Africabeat

Congo: 'Fifth plane crash in five years, rising food prices the real disaster'

I received an email a few hours ago from a friend in Goma who told me the sky was literally falling.  Did my little futile bit, and translated a post by Cabiau, a Belgian aid worker living in Kinshasa, who has had a lot in the past about Congo's proclivity for plane crashes.  This is the fifth fatal crash since June 2007.

He says--and rightly so--that it takes a photogenic disaster to attract the attention of the Western media; the coverage of this accident is a flash of light on a place that otherwise exists in darkness.  I don't use the word "darkness" in the Joseph Conrad sense, but rather in the sense that if you were to ask most relatively well-educated Westerners what the deadliest conflict was since World War II, I think many (or at least the Americans) would answer, "the Vietnam War."  The International Rescue Committee estimates the death toll of the Second Congo War (1998-2003ish) is 5.4 million.

But it's not the plane crashes we should worry about.  Cabiau writes that skyrocketing food prices are the real disaster looming.

Read the post at Global Voices

The difference between Senegal and China

Also originally appearing on Global Voices:

Blog politique au Senegal explains the difference between Senegal and China [Fr]: “Aside from the obvious differences like the color of their skin, the enormous disparity in the size of their populations, their respective demographic differences, I also know that there exists another fundamental difference…Us, we play football, we dream of footballs, we talk about football, we worship the professional football players, we beg in order to pay for this time-wasting game that brings the country to a halt whenever there is a match. All the while the Chinese also dream of footballs: those that they will manufacture and sell to us in cash!”

(I love Blog Politique au Senegal by the way.  One of the most incisive and prolific political blogs in all of French-speaking Africa.)

Louis Michel Heckled by Congolese Protestors at the London School of Economics

A recent French translation post on GV:

Le renouveau congolais posted [Fr] a YouTube video which shows Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid and formerly Belgian's foreign minister, as he was confronted by Congolese protesters during a talk given earlier this month on the EU and Africa at the London School of Economics.

Keep on readin'

Kebra Nagast

I'm a little surprised I managed to be on this planet for 25 years without learning anything about the Kebra Nagast.  Samuel Malher, a scholar from Strasbourg, has just published the first unabridged French translation, and I have excerpts from an interview with him by Roots and Culture up at Global Voices.

This week, francophone blog Roots and Culture interviews [FR] Samuel Malher, a religious scholar from Strasbourg who has written the first unabridged French translation of the Kebra Negast, a sacred Ethiopian text.

The Kebra Negast, or the Glory of Kings, is considered sacred not only by Orthodox Ethiopian Christians, who comprise 65% of the country's population, but many Jamaican Rastafarians who believe it predicts the last Ethiopian King was God incarnate. It documents the lineage of the Ethiopian monarchs, who are said to descend directly from Menelik, son of the Israelite King Solomon and the Ethiopian Queen Makeda, otherwise known as the Queen of Sheba.  It also tells the story of how the Ark of the Covenant was taken from Israel to Ethiopia, and how the Ethiopians became God's new chosen people.

Keep reading

D.R. of Congo: Should Christian Revivalist Churches Be Encouraging Political Activism?

Continuing an age-old debate–is religion the “opium of the people” or can it be a catalyst for social change?–Congolese blogger Blaise Mantoto at UDPS Liege says the Congo’s Christian revivalist churches, which he cynically refers to as “for-profit spiritual shops,”
encourage political disengagement [Fr]. He calls on revivalist churches to rewrite their missions, arguing they should inspire their followers to improve their social and economic situation through political activism.

UDPS Liege is the Belgium-based branch of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress, a major Congolese opposition party and a vocal critic of Joseph Kabila, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Revivalist and charismatic churches have become increasingly popular in the Congo–at the expense of Catholic churches–by offering magical and miraculous solutions to the misery and insecurity Congolese have faced for decades. (These churches have also made news for making money off of the cruel exorcisms of child witches.)

But whether or not these churches encourage apathy, not everyone agrees that religion and politics should mix.

Read the rest at Global Voices

Global Voices Francophonia

I just wanted to announce that I have recently been hired as Global Voices francophonia editor after working as a francophonia volunteer for just over a year.  Alice Backer originated the position and is now helping Global Voices develop Lingua, an exciting project to make Global Voices content available in other languages (now currently available in French, Bangla, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian!).

As francophonia editor, I'll be monitoring/curating/translating French blogs from the Americas, Oceania, the Middle East, Europe, and of course Africa.  I know that work will only add to what I've been doing here at Africabeat.

Being a part of Global Voices has enriched my life beyond measure; I've made new friends and explored new worlds.  If you are not familiar with Global Voices, please take a moment to explore their website and read more about their history and mission.

Reuters in Africa

Today, Reuters launched its new website, Reuters Africa, which as Reuters Africa editor John Chiahemen told The Guardian, hopes "to show that Africa can be covered as a business story, not just a disaster story."

Is it just me, or does this seem like another sign there's a paradigm shift in the making?

Chinese Perceptions of Hu's Visit to Africa

I've been meaning to write something about Hu's Africa trip, but life has gotten busy of late.  To tide you over, here is a fascinating post from Jacky Peng, a Global Voices contributor and Singapore-based blogger on Chinese perception of their leader's visit to the continent:

Who is visiting Africa?

Chinese President Hu Jintao is on a 10-day-visit to Africa now. Many state-owned news media such as Xinhua News Agency and People’s Daily, headline his visit on their websites’ front page almost everyday. His tour has also attracted attention from Chinese netizens.

The Chinese government regards Hu’s visit as a great diplomatic victory. Many Chinese echo with exultance.

A popular post applaudeded Hu’s effort in Sudan’s Darfur crisis, China vs. the US in Africa: Bush failed, Hu Jintao succeeded!!!

在俺们胡哥的亲切的微笑中，达尔富尔问题就这样解冻了！在俺们胡哥的亲切的微笑中，联合国的维和部队就快要进住了！

布什做不到的，胡哥在微笑中做到了！！！

中非友谊是真正的友谊！！！！！！！！！

支持胡哥！

Our brother Hu thawed the Darfur crisis with his cordial smile! The United Nations peacekeeping force is going to station (in Darfur) with his cordial smile!

Bush failed, brother Hu succeeded with smile!!!

Sino-Africa friendship is a true friendship!!!!!!

Support brother Hu!!!!

(Read Jacky's post in full at Global Voices)

Guinea-Conakry: The End of a Dictatorship?

Conakry, capital of the francophone West African country of Guinea, is bracing for a new round of violence following last month's general strike which left at least 59 dead and 1400 injured.  The strikes were organized by Guinea's powerful labor unions to pressure President Lansana Conte, an aging dictator, to appoint a prime minister without ties to the current regime and devolve some of his considerable powers.  On January 28, after an 18-day standstill, Conte and the unions reached a deal.

However, union leaders are unhappy with President Lansana Conte's choice of prime minister, and are planning to go ahead with a second round of strikes, due to start tomorrow.  In the last few days, 8 civilians have already been killed, including two in an incident were presidential security forces opened fire on youths throwing stones (Fr) at the president's motorcade.

By all accounts, the unions have considerable support among the Guinean people, who also want Conte to share power or step down.

Read the rest of this post on Global Voices

DRC Elections

Extra Extra and The Salon are two English-language blogs that have been offering really great coverage of election day.  I've also been writing a bit about the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the elections elsewhere:

Global Voices

• DRC: Optimism on Eve of Landmark Election

• DRC: As Elections Approach, the Congo’s Bloggers Discuss Recent Violence, Media Repression and the Limits of Foreign Aid

• DRC Roundup: Elections, Mining Corruption, Peacekeepers & More

• DRC: Coup Attempts and More Questions on the Upcoming Elections

About.com

• The Congo's Historic Election: Between Hope and Cyncism

• Congo Election: Quick Facts