Global Voices » Djibouti

Djibouti: 2012 Djibouti Whale Shark Expedition

Ndesanjo Macha — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:12:06 +0000

Seychelles Whale Sharks blogs about the the 2012 Djibouti whale shark expedition: “…Gareth has passed on the important statistics for the last week which yielded a further 369 encounters which makes the total of 1077 over the three weeks of expedition…Also, Gareth managed to deploy two satellite tags, one on a five metre female and the other on a five meter male…”

Somalia: Food Security Emergency Spreads Despite Aid

Juhie Bhatia — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:49:30 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

This post was commissioned as part of a Pulitzer Center/Global Voices Online series on Food Insecurity. These reports draw on multimedia reporting featured on the Pulitzer Gateway to Food Insecurity and bloggers discussing the issues worldwide.

As the Horn of Africa deals with what the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is calling the “most severe food security emergency in the world today,” experts warn that conditions in famine-stricken Somalia are likely to further deteriorate.

Over 12 million impacted

People line up for food at a camp in Mogadishu, Somalia. Image by UN Photo/Stuart Price on Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Triggered by a combination of the worst drought in 60 years, conflict and high food prices, the food crisis in northeast Africa is affecting more than 12 million people, according to the FAO. While countries such as Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya have been severely impacted, Somalia has been hardest hit, facing the worst food security crisis in Africa in the last 20 years.

Five areas of Somalia are now suffering from famine, which is expected to spread to two more regions soon and even further in coming months. It has already killed tens of thousands of people, including some 29,000 children in the past three months. Another 3.7 million people across Somalia are in crisis. Of these, 3.2 million are in need of immediate lifesaving assistance.

In response, the FAO has held two emergency meetings in less than a month, the most recent of which was last week, to determine steps for dealing with the disaster.

But David Dorward, a professor at Australia’s La Trobe University, says on website The Conversation, that there is one reason why Somalia has been more severely affected by this food crisis:

While droughts are caused by weather - the failure of the rains - famines are invariably political…

Crops have failed and livestock perished for want of pasture. But the problem is not spread evenly across the drought-affected region…

The famine has affected each part of the Horn in different ways. In each port, each capital, each refugee camp, politics decides who, and how many, will starve.

Continuous conflict

Somalia has experienced ongoing conflict since its civil war began in 1991. While there is a transitional government in place in the capital Mogadishu, the Islamic militant group al-Shabaab controls large portions of southern Somalia, where much of the famine is occurring. Al-Shabaab has banned many international aid groups, alleging ulterior motives on their part, and preventing hungry people from leaving the country, according to media sources.

John Campbell, blogging on the Council on Foreign Relations' site, mostly blames al-Shabaab for the crisis:

In effect, al-Shabaab bears the most responsibility for the famine. The terrorist group continues to block Western aid workers during a drought that has displaced close to two million people, or a quarter of Somalia’s entire population. A few years ago, Shabaab dismantled a child vaccination campaign, claiming it was a Western plot; that program could have saved many children who have since succumbed to measles.

Suspected measles cases in Somalia have increased by over 660 percent compared to the same time last year, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and cases of cholera are also on the rise. But a report released last week by Human Rights Watch says all parties to Somalia’s armed conflict are contributing to the catastrophe.

An Associated Press investigation revealed last week that sacks of food meant for starving Somalis are being stolen and sold in markets. Soaring prices are also adding to the population's inability to access food. The prices of local food staples in Somalia have increased by up to 240 percent in the past nine months, exceeding the previous record high in 2008, according to media reports.

Another cause of the crisis, says Dave Algoso, an international development professional in Kenya, on his blog Find What Works is the failure to respond to the crisis early. Rebecca Sargent, blogging on a peace of conflict, also blames, among many other factors, large land lease “land grabs.”

The crisis has forced Somalis to flee to neighboring countries, including Ethiopia, Djibouti and, particularly, Kenya. The number of refugees at Kenya's Dadaab complex has reached around 400,000, even though it was built to hold 90,000, with an average of 1,300 Somalis arriving daily. In a series for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Samuel Loewenberg reports on Dadaab's “disastrously overcrowded” refugee camps.

As aid workers struggle to get food and water to those in need, some bloggers wonder what they can do. Ann Freeman, blogging on Upside My Head (Pay Attention Now), lists three ways to help, including increasing awareness. The World Food Programme has created a quiz to do just that. Cynthia Bertelsen, blogging on Gherkins and Tomatoes, wonders why more food writers and bloggers aren't discussing the famine.

Search for solutions

While emergency aid and short-term solutions are necessary, international agricultural experts who gathered at the FAO emergency meeting last week also stressed the need for long-term actions and policies to prevent future famines. Kenya's agriculture minister, for example, emphasized the need for drought-resistant seeds, small irrigation projects and infrastructure and examining the link between food production problems and climate change.

Hannah Ellison, writing for the Population Institute's blog, says for other reforms to work, family planning must also be part of the strategy. Jeffrey Swindle, blogging on USAID’s Global Broadband and Innovations site, discusses information and communications technology's potentially important role in organizing humanitarian relief efforts and preventing famines. United States professor Marion Nestle, blogging on Food Politics, says Somalia's politics must also be addressed:

We keep making the same mistakes.

This is because it seems—and in the case of Somalia is—much easier to deal with the immediate demand for food aid than to address the underlying politics that caused the problem in the first place.

But if we don’t deal with the underlying politics, the same tragedies occur again and again.

Despite the dire situation, some bloggers try to remain hopeful. Somali model Iman, blogging on The Huffington Post, lists five seeds of hope for Somalia, including the strength of the country's women. Ed Carr, blogging on Open The Echo Chamber, points out that if humans have caused this disaster, we can also prevent the next one. Dave Algoso injects a little hope on his blog, Find What Works, by sharing three uplifting videos. He says:

Images of starving famine victims often reinforce pessimistic stereotypes of hopeless Africans unable to do much for themselves. Against such images, we like to inject nuance and point to the complexity of the situation, in the hope of countering the stereotypes and provoking a better response from the consumers of Western media.

But another possible antidote is to simply combat simplistic hopelessness with simplistic hopefulness.

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

Djibouti: Is Djibouti part of the Arab World

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 11:23:18 +0000

KonWomyn asks, “Is a protest in Djibouti a protest in the Arab World?”: Djibouti may be an East African country with much stronger ties to the African countries on The Horn than Egypt or Palestine, but it is no less a part of The Arab World Revolutions.

Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa censors Mideast protests

Ndesanjo Macha — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 09:36:11 +0000

Some African leaders do not want citizens to know what is happening in North Africa and Middle East: “As news of Middle Eastern and North African protests swirl around the globe, satellite television and the Internet prove vital sources of information for Africans as governments fearful of an informed citizenry and a free press such as in Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, and Zimbabwe impose total news blackouts on the developments.”

Djibouti: Will it become another Egypt?

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:39:07 +0000

Protests are taking place in Djibouti against President Ismail Omar Guelleh who succeeded his uncle Hassan Gouled Aptidon in 1999. Somaliland Press reports that 300 protesters demonstrated near the governmental palace on Friday.

Jones says he can not avoid to write about Djibouti's current political situation:

I haven't written much about Djibouti's current political situation, for many reasons, but I don't think I can avoid it much longer. With events in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Bahrain, Algeria…protest fever seems to be in the air and Djibouti is not immune.

We have experienced strikes when students are dissatisfied with teachers, lack of supplies or their grades. There have also been occasional, small-scale demonstrations over political issues or if the khat plane fails to arrive. But in the seven years we have lived here, nothing has been major enough to alarm us, just enough to keep us in the house for an afternoon or so.

Someone told her (Jones), “Djibouti isn't peaceful today, go home”:

Today there are planned protests, to begin sometime after 1400. We are just planning to stay inside. The only difference we have noticed lately around town is a vast increase in police presence, more rocks than normal in the streets and this morning while I ran and Henry biked around in the desert, someone said to us, “Djibouti isn't peaceful today, go home.”

Daniel McCurry, a blogger based in Djibouti, posts a video from the recent student protests and writes, “2nd day of protests and fatalities”:

I was in a cafe tonight watching Djibouti News and they showed pictures of burned out cars and several semi trucks burned. There was even a gas tanker burned. Another friend told me there were skirmishes with police until about 1 am last night. In Belbela right outside of the city there were rock throwing protests against police this morning. Currently all the schools are on vacation but the university is not. Attendance was very low today at the university many students stayed home because of the events of yesterday and today.

Harawo posts a statement from Union for Democratic Transition:

The protests continue not only in the capital but in many towns and villages. We are informed that they would have started early this morning Yoboki Ali Sabieh, Dikhil Obock and who also had expressed yesterday as Djibouti and Tadjourah, now under high tension.

#Djibouti Tweets:

@amanamongmen says:

News coming out of Djibouti. If they know what is healthy 4 them, they should release the activist they jailed 4 insurrectionary movements.

@texasinafrica can't keep up with uprisings anymore:

It was so much easier when social movements happened one at a time. Gabon, Libya, Djibouti, Cote d'Ivoire - I can't keep up.

@FelixPax retweets:

@acarvin RT @Sentletse: #Djibouti experienced its share of pro-democracy protests where an estimated 30,000 took to the streets on Sunday

Djibouti: Djiboutilicious

Ndesanjo Macha — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 14:47:34 +0000

Djiboutilicious is a Djibouti Cookbook celebrating culture and cooking in a country as hot as your oven.

Djibouti: Two evenings in Djibouti

Ndesanjo Macha — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 14:23:24 +0000

James Ferguson blogs about his experience while working in Djibouti: “‘The Beverley' is a place which is a very tiny elevator ride four floors above some kind of eatery, or convenience store, or pharmacy - I'm not sure which - that has very mysteriously, and misleadingly, borrowed it's name and logos from ‘Planet Hollywood'.”

Morocco: What do Moroccan and Djiboutian Education Have in Common?

Jillian C. York — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 19:07:39 +0000

Moroccan blogger Jamal Elabiad asks what education in Morocco and in Djibouti have in common.

Chez Gangoueus: A brilliant blog about African literature in French

Claire Ulrich — Sun, 30 May 2010 20:25:15 +0000

Réassi Ouabonzi

The Best of blog Awards 2010 shone light on a slew of fascinating blogs in 11 languages. A close runner-up for the Best blog in French award is Chez Gangoueus (fr). Réassi Ouabonzi blogs about African and diaspora literature in French from a reader's perspective since 2007, one book at a time. With time, Chez Gangoueus has developed into a unique online guide to African and diaspora writers.

GV : Why did you open a blog about books in the first place?

I was an avid reader as a teen, I devoured every book available in the French cultural center in Brazzaville (Congo), where I lived. I was born in France of Congolese parents, I spent 18 years in each country, and now live in France. Reading is time consuming, I dropped it during my studies in physics. Then, one day, I saw Beloved, a film by Jonathan Demme based on the book written by Nobel Prize Toni Morrison. It gave me such a jolt I decided to read all of one her books. She brought me back to reading.

- Why do you concentrate on black literature in French ?

It was a deliberate process. I'm interested in reading how black people see themselves and are represented. I opened a blog to document my readings, and let's face it, also because it's quite a violent reality, not to find any resources about African or black literature on the Francophone web, save for the online magazine Cultures Sud.

"Les écailles du ciel" by Tierno Monenembo

- What are the current trends in Francophone African literature?

- I review authors from any African countries, French West Indies or in diasporas, black literature at large. But let me think: in Congo, a new generation of writers is budding, inspired by award-wining writer and intellectual Alain Mabanckou. In Sénégal, I'm struck by the current emergence (empowering) of women writers, in the wake of best selling author Marie Ndiaye. I notice writers from Cameroon write with the same “in your face” directness and energy that they are are famous for. I must confess that I am in awe of Nigerian writers, like the great Chinua Achebe. Among francophone writers, I could mention so many: Abdourahman A.Waberi from Djibouti, Jimi Yuma from Congo, Patrice Nganang and Leonora Miano from Cameroon… they're all in my blogroll.

"Saisons sauvages" by Kettly Mars (Haiti)

- African authors now regularly win French literary awards, but most of your finds are totally unknown, invisible in French bookstores

- Black literature in French has trouble finding a publisher, but also a readership. In francophone Africa, books are difficult to publish, expensive and hard to find. But the problem is elsewhere. We West Africans can write and publish our own perspectives, but we should read them, too. Somehow, Africans have trouble reading books about themselves. They look elsewhere for references. My blog offers authors some coverage: I get a thousand visitors per month, 50% come from Metropolitan France, 30% from West Africa..

- You sometimes stray to review Japanese or South American books on your blog, but never French “white” literature.

"Le passé devant soi" by Gilbert Gatore

French literature is too navel-orientated. We're not on this earth for long. Let's get going. And French white writers are still totally blind to the true challenges in France, the plight of black or Arab youths disenfranchised in poor suburbs.

"Trois femmes puissantes", the award wining book and best-seller in France, by French-Senegalese author Marie Ndiaye

Why did you pick this name for your blog, “Chez Gangoueus”?

Ngangoué is my second Congolese given name. I consider myself of African and Western background and culture, I looked for a handle that would reflect this, and added the us suffix, in reference to latin culture, names like Brutus, Octavius or Britannicus. Gangouéus reflects my dual identity.

You alway take a picture of the book you are reading and most of the time, in public transports.

Because that's where I read! Work is work, family is family. Time spent commuting to and from work in Paris became my reading time!

"Les phalènes" by Tchicaya U Tam'Si

Djibouti: Food insecurity in Djibouti

Ndesanjo Macha — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:07:07 +0000

A blogger based in Djibouti writes about food insecurity in the country: “Food instability is about to hit Djibouti. The rainy season ends in a month and there hasn’t been much rain this year. Meaning, an estimated 120,000 people will need food assistance through December. Meanwhile the lazy overweight woman that eats all day long (aka Gilligan) is joking about starving Africans and complaining she has to walk 100yards to get her food since the place next door is closed.”

The groundswell of opposition to AFRICOM from African bloggers

John Liebhardt — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:57:33 +0000

At the tail-end of U.S. President George Bush’s six-day, five-country farewell tour of Africa came the announcement the Pentagon’s plans for a second U.S. military base on the continent of Africa is dead.

While the U.S. military presently houses about 1,500 soldiers in Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, the Pentagon has spent much of the past year searching various locales in Africa for a second base.

This story begins one year ago when the United States military announced the creation of AFRICOM, a separate command structure to oversee all U.S. military operations in Africa (except Egypt). AFRICOM was meant to provide the military with a more efficient approach to Africa because previous responsibility for the continent had fallen under three separate command structures.

People soon realized that AFRICOM stood for more than streamlining responsibilities. Enmeshed in AFRICOM’s DNA from day one is what the Pentagon refers to as “capacity building”: The idea that if the U.S. military can assist African nations build democratic institutions and establish good governance, some of the pockets of poverty and disorder that remain fertile grounds for terrorist groups would disappear. Also, if U.S. soldiers could work with local populations and show their softer side, it may reduce the appeal of extremism and curb Africans’ mistrust of American intentions.

U.S. soldiers training African armies is one thing. So is digging wells and vaccinating cattle for villagers. But rumors persisted that the U.S. also wanted to place a second military base on the continent. Eventually the Pentagon admitted it was searching for real estate that would allow it to better serve local soldiers, provide development work and respond quicker to crisis and contingencies. That’s when the AFRICOM program began running into problems.

For many African bloggers, a second proposed U.S. military base on the continent raised many red flags. Questions from the blogshpere flew: What exactly are U.S. interests in Africa?

For Tristen at Contrary to Authority the answer was simple: The U.S. wanted to extract Africa’s vast oil reserves.

Africa is under a new wave of exploitation, this time, instead of people, rubber and gold, it is Chinese and American interests competing for oil.

This older post from Sokari Ekine at the blog Black Looks raises many concerns Africans had about an AFRICOM base:

The question should not be whether Africa NEEDS Africom but why the US believes it NEEDS to have a military presence in Africa. We should be asking ourselves the following questions. Why does the US feels it needs a military presence in Africa? What will the US military presence consist of in terms of military hardware and numbers of personnel? How does the US intend to operate and in what circumstances will it’s forces be mobilized? In what way will the US military presence dictate or determine the price of Africa’s natural resources and who gets access to them? In what way will the US military presence infringe on the internal affairs of independent African countries and determine their foreign policy towards other AU members? How will the US military presence influence the foreign policy of independent African states towards non AU countries such as China? How will the US enhanced military presence infringe of the rights of African citizens? How will Africom impact on continental migration and the rights of the millions of Africans without citizenship and the rights of refugees?

The blog Katch Up outlines how President George Bush first moved U.S. policy towards Africa from dealing with mostly military matters and began addressing the daily concerns of many Africans, like providing functional schools and hospitals. However, when AFRICOM was proposed, Bush supplanted the interests of regular people for the welfare of his military.

Regrettably, over emphasis on militarisation has often had a boomerang effect which has begat the US more enemies that it would wish to have. Amusingly the greatest modern threat to America, terrorism, has its most effective launching pads in former US allies.

This distrust of the US has not whirled past Africa but indeed has acquired roots here, especially if you throw in the humus that is religion, and uniquely Islam. The new policy, whose worth Bush has now come to evaluate, is the latest Yankee detergent for its PR.

…

China won the heart of Africa with its emphasis on partnership rather than handouts. Well, handouts do feature still but partnership in trade and investment has given Beijing inroads in record time.

Between January and October 2007, Beijing made an incredible 30% jump to trail EU and US as the biggest trading partner with Africa. The time that these three have taken to position themselves as such tells you why the US is repackaging itself.

After Bush’s announcement in Accra, Ghana, the international media made it sound like he backed down from his plan in the face of criticism from African governments. In the end, only Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia invited the Americans to set up a base in her country. (During the Cold War, the U.S. military and the CIA ran a large communications station in Liberia.)

For African bloggers, however, it wasn’t just the governments who stood up for African rights, but Africans themselves. AfricanLoft, which sponsored more than a few debates on AFRICOM, asked its readers to weigh in on Bush’s statement.

It is a triumph for Africa that African countries held fast, writes Xcroc, who blogs at Crossed Crocodiles, but he warns:

However, AFRICOM can still do most all of what Bush has in mind without an HQ on the continent. Still, it shows they did not plan, and they did not take their target into account, and at least this far, they failed.

The Bush intention with AFRICOM has been to use mercenaries, to train African militaries to act as surrogate. And by “partnering” and training, get to know their strengths and weaknesses, in case of fighting with, or against them in the future. They don’t need an HQ on the continent to do this.

Ayo, the Care Taker at African Loft has this to say:

As much as I like the US, I feel their timing was off. The war on Iraq is an eye-sore and no amount of PR can erase the fact that there isn’t any basis for the war. Also, there wasn’t enough “back-room” consultation before the idea was make public, and this is somewhat strange given how the US is perceived worldwide. Now it’s up to the next administration to make the decision; we haven’t heard the last of it yet.

Bobby writes this:

Perhaps, as I have been saying all along, they are waiting for the country(ies) they want the HQ to be based in to stabilize before they make any announcements.

The sad thing about it is that the people who make the US foreign policies always seem to dismiss the interests of those foreign countries as though it won’t hurt the US in the long term.

Sokari, who blogs at Black Looks (from above), instructed readers at African Path that the fight against AFRICOM is not over. People need to keep the pressure on.

The about turn by the US government can be seen as a small victory for African sovereignty and the continents refusal to be drawn into America's “War on Terror” agenda which is being used as a cover for protecting US commercial interests, such as oil, across the globe. Nonetheless, the Command still exists and can be mobilized at short notice and as this report shows - “AFRICOM heads for the Gulf of Guinea“. The questions I raised above should still raise concerns amongst African citizens and Civil Society organizations should continue to pressurize their respective national governments and the African Union, to address the questions.

Also from African Path, here is a comment from Shaft

Let there be democracy in Africa, and let Africans do business withanyone that is willing to do business with them. What Africa need is not another militaristic institution, but businessmen willing to invest in Africa. Africans with their country and resources and anyon else with their money can raise the African's living standard. I am glad that President George W. Bush finally realized that it is not in the interest of Africa and America to have a militaristic institution stationed in Africa preventing democracy from sprouting and flourishing.

African Journalists on Franco-African Relations

Jennifer Brea — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 11:40:58 +0000

African journalists working in France are calling on the two remaining French presidential candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal, to begin a new chapter in Franco-African relations (Fr), according to the blog of the Alliance for Democratic Progress. “We have to reconsider everything, make a fresh start, a sort of “big bang,” so that France stops treating us like children. Africa must be a partner.” (Fr)

France: A War of Memory

Jennifer Brea — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 04:46:06 +0000

French Congolese poet Alain Mabanckou posts some reflections by Abdourahman Waberi (Fr), a French Djiboutian writer, on the upcoming French presidential elections. Waberi had thought France had “finally woken up” to the concerns of its non-white citizens, but that from the banlieues to the overseas departments rage and resentment remain unadressed. “It is not surprising that many of the inhabitants of these places consider themselves (post)colonial subjects, culturally “Frenchified,” but oppressed by the dominant French culture,” Waberi says. “The risk of a war of memory is more real than ever. The body politic seems to be breaking into pieces: memory of those repatriated in Africa, memory of the loyalist Algerian soldier, memory of the Holocaust, memory of the sons and daughters of the descendants of slaves. A litany of past crimes.”

Africa: renewable technologies

Ndesanjo Macha — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 07:47:39 +0000

Africa Unchained writes, “Karekezi, S…surveys (PDF) the dissemination of renewable technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa…and attempts to evaluate the potential for these technologies to meet the energy needs of Africa’s poor…“

Africa: Moving on from the digital indaba

Ndesanjo Macha — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 03:44:50 +0000

Meskel Square on “Moving on from the Digital Indaba“:
“Overall it was a huge success. One way of judging that is to look at all the discussions that are still carrying on in posts and comments and Technorati links. The discussions started with the race debate which I now wish I hadn't joined (there was just something about that pig/hairless-bulldog). But it has now moved on to thinking about what should come next.”