Latest posts by Jennifer Brea
New bill to increase oversight of American mining companies in DRC
Congolese blogger Alex Engwete writes about a new bill in the U.S. Senate to increase government oversight of American companies with mining interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
DRC: Former child soldiers wait for government to pay
Congoblog [Fr] tells the story of two former child soldiers who are still waiting for the reintegration money promised by the government. They survive by collecting garbage and grating cow horns to make Nkulo, a traditional dish.
Burkinabe community in Cote d'Ivoire
Quophy Blogeur [Fr] writes about a man raising money from the Buriknabe community in Cote d'Ivoire for the next election, but questions his motives.
D.R. of Congo: Furor Over Kabila's New York Times Interview
Congolese bloggers criticize president Joseph Kabila's recent interview in The New York Times, taking issue with Kabila's stance on Rwanda, who's to blame for corruption, and the Western media's reporting of Africa.
Mali: Model village show power of investing in people
Le Pangolin writes about Teriya Bugu, a model village on the Niger river, in Mali, “proof that Africa has every opportunity to advance so long as it invests in people, especially farmers. Hope is a value Africa should invest in” [Fr]
DRC: Unpaid Soldiers Pillage Civilian Homes
Last week, Radio Okapi reported that members of the FARDC, the Democratic Republic of Congo's military, pillaged several homes in Kirumba, 200 kilometers north of Goma. The soldiers, who have not been paid in three months, stole cash, telephones, and electronics.
Medical checklist reduces surgical deaths
Le Pangolin [Fr] writes about a surgery checklist piloted in hospitals in 8 countries, including the United States and Tanzania. Studies show the checklist, designed by American doctor Atul Gawande, reduces mortality related to surgicial complications by a third.
Israel Yoroba wins West African blog award
Congratulation to Ivoirian blogger Israel Yoroba, in Dakar this week to accept an award for best blog written by a West African journalist [Fr].
International Women's Day: “All women are queens”
Yesterday was International Women's Day, and francophone bloggers around the world used music, poetry and art to honor the beauty, achievements, and continuing struggles of women.
DRC: “We have to stop believing in Santa Claus”
Musengeshi Katata at Forum Realisance [Fr] calls Africa Must Reclaim Her Destiny, published by Harmattan in Paris, a “must read”. Katata writes, “We have to stop believing in Santa Claus and take destiny in our own hands.”
DRC: Police raise revenue, but whom are they keeping safe?
In the DRC, Cedric Kalonji questions the Inspector General of the South Kivu police who, in a recent radio interview, pledged that the police were committed to raising revenue through security taxes or fees for the issue of public documents. Kalonji writes: “While killings, lootings, rapes and murders, which...
Martinique and Guadeloupe: Vocabulary of the general strike
le blog de [moi] [Fr] discusses how a new vocabulary has entered into the creoles of Guadeloupe and Martinique since the beginning of the general strike: “What was really surprising (and for me, I admit, a little unsettling) was to see how in interviews, men and woman on the street...
DRC: When it rains in Kinshasa
Cedric Kalonji describes Kinshasa after a heavy rain [FR]. The roads turn into lakes, but “high up in their 4x4s, the authorities are untouched by the problem, the result being that there is almost no support for making storm sewers or gutters.”
Martinique: On independence and French “paternalism”
As the workers' movement in Martinique and Guadeloupe continues, bloggers in Martinique consider what it might mean for the overseas departments to become independent. le blog de [moi] finds the idea Martinique couldn't make it on its own offensive and paternalistic. Her readers think that one reality of being a small island country is that you are always under someone else's shadow.
New Tunisian podcast, in English
Tunisian blogger zizou from Djerba announces plans for a new podcast [FR] about Tunisia, in English, meant primarily for a foreign audience.
Martinique: Carnival cancelled after weeks of workers’ protests
le blog de [moi] discusses officials’ decision to cancel Carnival in Martinique after four weeks of workers’ protests. She quotes Louisy Berté from the Alliance union who asks, “How can we stand against the rising cost of living and, at the same time, present an image of Martinique singing and...
Guadeloupe: Escalating tensions lead to violence
After weeks of largely peaceful protests in the French overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, things took a violent turn on Monday, as police and demonstrators clashed in Guadeloupe's largest city, Pointe-à-Pitre. Workers are protesting skyrocketing unemployment and the rising costs of basic necessities, many of which are imported from France.
Lebanon: Students make banner of peace for Gaza
Students in Lebanon pose with their banner of peace, a denunciation of the conflict in Gaza.
Guadeloupe: Police clash with protestors
Protests continue in Martinique and Guadeloupe, and yesterday protestors clashed with police. Imaniyé posts photos and writes [Fr]: “Yesterday, the French forces of repression hit Guadeloupeans. Tonight, Guadeloupe was set on fire and Guadeloupeans will not retreat!”
DRC: Volcanic eruption may be imminent
Local radio are reporting that Nyamulagira volcano, near Goma, is showing intense activity, suggeting that an eruption may be imminent.
Martinique: Yes “Oui Canne”
le blog de [moi] [Fr] writes about “Oui Canne”, a new ad campaign for a Martiniquan liquor, a riff on Barack Obama's famous campaign slogan.