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Africa: Highs and Lows of the 2012 African Cup of Nations

Chellsy Alis Manning — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:43:56 +0000

Beyond their ethnic, political and regional divides, people unite together around their national football team. We saw the First Lady of Gabon dancing like an excited schoolgirl every time one of the eleven players of the ‘Azingo Nationale' scored a goal and became “the Panthers” for their country.

The people of Equatorial Guinea were ecstatic with the qualification of their national team, languishing in the midst of one of the most ferocious dictatorships. According to Human Rights Watch, journalists who have visited the country to report on the human rights situation have been detained, interrogated, censored and deported.

In the fervour surrounding the 2012 African Cup of Nations, there are two key points that attract attention. The first is the absence of some of the higher achieving teams in African football.

Michael Dodje's blog explains [fr] the unusual goings-on in this year's Cup of Nations:

Imagine a Euro competition without Germany, Spain, Holland and England. Impossible you say, even though Ukraine or Poland would not have to participate in the qualifying rounds as host nations. And yet, this is what happened in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Indeed, for the first time in ages we will not see Egypt, Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria or even South Africa in this championship. How did this happen?

Remembering that the five teams mentioned above have won 15 out of 27 previous Cup of Nations tournaments. Nicholas Mc Anally on le229.com responded [fr]:

…If these teams do not qualify then there will be others to replace them. It's a breath of fresh air seeing teams like Botswana, Niger and Equatorial Guinea making their debuts in the Cup of Nations.

Another novelty in this year's Cup is the way that the thorny issue of bonuses has been resolved. A post on the blog plat du pied explained [fr] what happened on the 15 November, 2011:

After the cancellations of the matches against China, Gabon, Salvador and Mexico, Cameroon has again cancelled a friendly match at the last minute for the fifth time since the start of the season. The players went on strike, once again, in protest against the federation over their bonuses for the match.

On the same blog, a statement issued by the Cameroon players, known as the ‘Indomitable Lions', said:

Due to the absence of attendance bonuses, the players have decided not to travel to Algiers and to not play any part in the match against Algeria scheduled for the 15 November.

Different solutions to the problem have been found by building on past negative experiences. A post [fr] on the blog marocfootball.info, concerning the Moroccan national team, the ‘Atlas Lions' stated that:

The President of the highest court in Moroccan football announced that a deal has been made with the Atlas Lions in that they accept that they will not receive any form of attendance bonus if they fail to reach the quarter finals of the 2012 African Cup of Nations.

Côte d'Ivoire, not long out of a prolonged and disastrous civil war, will pay their national team the ‘Elephants' a bonus of 5 billion CFA francs (1 million US dollars) if they win the final. The blog afrik11.com states [fr]:

The 23 players in the side receive 5 million CFA francs (10,000 USD) in attendance bonuses. This amount will be paid if the team is eliminated in the first round. In the quarterfinals, the bonus of each player will rise to 8 million, rising further to 10 million in the semifinals and then to 20 million in the final (40,000 USD). The coach, Zahoui François will also enjoy his share of the pie, receiving double the bonuses of his players.

afrik11.com also comments [fr] on the bonuses paid to the Mali national team, the ‘Eagles of Mali' at the beginning of January:

Earlier this week the Malian football team received their bonuses for qualifying for the 2012 African Cup of Nations. Two hundred million CFA francs (40,000 USD) were given in cash to the players and coaching staff before the national team left Lomé (Togo) for the final stage in their preparations for the competition.

The Equatorial Guinea team in training by @FlorianK_Sport

Equatorial Guinea, co-hosts of the event, is a country unable to build a stadium capable of hosting a match due to the frequent rains. Yet abidjan.net posted a blog surrounding their first victory [fr] in the competition:

Teodorin Obiang, the Minister for Agriculture presented a cheque for 500 million CFA francs (760,000 euros) to Francisco Pascual Eyegue Obama Asué, the Minister for Sport, in the absence of the national team in Mbini (mainland Mali). He added a cheque for 20 million CFA francs (30,400 euros), 10 million that had been promised for each goal scored ; the team only won the match 1-0 but he explained that the goal disallowed by the referee deserved to be credited with a bonus.

This blog points out that the actions of Teodorin, tipped to succeed his father as president, are under scrutiny by the Americans.

The generosity of petrodollars being used for the bonuses for the Equatorial Guinea football team makes the Republic of Guinea look like a poor relation. In Conakry, the first problem was in trying to find the money to pay for the bonuses. As reported by lejourguinee.com, the country set up a National Committee for Support, led by General Mathurin Bangoura, Minister for Housing and Urban Development with the aim of raising funds for the bonuses. Notably, the first contributions came from the Indian community settled in the country.

The least well-spent money during the tournament, without doubt, has to be the bonuses awarded to the ‘Teranga Lions', the Senegalese national team, who had entered the competition as strong favourites and fell at the first hurdle. Yet, at the beginning of the competition the blog can.starafrica.com stated [fr] that:

There are some concerns surrounding the bonuses given to the Senegalese side. On Wednesday the Sports Ministry gave the squad bonuses amounting to 140, 650,000 francs in full for their qualification for the 2012 African Cup of Nations.

Africa: 2012 Cup of Nations Delivers Many Surprises

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

and also [fr]:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Senegal: A Week of Living Dangerously

Negarra Akili Kudumu — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:37:44 +0000

[Note: This post was written by our author in Senegal before the dramatic events of January 31, 2012, which will be adressed in a follow-up article. All links are in French unless stated otherwise]

On January 31, 2012, in Senegal, the opposition will take to the streets to protest a third term for incumbent President Wade. On January 27, the Constitutional Council of Senegal decided on the final list of candidates for the presidential elections on 26 February.

The five elders on the council have accepted the nomination of Abdoulaye Wade, who is seeking a third term, an action considered unconstitutional by many Senegalese voters. Furthermore, the council denied the candidacy of the singer Youssou N'Dour, on the pretext that he would not have collected enough signatures to support his candidacy.

Since the announcement of these decisions on January 27, protesters have taken to the streets and sometimes violently expressed their anger. One policeman was lynched by the crowd on Saturday night. A video of the incident has gone viral on the Internet:

On January 30, two citizens were shot dead during protests in the northern city of Podor. The situation is tense across the country and also online.

Ominous

None of this bodes well for the big rally on January 31. Although several members of the opposition movement, the Movement June 23 (M23), have called for peaceful and non-violent demonstrations, the excesses clearly give cause for grave concern, according to the conversation online.

Protesters as posted by @AnonymousAG on Twitter

The web site of the M23 went so far as to target people close to Wade, notably Farba Senghor, a consultant well known to Wade. On the Movement's Facebook page, they even posted an appeal [fr] for Senghor's address to be revealed, it seems, in order to carry out reprisals.

Si vous connaissez les adresses des residences de personnes suivantes, veuillez les communiquer: “Farba Senghor”, “Serigne Mbacke Ndiaye”, “Cheick Tidiane Diakhaté”, “Cheick Tidiane Sy”, “Ousmane Ngom” … nous allons diffuser leur adresse massivement sur google map pour que le Jour-J, les cibles seront identifiees avec precision.

If you know the addresses of the residences of the following, please contact us: “FarbaSenghor“, “Ndiaye Serigne Mbacke“, “Cheick Tidiane Diakhate“, “Cheick Tidiane Sy“, “Ousmane Ngom” … we are going to spread their address widely on google map for the D-Day, the targets will be identified with precision.

Some even used to Google maps to locate his residence:

geolocation on Facebook

Abdoulaye Wade, in the media and on his Facebook page, tries to defend a position of peace [fr]:

Chers internautes.

En tant que juriste, avocat et enseignant du droit, je dois être le premier à respecter la loi. Je suis non seulement un démocrate, mais aussi très épris de paix.Il y a eu des manifestations violentes, les guides religieux ont appelé à la paix et au respect de la loi, je serai le premier à suivre leurs recommandations la campagne va bientôt ouvrir et il ne voit pas ,Chacun aura l’occasion de se compter librement à travers les bureaux de vote où tout le monde sera représenté. Celui qui aura la majorité sera élu. C’est la meilleure manière de préserver la paix ,Le pays est en train de changer, il est différent du temps de Senghor, d’Abdou Diouf et même pour moi, ce n’est pas le même depuis 2000. Le pays est dans une nouvelle dimension, il va connaître beaucoup de changements sous peu de temps, et c’est ce que certains ne veulent pas admettre .
Je vous souhaite une nuit paisible dans vos foyers..

Dear Netizens,

As a jurist, lawyer and a teacher of law, I must be the first to obey the law. I am not only a Democrat, but I am also a peaceful man. There were violent demonstrations, religious leaders called for peace and respect for the law, I will be the first to follow their recommendations. The campaign will soon open and he does not see. Everyone will have the opportunity to stand up and be counted freely through the polling stations where everyone will be represented. Whoever has the majority will be elected. This is the best way to preserve peace. The country is changing, it is different from the time of Senghor and Abdou Diouf, even in my case, it is not the same since 2000. The country is in a new dimension, it will undergo many changes in a short time, and that's what some people do not want to admit.
I wish you a peaceful night in your homes.

Someone injured in the demontrations, by Twitter user @Boombasticplo

But Wade's supporters themselves employ a tone tinged with hatred [fr]:

Sènègalaises,Sènègalais,pour prèserver le Sènègal du chaos que thèorise le M23 et ses manipulateurs tapis dans l'ombre des homosexuels amèricains et francais,soyons prets à dèfendre la Rèpublique contre l'axe du mal,par tous les moyens lègaux.
Barrons la route aux ennemis de la paix,en boycottant le M23 et ses activitès antidèmocratique et anticonstitutionnelles.
Faites passer SVP…

Senegalese people, to protect Senegal from the chaos suggested by the M23 and its manipulators lurking in the shadows of Americans and French homosexuals, be ready to defend the Republic against the axis of evil, using all legal means.
Let us block the road to the enemies of peace, by boycotting the M23 and its anti-democratic and unconstitutional activities.
Please spread the word …

Protester throws a stone, by Twitter user @theBoyA

January 31 will be a highly tense day; the net is already in uproar [fr]:

Au lieu d'envoyer les Forces Spéciales pour régler son problème en Casamance, Wade les met en état d'alerte pour mâter la population… ces gens sont des tueurs professionnels, entraines par des commandos israéliens. Si nous en repérons un qui tue un seul sénégalais, nous nous en prendrons directement à la sécurité de sa famille … un point un trait… tous les moyens son bons de la mise à feu de sa maison a l’empoisonnement au cyanure de ses enfants… à bon entendeur.

Instead of sending Special Forces to address the problem in Casamance, Wade puts them on alert to quell the population… these people are professional killers, led by Israeli commandos. If we identify even one who kills a single Senegalese, there will be direct reprisals on his family … period … by all means necessary, from setting his house on fire or poisoning his children with cyanide … don't say that you were not warned.

Africa: 2012 Cup of Nations Kicks Off!

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

[All links to external content are in French]

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

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

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

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

Matchday One

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

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

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

Touy wrote on Seneweb News [fr]:

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

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

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

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

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

Matchday Two

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

Phox Hermann [fr] said:

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

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

Bi Tia Vincent Toh [fr] added:

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

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

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

Matchday Three

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

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

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

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

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

Zambia: Netizens Abuzz Over Senegal's Loss at AFCON 2012

Gershom Ndhlovu — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:16:05 +0000

When Zambia beat Senegal at one of the two opening games of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon on January 21, 2012, Zambian netizens went abuzz on Facebook and Twitter to celebrate the victory even asking “Demba who?” referring to the much touted Senegalese player, Demba Ba, who plays for Newcastle United in the English Premier League. Demba Ba is the second top goal scorer in the Barclays Premier League.

Before the game Zambians wanted to get #Chipolopolo, or bullet, the Zambia national soccer team nickname, to trend:

@ntheyelungu: Let's get #Chipolopolo trending today @itawa_bovi @tha_jayman @zonefam @slapdee @missbwalya @mz_obika @GNdhlovu @ChiluLemba @Deejaylbc

2012 Africa Cup of Nations logo. Image source: cafonline.com

Impressed with Zambia’s performance, one tweep describe the players thus:

@ilfabiano: Zambia are the more athletic and oozing with verve and versatility. That's the direction African football has taken #SSAFCON

A tweet by one radio station ticked off the doubters:

@rphoenixzambia: Well done chipolopolo the doubters and commentators didn't give us a chance,we truly are a great nation

Wondering where the EPL Newcastle superstar, Demba Ba was during the game, one tweep @kamateso had this to say:

@kamateso: #CanSomeoneExplainToMeWhy Demba was not even on target against #Zambia? Chipolopolo woyeee. Football is played on the pitch and not on paper

Another tweep posted a YouTube video of the goals:

@missbwalya: Senegal 1-2 Zambia - Watch the goals: youtu.be/TerHEqJc-fY

@mwiingason reproduced a quote attributed to the Zambian captain:

@mwiingason: “Nobody expected us to beat Senegal, but our history speaks for itself. We need to carry on like this” ~ Christopher Katongo #Zambia

Zambian netizens were more expressive on Facebook. Remembering the 1993 Zambia national football team air disaster in Gabon on their way to play Senegal in 1993, John Ziba wrote:

Angela Chishimba simply stated in her post:

Demba who? Its Mayuka…[Emmanuel Mayuka scored first goal for Zambia]

Durban Kambaki injected some humour in his post:

What a nice feeling waking up to find Zambia won last night. Good boy that I am, I slept early and slept like a baby only to hear on BBC this morning the news. I will to stay awake for the next game.

But not all netizens were satisfied with the result. For Joshua Jere , Zambia could have done better and the players need to up their game:

I thought the Chipolopolo were on spot with they game plan but their endurance was in question. And if endurance is in question, concentration is lost. Against Libya Zambia stands a better chance than it did in the Senegal encounter. However the COPPER BULLETS should know this, North Africans play with 12th players on the pitch-THE REFEREE!

Richard Chanter recalled an article he posted about Mayuka early last year:

Well done Zambia! Told you about this player last year in March - remember?

Emmanuel Mayuka : Chanters Lodge Livingstone

www.chanters-livingstone.com
Zambian star Emmanuel Mayuka struck again for Young Boys this week, his 90th minute goal sealing the victory over 10-men St. Gallen by a score of 2-0. The goal, Mayuka’s 7th in the domestic league…

Others like Shalala Oliver Sepiso, added a numerology mystique to the victory:

We played this game on the 21st in the year 12 of the 21st century not long after the Lusaka West 2.1 billion and in West Africa we scored 2:1 . The games will end on the 12th. The first goal was scored in the 12th minute and the second goal was scored in the 21st minute. Via Henry Nasilele and IZambia.

Africa: Algiers and Dakar Competing for Cultural Leadership in Francophone

Dieyna Ba — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:36:45 +0000

The blog edouardtamba.com has published a note by Maurice Simo Djom, from the University of Yaounde stating [fr] that: ”Through two competing festivals, the Fesman and the Panaf, the two countries (Senegal and Algeria) battle for the cultural leadership in Francophone Africa. In fact, this cultural battle underscores a harsh ideological struggle between two different approaches to escaping colonial cultural influence and taking control of a nation' s own identity”.

Africa: 2012: Africa's Election Trail

Ndesanjo Macha — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:47:06 +0000

Jemilla looks at Africa's election trail in 2012: “Youssou Ndour - world renowned Senegalese musician - just announced his candidature for Senegal's presidential election on February 26, 2012! I'll admit, the first person I thought of when I read the news was Wyclef Jean who put in a similar bid for Haiti's presidential seat in 2010.”

Africa: Startups in Africa 2011 and Beyond

Ndesanjo Macha — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:50:11 +0000

Erik believes that 2011 was a great year for startups in Africa: “The past few years have been about building an infrastructure that improves the chances of the technology startups in Africa to succeed. Seeing this buildout in action in 2011 was exciting, but it should be recognized for what it really was: a setup for 2012 and beyond.”

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

Italy: African workers renew their call for open dialogue

Ylenia Gostoli — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 04:29:28 +0000

Following the murder of two Senegalese men in Florence, Italy, migrant African workers released an open letter on the web [it] to renew their call for dialogue with citizens of Rosarno, where in January 2010 violent riots took place. ‘Those that in the past few days have spread fear when talking about us will be held accountable.’ they write. ‘We’re here to work and contribute to the development of this town and region.’

Italy, Senegal: Strong Reactions Follow Murder of 2 Senegalese Men in Florence

Amanda Mc Lane — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:06:11 +0000

[All links forward to articles in French, unless otherwise stated]

On December 14, 2011, at the initiative of Mayor Matteo Renzi, the City of Florence, Italy, decided to suspend all commercial activity for ten minutes as a protest against racism. Shop owners closed their stores for the entire day in solidarity. The catalyst for these actions? A tragic event that took place in the day before.

On December 13, Gianluca Casseri, a 50 year-old hunter, far-right activist and author of books denying the Holocaust, opened fired on a group of Senegalese in two outdoor markets in Florence. The horrific event resulted in the death of two street vendors from Senegal, as well as the perpetrator of the crime, who committed suicide after a brief shoot-out with police. The incident also left three other Africans injured and hospitalized in critical condition.

Anti-racism demonstration in Florence by Antonella Beccaria on Flickr (CC-NC SA-2.0)

According to reports of the incident published in the media, the incident created chaos and fear in the very heart of Florence. It also provoked vehement reactions and speculation as to the motives behind Casseri's killing of two strangers. Was this a case of racism or insanity?

A video reviews the homicide and provides one Senegalese man's reactions; in his opinion, this was a case of racism. The video also features comments from members of a far-right group called Casapound, which counted Casseri among its enthusiasts.

Tiziano Rugi commented [it] on the event reporternuovo.it:

Il giorno dopo la strage di Firenze, restano solo mazzi di fiori e ceri dove ieri sono morti due venditori ambulanti senegalesi. Lì, in una delle bancarelle del mercatino di piazza Dalmazia tutti i giorni, dalle otto del mattino fino a tarda sera, lavoravano Samb Modou e Diop Mor. Uccisi dall’odio razziale di Gianluca Casseri, cinquantenne pistoiese vicino agli ambienti di estrema destra che credeva nella purezza della razza bianca.

The day after the Florence massacre, flowers and candles marked the spot where two Senegalese street vendors were killed. Right there, where every day, from eight o'clock in the morning until late at night, Modou Samb and Mor Diop had their own booth; killed by the racial hatred of fifty-something Gianluca Casseri from the town of Pistoia, known for his far-right tendencies and belief in the purity of the white race.

Samu gives his opinion [it] in the comment section of a blog post about the events posted on qn.quotidiano.net:

Provo orrore per quello che è successo, ma la situazione immigrati in Italia sta diventando insostenibile e se oggi a fare certe cose è un pazzo fanatico,un caso isolato, domani, tra qualche anno, non so se certi avvenimenti succederanno per mano di pazzi. A noi italiani ci viene chiesto sempre di più e vediamo diminuire i benefici e le nostre ricchezze,la nostra libertà, i nostri figli non trovano lavoro, e questi immigrati vengono quà e fanno ciò che vogliono, impunemente, alla luce del giorno; ”poverini devono pur mangiare” dicono i soliti buonisti. Bene, quando poverini come loro lo diventeremo anche noi, e se continua così non ci vorranno tanti anni perchè questo si verifichi, allora diventerà una guerra tra poveri e non sò come andrà a finire, penso molto male.

What happened is horrible, but the immigrant situation in Italy is becoming unbearable. This event is attributed to a fanatic, as an isolated incident, but in a few years, such events may not be perpetrated only by demented individuals. We Italians are continuously forced to make sacrifices, cut back on our lifestyle, our riches, freedom; our children can't find work, and here are these immigrants that come to our country to do whatever they please in total impunity, in broad daylight; ”the poor have a right to eat too” is what you hear from the usual do-gooders. But when we'll have become as poor as them, and if things continue to deteriorate, it won't take long before a full-out war is declared between people of the poorer class, and I have no idea how it will all finish. Badly, I'm sure.

Contrasting opinions were posted in the comments section. One commenter compared the event to a massacre that took place in Liège, Belgium on the very same day, although Maria 1 did not agree with the comparison [it]:

Non mi meraviglio che tu non capisca in cosa consista la differenza: il PAZZO in Belgio ha sparato sulla folla , il PAZZO RAZZISTA a Firenze ha sparato SOLO su persone con la pelle nera!!!

Funny that you miss the major difference between the two events: The CRAZY MAN in Belgium fired on an anonymous crowd, the RACIAL MANIAC in Florence ONLY fired on people with dark skin.

An anoymous commenter agreed [it]:

credo di no. ma poverini l'unica cosa che gli dice il cervello è che la violenza sia il giusto mezzo per evadere dall'ignoranza e dalla loro depressione mentale.

FATE LA VITA DA IMMIGRATO IN ITALIA PER UN SOLO MESE, poi vediamo da che parte state!

o forse credete che solo per essere nati nella parte “fortunata” del pianeta avete più diritti o sentimenti degli altri?

I don't think so…poor people…but the only thing his brain told him was that violence is the way out of ignorance and a mentally depressive state.

TRY LIVING IN AN IMMIGRANT'S SHOES IN ITALY FOR JUST ONE MONTH and then we'll see whose side you're on. Or maybe you think that because you were born as “one of the planet's lucky” you have more rights or feelings then the less-lucky?

On his Facebook page, which has more than 1.5 million fans, Roberto Saviano, author of the best-seller Gomorra, which inspired a major-motion picture, wrote [it]:

La morte di Samb e Diop a Firenze mi ha ricordato la strage dei ragazzi africani a Castelvolturno di tre anni fa. Ricordo anche, come fosse ora, la morte di Jarry Masslo a Villa Literno nel 1989 e la strage di Pescopagano nel 1990… l'Italia è il Paese europeo con più stragi di africani e questo dovrebbe farci riflettere.

The death in Florence of Samb and Diop reminded me of the massacre of young Africans in Castelvolturno three years ago. I also remember, as if it were yesterday, the death of Jarry Masslo in Villa Literno in 1989 and the Pescopagano massacre in 1990… Italy is the leading European country when it comes to massacring Africans and that should make us stop and think.

In Dakar, Senegal, an Italian sociologist and expatriate found an original way to present her apologies to the Senegalese people. According to a video report by Serigne Diaw on the web site leral.net:

Chiara Barisson, an Italian sociologist based in Senegal, handed out 200 flyers in the streets of Sandaga as a way of offering her condolences and apologies, not only to the families of the victims killed in Florence, but to the Senegalese people as a whole. Surrounded by her Italian friends, she insisted on saying “I'm sorry” for the racist act, said The Observateur. Shop owners were said to be very touched by the sociologist's gesture.

However this comment on the video from de schwarzeraal [en] puts a different spin on the murderer's act:

Africans from the Ivory Coast have been known to burn their Senegalese neighbors at the stake; one Senegalese man killed an African from Mali over garbage and God knows what else while pretending to be in charge… in the street, a Malian killed a man from Senegal over a place in front of a TV screen, etc…crazy people are everywhere…

On December 17, the outdoor markets of several Italian cities organized protest marches, as reported [it] in one opinion piece on the blog corriereimmigrazione:

La manifestazione, che si svolgerà in contemporanea in varie città, sarà l'occasione per rilanciare i problemi che attualmente vivono le comunità migranti in Italia: “il bisogno di una nuova sanatoria, la risoluzione del problema delle truffe, il rifiuto al permesso di soggiorno a punti, il diritto al voto e alla cittadinanza per i figli degli immigrati, la problematica di chi è scappato della guerra in Libia e la denuncia dei centri di detenzione come luoghi da chiudere”. L'evento sarà inoltre occasione per iniziare il cammino che porterà verso il primo marzo 2012, lo sciopero degli stranieri

This event will take place simultaneously in many cities as an opportunity to renew discussions of the problems currently encountered by the migrant communities of Italy, “the need for a new amnesty, the resolution of problems of corruption, the refusal to create a points system for workers' permits, the right to vote and to citizenship for the children of immigrants, the answer to the question of who was fighting in Libya and the request to shut down and stop using prisons as concentration camps.” This event is also the perfect opportunity to pave the way for March 1, 2012 and the foreigners' strike.

After Milan, protests are scheduled to take place in Caltagirone, Messine, Florence, Rome, Imola, Legnano and Cinisello Balsamo, in front of CARA di Mineo (CT).

On Twitter, @Doubangar, Félicité Doubangar offered her impression of the number of participants who turned out in Florence:

Thousands of people turned out last Saturday in Florence in protest at the action of a far-right activitst who killed two street vendors of Senegalese origin last Tuesday.

And this report appeared on the Senegal 24.7 Facebook page:

Senegalese men killed in Florence: protest against racism — At least 10,000 people marched last Saturday in protest against racism in Florence (centre) where a far-right activist shot and killed two street vendors of Senegalese origin last Tuesday, injuring three others.

We want to ring in a new era of hope, so that our two brothers didn't die for nothing, a spokesperson from the Senegalese community, Mr. Pape Diaw, declared to the press.

We must work harder for peaceful coexistence and respect. It has to become a real battle, and not just a façade, he added.

The number of protesters was estimated to be about 10,000, according to police; the figure 12,000 was reported by protest organizers.

Many wondered whether this was a case of political exploitation or proof of compassion. blogunugalsene.com published [fr] posted the following update:

As this goes to press, M^e Aïssata Tall Sall is taking part in the protest in Florence, to pay tribute to the memory of the two murdered Senegalese men, with the expected presence of the Italian Prime Minister, the President of the Regional Council, the Democratic Party leader (major opposition to the current governing party). The lawyer hired by the Socialist Senegalese party will head up a pool of French and American lawyers who will defend the victims. Tomorrow, December 18th, before leaving Italy, she is scheduled to meet with other Italian lawyers who will also join the pool.

The Italian authorities reacted with strong statements and actions to the tragedy, as did the Senegalese community and Italian civil society.

Africa: Open Doors 2012: Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:25:19 +0000

Open Doors 2012 focuses on Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa: “Following on from India in 2011, the next edition of Open Doors, the Festival del film Locarno’s co-production lab, will be devoted to francophone Africa…Application forms for Open Doors 2012 are available on www.onopendoors.pardo.ch and are restricted to projects from francophone Sub-saharan Africa”

Italy/Tunisia: Migrants' Opinions of the Arab Spring

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Camilla Corradin contributed to this translation.

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

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

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

African Bloggers Review the French Primary Elections

Lova Rakotomalala — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:25:20 +0000

Mengue M'Eyaà review the proposals [fr] outlined by the French presidential candidates towards the African continent during the primary elections. She notes that all the proposals centered around how France can exit the Françafrique paradigm and that the candidates have a more nuanced understanding of several African issues such as the transition towards an effective democracy, foreign aid and accountability in governance.