Global Voices

English

The world is talking, are you listening?

Ramzy Baroud writes [fr] about the conflict in Mali on Pambazuka:

British security firm G4S will rake in enormous profits due to the crisis taking place in Mali, Libya and Algeria. Recognized as the biggest security firm in the world, the group was downgraded at the time of the Olympic Games in London last year, as a result of its inability to meet the terms of a government contract. However, with the growing instability in Northern and Western Africa, it is expected that the firm will make a strong recovery in the near future.

Adouma Alghoubas writes about the life of nomads in the desert of Niger [fr] :

Nomadic people do not have the technological means at their disposal to get their bearings, but what they do have is knowledge of astronomy, inherited from their ancestors. They navigate their way as they travel by looking at the stars. At first nightfall, it is the Pleiades constellation (“the ladies of the night” in Tamajeq) and Orion ( “the guide” in Tamajeq) that shows them the way East. Then, it is Venus (tezzug wulli aka “goat milking” in Tamajeq) that points them to the West.

On January 23, 2013, an excerpt from the annual report of l'ACAT-France, A World of Torture 2013, makes a fresh assessment of the state of torture in the world [fr]:

“A report called A World of Torture in 2013, assesses torture practices that continue to be alarming, from Pakistan to Italy, by way of South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Bolivia. From authoritarian regimes to democratic countries, none are exempt from criticism on the topic. In 2013, torture remains as endemic, omnipresent and multi-faceted as ever”.

Jacqueline Moudeina writes on Pambazuka.org about the inauguration of a special tribunal in Senegal, to bring Hissene Habre, former dictator of Chad, before the courts [fr]:

“Being a victim, is a condition in which we languish without the ability to recover, as long as justice has not been served. The suffering is endless and what occurs, is a loss of dignity. The legal battle, so that an authority may take charge and judge the crimes of the victims’ former torturers, was for them a long and painful road. Each new development, each new delay, every error and politico-judicial farce carried out by the former Senegalese government, was but a fresh wound for the victims. After 22 years, more than two decades after the fall of the Habre regime, it continues to rub salt in their wounds”.

Jolome News notes that the International Federation of Journalists has denounced the sentencing of Ms. Berthe Cakpossa to three months in prison and a fine of 500.000 francs CFA (the equivalent of $1,000 US) for insulting Boni Yayi, the Head of State. Ms. Cakpossa is the director of a private television chain, Channel 3. The channel broadcast Mr. Lionel Agbo's press conference, who was a former technical advisor to the Head of State. He has made accusations relating to those close to the president. The blog notes that [fr]:

In a democracy, it is not the role of the Press to censor the comments of political players.

On Afrik.com, Mansour Loum discusses “Sela Sela”, the song that was selected as the official anthem of the 29th edition of the 2013 African Nations Cup. The cup took place in South Africa, from January 19 to February 10, 2013. Loum explained that [fr]:

With lyrics in English and Bantu, “Sela Sela” is a song about the celebration and joy shared by all peoples, breaking the barriers that present an obstacle to peace and unity.

Here were the nominees for the Public Eye Awards, a contest listing the worst companies of the year, was published by the website Public Eye. Organized by the Berne Declaration and Pro Natura, since 2000, the awards is a counter-summit critique of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. To date, readers have ranked Goldman Sachs at the top of the list.  The reason for this is their actions in Greece :

A scam that amounted to half of Greece's debt, for exorbitant fees, a scam that led to the country's ruin.

Berlin held its second SenseCamp on February 8 and 9, 2013, a barcamp dedicated to social entrepreneurship. The program included workshops, meetings and conferences, to raise the impact of social entrepreneurial start-ups. Creative types, entrepreneurs and those who were interested, were invited to register in order to participate in this event:

Video created by Stanislas Buagev to present SenseCamp 2013 in Berlin – Sous license CC-BY-2.0

Eugene C. Shema reports on his conversation with Dr. Fassa Daniel Tolno regarding the connections between the population and development in Cameroon. On Africavox.com, he writes [fr] : “When the investments, the level of urbanization and the efforts on agriculture, human resources and industrialization do not keep up with the [increasing] size of the population, it goes without saying that the outcomes will be negative”.