Global Voices » D.R. of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Clandestine Abortions on the Rise in Goma

Georgi McCarthy — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:05:56 +0000

[Testimonies for this post were collected by email or face-to-face interviews in French and all links forward to French articles]

Illegal abortion is a common practice in several provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly in Goma, Nord-Kivu, where the number of deaths recorded as caused by these back-door procedures is increasing day by day at a worrisome rate. Several foetuses have been found in recent weeks in parts of Goma, located in the east of the D.R.C., alarming many in the community.

Local administrator Mapendo Victorine said in an email she is very concerned about this “criminal” act:

Il y a une semaine dans le quartier Mikeno à Birere un de plus grands quartiers de la ville de Goma un fœtus de 5 mois a été retrouvé emballé dans un sachet dans une poubelle publique. La mère ou jeune fille responsable de cet acte est inconnue.

A week ago, a 5-month-old foetus was found in a public bin in one of the largest neighbourhoods in Goma, wrapped up in a plastic bag. The mother is unknown.

Congolese law prohibits abortion in all parts of the country, and as such severe punishments are sanctioned to all those involved in the elicitation of illegal abortions. Lawyer Alain Lushule, a member of the bar in Goma, explained to us that Articles 165 and 166 of the Congolese Penal Code (Book II) mandate a punishment of 5 to 10 years' imprisonment for having an abortion, and 5 to 15 years for participation in the act.

Health Centre in Goma, D.R.C., by Julien Harneis on Flickr CC-license-BY)

Photojournalist Alain Wandiwoji expressed his concerns on his blog over the distressing situation in Goma:

Depuis décembre dernier, 11 fœtus ont été ramassés dans des caniveaux, et trois bébés étranglés retrouvés dans des poubelles publiques de certains quartiers de Goma : “Trop c'est trop ! Laisse entendre un pasteur de la ville de Goma.

Since December 2011, 11 foetuses have been found in gutters and 3 strangled babies have been found in public bins. A pastor from Goma suggests: “Enough is enough!”

A mother, indignant after seeing the foetus, told us in a face-to-face interview:

La personne qui a commis cet acte doit être recherchée par la police et être punit sévèrement pour ce meurtre. Des enfants ont été les premiers à découvrir cet enfant alors qu’ils pensaient trouver un ballon. Entendant cette foule nombreuse du quartier autour de ce fœtus, il y a une forte tristesse mais personne ne veut comprendre et s’interroger sur le pourquoi de ces pratiques d’avortement qui prennent de plus en plus de l’ampleur. Tout le monde condamne cet acte.

The person who committed this murder should be sought by the police and severely punished. A group of children came across the bag, thinking it was a balloon. The discovery of this foetus has caused a great deal of sadness, but no one is trying to understand by asking themselves why these abortion practices are gaining more and more momentum. They are condemned by everyone.

Fortuna Lufungula, a human rights activist in Goma, in an email touched on the cultural and moral reasons behind many in the community's denunciation of abortion:

Les traditions africaines et congolaises sont fondées sur des principes selon lesquelles avorter est un meurtre. Nul n’est censé tué et personne n’est autorisé de mettre fin à une vie d’un fœtus même quand celui-ci est d’un jour. Si on l’élimine, c’est un meurtre et il doit être sanctionné.

African and Congolese traditions are based on the principal that abortion is murder. Nobody should be killed, and nobody should be able to terminate the life of a foetus, even if it is only a day old. Termination is murder, and as such should be punished.

Can it be said that abortion is a crime without identifying the causes, issues and consequences of an act that is carried out by many young women and even some married women in Goma? What are the main reasons that lead these women to have abortions?

Challenges of women in Goma by Passy Mubalama for Uhaki News

Parents' inflexibility

Many parents in Goma still find it difficult to accept their daughters falling pregnant, even if they are not minors. When parents discover that their daughter is pregnant, she is many times immediately removed from the family home and taken to the man responsible for the pregnancy, forced into starting her own family.

Mwamini Bujiriri, the mother of a family from Goma, drove her 14-year-old daughter from their family home after discovering she was pregnant by a young man from the same village. Bujiriri explained in an interview:

Je ne peux pas rester avec ma fille lorsqu’elle est enceinte car elle m’a ridiculisé elle doit aller rejoindre son mari responsable de sa grossesse. Nous ne pouvons pas rester deux femmes dans la même maison c’est impossible.

I cannot let my daughter stay knowing she is pregnant because she has made a fool out of me. She is now the responsibility of the man who made her pregnant. It is impossible for two women to live in the same house.

Many parents do not want to hear the word “abortion” because, according to many of them, abortion is murder.

A woman in Goma by @RachelBayoli

The irresponsibility of young men

Irresponsibility of the young men involved, often alongside religious beliefs, force many young women into underground abortions and even infanticide.

A young girl, who does not want to be identified, gave us her account:

Lorsque je suis tombée enceinte, je n’ai pas eu le courage d’en parler à mes parents car ils devraient seulement me chasser de la maison et ou me tuer. J’ai décidé de me taire. En même temps, le garçon responsable de ma grossesse ne voulait pas croire que c'était lui le vrai responsable. Je me suis alors retrouvé entre deux mondes car je ne pouvais rien dire à mes parents et en même temps je n’avais nulle part où aller. C’est ainsi que j’ai décidé d’avorter, mais en même temps aussi je ne pouvais pas aller à l’hôpital car l’avortement n’est pas autorisé dans notre pays et donc les médecins ne pouvaient pas accepter de le faire. Je suis donc partie voir un médecin qui a fait la procédure dans la clandestinité loin de mon quartier.

When I got pregnant, I was too scared to tell my parents because they would have thrown me out of the house or killed me. I decided to keep quiet. At the same time, the boy involved didn't believe that he was the father. I was stuck because I couldn't say anything to my parents but I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I decided to have an abortion. I couldn't go to the hospital because abortion is illegal in our country and so doctors can't agree to do it. I had to go to a doctor far away from my neighbourhood who did the procedure illegally.

There are a lot of other young girls who, like her, are forced into illegal abortions that are carried out in secret and bring with them many associated risks, including death.

Many cases are recorded by the CONDE medical clinic in the Karisimbi neighborhood in Goma. A doctor from the clinic, who wishes to remain anonymous, told us:

Au mois de Mars dernier, une jeune fille d’une vingtaine d’année est morte de suite d’un avortement qu’elle a provoqué elle est arrivé à l’hôpital dans un très mauvais état elle a provoqué la grossesse. On a tous fait pour l’aider mais elle a fini par mourir. Beaucoup des jeunes filles meurent simplement parce qu’elles ont tenté d’avorter clandestinement.

In March, a 20-year-old girl died after having an abortion. She arrived at the hospital in a very bad state. We did all we could, but she passed away. A lot of girls die from trying to perform abortions illegally.

Beliefs and abortion

Many girls who are raped, sometimes by armed men, do not have abortions for fear of committing a sin against God. These girls suffer in silence, both with their unwanted pregnancies and the difficulty of upholding their religious beliefs.

A victim of sexual violence told us about her ordeal in the Lydia Centre, where she is receiving support. The centre, which oversees victims of sexual violence, was created by the ASLPC, Action Sociale pour la Promotion des Laissés pour Compte (social action association to help those left behind) in Goma. She explains:

Quand j’ai été violée, c’était insupportable à vivre et très douloureux pour moi. Malheureusement quelques mois après je me suis retrouvé enceinte. Je n'ai pas su quoi faire, je ne voulais même pas car c’est un péché. Mais comme je ne peux pas avorter, je garde quand même mon bébé. Même si quand je le vois je me rappelle de beaucoup des choses douloureuses.

When I was raped, I found life unbearable and it was very painful for me. Unfortunately, I found out I was pregnant a few months later. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want the baby because it was a sin. But having an abortion was also a sin, so I kept the baby. The painful memories come back every time I see him.

The situation according to medical specialists

A gynaecologist from the Provincial Hospital of Goma gave his point of view:

La jeune fille devrait pouvoir avoir le droit, dans le cas où elle se sent pas prête moralement et physiquement d’avoir un enfant de choisir d'avorter.

The girl should have had the right to choose abortion, given that she was physically and mentally unready to have a child.

Given the degree of the situation, it seems that the Congolese government should consider an alternative to the current law, the gynecologist explained:

Les victimes sont encore trop souvent sujets à recourir aux avortements dans la clandestinité qui comporte beaucoup des risques. Que le gouvernement autorise officiellement l’avortement afin que tous ces actes cessent et que si on veut avorter, qu’on le fasse sans aucune crainte dans des hôpitaux qui peuvent assurer une bonne prise en charge médicale. Il faut aussi renforcer la sensibilisation des femmes et des jeunes filles sur l’utilisation des méthodes contraceptives, afin d’éviter les grossesses indésirables.

The victims still have to resort to extremely risky illegal abortions too often. The government should officially authorise abortion so that this stops. If a girl wants an abortion, it should be done with good medical care and without fear in a hospital. Awareness should also be raised about contraceptive methods to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

Africa: Calls for Transparency Over Marked Increase in Land Deals

Lova Rakotomalala — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:25:59 +0000

An international coalition of researchers and NGOs have released the world's largest public database of international land deals, reports the Global Development blog of The Guardian's (UK). This marks an important milestone in highlighting a developmental issue that has received little attention in the international news cycle.

The report states that almost 5% of Africa's agricultural land has been bought or leased by investors since 2000, and emphasizes the fact that this is not a new issue, yet points out that the number of such land deals has increased tremendously in the past five years.

Many observers are increasingly worried that these land deals usually take place in the world's poorest countries and that they impact its most vulnerable population, the farmers. The benefits seldom go to the general population, partially because of a lack of transparency in the proceedings of the transactions.

An additional report by Global Witness, entitled Dealing with Disclosure, emphasizes the dire need for transparency in the making of land deals.

World's poorest nations targeted

The Global Witness report lists that 754 land deals have been identified, involving the majority of African countries for about 56.2 million hectares.

Target countries of land deals from the Land Matrix Project

The nations targeted are usually some of the poorest in the world. The countries with the most deals in place are Mozambique (92 deals), Ethiopia (83), Tanzania (58) and Madagascar (39). Some of those deals have made headlines because they were conducted to ensure control over food imports, when the targeted regions faced major food crises.

The NGO GRAIN has already explained in detail the gist of their concerns in an extensive report released in 2008:

Today’s food and financial crises have, in tandem, triggered a new global land grab. On the one hand, “food insecure” governments that rely on imports to feed their people are snatching up vast areas of farmland abroad for their own offshore food production. On the other hand, food corporations and private investors, hungry for profits in the midst of the deepening financial crisis, see investment in foreign farmland as an important new source of revenue. As a result, fertile agricultural land is becoming increasingly privatised and concentrated. If left unchecked, this global land grab could spell the end of small-scale farming, and rural livelihoods, in numerous places around the world.

In Malawi, land deals have grown increasingly prevalent to the detriment of the local farmers. A report from Bangula explains the challenges faced by Malawian farmers, Dorothy Dyton and her family:

Like most smallholder farmers in Malawi, they did not have a title deed for the land Dyton was born on, and in 2009 she and about 2,000 other subsistence farmers from the area were informed by their local chief that the land had been sold and they could no longer cultivate there. […] Since that time, said Dyton, “life has been very hard on us.” With a game reserve on one side of the community and the Shire river and Mozambique border on the other, there is no other available land for them to farm and the family now ekes out a living selling firewood they gather from the nearby forest.

Land construction in Madagascar. Photo by Foko Madagascar, used with the author's authorization

Farmers in Madagascar share similar concerns because they do not own the rights to the land they farm and an effective land reform is yet to be implemented. The Malagasy association Terres Malgaches has been at the forefront of land protection for the local population. They report that [fr]:

Les familles malgaches ne possèdent pas de document foncier pour sécuriser leurs terres contre les accaparements de toutes sortes. En effet, depuis la colonisation, l’obtention de titres fonciers auprès de l’un des 33 services des domaines d’un pays de 589 000 km2 nécessite 24 étapes, 6 ans en moyenne et jusqu’à 500 dollars US. (..) . Face aux convoitises et accaparements dont les terres malgaches font l’objet actuellement, seule la possession d’un titre ou d’un certificat foncier, seuls documents juridiques reconnus, permet d’entreprendre des actions en justice en cas de conflit.

Malagasy families do not usually own an estate property document that enable them to secure their lands against land grab. In fact, since colonial times, one has needed about 24 steps, 6 years and up to 500 US dollars to get such documents. There are merely around 33 agencies in the country that deliver such documents for a country that is 589,000 kilometres square […] In the face of the increasing land grabs that Malagasy land is currently at risk of, this certificate is the only document that can trigger legal action in case of conflict.

The association also reports on the practices of a mining company Sheritt, in Ambatovy, which have created a buzz in the local blogosphere because of environmental concerns for the local population and business malpractices (via MiningWatch Canada):

Sherritt International’s Ambatovy project in eastern Madagascar – costing $5.5 billion to build and scheduled to begin full production this month – will comprise a number of open pit mines (..) it will close in 29 years. There are already many concerns about the mine from the thousands of local people near the facilities. They say that their fields are destroyed ; the water is dirty ; the fish in the river are dead and there have been landslides near their village. During testing of the new plant, there have been at least four separate leaks of sulphur dioxide from the hydro-metallurgical facility which villagers say have killed at least two adults and two babies and sickened at least 50 more people. In January, laid-off construction workers from Ambatovy began a wildcat strike, arguing that the jobs they were promised when construction ended have not materialized. The people in nearby cities like Moramanga say that their daughters are increasingly engaged in prostitution.

Video of a worker's testimony in Ambatovy.

Solutions for the local population?

The plight of Madagascar's farmers' plight may be slowly changing though. Land reform discussions are in progress, according to this report:

According to a paper presented at the 2011 International Conference on Global Land Grabbing, about 50 agribusiness projects were announced between 2005 and 2010, about 30 of which are still active, covering a total land area of about 150,000 ha. Projects include plantations to produce sugar cane, cassava and jatropha-based biofuel.
To prevent the negative impacts of land grabbing, (The NGO) EFA has set up social models for investors, with funding from the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The goal is to help investors negotiate with the people in the area where they want to implement projects, as a way to prevent future problems.

Joachim Von Braun, formerly of the International Food Policy Insitute (IFPRI), wrote the following regarding land deals:

It is in the long-run interest of investors, host governments, and the local people involved to ensure that these arrangements are properly negotiated, practices are sustainable, and benefits are shared. Because of the transnational nature of such arrangements, no single institutional mechanism will ensure this outcome. Rather, a combination of international law, government policies, and the involvement of civil society, the media, and local communities is needed to minimize the threats and realize the benefits.

The need for transparency in land deals is further emphasized by Megan MacInnes, Senior Land Campaigner at Global Witness:

Far too many people are being kept in the dark about massive land deals that could destroy their homes and livelihoods. That this needs to change is well understood, but how to change it is not. For the first time, this report (Dealing with Disclosure) sets out in detail what tools governments, companies and citizens can harness to remove the shroud of secrecy that surrounds land acquisition. It takes lessons from efforts to improve transparency in other sectors and looks at what is likely to work for land. Companies should have to prove they are doing no harm, rather than communities with little information or power having to prove that a land deal is negatively affecting them.

Refugees: Online Media and Technology to the Service of Refugees

Juliana Rincón Parra — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 05:29:46 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage on Refugees.

Two different organizations are focusing on the benefits and advantages of online media and technology to aid refugees and improve their lives. The first, Refugees United, uses online databases that can be accessed through mobile platforms to reunite refugees who have lost track of family members and the next, HKRefugeeInfoChannel provides legal and welfare information to refugees in Hong Kong through YouTube videos.

Refugees United started off as a pilot in Northern Uganda that is now spreading to other African countries and other areas of the world where natural disasters, political unrest and violence have caused massed evacuations and people to get separated from their kin and loved ones. Through an anonymous database, refugees can create a profile where they can share details about their lives that will be recognizable by kin who go online through a computer or using cellphones.

In Lost and Found, four refugees tell their stories of escape and loss, and what it is like for them to go on with their lives not knowing about their loved ones, not even if they are alive or dead. Although different NGOs have done efforts in the past to reunite refugee families, handwritten papers and photographs aren't easily shared by multiple organizations and across international borders. With the ability to have an online repository that different organizations and individuals can join and search through, the possibility to unite families is increased.

In Hong Kong, a multilingual channel has become available through YouTube videos for refugees to get answers to common questions on legal, health and education issues. For example, in a video, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Hong Kong Kelley Loper explains what are the differences between a refugee and an asylum seeker.

Or this video explains the process a refugee needs to follow if they need to receive medical attention:

A successful reconnection story of refugees is told in the Refugees United Blog: a family separated in South Kivu due to violence and who although they don't have their own phones with internet access or funds to use internet cafes, have been able to use the software through community liaisons to discover the whereabouts of family members and find their kin. You can also follow the progress of Refugees United through their Facebook page.

This post is part of our special coverage on Refugees.

France: The Presidential Election Through Foreign Eyes

Jenny Sin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:27:47 +0000

While the French are preparing to choose a president in the upcoming weeks, French voters overseas and the foreign online media have reacted as the first round poll came to an end. Some peculiarities of the French electoral process, such as the ban on posting polling estimations in the media before 8 pm on election day, were intensely debated.

Drawing of Petar Pismestrovic in Austria shared by @alissabernathy on Twitter

Ban on tweeting election results before 8pm, even abroad?

In France, Law No. 77-808 of July 17, 1977 on the publication and dissemination of opinion polls [fr] prohibits the broadcast of the first estimates, before 8pm. With the ubiquitous rise of publications online, this ruling quickly became problematic to implement. Tefy Andriamanana, from Madagascar, summarizes the complexity and challenges of applying this law [fr].

As lawyer and famed French blogger Master Eolas explains on his blog, this method should also apply to the publication by French surveys in the foreign media [fr]:

Notons qu’ainsi rédigée, la loi interdit de faire un rappel de l’évolution des intentions de vote des candidats après vingt heures mais avant minuit le jour du scrutin, même une fois les bureaux de vote fermés et les estimations proclamées. C’est une pure maladresse de rédaction, mais la loi est la loi, je fais confiance au parquet pour être ferme (..) Les article 113 du Code pénal posent les règles d’application de la loi pénale française dans l’espace (pas au sens de “Des cochons dans l’espace”, mais dans le sens de sa territorialité). Ces règles sont les suivantes : la loi pénale française s’applique à toute personne se trouvant sur le territoire français, quelle que soit sa nationalité. Une infraction est réputée commise en France dès lors qu’un de ses éléments constitutifs est commis en France. On assimile au territoire française les bateaux battant pavillon français et les aéronefs immatriculés en France (article 113-4). Quand les faits sont commis à l’étranger, la loi française peut leur être applicable, à certaines conditions. Sans rentrer dans les détails, qui feront les tortures des étudiants de L2 de droit, la loi pénale française s’applique à l’étranger quand l’auteur est français, ET, condition cumulative, que les faits constituent un crime…

Note that written as it is, the law prohibits an overview of the evolution of the candidates' voting intentions after 8pm, but before midnight on polling day, even after the polls are closed and the estimates are proclaimed. This is pure awkwardness of writing, but the law is the law, and I trust the prosecutor to be firm (..)Article 113 of the Penal Code [fr] sets forth the implementing rules of French criminal law in the area (not in the sense of “Pigs in Space” [fr], but in the sense of its territoriality). These rules are: French criminal law applies to any person on French territory, whatever their nationality. An offense is considered to be committed in France as long as one of its constituent elements is committed in France (Article 113-4 [fr]). When the acts are committed abroad, French law can be applicable to them, under certain conditions. Without going into details, which will torture L2 law students, French criminal law applies abroad when the author is French, AND, cumulative condition, when the acts constitute a crime…

Many French abroad are surprised at this law and ask what would constitute a violation of this law. Paul asks [fr]:

créer un compte twitter qui vous envoie automatiquement les résultats (en avant-première) en DM n’est donc pas délictueux, puisqu’on reste dans la communication privée ?

Should the creation of a Twitter account, that automatically sends you the results (advance access) in DM, constitute a crime since it remains in private communication?

Joe poses the following hypothesis [fr]:

..Un agent provocateur Bordure, depuis son ordinateur de Szohôd (donc en Bordurie) décide de poster à 18h30 les premières estimations qu’il aura entendues à la radio Syldave sur un forum public, par exemple dans les réactions du blog d’un célèbre avocat blogueur Français…

L’agent Bordure ne risque rien (si j’ai bien compris la démonstration du Maître), mais est-ce que le responsable Français du forum peut être inquiété ?

An agent provocateur from Borduria (ed's note: made up country), since his Szohôd computer (thus in Borduria) decides to post, at 6:30pm, the first estimates that he will have heard on the Syldave radio on a public forum, for example in the reactions of the blog of a famous French lawyer blogger…The Bordurian agent does not risk anything (if I fully-understood the Master's demonstration), but is it the head of the French forum who may be worried?

Campaign Poster by JC Benoist on Wikimedia CC License -3.0-BY

Foreign internet users find that French law is rigid and outdated. Trésor Kibungala, a native of DR Congo blogs on North Africa [fr]:

Seulement voilà, depuis 1977, les choses ont changé. Les nouveaux médias sont arrivés et cette loi paraît inadaptée à la nouvelle donne. Déjà, les pays voisins de l’Hexagone ne se priveront pas de rendre public les résultats de la présidentielle française avant la messe de 20 heures. RTBF par exemple a déjà annoncé qu’elle dévoilera les résultats du scrutin à 18 heures 30 (..) Sur les réseaux sociaux, pas sûr non plus que les twittos obtempèrent. Certains ont commencé à mettre en place le dispositif Radio Londres. Une chose est sûre : on va bien rigoler ce dimanche sur twitter, facebook et autres. Mais, chut !@Tresor_k ne tweetera pas non plus les résultats avant 20 heures ! Rendez-vous sur les ondes de #RadioLondres.

The only problem is that, since 1977, things have changed. The new media have arrived and this law seems inadequate to the new circumstances. Already, the neighbouring countries of the Hexagon do not shy away from publicizing the French presidential elections results before the 8 o'clock mass. RTBF, for example, has already announced it will disclose the poll results at 6:30pm (..) On social networks, it is uncertain whether the Twittos will obey. Some have begun to set up the Radio Londres system [fr]. One thing is certain: we will have a good laugh this Sunday on Twitter, Facebook, and other websites. But, hush! @Tresor_k [fr] will not tweet the results before 8pm! Visit #RadioLondres.

Thus, Radio Londres, is the common thread on Twitter to comment on the elections in coded language without the risk of breaking the law. Radio Londres refers to a few minutes of daily program broadcast [fr] on British radio, BBC, to the first resistance fighters who had fled the German occupation entitled “The French Speaking to the French” [fr]. The meanings of the coded messages used during the resistance [fr] can be found on doctsf.com, including the famous “Wound my heart with a monotonous languor,” which announced the landing.

International issues in the French elections

Foreign media watch the the elections in France with great interest and respond to the 1977 Act. Jean-François Munster in Belgium does not understand [fr] why we still have this measure, he says:

Une loi complètement obsolète à l’heure d’internet et des réseaux sociaux et qui profite aux médias étrangers, dont Le Soir, qui diffusent les premières estimations sur leur site internet dès qu’elles sont disponibles – à partir de 18h45 – alors que les médias français doivent rester muets. (..) Les médias (français) respecteront la loi. Cela ne les empêche pas de dire tout le mal qu’ils en pensent. « Cette loi est ubuesque sur le fond, dénonce Thierry Thuillier. Aujourd’hui, une information produite est une information diffusée. Il faudra impérativement la dépoussiérer ».

A completely archaic law in today's internet and social network era, and benefits foreign media, including Le Soir, which broadcasts the first estimates on their website as soon as they become available - from 6:45pm - while the French media must remain silent. (..) The (French) media will obey the law. This does not prevent them from saying all the bad things that they associate with it. “This legislation is ludicrous on its merits, denounces Thierry Thuillier. Today, generated information is disseminated information. It will be essential to bring it up to date.”

However, it could be that foreign media are prosecuted for any distribution that violates French law. Boris Mahenti reports that [fr]:

La Commission de contrôle va plus loin et menace de poursuivre les médias belges et suisses qui diffuseront les résultats de la présidentielle dès 18 heures. “Si une information est diffusée sur le territoire français, alors le média tombe sous le coup de la loi française. Les médias belges et suisses sont susceptibles de poursuites.”

The Audit Board goes further and threatens to sue the Belgian and Swiss media that will disseminate the presidential elections results as early as 6pm. “If information is circulated in French territory, then the media is punishable under French law. Belgian and Swiss media are subject to prosecution.”

Presidential campaign in Antananarivo by the French Legislative from Abroad on Facebook

The African continent did not dwell on the controversy of the dissemination of poll results prior to 8pm, rather, it focuses on the election results' long term consequences for the continent. In Kenya, Global Voices translator [fr] Laila, is excited to be able to vote in Nairobi, Kenya:

@hardcorekancil: Bureau de vote de Nairobi: A 10h30, plus de 100 électeurs avaient déjà voté. Le bureau est ouvert de 8h à 18h. #présidentielle2012

@hardcorekancil [fr]: Nairobi's polling station: At 10:30, more than 100 voters had already voted. The office is open from 8AM to 6pm. #présidentielle2012

In Madagascar, the candidates' campaigns were going door to door. Legislative French from Abroad's Facebook profile says [fr]:

La démarche du porte à porte est inédite à Madagascar. Nous avons suivi une équipe en campagne vers Ivato puis à Tsaralalana. L’accueil est réceptif. Les franco-malgaches sont d’abord surpris puis ravis que l’on s’intéresse à eux et que l’on prenne le soin de venir chez eux pour leur parler et les inviter à une réunion de quartier..

The door to door approach is unheard of in Madagascar. We followed a campaign team to Ivato, then to Tsaralalana. The host is responsive. The Franco-Malagasy are surprised at first, then delighted that we are interested in them and that we take the time to come to their homes to talk to them and to invite them to a neighborhood meeting..

In Ivory Coast, Théodore Kouadio takes the pulse of Franco-Ivorian voters. He reports some voters' voting intentions [fr]:

« Moi, j’ai l’habitude de voter socialiste, car ce sont eux qui sont sensible à la cause des minorités en France. Mais surtout à la situation des noirs. Mais je vais voter Sarkozy », explique Cissé Mamadou, un sexagénaire. Pour lui, c’est sa manière à lui de merci à Nicolas Sarkozy pour son implication dans la résolution dans la crise post-électorale en Côte d’Ivoire, qui a fait 3000 morts officiellement. Noel Koffi, installé dans la zone depuis 2 ans, mais de nationalité française est du même avis. Pour lui, ce serait une bonne chose que le Nicolas puisse rester au pouvoir pour accompagner les autorités ivoiriennes dans la reconstruction et dans le processus de réconciliation nationale.Dan Emmanuel, lui est alarmiste. Il pense qu’une défaite de Nicolas Sarkozy au soir du 7 Mai va être catastrophique pour le gouvernement ivoirien en place.

“I'm used to voting socialist because they are sensitive to the cause of the minorities in France. But especially to the situation of the black community. But I am going to vote for Sarkozy,” said Cissé Mamadou, a man in his sixties. For him, it is his way of saying thank you to Nicolas Sarkozy for his involvement in the resolution in the post-election violence in Ivory Coast, which resulted in an official death toll of 3,000. Noel Koffi, who has been living in the area for two years, but of French nationality, agrees. For him, it would be good if Nicolas could remain in power to accompany the Ivorian authorities in the reconstruction and process of national reconciliation. Dan Emmanuel is fearmongering. He thinks that a defeat of Nicolas Sarkozy on the evening of May 7th is going to be catastrophic for the Ivorian government in place.

Geostratégie publishes an interview with Charlotte Sawyer [fr] entitled “From France-Africa to France without Africa” and conversely she affirms:

L’Afrique a, surtout, appris une chose : qu’on ne pouvait plus faire confiance aux Français, devenus détrousseurs de grands chemins et grande compagnie. Enfin, à peu près tout ce qu’on voudra, sauf l’ami et le protecteur dont rêvaient encore certaines capitales africaines.(..) Demandez donc aux Maliens ce que vaut l’égide française ? Quant aux Ivoiriens, beaucoup se demandent ce que vous avez fichu dans leur capitale..

Africa has, above all, learned one thing: that we could no longer trust the French, who became highway robbers for large companies. Finally, they became almost anything you want, except the friend and protector that some African nations were hoping for (..) So ask Malians what's the use of being under the good grace of France ? As for the Ivorians, many wonder what were your mandate for intervention in their capital city..

Finally in Germany, Daniel Dagan gathers some funny German cartoons [de] on the French presidential elections.

DR of Congo: Health Challenges in Goma Due to Clean Water Shortage

Lova Rakotomalala — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:04:30 +0000

Passy Mubalama reports [fr] that the Town of Goma in North Kivu, DRC is facing multiple challenges due to shortage of clean water. She explains that water provision has been a problem since the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano in 2002 that destroyed the pipe that conducted clean water to Goma.

DR of Congo: Videos Helped Convict Thomas Lubanga of War Crimes

WITNESS — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:55:29 +0000

This post is based on content originally posted on WITNESS.

On March 14, 2012, the International Criminal Court found Thomas Lubanga, a former rebel leader in the eastern Congo, guilty of using children in armed conflict - a war crime. This is a major milestone for international justice, for victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and for video for change.

In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where civil war has taken more than four million lives, children as young as six are routinely recruited by militias and taught to kill. It is estimated that children, most between 8 and 16 years old, make up 60% of combatants in the region.

A 5-minute video by WITNESS called “A Duty to Protect” was screened early on in the court proceedings, and was credited by the judge for having played a role in the outcome along with other visual evidence. It tells the story of Mafille and January, two young girls who were recruited into the military. The video looks at the effects of child recruitment on families and the broader community.

WITNESS staff member, Bukeni Waruzi, originally from the eastern DRC and a long-time human rights advocate, was in The Hague to hear the verdict. He appeared in a Q&A with journalists following the verdict on March 14 explaining among other things the importance of video in the trial.

In the video below, uploaded by WITNESS to YouTube on March 13, the day before, Bukeni speaks with Madeleine, a former child soldier of the eastern DRC who he demobilized when she was 15 and then adopted. In 2007, she testified at the UN to share her experiences as a child soldier.

Bukeni and Madeleine discuss their hopes for the outcome of the Lubanga trial and hopes justice will be served for child soldiers everywhere.

See more information on Bukeni and WITNESS' work on child soldiers here.

France: The Human Rights Film Festival Awards

Claire Ulrich — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:07:48 +0000

Youphil [fr] published the full list of the recent 2012 Human Rights Film Festival awards in France [fr]. This year, the jury award went to an investigation documentary, Affaire Chebeya: un meurtre d'Etat? [fr] (The Chebeya case: murdered by the State?) by Belgium director Thierry Michel on the murder of human rights activist Floribert Chebeya in 2010, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Africa: African Arguments Online

Ndesanjo Macha — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:04:42 +0000

African Arguments Online is a multi-blogging platform that covers contemporary African events and develops debates on themes that are important to an ever changing continent. The platform comprises 6 blogs: Making Sense of Sudan, African Politics Now!, Rethinking Zimbabwe, Business Africa, The Central Africa Forum and Diaspora Debate.

Each debate on the multi-blogging site consists of many individual arguments. The first contribution is commissioned from an expert on the theme. Responses are then invited and moderated by the editor.

African Arguments logo. Image courtesy of www.africanarguments.org/

African Arguments Online About page says:

Africa has long been the locus and the focus for the most impassioned and intellectually-informed debate. But for many years, specialist Africa coverage in the world’s media has been in decline, alongside the withering of many African journals and magazines that used to provide a forum for debate and opinion. African news and views have moved to the web, but there has been no comparable Africa-wide movement which provides in-depth analysis and debate of the issues and controversies that animate the continent today. With African Arguments Online we intend to fill this gap.

Let’s take a look at some of the latest arguments posted on the site. In “Making money in Somaliland: meeting Abdirashid Duale, CEO, Dahabshiil”, Magnus Taylor talks to Abdirashid Duale. Abdirashid Duale is CEO of Dahabshiil, which is one of the biggest international money transfer companies in the Horn of Africa.

Abdirashid Duale - CEO of Dahabshiil. Photo courtesy of www.africanarguments.org/

Dahabshiil is an example of how the entrepreneurial strata in Somali society has survived the country’s long-running upheaval. It combines diaspora expertise and money with a particularly strong desire to support communities back home, and in doing so to make a healthy profit in an underdeveloped business environment. Duale tells me that the diaspora are the biggest source of investment in Somalia where, particularly in the more stable regions, the housing and construction sectors are booming. Flights back to Hargeisa, and even to Mogadishu, are frequently booked out, as diasporans, and globe-trotting Somali businessmen fly in to visit extended families and check up on their investments – not the image we normally get of the country.

William Townsend reflects on the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo:

‘Congo is on the move, but where is it going?’ asked Dr Theodore Trefon (author of the African Arguments book Congo Masquerade) at an international conference, hosted by the Royal African Society in London earlier this week. It was hoped that the historic presidential poll conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last November, only the second since six years civil conflict came to an end in 2003, would consolidate plurality and herald a new era of political accountability. Instead, Kris Berwouts (until recently, the Director of the Belgium-based European Network for Central Africa) described the unfolding political picture as one of growing uncertainty and pervasive insecurity, limiting opportunities for the Congo’s vibrant civil society to take root and flourish.

Writing about post-civil war politics in Angola, Keith Somerville wonders whether UNITA is sinking after one of its leading member, Abel Chivukuvuku, decided to defect:

Abel Chivukuvuku Chivukuvuku, a former foreign secretary of UNITA. Photo courtesy of www.africanarguments.org/

The desire of UNITA to rebuild itself and develop the support base to seriously threaten the hegemony of the MPLA will not be furthered by the decision of a leading member, Abel Chivukuvuku, to leave and make his own bid for political power, in opposition to the party that has been his home throughout his political career. Chivukuvuku, a former foreign secretary of UNITA when it was a guerrilla movement led by Jonas Savimbi, now wants to run for office in a coalition with former members of the small PRS (Partido de Renovacao Social) party and the Democratic Block…

Jolyon Ford rethinks investor risk in contemporary Zimbabwe:

There is a limit to what one can read into visual impressions made during the Mining Indaba in Cape Town earlier this month….
The Zimbabwe country stand was notable mainly for the relatively large number of well-groomed delegates from the country’s Minerals Marketing Board. The stand however hardly appeared swamped with expressions of interest from conference delegates. Now, given the experiences of many farm, mine and business owners in Zimbabwe in the last decade — and continued political and mining policy uncertainty and potential volatility — it may seem unsurprising that conference attendees largely gave the stand a wide berth.

Still, the question remains whether current analysis tends to exaggerate the political risks of investing or operating in Zimbabwe.

Diaspora Debate is a forum for exciting, informed and vigorous debate on the issues engaging the African Diaspora in the United Kingdom and beyond.

The current debate question raised by Dele Fantula is: What’s Diaspora Got To Do With It? The question has attracted reactions from Semhar Araia, Boko Inyundo and Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie.

Dele Fantula argues:

For a long while, Africa’s diaspora have been a trump card afro-optimists have wielded against the pessimists despairing about the future of the continent. Rather than a symptom of a ‘brain drain’, they saw in this large pool of skilled professionals the brightest and best of Africa, who fled the detritus of the failed states of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and became the vanguard that would transform said basket cases into shining examples of functioning market democracies. So it’s somewhat contrary popular perception to find that the current stability and prosperity in Africa’s nations has had little to [do] with the diaspora.

"Members of the African diaspora in China. Photo courtesy of www.africanarguments.org/

He asks:

So why the faith in a group of people who by and large fled the continent when it was most in need, and returned when it least needs them? Where exactly has the diaspora shown itself to be a glorious knight in shining armor? Are we investing a little too much in this myth about ourselves and too little in the future – most crucially, in the skills and capacity of Africans on the ground?

Semhar responds to Dele's post by pointing out shortcomings in his arguments:

…it’s worth noting that Fatunla fails to define who exactly the diaspora is within the context of his analysis. It is overly simplistic and dangerous to suggest they are “a group of people who by and large fled the continent when it was most in need, and returned when it least needs them”. The diaspora must be disaggregated into its many parts and identify what contributions they actually are providing.
…..
The other shortcoming with What’s Diaspora Got to Do With It is that it falls completely short on recognizing the diaspora’s added value – which is far beyond economic remittances and sporadic tourism. Even though remittances continue to be the largest form of diaspora contributions, amounting to roughly $40 billion a year to support livelihoods and development, it is not the only form of significant deliverables from diaspora.

Chukwu-Emeka notes that most diaspora returnees are ill-equipped to drive change in Africa:

But few of the diaspora returnees will drive change in African countries. For the most part, they will be ill equipped to do so. Think about it. Many will have spent a considerable part of their career in the lower, middle, and senior ranks of their respective occupations. For those who have worked in western developed countries (and some emerging economies), these ranks are typically well defined and structured, and operate in the context of stable institutions, an enabling ecosystem of support, and adequate soft and hard infrastructure.

African Arguments Online is hosted by the Royal African Society and the Social Science Research Council.

Video: Online Media by and for Indigenous People

Juliana Rincón Parra — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:26:18 +0000

Intercontinental Cry has a list of 12 recommended films on indigenous issues, some made by indigenous people from Brazil, Australia, Panama, USA, Northern Kenya, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Belgium, D. R. of Congo: Miss Belgium 2012 on Gay Marriage

Abdoulaye Bah — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:24:18 +0000

The website Congo LOL reports that “On twitter, the hastag #plusoumoins (#moreorless in english) has created quite a buzz (in DR of Congo). The reason ? The answer given by Miss Laura Beyne (Miss Belgium 2012) on a question on gay marriage. “I think they [homosexuals] are human beings (…) they can do “more or less” whatever they want. I am “more or less” in favor of gay marriage. ”

Black Women in European Politics: from Struggle to Success

Vivienne Griffiths — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:42:20 +0000

Nowadays, it is a common occcurence to witness African-born women having successful careers in Europe. Despite the evident challenges, many of them have also distiguished themselves in politics. Still, it was not so long ago that such success would have seemed impossible. To achieve greatness, these women have often come a long way, both literally and figuratively.

In order to better appreciate the progress made, one needs to think back to the 19th century and consider the image of black women in Europe then. For the purpose of this article, we will only address the story of women from the African diaspora who have been elected to positions of leadership in countries other than the colonial powers that previously ruled their home countries.

A history of racism

Postcard depicting Sarah Baartman, Wikipedia (public domain)

The story of the “Hottentot Venus” is symptomatic of the relationship between the West and African women in the last two centuries. Sébastien Hervieu, an Africa correspondent for Le Monde newspaper in France, tells the story of Sarah Baartman from South Africa, better known as the “Hottentot Venus”. In an article published in October 2010 in his blog afriquedusud.blog.lemonde.fr, he reviews [fr] Abdellatif Kechiche's [fr] film about her tragic story, Black Venus:

Au début du XIXème siècle, cette servante est emmenée en Europe et devient un objet de foire en raison de ses attributs physiques proéminents. Certains “scientifiques” utilisent sa présence pour théoriser l'infériorité de la “race noire”. Lorsqu'elle meurt à seulement 25 ans, ses organes génitaux et son cerveau sont placés dans des bocaux de formol, et son squelette et le moulage de son corps sont exposés au musée de l'Homme à Paris. C'est seulement en 2002 que la France accepte de rendre la dépouille de Saartjie Baartman à l'Afrique du Sud, concluant ainsi un long imbroglio juridique et diplomatique

At the beginning of the 19th century, this servant was brought to Europe and became a fairground attraction because of her prominent physical attributes. Some “scientists” used her presence to support the theory that the “black race” was inferior. When she died at only 25, her genitals and her brain were placed in jars of formaldehyde. Her skeleton and a molding of her body were exhibited at the Museum of Man in Paris. It was only in 2002 that France agreed to return Sarah Baartman's remains to South Africa, thereby drawing to a close a long running legal and diplomatic imbroglio [fr].

Sarah Baartman died in Paris on 29th September 1815. More than 100 years later, the Khoïkhoï people in South Africa called on Nelson Mandela to demand the restitution of Sarah's remains. The demand was met with the refusal of the French authorities and the scientific community citing the inalienable heritage of science and the state, but France eventually repatriated the body to South Africa where, in accordance with the rites of her people, it was purified and placed on a bed of dried herbs which were set alight.

Norway

Two centuries later, the position of black women in Europe has drastically changed. Amongst others, many have now been elected to political office.

Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen on Wikipedia (Norway) (CC-BY 3.0)

Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen in Norway is one of these women, and one of the most interesting because she shows the contradictions that still exist within some countries. She had to step down from a ministerial post in the Norwegian government just four months into her job. An article on Grioo.com sets out her career [fr]:

Originaire de l’Ile de la Martinique, à 44 ans, Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen a obtenu son poste de ministre de l’Enfance et de la Parité au sein du gouvernement de centre-gauche norvégien le 18 octobre 2007[…] Elle est mariée avec Terje Osmundsen, un homme politique membre du parti conservateur norvégien. Après son mariage, elle a pris la nationalité norvégienne et renoncé à celle de la France. Le pays n’autorisant pas la double nationalité.

Born in Martinique, 44 year old Manuela Ramin-Osmundsen gained her post as Minster for Children and Equality in the centre-left Norwegian government on 18th October 2007 […] She is married to Terje Osmundsen, a politician and member of the Norwegian conservative party. After their marriage she took Norwegian nationality and renounced her French nationality as the country does not allow dual nationality.

In an interview with Patrick Karam from the website fxgpariscaraibe.com in 2008 she explains [fr] some of the things that played in her favour in being appointed and why she stepped down following a controversy over an alleged conflict of interest in the hiring of a political appointee:

En Norvège, il y a obligation de représentation des deux sexes dans les conseils d’administration, 40 % de femmes au minimum. Nous menons aussi une politique pour inciter les hommes à prendre plus de responsabilité dans le foyer pour laisser les femmes entreprendre professionnellement. J’ai travaillé aussi sur l’enfance en danger, les violences, les maltraitances… J’ai travaillé quatre mois sans être critiquée, c’était une expérience réussie. Les critiques sont venues avec la nomination d’une médiatrice. Avec du recul, tout le monde voit que c’est une bagatelle. J’ai cédé au pouvoir de la presse.

In Norway there must be parity of representation between the two sexes within the administrative councils, with a minimum of 40% women. We are also pursuing a policy which encourages men to take more responsibilty at home, leaving women able to pursue a career. I also worked on child endangerment, violence, abuse… I worked for four months without criticism and it was a real success. The criticism began with the appointment of an ombudsman for children. In hindsight everyone can see it was something being made out of nothing. I gave in to the power of the media.

Sweden

Nyamko Sabuni, Wikipedia (CC-BY-SA)

Nyamko Sabuni [fr] is a former minister in Sweden, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Born in Burundi in 1969, her father fled the country due to persecution. She was elected to the Riksday as a member of the parliament in 2002, and at 37 years old became a Swedish goverment minister from 2006 to 2010. An article published on congopage.com sets out [fr] her progress.

En 1981, à l’âge de 12 ans, elle est arrivée en Suède avec sa mère et trois de ses cinq frères et sœurs. Là, elle a retrouvé son père, un opposant politique plusieurs fois emprisonné au Congo (actuellement République démocratique du Congo), venu dans le pays nordique grâce à Amnesty International.

In 1981, at the age of 12, she arrived in Sweden with her mother and three of her brothers and sisters. There she was reunited with her father, an opposition politician imprisoned several times in Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), who had come to the Nordic country with the help of Amnesty International.

The Netherlands

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Wikipedia (public domain)

The Hirsiali blog presents a profile of Ayaan Hirsi Ali:

Née en Somalie en 1969, excisée à l’âge de 5 ans, Ayaan Hirsi Ali est scolarisée dans un lycée musulman pour filles. Soumise à ses parents, à son clan et à sa religion jusqu’à l’âge de vingt-trois ans, elle profite d’un passage dans sa famille en Allemagne, pour s’enfuir et échapper à un mariage forcé. Réfugiée aux Pays-Bas, elle adopte les valeurs libérales occidentales au point de devenir une jeune députée à La Haye et de s’affirmer athée. Pour avoir travaillé dans les services sociaux du royaume, elle connaît, de l’intérieur, les horreurs tolérées à l’encontre des femmes au nom du multiculturalisme.

Born in Somalia in 1969 and circumcised at the age of 5, Ayaan Hirsi Ali went to a Muslim girls school. Subjugated by her parents, her clan and her religion up to the age of 23, she took advantage of a trip to visit family in Germany to flee and escape a forced marriage. Taking refuge in Holland, she adopted Western liberal values to the extent that she became a young member of parliament in The Hague and declared herself to be an athiest. After having worked in the country's social services she knows, at first hand, the horrors tolerated against women in the name of multiculturalism.

A fierce apponent of some of the aspects of Islam and African traditions that go against basic human rights, she founded an NGO whose aims are set out, on her website Ayaan Hirsiali in the following terms:

In response to ongoing abuses of women’s rights, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and her supporters established the AHA Foundation in 2007 to help protect and defend the rights of women in the West from oppression justified by religion and culture.

Italy

The first black person to be elected to the Italian parliament is Mercedes Lourdes Frias from the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean. This is how she is described [en] on the blogging site Black Women in Europe:

Mercedes Lourdes Frias was born in the Dominican Republic. She was the first black person elected to the Italian Parliament in 2006 where she served through April 2008. She was a member of the Commission on Constitutional Affairs and the Parliamentary Committee on the Implementation of the Control of Schengen Agreement, and the Control and Surveillance on Immigration. She works on anti-racist activities and welcoming immigrants. From 1994 1997 she was a member of the Council of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy. In the town of Empoli Ms Frias served a councilor for the environment, rights of citizenship, equal opportunities.

The most surprising of the black women to have been elected via universal sufferage or appointed to positions of elevated responsibility in European countries is Sandra Maria (Sandy) Cane, elected in 2009 on a Northern League ticket; the most racist and xenophobic of Italy's political parties. One of the party's objectives is the secessoin of some of the northern part the Italian peninsula (though the boundary is not clearly undefined) because the party leaders do not like Southern Italians.

The blog stranieriinitalia.it (foreigners in Italy) gives a brief outline of her career [it]:

Il primo sindaco di colore in Italia ha la camicia verde. Sandra Maria (Sandy) Cane si è aggiudicata con appena 38 voti di scarto la fascia tricolore a Viggiù, cinquemila anime in Valceresio, tra Varesotto e Canton Ticino. Alle sue spalle, una lunga storia di migrazioni. Di Viggiù era originaria la famiglia materna del neosindaco, scalpellini emigrati in Francia, dove durante la seconda guerra mondiale arrivò il padre, un soldato statunitense afroamericano. Il neo sindaco è nata a Springfield, nel Massachussets, nel 1961, ma a dieci anni, dopo la separazione dei genitori, ha seguito la madre nel paesino d’origine.

Italy's first coloured mayor wears a green shirt [the colour worn by Northern League supporters]. Sandra Maria (Sandy) Cane won the tricolour scarf of the Mayor of Viggiù, a town of five thousand inhabitants in the Valceresio region, between the town of Varèse and the Canton of Tessin, with a margin on only 38 votes.
A past with a long history of migration. The new mayor's family on her mother's side were stone masons, originally from Viggiù, who migrated to France. During the Second World War, her father, an African-American soldier from the United States arrived in France. The new Mayor was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1961, but ten years after the separation of her parents she followed her mother back to her home village.

This, according to the blog associazioneumoja.wordpress.com, is how she found herself [it] in politics, with a rather unlikely ideological platform:

Della Lega sono sempre stata sostenitrice, anche se mai vera militante. Quando ero ragazza morivo dal ridere a vedere i loro manifesti, curiosi e di forte impatto. Poi quindici anni fa, più o meno, mi sono avvicinata di più. […] Vedo come «molto americana» anche la Lega, per la richiesta di rispettare rigorosamente la legge, anche per i clandestini. Anche se a Viggiù, precisa, non ci sono problemi di integrazione, nè tantomeno di sicurezza. Tra le priorità, guarda al rilancio turistico del paese, con manifestazioni e attenzione alla cultura.

I have always supported the Northern League without ever being very active. When I was a little girl their posters used to make me laugh, they were curious and had a big impact. Then, around fifteen years ago I became a little more involved. […] I see it as being “very American”, even the Northern League, because they insist on a rigorous respect for the law, even for illegal immigrants. Even so, she points out that there are no problems of integration and still yet security in Viggiù. One of her priorities is to reignite tourism in the area, with events and a focus on culture.

Despite the marked progress in the inclusion of African women in European politics, they represent isolated cases as, beyond the difficulties they face due to racism or culture and religion, even within their own families and their own societies, they also have to face up to the challenges that all women across the world face [fr]: domestic violence, the challenge of bearing children, marginalisation and under-representation.

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.

D.R. of Congo: Writings From DRC

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:20:45 +0000

Throwing Down the Water: Writings from the DRC is a blog by Emily Cavan Lynch: “I am currently working in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where internet and roads are both quite limited; please excuse any temporary disruptions in posting, or in responding to your comments, emails or inquiries. Thank you!”

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

Video Highlights: Protests, Elections, Culture and GV

Juliana Rincón Parra — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:53:59 +0000

This section aims to showcase interesting and recent posts in Global Voices that show the many ways in which videos are helping people tell stories all around the world. You can follow the activity by regions in our YouTube channel or by clicking on the regional header links.

Protests

2011 was a year of popular uprisings. The end of the year is no different than the past months, with fed up people turning to the streets in their hope to get their voices heard and make a difference.

Middle East- North Africa

Kuwait: Stateless Protesters Attacked for Demanding Rights
Police attacked stateless protesters in Kuwait, who were demanding their rights to documents, education, healthcare, employment and naturalization.

Egypt: Women Against SCAF - Who Wins?

Egyptians are outraged at the Supreme Council for Armed Forces continuing brutality and abuse against women; this time they beat and in the process, undressed a veiled female protester, an action which was caught on video.

Egypt: Women Rally for Dignity

A couple of days after the events on the previous video, women marched in Cairo protesting against the abuses to women and also called for the fall of military rule as told in Bahrain: A Bloody National Day, a Funeral and More Suppression.

Iran: Where Is My Classmate?

A student campaign was launched on December 7 to remember all those students who have been unable to return to Iran's universities due to religious or political reasons: some banned, others expelled, some in prison and some of them were killed on the streets. Support from other places in the world was shown through videos to remember the departed and repressed students. This video was sent in from Barcelona, Spain.

Saudi Arabia: Netizens Use Online Activism to Draw Attention to Qatif Protests

The month of November marked the return of protests to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia in 2011, as the people of Qatif took to the streets to demand reforms, equality, the release of their detainees, and political freedom as many of their slogans and chants have expressed. So far, four protesters have been shot dead by security forces as a result.

Occupy Protests Worldwide

See special coverage page.

USA: Uncertain Future of Student Occupy Movement in California

After the pepper spray incident and video, the University of California's participation in the worldwide Occupy movement gained media attention. They are protesting against a 40% enrollment free increase, the high interest rates for student loans and the decreased availability of state financial aid.

Bahrain: #OccupyBudaiyaSt Continues

Peaceful protesters in Bahrain who are pressuring the government to release political prisoners and pay tribute to the more than 40 people killed by security forces since February have been faced with police attacks, brutality, tear gas, and rubber bullets. This comes after police were caught on different videos brutalizing 25 protesters on a roof with batons and knives.

Philippines: “Occupy” Protests Overcome Police Brutality

Highlighting the theme “sawang-sawa na tayo (we are fed up),” the campout protest tackled a broad range of issues from the Aquino administration's budget cuts for education and social services, nonstop oil and basic commodities price hikes, land reform, migrant issues, urban poor demolitions, and persistent human rights violations.

Elections

Electoral unrest has also motivated thousands out into the streets. In Russia the result reporting more than 140% of voters has already become a meme. And although the Congolese diaspora was unable to vote, they made sure to get their voices heard by the world.

Eastern and Central Europe

With the elections in Russia, online video has proven a useful tool in documenting electoral violations such as disappearing ink pens, paid voters and inflated turnouts as well as the later post electoral protests. Posts like Russia: No Violation of Election Violations and Russia: Second Day of Post-Election Protests explain the motives behind the protests such as election results, blogger arrests and also the clashes with anti-activists groups recruited and shipped into Moscow from other regions to demonstrate support for Vladimir Putin. An example of the electoral violations is the use of erasable pens left in voting booths:

Subsaharan Africa

D.R. of Congo: Congolese Diaspora Erupts Against Kabila

The Congolese nationals based outside the Congo demonstrated in front of embassies in several different countries. Although they weren't granted the possibility to vote in the past presidential and parliamentary elections, they protested to bring awareness to the situation in their country and in some cases to protest the results of the elections and to demand the departure of President Kabila. International governments have already approached the Congolese government to intercede and stop the violence in their capitals.

Culture

Is culture found in the traditions handed down through generations or is it found in the behaviors and activities which get adopted and followed by the population? In Mexico, children are growing up believing they are less because of their skin color. In Cuba, very popular but sexually explicit music gets censored, and in Trinidad, a religious Shia Muslim commemoration has in turn become a festival.

Latin America

Mexico: The Results of a Racism Experiment with Children

These children demonstrate how pervasive racism has become in Mexico. All that was needed was a pair of dolls, one light skinned and one dark for children to express how they felt the whiter doll was better, even if they identified more with the dark-skinned one.

Caribbean

Ashura Commemorations Around the World

The Shia Muslim commemoration of Ashura takes place in many places around the world. In Trinidad and Tobago it has transformed into the festival of Hosay and the ritual is shared with Sunnis, Hindus and Afro-Trinidadians.

Cuba: Reggaeton Hit ‘Chupi Chupi' Denounced by Authorities

A popular reggaeton song which sings explicitly about oral sex has been denounced as obscene by the authorities in Cuba. The debate on censorship has moved online where people debate on the song's merits as part of the actual culture of the island, whether people like it or not, and the impact the authorities comments will have on the songs popularity.

Global Voices Online

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