http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/345/blogs_01_wahdah.gif discusses the Arabic language and how it influences “Arabic political and cultural discourse” and considers whether the “explosiveness and poetic” nature of the language leads to “radical Islam”.
..... This [those educated in classical Arabic] in no way led to the creation of radical ideologies or ideologies; but it did influence the way in which those ideologues express themselves. And the themes expressed in much classical literature likely make it all the more unacceptable for such a set to accept being ruled by aliens (or those under alien influence).

This is my thinking. I could be reaching too far back, as is Dr. Lewis when he explains that the roots of modern terrorism lay in some back room Anglo-Ottoman-French-Austrian-Icelandic treaty or in the conduct of the 18th and 19th century corsairs. Or when someone tells us that the the Arabic language itself leads to "radical Islam".

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/345/blogs_02_wordsbody.gifWordsbody comments on Obamamania and takes us through his celebrtory supporters and detractors from Spike Lee and Toni Morrison on the one hand and Maya Angelou and Whoopie Goldberg on the other. The split within the Black community is obvious – one of the choices being do you vote on racial lines or because you sincerely think Obama is the man?
“Uncomfortable as I am with the role of the great O in this campaign, I actually welcomed her statement above. Because the converse is also true. I am free as a black person to support Hillary Clinton if I want.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/345/blogs_03_psycherevolution.gifAfrican Renaissance: A Revolution of the Mind? poses some thoughts on the question of borders in Africa which cut through linguistic and ethnic groups as a way of controlling the “natives”.
“This got me wondering about how borders have exclusified languages or dialects...I hope there is such a word as exclusify, but what I mean is if a Shona person spoke Kalanga with a Shona accent in Botswana they would probably get flak for it, and if I as a Kalanga speaker have taken flak for speaking Shona ''funny.'' Shona and Kalanga are in some respects like Texan English and the English one would find in Wales, so they are not completely dissimilar. Once upon a time, they were the same language but a border ran through it and now it lives between them.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/345/blogs_04_chippla.gif Chippla’s Weblog reports on recent talks between the Russian gas multinational, Gazprom and the Nigerian government on the development of gas fields.

“What about Gazprom? What does it have to offer? The Financial Times report (referred to in the first paragraph of this write up) provides next to nothing on this, though it quotes a Nigerian government official as saying:
"What Gazprom is proposing is mind boggling. They are talking tough and saying the west has taken advantage of us in the last 50 years and they're offering us a better deal."
Until such a deal is made public (should the talks between Gazprom and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation bear fruit) this blogger remains deeply skeptical. Gazprom, like any other energy conglomerate, is simply strategically positioning itself for global growth beyond the shores of Eurasia. Already a key player in the European gas market, in addition to being 'the' key player in the Russian gas market, it now has its eyes set on a region of the world in need of exponential growth”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/345/blogs_05_sotho.gifSotho links to the 25 most important films on race and the lack of recognition of Black actors by Hollywood.
“Look around, and you’ll see how African Americans have emerged as the big screen’s most reliable stars. Will Smith is the one demonstrable megastar. Morgan Freeman’s quiet dignity gets him designated as the face of God and the soul of humanity. ...........And the achievements of blacks are regularly honored by Hollywood. In the past seven years, blacks have won Academy Awards in every acting category. Halle Berry took Best Actress for Monster’s Ball, Freeman Best Supporting Actor for Million Dollar Baby, Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/345/blogs_06_cairofreeze.gifCairo Freeze, an Egyptian weekly cartoon editorial, posts a cartoon on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent speech suggesting that aspects of the Sharia Law to be officially recognised in the UK.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/345/blogs_07_civilexpression.gif No Longer At Ease has an excellent series of updates on the fighting in Chad between the government and rebels. The updates are very informative in this very difficult to understand conflict.
“The rebels took off just five days ago from the East of the country, near the Sudanese borders. Chad and Sudan have been exchanging accusations that each is supporting the others' rebels. Chad supported and armed rebels in Darfur and so did Sudan with Chadian rebels. In 2006, the rebels reached the outskirts of the capital N'Djamena but they were pushed back with the help of the French troops. There is no doubt that Sudan will be delighted with a change of leadership in Chad.

It also seems that the EU, and particularly France, sees president Idris Deby as a liability; he has presided over fraudulent elections and changed the constitution so he can have a third term. His ongoing rivalry with the Sudanese government is also making the deployment of UN troops in Eastern Chad and Darfur much more difficult.

The African Union, already overloaded with the crisis in Kenya, Darfur and Somalia, has said that Chad will be suspended from the organization if president Deby is deposed and "until normalcy and democratic rule is restored in that country".

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/345/blogs_08_kubatanablogs.gifhttp://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/345/blogs_09_blacklooks.gifBlack Looks reports on the link between the Israeli billionaire and settlement magnate, Lev Leviev’s diamond mining in Angola and building of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
“New York and Londoner’s campaign to boycott the jewellery stores of Israeli billionaire and settlement magnate, Lev Leviev on Madison Ave and Bond Street. Leviev is a major constructor of Israeli settlements on Occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law. He owns Alluvial diamond mines in Angola where thousands work in dangerous conditions, largely unregulated and often digging with their bare hands standing in dirty muddy water. [Alluvial diamonds are cheap to mine because the diamonds are just below the surface. ]”

* Sokari Ekine blogs at Black Looks and http://www.africanwomenblogs.com

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/341/blogs_01_kayodeogundamisi.gif
Nigerian political activist Kayode Ogundamisi finally makes it to the blogging world in his blog Kenerry Bird! In this post Kayode is critical of religion as it is played out in Nigeria, particularly the “partnership between Pastors, Imams and other religious leaders with the corrupt people in government.” To get an understanding of the relationship between religion, the religious in Nigeria and corruption he points out some interesting facts:
“We do have the highest growth in Christianity and Islam in the world nonetheless remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
It is high time we start probing the finances of those who hide under the banner of religion to steal and deceive the people.........
A Pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Joseph Itegbe, was on Tuesday arraigned at Tapa Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly stealing N5.7 million tithe belonging to the church.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/341/blogs_02_afrigadget.gifAfrican Gadget
African Gadget a blog about local alternative technology solutions has launched a new site and a new online project called “Grassroots Reporting”. The idea is to recruit volunteer contributors from across the continent to report on local technologies. Anyone interested should please leave a comment on the blog with your email address (which will not be published). In this way the blog will be able to spread the word about the huge range of local technologies and innovations being developed and used by Africans for Africans.
“One of the big goals here is to create a service that doesn’t just publish interesting stories about African micro-entrepreneurs, though we do plan on continuing that, but to also explore ways that we can be a conduit back to those very same people. This redesign already has our future plans for dealing with entrepreneurs built into it. Part of that is the future phases of the AfriGadget store, but we’re also looking at ways to partner with others and encourage direct investment into worthy entrepreneurs businesses.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/341/blogs_03_sociolingo.gifSociolingo
Sociolingo reports on a project from North Western University in the US which is publishing ancient African maps online. The maps date from the 16th to the 20th century. An excellent project.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/341/blogs_04_theconcoction.gifThe Concoction
Concoction complains about the lack of news on Africa from all sections of the US mainstream media. 45,000 people die each month in the DRC but this is not reported instead one death of a Hollywood start is at the center of the evening news.
“You read about 45,000 people dying each month in DRC online while the death of some young actor found dead in his NY apartment dominates the evening news on major news channels - even BBC world had to say something about it. Although I liked Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain and it's sad he died so young..., still I can't help wondering when 45,000 people dying each month would get the same attention?”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/341/blogs_05_thinkersroom.gifThinkers Room
From Kenya,Thinkers Room asks a series of questions and posts a list of ”shattered myths” about Kenya. Here are some snippets.
Questions:
Where is the President? Mr Kibaki cannot have it both ways. If he insists he is the duly elected president then it is incumbent upon him to act accordingly. He must not only do something, he must be seen to be doing something................. Where is the Church? I’m not impressed at all by any of the churches in Kenya. The Catholic Church, The Anglican Church, the Islamic community and the Independent churches have been very lethargic indeed.
Shattered Myths:
Kenya is an oasis of peace. Is it now?........... Kenya believes in the right of law. The ODM refuses to challenge the elections in court. While I understand their reluctance,”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/341/blogs_06_kumekucha.gifYou Missed This
Also from Kenya,You Missed This believes the Annan talks are “doomed to fail” due to pettiness on both sides and the fact Annan and his team really do not have any powers to influence the present stalemate.
“Even before the nominated teams begin negotiations, signs are already emerging that the Annan led mediation talks are doomed to fail. Yesterday, the talks were nearly sabotaged by Office of the President protocol officers who were insisting that Kibaki sits alone on the ‘high table’ because he is the ‘supreme presidential authority’. The ODM and Mr. Annan on the other hand, would hear none of it and in the end, Raila and Kibaki occupied the same ‘high table’ flanking Annan on both sides as equals. This was after Annan and the Speaker of the National Assembly as the convener of the meeting over-ruled the OP protocol officials. Such pettiness, emanating from the PNU side, clearly shows that they are treating their political adversaries as junior partners.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/341/blogs_07_grandioseparlor.gifGrandiose Parlor
Grandiose Parlor reports that $10 billion has been spent on Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure between 1997 and 2007. Despite this, the majority of citizens still do not have a regular electricity supply. An excellent example of corruption and mismanagement!

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/341/blogs_08_kameelahwrites.gifKameelah Writes
Kameelah Writes comments cynically on the Obama fever presently sweeping across America.
“As my little imagination works, Obama will continue to pander to everybody and their mama until he becomes president. At night he sneaks to chat with his daughters about the end of the Gaza Blockade . Shortly after Obama is inaugurated, Obama and I are going to meet on U street in D.C. to jointly craft his inaugural speech. In the speech he will say all the things that he was previously far to smart to publicly assert.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/341/blogs_09_blacklooks.gifBlack Looks
Black Looks publishes a video “fire in the delta” together with the response of a group of civil society organisations to the Nigerian government’s postponement (yet again) of the end of gas flaring by the multinational oil companies.
“In 2005, the High Court declared gas flaring illegal yet both the Nigerian government and oil multinationals have ignored the court ruling. Last year the Nigerian government once again promised to stop all gas flaring on the 1st January this year - a promise that goes back nearly 40 years. Companies defying the order were to be shut down. Once again the government has shown complete disregard and insensitivity to the communities in the Niger Delta and given into pressure from Shell, Chevron, Elf etc. The date has now been set for the end of the year but no one really believes that the government will once again bow to the oil multinationals.”

* Sokari Ekine blogs at Black Looks http://www.blacklooks.org and http://www.africanwomenblogs.com

Kenya continues to dominate the African blogosphere as the ODM opposition begin three days of protests against the election.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/337/blogs_01_kenyanpundit.gif continues to publish her diary of events and thoughts around the election and post election. Her latest post is a piece by Kenyan Mariposa “I am a lesbian.
A queer.
A shoga.
A dyke.
An ‘ abboration’ of nature.
Mariposa writes that she left Kenya when she was 24 years old “burdened” by the choice she had to make. She finds herself far away from friends, family and country in this time of crisis and violence but is not surprised
“Yet, in the stillness of my heart, I am not surprised. I am not at all surprised that underneath the veil of calmness lies intolerance. We are as a nation and as individuals are not sentries of peace, we would like to believe that we have no strong affiliations to the groups that we belong to. However, I ask, take a moment to ask, who do you consider your friends, your crew, are they born from the same background, do they look like you, what are their professional and personal affiliations, are they in synch with yours?”
Yet despite the chaos and violence, the corruption and intolerance she remains hopeful in that the Kenyan people have an opportunity to become more mindful and compassionate about others and end the “vicious cycles of hate”.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/337/blogs_02_mentalacrobatics.gifMental Acrobatics considers the possibility of a “silver lining” in the midst of dark clouds over Kenya when Parliament convened “and no punches were thrown”. Nonetheless the situation has reached the levels of farce as the President appears to have dug his head in sand whilst the opposition have their man elected as Speaker of the House.

“ODM controlling parliament sets up some very interesting and indeed ridiculous scenarios. Kibaki gets to appoint a cabinet and that cabinet has to work through parliament. Yet the majority in parliament is completely opposed to Kibaki’s policies and will do whatever it can to wreck them. Kibaki, if he was thinking straight, could have overcome this by appointing ODM MPs to key cabinet positions. Instead he chose to ignore ODM all together in a move that made no political sense. ODM due to their strength in numbers will control all parliamentary committees. In another ridiculous scenario, some powerful parliamentary committees have a majority of seats reserved for the opposition in an attempt to prevent the largest political party in parliament from dominating all proceedings.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/337/blogs_03_potashke.gifKenyan Urban Narrative revisits his “Kikuyuness” and discovers that all Kenyans are equal but some are more equal than others – those who stole the truth and with it took the land.

“They told me that Red was for the blood that was shed and green was for the land that was won. I grew up and then I realised: red was for those who died fighting and green was for those who lived- to reap matunda ya uhuru. My ancestor inherited the red, your ancestor inherited the red; so why do we have to die that those that inherited the land may stay ever green?”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/337/blogs_04_charlestaylortrial...The Trial of Charles Taylor provides a detailed day to day report on the trial of Charles Taylor which for the past week has seen the defence cross examine one Denis koker, a Mende from Sierra Leone and former member of the AFRC who were aligned to the RUC. Koker provided security for an advisor to the President. His evidence is a detailed and chilling witness to the violence wielded by
Taylor and the RUF as he describes what was called “Operation No Living Thing”.

“He said it was an order from Mosquito–that we are burning houses so that if ECOMOG or government soldiers come, they cannot stay in Kono. He said we will take the zinc roofs and build other houses. Then the RUF and Juntas would completely control Kono. I saw them shooting civilians in Kono. I saw them capture civilians in Koidu Town and surrounding villages, looting property, capturing kids–boys and girls, they shot civilians who were unwilling to carry loads. In Koidu, they captured civilians and forcefully initiated them into the force. Many women and children were captured. Those who weren’t captured ran away toward Guinea as refugees. In Koidu, women were captured and made into wives. It was like serving yourself tea to drink. It was very common wherever we went–in Freetown, Masiaka, Kono, and all along the way there. I saw it myself. Operation No Living Thing went on every day and every night, burning houses all over Kono. They burned mud houses and even concrete houses. In Koidu Town, there were more houses burned down than I could count. There were more than 100 and I couldn’t count them anymore. I wanted to find a way to reach Kailahun because that was my mother land. The group was moving towards Kailahun anyway. RUF and AFRC fighters had broken into a bank in Koidu and taken money and diamonds. They wanted to use this to open a route to Kailahun. Eldred Collins handed us over to be security for this together with Staff Sargeant Saliu Kanneh, who was Julius Maada Bio’s bodyguard. I saw the money myself in big bags. I became frightened because I had taken a military oath. We had no respect. In the military I had taken some courses and learned how to fight a war. I saw that the money was looted and thought it would be a disgrace to my family.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/337/blogs_05_akin.gif
Nigerian blogger, Akin reports on the “shame and scandal in the family” surrounding former President Obasanjo who is accused by his son, Gbenga, of having an affair with his wife and far worse, his father-in-law for having an incestuous relationship with his daughter.

My grandfather is my father
There appears to be two children in the marriage and their supposed father casts doubt on their paternity by seeking a DNA test that brings in his father and father-in-law – how reprobate can this get?.............Some matters need to handled with discretion especially where children are involved though this matter of a seemingly seriously wronged man by his wife, his father and his father-in-law is a powder-keg ready to shake Nigerian societal values to its core – this case cannot be an exception..............But this can almost be too reckless on the part of the petitioner, representing the very ugly face of acrimonious divorces – if the children were to find out that their father is either of their grandfathers rather than the husband of their mother – how damaging would that be for the children and to what end?

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/337/blogs_06_orenotes.gifOre of Ore’s Notes reports on her recent trip to the island of Zanibar and her final stop in the “Spice Tour” where she visits a slave chamber.

“Slaves were hidden in here after trade in slaves was abolished. The cave is a dank pit, which appeared to spiral into the ground. After taking about 20 steps down, the daylight was already being subsumed by the underground darkness. I climbed down as far as my slippers would allow me to on the slippery and damp ground. Our lone torch gave out and my camera battery, which I had been carefully nursing all through the trip (not having a battery charger with me) eventually failed. It was time to call it a day and head back.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/337/blogs_07_blacklooks.gifBlack Looks publishes messages from members of Kenya’s Nabuur community in towns and villages across the country. The messages were sent my email and sms to each other and to their volunteer supports.

“04 jan: “Hi Pelle! It’s terrible here! No phone cards. Pple dying esp. children of disease. Hunger biting. More police shooting. Trying to raise some support to assist people.”
01 jan: “Security situation is getting worse! over 300 ppl killed - one being my cousin. Gun shots everywhere. The impact is real - no basic needs available.”
30 dec: “Kibaki declared Presidential winner though opposition won. He’s just been sworn in 15 minutes after. There’s bloodshed in Kenya. Police kills over 50 ppl.”

* Sokari Ekine the Community Coordinator for Kabissa.org and is author of Black Looks

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

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/335/blogs_01_whiteafrican.gif comments that sometimes the only thing you can do in a crisis is report what you see. Using technology from google maps he takes Kenyan Pundit’s (see below) suggestion and creates a mashup of incidents reported by citizens.

“Basically, let’s create a mashup that people can report into on incidences of violence that they see.........Basically, you have an incident - that hopefully someone gets a picture or video of. A report on what happened and who was involved, and a location. That information is submitted and then populated into a map-based view that is easy to search by location and/or category. “

The idea for the site was first suggested on Saturday and by Wednesday due to sheer hard work and collaboration the site Ushahidi (meaning Witness) was up and running http://www.ushahidi.com/. The next step is to integrate an SMS messaging function which would enable anyone with access to a mobile phone to send in reports. A brilliant idea and example of how technology can be implemented in a short time when there is a crisis.
http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/335/blogs_03_kenyanpundit.gifhttp://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/335/blogs_04_geraldbaraza.gifGerald Baraza is critical of the newly announced “illegitimate cabinet” announced by Mwai Kibaki which he describes as “Total Greed and Madness” and shows Kibaki has no regard for Kenyans, the democratic process or Kenya’s future. Baraza lists some of the possible outcomes of Kibaki’s announcement and makes some suggestions to the international community on how they can “save Kenya”...

“1. Tribal tensions will escalate to levels never witnessed before.
2. Feelings by majority of the Kenyan ethnic groups, especially the Luo, that Kibaki's dominant Kikuyu tribe has always given them a raw deal when it comes to the management, distribution, and utilization of resources and opportunities, will reach unparalled levels.

3.Violence is going to tripple in the country!
4. Guerilla warfare will become an option for many who feel cheated, frustrated and oppressed by an illegitimate regime.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/335/blogs_05_mentalacrobatics.gifMental Acrobatics shares a report on two grassroots taking initiatives taking place which provide encouragement.

Nafsi Afrika is a team of acrobats formed in 2000. Its acrobats come mainly from the Kawangware and Kibera slums in Nairobi. These two areas have been rocked by the violence of the past few days. Later on today this team of acrobats will build a human pyramid of acrobats from different tribes in a show of unity................AND
REPACTED is a community based youth-to-youth organization. They are based in Nakuru. In the Free Area part of Nakuru most of the landlords are Kikuyu and most of the tenants are Luo they managed to get both groups together in a forum.
http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/335/blogs_08_shailja.gifShajila Patel writes an open letter to Samuel Kivuitu (Chair of the Electorial Commission of Kenya) accusing him of betraying the people of Kenya and pointing our the consequences of his failure to act honourably and truthfully in the election process.

“You betrayed us. Perhaps we'll never know when, or why, you made that decision. One rumor claims you were threatened with the execution of your entire family if you did not name Kibaki as presidential victor. When I heard it, I hoped it was true. Because at least then I could understand why you chose instead to plunge our country into civil war.................... Do you think of the 300,000 Kenyans displaced from their homes, their lives? Of the thousands still trapped in police stations, churches, any refuge they can find, across the country? Without food, water, toilets, blankets? Of fields ready for harvest, razed to the ground? Of granaries filled with rotting grain, because no one can get to them? Of the Nairobi slum residents of Kibera, Mathare, Huruma, Dandora, ringed by GSU and police, denied exit, or access to medical treatment and emergency relief, for the crime of being poor in Kenya?”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/335/blogs_09_gukira.gifGukira confesses that despite watching the events unfold, reading and listening, writing has not been easy as he imagines that at least
“Somewhere, in this mess, someone I know, someone I love, someone I respect, has raised a hand in anger and frustration.”

Nonetheless he see the events of the past two weeks as either extraordinary or unexpected.

“It would be a mistake to view the events of the past week as entirely singular, extraordinary, or unexpected. Instead, they dramatize that for too long many Kenyans have been closing their eyes and blocking their ears to the ordinary suffering and frustration of fellow citizens. If what we have seen was an eruption, it was fed, in part, by our easy smiles and tolerance of inequality. Perhaps the sad truth is that we have all been living in a horror movie and we just awoke to that fact..................Unlike most horror movies, which end in total destruction or in some kind of redemption, the way ahead for us is not as scripted. It’s clear that we cannot simply assume we share the same values. Instead, we must cultivate shared values. We cannot rely on our leaders to heal our wounds. Instead, we must take responsibility for wounding each other. We can no longer live within purely ethnic enclaves. Instead, we must begin to bridge cultural and geographic differences.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/335/blogs_10_hokmah.gifAfrican Rhetoric is critical of the claim by many Kenyans and observers that both Mawi Kibaki and Raila Odinga are equally responsible for the post election violence.

“The problem, though, is that such a claim is not accurate. It is not true that Kibaki and Raila are to blame in equal measure for Kenya’s current predicament. It shouldn’t need saying that Kibaki stole the election; that the violence that erupted is a reaction to a coup. Attempts to bracket Kibaki’s wrongdoing in the name of focusing on ending the violence simply echoes Kibaki’s own vacuous talking point that he will only engage in dialogue once there is peace. It just so happens, though, that the violence stems from a dispute which must be resolved in order to bring about peace. Moreover, Kibaki and Raila do not occupy symmetrical positions of power. Kibaki, having seized the presidency, has the entire military-police apparatus at his command. He has far more resources, albeit illegitimately expropriated, and far more direct command over his forces than Raila does over the crazed mobs carrying out the ethnic cleansing of Kikuyus. A case in point: Kibaki’s internal security minister, John “Rasputin” Michuki, has converted Kisumu into a human abbatoir.”
Diary of a Mad Kenyan Woman

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/335/blogs_11_madkenyanwoman.gifDiary of a Mad Kenyan Woman posts a daming essay on the election fraud, violence and those wishing to maintain the “feudal principlality of Kikuyustan”.

“How have we produced this population of Kenyans so estranged, so alienated from a sense of collective hope and a progressive trajectory that they are willing to burn to the ground this national edifice we call our home? I begin to suspect that it might have something to do with the ways in which we treat our people as if they are disposable nappies....first we crap all over them and then we throw them away. Or, first we work them up with visions and dreams of a utopia denied them only by the holding of office by the ‘the other side’ then we slyly make insinuations of how much easier life would be without ‘them’ and then we give them a little nudge and say “oh look, there goes one of them now. And who left this panga lying about in the open like that, all nice and shiny and sharp?”

And then we exclaim in shocked horror: oh goodness, me! However could this have happened? Oh please, please, well, gracious me, whatever shall we do?

On the other hand, whatever can Kikuyus think we are about, saying complacently that “we” won the election when even Europeans who can count are quite able to figure out the implications of votes which add up to fifty thousand and are transmuted into seventy thousand by some mysterious Kikuyu alchemy? It boggles the mind, the sheer bare-faced effrontery of fraud meant to thwart the popular will and carried out in naked defiance of international observers and Kenyan media. We may not have universal education yet, but a good number of Kenyans can count for themselves with a fair degree of confidence in their own tallies. What on earth do the people of Central Province mean, dancing about in the streets like that with joy, when it is evident to anyone who believes in this country that uchawi numbers are self-evidently not a cause for celebration? There’s hubris, and then there’s Central Province. I am fairly sure that it didn’t help matters. No one has won here, folks. We are all our own victims and our own oppressors—and some of us are guiltier than others.”

On Facebook

* Sokari Ekine is author of Black Looks blog [www.blacklooks.org">

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

This weeks roundup will focus on some of the new African blog portals, aggregators, social bookmarking and technology blogs.

Portals

The two main blog portals are African Path and African Loft. Both portals have a list of regular authors some of whom are bloggers and both syndicate content from select blogs.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_01_africanpath.gif includes a news feed of African news, a blog written by selected authors, an Directory section with a list of African related businesses many in the Diaspora.

“African Path is the premier online channel for reaching affluent Africans in America, Africa, Europe, China, and elsewhere in the world, providing daily breaking news and discussions on issues affecting Africans and Africa.

With an engaging mix of breaking news in Africa, blogs, biographical profiles, thoughtful discussion and an international community calendar, African Path connects Africans across the world with informed dialogue that leads to progress and growth on the African continent and its contribution to world culture.

To fill the void left by big media in covering information on Africa, African Path provides a forum for Africans anywhere in the world to discuss important issues affecting Africans within and outside the African continent.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_02_africanloft.gifAfrican Loft similar to African Path except it also includes a social networking community feature with a growing community. The “chatterbox” feature acts as an aggregator of the “top 50” African blogs though it is not clear how these are selected and for some reason also includes mainstream media sites such as Bua and the BBC. The “discussion forum” seems to be just an extension of the blog area and again the purpose of this section is not clear. One useful addition is the Job Board with a list of both non-profit and corporate jobs.

Both African Path (created by Joshua Wanyama) and African Loft created by blogger Grandiose Parlor provide excellent up to date content on Africa and the Diaspora. Technorati rates African Path with an authority of 236 (22,775) and African Loft an authority of 103 (63,934)

Aggregators

Aggregators are sites that auto collect posts from registered blogs which can by region, country or content.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_03_afrigator.gifAfrigator aggregates blogs from across the continent and the Diaspora and divides them into channels, best rated posts and new members as well as the real time updates of all registered blogs. Afrigator is described as

“Afrigator is a social media aggregator and directory built especially for African digital citizens who publish and consume content on the Web......You can use Afrigator to index your blog, podcast, videocast or news site (i.e. any site that publishes an RSS feed) and market it to the rest of Africa and the world. You can also use it to discover new sites in the Afrosphere.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_04_kenyaunlimited.gifKenya Unlimited incorporates an aggregator and a webring of Kenyan bloggers. KU also includes an annual set of blog awards to it’s members who must be Kenyan or invited by a Kenyan.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_05_nigerianbloggers.gifNigerian Blog Aggreator is as the name suggests an aggregator of blogs by Nigerian bloggers at home and in the Diaspora. Unlike Kenya Unlimited, the NBA only provides feeds from Nigerian blogs in real time and is undated hourly.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_06_amatomu.gifAmatomu is an aggregator of South African blogs started by SA newspaper the Mail and Guardian. Unlike Kenya Unlimited and Nigerian Blogs Aggregator, Amatomu is more of a social media aggregator similar to Afrigator.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_africanwomenblogs.gifAfrican Women’s Blogs is an aggregator of blogs by African women on the continent and in the Diaspora

Social Bookmarks

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_07_muti.gifMuti is a social bookmarking site similar to Digg but with African content. Muti enables users to submit links to posts and media stories and then these can be voted on by other users. There are also “hot”, “new” “most viewed” and “stats” features.

Technology Blogs and Websites

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_08_whiteafrican.gifWhite African writes about technology and how it impacts and can change, Africa. Erik is also a web developer and is presently working on a number of African related projects including Zangu News “ a new way to handle news in Africa” and “List’d Express” an easy eBay listing tool. He is also a contributing author to AfricanGadget.com.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_09_kiwanja.gifKiwanja.net with the tag line “Where technology meets anthropology, conservation and development” is a blog by Frontline SMS (software to manage sms) creator, Ken Banks and is largely dedicated to the opportunities provided by mobile phone technology in Africa and other parts of the global South.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_opencafe.gifOpen Cafe is a non-profit internet café specialising in the usage, distribution, training and technical support for open source software and open content materials. It is based in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

* Sokari Ekine is online editor of Pambazuka News and author of Blacklooks [www.blacklooks.org"> and African Women's Blogs [www.africanwomensblogs.com">

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

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/326/nov01_01_gbengasesan.gif, Gbenga Sesan’s blog reports from the Africa Connect conference behind held in Kigali Rwanda. The statistics on Africa’s internet usage and broadband take up is clearly depressing and there is an urgent need for governments to take action as Gbenga writes:

“the two-day event has the opportunity of bringing to the fore, the need for urgent action in meeting Africa’s connectivity needs. The present story is clearly sad — less thank 4% of Africans currently use the internet, and broadband penetration is below 1%! — but with some political will from the governments, innovative business models from the private sector, sustainable and bottom-up action from the civil society, targeted and collaborative research by the academia, news emphasis on the urgency of the task by the media and cooperation (the sincere form, not the usual pity party) from the international community, Africa will be well on its way out of this embarrassing situation”
$3billion has been pledged so far towards connectivity in Africa but as Gbenga states, will he and others walk away from this conference like all the others only to repeat the same words 6 months down the line in yet another conference?

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/326/nov01_02_bintalshamsa.gifMy Private Cashbah writes in favour of socialised medical care in the United States. She compares her medical situation to that of fellow New Orleans blogger who also has cancer. Unlike Bint who has the benefit of medical insurance, “As the Tumor Turns” does not and relies on the public hospital system.

“I'm privileged. I have healthcare coverage. I've had it for several years now. Lymphopo does not. So, while I am able to go to whatever hospital I need in order to get prompt treatment, she has to wait months just to have a basic mammogram at the local public (i.e. free) hospital. I go to see my doctors and if they want me to be seen by another doc or have some kind of test done, as long as it's fairly early in the day, all they have to do is make a single phone call and the hospital will have that other department squeeze me in that day so that I don't have to make a second trip.

At the public hospital, even if she has had all of her tests done by the time her next doctor's appointment is scheduled, if for some reason the test results aren't back or have been misplaced (something that happens with frightening frequency), she can sit there for the hours it takes to go through the check-in procedure only to be told that there isn't anything they can do about it except reschedule her appointment--for another few months later. I know. I've been a patient there.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/326/nov01_03_madkenyanwoman.gifDiary of a Mad Kenyan Woman find herself between a rock and hard place as on the one hand she is tired of “being from the begging bowl people” and the “peculiarly distorting effects of the aid industry”. However as she clearly points out. The “rock” - Kenya is on the verge of elections yet
“our considered response is to regress into ethnic factions whose rhetoric is so predictable as to be actively boring”

On the other hand – the hard place....

“Here’s the problem, though. The part of me that dearly wants to tell the patronising, condescending, pitying, self-indulgent, largely ignorant and frankly annoying western do-gooders that they can shove their plans and projects up the nearest sweet-spot is forced to stop and recognise that I am not about to go and build a school in any rural community anywhere in Africa anytime soon. There we have it: I am not about to do it, and I am not planning on doing it, and they—aforementioned condescending, pitying, etc.-- are. Were I a mother with school-age children in one of these communities targeted by the aid industry, then, what would be more compelling for me—a principled objection by a fellow-African who makes much more money than me but isn’t inclined to share it, or a scheme to build clinics, schools and etc. proposed by foreigners who moreover have the money to back it up? This is not rocket science: principled objections do not pay rents or school feels, ever. Choosing between my principled zero dollars, and the patronising million dollars doesn’t even take a second’s thought—Show Me The Money.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/326/nov01_04_egyptianchronicles...Egyptian Chronicles takes issue with this year’s annual celebration of the Battle of Alamein as all the “usual representatives of Allies and axis countries” attended the event. She is more concerned with those people living today that are suffering from the consequences of WWII namely the landmine victims

“Yes I am talking about the Land Mines victims in Egypt specifically the victims of land mines in the western desert , the place of Alamein battle.
Both parties in the war planted thousands even millions of land mines in our desert during the great war after all it is not there land and it did not and it does still cost anything , you can plant a land mine for 100 $ but if you want to demine a land mine from a specific area you have to pay thousand of dollars , the thing that would be very costly to a country like Egypt , not to mention the advance equipments for demining may not be available to us.
For decades now Egypt has paid a lot from these land mines alone and she has paid heavily till now for decades whether from humanly or economic
Hundred thousands of Egyptians who live in the western desert were either killed or injured badly and suffered till the end of their lives and nobody cared for them ,generations after generations suffered and are still suffering from those hell pieces under their own land.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/326/nov01_05_ecwaevangel.gifKid’s Doc in Jos comments on the BBC report “HIV Treatment Failing in Africa” and asks readers if they agree pointing out some facts about HIV treatment
“is it a “failure” that 61% of patients are alive and continuing treatment after two years in a program taking antiretroviral (anti-HIV) drugs?

“The study includes reports published between 2000 and 2007. Do the results take into account any changes in during that time? That is, are programs more or less effective now than they were 10 years ago? Is there enough information to know? Again, I haven’t read it yet but it’s a good question to consider as you read.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/326/nov01_06_civilexpression.gifNo Longer At Ease is furious over the report that a French charity took it upon themselves to kidnap 100 children from Darfur and hand them over to French families.

“The people who did this will eventually be freed, France will interfere on their behalf saying that the whole thing was a well intentioned misunderstanding (and perhaps pay some money). The "charity" will also have many chances to repeat the same in other poor African countries. This what the French human rights minister had to say about:
I can understand the families, the French families who wanted to save children. But I don't understand why an association decided, alone, to bring them to Paris. That's why we completely disapprove of this initiative.
What? this is not an "initiative" and the French families didn't want save the children, this is simply criminal. This time they caught it, but I can help but wonder if there has been successful attempts before.

The kids were obviously Muslims but were going to be sold to non-Muslim families, adding to the gravity of what might have been waiting for these poor kids.This is a sad, but expected, climax to the "adopting an African child" fashion in the West.”

One does wonder if this is a first or something that has been taking place over the past months or even years. The audacity and arrogance not to speak of the illegality of removing children against their will and their community. The charity in question should have its status removed and surely there has been a crime committed here that the French courts can prosecute?

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/326/nov01_07_blacklooks.gifAndile Mngxitama writing on Black Looks considers how important and significant the recent world cup victory by the South African Rugby team the Springboks. Looking at the victory, Andile sees it as a victory against transformation, and a victory of the acceptance of the abnormal as normal in South Africa.

"The national rugby team in its compositions and victories is a perfect metaphor for our country and the place of blacks in it. We cheer for our defeat from the touchlines. Imagine if you knew nothing about SA and watched the world cup on TV, you would be forgiven for thinking that actually we are a white country which has the accident of having a smiling black president.
“South Africa is a white country populated a by an impotent invisible black majority. I wonder what other African countries think about us? And the black Diaspora? What do they think about it? Since 1994, our Rugby team could only produce two black players for the national team. Incredible!
But there is also another element in the picture which can be now be more clearly seen, ours is a country which thrives on superficiality and a devastating lack of a perspective which is centred on the valorisation and well being of blacks. Blacks in this country want to celebrates their “own goals”, to borrow from a sporting metaphor. We are perhaps one of the few peoples on earth who believe we can derive freedom from placating those who stubbornly refuse to give up any of their ill begotten privileges and power. Are we blacks not asking for the contempt of whites, when we fail to exercise the massive political power we currently wield to change things around? But more importantly are we doing posterity a favour?

Just how superficial our so called commitment to transformation is was displayed in the build up to the finals when the Bokke victory was almost certain. Our president apparently told Jake White “forget the politics and win it”, White says that was a “big statement”. Hereby a mandate was given against transformation. The Young Communist League an outfit which purports to be pro poor, also wanted a piece of the cake, they simply anointed the team “Comrade Bokke”.

* Sokari Ekine is online editor of Pambzuka News and author of Black Looks blog: www.blacklooks.org

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

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/324/blogs_01_afrigadget.gif World junk – Africa recycles! I find my more and more of my friends are recycling household waste including food for fertilizer but there is still a lack of imagination in using junk as art or simply repairing a consumer item such as phones, computers, cameras etc. In Africa and other parts of the Global South it’s a different story. African Gadget presents a short photo essay of sculpture, Simon Mwangi who

“calls himself a mabati (sheet metal) blacksmith. He takes junk and creates beautiful metal animal sculptures. If you happen by his roadside shop on Ngong Road in Nairobi, you’ll see a number of crocodiles and if you’re lucky, a full sized giraffe”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/324/blogs_02_kameelah.gifKameelah Writes along with thousands of other bloggers, participates in the “National Day of Panhandling for Reparations” across the United States.

“I am participating in this performance because I believe that a conversation about reparations has been pushed aside for way too long. This country has paid reparations for some of its past injustices, but not for slavery. Why not? I am sitting with this sign to show that I want reparations for American Slavery to move forward.

You can participate too. Bloggers- spread this post to any and all blogs that you belong to. This performance is a great way to generate dialogue and re-energize the stalled conversation about reparations, and a great way to show the power of blogs for connecting people, art, social issues and dialogue!”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/324/blogs_03_olawunmi.gifSilent Storms in an Ocean of One comments on the recent attack by armed robbers on Nigerian rapper 2face idibia

“this was an act of needless violence, but who protects us? where do we get justice when the people charged with protecting the nation are among the very rank of murderers and thieves? last year my dad got robbed at a chackpoint by men he was certain to be policemen. his car was taken and he was left on the streets with no means of contacting his family. at least he was unharmed. most people are not so blessed.

2face idibia has struggled all his life to get where he has. what he really needs to do is be allowed to enjoy the success that his God-given talent has brought him. but to some people he's just another wealthy mark to be robed and harmed for loot. but why did they have to shoot him? at least if you leave the victim alone they have their lives to live, and with time they will replace what was taken. but how do you replace a life, or a limb? and how do you console a family whose joy has been stolen by a random act of violence?”

As usual in Nigeria there are rumors surrounding the attack such as it was not random but someone or group attacked him out of jealousy, he is dead, he is not dead, he was robbed, he was not robbed and so on. Whatever happened armed robbery such as this is endemic in the country and has been for the past 30 years. Members of my own family have been victims as have friends and friends of friends.. Who in Nigeria does not know someone who has been a victim of this type of crime?

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/324/blogs_04_ajao.gifOluniyi David Ajao comments on why paypal and other electronic payment systems are not available in Nigeria and has started an online campaign to try to rectify the situation and ask for PayPal to be available in the country.

“Whatever their reasons are, I am using this blog post to agitate that full Paypal services be made available to residents of Nigeria so they can fully partake in global e-commerce.

Are you a Nigerian resident in Nigeria? Do you agree that Paypal services should be available to Nigeria? Share your thoughts here and now by posting your comment”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/324/blogs_05_curiosity.gifNigerian Curiosity writes on the failure of Bill Gates to obtain a Nigerian visa.

“Apparently, Mr. Gates recently needed a visa for a planned visit to Nigeria. He was initially refused said visa on the premise that the authorities required proof he would not reside in Nigeria indefinitely, which would cause a strain on social services.

Eventually, the situation was cleared and Mr. Gates received a tourist visa to travel to the country of my fathers. He had to get a letter from his bank, though.” Hilarious!

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/324/blogs_06_ntwiga.gifSome music for a change.Steve Ntwiga is my favourite blog for African music. He specialises in seeking out old tunes and bands from the 60s and 70s. Everything here is wonderful and I only wish I knew where he found these gems.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/324/blogs_07_bennloxo.gifStaying with the music theme – Benn Loxo is the next best African music blog to Steve’s and in this post he features some rumba music from Tanzania

“There’s something really sexy about the word ‘rumba’. It’s also a bit of a misnomer in that over the years it came to represent a variety of Cuban-influenced musical styles popular across Africa, not all of them ‘rumba’ in its original sense.

While the heart of rumba was in the country-formerly-known-as-Zaire, there were many great groups in other countries as well. One reason is the civil war that erupted in Belgium Congo during the 1960s. It forced many Congolese musicians out of the country, a bunch of whom ended up in Tanzania”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/324/blogs_08_bl.gifBlack Looks comments on the findings by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission that the US government has been funding anti-gay and lesbian organisations in Uganda as well as supporting Iran and Cameroon in preventing gay rights groups from having consultative status at the UN.

"The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has published a disturbing story reporting that the US Government has been funding anti gay and lesbian groups in Uganda such as the Makerere University Community Church and the Ugandan Muslim Tabliqh Women’s Desk who have said they will form an “anti-gay squad to fight homosexuality.”

“The US has also supported Cameroon and Iran in preventing gay rights groups from having consultative status at the UN. At the same time that the US government is funding anti gay and lesbian organisations, it’s own State Department has issued a report on human rights giving details of abuses by some governments based on “sexual orientation and gender identity”. Not surprisingly the report failed to include the US government’s own human rights record in the report.”

* Sokari Ekine is Online Editor for Pambazuka News

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

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/322/blogs_01_africanloft.gifOlu... Akindutire of celebrates Nigeria’s 47th year of independence and asks “Nigeria at 47: Who are our heroes?” and lists 10 of his. A somewhat strange list that includes, Mungo Park, four head’s of state (3 rolled into one) and possibly the strangest of all “the British business men called colonialists”!

He does however include Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka but what about Fela and his mother Mrs Fumilayo Ransom Kuti who fought throughout her life for women’s rights? At number 10, Akindutire remembers the real heroes, those

“unsung or sometimes popular heroes who for one reason or the other became victims of the failed Nigerian project, the millions who died in the civil war and other religious or political riots in Nigeria; those felled by armed robber’s, militant’s, (occultist’s) and or assassin’s bullets; those felled by accidental discharges at check points and those who died as a result of extra-judicial killings or from political scheming and schisms; those who died because of inadequate, unavailable, unaffordable or untimely medical care; those whose careers were either truncated or compromised as a result of inefficient systems or parastatals”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/322/blogs_02_blogazette.gifThe Blogazette has a more interesting question of Nigeria’s 47th anniversary – “Nigeria must stop killing poets and other citizens”

“On October 1, 2007, Nigeria celebrates 47 years of independence from British rule. Many in Nigeria and elsewhere will be asking themselves what the independence has been all about. If Nigeria were a man who had set forth from home at the age of twenty-one to lead an independent life, should he, forty-seven years later appear unable to function with maturity, certainty and fairness? More importantly, should he have the blood of his offspring on his hands?”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/322/blogs_03_bwie.gifWomen in Europe report back on the Black Women in Europe Congress being held in Vienna last week. From her account the conference was a success with much bonding of women and also the fact that the event was reported in the local Austrian press.

“Emotions ran high as discussions and debates revealed our deep desire to participate in a dialogue about what it means to be a Black Women in Europe. I wept because I was so overwhelmed at the amount of abounding love, and the intense feeling of belonging. This is something Black Women in Europe seldom feel.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/322/blogs_04_sociolingo.gifSociolingo reports from Namibia and Senegal on indigenous language policies in schools. In Namibia children will be taught in their mother tongue from Grade 1-3 and from there on English classes will be taught in English but mother tongue languages will continue to be taught as a subject. In Senegal no decisions have been taken as yet except to say that children should “be able to learn in their own languages”.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/322/blogs_05_sasucks.gifWhy South Africa Sucks . For those who doubt there are still left over racists lurking on the streets (well behind their 10ft fences in urbanland or in other shady places – this blogger reminds us of the myth rainbow nation/people in post oops – apartheid South Africa.

“Ever so often, we get comments from readers of this blog, who froth at the mouth because we are so "racist". A friend of mine wrote the following piece and he emailed it to me today.....I reckon he succinctly sums up the bottom line. To those bleeding hearts who flatly refuse to acknowledge the hard facts about SA - take note. Thanks Fred.

Everything in South Africa is so politically correct, that very few Whites want to face up to the fact of what is really happening in our beloved country!
Answer the following questions and you will realise why South Africa is fast becoming another African basket case country.”

His solution? “If each of us must seize the opportunity to take active steps to make the necessary changes, we are all destined to be slaves under depraved politicians in our own fatherland.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/322/blogs_06_kubatana.gifhttp://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/322/blogs_07_youmissed.gifKumaKucha – You’ve Missed This reports on the outcome of an election rally in Uhuru Park, Nairobi following which violence erupted in the informal settlement of Kibera.

“I was very disappointed with the violence that erupted again in Kibera when Mr. Money bags Livondo decided to move with his entourage of vijana na Kibaki to Kibera after holding a rally at Uhuru Park…..I do not support political violence in any form or from supporters of anyone even my favorite Presidential candidate. I also agree that it is every ones constitutional right to vie for a civic or parliamentary seat anywhere in this Country. Freedom of movement is also every Citizen’s right.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/322/blogs_08_sudanese.gifSudanese Thinker links to “two new excellent blogs on Sudan”.

“Anyways, today I want to bring your attention to two excellent blogs which don’t contain the usual and annoying inaccuracies you see elsewhere.
Andrew Heavens, a journalist, has been writing a nice series of short posts at his blog. He’s now based in Sudan. Rob Crilly is also a journalist who travels to Sudan quite often. In fact he just returned from Darfur back to Nairobi recently. They’ve got some good stuff and by going through their posts, one can observe they have a deep understanding of what’s happening.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/322/blogs_09_committee.gifCommittee To Protect Bloggers has been reactivated after a year’s hiatus due to lack of funds. The aim of the CTPC is

“devoted to the protection of bloggers worldwide with a focus on highlighting the plight of bloggers threatened and imprisoned by their government. We support the right of bloggers, regardless of professional status or engagement in activism, to speak and we do so regardless of their ethnicity, national origin, religion or political beliefs.”

The CTPC can also be found on Face Book causes at http://www.blacklooks.org

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

In the early hours of February 29th 2004, democratically elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his wife Mildred were forced to leave their home under escort of US military and summarily marched onto an unmarked plane whose destination they did not know and were not told.

An Unbroken Agony presents a detailed day by day and hour by hour account of the immediate events leading to the kidnapping and removal of President Aristide. Noted activist and one of the few truly progressive African American voices, Randall Robinson, sets down the facts of the Coup D’Etat, side by side with his own commentary. He provides the evidence that the US was actively involved while France was directly complicit in the Coup that ousted Aristide and saw him flown, along with his with wife to the Central African Republic. Once there, they were literally dumped off the plane and for all intense and purposes held prisoner.

Robinson begins with an historical overview of Haiti from “the most fateful of days” in 1492 when Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of the island he named Hispaniola but which the indigenous people called Ayiti to the only successful slave revolt in history which led to an independent nation in 1804. The struggle for emancipation by the Black Jacobins was led by Toussaint L’Ouverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines and denied France the most profitable slave economy in the world. Not only was Haiti the most profitable, it was also arguably the most cruel. For example slaves were slaughtered for the amusement of their French masters and on one occasion, men were bayoneted and then dogs were let loose to rip them to shreds and devour them.

The history of Haiti is often a tale of history repeating itself. In response to the creation of the “first free republic in the Americas” the US and Europe imposed a global embargo and France demanded that Haiti pay $21 billion (in today’s dollars) as compensation for loss of it’s slaves and territory. Thus right from the beginning the new country found itself in a debt which it has never recovered from. In 1915 the US occupied Haiti for 19 years and, despite independence, the wealth of the country was held in the hands of a tiny minority and remains so till today. Robinson spends a whole chapter discussing class and caste in Haiti from it’s historical roots to the present. A society that saw itself as almost “a race apart from the large majority of Haitian people”.
“In Haiti today color remains as insuperable a barrier to social progress as ever”. ….Not even the least controversial of President Aristide’s proposed social reforms were conceded by his lighter-skinned and more privileged fellow citizens. Not even his proposal to strike the word peasant as a category of citizenship from the national birth certificate for that all rural blacks bore.”

He continues with a quote from Langston Hughes:

“It was in Haiti that I first realised how class lines may cut across color lines within a race, and how dark people of the same nationality may scorn those below them”.

Robinson chronicles the rise to power of Aristide from his early days during the Duvalier years, as a young priest in La Saline, a poor neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince to the populist and much loved leader of the Lavalas family. He details the actions of the various rebel groups supported by the Haitian moneyed classes and businesses and trained and armed by the US.

“Over the course of 2003, the Bush administration broadened its assault on Haiti into a crippling, multipronged campaign. In addition to arming the Duvalierist insurgents and organising Haiti’s tiny, splintered political opposition, the administration moved apace to strangle Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, into a state of economic, social and political collapse.”

President and Mrs Aristide’s last 24 hours in Haiti are detailed hour by hour moving back and forth between their activities and the whereabouts and manoeuvring of the rebels 100km from Port-au-Prince. Robinson goes into great detail to show that neither President Aristide nor his wife changed their routine or cancelled scheduled appointments including an interview with US radio journalist Tavis Smiley. That they were under great pressure during that period is a fact but until the early hours of the morning of the 29th both insisted they were not leaving Haiti. He also shows that despite warnings from the US that Aristide was going to be shot and the rebels were on their way to Port-au-Prince, they were in fact in the area of Gonaives and not moving.

Robinson’s presentation of Aristide is almost saintly. He does not try to hide his unwavering support of Aristide and his Lavalas party. I’ve read criticisms that Robinson does not address Aristide’s governance and there is only one good guy here and that is Aristide. Whilst I agree he does not cover Aristide’s governance and that the book is partisan, I do not take that as a failing as some have said. Randall Robinson, Maxine Waters and Amy Goodman have time and time again proved their honesty and determination to see justice done. The US on the other hand has a record of lies, deceit, assassinations and attempted assassinations of leaders it does not like, support of rebels against governments it doesn’t like whether they are elected democratically or not. The US has a record of supporting undemocratic oligarchies, monarchies and dictatorships when it suits them.

Randall Robinson set out to write about the history, oppression and punishment of a nation of Black people who dared to resist White Supremacist hegemony and in this he succeeded. The purpose of the book is to chronicle the US government’s actions in the support and removal of a democratically elected President. One who was escorted in the dead of night on a US military plane by US military personnel and unceremoniously dumped in Central Africa. As Robinson points out, the irony was that his host/jailer in the Central African Republic was an unelected ruler who came to power via a coup but who was supported financially by the US and whose country was and remains under French ownership.

The book sets the record straight and acts as a counter balance to the wall of untruths and misinformation presented by the US, other Western governments and the media which continues to present the Bush government’s version of events without question.

* An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnapping of a President” Basic Civitas Books, New York, 280 pages, USD $26.
* Randall Robinson: http://www.randallrobinson.com/
* Sokari Ekine is online news editor of Pambazuka News
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Last week Atlanta, Georgia hosted the first US Social Forum. Sokari Ekine provides some reflective thoughts on the gathering.

10,000 people came together last week in Atlanta to celebrate grassroots activism across the United States (US). This was the first social forum to be held in the US. That it was held in Atlanta Georgia, home of the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King was not lost on many participants. On the downside, there was the overbearing presence of the Market Place; exclusion of some citizens; over-representation of the Latino community and under-representation of other immigrant communities. However as good opportunities to network and some valuable issues emerged, such and the need to be less self-congratulatory and more reflective.

The opening march was attended by about 10,000 people. It was an uplifting experience to be amongst so many mainly African American and Latino activists from across the US. The main focuses were Katrina/the Gulf Coast, immigration, sexuality and social justice. In contrast to the World Social Forum (WSF), the US forum was not hijacked by the large NGOs, though there were a fair number of smaller US based ones present. Still, the majority of participants appeared to be from truly grassroots community organisations.

Logistically the forum was spread out across various hotels as well as the main Civic Center. This made it difficult to move from one workshop to another, with only a 30 minute break allocated between each one. It also felt very strange to be discussing neoliberalism and anti-imperialism in downtown Atlanta hotels, such as the massive phallic design of the Westin, where the only food available was provided by Starbucks. Atlanta is a city dominated by Coca Cola, the headquarters of Coca Cola with its own museum round the corner from the downtown hotels. Similar to the WSF, the issue of exclusion, cost of hiring space for organisational tents (as high as US$1000), exorbitant cost of food and the excessive Forum Marketplace were all features of the USSF. To enter the Civic Center you had to pass through not one, but a group of ‘guards’ who demanded to see your pass, thus preventing local Atlanta citizens, including a large homeless population, many of whom where just round the corner, from participating. Rumour had it that there had been a discussion over searching people’s bags but fortunately this idea was abandoned.

The $15 minimum entry fee also added to the exclusion of the homeless. You had the ironic situation of activists supposedly working with the marginalised communities having to walk past the homeless everyday as if they were a group of invisible men and women. Close by there was a sign reading ‘Commercial solicitation prohibited. No direct verbal address allowed’, presumably aimed at preventing the homeless from engaging with the rest of the public.

Three notable sessions were the on Gulf Coast reconstruction in the post-Katrina era, ‘Race and Immigration – Immigration Rights’, and from the Africa Tent, ‘Zimbabwe: The Way Forward?’. The Gulf Coast panel brought the house down with reports and moving testimonies from all the activists working on the ground. The main issue was that of the ‘Right to Return’, the right to land and housing as per pre-Katrina, and the struggle against developers and forced removal of local people.

Like the Gulf Coast session, these sessions were well attended. However it was clear that the US immigration activists’ movement is very Latino-centric and even within the Latinos it is very ‘Mexican’ centric. This is something that seriously needs to be addressed, as large numbers of immigrants are being marginalised and made invisible within the movement. African Latinos from across South America, people from all parts of the Caribbean, African and Arab immigrants were very much under-represented. A number of participants felt they had no voice whatsoever. Despite their speaking out, one still left wondering whether or not there needs would be addressed.

The discussion on Zimbabwe was excellent, though very polarised between those who supported the Mugabe regime and those that felt Africans and African Americans needed to condemn Mugabe and other dictators across the continent and work towards democracy and human rights, with social movements and civil society groups taking a lead. There was an assumption amongst some people that because Mugabe was condemned by America and the West that Mugabe himself was the victim; rather than of the reality, which is that the ordinary people of Zimbabwe are the victims of Mugabe’s repression and face resultant daily economic misery.

I missed the People’s Movement Assembly but attended the closing ceremony which was basically a couple of hours of self-congratulatory speeches around the forum with very little reflection and self-critique. I spoke with many participants. There were complaints that too many of the workshops were like lectures with short question and answer sessions and not solution orientated and participatory enough. The real success of the forum was outside the workshops, and the networking that took place between groups and individuals. For many grassroots groups this was the first opportunity to meet with people from other parts of the US working on similar issues. If contact between the various movements can be maintained, then there is hope that the forum will be the beginnings of a strong grassroots opposition to mainstream America, neoliberalism, racial oppression and criminalisation of the poor and immigrant population.

Future social forums must seriously address the issue of exclusion whether through the cost of participation, or as in Nairobi and Atlanta, the physical prevention of sections of the local community being refused entry and by virtue of being economically challenged, prevented from eating, let alone having access to water. Water was being sold outside the Civic Center at the USSF for $1 for a small bottle of water – people would not have had to buy this if sufficient water barrels were available. Two friends of mine who had applied for ‘camping space’ from the list of accommodation provided by the USSF website. On arriving they were told by the ‘commune’ that they had to pay $10 each per night – an amount they could not afford. They were then in the position of having to look for alternative space to stay. Eventually they found a household that agreed for them to stay in their backyard but refused them the use of any of their facilities. Thus to use the toilet they had to sneak into the ‘commune’ and use the bathrooms in the Civic Center. This is not acceptable at a social forum whereby so called progressive peoples take advantage of their comrades by adopting the very same market principles that they claim to object to.

Despite all this, I did however feel privileged to have met many US grassroots activists working on a range of issues and from across the country. It is important to know that there are people living in the ‘belly of the beast’ that are fighting from within and are aware of the impact of that beast on the people of the global South.

* Sokari Ekine is online editor of Pambazuka News

* Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org