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"African Voices of Hope and Change," gives you an intimate perspective into the stories and people of Africa's Sub-Saharan region, through our best English-language posts from 2012 - a perfect gift to salute the new year.
The #Kony2012 campaign contained quite a few over-simplifications about Africa. African media itself is not immune from this sort of criticism either. Here is a summary of the gems, errors and other inaccuracies in media coverage of Africa.
The nomination of Cecile Kyenge, an Italian professor of medicine originally from the DRC, to the position of Integration Minister in the new Italian government, was applauded by commentators on the African blogosphere.
Ruha Devanesan explores how Invisible Children has responded to criticism of Kony 2012 and adapted its messaging and asks what lessons can be learned by the human rights advocacy community.
The announcement by Pope Benedict XVI of his intention to resign with effect from February 28, 2013 provoked many reactions in Francophone Africa, both in traditional media and on social networks. Admiration for the Pope predominated, and was combined with the desire that certain African leaders would follow his example.
The year 2012 was marked by armed conflicts in Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. There were elections in Senegal, Quebec and France, while demonstrations for change took place in Chad, Madagascar and Togo. Debates raged on issues such as immigration, the economic crisis and equality in marriage laws. This is the first part of a review of the year 2012 in Francophone countries.
The current conflict in the Kivu Region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) threatens to linger on despite an international effort to broker a truce between the M23 rebellion and the Congolese government. The conflict is difficult to grasp, because the M23 rebellion has been a shifting movement, both geographically and politically.
The ongoing conflict between M23 rebels and the Congolese army cannot be totally understood without some historical background on the genesis of these conflicts in the great lakes region. Here is a detailed chronology of the last 50 years of confrontations in this region.
Backed by the Rwandan government, M23 rebels seized control of the city of Goma in the Kivu region, near the Rwandan border. Despite reports that the rebellion have agreed to pull out of Goma, it seems that there is still a great deal of uncertainty over when they will effectively do so.
Leading Human Rights Activist and gynecologist Denis Mukwege, was attacked outside his home, and his guard killed on October 25, 2012. Doctor Mukwege has campaigned tirelessly for the wellbeing of women and girls affected by the use of mass rape as a weapon of war. He recently gave a speech to the United Nations where he spoke of his outrage and shock at the violence that females have suffered in his homeland.
Despite strong economic growth, the African continent is still struggling to develop a class of local entrepreneurs to manage strategic industries. Many African scholars and researchers try to better understand the influence of cultural habits on entrepreneurship on the continent.
Despite robust signs of growth in Africa in 2012, precarity remains an ever-present problem right now for the majority of people living there. Inequalities are undoubtedly broadening but the very concept of precarity in Africa is also rapidly evolving.
“Is Italy ready for an African-born government minister?,” Donata Columbro asks:
Two months after the recent elections, Italy has a new government. And Cécile Kyenge, 48 years old, an eye surgeon and Congo-born Italian citizen, is the new Minister for Integration in the cabinet of Prime Minister Enrico Letta.
Comoros police forces state that they have arrested Congolese and Chadian mercenaries in an attempted coup over the week-end. Linfo.re adds that [fr]:
Army commanders did not want to engage in an open conflict with the mercenaries. They believe that “any Comoran casualties over protecting an elite cast is itself a act of betrayal towards Comoros”.
On January 23, 2013, an excerpt from the annual report of l'ACAT-France, A World of Torture 2013, makes a fresh assessment of the state of torture in the world [fr]:
“A report called A World of Torture in 2013, assesses torture practices that continue to be alarming, from Pakistan to Italy, by way of South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Bolivia. From authoritarian regimes to democratic countries, none are exempt from criticism on the topic. In 2013, torture remains as endemic, omnipresent and multi-faceted as ever”.
Much suggests Masisi territory being the neuralgic point, both in terms of politico-military contest and its humanitarian consequences.Any extension of the M23 conflict farther into Masisi territory contains immense potential of escalation.
Christophe Ethuin reports that there is much reason for concerns in Masisi Territory as the conflict with M23 lingers on. Doctors without Borders, Oxfam and JRS have warned against additional potential humanitarian disasters in the upcoming weeks.
The website journaldekin.com, commenting on the interference on the national Radio Okapi, a station which has been sponsored by the UN in the Democratic Republic of Congo since December 1, recalls [fr] that:
Radio Okapi, which this year celebrates its tenth anniversary, is born from a partnership between the Swiss foundation Hirondelle, specializing in media services in post-conflict zones, and the UN, who deployed its most important peacekeeping mission worldwide in the RDC. Launched in 2002, the radio broadcasts throughout the entire country in French and four other local languages, thanks to the United Nations’ network. It is the most widely listened-to national radio station, with 22 million listeners.
crisis group map of fights in DRC between April-Nov 2012
The Crisis Group has created an interactive map of the conflicts in the Kivu region, DRC in 2012 [fr].
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