'African Shirts' - African Shirts (http://africanshirts.blogspot.com/2006/11/nigerias-finest.html) points to a report by Amnesty International on the rape of Nigerian women by the Nigerian police force:

“What do Nigerian police do when they're not killing innocent people, taking bribes, and doing nothing? They rape Nigerian women. An Amnesty International report is doing the rounds…”

Nothing new here. The Nigerian Police, their paramilitary brethren, the Mobile Police locally known as the hated MOPO and the Nigerian Army have been raping and beating women and girls in the Niger Delta for the past 15 years. Hardly any of these acts of violence have been reported in the Nigerian or foreign media despite numerous reports by Human Rights Watch.

'The Concoction' - The Concoction (http://theconcoction.blogspot.com/2006/11/i-should-have-used-pankhurst…) compares the different organisational structures of traditional organisations in Northern Ethiopia with those of Western and Western like NGOs.

“I examined the organizational structures of the traditional organizations in one region in Northern Ethiopia and selected NGOs working in the country. Surprisingly, the traditional organizations are democratic, with the members on top of the organizational chart and the CEO all the way down. NGOs have the opposite - never mind the 'we-are-governed-by-our-contributors' marketing line. My recommendation to the organization that sponsored the research was you're damn fool if you don't make traditional organizations your development partners, especially in the program design stage."

Her point is that it is unfortunate that Western NGOs have failed to learn from traditional knowledge systems, not just in Ethiopia but throughout the Global South. Instead they work on the premise that their knowledge and organisational structures are superior and transferable to other cultures and systems.

'The African Uptimist' - The African Uptimist (http://agbe.typepad.com/the_african_uptimist/2006/08/putting_water_i.ht…) writes on the possibilities of producing and using hydrogen as a fuel in Africa.

“In a few years, we could be seeing hydrogen fueled cars, public mini-buses and other vehicles on African roads, running with nothing more than water in their fuel tanks. That was one possibility that came to mind upon reading David Adam's interesting piece ‘A fuel tank full of water’ (New Scientist, July 29, 2006). He reports that Tareq Abu-Hamed of the University of Minnesota, and colleagues at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel have developed a practical approach to producing hydrogen from water.

"This approach, which relies on simple, high-school chemistry (as described below), overcomes many of the obstacles that till now have prevented the dream of a hydrogen-powered car becoming reality."

'Jangbalajugbu' Jangbalajugbu (http://www.edwardpopoola.com/blog/?p=71) congratulates a young Nigerian student blogger, Edward Popoola, for winning the Top ICT Educator in Africa, an award by Forgeahead, a South African based ICT research and consulting house.

“I got to the final rounds and was mentioned among the top three finalists. At that point, it got more interesting and I was happy with myself. I googled Forgeahead and from their loud profile all over the Internet as a respected firm in South Africa, it was not enough for me to be just among the finalists, I hoped to be the winner…I got invited to the award ceremony, but as a result of the lateness of my visa application, I couldn’t make the award night in J’burg. Though it was not a case of visa denial, I was not happy all the same. I was however able to get Titi Akinsanmi, my sister from another mother, who is based in SA to accept the award for me.”

It was unfortunate that due to visa problems Edward was unable to attend the ceremony. Interesting that it is harder to enter South Africa with an African passport than with a European one. Nigeria is probably one of the most difficult passports to hold when it comes to getting a visa to travel anywhere!

'Friends of Ethiopia' - Friends of Ethiopia - (http://friendsofethiopia.blogspot.com/2006/12/hazardous-hand-me-downs-u…) reports on an environmental conference held in Nairobi last week - The Basel Convention - a treaty which regulates the movement of toxic waste across national boundaries. Friends refers specifically to the recent dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast.

“On Thursday the Nairobi conference convened a high-level World Forum on E-Wastes to confront the growing reality that, in addition to its many benefits, the global consumer goods revolution is generating massive quantities of end-of-life computers and other obsolete electronic equipment…Some 20 to 50 million metric tonnes of e-waste are generated worldwide every year, comprising more than 5% of all municipal solid waste. When the millions of computers purchased around the world every year (183 million in 2004) become obsolete they leave behind lead, cadmium, mercury and other hazardous wastes…Similarly, the use and disposal of mobile phones - which like PCs barely existed 20 years ago - is increasing dramatically. By 2008 the number of cell phone users around the world is projected to reach some two billion. Leading cell phone manufacturers are collaborating through the Basel Convention's Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative to find better ways to reduce and manage this growing waste stream.”

'Black Looks' - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/12/mining_violations_in_ghana.html) reports on the actions of multinational mining companies operating in Ghana. They are destroying the local ecological system as well as committing acts of violence against local communities. Only last week activists were arrested for meeting with local community leaders and are presently in prison having been refused bail.

“Ghana is presently on the edge of a biodiversity disaster as mining companies such as Anglo Gold Ashanti (AGA), Bogoso Gold Limited (BGL) and Newmont Gold Ghana (NGG). The use of toxic chemicals from the mining has led to contaminated water supplies. The forests which have been reduced from 8.3 million hectares in 1957 have been depleted to a mere 1.2 million with over 700 varieties of trees, plants, birds and animals all at risk of being destroyed forever. The Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) has been monitoring the activities of both the multinationals and the EPA. One of the main problems is the weakness of the environmental laws plus the Ghanaian governments unwillingness (like in the Niger Delta) to insist on the multinationals meeting international standards in their mining activities. Protests by WACAM and local communities are met with violence and intimidation.”

• Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks,

• Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

This week in the review of African blogs, I am going to focus solely on blogs by African women. The number of women blogging has quadrupled over the past year and each week more and more African women in the homeland and the Diaspora are blogging. The majority could be described as journals – postings on thoughts and daily experiences - but there are also a number of blogs that, for example, specifically deal with politics, social justice, sexuality and literature.

'Adaure' - Adaure *href="http://according2adaure.blogspot.com/2006/11/celebrating-nigerian-women…) guest posts on Bella Naija - Bella Naija (http://bellanaija.blogspot.com/2006/11/pen-ladies-by-adaure.html) in which she “celebrates Nigerian women writers” from Flora Nwapa through to today’s gifted writers such as Sefi Atta.

“Nigerian women have proven themselves to be great story tellers. You see and hear them in action every day. From the kitchen to the office and school, the market place to the river bank, the beer parlor-canteen to the hair and nail salon. They are telling all sorts of stories be it about love, money, sex, religion or tradition. It is no wonder there are more Nigerian women blogging, and that number keeps growing daily. We have even coined a distinctly Nigerian hobby called gisting, not to be confused with gossiping. While men have dominated the literary and publishing field, some women have certainly made their mark, both in the past and present. The 21 century has also seen a new wave of Nigerian women writers many of whom are young, possess a freshness that had been lacking and are fearless in the approach.”

This is an excellent post. The only disappointment is that Diane Evans who wrote 26a was not included and in that respect a particular comment stood out.

“Diane is half Nigerian so she might be worth adding to your list”. I take issue with the statement as I don’t see people as being half this or half that. Particularly offensive is the “she MIGHT BE WORTH adding to the list” – or maybe she might not! Who is to decide? I do not know Ms Evans but I do know she has visited Nigeria recently and has arranged with Nigerian publishers to have her book published locally. Her father is Nigerian so as far as I am concerned there is no problem about her being included in a list of Nigerian women writers. She is one.

'Kameelah Writes' Kameelah Writes (http://kameelahwrites.blogspot.com/2006/11/mugabe-and-ahmadinejad-oh-my…) comments on the emerging alliance between Robert Mugabe and his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Kameelah, although definitely no apologist for Mugabe, sees the economic sanctions on Zimbabwe by the West as influencing Mugabe’s search for alternative alliances such as China and now Iran.

“Mugabe’s land reform program (seizing white-owned farms for redistribution to new black farmers), matched with allegations of election fraud in 2000 & 2002 (which without being an apologist for Mugabe, America has no moral upper hand in critiquing) and political repression have earned Zimbabwe coveted membership in Condoleezza rice’s illustrious ‘outpost of the tyranny’ club.

Joining such stars as Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Belarus and Myanmar, Zimbabwe became officially ‘evil’ and has been subject to a the host of diplomatic pressures to surgically remove Mugabe from office. It seems as if this club has the ability to bring together kindred spirits as Zimbabwe and Iran are joining forces to challenge Western hegemony. During Mugabe’s four day visit to Iran this week, Iran and Zimbabwe signed five memoranda of understanding to boost agricultural, energy, development aid, economic, technical and education cooperation.”

The truth is that Mugabe has lost all credibility and whilst he looks to the East for economic and moral support whilst condemning the West, he is destroying the lives of his own people and his country.

'Kenyan blogger and poet Mshairi' - Mshairi - (http://www.mshairi.com/blog/2006/11/26/a-change-is-gonna-come/) pays tribute to her sister, Dr. Wanjiru Kihoro who passed away on October 12th after nearly 4 years in a coma.

“A distinguished economist, Dr. Wanjiru Kihoro graduated from Columbia University and went on to earn an MA in Development Studies and a PhD at Leeds University. Over the years she gained the respect and admiration of many for her dedication to matters of gender, equality, justice and democracy.

“A long time London resident, Dr. Kihoro was one of the founders of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners in Kenya formed in 1982. The Committee fought to highlight the plight of university lecturers, students and other so-called “dissidents” incarcerated in various Kenyan maximum security prisons. Largely as a result of the Committee’s pressure, most of the prisoners were adopted by Amnesty International and other international human rights organisations as prisoners of conscience.”

'Rosemary Ekosso' - Rosemary Ekosso (http://www.ekosso.com/2006/11/dr_george_ayitt.html) points to an article by Dr George Ayittey on China (France) and Africa. Ayittey discusses what China wants in Africa and how Africans should view this new pragmatic "friendship".

"The real problem was the retinue of clueless African clods, who attended Chopsticks Conference at Beijing in October. ‘Clueless’ because that was no Berlin Conference for sure. No European powers were present; only one Asian power, China. And no Maxim gun was needed. But lying prostrate at China's feet were 40 African heads of state, offering themselves for voluntary economic enslavement. Disgusting.

“Elementary principles of demand and supply suggest that that was a buyer's market. When 40 desperate suppliers are competing for one buyer's attention, the buyer calls the shots. With chopsticks dexterity, China can pick platinum from Zimbabwe; oil from Angola, Nigeria and Sudan; cocoa from Ghana; diamonds from Sierra Leone; etc. – all on its own terms because of its strong bargaining position. Few radical intellectuals and African heads of state see nothing wrong with this huge imbalance because China is perceived to be a ‘friend of Africa’ since it is ‘anti-West.’

"'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' has been the seductive fallacy. Those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it."

What a breath of fresh air to hear someone actually look both East and West in the face and speak the truth of their interest in Africa in the past, now and in the future.

'Nigerian blogger', Reflections 2 - Reflections 2 (http://bettyboopu.blogspot.com/2006/11/repost-made-in-nigeria.html) has a hilarious post commenting on the Nigerian government’s drive to improve exports. The blog renames a host of Nigeria’s favourite foods so we end up with these (just a selection and am sorry the names just don’t hold up for me):

“Kilishi - Beef Crackers; Roasted Corn - Corn Aflame; Ogi/Akamu - Corn Caramel; Garri - Grain O Fibers; Ikokore -Continental Yam Casserole; Kunnu - Grain Alive.”

'Freedom for Egyptians' - Freedom For Egyptians (http://freedomforegyptians.blogspot.com/2006/11/cairo-international-fil…) comments on the Cairo International Film Festival where this year’s guests of honour are Latin American films.

“Believe it or not, Cairo Film Festival is hosting for the first time movies from Saudi Arabia and Oman. Yes, Saudi Arabia... It is the first movie production for Oman. And, the Saudi movie is starring Saudi actors and actresses and is written by Egyptian script writer Belal Fadel…Late Egyptian Writer Naguib Mahfouz will be honored in the 30th round for the festival. Mahfouz passed away this year at the age of 95.”

'Black Looks' - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/11/1189.html) has expanded by inviting three African women to contribute to Black Looks as often as possible, a move she hopes will broaden the base of the blog. This week, she comments on the response from various African governments and media to the passing of the “Same Sex Marriage Bill” in South Africa earlier this month. A number of countries that had never previously discussed the issue of homosexuality in public are now doing so, such as Burkina Faso and Mozambique. The Kenyan Times came out publicly stating that:

“I am not sure that homosexuality has a European lineage otherwise the holy book would not have mentioned and discussed about it. I think it is very true and probably so that homosexuality is practiced (but not spoken openly about) in Africa by African peoples. I stand to be corrected to the contrary with empirical evidence.”

Other countries such as Nigeria and Uganda remain intransigent in their views, refusing even to discuss the matter as a human rights issue.

• Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks,

• Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

'' describes his experience in the town of Juba in Southern Sudan.

“Some people die. Some survive. When bullets went off three meters from my tent, my first instinct was to unzip the tent and peep, my second instinct was to save my life -- keep the head to the ground, [and] -- as the shooting continued… – [I decided that what I needed to do] was to take the first car/plane -- or whatever -- out of Juba the following day. The instinct for survival trumped the instinct to be an eye witness. I lived to tell the tale.

“Gunshots went off at 4 a.m. Thursday, reverberating through half of Juba, less than a kilometer from Southern Sudan's Parliament buildings. Seconds into the breakout of the gun exchange a car raced along a lane between homesteads, firing back as it drove off, and as its engine died down into the distance.”

Last week I listened to the first report on Al Jazeera’s English channel on Darfur. It was an interview with the General in charge of the AU troops who basically said his presence had minimal impact on the lives of the people he was supposed to be protecting. He had only one soldier for every two square kilometres and he needed at least 17 000 more in order to make a significant difference.

'fleur d’ Afrique' writes that she sometimes wishes she came from a different country – not the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Election results were out a few mins ago. Folks are patiently waiting for the crazy shit to start. Isn’t it sad when you actually patiently wait for things to explode? *sigh* Today I really really really hate my country. Some things can’t be undone.

“I’d still go back to live there but things will never be the same again. Call it nostalgia or whatever. There were certain things I was looking forward to experience again...won’t happen”

Since writing this piece, there have been clashes between Joseph Kabila’s forces and those of his opponent, John Pierre Bembe. The truth is that for most people like Fleur the only acceptable winner is peace and this does not seem to be happening. The leadership and opposition in the DRC, like many other countries, are selfish and think only of themselves – the people they elect to serve are the least of their concerns.

'Just Thots by a Naijaman' writes an excellent piece on Nigeria’s political mindset called “Nigeria: Snippets from our ‘nascent’ demonstration of craziness aka democracy! Where politicians leave it to God to determine all things including who is in control and indulge in sychophancy and the idol worship of those who call themselves ‘leaders’ of the nation."

“Journalist: How do you feel about your present position?
Governor Etiaba: It is the will of God.
Journalist: Why the visit to the President?
Governor Etiaba: I came to pledge loyalty to the President because he is the father of the nation.
Journalist: What is the political situation in Anambra State?
Governor Etiaba: God is in control.
Journalist: What are your priorities?
Governor Etiaba: Good governance.”

‘God’ indeed is in control of arson, political brigandage, massive looting of the treasury, circumventing the will of the people, and godfatherism. While the people groan under the burden of misgovernance, political office holders are busy pledging their ‘loyalty’ to the ‘father of the nation.’

'Ijebuman’s Diary' continues continues with the religious theme in Nigerian society. This time it is the failure of Nigeria’s politicians to follow the scriptures or be ‘Godly’ that is the source of Nigeria’s present day problems.

“Our problem is not global recession, it all started in 1977 when we used God's oil money to promote and display demons of Africa under the pretence of rich African culture, all nations of Africa brought their idols (He is referring to the Festival of Arts and Culture, Festac 77 held in Nigeria in 1977), we built a town for them called Festac town and a big theatre, the capital expenses ran into millions of dollars. God was up there, repenting he ever created us. There was no time our government ever sponsored a gospel crusade.

“The whole world has turned against us, threatening sanctions
all over, it is not that we don't have good government but the sins of our fathers will not permit them to perform, the demons we invited have taken their permanent residence here.”

'Scribbles from the Den' reviews ‘The Lion Man and Other Stories’ by Peter Vakunta. The book is a collection of short stories from the village of Bamunka in Cameroons.

“It is truly a mirror that reflects the socio-cultural life of the inhabitants of the region. It is a pointer to the worldview and value systems of the people. Each story is an entity in itself harboring a moral. The stories deal with life yesterday, today and tomorrow. They constitute a bridge between the near and the far. The book’s special merit resides in its suitability to the young and the old. High school and college students with an interest in African folklore and literature would find the collection indispensable.”

'Black Looks posts two pieces' involving Kenyan writer and academic, Professor Ngugi wa Thiong’o in which he was asked to leave a hotel he was staying in San Francisco just last week. In the incident, the professor was sitting on the verandah of the hotel when an employee came up to him told him this place was for guests only and asked him to leave. The professor related the experience…

"This place is for guests of the hotel. You have to leave.”
Handling the matter calmly and intrigued by the assertion of the man, the Professor asked “How do you know that I am not a guest of the hotel?” The man continued unabated “You have to leave. This is for guests of the hotel.”
“But how do you know that I am not a guest?” the Professor asked again. “You have to leave.” “But you have not even asked me if I am staying in the hotel”
‘Okay. Are you staying at the hotel?’ The tone and demeanour was of a man who had made up his mind that the Professor could not be a guest. “Let’s us go to the reception desk,” the Professor told him. “It is not necessary,” he said. “Just leave.”

The blogosphere responded to the racist incident via comments and some took up the call to write to the management and the CEO who responded personally stating he would make a public apology and wrote:

“Prejudice still exists in America. It is real and palpable. While we’ve all witnessed superficial changes in America over the past four decades, the reality is that people 'pre-judge' each other way too much, whether it’s based upon skin color, religion, sexual orientation, age, economic status, or some other factor that makes one 'the other.'"

Unfortunately the matter did not end there, as a comment was then left anonymously by an employee which contradicted the CEO’s statement. Black Looks posts the employees comment - Black Looks

“THIS IS NOT AN INCIDENT OF RACISM. As an employee of the spoken restaurant I am appalled that this can even be considered an incident of racism. This is San Francisco, a city with the worst homelessness problem in the nation. Daily we have people from the street wander in and disrupt service. Crack addicts, prostitutes, etc. disturb people who are paying good money to eat and stay here. Constantly we have to escort disgusting trashy people from our restaurant on the embarcadero in order to ensure a sense of security amongst out guests. It does not matter whether you are black, white, pink or blue, if you come into our restaurant reeking of body odor, adorning dreadlocks, and wearing filthy clothes, you run the risk of being escorted from any fine dining establishment. Any restaurant in the state of California reserves the right to refuse service to ANYONE. Service was refused to this man based on his appearance not his race. If anyone has strong enough evidence than I to contest this statement I would like to know. We are a tolerant community and a diversely employed restaurant, how dare you try to bring down our good name for an issue that has been dead for years.”

Part of Black Looks's response, which hopefully will again be taken up by the blogosphere and mainstream media, was:

“The most significant aspects about this comment are first that he denies that racism exists yet his statement is so loaded with prejudice and discrimination, not to talk of lack of humanity. Secondly, is his more emotional reaction which is the manifestation of his attitude towards other human beings and basically boils down to making judgments about people which includes one’s skin colour and any other “visible statement of difference” because that is what this is about. It’s about not respecting and accepting difference in a land where wearing “no brand name” clothes is seen as subversive, dreadlocks as seditious and deviant and “prostitutes” the lowest of the low - he obviously has no thought on the punters who presumably are the “clean shaven, baldheaded, beardless, Tommy Hilfiger dressed white” acceptable guests in his hotel”.

The names and address of the hotel senior personnel are published on the website and it is hoped that as many people as possible will write to them expressing their disgust not only at the incident itself but the comment by one of their employees.

• Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org

• Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

**********************************************************************************************
Blacklooks.org, run by Sokari Ekine, has won the public choice for the Best Weblog in English by the Bobs Award (http://www.thebobs.com/). She is far too modest to mention this herself. But Pambazuka News is proud of this well deserved achievement! Congralutions, Sokari.

The Editors
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This is a well deserved award

'African Painters' - African Painters has a feature on ‘fantasy coffins’ made in Ghana which are fast becoming tourist attractions.

“Coffins crafted as hammers, fish, cars, mobile phones, hens, roosters, leopards, lions, canoes, cocoa beans and several elephants”.

However despite the fanciful wooden carved coffins, the business of death is still taken seriously at prices ranging up to $400.

'Jewels in the Jungle' - Jewels in Jungle http://jewelsnthejungle.blogspot.com/2006/11/china-africa-summit-2006-view-from.html reports on the China Africa summit which he heads as “The Battle for Africa’s Hearts and Minds… and Black Gold – Round 2.” His report focuses on the World Bank’s reaction to the summit:

“The World Bank on Thursday welcomed China's increased involvement with Africa but urged the rising Asian power to learn lessons from past donors when helping the impoverished continent. ‘My summary take on the Chinese engagement in Africa is that it is broadly positive,’ said John Page, the World Bank's Chief Economist for Africa. ‘We witnessed the emergence of one of the most significantly successful developing countries as a development partner for Africa, and therefore perhaps a source of ideas and innovation,’ he told reporters in Tokyo after attending China's weekend summit with delegates from 48 African nations.”

Jewels is very much on the pro-China/Africa investment side and though his report is highly informative and interesting it does not address issues of how China’s investments in Africa will filter down to the masses. Nor does he address China’s possible influence on national government policies, press freedoms and human rights.

'Kenyan Pundit' - Kenyan Pundit http://www.kenyanpundit.com/?p=247 comments on the growth of the ICT sector in Kenya where, as recently as 2003, VOIP and Wi-Fi were actually illegal in the country.

“In a case over the issuance of a competing gateway license, the Communications tribunal ruled that the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) was to ignore any policy guidelines of a specific nature coming from the Ministry as the [Communications] Act was clear that CCK was to give ‘due regard to policy guidelines of a general nature’. This means that CCK’s independence as a regulator has been reemphasized and underlined. This is HUGE. Most regulatory bodies in Africa suffer from a lack of independence due to constant interference from the government, ICASA is South Africa is a good case in point.”

'Grandiose Parlor' - Grandiose Parlor http://grandioseparlor.com/2006/11/nigeria-impeaches-the-fifth-governor-in-12-monthsreports on the fifth Nigerian Governor to be impeached in 12 months. The latest victim is the Governor of Plateau State, Chief Joshua Dariye:

“Dariye’s impeachment saga was a long-drawn battle that started sometime in January 2004, when he jumped bail following his arrest in London for money laundering. Since then he has been able to manipulate and checkmate all impeachment moves by the state legislature. His capitulation may not have been possible without the interference of the feds, particularly the EFCC.”

Increasing the drama is the Governor of Ekiti who has actually disappeared and is believed to be in hiding – is this really possible in a modern day democracy? What kind of leaders do we have in Nigeria?

'Kiuyumoja’s Realm' Kiuyumoja's realm shows how to make a water filter using alternative technology using every day household products.

“Almost all supermarkets in Kenya sell bottled water, and many also sell special water filters with about 1-3 filter candles inside. These filters are available in different sizes, often made out of stainless steel and will cost about Ksh. 1800/= (~ US-$ 25,- // EUR 20,-). To filter the water, all you have to do is put a litre of it on the top container and wait for it to percolate through the ceramic filter element into the container below which of course takes some time.

“I also wanted to have such a filter system to filter the tap water, but I wasn’t willing to invest so much money. Also, I’ve seen this alternative filter system at use in our office - so it became clear that I had to build my own and see that I don’t spend too much money on this DIY project. Many households all over the country use these water filter systems these days - which is good!"

Kiuyumoja provides full instructions, plus lots of diagrams, so if you need a simple cheap water filter I suggest you try this one out.

'This is Zimbabwe' - This is Zimbabwe http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/451reports that 129 out of 1000 children in Zimbabwe will not live beyond the age of five. In the US the number is eight out of 1000 and six out of 1000 in the UK.

"Those statistics are for 2004, and things have no doubt got worse since then. By contrast, in 1985 the rate was only 59 deaths per 1000…In human terms, that means that for every 1000 children born in Zimbabwe, only 871 will make it to their fifth birthday."

'Black Looks' - Black Looks http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/11/we_always_have_the_right_to_say_no.html[/ur] reports on a new documentary film called “NO” which highlights the realities of rape in the African American community and also focuses on the healing process for victims.

“This is one of the most important films on sexual violence against women which is endemic in our communities. Silence is no longer an option on sexual abuse in our communities and this film exposes the realities of rape but also addresses ways in which healing can take place. In South Africa the rape statistics are unbelievably high - where POWA reports that a woman is raped every 26 seconds. Rape in our communities speaks to how society perceives Black women’s bodies. The policy and system of Apartheid constructed the Black woman as the lowest of the low, denigrated and despised condoning our bodies to zones of violence and abuse.”

• Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org
• Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Kameelahwrites - KameelahWritew (http://kameelahwrites.blogspot.com/2006/11/mandela-say-it-aint-so-are-y…) comments on the tributes made by South African President, Thabo Mbeki and former president Nelson Mandela on the death of PW Botha, who she describes as the “defiant face of apartheid”. She writes:

“Mandela has been at the center of attention for quite some time as a greater leader and example of progressive nation building tactics, but when he goes on to lead the tribute to Botha, I began to get worried. There is forgiveness of folks who do wrong and apologize and then there is leading a tribute to a man who clung onto white-control, never apologized and never acknowledged his wrong. Then there is the forgiveness of a man, which is conflated with the forgiveness of apartheid - a problematic and hasty conclusion. There is forgiveness, then there is praising your colonizers, slave owner and the man who put his foot in your neck. Botha died without ever apologizing or ever acknowledging his wrong. Apparently, his wife Barbara believes that her husband had been ‘terribly misunderstood’ and that South Africans would come to realize what they had lost.”

My response is this sounds more like appeasement and an insult to all those who suffered and died under the rule of Botha but then when did our leaders ever care about the opinions of the people they are elected to serve?

For more comments on PW Botha see South Africa (http://www.southafrica.to/history/Apartheid/PW_Botha/PW_Botha.htm)

Zimbabwean blogger, Dumisani's Blog - Dumisani's Blog (http://dumisani.tigblog.org/post/60139) is frustrated over the reports in the mainstream US media on the death of PW Botha. It seems revisionism is at work on all fronts from the South African leadership to the US media. Expect the same when Ariel Sharon finally gives up the ghost, but as Dumisani comments lets see how they cover the death of Robert Mugabe?

"So PW Botha, one of the worst leaders of an African country EVER died last night. It's interesting how the NY Times gives this extra long obituary, but doesn't even paint him in the negative light that he deserves. The whole thing tastes like a cucumber. Plain and bland. This guy, who was responsible for one of Africa's most brutal regimes EVER gets this, as an obituary? He is not even referred to as a racist in this article. Not once. In fact, the WORD ‘racist’ comes up once to refer to ‘racist policies’. When people like Idi Amin died, I bet their obituaries didn't read this rosy. When other African 'dictators' died, there are articles of good riddance to bad rubbish. This guy was a dictator. Let's call a spade a spade. He was a horrible, cold, mean, racist, unrepentant brutal dictator who led one of Africa's worst governments ever.”

Chippla’s Weblog - Chippla's Weblog (http://chippla.blogspot.com/2006/11/china-africa-summit.html) reports on the China-Africa summit held in Beijing and attended by most African leaders in what Chippla’s describes as “probably the largest gathering of African leaders outside the UN”. (I would hope more would attend AU summits?)

“China's interest in Africa is, without a doubt, greatly linked to the latter's huge pool of natural resources, much of which remain untapped. And with rapid development and modernization occurring across China, there is an increasing need for raw materials to continue fuelling such development. African leaders in a position of strength (those who govern nations rich in resources of interest to China) must negotiate sensibly. The need to gradually curtail the export of raw materials and focus on the processing or conversion of such materials before export has become all too obvious. Non knowledge-based societies would simply be unable to compete favourably in today's fast-changing world.”

The summit is evidence that China’s move into Africa is to be an all pervasive one that will include all aspects of commerce and industry and one also has to wonder how much influence the Chinese will have on respecting national governments and issues of human rights.

Timbuktu Chronicles - Timbuktu Chronicles (http://timbuktuchronicles.blogspot.com/2006/11/urban-agriculture.html) reports on the advantages of “urban agriculture” as a way of alleviating household expenses, of obtaining small extra income from sale or bartering of foodstuffs and recycling waste in the form of fertilizers.

“The practice is thus component of any strategy for poverty alleviation. Urban agriculture can also benefit the urban environment in profound ways. Large cities produce vast amounts of wastewater and organic waste, whose disposal is often a problem. By using waste as a productive resource, however, urban agriculture can help reduce the pressure on municipal waste disposal systems. Further, these natural fertilizers reduce the need for chemical additives, which in turn prevents groundwater contamination. Moreover, while agribusiness uses ten to 15 calories of petroleum energy to deliver one calorie of food energy, urban agriculture uses between one and three calories to do the same…”

The practice of urban agriculture has been part of Zimbabwean urban life for many years and has recently been introduced and encouraged in South Africa. I am sure other African countries are also involved in this practice. However with government support such as through publicising the advantages and providing seedlings, the practice could become far more widespread, particularly amongst the very poor who would benefit in terms of cost and diet.

The Voice of Somaliland Diaspora - The Voice of Somaliland Diaspora-Ottawa (http://waridaad.blogspot.com/2006/11/obstacles-on-way-to-international…) publishes an interview with “New School New York” and Dustin Dehez on the “Obstacles On the Way to International Recognition for Somaliland”. Dehez asks what is the most important point from the perspective of the international community?

“I see two major concerns: firstly international recognition could be quoted as a precedent for state secession by other independence-movements throughout the continent. Secondly, but with less impact: Recognition could spark violence between the South and Somaliland and thus creating regional instability.

Talking to Western foreign policy makers there is one clear question nearly every diplomat puts forward: Who would have an interest in recognition? Clearly most of them do not think that recognition is a necessity for the country’s development in the first place. Secondly, the benefit/impact that recognition would have: a strong signal to Muslim states in the Middle East that democratic transition would be appreciated by the West – is not yet in all minds.

Furthermore the reluctance to recognise Somaliland in order to avoid a precedent might change within the next five years, when the Sudanese in Southern Sudan will vote on their independence. If they vote in support of independence international politicians might recognise Somaliland in what they see as a shortly open window for change in the Horn of Africa.”

Miss Mabrouk of Egypt - Ms Mabrouk of Egypt (http://missmabrouk.blogspot.com/2006/11/low-iq-and-curse-of-africa.html) comments on a report by the London School of Economics which said that “African states were poor and suffered chronic ill-health because their populations were less intelligent than people in richer countries.” Once again there is a return to the whole issue of IQ and race. Ms Mabrouk asks two questions which relate to poverty and diet. It is these that need to be addressed rather than questioning intelligence based on race and as she says can you really measure intelligence and what does it matter anyway – to who does it matter?

1)What effect does poverty have on intelligence over generations? In richer countries, researchers are now pointing to how low nutrition diets and in particular bad fats are directly affecting how brain cells are connecting to each other. Good food = many connections = fast working brain. Bad food = few connections = slow thinking.

2) Does IQ really matter? In other words, is it an adequate method for measuring intelligence?

Black Looks - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/10/access_to_arvs.html) comments that having access to Anti Retrovirals (ARVs) in South Africa by all sections of the community does not in itself mean that Black women will receive equal health care even if they have private medical care. She reports on a specific case which provides an excellent example of racism that exists in the provision and treatment of HIV/AIDS patients.

“However Neidhardt points to one aspect of the discussion around HIV/AIDS that is absent. How race is played out in South African society and how this influences the fight against HIV/AIDS…how white supremacy still impacts the struggle against HIV/AIDS, how it orders relationships between people, countries and institutions. It is as if we are violating some unwritten code of conduct, especially in this country if we want to speak aloud that racist thinking is still entrenched in the psyche of all South Africans. Perhaps we think we are disrespecting the new democracy if we speak the reality that racism still does dictate for us who is and who is not worthy of the basic human and economic rights, care and dignity that are outlined so eloquently in the 1996 Constitution.”

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks,

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

'Scribbles in the Den' - (http://www.dibussi.com/) points to a Reporters Without Borders report on the 2006 “Worldwide Press Freedom Index”. The good news is that some African countries are moving up such as Togo. Since the new regime took office, the country has risen 29 places. Interestingly, Côte d’Ivoire (which is 99th) moved up 41 places - more an expression of how bad it was previously than how good it is now. The USA has also fallen by nine places since last year. Other African countries comparable with the West areBenin (23rd), Namibia (26th), Mauritius (32nd), Ghana (34th), Mali (35th), South Africa (44th) and Cape Verde (45th).

The bad news is that other African countries are ranking very low like Eritrea (166th), Gambia (149th), Somalia (144th), Democratic Republic of Congo (142nd), Zimbabwe (140th) and Equatorial Guinea (137th).

The report is based on a questionnaire on violations against journalists (such as murders, imprisonment, physical attacks and threats) and news media (censorship, confiscation of issues, searches and harassment).

'Two' - TWO (http://everchange.blogspot.com/2006/10/grameen-bank.html) comments on this year’s Nobel Peace Prize which was awarded to “Gameen Bank” founder “Muhammed Yunis, for his groundbreaking work providing microcredit to the rural poor in Bangladesh.” Everchange wonders if the prize has lost its meaning.

"Promoting economic development is not the same thing as creating a culture of peace. I see that the Norwegians are trying to ‘expand’ the definition of peace in order to honor different kinds of change agents, but for gods sake, do we really need new posers for an award that is so straight-forward? This is not the Nobel Poverty Eradication Prize. There are numerous individuals around the world braving imprisonment, torture and persecution in order to promote democracy and end armed conflict in their home countries. Give them the Nobel peace prize."

I have to agree. Whilst acknowledging the achievement of the Gameen Bank in fighting poverty, surely the prize committee could have found one of many individuals that are working to promote democracy and peace.

'You Missed This' - You Missed This (http://kumekucha.blogspot.com/) writes in support of Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete, but nevertheless believes the state of the country’s economy is cause for grave concern.

"But by far the most worrying aspect of the whole Tanzanian crisis is the reaction of the administration. There has been a deliberate effort in recent times to release positive economic figures and news on the performance of the economy. Most of the figures are from last year and not the last 10 months that President Kikwete has been in power. There was a unique exception last week when it was revealed that the government's debt had in 9 short months (from January to September, this year) shot up by a staggering $302 million to a total of $9.383 billion. The main culprits, experts say are "unrestricted domestic borrowing and unnecessary foreign debts."

He concludes that the outlook for Tanzania over the coming months is not good and that this will place enormous pressure on the government of Jakaya Kikwete.

'The Sudanese Thinker' - Sudanese Thinker (http://www.sudanesethinker.com/) comments on the decision by Khartoum to expel UN envoy, Jan Plonk, from the country.

"You know what amazes me? That a group like these people are happily pushing around major countries like Britain & the US. I honestly think the NCP is so clearly sticking its finger up in the air for all to see. If Bush and Blair can’t even make pressure on Sudan work to ease the Darfur situation, how the hell do they both want to fix Iraq? Sometimes I tend to think that the NCP is confident UK and US can’t do crap since they’ve already got enough to deal with on their hands namely Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran’s nuclear program.
“The Southerners are rightly pissed off about this. People call the current Sudanese government, the National Unity Government. Ya, sure thing! As if the SPLM gets any say in things like this. Whenever the SPLM tries to say or do something that is against the wishes of the NCP, it gets threatened. National Unity Government or whatever crap people wish to call it, the show is clearly being run by 'democratically elected' Bashir’s NCP. Sigh!"

As Sudanese Thinker states – “a replacement for Plonk will take some time. Time for Khartoum to continue killing people in Darfur, starving them to death, raiding their homes, raping the women. Time for the genocide to continue….”

'Aba Boy' - Aba Boy (http://ababoy.blogspot.com/2006/10/remembering-dick-tiger.html) remembers and honours one of Nigeria’s greatest sportsmen, Dick Tiger, who on the 23rd October won the WBA Middleweight boxing title.

"Dick Tiger was one of the great fighters to come out of the African continent. Tiger became a two-time undisputed world middleweight titlist. Tiger helped keep boxing alive during the 1950s boxing industry recession. Tiger earned an undisputed Light-Heavyweight world championship. In 1962, Tiger won the world middle weight boxing championship. Tiger inspired other Nigerians to go into boxing."

Dick Tiger, an Igbo from Imo State, was also an ardent supporter of Biafran secession and even returned his CBE in protest against Britain’s lack of support. Tiger actively participated in the training of young recruits into the army.

'Black Looks' - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/10/prison_number_4.html) still in South Africa, reports on her visit to the Old Fort prison complex in Johannesburg – particularly the infamous Number 4 prison which was for “non-white” prisoners.

Words are difficult to describe this place but this quote from Alex La Guma who was a political prisoner in 1953 pretty much sums up the place.

“One of the reasons for my disease (typhoid) is found in this jail, filth. The mats are filthy, the blankets are filthy, the latrines are filthy, the food is filthy, the utensils are filthy, the convicts clothes are filthy. The latrines over flow and make a stench.” – Alex la Guma political prisoner 1953

• Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org

• Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Sokari Ekine’s blog, Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/) has been nominated for a Best of Blog Award - you can read about it and cast your vote at:

'Kubatana Blogs' - (http://kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/?p=19) points to an article by Zimbabwean cartoonist, Tony Namate on the Zimbabwean Domestic Violence Bill. Namate wants a bill that covers all violence - not just domestic violence - that would include baby dumping, abortion, and failing to report violence. He also believes “that women engaging in indecent exposure should be arrested”.

“And then there are some forms of violence that are touted as women’s rights. Once upon a time I remember hearing that women had a right to wear what they wanted. Fair and fine, but when they deliberately and indecently violate other people’s sensibilities by “wearing what we want”, then surely they are committing the crime of indecent exposure and should be arrested “on sight”? Or perhaps indecent exposure is a male-only crime?”

Mr Namate misses the point about “indecent exposure” as applied to men exposing their genitals in public, since this is also sexual assault if it is directed at another person. If women were to expose their genitals in a similar way then, of course, this would be indecent exposure.

Malawian blog, 'Afrika-Aphuki' - Afrika-Aphuki comments on the adoption of an 18 month old Malawian child, David Banda by mega celebrity, Madonna. The child has left Malawi for London but the debate around the adoption in Malawi and elsewhere rages on. In Malawi the debate has centred around two issues – firstly the way the Malawian government and Madonna have bypassed Malawian law to allow the adoption to be fast-tracked, and secondly on whether the child would be better off growing up in Malawi with support from outsiders such as Madonna, or growing up in the home of a high powered celebrity white European celebrity. Afrika writes…

“Although their actions have been interpreted as jealousy and anachronism, the Malawian lawyers and activists who have drawn our attention to the way in which Malawian law has been compromised for the sake of a celebrity adoption have shown that not every African has been sold on the white supremacist bandwagon. Granted that there are NGOs who thrive on foreign money which they misuse and enrich themselves with, there are Malawians who are genuinely concerned about Malawi’s problems, and are working both inside Malawi itself and outside, to help ease the problems. The very Malawians who are making accusations of jealousy and archaic laws would be the first ones to blame the Malawian legal system the moment child traffickers learned of the power and influence of money and fame, and began targeting Malawian children. Hopefully this debate has alerted us to such a possibility, and we are embarking on a process to make sure it does not happen.”

Zimbabwean blog, 'Enough is Enough' - Enough is Enough (http://enoughzimbabwe.org/eddie-cross-the-farm-situation-today) reports on the situation of farming in Zimbabwe, particularly that of white farmers and the seizure of farm equipment by the police and army. The seizures were declared illegal by the court but by the time the equipment was returned to the owners, it had been vandalised. Zim Pundit posts a letter sent to Zimbabwean political activist Eddie Cross and comments

“The campaign is carried out on an ethnic basis - white farmers are the targets. It is completely illegal and destructive. Farms taken over in this way quickly become derelict and unproductive.”

'Redeem Ethiopia' - Redeem Ethiopia (http://redeemethiopia.blogspot.com/2006/10/lures-of-war.html) commenting on the threat of war between Ethiopia and Somalia, believes that Meles Zenawi provoked the Somalis into declaring “war on Ethiopia”, something he believes Meles learned from his predecessor, former Ethiopian leader, Mengistu Hailemariam.

“It seems that Meles has been a good student of history. He has done all that is in his power to provoke the Somalis to declare war on Ethiopia with the same hopes of gaining domestic legitimacy and external military support. The fact that there is no formidable Somali government, military or immediate threat to Ethiopia has made his job much harder than Mengistu’s. He has literally had to partially invade Somalia to get mostly empty threats from Somali Islamists, who can at best remove his soldiers from some Somali territory.”

However, unlike during Mengistu’s rule, Ethiopians of today are not ready to go to war and believe the threat from Somalia to be non-existent.

'Mental Acrobatics'Mental Acrobatics writes a moving tribute to the late Dr Dr.Wanjiru Kihoro of Kenya who passed away last Thursday following a long coma. Mental Acrobatics describes Dr Kihoro as

“a true patriot, a strong daughter of Kenya, highly principled in an age where people’s convictions change with the direction of the wind……….. In Kenya, where she took on the Moi regime on human rights abuses when most were to scared to speak out, she showed patriotism and courage. Refusing to be broken by the arrest and detention of her husband, Wanyiri Kihoro, and colleagues by Moi’s notorious security forces, she showed patriotism and courage. As the founder and director of ABANTU for Development, an international development agency, Dr. Kihoro’s vision, inspiration and direction touched and changed the lives of many.”

'African Shirts' - African Shirts (http://africanshirts.blogspot.com/2006/10/lifting-veil.html)
comments on the debate around comments made by Jack Straw about Muslim women wearing the Niqab during his MP surgery. He stated that he asked the women to remove their veils which he sees as a “visible statement of difference” and one that infringes on the communication experience, since one cannot see the face of the woman. African Shirts however points out that in an interview with Jack Straw, he let slip the real motivation behind his statement

“in an interview with the Today programme, he lets slips his actual motivation. He's worried about "community relations". In other words, the people in a community cannot communicate with a woman who covers her face, in this instance at the behest of her religion. The veil here, acts as a barrier, just as 18-year-old boys in hoodies are intimidating. And if non-Muslim and Muslims who are trying to live harmoniously alongside each other cannot interact, "parallel communities" start to develop.”

The debate around the Niqab is an Islamic debate and should not be of concern to non-Muslims. From a Muslim point of view it is yet another attack against Islam and interference in the way people choose to practice their religion.

'Black Looks' - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/10/5_days_in_south_africa.html) is in South Africa and writes a piece on her first 5 days

"The most annoying thing for me is not the fences, locks and gates but having to take taxis everywhere after 7pm in the evening. Everyone keeps telling me not to go out even in Melville at night, not to carry my laptop on the Kombi bus - basically not to go anywhere at night without a taxi. A Cameroonian colleague who lives in downtown Joburg takes a taxi to a bar 10 minutes away from his apartment and back! Coming from sleepy Granada where no one even goes out before 10pm and you can walk home on your own at 4am in complete safety, this takes some getting used to. I realise I no longer have a sense of personal security."

• Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org
• Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

'NGOMROM' -
(http://ngomrom.blogspot.com/2006/10/do-not-torpedo-peace-talks-in-juba…) provides his perspective on the Juba peace talks between Sudan, Uganda and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). NGOMROM seems to be supporting the position of the LRA leader, Joseph Kony. He asks why members of his army are being asked to assemble in two different locations and sees this as a set of “hidden traps and tricks” and a possible hand over of Kony to the ICC (International Criminal Court).

“Why would anybody even consider that the peace talks proceed with ICC threat unresolved? Museveni has to provide conditions to keep the ICC away from Kony and his commanders, otherwise there will be no peace involving those five men. These two issues are mutually exclusive. Without these men, there must be modified peace talks, because the people of Uganda in the affected areas still need peace from the government of Museveni.”

'Sokwanele' - Grandiose Parlor http://grandioseparlor.com/2006/10/tackling-the-culture-of-corruption/ comments on the “culture of corruption” in Nigeria. He does not believe it is possible to wipe away the mindset of corruption from the minds of Nigerians. Nor does he see the EFCC (anti-corruption apparatus set up by the state), as a wholly effective tool. The solution for him lies in the electoral system.

“The next level is through the electoral system. Would the electorate take a clue from the EFCC and do their civic duties? Would the activities of the EFCC, as biased and crude as it is, spur some decent folks to step-up and take control through the ballot system? What steps are community advocacy groups/street associations/social groups taking to ensure that the elections are free and fair in their areas? By the way, there are some innovative steps taken by some to address the issues corruption.”

'White Africa' -

“My country’s leaders need to do something for these people, before these people decide to do something for themselves.”

I think this statement could cut across the whole continent. We await the uprising!

'The Moor Next Door' - The Moor Next Door (http://wahdah.blogspot.com/2006/10/kenyan-muslims-angered-over-us-and.h…) comments on protests by Kenyan Muslims against what he describes as a "US-and Israeli-inspired Anti-Terror Unit”. Muslims in the country are being increasingly targeted by the Anti Terror Unit and the government is:

"...using an unpassed bill to arrest, harass and intimidate members of the Muslim community and those who sympathise with them."

'African Women’s Blog' - African Women's Blog (http://africanwomenblogs.com/2006/10/09/ist-african-womens-carnival-at-…) held its first Carnival of African Women this week. The AWB was created as a “collaborative space for African women online”. The AWB also has an aggregator of blogs by African women and a webring. The focus of the Carnival was “Identity and blogging” and included poems and personal life stories from 11 African women.

“Passion’ is the response that Philomena gives to people who ask her how she manages the wife/mother/blogger balance and tell us how she is able to do this in her post.

“My secrets are in my fingers. My fingers are the expression of my passion. From my kitchen when preparing food for my husband and family, to my three children, when cuddling them with tenderness of infanthood. To my emotions when I had to express it, I prefer, through my fingers than through my voice. Perhaps that is why I am regarded by close friends as being on the quiet side.”

'Egyptian Chronicles' - Egyptian Chronicles (http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2006/10/pyongyang-response.html)
asks us to forget Iraq, the war on terror, Iran, Castro and everyone else. Why? Because “Pyongyang did it, Pyongyang did it.”

“Pyongyang announced the success of an underground detonation of a nuclear weapon, some say, or most the world say today this nuclear weapon is an atomic bomb, yes and by this N.Korea joins the Nuclear bomb owners and they are if I am mistaken the U.S and Russia for sure, France and England, Pakistan and India, China and our neighbor Israel despite they didn't announce it, yet I got a book saying they got a nuclear bomb since 1960s and their first nuclear weapon was tested in Algeria's.”

Egyptian goes on to add that Pyongyang has lots of other “toys” to play with should the need arise such as “the famous Korean missiles and rockets which Israel always accuse Egypt and Syria of having them and of course Syria doesn't deny and Egypt doesn't even respond.”

So where does all this leave the West and their allies? In an ocean raft without a paddle – in short, in a panic.

'Black Looks' - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/10/niger_delta_2.html) posts two podcasts of an interview with Nigerian historian Professor Alagoa, on the Niger Delta speaking on the “changes that have taken place in the Niger Delta since the excecution of Ken Saro Wiwa in 1995, the rise of militancy in the region and the governorship of Diepreye Alamieyeseigha - ex Governor of Bayelsa State.”

• Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org

• Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

The Kenyan blogging community is one of the largest in Africa. 18 months ago the online community was created for Kenyans and friends of Kenya. It consists of a webring and an aggregator of all members’ blogs. Earlier this year the KU community held their first Kaybees Blog Awards under 13 categories.

One of the most innovative Kenyan sites is Mzalendo, set up to monitor and report on the activities of the Kenyan parliament. The site content includes Bills, Committees, Constituencies, Ministries, Motions, MPs, Political Parties, Provinces and Districts. The site is also a forum for discussion by Kenyans and in future could well form the basis of a platform for citizens to interrogate and call ministers to account for their actions.

The Kenyan Democracy Project is a blog that has just recently returned from a long hiatus. As well as some very good political commentary the site is full of interesting links on social justice and gender issues. This week KDP writes on “How the other Kenyan half subsists”. While discussions on corruption continue to be the mainstream focus, the concerns of Kenya’s marginalised groups go unnoticed.

“For instance over the last seven days, I have seen on Kenyan national television, countless stories featuring the demolition and eviction of hundreds of slum dwellers in the Embakasi neighbourhood of Nairobi. A couple of nights ago (Friday, September 22, 2006) I watched as a group of evictees, featuring a sixty something Akorino man, a forty something woman among others, complain bitterly how they were now rendered homeless despite the fact that they had spent up to 200,000 Kenya shillings (representing, in the case of the Akorino man, his entire life savings) on setting up and maintaining their structures only to be thwarted by the violent attacks instigated by a private developer...The sickening thing was that these vicious acts of inhuman vandalism were being supervised by uniformed members of the state employed and tax-payer bankrolled police force.”

Steve Ntwiga is an excellent resource for African music. Steve manages to dig out forgotten artists and music from the 60’s and 70’s as well as contemporary artists.

White African is the creator of the African Network project which is a “centralised web portal for information important to Africans, customized for their location, their tastes and their needs. It consists of: a vertical search engine, news portal and community site.”

The community site Zangu, as well as being online, hopes to enable access via mobile phone technology. White African also writes about the latest in “Web2” technology and how bloggers can use these to improve their blogs.

Soyapi Mumba's Blog is also a technology blog. Soyapi writes on technological developments in Malawi, East and Southern Africa. This week he reports that Mozambique may be in the picture to assemble Chinese computers.

"Indeed, it has been reported that negotiations are underway to build a plant to assemble Chinese computers in Mozambique...I haven't seen any report or news article about the negotiations. Have you? If it is true, this is good news for Mozambique and its neighbouring land-locked countries of southern Africa like Malawi, which is almost surrounded by Mozambique.”

Bankelele like the name suggests, is a blog on banking, finance and business news in Kenya. Bankelele,along with Kenyan Pundit, is also behind the Kenyan parliamentary blog mentioned earlier, Mzalendo. Bankelele also has a weekly job spot where he posts the latest job opportunities in the sectors he covers.

Finally Mental Acrobatics is a general blog by a Kenyan man who has just recently left rainy Manchester for sunny Nairobi. This week he comments on the state of Kenya’s breakfast radio which he says should be “safe” for children but instead is crazy and in fact pornographic.

“Take this example from last week. A lady wrote into a station asking for advice as a foreign man she had met on the internet had just sent her a plane ticket to go visit him. For the next half hour we were subjected to a discussion on penis size and which countries you should travel to for some good loving. A few days later another show was discussing a couple who had not had sex for 6 months and what sex advice we could collectively give to get them at it like rabbits again. Now these are all valid topics for discussion I agree, but I am just not sure why these discussions are taking place when the nation is having its morning uji [porridge consumed for breakfast in Kenya].”

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Over the next few weeks the blog roundup will have more of a regional focus. This week the focus is on West Africa.

‘Under the Acacias’ - (http://www.voiceinthedesert.org.uk/keith/archives/2006/09/update_and_ph…) is a blog by Keith Smith, a missionary worker in Burkina Faso who has been blogging for two years. This week Keith posts on the floods that have engulfed Gorom Gorom, on the edge of the Sahel. About 8000 people in the region have lost their homes. Keith explains:

“The disaster struck following a large rain, when 136cm (5.5")of rain fell (nearly half the normal year's rainfall) in 6 hours. A dam broke about 5 miles away, and a tide of water waist-high swept through the region. Several nearby villages were completely destroyed, as well as about half of the houses in Gorom-Gorom. Most houses are built of mud, and would have been simply washed away by the onslaught of water.”

The floods in the region from Burkina Faso through Nigeria and Niger have so far left up to 26000 people homeless. Keith’s blog provides information on short and long-term needs and photos of the disaster.

Cameroonian blog, 'Scribbles from the Den' - Scribbles from the Den (http://www.dibussi.com/2006/09/save_my_wife_2_.html) reports on a horrendous story from the New York Times of Prudence, a young woman who died in childbirth. Like so many women in the global south, Prudence died not from pregnancy but rather from general neglect of the very poor and a failure to provide even basic health care.

“Prudence, 24, was from a small village and already had three small children. As she was in labor to deliver her fourth, an untrained midwife didn’t realize she had a cervical blockage and sat on Prudence’s stomach to force the baby out — but instead her uterus ruptured and the fetus died.

"Prudence’s family carried her to the hospital on a motorcycle, but once she was there the doctor, Pascal Pipi, demanded $100 for a Caesarian to remove the fetus. The fetus was decomposing inside her, and an infection was raging in her abdomen — but her family had total savings of only $20, so she lay down in the maternity ward and began to die.”

The report also includes a video of Prudence’s last hours which, although I have not seen, I find offensive and unnecessary.

Gambian blog – 'Home of the Mandinmores' - Home of Mandinmores (http://gambian.blogspot.com/2006/09/yahya-jammeh-is-winner.html) reports on the Gambian elections won by incumbent Yahya Jammeh. Despite the huge margin of his victory, Mandinmores still believes that the people of Gambia will hold him to account should he fail to live up to expectations.

“The results were nothing political observer ever envisioned. Most Gambian political observers expect the incumbent to win especially after the opposition split, but the margin of victory that emerge from yesterdays poll has caught everyone by surprise. However unless someone can prove electoral mischief, I will venture to say that the Gambian people have spoken. They prefer the status quo to change. I don't agree with the decision, but I respect it. They are the masters of their country's destiny and have decreed with yesterdays vote that they like it the way it is. 65% is not a narrow margin. It is a whipping. Does this mean folks like yours truly will cut Yahya a slack when he trample on the rights of the citizenry....don't even think about it. He has a constitutional mandate to rule and we have a constitutional right to criticize his excesses.”

Senegalese blog, 'SEMEtt l’etincelle' - Semett (http://semet.blogspot.com/2006/09/france-ou-senegal-entre-immigration.h…) comments on the visit to Senegal by France’s right wing Minister of the Interior and Presidential hopeful. The purpose of the visit was to sign an agreement with Senegal for selective recruitment of professionals. SEMEtt describes this as a new form of slavery at a time when the African population in France are subjected to marginalization in the French suburbs (translated from French)

Nigerian Literary blogger, 'Wordsbody' – a href="http://wordsbody.blogspot.com/2006/09/ifowodo-jazzhole.html">WordsBody (http://wordsbody.blogspot.com/2006/09/ifowodo-jazzhole.html) has a short piece on Nigerian poet, Ogaga Ifowodo who is based in the US.

“Ifowodo is the author of 3 poetry collections: Homelands and other Poems (1998), Madiba (Solitude, 1999) and The Oil Lamp (Africa World Press, 2005). The Oil Lamp is a volume of poems on one theme only - environmental degradation in the Niger Delta.”

'Trials and Tribulations of a Freshly Arrived Denizen' - Freshly arrived denizen (http://ekbensahinghana.blogspot.com/2006/09/re-on-us-rappers-and-water…) takes issue with the UN’s appointment of African American rapper, Jay-Z as Water ambassador and his forthcoming trip to Ghana.

“With the hype of Jay-Z coming to Ghana in October, worth reminding you of his connection to sweatshops, which he appears clueless over.”

On the water privatization issue, Jay-Z is quoted as saying "that's just bureaucracy, I don't have any expertise in that," adding that he's about raising awareness. Later he praised Coca-Cola for giving money for play pumps.

'Black Looks' - Black Looks ("http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/09/we_dont_want_a_real_black_woman_-_i_m…) points to an article in the Guardian on the "black facing" of yet another white female celebrity - this time Kate Moss, in the UK Independent newspaper special on Africa.

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

This past Sunday marked the Global Day of Action for Darfur. The aim was “to show world-wide support for the Darfuri people and to put pressure on our Governments to protect the civilians.” A number of African bloggers posted special pieces to mark the day.

‘Wordsbody’ - (http://wordsbody.blogspot.com/2006/09/endgame-in-darfur.html) a literary blog by Molara Wood, wrote a moving piece entitled “Endgame in Darfur”. Wood reminded us of the “never again” mantra echoed after the Rwandan genocide just over 10 years ago.

“Now it is Darfur. The World again is being its (or is it her?) old useless self. The World is being racist again. Not only are the people being killed in Darfur as black as night, they are Africans - a terrible thing to be if you want the World to care about you.”

Wood continues, “What is more, the Dead, Dying and Displaced of Darfur are Muslims. I don’t know what is the worse thing to be in the current World order - African or Muslim. The people of Darfur have a terrible Double Whammy of an albatross round their necks.”

She writes about the “anxiety” being expressed by various people, countries and organisations over the genocide that is taking place before our eyes. Wood wonders: “And so the new anxiety. And how inadequate a word is ‘Anxiety’. But what word should we grasp and attempt to speak, to express the unthinkable?

"And is the new ‘anxiety’ because Hollywood liberal George Clooney spent 5 days with his father in Darfur in April, and in the last few days urged the US government to do something about 'the first Genocide of the 21st century'"

'Mshairi' - Mshairi (http://www.mshairi.com/blog/2006/09/17/suffer-the-little-children) posted a poem titled “Suffer The Little Children”. Here is a short excerpt:

Who will weep for me?
I died
Famished
Belly distended
Flies clustered
Over my face
Gunfire and screams
The last sounds
I heard

'Alexcia' - Alexcia (http://alexcia.blogspot.com/2006/09/global-day-for-darfur.html) tells us the meaning of Darfur – Land of the Fur. She writes:

“Death and Funeral announcement
Here lies eighty thousands souls
Names and identities – unknown
Passions and pains – unknown
Feelings and fears – unknown
Origin and nationality – Western Sudan Darfur region
Now buried in a mass grave known as Darfur Crisis
All died at home from a janjaweed epidemic
Two million others infected of unknown origin
Inadequate attention from United Nations is believe to have
Played a part in these deaths…”

'Sudanese Thinker' - Sudanese Thinker (http://www.sudanesethinker.com/2006/09/19/jews-stay-away-next-time-p/) reports on a counter demonstration held in Khartoum in which the Global Day for Darfur was labeled a “Jewish Conspiracy”. Demonstrators predictably opposed the deployment of troops in Darfur. Drima (Sudanese Thinker) also takes issue with the lack of protests against the genocide by the Muslim world.

“By the way were there any rallies in the Muslim world to protest the ruthless killing and suffering of “blackies” in Darfur? Okay fine, fine. I’ll stop being the cynical person I am. There were small tiny efforts in Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and Cairo. I’m starting to see the “light”. In 5 years time we’ll protest things like Darfur besides continuing our violent protests against the Pope. Great improvement huh?!”

'Black Looks' - black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/09/global_day_for_darfur_.html) points to an article in African Action looking at some of the similarities between the response of the USA to Rwanda and their response to Darfur. In the case of Rwanda the focus was on Yugoslavia and in the case of Darfur…

“In Darfur at present, the U.S. is focused more urgently on the crisis in the Middle East, on the war in Iraq and on the so-called “War on Terrorism”, which are estimated to be more pressing policy priorities than genocide in Africa.”

'Passion of the Present' passion of the present (http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent/2006/09/global_day_for__1…)has a roundup of the events across the globe to mark the Global day of Action for Darfur.

*Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org

*Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Last year, the UK’s ‘Sunday Herald Online’ reported that “… thousands of strong, young men at the razor-wire frontiers of these half-forgotten Spanish possessions launched their most spectacular raid yet upon fortress Europe...” Sokari Ekine explains that what drives most Africans to abandon their countries of origin is poverty and civil strife. She argues that the response of most Western European countries to the problem is influenced by cultural prejudice against those from the so-called “Third World”.

It is reported that 20,000 men, women and children have reached the shores of Spain since the beginning of the year, with over 1300 arriving two weekends ago. In eight months the numbers are three times bigger compared to last year. Those that make it to the shore, often swimming the last 100 meters, arrive half dead scattered on beaches amongst the sunbathing tourists.

In an article entitled " The Canaries, The Threatened Paradise," Spanish daily El Pais wrote: “What years ago a was slow and distant dripping of pateras (wooden boats), disembarking ten, twelve Moroccans, Senegalese, Guineanos or Gambians on beaches of Fuerteventura, has become an almost daily arrival of boats with 80, 90, the 100 or most sub-Saharans.” Arguments are breaking out between the various provincial and city governments over the numbers of migrants each is willing to accept from the two landing points, the Canaries and Andalusia. So far the number of people who have been deported to their countries of origin is about 1800.

There are layers of realities around immigration in Spain and Europe. The country has benefited from cheap Moroccan and West Africa labour on construction sites and in their agricultural sector, which has resulted in a 2.6% growth in the economy over the past 10 years. It is projected that without immigrant labour it would have fallen by 0.6% annually. Similar growth figures apply for the whole of Europe.

As long as Spain continues to reap benefits from cheap labour, the Spanish government’s rhetoric that it will not tolerate the continued arrival of migrants cannot be taken very seriously. The difference between today and a year ago can be explained in terms of numbers.

Another reality for the Spanish is that they are just waking up to the fact that Spain is the geographical space where Europe “almost kisses Africa” (Caryl Phillips, The European Tribe), or is it the other way around? The contrast between Spain and Africa is remarkable. The poverty existence of those who inhabit the latter and the wealthy existence of the Spanish is what prompts many to cross the Mediterranean in rickety launches. For some of these people, it is as if Spain is a promised land.

Some leave their own countries because of wars and endless conflicts. And it must be pointed out that for every migrant, illegal or legal, there are whole families - and in some cases communities - that survive on the reparations of those who make the crossing.

Spain and the EU are presently initiating a number of projects and policies in an attempt to slow down, and eventually stop, the migration of Africans to their shores. However, the polices being proposed are like using a rag to stop a dripping tap - cheap, temporary with no substance. This begs the question: are these policies aimed at reducing the numbers or spreading out the arrivals rather than stopping immigration altogether?

A Spanish NGO is opening a school in Senegal for 800 students. The aim is to educate both women (who make up 50% of the school population) and men. The ultimate goal of the school is to impart skills to theses young people so that they find employment in their countries of origin, rather than be compelled to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

There are millions of young people presently trying to migrate to the North - this new policy would have to be replicated hundreds of times in countries throughout West, North and East Africa as well as South East Asia, the Middle East and beyond. The school is a positive step but the reality is that it is a bag of flour amongst a million hungry people.

In July, in a further sign of desperation, the Spanish government signed an unprecedented agreement with Senegal to allow the Guardia Civil to patrol Senegalese waters to prevent migrants from leaving their homeland. The EU is planning and funding a series of transit camps across the continent and North Africa (from Ukraine to Libya) as part of a holistic “system of control” along with the Schengen agreement, the closing of the two Spanish enclaves in Morocco, Ceuta and Melilla, that will effectively “barbed wire” Europe.

The contradiction is that many European countries such as Britain and Spain are in desperate need of increased migration due to falling birthrates and emigration of their own indigenous citizens. There are some 4 million Spanish people working abroad and only 2 million foreigners in Spain. The way around the need for migrant labour - professional, skilled and unskilled - is to present “legal” immigration in terms of economics and meeting temporary needs, whilst using asylum seekers and refugees as a way of rejecting “illegal” migration on ethnic and nationalistic grounds.

There is no doubt that Spanish and European immigration policies have a strong racial element. Are these new policies directed towards stopping African migrants, a response to the availability of cheap labour from Romania and Bulgaria? It is important to note that these two countries are soon going to be joining EU.

I do not think Spain has reached saturation point in its need for cheap labour but now African people are having to compete for jobs with Eastern European people who are also arriving in large numbers.

Obviously the lure of hard cash made in Spain drives the migrants to risk their lives (often repeatedly) to reach Europe. One of the worst tragedies started last Christmas, when about 53 Senegalese, most from the village of Casamance, left by boat from Cabo Verde to the Canaries. The boat was relatively large but had no cover or shade. There appears to have been some chaos around the departure of the boat as apparently the Spaniard in charge jumped ship at the last minute. It is reported that five of the Senegalese also left the boat and another got scared after the boat set off and jumped out and swam back to shore.

The boat is thought to have passed Mauritania but when it reached Nuadibu (Nuadhibou, Mauritania) there was a storm and the passengers lost control of the boat. They then started to call friends and family. One of the people they called was a Spanish pirate. A few hours later they were rescued by another boat which towed them to the middle of the ocean and then abandoned them. They only had 40 litres of fuel, which ran out, and, as if this was not enough, they had to cope with the storms and high seas of the Atlantic.

It is reported that there were a series of storms, with one approximately every ten days, and high winds pushed the boat towards Barbados over a four-month period. The people died of hunger and thirst with bodies being thrown overboard one by one as they died.

There are many West Africans who have been able to create a successful life in Spain and elsewhere in Europe but also many who remain impoverished and vulnerable. Interestingly, I was fortunate enough to have a chat recently with a person who arrived by boat two months ago from Mauritania and had been sent to Granada from the Canaries by the government. He had it all worked out that he would be working on a building site and would have his papers in two years. Needless to say, there is very little chance for this person to get papers in two years. Most probably, he will be exploited and got rid of when he no longer serves his purpose.

In Granada, there is a noticeable increase in the numbers of mostly Senegalese men on the streets compared to a year ago. I mentioned this to my Senegalese hair braider who has resided in Granada for the past five years. She replied, “There are too many coming today. Before we were not many. Now there are too many and there is nothing for them to do, the only source of income open to them is to sell CDs. That is not a life.”

In terms of legal rights and status, migrants can be divided into three groups: the educated elite and experts, who are subject to very few restrictions and social disadvantages; the mass of migrants who usually seek seasonal work, whose rights are severely restricted and whose situation is characterised by poor working conditions, high unemployment, and poor living conditions; and “illegal aliens” who are needed on the labour market, but are politically excluded and have no rights whatsoever.

The irony is that only 30 years ago thousands of seasonal Spanish migrants, especially from Andalusia, spent their summers working in northern Europe, Germany and France mainly picking fruit, but also working on building sites and as casual labourers, just like the Moroccans and West Africans are doing in Spain today. In those days the borders were open and skin colour was not an issue. It is interesting how far international relations have deteriorated, but most importantly, it is remarkable how the state of affairs seems to be influenced by cultural prejudice against those from the so-called “Third World”.

*Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks,

*Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

'African Bullets & Honey' - (http://bulletsandhoney.blogspot.com/2006/09/is-digital-indaba-internet-…) takes issue with the Digital Indaba on Blogging taking place in Johannesburg this week. He sees the conference as a way of “codifying” the African blogosphere which will end up excluding those who cannot or do not wish to participate rather than produce an inclusive blogging environment. A kind of colonisation process is taking place by those that seek to codify and appropriate the knowledge and ideas which are individual to each and every blogger. In short, the very aspect of blogging that makes it unique and differentiates it from the mainstream media, is being challenged.

“What really pulls my goat among all the ills of this 'inclusive' event is the corralling of bloggers – most of whom are just doing their own thing – into the donor universe. Consider once again the language of the Indaba which views blogging, at least in one aspect, thus:

“Blogging, because of its far reach and networking qualities, is an essential tool in ensuring that the UN Millennium Development Goals are achieved in Africa and NEPAD remains a united and benevolent alliance on the continent.”

But it is not just the “codifying of the African blogosphere” that annoys Bullets and Honey. It is the idea that African bloggers are being manipulated by a group of white “managers” or blogosphere elites who want to show that we African bloggers are not simply “passive observers in the global village”, but also that there is the possibility of a “market” or commercial opportunity not to be missed – a kind of new Blogging “scramble for Africa”. This ties in well with other ongoing campaigns such as “keep a child alive” fronted by Gwyneth Paltrow posing as an African in the “We are all Africans” poster .

“That we should now blog to show the world (read the West and white folks) that we are somehow worthy of their respectful consideration. What nonsense. Perhaps the way to 'show the world' is to have a conference of black people in the audience listening to panels basically made up of white people. You know? To hope that the authority of whiteness rubs off on the poor little African blogosphere. I wish I will be proven wrong about such panels but the defensiveness of the white Mandelas tells the tale. Ultimately though, whoever the panellists are, and despite the 'rush for white,' the logic of this benignly conducted colonisation of Africa's blog universe will have plenty of rainbow colored African volunteers.”

Kenyan Blog, 'You Missed This' You Missed This (http://kumekucha.blogspot.com/2006/09/sumbeiywo-biography-good-soldier…) comments on the biography of General Lazarus Sumbeiywo which he says has many inconsistencies that contradict earlier reports. He also considers that much of the material in the book is a threat to national security.

“The account of the coup and the President’s confidence does not tally with other eyewitness reports including this blogger’s (see my other post on this). At a time when the nation is trying to fill in the blanks on some very important and crucial events in her history, accuracy is very important and this is not really the time to do Andrew-Morton-like biographies designed to clean up images of past administrations. (Andrew Morton was Princess Diana’s biographer who also wrote an infamous biography on former president Moi that claimed foreign minister Ouko’s assassination was masterminded by fellow-Luo and powerful PS in the office of the president Hezekiah Oyugi for reasons to do with Luo politics.)”

'Grandiose Parlour' - Grandiose Parlor (http://grandioseparlor.blogspot.com/2006/09/dont-talk-about-my-nigeria…)
Reports on an article by Chizoma Sandra Nwachukwu who disparages Nigerians abroad for criticising the government and Nigerian society.

My fellow Nigerians, stop speaking from a point of ignorance. Purpose to change the status quo. You don't need military might. Just build ties with your people. Stop writing and criticizing the government. Even though it is not living up to its responsibilities, it is better than you are because it is doing something..."

Nwachukwu assumes that all Nigerians abroad are ignorant of what is happening in their country. This is false – we all read the newspapers, talk to friends and relatives and in some cases carry out business activities. To say that the government should not be criticised because, unlike us in the Diaspora it is doing something, makes no sense. Anyone and everyone is entitled to make whatever criticisms they choose of the Nigerian government and any other government.

Nigerian technology blogger, 'Oro' -

“There is, however, a different class of young people in Nigeria. They are passionate, focused, daring… but not empowered. The world they live in is a different one and it has been referred to by those who should know as a global village – in fact, Thomas Friedman dared to call it a flat world.

In this world, location should not matter. In this world, the Internet, new technologies and other forces of globalization should enable a young Nigerian (like his Indian or Ghanaian counterparts) earn more – and live better – without the need to apply for a visa. Unless, of course, he decides to travel for a well-deserved vacation or necessary appointment. Why is it a should-be story? I would argue that the reasons are not far-fetched: young Nigerians see the new opportunities on cable networks and on the Internet; we hear of them when we connect with our friends through Skype; we dream of them after reading past editions of The Economist or Time’s features on Innovation. But one single factor that can help us take the next leap is missing. Internet access in Nigeria is plug and pray, not plug and play – and that is even if you can afford it”

'Egyptian Chronicles' - Egyptian Chronicles (http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2006/09/end-of-blockade-and-star…) comments on what she describes as the new occupation of Lebanon – this time it is UNIFAL – the UN army in Lebanon.

“The Unifal will guard the Lebanese shores and airports, and also the northern borders between Syria and Lebanon too.

The Unifal will search any luggage in the harbors and airports with weight more than 20 kg as Katyusha missiles are weighted 67 kg!

The French army is back again to Lebanon after 51 years of independence with thousands of soldiers ,same as the Turkish which will return back to Lebanon after 88 years of independence from the Turkish Ottoman rule ,ironically I saw a report on CNN last week about the Lebanese Armani minority objection on the Turkish contribution in the Unifal troops , as some of you may know the Turkish Ottoman armies did massacres against the Armani people in Armani in WWI in year 1915 and till now the Armani people didn't forget it even those who live outside Armenian , anyway their objection got no importance because the Turks are coming back to Lebanon whether they like it or not.”

Israel has successfully deployed the UN as a proxy army to defend its own interests in Lebanon. So far despite offers from Indonesia and Bangladesh, no Muslim countries have been permitted to join the UN forces. Israel continues to make new demands, the latest of which is the deployment of armed UN troops along the entire Syria, Lebanon border. Egyptian Chronicle rightly concludes

“You know this reminds me with the time of colonialism, in the 1936 agreement between Egypt and UK , the British army would guard the Egyptian borders too in time of war….Well the age of colonialism is back again after all.”

'Gambian blogger', - Home of the Mandinmories (http://gambian.blogspot.com/index.html) comments on the 5th anniversary of 9/11: Much of the African blogosphere has been silent on 9/11, other than a few posts remembering those who were killed on that day 5 years ago. Mandinmories is the only one that takes a critical position on the direction of George Bush’s war on terror.

“With the September 11 anniversary around the corner, King George and his minions will be beating the war drums again. They will try to convince the citizens of this nation that Iran is coming to get us. Iran is the new bogey man. Remember the big bad wolf of Mesopotamia (Saddam)? He supposedly has weapons to annihilate civilization or that was the rational Georgie and his handlers told us what will happen if they don't get him first. We all know how well that thingy turned out. Yeah Saddam is in jail but Iraq is teetering on the brink of disintegration. What a noble venture it has turnout to be. In the last week or two they have started their disinformation campaign again. First defense secretary Rumsfeld compared anti war Americans to Nazi sympathizers in a speech to the American legion. He later claimed to be quoted out of context after a barrage of counter offensive from the other side led by MSNBC's Keith Oberman.”

'Black Looks' - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/09/a_pact_against_freedom.html) has two posts in which she comments on the recent outings of gay men initially and then of lesbians last week by the Red Pepper magazine in Uganda. In the second outing, the news magazine calls on readers to phone in the names of neighbours so they (Red Pepper) can shame them by publicizing their names.

“The horrific events taking place in Uganda should be a wakeup call for everyone. People may think that they are safe from harassment and arrest because they are heterosexual. Not so, a witch hunt affects everyone irrespective of their sexuality. Your neighbour takes a disliking to you and before you know it you are being accused of being gay or a lesbian. People may think this is not their problem because they are not Ugandans. Think again, it happened in Cameroon, it’s happening in Ghana right now and with the new laws in Nigeria it may soon happen there. The fundamental human rights of African citizens are slowly being eroded in Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Cameroon as religious extremists and repressive governments join in a pact against freedoms.”

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Zimbabwean blog ‘Enough is Enough’- (http://enoughzimbabwe.org/tsvangirai-suprise-march-surprisingly-late)comments on opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai’s march from the MDC party headquarters to parliament last Friday. He wonders if the march, which was reported as being a “surprise”, was really that much of a surprise to the Zimbabwean authorities.

“What surprises me is that the police don’t perceive MDC to be a viable threat so they’ve essentially stopped monitoring the party and have started looking elsewhere for threats to the state. This despite Tsvangirai’s insistent protestations that this winter was going to be a ‘winter of discontent.’ With Zimbabwe’s winter gone and no protests led by the MDC, it’s surprising that the police or other government authorities weren’t expecting the march.”

'Ethiopundit' - Ethiopundit (http://ethiopundit.blogspot.com/2006/09/intellectuals-and-their-discont…) writes on the appropriation of intellectuals by the Meles Zenawi government to justify his continued rule in Ethiopia.

“As we discussed in Short Term Memory, Cheerleaders and Sachs & Violence, there is a long tradition of intellectuals 'adopting' African tyrants stretching back to those 'romantic' revolutionaries Nkrumah and Nyerere and their destruction of the Ghanaian and Tanzanian economies and societies. All that is needed from a tyrant is to speak the right progressive language while flattering their ferenji intellectual sponsors - even as boots stomp the faces of and impoverish the 'people' everyone pretends to be so concerned about.”

Ethiopundit makes an excellent point here that could be applied to other African leaders such as Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo whose appalling human rights record and negative strategy of “hit fire with fire” in the Niger Delta is ignored by the West. Obasanjo fits well into the above analysis. Ethiopundit goes on to say:

“The folks at Columbia fit squarely in that tradition of excusing oppressive governments with some variety of the old 'making the trains run on time' justifications for evils past. Take this sentence from the Initiative statement quoted in full above that describes a non-existent "remarkable degree of macroeconomic stability and good growth on average" in Ethiopia.”

Intellectualism in this case is a tool to justify the lack of political will by the West to take Zenawi’s dictatorship to task.

Kenya blog, 'Pandemonium Today' - Pandemonium (http://pandemoniumtoday.blogspot.com/2006/09/call-to-arms_1157302308398…) comments on the tendency to view Africa solely in terms of “corruption, greed, inefficiency, neglect, and political irresponsibility.” He believes that we as citizens also have to take responsibility and are at least partially to blame for the failures of our countries. He writes:

“I observe many people who will quickly denounce their country yet hang on to identification with it. Their nationality or place of origin will come second to their name when asked who they are yet, in the same breath they will let out a condemning supercilious cry, 'Africans!' What is pathetic is for us to think we stand above it all when this position itself mirrors the same denial and irresponsibility that several of our less-than-acceptable leaders exercise.”

South African blog, 'YBlog ZA' - YBlog ZA (http://128.241.192.81/blog.html) comments on what he considers to be the ridiculous conclusion of a recent opinion poll in South Africa claiming that South African Blacks are the biggest racists in the country.

“Yeah, well, there you have it. I knew there was something about them I didn't like. They're a bunch of bloody racists. Plus 94 Research tells me so and the Sunday Times, our largest-circulation paper, spells it out. The poll results headlined this past Sunday's edition, which was avidly snapped up by countless millions who've always suspected our black brothers and sisters of having it in for us... Not only are they racist, they're twice as fucking racist as we are. But this doesn't bother me. I am, after all, a blogger, a professional, and a hard man to boot. I have nothing to fear but blacks with white teeth and big guns. Given this, I decided to tackle the racists head on, and so beat a path to their favoured hangout, Muggers Alley, on Cape Town station's upper deck.”

An excellent piece that goes to the heart of how racism is constructed not only in South Africa but throughout the world.

'The Voice of Somaliland' - Voice of Somaliland (http://waridaad.blogspot.com/index.html) discusses why “Black Africa should resists Arab domination of the African Union.” He looks back historically at Arab racism towards Africans until the 2001 statement by Gaddafi to the Arab League calling on Arabs outside Africa to join the African Union. He describes the statement as “nothing but a declaration of race war on Africa. It is an invitation to more Arabs to invade and colonize Africa. Indeed, it is a call for the final phase of the 15 centuries old Arab lebensraum war on Afrikans - a war to Islamise and conquer all of Africa, from Cairo to the Cape and from Senegal to Somalia, and to then enslave or Arabise all the conquered Afrikans. In order to make that clear, it is necessary to first put his invitation in the context of the traditions of Arab melanophobia and negrophobia, and of Arab expansionist ambitions and conquests that go back to the time of prophet, Mohammed.”

One way of countering any notions of “conquest” by Arabs over Africa would be for Africa to reclaim the whole continent including North Africa or Arab speaking Africa as it’s own and end the divisive geographical markings that separate the continent into Sub Saharan Africa and North Africa.

'Sudan Reeves' -

As Khartoum continues to vehemently refuse the deployment of UN troops even under a Security Council resolution, Reeves suggests that there is one alternative supported by Darfuris, both in the camps and in the Diaspora.

"...Non-consensual deployment of a robust international force, one fully adequate to protect endangered civilians and humanitarians, and to produce a military stand-down by the combatants."

He believes that the authority to take this route already exists in Chapter 7 of the UN Charter but that this takes courage and the political will that is lacking in the UN and international community.

"...Decides that the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) is authorized to use all necessary means, in the areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities :to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, to ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers, assessment and evaluation commission personnel, to prevent disruption of the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement by armed groups, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Government of the Sudan, to protect civilians under the threat of physical violence, in order to support early and effective implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement, to prevent attacks and threats against civilians, to seize or collect, as appropriate, arms or related material whose presence in Darfur is a violation of the Agreements..."

'Black Looks' – Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/09/paradise_found.html)

‘Black Looks’ comments on the rising numbers of migrants from Africa landing in Spain, and the response of the Spanish government. Only last weekend, some 1,900 men and women landed in the Canaries. On Tuesday, the Spanish government issued a statement that it was no longer going to tolerate the continued arrival of immigrants from Africa and that their respective countries must begin to take responsibility and act to prevent people leaving in the first place. Two weeks ago the Senegalese government in an unprecedented move, signed an agreement with Spain which will allow the Spanish Guardia Civil to patrol Senegalese waters to prevent people from leaving in boats. However, ‘Black Looks’ points out that migrant labour from Africa has been beneficial to Spain and Europe as a whole and questions the rhetoric of the Spanish government in their calls for the end of illegal immigration.

“There are layers of realities around immigration in Spain and Europe as a whole. The country has benefited from the cheap Moroccan and West Africa labour on construction sights and in their agricultural sector which has resulted in a 2.6% growth in the economy over the past 10 years. Without immigrant labour it would have fallen by 0.6% annually. Similar growth figures apply for the whole of Europe. The Spanish government’s rhetoric that it will not tolerate the continued arrival of migrants cannot be taken very seriously as long as Spain continues to need cheap labour to produce cheap food. The difference between today and a year ago is the sheer numbers that are arriving such as the 1,900 since Friday.”

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Mshairi (http://www.mshairi.com/blog/2006/08/29/we-are-all-african/)comments on Hollywood’s latest fad: the appropriation of Africa and Africans by big names such as Angelina Jolie, Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow (who appears in a photo with the words “I am African” written across the picture for the ‘Keep a Child Alive’ AIDS project). Mshairi questions the motives behind both the project and the likes of Paltrow and others.

In the case of the ‘Keep a Child Alive’ project, the big names claim that each one of us can claim a genetic link to Africa. “The reason why Ms. Paltrow has the lines on her cheek and the words - I AM AFRICAN on the image – according to the ‘Keep a Child Alive’ website, is because ‘each and every one of us contains DNA that can be traced back to our African ancestors’. This sounds great and is obviously meant to be a trigger to get people to donate funds for AIDS orphans, as we are all one big happy family. Read their website though, and you can detect an uncomfortable and clear separation between ‘them’ and ‘us’ in their literature."

For the moment they have chosen to appropriate Africa and identify as Africans. This is insulting and arrogant as they use Africa to promote their careers and accumulate even more privilege and wealth under the guise of raising funds for AIDS or whatever charity of the moment they choose to support. How about they put their money where their mouths are and really do something concrete and lasting with the millions of surplus dollars in their bank accounts? And do this with humility and respect.

The Moor Next Door The Moor Next Door (http://wahdah.blogspot.com/2006/08/right-to-be-almost-naked.html)comments on the opposition to Muslim women participating in beauty pageants because “it brings a slur against Islam”.

“What's the fact that Muslim women wear swimsuits in their countries got to do with it? The clerics would tell you those women were shouting 'slurs' at Islam too. That's not an argument against them, mind your own business is. There's nothing Islamic (or Christian, or Abrahamic generally, for that matter) about swimsuits or bikinis. They're debauchery to most everyone (almost everyone), not just Muslims; that's why people like them, because they're not supposed to. That's what makes them 'hot'. It's an animal urge. It's not about being Muslim it's about being human.”

He personally does not approve of beauty pageants, not on religious grounds but because they are essentially a non-event.

“They contribute nothing of value to society except the image of women as objects. I am of the backward and fundamentalist school of thought that people ought to get real jobs (you know, work), go to school, and work within society to some beneficial end, instead of prancing around in their underpants or less. (I know some people think, Well some of the girls use the pageant as a way to advance their humanitarian or charitable agendas, but if their ideas were so great, why would they need to get naked for it? When was the last time a porn star or beauty queen achieved her goals of world peace or limiting some blight on society?)”

Beauty pageants not only objectify women’s bodies but they also indulge the fantasies of men. They are completely meaningless exhibitions that promote specific measures of beauty that are unrealistic, racist and highly offensive.

Jeffrey Sachs is once again the subject of African Bullets and Honey. - African Bullets and Honey (http://bulletsandhoney.blogspot.com/2006/08/less-kids-in-africa-equals-…) This time, it is an environmental campaign to help poor Africans and people from the Middle East “whose numbers are rising too fast”.

“Allowing that people in the rich countries live on about $30,000 per year, well above the global average of $10,000, which itself is substantially more than most Africans consume and earn, his suggestion is that giving birth to less poor people is the best course of action in the future. Sachs is worried not about the suffering of the unborn poor should they live like their parents in scarcity and ill health but rather that they may actually manage to fulfil their economic aspirations. At present growth rates by 2050, according to UN forecasts (not usually worth the paper they are printed on by the way), world population will be 9 billion with 2.5 billion of this number born in the poor countries. If this 'surplus' somehow finds a way to earn and consume today's $10,000 average, it would by Sachs calculations cause untold environmental stresses especially due to the fact that cruel fate has chosen to locate 'biodiversity hotspots' among the unwashed masses.”

Possibly he is concerned that the minority world’s resources will be compromised by the growth in the majority world who already consume less than one-third of what the minority world consumes! He should be out there campaigning in the West against its over consumption and the mounds of waste it produces every year instead of producing patronising lectures towards Africa on population growth.

The Concoction - The Concoction (http://theconcoction.blogspot.com/2006/08/get-food-but-you-may-be-raped…) reports on the failure of the Sudan peace agreement to bring about any change in the Darfur region. Writing specifically on the rape of women, she comments that whilst laws exist on the conduct of wars, sufficient attention has not been given to rape.

“Reports of militias raping civilian women is one constant disaster that comes out of the Darfur civil war. Fetching fire wood or water often ends up in the women being raped. Just imagine running to the grocery store to get a gallon of milk and there is a very high possibility of you being raped. Just imagine.”

Chippla’s Weblog - Chippla's Weblog posts on the expulsion of oil companies from Chad for failing to pay their taxes. This is a particularly interesting story on two counts. First, a leader of an oil producing country has called the multinationals operating within its borders to account for their actions. Second, the response of the international media to the expulsion is that it is a negative move, with Reuters describing President Idriss Deby’s decision negatively as “oil resource nationalism”. Well of course it is, as ultimately it will benefit Chad more than the multinationals.

Chippla writes:

“President Idriss Deby may be an abuser of his country's constitution and the ruler of the most corrupt country in the world, but on this issue he seems to be thinking. The brain cells of the Chadian representatives who signed the initial oil deal need to be checked. This reminds one of the silly gas deals signed between the government of Bolivia and some American companies in the past. It is better for Chad not to be an oil exporter, than for it to export oil only for the bulk of the proceeds to find its way out of the country. A classical example of how foreign investment, meant to improve the economic situation in African nations, ends up sucking such nations dry.”

For too long these multinational companies have got away with their dirty deeds in Africa and elsewhere. For once, Idriss Deby has done something right. Imagine if all of Africa's oil producers acted as one and took a similar line instead of kowtowing to the likes of Shell, Chevron and Elf? We need oil money and oil for that matter, but not at any price.

Black Looks - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/08/beauty_is_skin_deep.html) points to a video made by a 16 year old African American girl which addresses the taboo subject of skin tone within the African/Black community. The short film interviews young women about their Blackness and hair texture and how this impacts on their self-esteem. The film-maker, Kiri Davis uses a doll experiment with young male and female children where they are asked to choose whether they like the black doll or white doll, which one is good and which is bad. In the final scene of this section, a child is asked which one resembles her. She is hesitant as she has just chosen the white doll as “good” and then realizes that it is the black doll that is in her image, and she reluctantly pushes it forward as her choice. A very powerful and disturbing film but made even more brilliant in that it is made by a 16 year old.

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

White African - (http://whiteafrican.com/?p=262) is a blog largely devoted to developing communication technology ideas in Africa. In this post he is asking why there is a lack of interest from e-commerce sites on the potential of the African market:

“As the mobile telecoms and banks of East Africa try and develop platforms that allow people to tie into their particular system, they end up missing the big picture. It’s not about your particular bank or phone platform, it’s about people being able to trust and pay using an agnostic payment system. Meaning, the credit and payment system should interact with all banks and phones regardless of type.”

He poses the challenge of starting an African type PayPal scheme which was started with only $3 million and suggests the name “Afripay” – time is of the essence:

“As I mentioned to someone while in Kenya last week, it’s not as if there isn’t a banking mogul’s son who isn’t looking to try his own thing, or even an investor that would turn away a chance at millions.”

The Moor Next Door - The Moor Next Door (http://wahdah.blogspot.com/2006/08/white-boys-cant-fight-jihad-that-is…) takes up the issue of racial profiling of US Muslims suggested by US Congressman. The Moor Next Door believes this is discriminatory and that it cannot work:

“Sure, you can profile Muslims, who come in all shapes, sizes and colors; but there really is no reason to profile Americans that happen to be Middle Eastern, who are really more likely to be Christian or atheist anyway. You'd probably have more luck picking up a terrorist by choosing the white guy with a blonde beard and a funny cap than the swarthy guy with chest hair popping out of his shirt and a uni-brow.”

He gives the example of the DC sniper who was an African American Muslim convert and not an Arab and as he quite rightly points out the whole idea shows the ignorance by the Congressman who seems to confuse being Muslim with being Arab and vice versa.

Naija to the core - Naija to the core (http://aramide.blogspot.com/2006/08/proudly-nigerian-tribute-to-nigeria…) celebrates Nigerian literature by highlighting the various authors and the literature prizes they have won recently. Commenting on 18-year-old Onyeka George Nwelue he writes:

“Onyeka George Nwelue began to write at the age of eleven and won the THOMSON Short Story Prize in 2000 (at the age of twelve) with 'Chants of a Poet'. He was nominated as the International Library of Poetry Best Poet of 2005, and won the Outstanding Achievement in Poetry Silver Bowl and the 2004 Afro Poet of the Year. He is presently both the founder and editor of Flames magazine and BritNig Poetry Club, based in Lagos, Nigeria and Wales, UK.”

Zimbabwean Pundit - Zimbabwean Pundit (http://zimpundit.blogspot.com/2006/08/life-in-zimbabwe.html) points to an article by Nelson Katsande in “Ohmynews International” on the life of prostitutes on the streets of Harare.

“Tsitsi, 15, ran away from poverty and abuse in the Musana communal lands. She was lured into prostitution by her elder sister, who died of HIV/AIDS six months ago. Tsitsi started prostitution at the age of 14 after having been subjected to physical abuse by her father. She reported the matter to her mother, who accused her of lying. She later made a report to the police and her father was arrested. He is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for child abuse as well as cattle rustling.”

What is heart rendering is that the stories here are similar to those of young girls across the world. Children are abused and instead of finding support from within their families and communities they are accused of lying and in some cases driven out to fend for themselves when they become pregnant. In Zimbabwe like many other African countries the situation is made worse as children are often abandoned as they become HIV/AIDS orphans which then puts them at risk of contracting the same illness that killed their parents."

Chippla’s Weblog - Chippla's Weblog (http://chippla.blogspot.com/2006/08/babangida-and-presidency.html) posts on the presidential hopes of Nigeria’s ex military dictator, Ibrahim Banbaginda who he writes was one of the country’s most corrupt leaders in a country full of corrupt leaders.

“Nigeria surely does not need an expired politician as its potential leader and surely not one who misused an eight year opportunity at the helm of affairs. A Babangida presidency in 2007 would be a huge joke and nothing but that. It is up to reasonable and thinking Nigerians who have the means to prevent this from happening. The National Electoral Commission of Nigeria would be wise to ban all previous Heads of State and Presidents from contesting at the polls again—though I doubt it has the power to do so. These people ought to retire from party politics. They have practically nothing to offer to young Nigerians, who in every sense have become both the present and the future.”

The NEC may not have the power to ban previous dictators from running but the National Assembly only needs to make a constitutional amendment to ensure these people never have the opportunity to lead Nigeria ever again.

On the occasion of the 16th International AIDS conference, Black Looks - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/08/blogging_against_aids.html) blogs against AIDS by posting an interview with Masias Cowper:

“...who’s been HIV positive for 13 years discusses her status and the problems of disclosure that continue to exist and the forming of new relationships. She talks about disclosing her status to her family which she describes as 'the worst thing ever'. It took her 6 months and when she did disclose to her partner the reaction was violent and negative even though it was he who was the source of the infection. Slowly she began to come out to her family and her workplace despite being fired from her job. '...five years after my diagnosis was five years of recovery' - recovering her rights as a woman, to love, to be reproductive, to be respected, to be in a relationship, have a job, participate in her community."

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

As we near the first democratic elections in nearly 40 years in the DRC, yet another self-serving conflict is brewing in Africa. This time it is between Somalia and Ethiopia.

Ethiopundit - Ethiopundit (http://ethiopundit.blogspot.com/2006/08/taken-for-ride.html) believes the present near conflict between the two countries serves the interests of both Meles Zenawi and the Somali religious warlords.

“Both have now acquired the 'worthy' opponents of their dreams (and everyone else's nightmares) to justify and excuse all of their myriad crimes - past, present and future - while they fortify and refortify their respective revolutions…No one else benefits except for the web of aggressive international mayhem that is attempting to hijack Islam (arms dealers and Swiss bankers too). Ethiopians and the donor patrons of Meles Inc. are, in turn, unwillingly and quite willingly being forced to go along for a ride that will end badly…”

Have US interests a part to play in this proposed conflict – Zenawi being backed by the US in yet another proxy war on their behalf against the Islamic forces they could not defeat via the old Somali warlords?

Nazret.com - Nazret.com (http://nazret.com/blog/index.php?title=20000_ethiopians_in_lebanon&more…) points to an article that reports on some 2000 Ethiopians and other stranded migrant workers in Lebanon. Many governments of these nationals are unable to evacuate their citizens and are calling on the International Organisation on Migration to assist them. For example, Ghana has said it has at least 500 citizens in Beirut and more in Tripoli. Nigerians are also amongst the dead and displaced. Many other African nationals are in Lebanon, displaced and without the means to survive.

Egyptian bloggers, Manal and Alaa’s Bucket - Manal and Alaa's Bucket (http://www.manalaa.net/me-5th-columnist) address a short message to the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, criticising them for their “lack of adventure”:

“We argue that sometimes staying safe is not an option, and that you have to sacrifice and pay the price of your adventure [rather] than pay the price of sitting idly and waiting…look at the state we live in, look at how hopeless we Egyptians have become; look at how the government cracks down on citizens even if they don't get involved in politics at all; look at how optimistic and proud HizbAllah's adventure made us. Yet you Muslim Brotherhood remain conservative in your actions and [are] moving slowly. Even the younger generations of the Muslim Brothers are cautious! Isn't it part of being young to be daring and a bit reckless? Don't you all burn inside with the need to act, the need to do something? The urge to engage in an ‘adventure’?”

Passion of the Present - Passion of the Present (http://platform.blogs.com/passionofthepresent/2006/07/jan_pronk_on_th.h…) posts a piece by Jan Pronk on the lack of progress since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement.

“Ten weeks after the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement the situation is still quite bleak… Violations of the agreement continue. Intra SLA fighting has not stopped. Two new movements have emerged. One is called the G19, a group which originally consisted of nineteen people, who were present in Abuja as members or advisors of the SLA delegation, but who increasingly disagreed with the leadership…A second new group is the New Redemption Front (NRF). They seem to have their base in the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), which had participated in the Abuja talks…”

Pronk explains the actions of the two groups and other factions over the past few weeks. He believes that peace cannot take place under the present conditions as most people do not have trust in those that signed the DPA. Added to that is the failure by Khartoum to disarm the Janjaweed who continue to carry out atrocities.

Nigerian blogger, Story of My Life Story of My Life (http://nijaoffspring.blogspot.com/2006/07/why-i-resent-white-people-pt-…) writes a piece on white people’s response to racism. She goes on to discuss slavery and the effect of the European invasion on Africa and the benefits to European countries of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

“The first act against Africa by Whites was a unilateral act of war, announced or unannounced. There were no African Kings or Queens in any of the European countries or in the US when ships set sail for Africa to capture slaves for profit. White people had already decided to raid for slaves. They didn't need the agreement of black people on that. Hence, the concept of ‘trade’ is a fallacy. The African so-called slave ‘trade’ was a demand-driven market out of Europe and America, not a supply-driven market out of Africa. Africans did not seek to sell captives to the white people as an original act.”

“As Britain developed into the world's first post-industrial nation, financial services became an increasingly important sector of its economy. Invisible financial exports, as mentioned, kept Britain out of the red, especially capital investments outside Europe, particularly to the developing and open markets in Africa and predominantly white settler colonies. In addition, surplus capital was often more profitably invested overseas, where cheap labour, limited competition, and abundant raw materials made a greater premium possible.”

The Cameroonian blogosphere is coming alive with yet another new blog – Martin Jumbam is a journalist and translator Martin Jumbam (http://www.martinjumbam.com/2006/07/interview_with_.html). He has a series of interviews with Professor Abioseh Michael Porter. In the first interview they discuss the use of pidgin or krio in literary expression. Porter says the response to writing in pidgin differs depending on who you talk to. The masses are very receptive and appreciative whilst the educated elite of Cameroon, Nigeria and Sierra Leone despise it’s use. In Cameroon there exists a hierarchy of language:

“At the top of the ladder, you have French, which by sheer number of speakers outranks the others, and then there is English, with Pidgin coming a distant third. There was the mistaken assumption that Pidgin would corrupt the speaker’s correct use of English. Linguistically that is, of course, not true because if you study Pidgin, or any other language, in and of itself and use it the way it is meant to be used, it would be difficult to confuse one with the other. Take the Romance languages of Europe, for example. They are morphologically quite similar but people don’t mix them up simply for that reason. What we have here is simply a kind of superiority complex, if you can excuse that term, European languages have in relation to Pidgin or Krio.”

A number of Nigeria writers have chosen to write in pidgin. Amos Tutola is probably the most famous and Ken Saro Wiwa’s “Sozaboy: A story in rotten English” is one of his best. However on the whole the use of pidgin has been marginalized even though it is used by all strata of society in day-to-day speech.

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks,

* Please send comments to [email protected]

This week the BAWo (Blogs for African Women) project came to an end. The project begun as an idea in January this year with the aim of introducing young African women to blogging. 15 girls aged between 11 and 13 were selected together with 23 mentors. Each week two mentors would introduce a topic and the girls would blog on that topic. The actual blogging began in early May with some initial unanticipated difficulties.

1. The school’s Internet access is dial-up and the phone used to connect to the Internet is stored in the principal’s office for safe-keeping. Logging-on therefore means having to first go and get the phone from his office, then plug it in and dial-up. Having to do all this usually deterred the girls from blogging outside of the Computer Club time. In addition, it turned out that only one computer (in a lab of about eleven computers) could connect to the Internet.

2. One Computer Club period a week was usually not enough for all the girls to blog. Since this period also fell at the end of the week, blogging only at this time would not give much time for interaction between the mentors and the mentees.

3. The girls needed close supervision and direction by the computer teacher or from me. Since the computer teacher was often busy with his own work, this would usually fall on me and I was limited by the amount of time that I could go to the school.

4. Junior Secondary School exams started soon after the project began. Four of the mentees were taking this exam and so could not participate in the project.

Nonetheless solutions were found by increasing the Computer Club time to twice a week and the connections sorted out prior to the beginning of the Club time. Because of the lack of computers the girls began to write up their posts and then take turns to transfer them to the blog. The mentors were an essential aspect of the project coming up with appropriate topics and blogging even when the girls were unable to respond or participate due to technical problems.

In her interim report, one of the organisers, Ore Somolu wrote:

“So far, the BAWo project for me has been an interesting study of how lack of Internet access can be surmounted with sufficient motivation. However, these problems still mean that the mentees are not as engaged with the process as they could be otherwise. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how the project progresses and how many of the objectives are achieved in the short or long run.”

As the project has now come to an end it is clear that the issue of lack of infrastructure in many African cities (power cuts, poor telecommunications and dial up internet) is a major obstacle to maintaining an online presence. In addition, although there are a large number of cyber cafes in Lagos, Nigeria, they are not easily accessible to younger girls and boys plus the cost are also prohibitive.

Overall, the first BAWo project has been a tremendous success. We have learned that young girls are enthusiastic about blogging, which has given them a space to write their thoughts and opinions on a range of topics. We have also learned that in future, local infrastructures will have to be considered more carefully and ways around related problems found. On behalf of the project organisers, Ore Somolu and myself, I would like to thank the teachers and pupils of Laureates College, Lagos; the mentors for their contribution and enthusiasm; and the team at Fahamu for their support of the project not only in providing a hosting site and domain but for believing in the value of such a project as BAWo.

It is hoped that another project will run from January 2006 if a venue can be found either in Nigeria or any other African country.

Details of the project can be found at the Wiki site - Wiki Site (http://africablogmentor.wikispaces.com/CONTENTS). BAWo Blog - BAWo (http://www.pambazuka.org/blogs/bawo)

The BAWo Project was supported by Fahamu.

African in America - African in America (http://youngandreal.blogspot.com/2006/07/my-take-on-race.html) writes about being made to feel guilty by Africans and African Americans because he “does not hate white people”.

“I mean seriously! I resent being made to feel guilty for embracing those White people that are not in denial, or are trying to get out of their denial. I am tired of having to defend some of my White friends, from a blanket rejection by my family members, and black friends, because of the color of their skin. There are enough bigoted and racist White people, governments, and institutions in this World, for us to oppose, and try to bring down. There are lots of pretty ignorant White people that need educating. There are lots of White people out there that deserve our resentment. But we do not live in a vacuum. We cannot take the attitude that EVERY SINGLE WHITE PERSON is out to get us. Not only is it untrue, but it is very counter-productive. It diverts our efforts and our focus, and simply leaves us weaker in our fight, IMHO.”

I think the word “hate” is the problem. No thinking rational person engages in collective hatred. It is more a question of mistrust based on past experiences that make most Black people wary of whites, particularly white liberals that claim not to be racist.

Cry Beloved Zimbabwe - Cry Beloved Zimbabwe (http://crybelovedzimbabwe.blogspot.com/2006/07/one-in-three-zimbabweans…) comments on the “infiltration of Zimbabwean society by ZANU-PF secret police (the CIO). He claims that one in three Zimbabweans are actually spies.

“The infiltration has gone unnoticed especially for activists in the diaspora though many were aware that CIO operates here in UK. The attitude has always been that as we have sought refugee in a democratic country where the rule of law is upheld therefore we are immune from physical threat. The title of this article is not a wild guess, just after the March congress of Tsvangirai's MDC (Our MDC), Rev Pius Ncube was asked his opinion on the plans for peaceful demonstrations which the MDC had announced. He gave a chilling warning that the logistics of the demonstrations will be leaked to the CIO therefore pre-emptying the demonstrations…”

Aba Boy - Aba Boy (http://ababoy.blogspot.com/2006/07/remembering-jean-charles-de-menezes…) remembers Jean Charles de Menezes who was suspected by the British police of being a terrorist in the London bombings of 7/7 2005 and subsequently murdered at Stockwell police station. Aba Boy had met Jean Charles who had fixed an electrical problem in the loft of his house. His wrongful death had a personal meaning to Aba Boy and his wife. Here he writes about how they both felt on hearing that he had been wrongfully shot by the police.

“A day later, when the identity of the suspect became clearer, and when it appeared that the wrong guy had been shot, wifey called from work sobbing. The guy that had been shot was the one that came to have a look at our loft a few months ago. I ran straight to a TV near me to see if she was just jiving. The photo they had in the news bulletins didn’t really look like him. But there was some resemblance. I went back to my desk, not sure whether to share this news with the folks at work. I decided not to. I had stored his number on my phone, and I was tempted to call. As the day passed it was obvious that it was Charles.”

On Monday 17th July, it was decided that no police would be prosecuted over his killing, leaving his family bitter and angry about the death of their son. “Justice will not be served.”

Nigerian Music blog, Soul on Ice - Soul on Ice (http://obifromsouthlondon.blogspot.com/2006/07/nation-of-cynics.html) comments on the on going Israeli attack on Lebanon and the wanton destruction of the country and it’s people. He questions the disproportional response and collective punishment typical of Israel in Palestine but now extended to Lebanon.

“The Israeli government is being extremely cynical. So how does this go? Someone takes two of your people, note keyword ‘take’ not ‘kill’. And what do you do? You blow up their airport, destroy their roads, kill their civilians, blow up their government buildings, destabilize their whole nation and still categorically state you are targeting ‘terrorists’? Hmmm, remind me to detonate a nuclear bomb in your backyard next time we have a fight. Indiscriminate warfare. And at the same moment in time lay the same kind of siege in the Gaza strip area. This is the one reason I can understand the Palestinian suicide bombing. You can show your American-backed might all you want but they will strike back with anything they have even their very lives. There can never be peace in a stolen land.”

Egyptian Chronicles - Egyptian Chronicles (http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2006/07/lebanese-spear-head.html) also comments on the Israel invasion.

“Today it will be the sixth day in the on going open war Israel declared on the Lebanese people and land, already yesterday the death toll in Lebanon reached to over the hundred, the south is completely destroyed as well as the southern suburb in Beirut the capital, the financial loss of Lebanon in those few days reached to 4 billion dollars and the number is escalating. It is the 6th day and Israel seems to have more then teaching HazbAllah a lesson in its agenda, it seems to me that the Hebrew state wants to send Lebanon back to the stone age.”

The question on everyone’s mind is whether there is a wider agenda here and if so what is it? Egyptian Chronicle believes it to be Iran with Syria as a bridge between HazbAllah and Iran. I believe she is probably right in her assessment.

“I believe the Syrian role in this on going war is to be just a bridge between Iran and HazbAllah, already Lebanon is blockaded from the air , the sea and two land borders from the original three land borders, the only remaining way is Syria and regardless of the destruction of the high ways between Damascus and Beirut there are still for sure more hidden places.”

White African - White African (http://whiteafrican.com/?p=263">White African) discusses Africa’s potential “on the web and mobile space”.

“We have all seen how the phone has changed communications in Africa drastically. The Web is set to do the same, especially when married up with the mobile phone. Those who labor now to create products that start winning mindshare on the African continent will reap the rewards in the coming years.”

White African has himself acted as an innovator and catalyst of web development in Africa with the Africa Network project, the African Gadget blog and Zangu Africa’s web.

New Cameroonian blogger - Ekosso.com by Rosemary Ekosso is an excellent addition to the African Women’s blogosphere. In her most recent posts she addresses the issue of over population in Africa. She points out the reality that in fact Africa is not over populated and has an abundance in natural resources so the problem is not over population.

“I refuse to go around feeling guilty about coming from the ‘overpopulated’ developing world. I refuse to believe the guff we are fed to the effect that there are too many of us. Too many for whom? For what?”

The reality is the Western nations consume the majority of the world’s resources and it is this imbalance that needs to be addressed, not the mythical over population of Africa.

Black Looks - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/07/4_rare_slave_trade_photos_from_1868.h…) publishes some rare photographs of slaves on a ship captured by the Dutch Navy in 1868 some 100 years after the Transatlantic slave trade officially ended. The photographs are thought to be of Arab slaver traders operating in the Indian Ocean. Neither the original source of the photographs nor the background to the photographs is known.

“These photographs dated 1868 reveals a very little of the terrible suffering caused to millions of people by the slave trade. This group of severely emaciated boys and young men on the lower deck of a Royal Naval ship apparently have been taken from what was a slave vessel trading illegally off the African coast headed to the Americas. The captain of the Royal Naval ship had instructions not to return the rescued slaves to the place on the coast where they had been put on the slave ship (presumably because they were in danger of being recaptured by traders) but it is not clear from the available documentation what happened to them afterwards.”

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks,

* Please send comments to [email protected]

Mantis Thoughts From a Hot Rock – (http://pearl-island.blogspot.com/2006/07/world-united.html) writing for Reunion Island comments on the passing of the World Cup and the reportage from the local media on the French team. Amidst all the fanfare, Marine Le Pen (the daughter of French National Front leader Jean Marie Le Pen) arrived on the Island.

..”Marine Le Pen - she who be the daughter of the father, arrived amidst the blue football fever to encourage the faithful and probably have a bit of a holiday. What is odd, and strikingly so, is that to an outsider "La Réunion" is the melting pot of seventies pop songs and lacks the racism (so I am informed) of other French departments such as Martinique and Guadeloupe. If so, how does one explain the 8.1% of the vote to the FN in 2002? I dunno! Yet Marine was given an hour of air time on Radio Freedom when she found time to escape the Creolia Hotel and avoid the thirty or so demonstrators who had decided that there are more important things in life than the footie!”

An interesting question, who were the 8.1% of the Island that voted for Le Pen? Were they the same group that supported the French football team? Or as in the case of many people of African decent, the support was not for the French team but rather the 17 African players who were part of France’s 22 man squad?

Alb Sayed - Alb Sayed (http://albsayed.org/2006/07/06/yacoubian-parliament) reports on yet more censorship in Egypt. This time it is an MP, Mustafa Bakry who is asking that some of the scenes in the film “The Yacoubian Building” be cut. Interesting though is that one of the scenes he is wanting removed shows a woman being sodomised by officers in a police station. Alb Sayed reminds us:

….”which is nearly identical to what happened to activist Mohamed elSharqawi. And in this case, I do believe that the whole of Egypt needs to see what our beloved Security Forces and police are doing to people in the police stations. Furthermore we need to realize that while these characters are fictional, the acts are very real”.

The government is therefore calling for censorship of the very acts that it’s own security forces are committing on Egyptians citizens today. Freedom of Expression is being curtailed once again and at the same time Freedom to Abuse by the security forces is continuing unabated and unabashed.

AfroMusing - You Missed This (http://kumekucha.blogspot.com/2006/07/kingsway-house-building-in-nairob…) has a post on the secrets of “Kingsway House” in Nairobi – which used to house the Special Branch and was thought to be the place where the plot to assassinate Tom Mboya took place.

“One set of secrets that many Kenyans would have liked Kingsway House to reveal, if buildings would talk, was the planning of details that led to the assassination Of Tom Mboya.......There is plenty of evidence to suggest that whoever planned and executed the murder of Mboya had access to impeccable intelligence information. The day before Mboya was assassinated, he arrived at the then main Embakassi International airport from a conference he had been attending in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. The Standard newspaper on the morning of his assassination carried a photograph of Mboya arriving and waving to somebody who must have been at the waving bay in the airport. However, to have planned and executed this assassination, the person or persons who plotted must have had the information about Mboya's arrival back into the country, the day before.”

Nigeria’s Whats New - Nigeria, Whats New (http://nigeriawhatisnew.blogspot.com/2006/07/another-fail-africa-summit…) comments on the forthcoming “Sullivan Summit scheduled for Abuja from July 17 to 20.” Amongst the participants will be former US President Bill Clinton and Bush hawk now World Bank President, Paul Dr Paul Wolfowitz. What’s New writes:

The same usual suspects are back to milk the Nigerian cow! Have these summits benefited Nigeria or Africa? Poverty, despair and disease is mentioned but not seen. A little bit of effort in stopping and reversing the rot without moving from your opulent mansions is all that is required. Oil, Diamonds, Gold, and many more are plentiful in Africa but in partnership with a rotten few. Africa is still poor and the few are holding a huge number of people prisoner".

The cow is dry – this will end up as another useless, ineffective talking shop that will in no way change Nigeria or Africa in anyway whatsoever.

Trials and Tribulations of a Freshly Arrived Denizen of Ghana - Trials and Tribulations (http://ekbensahinghana.blogspot.com/2006/07/as-week-draws-to-close-in.h…) comments on the possibility of an ECOWAS regional police organisation that would be responsible for drug dealing in the region.

“At the sub-regional level, I maintain that there should be an ECOWAS Convention on Combating Drugs in the same manner there is one on small arms to the degree that the Kimberely Process on Blood Diamonds has eventuated from it”

While it is an excellent idea, if such a force is to be created then it should also take on responsibility for combating other cross regional crimes such as trafficking of women and children and sex tourism.

Black Looks - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/07/953.html) comments on immigration in Europe and the new forms of “migration management” that are emerging such as the creation of a school in Senegal to train young men and women in the hope that they will stay in their country rather than want to go to Europe. Other management methods are the setting up of camps:

“The EU is planning and funding a series of transit camps across the continent and North Africa (from Ukraine to Libya) as part of a holistic “system of control” along with the Schengen agreement, the closing of the two Spanish enclaves in Morocco, Ceuta and Melilla, that will effectively “barbed wire” Europe. The contradiction is that many European countries such as Britain and Spain are in desperate need of increased migration due to falling birth rates and emigration of their own indigenous citizens”

It is also important to note that many of the “migrant management” policies being implemented are racist. Furthermore you cannot stop people from coming by setting up skills acquisition centres in home countries whilst at the same time refusing to cancel the country's debt; providing subsidies to EU farmers at the expense of African farmers; fixing the price of raw materials so low as to further impoverish local people; using child labour; destroying the local environment and of course where do the jobs come from once the skills are acquired?