Global Voices » Abdoulaye Bah

Togo : Presidential Patrimony versus University Facilities

Abdoulaye Bah — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:03:53 +0000

Commenting on the declaration of assets of the new French President Francois Hollande, Jeogo wrote [fr]: “What is certain is that the patrimony of Francois Hollande (..) is no match for the patrimony of the “big shots “of the Togolese Republic (..) yet the crowded university is still without air-conditioned computer rooms; one room is equipped with a score of old computers that are not connected to the internet and where a power outage often ends the class sessions.”

Italy: Rome Celebrates its 2,765th Anniversary

Abdoulaye Bah — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:45:33 +0000

Rome, the Eternal City, where myth becomes reality. Rome, where there is always something new to discover.

Before becoming site of the Holy See, Rome was first a city, then a republic and eventually an empire. Rome “was the most politically important, richest, and largest city in the Western world” over a period of almost seven hundred years. At the height of its power, the Roman Empire spanned from Britain to the Arabic Peninsula, North Africa and Eastern Europe.

On April 21, 2012, Romans celebrated the 2,765th anniversary of their city. Legend says that the Rome was founded by Romulus, a demigod nurtured by a wolf.

Coliseum on April 21, 2012 (author's photo)

Website, Why Rome?, explained the legend of the so-called Eternal City:

This Saturday, April 21st, Rome will celebrate its 2,765th birthday. (Can you imagine being around that many years?!) This is based on the legendary founding of Rome by Romulus in 753 BC. In case you're not familiar with the legend, here is a brief overview. Romulus and Remus were twins. Their mother, Rhea, was a Vestal Virgin, and their father was a god (Mars, the god of war). Before they were born, male descendants in the family were killed by their Grandfather's brother. When the twins were born, they were left to die. However, a she-wolf came along and nursed them. The boys grew up to become natural leaders. They decided to found a new city, but couldn't agree on the exact location. The two quarrelled, and Remus was killed in the end. Romulus then founded the new city on the Palatine Hill, and named it after himself … Rome.

Celebrating Rome, senator-style (author's photo)

Maria Merola of Satyrnet highlighted [it] the programme of activities:

Punto nodale del compleanno della Capitale saranno i Fori Imperiali che faranno da sfondo a rappresentazioni in grado di cogliere tutti gli aspetti storici, artistici e culturali che hanno reso Roma quello che è oggi. Roma difatti, tocca tutte le forme d'arte da quelle più antiche a quelle più contemporanee.

The focal point of the birthday celebrations will be the Fori Imperiali which will serve as the backdrop to performances that capture all of the historical, artistic and cultural aspects that have made Rome what it is today. In fact, Rome touches all forms of art from the most ancient to the most contemporary.

Soldiers of Ancient Rome (author's photo)

Website Cool Toura gave [it] a more detailed programme of events, inviting readers not to miss the concert:

Da non perdere, la serata di Sabato 21 Aprile 2012 in via dei Fori Imperiali (altezza Mercati di Traiano), dove alle 20.30 avrà inizio lo spettacolo “Le stelle di Roma” con attori, cantanti e musicisti che si esibiranno dal vivo. … Dalle 23 a mezzanotte, i Mercati di Traiano diventeranno il palcoscenico di uno spettacolo di proiezioni di luci e colori.

Do not miss the evening of Saturday, April 21, 2012 in Via dei Fori Imperiali (Trajan's Market), the show “The stars of Rome” will begin at 8.30pm with actors, singers and musicians who will perform live…. From 11pm to midnight, Trajan's Market will become the stage for a spectacle of color and light projections.

Despite its age, Buzz in Rome found the city to be still in reasonable condition:

Yes, Rome is very old but still in pretty good shape, notwithstanding the damages done by its unruly citizens, politicians and visitors! On April 21 according to the legend/tradition, it turns 2765. But, of course, there is no scientific evidence that it was founded in 753BC, let alone on April 21. Anyway, before the Liberation Day (April 25)/Labour Day(May 1) very long weekend there is one more big occasion to celebrate and have fun in Rome. The City council has organized a lot of events. Let’s see those that might be more enjoyable for non-Italian speakers.

Website 06Blog highlighted [it] the role historical places like the Capitol, Circus Maximus and Fori Imperiali would play in these events:

La Lupa, Romolo e Remo, Giulio Cesare, Nerone, i centurioni, con la storia e le leggende della città antica tornano in pompa magna, con le rivisitazioni storiche al Circo Massimo, il corteo in costume lungo via dei Fori Imperiali, le cerimonie solenni in Campidoglio, il Roma Caput Mundi - The Eternal Musical all’Auditorium Conciliazione, dal 18 al 22 aprile 2012.

There will be the she-wolf, Romulus and Remus, Julius Caesar, Nero, the centurions, with the history and legends of the ancient city. All of them will be back in full regalia from 18 to 22 April 2012 with historical revivals in the Circus Maximus, along Via dei Fori Imperiali and the ceremonies at the Capitol, Roma Caput Mundi - The Eternal Musical Auditorium Conciliazione.

Celebration of Rome's anniversary (author's photo)

These places are a testimony to the glory of Ancient Rome. The Circus Maximus, still accessible despite ongoing restructuring works, was a theatre for all kinds of entertainments over 2,500 years ago, with a capacity of 150 000 spectators. To this day, it is one of the largest stadiums built by mankind.

Architect Tom Rankin of the Sustainable Rome blog linked the anniversary of Rome with Earth Day on April 22. He asked:

While it’s easy to associate cultural heritage with Rome and environmental sustainability with the Earth, I am interested in building bridges between these two fields both locally and globally since I see the city not as the source of our global environmental problems but as the solution…. Can Rome leverage its richly layered history to sustain itself economically and ecologically? Can it re-use the resources accrued over time to avoid excess consumption? I believe it can and teach a course called Ecological Urbanism which uses Rome as a Laboratory to address themes such as waste, energy, water, transportation and land use.

Botswana: Botswana Forerunner for MDG7

Abdoulaye Bah — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:31:53 +0000

Edmund Smith-Asante observes that Botswana is the only African country most likely to approach the MDG7 (achieving universal access to water by 2015): “Botswana currently experiences 89 under-five sanitation-related deaths yearly, the lowest on the African continent, saves 14 under-five lives annually with its current rate of investment in the sector, and is projected to save two lives each year if it is able to meet its MDG target of 69%.”

French Presidential Candidate's Video to Attract Minorities

Abdoulaye Bah — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:00:35 +0000

François Hollande, the left wing candidate in the French presidential elections recently posted a video on youTube showing him walking in the French suburbs surrounded by minorities to the music of “Niggas in Paris” by Jay-Z and Kanye West. Commenting the video, AfroEurope writes: “After appearing on YouTube on Tuesday, the video has already been watched over 28,000 times. The buzz on Twitter has so far been positive. But not everybody has been fooled. Some web users are complaining of “ethnic marketing”, according to France 24.”

Africa: Access to Water and Sanitation Services Still a Burden

Abdoulaye Bah — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:58:37 +0000

Babatope Babalobi, Secretary General WASH-JN [Water, sanitation and Hygiene journalists network (WASH)] discusses two meetings on water and sanitation held in Marseilles last month: “It seems that the organisers of the two events wrongly assumed that all citizens are able to access water and sanitation services through public or privately owned or managed conventional water system which unfortunately is not the case particularly in most parts of Asia and Sub Saharan Africa.”

Mali: An Introduction to the Tuareg Population

Abdoulaye Bah — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:06:12 +0000

The blog of the Tuareg movement Temoust Survie publishes a post (via information from l'Express [fr]) that provides [fr] a brief introduction to the Tuareg culture : “we are a nomadic people living from farming and trade. The Tuaregs are estimated to be about 1.5 million in a region that spans across Mali, Niger, Algeria, but also Libya, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. The common language Tamashek is related to the Berber language. With the Ethiopian population, the Tuaregs are one of the few African people with their own calligraphy. The distinguishing features of the Tuareg clothing are the indigo veil they wear hence their nickname “the men in blue”.

Guinea: Of the “Good Old Days” and Guinea's Future

Abdoulaye Bah — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 06:52:09 +0000

Ma Guinée Plurielle wrote the following [fr] on the Salte Afrique blog : “I became downright pessimistic about the future of Guinea. When I was a little boy, I heard that yesterday was better than today but tomorrow will be alright eventually. Twenty-five years later, I am still hearing the same old song. I wonder when tomorrow will arrive and I would love to live in this inaccessible “yesterday”. Meanwhile, I gnaw on my brake living in this painful present.”

France: Protests in Marseille against the Privatisation of Water

Abdoulaye Bah — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:08:11 +0000

Babalobi wrote on eWash: “Accompanied by unarmed policemen, protesters marched through the streets of central Marseille singing, dancing and chanting slogans against ‘privatisation’ and ‘commodification’ of urban water supply.” The protests were organised by global civil society movements that include Public Service International, Africa Water Network, European Federation of Public Service Unions, Transnational Institute, WASH United, Greenpeace and Food and Water Watch.

New Book on the African Fashion World

Abdoulaye Bah — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:40:50 +0000

Helen Jennings wrote on the editor's blog of Arise Magazine: ” New African Fashion is the first good-looking coffee table compendium of the most talented African and diaspora designers, models and street style photographers putting African style on the map today.”

A Documentary of the History of Black People in France

Abdoulaye Bah — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:42:44 +0000

The blog Afro Europe reports on a new film about the black community in France: ” Noirs de France” (”Blacks of France”) is a new documentary of the history of black people in France. It's based on the book “La France Noir” of French historian Pascal Blanchard. The documentary is aired on France 5 in 3 episodes and will be will be available on DVD on 20 February 2012. A traveling exhibition is also on the program.”

Africa: Interview With Africa Desk Officer at the Committee to Protect Journalists

Abdoulaye Bah — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:58:37 +0000

Abdoulaye Bah (AB): First of all, who is Mohamed Keita ?

Mohamed Keita (MK): I run the Africa desk of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which is based in New-York.

AB: What are the aims of CPJ?

MK: CPJ is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide since 1981. CPJ was founded by a group of eminent American journalists, including the late Walter Cronkyte and Dan Rather, to support their colleagues around the world during a period of kidnappings and murders of journalists in Lebanon and Latin America in the 1980s. CPJ cherishes its independence from any government and does not take any contributions from any state.

Logo of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Image source: http://cpj.org/.

AB: What are the African countries where freedom of expression is most at risk?

MK: Eritrea: President Isaias Afewerki brutally closed down the independent press in this Red Sea nation in a September 2001 crackdown on dissent. Since then, Isaias' information minister Ali Abdu runs and directs the propaganda machine of the state-controlled press. The government directs journalists what and how to report on. It is the African country whose prisons are holding the largest number of journalists (at least 28). All the journalists are held in secret prisons without charge or trial and without contact with their families, with many of them thought to have died in custody. Only Iran is imprisoning more journalists worldwide.

Ethiopia: In February 2011, Ethiopian police threatened to throw into prison dissident blogger Eskinder Nega if he did not stop comparing the Arab Spring uprisings to Ethiopia’s 2005 pro-democracy protests. Eskinder was arrested 9 months later on terrorism charges and faces a possible life sentence in a politicized case based on his critical online writings. Ethiopia operates sub-saharan Africa’s most extensive snd sophisticated Internet censorship infrasctructure and was ranked among CPJ’s top 10 Online Oppressors.

The government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is trailing only Eritrea in imprisonment of journalists. Almost all the journalists, including two Swedish reporters, have been charged with terrorism for reporting on opposition and rebel groups. With a series of restrictive laws, Meles' ruling EPRDF has tightned absolute grip over media licensing and regulation, the public state media and all public institutions. The independent press is limited to a handful of private newspapers and one radio station. The government also jams radio programs from Voice of America and Deutsche Welle and bans journalists’ access to the Ogaden where a rebellion is taking place. Meles' government has driven into exile the largest number of journalists in the world over the last decade.

Gambia: President Yahya Jammeh's years of intimidation of the press, a series of arson attacks on media houses, the closure of newspapers and radio stations, the unsolved murder of Deyda Hydara and the disappearance in government custody of reporter Ebrima Chief Manneh, have created a climate of terror for journalists in Gambia and forced the best journalists into exile.

Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe arrested and prosecuted a man last year for posting a political comment on Facebook. President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF has allowed only a handful of independent newspapers to operate in Zimbabwe while retaining absolute grip over media licensing and regulation and national airwaves. Journalists operate under some of the world's most restrictive security and media laws.

Equatorial Guinea: President Teodoro Obiang's grip on the oil-rich nation is based on strict control of news and information. The president and his associates control all the media outlets in the country and no journalist is able to report independently about national priorities or spending or corruption.

Rwanda: Paul Kagame justifies restrictions on the press by invoking Radio Milles Collines, which in fact was a government-sponsored radio station, not an independent station. Kagame's government also abuses laws against “genocide ideology” and “ethnic divisionism” to prosecute and jail critical journalists and opinions contradicting the official version of the 1994 genocide.

Somalia: all belligerents in Somalia's conflict target journalists who are caught in the crossfire between rival militias, warlords, government and insurgents. Somalia is the deadliest country for the press in Africa: at least 40 journalists have been killed since 1992.

South Africa: President Jacob Zuma's ruling African National Congress has faced press criticism over its record on corruption, crime and poverty. To silence the critics, the government has introduced a series of legislative proposals that would criminalize investigative journalists, including the controversial Protection of State Information Bill, which critics have called the secrecy bill. Verbal and physical intimidation of journalists, particularly by the ANC’s youth league is on the rise.

Angola: President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos and his associates of the ruling MPLA control most of Angola's media outlets and enforce censorship of news and information. only 2 newspapers and 2 radio stations were not controlled by the government. Journalists reporting about official corruption are prosecuted and given prison sentences. Security forces attacked and intimidated journalists reporting on anti-government protests by youths calling for Dos Santos to step down.

Angola and Cameroon have introduced legislative measures to combat “internet crime” but the laws punish the electronic dissemination of photos and videos of public events with prison terms.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Journalists operate at the mercy of security forces, rebel groups and powerful politicians who abuse journalists in total impunity. at least 8 journalists have been murdered since 2005 with justice falling short of solving the murders.

Ethiopia's dissident blogger Eskinder Nega. Photo courtesy of Lennart Kjörling.

AB: Bloggers from North Africa have contributed significantly to the success of revolts in the countries of North Africa. Is it conceivable that in sub-Saharan Africa bloggers play a similar role?

MK: Social media tools have become platforms for the kind of dissent that is repressed offline and they are used to organize protests offline. Some governments, such as Ethiopia, Angola, and Cameroon, are beginning to crack down on this use of the Internet, by passing laws against “cyber crime” or intimidating bloggers. In addition, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube users who are posting photos and videos from the streets using their cell phones are breaking some of the biggest news in Africa these days, and traditional media is trying to keep up with them.

AB: In Mozambique, in 2008 and 2010, well before the revolutions in the Arab world, the civil society was able to organize a demonstration against the rising cost of living using SMS. In Ghana, in 2010, citizens participated massively in constitutional review by using Facebook and mobile phones. Should these examples be regarded as exceptional cases or other similar events may occur elsewhere?

MK: Social media in the hands of young citizen journalists is fueling protest movements in Angola, Nigeria and Senegal.

The cover of CPJ

AB: What role do you attribute to social media in Africa and what are the obstacles?

MK: They have democratized news and information - making it more difficult for governments and the enemies of press freedom to keep a nation into the dark. it has created a virtual bridge between Africans in the Diaspora and those in the home countries. but the users are still largely unprepared to the dangers lurking online. Zimbabwe arrested and prosecuted a man last year for posting a political comment on Facebook. and many governments regularly demand email passwords of journalists in custody. Data security is the next challenge for journalists as more of them start to mostly work online.

AB: What can we expect from the African Union?

MK: The AU has a Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression but she works only part time and lacks the resource to do her job. AU member states still lack the political will to respect press freedom and protect journalists. Regional human rights instruments like the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS) give us hope. The court issued landmark rulings against the Gambia on cases of disappearance and torture of journalists, but the problem is enforcement.

AB: The year 2011 was difficult for the press freedom in Africa, how do you see the year 2012?

MK: Each new year brings new challenges in this battle to keep the press free. The secrecy bill in South Africa has to be defeated, because South Africa is a model of democracy and free press for the continent, and this bill threatens to undo 18 years of progress since the end of Apartheid. South Sudan, the world's newest nation, is already abusing press freedom, this is also worrying. Ethiopia and Burundi's abuse of terrorism laws to prosecute and jail critical journalists is a disturbing new trend that has to be stopped. Press freedom is on the brink of extinction in Ethiopia, Angola, Gambia and Rwanda. Niger is probably the best example of a country where press freedom has advanced.

You can follow Mohamed Keita on Twitter @africamedia_CPJ and also read his articles on CPJ blog.

Haiti: Joining the African Union

Abdoulaye Bah — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:29:16 +0000

Mackendie Toupuissant writes [fr]: “The news went almost unnoticed. Until now, Haiti was a mere “observer” in the African Union. Since early February, the first black republic in history became a” full associate member “of the African Union (AU). This decision, the first of its kind for a country of the African Diaspora will be formalized at the next AU summit scheduled for June-July in Lilongwe, Malawi's capital city.”

France: Racial Profiling by Police Officers

Abdoulaye Bah — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:36:21 +0000

The Local blog posts a Human Rights Watch report that states : “French police use broad powers to conduct abusive identity checks on black and Arab young men and boys despite the absence of any evidence of wrongdoing, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.”

Rwanda: Sharp Poverty Reduction

Abdoulaye Bah — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:27:52 +0000

Edward Ojulu wrote on The Rwanda Focus blog: “…. over the last five years, more than one million more Rwandans gained access to adequate food, safe drinking water, good health and education services among others.”

Germany, France: Disparities in Policies Regarding the Integration of Foreign Students

Abdoulaye Bah — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:09:41 +0000

Elsa Doladille writes [fr] on the Educators Without Borders blog : ” While the Guéant Bill in France aims at toughening the conditions for foreign students to obtain a work permit, Germany encourages the integration of students from abroad in their workforce.”