Xinhua reports that US National Security Advisor Steve Hadley has assured Uganda of his country's cooperation in the planned joint operation between Uganda, Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) against remnants of rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
On a group of LRA ebels entering the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through southern Sudan, Hadley said US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton will take up the matter of UN Observer Mission in Congo to improve UN presence and performance in the DRC.
LRA rebels have killed tens of thousands of civilians and displaced over 1.4 million people in their 19-year-old rebellion in northern Uganda.
[via Uganda-CAN with thanks]
Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa Live 8 DR Congo Uganda LRA Uganda-CAN MONUC SPLA US
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Africa's peace seekers: Petronille Vaweka
Out of the mist of a rural African morning, a great lion springs into the path of a young woman walking to work in the fields.
Tail twitching, the beast stares at her, ready to pounce.
But she knows better than to flinch. Moving slowly, she bends her knees and places her iron hoe gently in the dirt.
Staring straight back, she begins talking to the lion. "I'm not your enemy," she says. "I'm only going to the field, and I won't hurt you."
The lion watches. The woman stands silently. Moments pass. With a swish of his tail, the lion leaps away.
Petronille Vaweka, a top official ineastern Congo, grew up hearing this story about her grandmother's courage. She tells it today as a defining tale in her own life - a life devoted to using the power of words to disarm the gun-toting militias that stalk the villages in this lawless corner of Africa.
"If you are facing someone who is violent, you must never use force," Ms. Vaweka recalls her grandmother saying. "The first thing is to put down all your instruments. Then look at them, right into the eye."
- - -
The militia leader's conditions were clear: No large contingent of bodyguards could come with her; no United Nations peacekeepers. Vaweka, on a mission to free two kidnapped government workers, would be allowed to negotiate for their freedom accompanied only by her husband and a few aides.
She agreed, despite the militia's menacing reputation. The Patriotic Resistance Front of Ituri (FRPI in French, the main language) is one of the groups implicated in the brutal killing of nine Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers in a Feb. 25 ambush. FRPI leader Germain Katanga is now in prison awaiting trial.
Vaweka knew this was her task, and hers alone. She's the top official in the fledgling government of Ituri, a province the size of West Virginia in a country as big as Alaska and Texas combined. Ituri is one of Congo's richest regions - and one of its most violent. It's chockablock with gold, diamonds, oil, and coltan (a rare ore used in cellphones and laptops). But the UN estimates that 60,000 people have died here since 1999. Greedy outsiders - including leaders in neighboring Uganda and Rwanda - have stoked ethnic tensions and supplied the region's many militias with weapons to fight for control of the riches.
Read full story by Abraham McLaughlin, staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor, September 14, 2005.
- - -
BRINGING ORDER:
Photo: Petronille Vaweka (center) talks with an Army chief. (Jiro OSE/Special to the CS Monitor)
- - -
TIMELINE:
Click here to see at a glance the march to peace in Congo, Africa's heartland.
- - -
A SHADOW OF THEIR PAST PRESENCE:
Photo: Many of the militias, like this one on the streets of Fizi, in eastern Congo, are now part of the new national army forged under a peace deal signed in 2003.
FINBARR O'REILLY/REUTERS/CS Monitor
- - -
PEACEKEEPERS:
Members of the UN mission in Congo, known as MONUC, patrol Bunia. There are more than 16,000 UN troops and police in the country.
JAMES PALMER/WPN/CS Monitor
- - -
A COLLECTOR'S ITEM:
Photo: An AK-47 rifle is given to a United Nations peacekeeper as part of the disarmament process in Bunia, Congo.
GUY CALAF/WORLD PICTURE NEWS/CS Monitor
Tags: Africa Congo
Tail twitching, the beast stares at her, ready to pounce.
But she knows better than to flinch. Moving slowly, she bends her knees and places her iron hoe gently in the dirt.
Staring straight back, she begins talking to the lion. "I'm not your enemy," she says. "I'm only going to the field, and I won't hurt you."
The lion watches. The woman stands silently. Moments pass. With a swish of his tail, the lion leaps away.
Petronille Vaweka, a top official ineastern Congo, grew up hearing this story about her grandmother's courage. She tells it today as a defining tale in her own life - a life devoted to using the power of words to disarm the gun-toting militias that stalk the villages in this lawless corner of Africa.
"If you are facing someone who is violent, you must never use force," Ms. Vaweka recalls her grandmother saying. "The first thing is to put down all your instruments. Then look at them, right into the eye."
- - -
The militia leader's conditions were clear: No large contingent of bodyguards could come with her; no United Nations peacekeepers. Vaweka, on a mission to free two kidnapped government workers, would be allowed to negotiate for their freedom accompanied only by her husband and a few aides.
She agreed, despite the militia's menacing reputation. The Patriotic Resistance Front of Ituri (FRPI in French, the main language) is one of the groups implicated in the brutal killing of nine Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers in a Feb. 25 ambush. FRPI leader Germain Katanga is now in prison awaiting trial.
Vaweka knew this was her task, and hers alone. She's the top official in the fledgling government of Ituri, a province the size of West Virginia in a country as big as Alaska and Texas combined. Ituri is one of Congo's richest regions - and one of its most violent. It's chockablock with gold, diamonds, oil, and coltan (a rare ore used in cellphones and laptops). But the UN estimates that 60,000 people have died here since 1999. Greedy outsiders - including leaders in neighboring Uganda and Rwanda - have stoked ethnic tensions and supplied the region's many militias with weapons to fight for control of the riches.
Read full story by Abraham McLaughlin, staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor, September 14, 2005.
- - -
BRINGING ORDER:
Photo: Petronille Vaweka (center) talks with an Army chief. (Jiro OSE/Special to the CS Monitor)
- - -
TIMELINE:
Click here to see at a glance the march to peace in Congo, Africa's heartland.
- - -
A SHADOW OF THEIR PAST PRESENCE:
Photo: Many of the militias, like this one on the streets of Fizi, in eastern Congo, are now part of the new national army forged under a peace deal signed in 2003.
FINBARR O'REILLY/REUTERS/CS Monitor
- - -
PEACEKEEPERS:
Members of the UN mission in Congo, known as MONUC, patrol Bunia. There are more than 16,000 UN troops and police in the country.
JAMES PALMER/WPN/CS Monitor
- - -
A COLLECTOR'S ITEM:
Photo: An AK-47 rifle is given to a United Nations peacekeeper as part of the disarmament process in Bunia, Congo.
GUY CALAF/WORLD PICTURE NEWS/CS Monitor
Tags: Africa Congo
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Sudan: Spotlight on Darfur 1 and The Darfur Collection
Huge thanks to Catez Stevens in New Zealand for initiating and hosting Spotlight on Darfur 1, a great round up of posts authored by 14 different bloggers from around the world.
Catez also produced The Darfur Collection last May.
Please email Catez at Allthings2all if you have a post for the next Spotlight on Darfur 2 or 3.
Picture courtesy Tim Sweetman's post Let Us Weep.
Thanks to Global Voices for their third post and links to Congo Watch featuring this initiative.
Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa allthings2all aid bloggers blogburst
Catez also produced The Darfur Collection last May.
Please email Catez at Allthings2all if you have a post for the next Spotlight on Darfur 2 or 3.
Picture courtesy Tim Sweetman's post Let Us Weep.
Thanks to Global Voices for their third post and links to Congo Watch featuring this initiative.
Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa allthings2all aid bloggers blogburst
Friday, September 02, 2005
Katrina aid - Blogbursts - Spotlight on Darfur 1 and Darfur Collection
Further to an earlier post here below, I have just received word from Catez saying Spotlight on Darfur has been put forward to 5 September as the blogosphere has had planned blogbursts on Hurricane Katrina aid. This means bloggers can email Catez with posts until Sunday 4 September.
Thanks to Global Voices for picking up on my post at Congo Watch publicising the initiative.
Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa allthings2all Hurricane Katrina aid bloggers blogburst Global Voices
Thanks to Global Voices for picking up on my post at Congo Watch publicising the initiative.
Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa allthings2all Hurricane Katrina aid bloggers blogburst Global Voices
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Spotlight on Darfur 1 and The Darfur Collection
Last May, Catez Stevens at Allthings2all in New Zealand kindly put together The Darfur Collection.
Now, Catez is initiating and hosting Spotlight on Darfur 1 starting September 1. It will feature posts on the current Darfur situation from various bloggers. If you are a blogger and would like to send in a post for inclusion in the Spotlight on Darfur please email Catez for details.
Eugene Oregon at Coalition for Darfur helpfully writes Reminder: Spotlight on Darfur 1.
Note, Catez is planning a regular series of Spotlight on Darfur. If you have missed Darfur 1, there is still plenty of time to prepare a post for Spotlight on Darfur 2 or 3 or 4 ...
Now, Catez is initiating and hosting Spotlight on Darfur 1 starting September 1. It will feature posts on the current Darfur situation from various bloggers. If you are a blogger and would like to send in a post for inclusion in the Spotlight on Darfur please email Catez for details.
Eugene Oregon at Coalition for Darfur helpfully writes Reminder: Spotlight on Darfur 1.
Note, Catez is planning a regular series of Spotlight on Darfur. If you have missed Darfur 1, there is still plenty of time to prepare a post for Spotlight on Darfur 2 or 3 or 4 ...
Monday, August 29, 2005
DR Congo rebel threatens invasion
Renegade Congolese rebel leader Gen Laurent Nkunda has threatened to re-invade eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to bring "peace" to the area.
He accuses President Kabila of being dictatorial.
In a 17-page letter, seen by the BBC, Gen Nkunda said the transitional administration of President Joseph Kabila was corrupt and intent on promoting instability in the east.
He said the decision to stop more than 200,000 Congolese refugees living in neighbouring countries from returning home to Kivu to participate in the elections showed President Kabila's unwillingness to foster peace.
Elections were due before the end of June under the terms of the 2002 peace deal, but MPs have backed a six-month delay.
According to the BBC's Arnaud Zajtman in Kinshasa, the United Nations refugee agency has said it is not logistically feasible to organise the return of the refugees before the completion of the electoral registration process.
Full story at BBC Aug 29, 2005.
He accuses President Kabila of being dictatorial.
In a 17-page letter, seen by the BBC, Gen Nkunda said the transitional administration of President Joseph Kabila was corrupt and intent on promoting instability in the east.
He said the decision to stop more than 200,000 Congolese refugees living in neighbouring countries from returning home to Kivu to participate in the elections showed President Kabila's unwillingness to foster peace.
Elections were due before the end of June under the terms of the 2002 peace deal, but MPs have backed a six-month delay.
According to the BBC's Arnaud Zajtman in Kinshasa, the United Nations refugee agency has said it is not logistically feasible to organise the return of the refugees before the completion of the electoral registration process.
Full story at BBC Aug 29, 2005.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Over 6,000 Sudanese refugees in Uganda to be repatriated
Over 6,000 Sudanese refugees in Uganda are to be repatriated, says report at ReliefWeb Aug 26.
Note, currently, there are over 188,000 Sudanese refugees in Uganda. The Sudanese refugees take the biggest percentage of the 230,000 refugees in Uganda. Other refugees in the east African country are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and others.
Tags: Sudan Africa Uganda DR Congo
Note, currently, there are over 188,000 Sudanese refugees in Uganda. The Sudanese refugees take the biggest percentage of the 230,000 refugees in Uganda. Other refugees in the east African country are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and others.
Tags: Sudan Africa Uganda DR Congo
Ex-rebel becomes Burundi leader after a 12-year war leaving 300,000 dead
Report from the BBC today:
Former Burundi rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza has been sworn in as president, marking the end of 12 years of war which has left 300,000 dead.
He becomes the first leader chosen through democratic means since 1993.
It marks the end of a five-year peace process designed to end the conflict between Hutu rebels and an army led by the Tutsi minority.
Power will be shared under the peace deal with Tutsis guaranteed a share of power and government jobs.
"I pledge to fight all ideology and acts of genocide and exclusion, to promote and defend the individual and collective rights and freedoms of persons and of the citizen," he said in the Kirundi language in a ceremony attended by several African heads of state.
Outgoing President Domitien Ndayizeye said this was "the most important day in Burundi's history."
His Frodebu party was defeated in local and parliamentary elections earlier this year by Mr Nkurunziza's Forces for the Defence of Democracy, before MPs elected the ex-rebel as president last week.
"We have won the battle," said Mr Ndayizeye (pictured above).
The BBC's Rob Walker in the capital, Bujumbura, says Mr Nkurunziza's journey to power has been an extraordinary one - from school teacher to rebel leader and now finally, to president.
He has said his first task will be to try and engage the last remaining rebel group, the National Liberation Forces (FNL) in peace talks.
"I hope he will bring back peace quickly and help us overcome poverty," said Fatuma Siniremera, a 56-year-old Nkurunziza supporter during a rally on Thursday.
But some Tutsis remain fearful of Hutu rule.
"I am very pessimistic about whether he will change anything," Dieudonne Hakizimana said.
The power-sharing deal agreed and now finally implemented is seen as a crucial success for the continent and one which could have wider benefits for the volatile Great Lakes region.
Our correspondent says Mr Nkurunziza takes control of a country which is virtually destroyed but which has huge expectations of his ruling party.
He says the new leader will need all the support he can get from the international community if he is now to deliver on the much-needed dividends of peace.
But the challenge ahead is not just physical.
Deep divisions from the civil war remain and many believe those will only be healed if the new government deals with the issue of justice for crimes committed by all sides.
On the eve of his inauguration, six mainly Tutsi parties said Mr Nkurunziza should be brought to justice for crimes they say he committed as a guerrilla leader during the civil war.
A Burundian court passed the death sentence on Mr Nkurunziza in 1998, but he was granted an amnesty in the peace accords.
No elected government has ever served out its term in Burundi.
Former Burundi rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza has been sworn in as president, marking the end of 12 years of war which has left 300,000 dead.
He becomes the first leader chosen through democratic means since 1993.
It marks the end of a five-year peace process designed to end the conflict between Hutu rebels and an army led by the Tutsi minority.
Power will be shared under the peace deal with Tutsis guaranteed a share of power and government jobs.
"I pledge to fight all ideology and acts of genocide and exclusion, to promote and defend the individual and collective rights and freedoms of persons and of the citizen," he said in the Kirundi language in a ceremony attended by several African heads of state.
Outgoing President Domitien Ndayizeye said this was "the most important day in Burundi's history."
His Frodebu party was defeated in local and parliamentary elections earlier this year by Mr Nkurunziza's Forces for the Defence of Democracy, before MPs elected the ex-rebel as president last week.
"We have won the battle," said Mr Ndayizeye (pictured above).
The BBC's Rob Walker in the capital, Bujumbura, says Mr Nkurunziza's journey to power has been an extraordinary one - from school teacher to rebel leader and now finally, to president.
He has said his first task will be to try and engage the last remaining rebel group, the National Liberation Forces (FNL) in peace talks.
"I hope he will bring back peace quickly and help us overcome poverty," said Fatuma Siniremera, a 56-year-old Nkurunziza supporter during a rally on Thursday.
But some Tutsis remain fearful of Hutu rule.
"I am very pessimistic about whether he will change anything," Dieudonne Hakizimana said.
The power-sharing deal agreed and now finally implemented is seen as a crucial success for the continent and one which could have wider benefits for the volatile Great Lakes region.
Our correspondent says Mr Nkurunziza takes control of a country which is virtually destroyed but which has huge expectations of his ruling party.
He says the new leader will need all the support he can get from the international community if he is now to deliver on the much-needed dividends of peace.
But the challenge ahead is not just physical.
Deep divisions from the civil war remain and many believe those will only be healed if the new government deals with the issue of justice for crimes committed by all sides.
On the eve of his inauguration, six mainly Tutsi parties said Mr Nkurunziza should be brought to justice for crimes they say he committed as a guerrilla leader during the civil war.
A Burundian court passed the death sentence on Mr Nkurunziza in 1998, but he was granted an amnesty in the peace accords.
No elected government has ever served out its term in Burundi.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Save the Children (UK) Report: Forgotten Casualties of War: Girls in armed conflict
Save the Children's report at:
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/temp/scuk/cache/cmsattach/2698_GAAF%20report.pdf
[With thanks to Congo Girl's post DRC: 12,500 Girls members of armed groups, NGO report says]
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/temp/scuk/cache/cmsattach/2698_GAAF%20report.pdf
[With thanks to Congo Girl's post DRC: 12,500 Girls members of armed groups, NGO report says]
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
European cloth with African appeal
007 in Africa writes about Cloth and posts an image of fabric purchased from Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Congo (but made in Cote d'Ivoire or European countries) - and notes a little known fact:
Tags: DR Congo Senegal Guinea Bissau Congo Cote d'Ivoire Africa
Most African cloth is actually fabricated in Scandinavian countries with designs created by African stylists. So the cloth I bought on the market is most probably made in Europe rather than in Africa. European cloth with African appeal.Congo Girl posts more textiles.
Tags: DR Congo Senegal Guinea Bissau Congo Cote d'Ivoire Africa
Uganda to expel DR Congo rebels
Uganda has announced it will expel six rebels from Democratic Republic of Congo after the UN voiced its concern over their presence in the county.
Uganda's internal affairs minister said the men had been declared persona non grata and must leave by Thursday.
The six are part of a group the UN says planned to use Uganda to launch a rebel movement to seize power in DR Congo.
UN Security Council resolutions oblige Uganda to prevent its territory from being used by regional armed groups.
[Why is there not such a resolution for Sudan?]
Full story at BBC Aug 24, 2005.
Tags: DR Congo Congo Uganda rebels Sudan UN
Uganda's internal affairs minister said the men had been declared persona non grata and must leave by Thursday.
The six are part of a group the UN says planned to use Uganda to launch a rebel movement to seize power in DR Congo.
UN Security Council resolutions oblige Uganda to prevent its territory from being used by regional armed groups.
[Why is there not such a resolution for Sudan?]
Full story at BBC Aug 24, 2005.
Tags: DR Congo Congo Uganda rebels Sudan UN
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Police probe Australian miner over alleged role in quelling Congo revolt - Forbes.com
Report at Forbes.com via Eric at Sudan: Passion of the Present, with thanks:
08.19.2005 SYDNEY (AFX) - Federal police are investigating claims an Australian mining company helped government forces put down an uprising in the Democratic Republic of Congo during which troops killed up to 100 people, officials said.
Human rights groups have alleged that Anvil Mining provided vehicles and other assistance to troops sent in last October to quell a rebellion in the village of Kilwa, 50 kilometers from one of the company's mines.
Armed rebels took over the southeastern town, leading the Perth-based Anvil to suspend operations at its copper and silver mine and evacuate staff.
The government flew in troops who took back control of Kilwa, apparently using vehicles from Anvil.
According to a UN report, up to 100 people died in the fighting.
Anvil has denied playing any role in the killing and said the vehicles used by the troops were commandeered by the military.
The Australian Federal Police told the national news agency AAP that it had opened an investigation into the case.
The company issued a statement Friday saying it had not yet been contacted by police but 'has no concerns should any investigation be undertaken'.
A Melbourne law firm representing several human rights groups who have accused Anvil of breaching international human right laws over the incident welcomed the police decision to investigate. (dm/br/dk)
- - -
From Eric: these stories relate to the recent allegations against Anvil Mining; it looks like there%u2019s now an official investigation...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1441149.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2005/s1441337.htm (program transcript)
http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,16313902-31037,00.html, http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=52039, and http://seven.com.au/news/topstories/101281 (AAP story)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1441929.htm (Anvil 'has no concerns' about police investigation)
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/anvil-denies-link-to-congo-massacre/2005/08/19/1123958227561.html?oneclick=true (Anvil denies link to Congo massacre)
Tags: DR Congo Congo Australia Anvil police UN
08.19.2005 SYDNEY (AFX) - Federal police are investigating claims an Australian mining company helped government forces put down an uprising in the Democratic Republic of Congo during which troops killed up to 100 people, officials said.
Human rights groups have alleged that Anvil Mining provided vehicles and other assistance to troops sent in last October to quell a rebellion in the village of Kilwa, 50 kilometers from one of the company's mines.
Armed rebels took over the southeastern town, leading the Perth-based Anvil to suspend operations at its copper and silver mine and evacuate staff.
The government flew in troops who took back control of Kilwa, apparently using vehicles from Anvil.
According to a UN report, up to 100 people died in the fighting.
Anvil has denied playing any role in the killing and said the vehicles used by the troops were commandeered by the military.
The Australian Federal Police told the national news agency AAP that it had opened an investigation into the case.
The company issued a statement Friday saying it had not yet been contacted by police but 'has no concerns should any investigation be undertaken'.
A Melbourne law firm representing several human rights groups who have accused Anvil of breaching international human right laws over the incident welcomed the police decision to investigate. (dm/br/dk)
- - -
From Eric: these stories relate to the recent allegations against Anvil Mining; it looks like there%u2019s now an official investigation...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1441149.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2005/s1441337.htm (program transcript)
http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,16313902-31037,00.html, http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=52039, and http://seven.com.au/news/topstories/101281 (AAP story)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200508/s1441929.htm (Anvil 'has no concerns' about police investigation)
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/anvil-denies-link-to-congo-massacre/2005/08/19/1123958227561.html?oneclick=true (Anvil denies link to Congo massacre)
Tags: DR Congo Congo Australia Anvil police UN
Friday, August 19, 2005
Why Africa won't condemn Zimbabwe blitz
Excerpt from BBC report today:
Foreign ministers from the G8 grouping of the world's richest and most powerful countries have called on other African leaders to denounce the forced evictions which are causing so much suffering in Zimbabwe.
Yet many of those other African governments have overseen similar brutal evictions in their own countries, and yet have suffered very little outside criticism.
The sad truth is that what is going on in Zimbabwe at the moment is not at all unusual.
From one end of Africa to the other, governments have set about slum clearance schemes without any consideration for the people who live there, or any sense of responsibility for what happens to them afterwards.
Foreign ministers from the G8 grouping of the world's richest and most powerful countries have called on other African leaders to denounce the forced evictions which are causing so much suffering in Zimbabwe.
Yet many of those other African governments have overseen similar brutal evictions in their own countries, and yet have suffered very little outside criticism.
The sad truth is that what is going on in Zimbabwe at the moment is not at all unusual.
From one end of Africa to the other, governments have set about slum clearance schemes without any consideration for the people who live there, or any sense of responsibility for what happens to them afterwards.
Genocide suspect Michel Bagaragaza flown to Hague, Netherlands
BBC reports today that a Rwandan accused of playing a leading role in the 1994 genocide has been transferred to the Netherlands. Full Story.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Monday, August 01, 2005
Sudanese VP Dr John Garang DeMabior, 13 Others Die in Plane Crash
More news on the tragic death of Dr Garang at Sudan Watch: Sudan's first VP and former rebel leader killed.
Tags: Garang Congo Darfur Africa
Tags: Garang Congo Darfur Africa
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Spiegel interview with African economics expert James Shikwati: "For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!"
Not sure what to think about Der Spiegel Interview July 4, 2005 with African Economics Expert: 'For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!'
The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem.
[via INCITE: Aid to Africa: Please Stop - with thanks]
The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem.
[via INCITE: Aid to Africa: Please Stop - with thanks]
Africa's digital future - Kenya pilots Pocket PC education: The Eduvision pilot project
Note this copy of a BBC report today about an extraordinary experiment aimed at using technology to deliver education across the continent.
Kenya pilots Pocket PC education
By Richard Taylor
Editor, BBC Click Online
In the final report of Click Online's Africa season, we visit Kenya where a trial project using handheld Pocket PCs could help reduce the costs of education in poor communities.
Mbita Point, on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria, hosts a small rural community.
A few minutes walk from the main town lies the local primary school, housed on the campus of a renowned research institute.
As the only school in the area with access to electricity, Mbita Primary enjoys a relatively privileged location.
This aside, it suffers from the same problems encountered by other public schools.
Since the Kenyan government introduced free primary school education two years ago, the resulting influx of kids has meant that resources are spread as thinly as ever.
In the future the students will be able to complete their assignments on these books and send them to the teacher.
Classrooms are crowded, and the all-too-familiar scenario of children sharing outdated textbooks is still very much in evidence.
However, in Class Five, things are just a little bit different. Fifty-four 11-year-old students are willing guinea pigs in an extraordinary experiment aimed at using technology to deliver education across the continent.
In the Eduvision pilot project, textbooks are out, customised Pocket PCs, referred to as e-slates, are very much in.
They are wi-fi enabled and run on licence-free open source software to keep costs down.
"The e-slates contain all the sorts of information you'd find in a textbook and a lot more," said Eduvision co-founder Maciej Sudra.
"They contain textual information, visual information and questions. Within visual information we can have audio files, we can have video clips, we can have animations.
"At the moment the e-slates only contain digitised textbooks, but we're hoping that in the future the students will be able to complete their assignments on these books and send them to the teacher, and the teacher will be able to grade them and send them back to the student."
Pocket PCs were chosen in place of desktops because they are more portable, so the children can take them home at night, and also because they're also cheaper, making them cost-effective alternatives to traditional methods of learning.
Eduvision co-founder Matthew Herren says families pay upwards of $100 a year for textbooks.
"Our system is something that we hope will be sustainable, and the money that they use towards textbooks could be used to buy e-slates instead, which can last more than a year, thereby reducing the cost of education."
Moreover, the potential offered by e-slates is enormous. The content stored on them can be dynamically updated wirelessly, hence the need for wi-fi.
This means that they could include anything from new textbooks which have just come on stream, to other content like local information or even pages from the web.
The team have also devised a rather neat system for getting the information onto the devices.
First off, content is created and formatted for use on the e-slate.
A central operations centre distributes the material over a cheap satellite radio downlink to a satellite radio receiver in the school.
The information passes through a base station which beams it out wirelessly to the students. And so a new and enjoyable way of learning is born.
"I like using [the] e-slate because I can take it home to use it at night and I can use it because it has [a] battery," said Viola, a pupil at Mbita Primary.
Fellow pupil Felix had a few problems: "At first I found it difficult, but when our teacher, Maureen, told me to go in early to teach me, I went. The next day I found it easy."
Potential pitfalls
Although the kids are certainly enthralled by the novelty of the hi-tech gadgetry, their teachers are a little more realistic.
"There are too many drawbacks," said Robert Odero, a teacher at the school.
"One is the lack of electric power in most of our schools, and since the machine needs constant recharging for it to be effectively used this would affect the users as well as the teachers.
"Another thing is the delicate nature of the machine. Given the rugged terrain of our country and the paths our kids use on their way to school, these things could easily fall on the way."
According to Eduvision co-founder Matthew Herren, the e-slates are fragile because the project is in a pilot stage.
"In any implementation in the future that's on a larger scale we will have them custom made to our specifications and coated in rubber and made much hardier," he said.
"At the same time, with textbooks there's no reason why a student couldn't drop all of their books into a pail of water and damage them as well."
There are plenty of concerns which have given pause for thought during the 18 months the pilot's been running.
The Eduvision team says all the issues can be solved and that the technology could be rolled out across countries and even extended beyond education.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of sceptics who believe it will never make it off this campus.
Kenya's Assistant Minister of Education, Science and Technology believes the project's flawed not just in design, but in its very conception.
"We need to be careful that we don't bring about too many experiments, and this is another such experiment being done without ensuring that we have the right environment for it to be assured of success," said Kilemi Mwiria.
"I think it's a big leap, a big giant leap for schools, students and communities that don't even know what a desktop computer is, as well as what you can use computers for.
"I think to suddenly bring even more advanced technology is being a bit unrealistic."
Few people could deny that this project is both novel and enterprising, and even while it's still in testing, Eduvision concede that they themselves have still got a lot to learn.
But they are convinced it will play a part in Africa's digital future.
Kenya pilots Pocket PC education
By Richard Taylor
Editor, BBC Click Online
In the final report of Click Online's Africa season, we visit Kenya where a trial project using handheld Pocket PCs could help reduce the costs of education in poor communities.
Mbita Point, on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria, hosts a small rural community.
A few minutes walk from the main town lies the local primary school, housed on the campus of a renowned research institute.
As the only school in the area with access to electricity, Mbita Primary enjoys a relatively privileged location.
This aside, it suffers from the same problems encountered by other public schools.
Since the Kenyan government introduced free primary school education two years ago, the resulting influx of kids has meant that resources are spread as thinly as ever.
In the future the students will be able to complete their assignments on these books and send them to the teacher.
Classrooms are crowded, and the all-too-familiar scenario of children sharing outdated textbooks is still very much in evidence.
However, in Class Five, things are just a little bit different. Fifty-four 11-year-old students are willing guinea pigs in an extraordinary experiment aimed at using technology to deliver education across the continent.
In the Eduvision pilot project, textbooks are out, customised Pocket PCs, referred to as e-slates, are very much in.
They are wi-fi enabled and run on licence-free open source software to keep costs down.
"The e-slates contain all the sorts of information you'd find in a textbook and a lot more," said Eduvision co-founder Maciej Sudra.
"They contain textual information, visual information and questions. Within visual information we can have audio files, we can have video clips, we can have animations.
"At the moment the e-slates only contain digitised textbooks, but we're hoping that in the future the students will be able to complete their assignments on these books and send them to the teacher, and the teacher will be able to grade them and send them back to the student."
Pocket PCs were chosen in place of desktops because they are more portable, so the children can take them home at night, and also because they're also cheaper, making them cost-effective alternatives to traditional methods of learning.
Eduvision co-founder Matthew Herren says families pay upwards of $100 a year for textbooks.
"Our system is something that we hope will be sustainable, and the money that they use towards textbooks could be used to buy e-slates instead, which can last more than a year, thereby reducing the cost of education."
Moreover, the potential offered by e-slates is enormous. The content stored on them can be dynamically updated wirelessly, hence the need for wi-fi.
This means that they could include anything from new textbooks which have just come on stream, to other content like local information or even pages from the web.
The team have also devised a rather neat system for getting the information onto the devices.
First off, content is created and formatted for use on the e-slate.
A central operations centre distributes the material over a cheap satellite radio downlink to a satellite radio receiver in the school.
The information passes through a base station which beams it out wirelessly to the students. And so a new and enjoyable way of learning is born.
"I like using [the] e-slate because I can take it home to use it at night and I can use it because it has [a] battery," said Viola, a pupil at Mbita Primary.
Fellow pupil Felix had a few problems: "At first I found it difficult, but when our teacher, Maureen, told me to go in early to teach me, I went. The next day I found it easy."
Potential pitfalls
Although the kids are certainly enthralled by the novelty of the hi-tech gadgetry, their teachers are a little more realistic.
"There are too many drawbacks," said Robert Odero, a teacher at the school.
"One is the lack of electric power in most of our schools, and since the machine needs constant recharging for it to be effectively used this would affect the users as well as the teachers.
"Another thing is the delicate nature of the machine. Given the rugged terrain of our country and the paths our kids use on their way to school, these things could easily fall on the way."
According to Eduvision co-founder Matthew Herren, the e-slates are fragile because the project is in a pilot stage.
"In any implementation in the future that's on a larger scale we will have them custom made to our specifications and coated in rubber and made much hardier," he said.
"At the same time, with textbooks there's no reason why a student couldn't drop all of their books into a pail of water and damage them as well."
There are plenty of concerns which have given pause for thought during the 18 months the pilot's been running.
The Eduvision team says all the issues can be solved and that the technology could be rolled out across countries and even extended beyond education.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of sceptics who believe it will never make it off this campus.
Kenya's Assistant Minister of Education, Science and Technology believes the project's flawed not just in design, but in its very conception.
"We need to be careful that we don't bring about too many experiments, and this is another such experiment being done without ensuring that we have the right environment for it to be assured of success," said Kilemi Mwiria.
"I think it's a big leap, a big giant leap for schools, students and communities that don't even know what a desktop computer is, as well as what you can use computers for.
"I think to suddenly bring even more advanced technology is being a bit unrealistic."
Few people could deny that this project is both novel and enterprising, and even while it's still in testing, Eduvision concede that they themselves have still got a lot to learn.
But they are convinced it will play a part in Africa's digital future.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
DR Congo: New Congolese rebels from Uganda cause worry
Today, I started a new blog called Niger Watch and posted at Uganda Watch. So, it has been helpful updating this blog up with part of a Great Lakes news round-up by Congo Girl for which I most grateful. Thanks CG!
Donors agree to provide $100 million more for polls - European donors and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo committed themselves on Tuesday to provide an additional €85 million ($100 million) for democratic elections in the central African country, but officials say more money is still needed. - 12 Jul 2005 (IRIN)
UN says it needs an extra US $190 million for polls - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued a two-page report to the Security Council in which he gave details of almost US $190 million in additional costs the UN requires to support upcoming elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). - 14 Jul 2005 (IRIN)
Some 32,000 displaced by attack in South Kivu - The UN said on Tuesday that some 32,000 civilians were displaced from their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Kalonge Chiefdom, in Sud Kivu Province, following an attack earlier in July by Hutu Rwandans militias. - 20 Jul 2005 (IRIN)
New Congolese rebels cause worry - The United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo says it is concerned by the creation of a new rebel group in neighbouring Uganda. The BBC has seen a document announcing the formation of the Congolese Revolutionary Movement (MRC), which says it is fighting for the rights of the people in DR Congo's eastern Ituri and North Kivu regions. - 20 July 2005 (BBC)
Two mass graves reported in eastern village of Ntulumamba - Two mass graves believed to contain the remains of 39 civilians killed on Saturday in Ntulumamba village, in Kalonge Chiefdom 75 km north of Bukavu, have been reported to the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), a UN spokeswoman said. - 13 Jul 2005 (IRIN)
DR Congo's towns besieged by rapists - The town of Walungu - a quiet trading centre perched on top of the fertile hills of South Kivu province - is a town under siege. - 5 July 2005 (BBC)
Donors agree to provide $100 million more for polls - European donors and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo committed themselves on Tuesday to provide an additional €85 million ($100 million) for democratic elections in the central African country, but officials say more money is still needed. - 12 Jul 2005 (IRIN)
UN says it needs an extra US $190 million for polls - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued a two-page report to the Security Council in which he gave details of almost US $190 million in additional costs the UN requires to support upcoming elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). - 14 Jul 2005 (IRIN)
Some 32,000 displaced by attack in South Kivu - The UN said on Tuesday that some 32,000 civilians were displaced from their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Kalonge Chiefdom, in Sud Kivu Province, following an attack earlier in July by Hutu Rwandans militias. - 20 Jul 2005 (IRIN)
New Congolese rebels cause worry - The United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo says it is concerned by the creation of a new rebel group in neighbouring Uganda. The BBC has seen a document announcing the formation of the Congolese Revolutionary Movement (MRC), which says it is fighting for the rights of the people in DR Congo's eastern Ituri and North Kivu regions. - 20 July 2005 (BBC)
Two mass graves reported in eastern village of Ntulumamba - Two mass graves believed to contain the remains of 39 civilians killed on Saturday in Ntulumamba village, in Kalonge Chiefdom 75 km north of Bukavu, have been reported to the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), a UN spokeswoman said. - 13 Jul 2005 (IRIN)
DR Congo's towns besieged by rapists - The town of Walungu - a quiet trading centre perched on top of the fertile hills of South Kivu province - is a town under siege. - 5 July 2005 (BBC)
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Africa: Niger children starving to death
This morning, I received an email from someone together with the following message and link to Hilary Andersson's report at BBC News online:
** Message **
Another one for you to worry over. As we shall increasingly discover, very many people are living in the wrong place, and shouldn't have been born, anyway. The great fear amongst Niger's neighbours is that these starving folk will move across over their borders, in search of food. What is your solution?
** Niger children starving to death **
Children are dying of hunger in feeding centres in Niger where 3.6m people face food shortages, aid agencies warn.
- - -
It is difficult to know what to say. My first reaction to Andersson's news on Niger is that it seems to have come out of the blue. The way the aid agencies sound in the report you would think they had shouted it from the rooftops and nobody responded. I receive daily email alerts on Africa but this is the first I've heard of such a crisis in Niger.
Hilary Andersson, a first class reporter, says little foreign aid has gone into Niger to deal with the crisis so far; aid agencies in the country predict the situation will get worse in the coming months and say the world has responded too late.
Going by what happened in Darfur last April [the UN admitted, when put under to pressure to answer questions later on, that it failed to respond to the world's worst humanitarian crisis quickly enough] one has to conclude the UN is not on the ball and fails to act proactively. The report says "UN bodies and NGOs are appealing for donations through their websites" - when are the African fatcats who were educated in the West going to get a grip and start doing something constructive. We cannot keep going on like this. Even the head of the African Union recently said that if Africa is not sorted within the next 27 years, by which time its population will double, Africa will not be manageable for the rest of the world. It's food and aid needs will be too great.
Sorry to admit it is emotionally draining blogging about African politics and Africa's crises. I'm afraid I cannot take on blogging about Niger right now unless I get some helping hands. If any blogger would like to co-author Sudan Watch, Congo Watch, Uganda Watch, Ethiopia Watch [and possibly Niger Watch], please make contact. In the meantime, if any blogger can put together news items/summaries/round-ups and/or blog round ups for any of those sites, please email me and I will publish them asap with full credit and blog link. Depending on suitability of content, some posts could appear at more than one blog. Thanks.
Note these snippets from Hilary Andersson's report on Niger:
A severe drought last year, combined with a plague of locusts, destroyed much of the crop that was needed to feed the people and the cattle they rely on.
Now, across the windswept plains of the Sahel, carcasses of cattle litter the landscape.
Rains have come - but so late they are now a curse, bringing malaria and other disease.
Families are roaming the parched desert looking for help. One family we came across did not even know where they were going.
"I'm wandering like a madman," the father said. "I'm afraid we'll all starve."
They were hundreds of miles from the nearest food distribution point.
Aid agencies estimate that tens of thousands of children are in the advanced stages of starvation.
Children are dying daily in the few feeding centres there are, where their place in the queue could make the difference between life and death.
Amina is so starved she cannot eat even if she wants to.
"She vomits as soon as I give her food or water," says her mother.
"As far as I'm concerned, God did not make us all equal - I mean, look at us all here. None of us has enough food."
Tags: Live 8 Niger G8 Sudan Congo Uganda Ethiopia Gleneagles Tony Blair Hilary Andersson Bob Geldof Make Poverty History Corruption Africa malaria starvation One Campaign Joe Trippi BBC Doctors Without Borders World Vision UN NGO
** Message **
Another one for you to worry over. As we shall increasingly discover, very many people are living in the wrong place, and shouldn't have been born, anyway. The great fear amongst Niger's neighbours is that these starving folk will move across over their borders, in search of food. What is your solution?
** Niger children starving to death **
Children are dying of hunger in feeding centres in Niger where 3.6m people face food shortages, aid agencies warn.
- - -
It is difficult to know what to say. My first reaction to Andersson's news on Niger is that it seems to have come out of the blue. The way the aid agencies sound in the report you would think they had shouted it from the rooftops and nobody responded. I receive daily email alerts on Africa but this is the first I've heard of such a crisis in Niger.
Hilary Andersson, a first class reporter, says little foreign aid has gone into Niger to deal with the crisis so far; aid agencies in the country predict the situation will get worse in the coming months and say the world has responded too late.
"The crisis in the south of the country has been caused by a drought and a plague of locusts which destroyed much of last year's harvest. Aid agency World Vision warns that 10% of the children in the worst affected areas could die. Niger is a vast desert country and one of the poorest on earth. Millions of people, a third of the population, face food shortages.Note, the report clearly states
"There are children dying every day in our centres," says Milton Tetonidis of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders). 'We're completely overwhelmed, there'd better be other people coming quickly to help us out - I mean, the response has been desperately slow.'"
"the hunger in Niger was predicted months ago - but that did nothing to prevent the present disaster - a severe drought last year, combined with a plague of locusts, destroyed much of the crop that was needed to feed the people and the cattle they rely on".The report says the "international community" has reacted too late to the crisis. I guess the "international community" comprises the UN and donors from 191-member states. What became of all the donations and aid pledged over the past year - not to mention the public outcry on behalf of Africa and intense lobbying on Darfur? Where are all the African voices shouting about Niger? And all those who complained about white-man helping Africa with global campaigns such as Make Poverty History and Live 8? It is sickening to know about Niger at such a late stage. What has the African Union and its neighbours - and massive number of church goers - done to avoid such a terrible crisis in Niger? Once again, the onus appears to be on the West to come to the rescue - when will it end? How much longer do we have to stomach getting criticised by Africans for coming to Africa's aid?
Going by what happened in Darfur last April [the UN admitted, when put under to pressure to answer questions later on, that it failed to respond to the world's worst humanitarian crisis quickly enough] one has to conclude the UN is not on the ball and fails to act proactively. The report says "UN bodies and NGOs are appealing for donations through their websites" - when are the African fatcats who were educated in the West going to get a grip and start doing something constructive. We cannot keep going on like this. Even the head of the African Union recently said that if Africa is not sorted within the next 27 years, by which time its population will double, Africa will not be manageable for the rest of the world. It's food and aid needs will be too great.
Sorry to admit it is emotionally draining blogging about African politics and Africa's crises. I'm afraid I cannot take on blogging about Niger right now unless I get some helping hands. If any blogger would like to co-author Sudan Watch, Congo Watch, Uganda Watch, Ethiopia Watch [and possibly Niger Watch], please make contact. In the meantime, if any blogger can put together news items/summaries/round-ups and/or blog round ups for any of those sites, please email me and I will publish them asap with full credit and blog link. Depending on suitability of content, some posts could appear at more than one blog. Thanks.
Note these snippets from Hilary Andersson's report on Niger:
A severe drought last year, combined with a plague of locusts, destroyed much of the crop that was needed to feed the people and the cattle they rely on.
Now, across the windswept plains of the Sahel, carcasses of cattle litter the landscape.
Rains have come - but so late they are now a curse, bringing malaria and other disease.
Families are roaming the parched desert looking for help. One family we came across did not even know where they were going.
"I'm wandering like a madman," the father said. "I'm afraid we'll all starve."
They were hundreds of miles from the nearest food distribution point.
Aid agencies estimate that tens of thousands of children are in the advanced stages of starvation.
Children are dying daily in the few feeding centres there are, where their place in the queue could make the difference between life and death.
Amina is so starved she cannot eat even if she wants to.
"She vomits as soon as I give her food or water," says her mother.
"As far as I'm concerned, God did not make us all equal - I mean, look at us all here. None of us has enough food."
Tags: Live 8 Niger G8 Sudan Congo Uganda Ethiopia Gleneagles Tony Blair Hilary Andersson Bob Geldof Make Poverty History Corruption Africa malaria starvation One Campaign Joe Trippi BBC Doctors Without Borders World Vision UN NGO
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)