Dear Bob Geldof, where are you?
Dear Bob Geldof, Where are you? Somalia is screwed. Famine has caused thousands of Somalis to leave their homes and head across the border to refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, in hopes of receiving food and aid from international aid agencies. They are finding little help! The other day, on the news, I saw a woman who had to keep tying rope around her stomach to stop her hunger pangs so she could take care of her children. (I can’t remember if that was for Somalia or Pakistan). Starving refugees stand in line, hours on end, outside the Mogadishu’s Badbaado Camp kitchen, holding ...
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Qaddafi 1, Libyan opposition 0
While the US, the UK, France, Germany and other western allies have done all they could to oust Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi, they have failed. In fact, if anything, the dictator, who has been in charge of the North African country for close to four decades is nowhere close to relinquishing his position. In this, he has shown himself to be far more resilient than Hosni Mubarak and this may be slightly ironic given that the protesters off Libya got their inspiration in large part from their counterparts in Egypt. However, unlike in the case of Egypt, the US saw in Libya ...
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Watch out Kenya! We might let you win
We might be looking at the first upset of the World Cup on Tuesday. This is the day that African minnows, Kenya take on former cricket world and T20 champions Pakistan. And no, it won’t be an upset because Kenya is an amazing talent and has the potential to beat any team on their day. I mean, that may or may not be true, but the real reason that an upset is a possibility is because they are playing Pakistan. This is a team that can beat the best in the world, on their day, and lose to the worst ...
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A Liberian story of liberation
Martin Luther King Jr was not the only dreamer, there are others too; people who turn their dreams into reality. One such woman is Leymah Gbowee, who led the women of Liberia to end war in a thoroughly non-conventional but highly replicable way. The war in Liberia was vicious, far worse than even we – living in a land of suicide bombers – can imagine. Even the women of Liberia had taken up arms to fight in the civil war, killing sporadically, and it was Leymah who united them against their dictator Charles Taylor. Dressed in white, the women gathered to besiege ...
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Duvalier’s return to Haiti: Not really a big surprise
Jean-Claude Duvalier, also known as Baby Doc, has been planning his return to Haiti for at least six months. The former dictator has had a small but active political party lobbying for his return. His girlfriend Veronique Roy and a handful of supporters have been laying the groundwork for his arrival. In certain parts of the capital Port-au-Prince he has support from the people; the Duvalier name is spray painted on the sides of some buildings. But when he returned on Sunday, 24 years and 11 months after he was deposed, world leaders reacted with shock and condemnation. US State ...
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My selfish desire to not be a stereotype
At the documentary production company where I worked over the summer, one of our ongoing projects was a film about four Senegalese teenagers chosen to come to the U.S. on basketball scholarships. At the end of the film, the boys return to Senegal, and one of them says, “We were the lucky ones. Now it’s our turn to give back.” “Ah, that noble, selfless spirit!” my boss once remarked with an ironic laugh, as we had just finished watching a fresh cut of the film. “Isn’t that just so African?” “No,” I thought to myself, slightly annoyed at her levity. “There’s nothing ...
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Nicaragua to Pakistan: A model for revolution
A BBC anchor asked two wise Pakistani women this week if the dire situation of their country could lead to revolution. One conceded that she couldn’t tell and the other responded by reminding us that it will not bode well for the world if something drastic was to happen to Pakistan. I am not surprised that neither could see revolution on the horizon. Another notable revolutionary posted on his Facebook wall today: “The balance of forces in our society call for a protracted struggle to achieve the rule of law. Adventurism will be counter productive.” I agree with ‘protracted struggle’ part of his assertion ...
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Will the Kampala blasts herald a wave of terror in East Africa?
Somali militant group Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for twin blasts in Kampala, the Ugandan capital. 74 people were killed while watching the end of the World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands, and dozens were injured. An unexploded suicide vest laden with ball bearings was also found in a disco hall, suggesting that militants planned another attack. Four “foreign” suspects were arrested in connection with the find. No doubt, this is a significant event. It represents the first time that Al Shabaab, a rebel group attempting to gain control of Somalia, has struck outside the country’s borders. However, ...
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Definitions of Vuvuzela: The farangi dictionary!
vu·vu·zela –noun 1. An object whose potential noise experience at the FIFA World Cup 2010 will always be missed by David Beckham, Ronaldinho, Michael Ballack, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Essien. 2. A stadium horn devised to produce ultrasonic waves as well as shock waves which shall now be the national election symbol of all African politicians. 3. A gift which every European is destined to present to his African friend, on the next Thanksgiving Day! 4. The cure for healing hearing disorders and choked ears, produced as a result of an extensive African teen-age medical research! *Not to forget the complaints from Europe and others During ...
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