89's blog, Owono adds that the Guéant Act also ostracizes financially limited foreign students [fr].

In Africa, only a few experts have studied the concept of open borders, an idea that is, without doubt, too distant from the continent realities to persist. McGill University philosophy professor, Arash Abizadeh, doesn't encourage the opening of borders, yet states that the current border system can't be justified by a liberal egalitarian logic. Abidazeh states that if we want to stick to the belief that “All men are born free and equal”, the constitution of borders is by itself a violation of such a principle.

Malagasy blogger Sly writes about the risks of opening the borders:

I'm African and while it seems that this would be a good idea there are some drawbacks
-child trafficiking
-drug trafficking
-spread of HIV and other diseases.
-refugees will form camps in more prosperous nations causing some problems.
Having said this some countries in Africa do have open borders with some neighbourig countries.

Sly refers to the fact that opening the borders between Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia, in an attempt to increase regional economic integration, raised some major challenges in the region during the recent food crisis.

This concept of using open borders to reduce global social inequalities implies that reducing global poverty would be the highest priority in the world. It would come before other important considerations such as national security and the national interests of each country. This theory of Pritchett and Magric certainly has a contentious side that aims to provoke a debate.

However, despite the claims of the international community that wants to reduce poverty worldwide, the open borders solution is only to be considered in specific contexts and won't take precedence over other items on the international agenda.

Francophone Africa: The Important Literary Contributions from Former Colonies

Solène TRETOUT — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:36:57 +0000

The Genevan blog of Rémi Mogenet, Le Savoyard de la Tribune, explains with supporting examples that [fr]: “Mythological African traditional stories have made a remarkable entrance into francophone literature”. He quotes the Mandika epic tale of Soundjata, written and published in French by Guinean D. T. Niane, as well as, for Cameroon, Au Pays des initiés by Gabriel Mfomo and La Marseillaise de mon enfance by Jean-Marton Tchaptchet, without forgetting L' Anthologie nègre by Blaise Cendrars.

African Bloggers React To UNESCO's Admission Of Palestine

Patricia Worth — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 14:44:19 +0000

[All links lead to French language pages except when otherwise noted]

The admission of Palestine as a full member of UNESCO on 31 October 2011 has prompted an intense debate, with people taking very different stands. Africans from the continent as well as the diaspora have also taken an active part in the debate online. However, whether they agreed or disagreed with Palestine's admission to UNESCO, the different sides have often projected the debate onto the internal problems of their own countries.

UNESCO admits Palestine. Photo by Salaam Shalom on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The site ouestaf.com reveals which African countries abstained from voting:

Trois pays ouest africains figurent dans le lot des abstentionnistes : Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Togo. Ils constituent avec le Cameroun, l’Ouganda, la Zambie et le Rwanda les seuls pays africains à n’avoir pas voté en faveur de la résolution faisant de Palestine un Etat membre à part entière de l’Unesco.

Three West African countries figure among the non-voters: Ivory Coast, Liberia and Togo. With Cameroon, Uganda, Zambia and Rwanda, these three are the only African countries to have voted against the resolution to make Palestine a full member state of UNESCO.

Each of the countries that chose to abstain gave its official reasons, which bloggers then quickly tore apart. The site amaizo.info published an article giving valid reasons for most of the countries:

En réalité, ces pays ont en commun d’assurer une partie de leur sécurité rapprochée jusqu’au niveau des gardes présidentielles avec Israël sans compter les aides économiques.

Ces « neutralistes » se cachent derrière l’obligation de réserve au lieu d’expliquer qu’ils sont tous directement ou indirectement tributaires du soutien des pays qui ne veulent pas entendre parler d’un Etat Palestinien pour le moment. Nommons Israël, les Etats-Unis, le Canada et la Colombie, etc. La France a voté en faveur de l’adhésion de la Palestine à l’UNESCO, mais annonce qu’elle s’abstiendra au Conseil de Sécurité.

In reality, these countries have a common purpose in ensuring part of their security, up to the level of presidential guards, with Israel, not counting economic aid.

The ‘neutral ones' hide behind the duty to preserve secrecy, instead of explaining that they are all directly or indirectly dependent on the support of countries that, for the moment, don't want to hear about a Palestinian state. Just to name some: Israel, the United States, Canada, Colombia etc. France voted in favour of Palestine joining UNESCO, but announced that it would abstain from the Security Council.

Explaining the position of Ivory Coast, the only African country run by a Muslim president to have opted for abstention, S. Débailly writes in an article entitled “Palestine in UNESCO / Ivory Coast abstains from voting - Why Alassane Ouattara didn't say yes to Nicolas Sarkozy”, published by abidjan.net:

Une source au ministère d’Etat, ministère des Affaires étrangères reconnaît que la pression a été forte. Mais, ajoute-t-elle, elle est restée fidèle à sa nouvelle ligne de conduite dictée par la recherche de la paix par la négociation et la volonté de préserver les amitiés avec tous les Etats du monde. Un peu comme la philosophie diplomatique du père fondateur [Félix Houphouët-Boigny], à savoir : ‘’la Côte d’Ivoire, amie de tous, ennemie de personne’’.

A source in the state ministry, the Foreign Affairs ministry, acknowledges that the pressure has been strong. But, she adds, Ivory Coast has remained faithful to her new line of conduct dictated by the search for peace through negotiation and the desire to preserve friendships with all the world's governments. A bit like the diplomatic philosophy of the founding father (Félix Houphouët-Boigny), that is, “Ivory Coast, friend of all, enemy of no one”.

But Roch Tieh, a resident of Sétif in Morocco, commenting on that article, has quite a different explanation, more personal, for President Abdourahmane Dramane Ouattara (ADO):

Loin de partager l'avis de la plupart des frères qui sont intervenus sur ce sujet, j'ai une autre vision de la chose. Je risque de choquer certains, mais pour ceux qui me voient souvent prendre position pour ADO, je dirai ici (Sans en avoir la preuve) que le vote de notre Pays a été influencé, par la Première Dame (Que je respecte beaucoup). Elle serait d'origine Juive et donc comme le dit l'Agade: Ce qui Femme veut, DIEU le veut aussi. Notre Président a demandé que notre Pays s'abstienne, si on ne peut pas voter pour l'adhésion de la Palestine à l'Unesco, il faut rester neutre. C'est sage de sa part et il n'y a pas de Palabres inutiles à la maison.

Far from sharing the advice of most of the brothers who intervened on this subject, I have a different view of things. I risk shocking some people, but for those who see me often taking a stand for ADO, I will say here (without having any proof) that our country's vote was influenced by the First Lady (for whom I have a lot of respect). She would be of Jewish origin, thus as Agade says: What Woman wants, GOD also wants. Our president asked that our country abstain; if we cannot vote for Palestine to become a member of UNESCO, we must remain neutral. For his part, it's wise; there'll be no endless, useless discussions at home.

A story written by Alain Noah Awana of the journal Le Messager (The Messenger) on cameroon-info.net agrees with the previous analysis on why Cameroon also abstained:

Joint sur son téléphone portable alors qu'il se trouvait à Paris, le Pr. Messanga Nyamding donne les trois raisons qui, selon lui, ont poussé le Cameroun sur la voie de l'abstention….En filigrane, on peut comprendre que le pays a choisi la neutralité pour ne pas attirer les foudres de la communauté internationale, notamment celles des Etats-Unis. Deuxièmement, il se pourrait que le Cameroun ait voulu éviter de «frustrer» un pays ami. Là, le professeur parle d'Israël, qui était formellement opposé à l'admission de la Palestine à l'Unesco. «Le Cameroun a de très bonnes relations avec Israël, sur les plans économique et militaire. C'est un partenaire privilégié que nous n'avons pas voulu frustrer», argue-t-il. Enfin, et c'est la troisième raison, la position du Cameroun tient lieu du fait que c'est un pays très attaché aux groupes du tiers monde et des non alignés. «Nous avons donc choisi la voie du milieu, en attendant qu'il y ait visibilité. Et c'est d'ailleurs ce que le chef de l'Etat a toujours prôné», appuie-t-il.

Calling from his mobile phone while he was in Paris, Professor Messanga Nyamding gave three reasons which, according to him, drove Cameroon along the abstention path … It is implicit that we understand that this country chose neutrality in order not to attract angry responses from the international community, particularly the United States. Secondly, it might be that Cameroon wanted to avoid ‘frustrating' a friendly country. Here, the professor is talking about Israel, which was formally opposed to admitting Palestine to UNESCO. “Cameroon has very good relations with Israel, on economic and military levels. It's a special relationship that we don't want to trample on,” he argues. Finally, the third reason is that Cameroon's position is a substitute for the fact that it's a country that's very attached to third world and non-aligned groups. “So we have chosen the middle road, while waiting for things to become clearer. And this is, may I add, what the head of state has always advocated,” he insists.

These explanations don't seem to convince Massaknowall, who makes the following remarks in the comment section:

La garde rapprochée de Biya est formée par les israëliens ceci explique peut-être cela tout simplement

Biya's bodyguard is composed of Israelis; perhaps this might be a simpler explanation.

In a comment on a story by Justin Daboné, entitled “Palestine in UNESCO: Those American anti-democrats”, which appeared on the online site for L'Observateur Paalga in Burkina Faso, a reader named Osiris wrote, addressing President Obama:

vous devez user de votre influence pour amener les durs d' Israel à mettre un peu d'eau dans leurs vins§ beaucoup d'Israeliens ont payé de leur vie et idem pour les palestiniens ! Il est temps de donner un état à ce peuple.

You have to use your influence to bring the tough guys from Israel to put a little water in their wine. A lot of Israelis have paid with their life and ditto for the Palestinians! It's time to give this people a state.

Clive Chanda finds another reason for Zambia's abstention [en]:

… in 1991, several Jewish Rabbis, came to Zambia, and held a press conference at one of the top hotels in Lusaka, I forget which one. At this conference, they said that God Almighty had told them that there was a lost tribe of Jews in northern Zambia.

Another comment by Yambayamba published on zambianwatchdog.com draws conclusions [en] which sum up the point of view of many Africans:

Palestinians have suffered long enough. Telling Israel this truth does not mean, or should it ever be interpreted as being ANTI JEWISH. Good friends tell friends the truth. Sometimes truth is hard to hear, but it is the truth nonetheless. Because for how long are the Israelis going to sustain the current existing “status quo” between them and their neighbors, the Palestinians? The earlier they deal with this issue, the less physical and psychological damage it is going to cause to future generations in that part of the world.

Cameroon: A Cameroonian Artist in London

Abdoulaye Bah — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:49:10 +0000

Commenting on an exhibition organized by Illy, an Italian coffee maker in London, bonaberi.com blog reports that [fr] : “The Cameroonian Alioum Moussa takes part in the exhibition as he was requested to design one of the new boxes of Illy [coffee]. ”

Cameroon: 5th International Festival of Fulani Arts and Tradition

Rhita Boufelliga — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:12:34 +0000

The Bilitol fulfude association is organizing the 5th international festival of Fulani arts and tradition [fr] from December 8th to December 11th 2011. The festival will take place at Yagoua, a region of the far east Cameroon. The program has scheduled the following events: “educational discussions, […] traditional games, traditional equestrian performances, cooking competitions, poetry, tales, Miss Fula pageant, a fashion show, an evening with the artists, story tellers, etc…”

Cameroon : African Women Football Champions disappointed with the Delay in Prize Payouts

Rhita Boufelliga — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:54:17 +0000

On cameroun.football.fr, Guy Roger Obama noted [Fr]: “The day after their qualification for the 30th Olympiad «London 2012», Michèle Madeleine Ngono Mani's (team captain) teammates were not pleased with the delayed payment of the remaining balance of the monetary prize they received for winning the gold medal at the 10th All African Games of Maputo in 2011.”

Cameroon: Demographic growth and development

Theodora Rowlands — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:01:07 +0000

Eugene C. Shema reports on his conversation with Dr. Fassa Daniel Tolno regarding the connections between the population and development in Cameroon. On Africavox.com, he writes [fr] : “When the investments, the level of urbanization and the efforts on agriculture, human resources and industrialization do not keep up with the [increasing] size of the population, it goes without saying that the outcomes will be negative”.

Italy/Tunisia: Migrants' Opinions of the Arab Spring

Ciara Nugent — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:18:21 +0000

Since January 2011, events in North Africa have resulted in a series of dramatic changes to the form (and effects) of global protest and citizen participation. There has been an extensive convergence of traditional protest and web activism, confirming the crucial role played by the ‘Web 2.0′ in confrontations between governments and opposition movements.

The Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region has been (and remains) a fascinating testing ground for the media and politics and has inspired, among numerous other independent productions, a documentary film that features the voices of North African and African immigrants living in Italy. Called #Revolution, this short video was filmed in Padua and Bologna by citizen-reporters belonging to the Voci Globali association [it].

What did the revolutions mean for migrants? What part do they think the Internet played with respect to the results achieved? Differing opinions emerge from the interviews. There are those who think that the Internet acted as a springboard to the revolutions' successes, and those who maintain that social networks cannot replace public protest in the street.

Here is the #Revolution video (11+ min) [in Italian, with English subtitles]:

#Revolution will be shown in Padua on the 14 November as part of the roundtable “Tunisia, le stagioni dei gelsomini” (Tunisia, the Seasons of Jasmine) [it]. The event is included in Immaginafrica, an International festival dedicated to African filmaking launched by the History Department of the University of Padua. The festival, established in 2005, aims to promote an awareness of the complexity of the African continent in order to:

tarnish an image of Africa which is too often superficial, narrow, stereotypical and essentially negative, and which, owing to a relief-driven logic, finds too many obstacles to improving the interlocator's position. This image determines, to a great extent, the relationship with immigration, whereas recognition of different cultures' heritage, through careful and informed knowledge of their cultural expressions- to which immigrants can contribute - can be of valuable help in constructing a mutually enriching relationship,

Since it began, the festival's organisers have promoted a range of activities including the establishment of an university course in African film-making, especially francophone productions, with a particular focus on productions from Burkino Faso. The course is the first of its kind in Italy. Alongside the lectures the course aims to establish exchanges between Italian and Burkinabé researchers (like Justin Ouoro [fr], the film critc) as part of a collaboration between the Universities of Padua and of Ouagadougou. “Pégase” [fr], by Moroccan Mohamed Mouftakir, winner of Burkinabé film festival Fespaco 2011 [fr], will be also shown at Immaginafrica.

Immaginafrica 2011. Photo taken from the Kenyan short 'Pumzi'

Two other documentaries will be shown in Padua, “Laïcité, inch'Allah!” [fr], filmed in Tunisia during the revolution and “I nostri anni migliori“, filmed in Italian refugee centres in Mineo, Manduria and Palazzo San Gervasio. Participants in the round table discussion which will follow include the young historian and web activist Mehdi Tekaya, the film critic Tahar Chickaoui [fr] and Fethi Ouesleti, a Tunisian immigrant worker and the protagonist of the second documentary mentioned. The discussion will be chaired by journalist and blogger Gabriele Del Grande.

Given the results of the elections [en] held in Tunisia on the 23 October this year, should the young Jasmine revolutionaries be disheartened? The joy created by events at the beginning of this year is clearly audible in this radio interview with Tahar Chikaoui, published on Immaginafrica's website in January [the emotion in his voice conveys the historic nature of events, even to listeners who don't understand Italian].

The results of the elections have shown the Internet's limitations in terms of its ability to innovate and the complexity of social strata. The 27th of October this year, the Algerian writer Tahar Lamri [en] posted the translation of a video [ar] made by the Facebook group 10 Millions de Politiciens [ar, fr] on his Facebook page. The translation reads:

Elections are not won on the Internet/ They are not won by playing the tourist among people's problems/They're not won if, as soon as you take the microphone, you say: populism, elite, ignorant population, secularism is the be all and end all./ They're lost because the intellectual knows Brecht but doesn't know anything about the people/ elections are not won by songs. Aliens thought that Tunisia was Mars, that's the reason why they lost…

The e-book “70 chilometri dall'Italia” (70 km from Italy), edited by Voci Globali (with an introduction by Mehdi Tekaya) will also be launched at the conference. Following the success of the first edition, published this spring by quintadicopertina.com, the book has been extensively revised and updated to reflect the elections on the 23rd of October, including reactions and perspectives following the results. The e-book integrates a broad historical and political account with a selection of the most significant posts on the topic already published on Global Voices in Italiano.

We wish to thank the following people for their interviews in the documentary: Fabrice Dapnet, Mariange Sibi, Bacem Bjaoui, Tchouadeu Pouatcha Ulrich, Cheikh Ba, Hakim Jabrani, Zineb Naini, Souad Maddahi, Yassine Baradai, Diop Alioune Badara.

Camilla Corradin contributed to this translation.

Africa: The 4th edition of the African Media Leaders Forum

Paula Góes — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:33:03 +0000

Writing about the 2011 African Media Leaders Forum (AMLF) held on November 10-11 in Tunis, EVINA in the africapress.over-blog.com provides possible reasons [fr] for the increase in the number of participants: 55 people attended the first edition that took place in Dakar (Senegal) in November 2008, and 250 participants gathered in Yaounde, Cameroon in 2010.