The Anti-Slavery Award 2004

Today I wanted to highlight and comment on some positive news coming out of Africa as there is plenty of Good News from Africa. There were also some interesting developments in regards to blogs and their affects on society I wanted to write about, but that will have to wait. While checking on some of my fellow blog authors today to see what they are up to I ran across this bit of news at Owukori’s Black Looks about a human rights organization working in the African country of Niger named Timidria.

Now, last week “Mama Miti” (a.k.a. Professor Dr. Wangari Maathai) down in Kenya was awarded one of the most prestigious honors the world has to offer, The Nobel Peace Prize. Today I have learned that another great honor albeit not as well known as the Nobel has been bestowed upon the not-for-profit foundation Timidria and their president Mr. Llguilas Weila by the world’s oldest human rights organization, Anti-Slavery International in the U.K. I want to extend my personal congratulations to Timidria for receiving the 2004 Anti-Slavery Award for their pioneering work to help eradicate the practice of slavery in Niger.

The ceremony will take place in London, U.K. on November 03, 2004 at St. James Square and the award will be handed out by one of my documentary film director heroes Sorious Samura of Cry Freetown and Living with Hunger. Unfortunately, this excellent African organization which has worked so hard to help end one of the worst scourges of ancient and modern times, SLAVERY, will not be receiving any financial award for their efforts in Niger. The Anti-Slavery International foundation has been around since 1839 and has been doing very notable work long before U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued on September 22, 1862 one of the most treasured documents in U.S. American History, The Emancipation Proclamation, ordering the freedom of slaves (all nationalities and colors) held in the U.S. at the height of the American Civil War.

I would love to address the issues of Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking on this blog today, but to be honest, this subject gets me so upset that if I get started on it your computer might catch on fire just from the heat coming off of the words I would use. So instead, I will just provide you with some excerpts of words written by others and some useful links to resources for my readers to learn more.

An excerpt from the Anti-Slavery International Award 2004 Press Release:

“Slavery is an integral part of Niger society. Thousands of people are born into a slave class and are forced to work without freedom or pay throughout their lives.The true scale of slavery across the country only became clear last year, following Timidria's research -- the first national study of slavery to be carried out. The organisation interviewed over 11,000 people, most of whom were identified as slaves, establishing that at least 43,000 people are in slavery across the country. Many of those interviewed were subjected to torture and other forms of humiliating and degrading treatment, including rape, physical abuse and threats.

Following the release of the report, the Government introduced a law that defines, prohibits and punishes slavery. And as a direct result of Timidria's action, over 200 people were freed by the end of 2003. Despite this progress there is still much to do to ensure the regulations are enforced and support is available for those freed.

Slavery has been a taboo subject in Niger with supporters both within the state apparatus and among traditional chiefs. Even other human rights organisations in the country have been silent on it. Ilguilas Weila and other Timidria staff have faced a continual struggle in their work against slavery, including being threatened, intimidated and attacked…”

An excerpt from the background and testimony of a former woman slave freed in June 2004 named Assabit:

"Assibit's experience is typical of many former slaves in Niger. She was a slave for 50 years. She was born a slave, her mother, husband and children were all slaves. She had to work all day from early in the morning, preparing food for the master and his family, milking camels, collecting water and firewood, and doing all the household chores. She had to move her master's heavy tent four times a day so he and the mistress remained sitting in the shade.
Assibit escaped on 28 June 2004, walking 30 kilometres to freedom. She says of her experience:

"We were never paid, I was only given one tenth of the camel milk and leftovers. I have never known happiness until this month of freedom. Now I can go to bed when I want, no one insults me. Now that I am free, I can live as I please."

Timidria is now helping Assibit adjust to freedom and has also secured the release of her mother and daughter…”


More Useful Links and Resources on Slavery and Human Trafficking Worldwide:

Anti-Slavery International homepage
Anti-Slavery International web pages on Niger

U.S. Department of State 2003 Trafficking in Persons Report

National Geographic Special Report 21st Century Slavery

Black Looks weblog Chronological Postings on Slavery

Experts and international organizations dealing with Human Trafficking and Slavery estimate there are about 27 million modern-day slaves in existence today around the world. I beg to differ, as I think there are probably more than 3-5 times that many people living in some form of slavery around the world (based upon the experts very definitions).

Economies and social structures of too many nations depend upon the cheap and/or free labor and suffering of slaves___ for centuries and to this very day. We can stop it worldwide in our lifetimes, and we must work together to put a stop to it.

Actually, this is how I really want to say it to the nations and peoples who condone slavery:

CUT ‘EM LOOSE YOU SLAVE-DRIVIN’ *******! FREE THESE PEOPLE, NOW!!!

A Survival Study in Black and White

The Chai Lady
Photo by Tom Gething, Sudan 2004

It is a beautiful B&W portrait of one of the older Chai Women of Khartoum. Her face and hands tell us stories that words could probably not adequately describe. I cannot tell her age from this photo but she seems to have seen a lifetime already, and she looks so tired today. She is as beautiful as any of the young women of Khartoum who hopefully seek her knowledge and wisdom. A mother of the City of Khartoum.

Here are Tom's words used to describe this photo:
"A portrait of a 'tea' lady in Khartoum. She makes a subsistance living selling glasses of tea or coffee on the street at $0.01 a glass.

I think this is one of my favourite photos. Her face is wonderful, proud and beautiful. The original was coloured but the light was great. Changing to B&W has I think brought a different sort of depth to the photo."

Amen brother!

Coffee, Tea, or a Smile?

The Smile is Free!
Photo by Tom Gething, Sudan 2003-2004

Well, I don't know if he bought a tea from the Chai Lady, but he was certainly able to encourage her to give the world one of the most beautiful smiles from Khartoum. The people of Khartoum and throughout Sudan are some of the most warm-hearted and welcoming people anywhere on the planet. I should know. One of my best friends when I was a younger man who lived and worked in another faraway desert land hailed from the ancient city of Al Khartum in the Sudan.

Here is what Tom had to say about this lovely young woman:
"Another picture of a 'chai' (tea) lady working on the streets of Khartoum. This young woman is a refugee from the Nuba Mountains in the west of Sudan, whose 'tea house' is a ramshackle lean-to (made from sticks of cane and plastic sheeting) on the side of an empty brick building.

She looks so young and yet has a beautiful daughter (about 6 years old I would guess).'Chai' ladies can be found on every shady street corner in Khartoum. In the mornings they set up shop in the dawn light, burning the charcoal and mixing their sweet teas and tangy coffee. Some offer delicious doughnuts to start the day, and many regulars stop on their way to work to sit and chat with friends.

It's a precarious existence; the money they make in a day (often 12-14hours) will probably only be enough to buy tomorrow's provisions and pay for a meal for their family."

A Chai Vendor in Khartoum

The Coffee Lady
Photo by Tom Gething, Sudan 2003-2004

She doesn't look too happy about this white dude hanging around with a camera wanting to take her picture. Perhaps she would be friendlier if this guy wanted to buy some of her wares (coffee or tea)? Maybe the conversation would go something like this:

"Hello kind sir, welcome to Al Khartum. Would you like a tea with that photo?"

The Orange Door to Al Khartum

The Day the Sky Turned Orange
Photo by Tom Gething, Sudan 2003-2004

This is the start of a new series of photos taken by Tom after his return to Khartoum in September 2004. I love the light transition from darkness to the orange sky as it is framed by this portal doorway to the outside . The photo was taken during a "haboob" (duststorm) which Tom describes for another photo in this series:

"... but it shows what a dust storm is like in Khartoum. It arrives swifty, turns the world orange and is gone in 20 minutes. An extraordinary feat of nature."

Back to the Future: Sudan

Some weeks ago I received a special permission to work with some digital photos taken by Tom Gething who lives and works in Khartoum, Sudan. I am very appreciative to Tom for the opportunity to display and comment in my own words (and sometimes in his words) about a body of work that has captured my attention for months. I am very proud to be able to share these beautiful images with you my readers. I hope that I can do his work and the people in Tom's photos justice.

There has also been an increase in “behind the scenes” communication with fellow bloggers from Africa and people interested in Africa. It’s encouraging to know that so many people are trying to find ways to work together around the world to help solve Africa’s many problems and move the continent forward. I am so very thankful for that communications everyone.

Jewels in the Jungle started out as an experiment with what we technologists call a “web-based application” to see if weblogs can be a viable, reliable, secure, inexpensive and an easy-to-use communication tool for people who share similar interests. Blogs are also used to help people easily collaborate with one another, a type of grassroots information and knowledge-sharing platform. The technology behind weblogs is actually more than 12 years old but blogging still is in the cradle stage right now and the "Baby is on steroids!".

I do read the work of a number of other blog authors regularly and am amazed at the wealth of human talent and ability out there in the Blogoshpere. I am equally amazed at how fast blogging is growing at the rate of about ½ million blogs a month. There are a number of professionals in various fields following weblogs closely and notably among them are people who write and publish for a living: journalists, publishers, media companies. So do visit my blogroll “Hot Blogs & Sites To Go” and use it as a launch pad off into the Blogoshpere to discover what other people around the world are thinking and writing.

One of my favorite bloggers on Africa is Owukori of Black Looks who has just returned from a visit to the States (she hates America but we’re trying to work this problem out somehow). Anyway, I really like her work and her style when I’m not pissed-off at her comments about my country. Owukori has been doing some excellent writing on Nigeria and especially on the crisis with Big Bad Oil vs. the People of the Niger River Delta. Do visit her weblog and help educate yourself about Owukori's views on Africa and the world.

I’d also like to thank Owukori for the hot tip on an excellent article about Sudan from Mahmood Mamdani, the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government and Director of the Institute of African Studies, Columbia University, New York. Professor Mamdani’s article will serve as a solid foundation for a new series of postings I'm doing on Sudan together with Tom’s photos.

So, here we go, through the open doors of Al Khartum and into the Land of the Sudan.

Nobel Peace Prize for 2004

Olso, Norway. Friday morning. October 08, 2004
"...and the winner of this year's Nobel Prize for Peace is... (Wait a minute. You sure we have this name right Hans? Ja ja Ole, the name is correct. Go ahead and read it aloud.) ...and the Nobel Prize for Peace for the year 2004 goes to___ (light cough) goes to Professor Wangari Maathai of Kenya.

Newsroom editors around the world. Friday. October 08, 2004
"Professor who? Dr. who? Kenya? You sure they got that right? I've never heard of him. Her? It's a woman, an environmentalist!? And she is BLACK!!? This is big news, real big! Get me some copy on Dr. what's her name__(Professor Wangari Maathai, she's a Member of Parliament in Kenya)__ yeah, yeah, get me some copy on Professor Maathai there right away. Right now! Stop the presses. Stop the doggone presses!

CNN News: Kenyan in Surprise Peace Prize Win , Maathai Profile
BBC News: Kenyan Ecologist Wins Nobel Peace Prize, Profile
Kenya Daily Nation: Professor Maathai Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Office in Germany. Friday noon. October 08, 2004
(BlackRiverEagle) "Yessir! What? Yesss Mamm!! She won! She won, doggone it! Stand up Africa, stand up in the world and be counted! Show me you can do it, show the world you can do it and all you need is a little help in the right places from the right people. All I need is a little help from my friends."

"My hat is off to you Doctor Maathai, I mean Madame Minister. Hallelujah! Congratulations Kenya! Congratulations to the women of Africa and to women all around the world. Show 'em you have a place in this world, that you have the right to be in charge of things and that you have the brains for it, the courage for it, and the heart for it. Yessiree!"

Dear Mshairi, my blogger friend from Kenya. You were right my dear. Women most definately can save the planet Earth. The right answer to your question is an empahtic YES! Congratulations.

Here is the link to Professor Wangari Maathai's Green Belt Movement organization in Kenya.

Here are some recent news articles on environmental issues in Africa and Planet Earth:
Planet Under Pressure (a BBC News Six-Part Special Report)
Oil Boom Fuels Bushmeat Trade

Here is my favorite quote (so far) from Professor Wangari Maathai of Kenya:

...Mrs Maathai says she usually uses a biblical analogy of creation to stress the importance of the environment.
"God created the planet from Monday to Friday. On Saturday he created human beings.
The truth of the matter is... if man was created on Tuesday, I usually say, he would have been dead on Wednesday, because there would not have been the essential elements that he needs to survive," she told the BBC...

Update Saturday October 9th, 2004:
Boy I can see the editors and reporters at the bigtime news organizations got their act together quick, you could watch the stories update online hour-to-hour on Dr. Maathai. The more I read about this great woman the more I like her. How come it took 30 years for the world to know about this woman and to recognize her work?

"Mama Miti" - The Mother of Trees (in Kiswahili language). Boy they got that name right. Here is some more news and background on Professor Wangari Maathai of Kenya.
BBC News: Locals toast Mama Miti's Win

And here is good news on new agreements reached at the CITES Convention in Bangkok to help protect the remaining wildlife populations in Africa. BBC News: Ivory Crackdown Agreed in Africa

If we could only keep those corrupt politicians and business people (you know who you are) and the murdering bushmeat hunters and wildlife traders away we just might be getting somewhere with protecting Africa's precious flora and fauna. At least what's left and that 'aint much.

Friday's Smile

Something to smile about on a Friday.
Photo by Susanne Behnke, Uganda 2003

Something really important happened to me this week in regards to this blog, some really good news Out of Africa. I've been thinking about it and thinking about for the past few days, and I am gonna think about it some more this weekend. And then I am going to get busy with this new opportunity and together with the bearer of this gift from Africa share it with you, my readers, ASAP.

In the meantime, please check out the other great blogs and sites listed in my blogroll "Hot Blogs & Sites To Go" because there are some excellent blog authors there. Follow Yvette at Inside Somaliland and Ethan Zuckerman at Harvard and the new addition Timbuktu Chronicles and oh yeah, don't forget the folks at University of Southern California's Online Journalism Review. Here is a link to a great article from USC's OJR on Internet Access and Use in Africa.

Good, see you again next week. Have a nice weekend :-) Jeez, how American can this guy get?!

P.S. Hey, you like politics and world affairs? Are you one of those people who go around thinking "If I had a chance to meet President So-and-So I would give him a ...", one of those international affairs pundits? Have you seen this story on Kerry and Bush from the Washington Post, "Kerry is Widely Favored Abroad"? Then you need to visit Priorities & Frivolities over at my blogroll, that's why I put it in there. Got an opinion, tell Robert Garcia Tagorda, not me. I'm not into politics myself (ha-ha-ha-ha- ha-ha-ha-ha). ha.

Iranian Bloggers Protest Government Crackdown

Iranian Bloggers Protest Government Crackdown on Reformist News Sites

"Uhh-Ohh! I think they are on to us (bloggers)?! Oh Schei--- !"
... and you thought that I was only going to write and post about Africa. Hah, fooled you didn't I?

Look, bloggers are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with, online and offline (like in the streets). All kinds of people are trying to follow and understand this fast-developing phenomenon of free speech from the people available for free___ or at least at low cost, requires lot's of sweat-equity from the author(s) & publisher(s) though.

So if you are blogging from behind enemy lines or from within countries where free speech makes the folks-in-charge kinda nervous, watch your step and cover your behind. Pay attention to articles like this one from the Online Journalism Review, an excellent website of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Journalism.

"You could be next, Buster, so watch what you say in our country!"

Millennium Development Goals 101 - Lesson 1

Social and sustainable economic development for the world, now there is a subject you can sink your teeth into. Thanks to a reader comment on my last posting "U.N. Delegation from Uganda" I have been "yanked-away" from breathing fire at Khartoum and made to focus on a topic which is one of the basis points for starting this blog in the first place. Thanks Mshairi.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDG's) is probably one of the most comprehensive initiatives to come out of the U.N. and its member nations for decades. As Mshairi has so eloquently pointed out in her comment, it is extremely important that we (we = the Whole World) successfully fulfill our promises and responsibilities as set forth in the MDG's for 2015___ and beyond.

I became interested in some MDG progress reports myself after Mshairi brought it up in her comment, so I did a little search (using Google of course, since they support us Blogger bloggers big time). Here is what I was able to find on Google in like 0-comma-zip seconds:

The UNDP (U.N. Development Programme) has all kinds of very good websites, and one of them is focused on Human Development Reports (HDR's). The Human Development Report 2003 has a lot of detailed information on where we (we = the Whole World) are at the moment on the MDG 2015 performance scale and timeline. The complete HDR 2003 is massive folks (6.5+MB pdf-file download) so watchout if you only have a dial-up internet connection, you'll be downloading all day. The report is also broken-down into smaller parts for easier digestion and downloading, fortunately. Smart and very considerate of the web design team at UNDP.

Note also that this UNDP site has some very interesting facts listed on their Do you know webpage. Here is one little factoid from this cool mini-site for your reflection:

Did you know that...
A baby born in Zambia today can have a life expectancy of just 32 years. A baby born in Japan can expect to live until the age of 82. (Ref. HDR 2004)

So, have fun on these excellent UNDP sites, although there is nothing funny about the subject matter. Don't miss the HDR Statistics site and the National HDR sites. Maybe we need to work on making careers in this field not only fulfilling, but also a lot of fun, and economically rewarding.

Hey, I see the UNDP design team is using Macromedia Cold-Fusion for their web development. I wonder what kinda database their running? Ummm, what is this HDR toolkit button... ___ ooh! Online learning courses too, cool.......... .

The U.N. Delegation from Uganda

The U.N. Delegation of the Future from Uganda
Photo by Susanne Behnke, Uganda 2003

Just doing a bit of dreaming about what the future could hold for the kids in the photos I'm posting today. What the future could hold for them in this century if we get behind 'em and get serious about all that talk at the U.N. this week. I wonder what these children dream about in regards to their future? Simple needs or really big dreams?

I wonder how many of my readers have ever heard about the Millinneum Development Goals or the Millinneum Challenge Account? I bet my two new blogger friends from Kenya, Mshairi and Kui, know what these programs are all about. Now the challenge is, how do we make it work for these kids?

The Concierge at the Waldorf

The Concierge at the Waldorf
Photo by Susanne Behnke, Uganda 2003

O.K. for this kid that might be quite a stretch. However, where I come from there are plenty of Rags-to-Riches real life stories, so why not for this little guy? He already has the "warm greetings" part of the job down pat.

The Dance Teacher

The Dance Teacher
Photo by Susanne Behnke, Uganda 2003

Respect for the Rule of Law

Addressing UN Assembly, Annan urges nations to restore respect for rule of law

Are you following the events in New York at the opening session of the 59th U.N. General Assembly? If not, you should be, because your very life may depend on what happens there, and what does or does not happen afterward.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan was in top form while delivering the opening address. You have to respect and admire this man who sincerely cares so much for all people around the world. Annan's speech was very moving and should make everyone do some deep, serious thinking about our responsibilities and actions. Annan is a valuable gift for an undeserving world.

I would suggest that we all not let him down, again. That goes for you too, Omar. We saw your U.N. delegation taking a serious toungue-lashing while they were looking for a hole to crawl into under their seats. 'Aint no hiding places on the floor of the General Assembly when the eyes of the world are upon you. Eyes fed by TV news cameras running live feeds and connected to satellite uplinks and downlinks around the globe.

Now I saw Dr. Condelezza Rice sitting in the General Assembly surrounded by representatives from just about every country in the world, and neither she nor Colin Powell looked none too happy when the subject of Darfur came up. President Bush of the U.S.A. is the only head of state to my knowledge who has had the "canollis" to call the situation in Sudan genocide, and he has done it before the whole world at this U.N. General Assembly. Correct me if I am wrong now. What you whispering about there in the back? Yeah, you!

Dr. Susan Rice from the Brookings Institute (now this Dr. Rice has a real mean streak in her, Omar, she is not so soft-spoken like Condelezza) has called the latest U.N. resolution on Darfur "toothless" on live T.V. yesterday, and she is working for the U.S. Democratic Party presidential candidate John Kerry! Things just aren't looking too rosey for your government over there in Khartoum, so oder so. Better straighten' up over there, quick.

Plenty of good reading at the U.N. News Centre website. Click on their Homepage link to get a rundown on who said what at the 59th General Assembly this week. Oh yeah, here is the latest news on activities of the U.N. special envoys and investigators and what have you on the ground in Sudan today. Ummph, umm, ummm.

Let's see which leaders and nations are going to back up their words with real action; otherwise, there might be some more "serious consequences" coming down the Pike real soon.

Big Vote is In on Darfur

Of course I followed the events at the U.N. Security Council Saturday re: the vote on the new resolution for Darfur. As a matter of fact, I stayed up late to watch the proceedings LIVE on TV (guess what channel?). A vote of 11-0-4 'aint bad, but what will really count is what happens next, and when it happens.

While we wait about 333.333 people a day are dying there, so let's see how fast everyone can get busy. I totally enjoyed the comments of U.N. Ambassador Danforth (Right-On Bro!), thought that the abstention speeches from China-Pakistan-Algeria were a total cop-out and something we all need to remember "down-the-line" when these guys need something, and I threw my shoe at the TV when the Sudanese Ambassador started to speak, then turned the thing off to conserve energy.

On a more positive note re: Sudan I want to let you know that I again attempted to contact the teacher/photographer Tom Gething in Khartoum today in regards to his wonderful photos and commentaries. As a "really nice guy treat" for my readers here is the link to Tom's digital photography portfolio at TrekEarth . There are more online images from Tom, but one link at a time folks. "Don't push and get in line over there, Bub".

Lastly, I want to thank a new visitor and fellow blogger Mshairi for her comment today and direct you to her very nice blog by the same name Mshairi . I think that she is just getting started with Blogger since August and I want to welcome her to the Blogosphere and encourage my readers to visit her weblog. Poetry from a modern Kenyan woman blogger, that should be interesting.

What You Can Do About Darfur

In case you didn't have a chance to read some of my earlier posts on Darfur stating what you can do as an ordinary World Citizen (a.k.a. a mushroom... always kept in the dark and fed a diet of chicken poop), click on the link above to the HRW website.

Don't miss their Crisis in Darfur jumpage for the latest from the HRW point-of-view, which isn't so left of center from my own except for some of the "wimpy" suggestions they have for government and world leaders. I'm a bit more Hawkish (hmmph!, Eagle-ish) than the folks at HRW on most issues of this nature.

You say you don't have any time to write these guys? How much time does it take you to send an email? If the leaders of our respective governments and particularly the bozos in Khartoum get enough email from around the world that could start to really piss them off! It might even motivate them to do something about Darfur and maybe even go after Public Enemy Nr. 1, SPAMMERS!

Today U.N. Votes on Darfur - Again

BBC NEWS Africa Darfur crisis divides press

Well, today is the day when the U.N. Security Council votes on the latest U.S.-sponsored resolution on the Crisis in Darfur. Don't expect much to happen so oder so, but it's worth mentioning.

In the meantime, it may be interesting for you to check out what the leading news media in the region (Sudan, Egypt) are saying about the situation. I was impressed on how open some of Sudan's journalists are expressing their views on the crisis in their country. Checkout the links above for more information.

Here is an excerpt from a Sudan news commentary of particular note:

"Whatever the UN Security Council's verdict is today, the issue, from beginning to end, is a Sudanese one, and is the result of our failure to solve the crisis... We have to work hard and find a comprehensive solution to the Sudanese problem, and to Darfur in particular, as soon as possible."

Commentary by Kamal al-Sadiq in Sudan's al-Ayyam

Don't miss the links to the various newspapers online and to the Arab Leagues backing of the Government of Sudan's position. And these guys claim to be friends and partners with my country? Do we really appear to be that stupid to these guys?

Is she from Darfur?

A beautiful young Sudanese girl in Khartoum.
Photo by Tom Gething, Sudan 2004

She is from the south of Sudan and lives in a refugee camp in or near the city of Khartoum. There are millions of Sudanese just like her living a life of subsitence thousands of kilometers away from their homes which have been destroyed by more than 20 years of war and atrocities such as we can all now clearly see happening in the Darfur region.

Her beauty and dignity as so wonderfully depicted in this photo is a testament to her worth not only to her country but to the whole world. Knowing that the photographer wanted to take her picture, she rushed to dress in her very best for the experience. This photo makes her immortal.

As I promised, there are some real treats coming soon to the blog regarding Sudan and its people and culture. Just waiting for Tom Gething, a teacher and amateur photographer working in Khartoum, to get back to me in regards to his excellent photo portfolios on the country. This is just a sneak preview which I could not resist but to share with you today.

Still Waiting on the U.N...Darfur

I’ve been waiting on the U.N. and the “International Community” along with the rest of the world as patiently as I can. In the meantime I continue to research and archive more information about Sudan and the Tragedy in Darfur for use on this blog. As mentioned in an earlier posting I came across some very interesting material that I want to share with you on the people and history and cultures of Sudan. It's coming so just keep your pants on, Buster.

I want to compose something clever and motivating for my readers in regards to Darfur today but to be honest I cannot. I don’t know if it is my own personal frustration and depression over the situation there or the lack of action within the U.N. Security Council and from governments and peoples around the world, or maybe it is just “writers block”, or just mark "All of the Above".

So I am not going to say (write) much today, just wait and see what our world leaders do this week at the U.N. The talks down in Nigeria under the auspicies of the African Union (AU) or already a bust, but I do appreciate the efforts by President Obansanjo of Nigeria and other African leaders working there. You can’t negotiate any kind of agreement of substance with a regime like that in Khartoum. You are just plain stupid if you would believe otherwise.

The WHO (World Health Organization) just released a report on Darfur where they estimate that between 6,000 and 10,000 people (mainly women and children) are dying in the Darfur region each month now____ dying of what would normally be curable disease and illness if it weren’t for the acute overcrowding in the camps, people dying of continuing violence from Janjaweed militias and the Khartoum regime’s military and para-military attacks, dying from despair and hopelessness while they wait on someone, anyone, to come to their aid.

While we all just sit and wait and watch them die.

NEWS - the latest news from my two favorite online news sources:
BBC News: U.S. Watersdown Draft Resolution for SC “Chumps”
BBC News: Darfur Peace Talks Collapse
BBC News: Analysis – Defining Genocide
CNN News: Colin Powell Tells It Like It Is – “It is Genocide!”
CNN News: WHO Comes Up with the Numbers 333.333 People A Day

World Health Organization: Darfur Health Emergency September 2004
WHO: Health for the People of Darfur w/ Photo Essay

Waiting for the U.N. - Sudan

I told you in my post from yesterday that they (U.N. Security Council) would screw this up! I mean not even Kofi Annan understands what happened in there yesterday___ are there going to be sanctions, are troops (oops!, peacekeepers I mean) going in, is Omar getting the message or what??

Mr. Pronk, the U.N. Special Envoy for Darfur tried to slide that wishy-washy report of his through in the best U.N. diplomatic BS style and almost got away with it. Before everybody could adjourn for the day and slip out of the meeting room without accomplishing anything, U.N. Ambassador Danforth from the United States of America made a frontal assault on Mr. Pronk and his findings by stating something on the order of:
"... in regards to your statements re: the Government of Sudan showing improvements by not supporting the various militia groups who continue to attack innocent civillians in Darfur, You Are Flat Wrong!".

This is the equivalent of calling the man a damn liar in American English diplomatic language. U.S. Senator Frist (Senate Majority Leader) who has also visited the region recently (see Sudan - The Crisis in Darfur) was even more blunt about what could and should be the next steps for everyone after yesteday's Security Council meeting, but we don't want to get Omar too nervous while he's seriously thinking about his next move (which is hopefully headin' for the exit).

Today I found some very interesting historical and cultural information on Sudan and ancient Nubia, the Pyramids at Meroe, history of the indigenous tribes of Sudan, and all kinds of really fascinating stuff I want to share with you in the next weeks. It should help throw some more light on the country and its peoples, much of it fascinating. It's part of my own "Carrot and Stick Strategy" for Omar and the Gang. In the meantime, checkout the latest news links below. BBC's Barnaby Philips piece is a real laugh, but follow down the path he has so skillfully laid out in the story for some real historical and cultural surprises. Ciao.

CNN: U.N. Envoy Reports Militias Still Killing Folks
CNN: Interview with the Prez of Sudan, Christianne Gets Cozy with Omar over lunch. Note: I saw this interview on CNNI - Europe August 12th. President Omar al-Beshir was not a happy camper during this interview. Must've been the smell of death from the refugee camps in Darfur still clinging to Christianne's clothing or something.

BBC: Sudan Rejects Darfur Peace Force (What did you expect?)
BBC: Spotlight on Sudan's Red Tape by Barnaby Philips
.

Time is up, Omar!

The latest deadline given to the GoS (Government of Sudan) by the United Nations expired on the 30th of August. I was tempted on that day to begin raging and ranting again about the continuation of atrocities by the Sudanese Army and Police and the Janjaweed Militias against the people of Darfur, but I decided to wait and follow the developing news reports made available by a myriad of institutions and international agencies.

It's a good idea (sometimes) to wait and get all of the facts you can before you criticize and condemn people about a situation as dire and serious as that in Darfur. Taking the time to read reports and news articles can be helpful in understanding what is going through the minds of people like Omar al-Beshir and his many henchmen and international supporters. However with the regime in Khartoum you can get the same insights on how their minds work by reading Stephan King or the psychiatric profiles of famous mass murderers throughout history.

So I have read hundreds of pages and watched hours of Live TV news reports over the past few months. And after all of that reading and watching and hoping and praying I keep coming up empty on Omar's point of view. All that I can see and understand is that we have another outlaw criminal regime led by some self-serving despot idiot deadbent on murdering and slaughtering people in Africa. Below are some new links to the latest news and reports on the Crisis in Darfur. Perhaps you (my readers) can find something positive about the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed Militias that I have missed___ I just can't find anything like that. Sorry.

CSM on the China / Russia connection: Sudan's Key Ties at the U.N.
HRW latest scathing reports on Sudan: Crisis in Darfur jumpage
BBC article w/ Security Council Report: Deal to Boost Darfur Aid
BBC articles: Sudan's Lost Boys and The Lost Girls of Sudan
International Crisis Group (ICG) latest report: Darfur Deadline

Today the U.N. Securtiy Council is supposed to meet in order to decide what are the next steps to take in regards to Sudan. Mr. Kofi Annan and the U.S. government and the African Union and zillions of people around the world (especially black folks) want to see some serious protection put into place for the peoples of Darfur and refugees in eastern Chad, now. Right Now! Since this is the U.N. Security Council we are talking about, don't expect much in terms of a United World Community Front against Genocide and Slavery. Just check their track record, 'aint much hope there.

So I am going to wait some more before I lash out at Omar and his boyz. Perhaps a miracle will happen today on Manhattan's east-side at the U.N. I am real interested to find out what the 15 member council will do, to see who will truly stand up for justice on behalf of the peoples of Darfur and people throughout the continent of Africa____ and who will stand up only for their own self-serving exploitive interests and historically-proven murderous greed.

I want to also call attention to the excellent reporting on Darfur by the journalists Hilary Anderson of the BBC and Christianne Ammanpour of CNN and the many professional photojournalists, humanitarian organization workers, and even civic leaders who have worked so hard to get the story of the Crisis in Darfur out into the open for the World. Thank you from those who care.

Time is up Omar! Your time to get it together has expired, buddy.

Africans Sending Billions Back Home

Editors Note 27 Aug 2004:
I had to go back and make a few corrections from my posting from August 26th due to some errors I made in stating facts and figures. I also added new information today regarding migrant labor remittances to Africa.

Posting from 26 Aug 2004:
A couple of days ago I really "stepped in it" by giving my opinions and thoughts on African ex-patriates and migrants living in Europe (see: Migration - The Grass is Not Always Greener). Fortunately up to now no one has expressed outrage via my blog's comments tool or otherwise for writing about such a personal and sensitive subject for migrants living abroad.

Did you know that migrant workers from developing countries living in the U.S. and Europe send home more than US$ 73 billion every year?* (source: World Bank Group for year 2001). Correction: The World Bank Group has more recent figures from a November 2003 working paper which estimates this amount worldwide to be much higher. You can download their report Migrant Labor Remittances in Africa and really learn something about this subject.

Did you know that the money African workers send home from abroad exceeds by more than 25% all of the development aid received by African countries from the industrialized nations? Correction: The figure for 2001 (US$ 73 billion) is just under 50% for all foreign investment in Africa and exceeds by more than 40% the amount African nations receive in development aid from industrialized countries.

More importantly, do the people sending money home know about this???

To show another side of the many issues surrounding immigration and migration, I thought it would be wise to provide some links to the debate featured presently at BBC World online. If you are sending money home to help your family or community in Africa or elsewhere, this information could prove to be very helpful. Pay particular attention to the comments from respondents to this debate. Do some of their stories sound real familiar to you?

BBC World Africa Live Debate: Do you send money home?
BBC World news article: Africans sending money back home
BBC World Service (streaming audio): Hidden Aid

There are plenty of resources online covering this important subject. Of particular interest are news stories and case studies on how financial services institutions such as Western Union and Wells Fargo and the big international banks like HSBC (see Yahoo!'s transfer services) are cashing in big on this monetary transfer bonanza!

Recently here in Germany I have begun to see huge billboard advertisements on the sides of Bahnhof (central train station) buildings, trams, and busses prominently featuring graphics of happy Africans with phrases like "Did you wire some money home today?". No joke! However, if you go into one of these money transfer offices you won't find many Africans working behind the counter, or other "Auslanders" for that matter. It 'aint right, you know what I mean?

In a BusinessWeek Online article dated December 22, 2003 the figure is estimated to be much higher than that published by the World Bank Group in 2001. The BW Online article quotes a figure for the year 2003 exceeding $150 billion dollars in cross-border remittances from 80 million immigrants/migrants living abroad, with about $100 billion going to their family members and other people anonymously! Check the article out for yourself here:

BusinessWeek Online: Can Western Union Keep on Delivering?

We're talking $150 billion bucks here! Hello? Does anyone out there with financial management training and experience see an opportunity here to do something positive for Africa and earn a few bucks while you're at it?

I wonder what would happen if people would wise-up and consolidate that financial power for democratic and economic change in their home countries? They would have more clout than the U.N., which much of the time is crying they are near bankruptcy again.

Candidates for SchoolNet Africa

We want a SchoolNet Africa project for our school! They could sure use it, along with a new building, learning materials, and electricity, and lot's of support.
Photo by Susanne Behnke, Uganda 2003

Back to School Net in Africa

School Net Africa

I've been following them on the Net for months and just about everything I have read on this not-for-profit organization based in Johannesburg, South Africa is outstanding. You can examine the organization's programs, tools and resources for teachers and school administrators at the link provided above. You can read about their mission statement here and I have provided a brief excerpt from their website below.

If you are involved with or interested in improving the education of youth on the continent of Africa, and haven't checked out School Net Africa's new online portal, then you have been sleeping and not doing your job properly. Here is a second chance to do that and an opportunity to start or expand upon School Net projects in your country. Contact them personally.

Operating in 31 African nations. Publishing in Kiswahili, English, French, Portuguese, and Arabic. Backed by some of the best private and public international partners and sponsors anyone could ever want. No excuses. It's Back to School Time for the children of Africa. Get busy buddy!

Our Organisation
SchoolNet Africa is one of Africa's first African-led, African-based non-government organisations (NGO) that operates across the continent in its endeavour to improve education access, quality and efficiency through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in African schools. SchoolNet Africa works mainly with learners, teachers, policymakers and practitioners through country-based schoolnet organisations across Africa.

SchoolNet Africa is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa where it employs staff from different African countries to manage its programs.

Our Vision
SchoolNet Africa's vision is for the empowerment of all of Africa's children and youth through access to quality education, information and knowledge on the basis of their effective use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

Our Mission
SchoolNet Africa's mission is to support national SchoolNets throughout Africa by mobilizing resources, building effective partnerships and knowledge in promoting education through sustainable use of ICTs in African schools.

• SNA stands for the right of all African youth to education and lifelong learning possibilities.
• SNA stands for the right of every African child to have access to information.
• We stand for affordable and sustainable access to ICTs in African Schools.
• African education content on the Internet.
• We work towards developing online content in local languages.

What We Stand For
SchoolNet Africa supports and promotes

• the right of every African child to have access to education, information and knowledge
• affordable and sustainable ICT access for African schools using a variety of solutions
• the creation of locally developed, digitised education content
• expression through the recognition of indigenous African languages
• multi-stakeholder partnerships within a progressive, development framework
• gender integration and women's empowerment
• the achievement of the Education For All objectives and the UN Millenium Development Goals

Migration - The Grass Is Not Always Greener

I ran across an article about an illeagal immigrant from Uganda living and working in London today which brought up all kinds of memories and thoughts about my own experiences with migrants from Africa living in Europe that I wanted to say something on this subject. This is a very hot, hot subject between peoples in developing countries and the people in the lands of "Milk and Honey".

To my young adult readers in Africa and elsewhere who may be contemplating giving money to some stranger, friend, or relative for a visa or pass or failsafe transport and entry into Europe or North America or Australia or any country for that matter, don't even think about being that stupid! It would be safer to jump into a lake or river filled with hungry crocodiles and other maneating critters!

I will never forget my first experience many moons ago when I observed a group of African "asylum seekers" stranded in a backwater, north German town. Their living conditions were terrible and their chances for the "good life" weren't much better. I became friends with these young men and shared many a joyful day and evening with them, but in no way could I resolve all the new problems they faced here in Europe. There is so much that I and others here in Europe could say on this subject that it would require a 1000 new blogs just on this subject.

It is important to travel and see the world if you have the chance in life to do so, and you should take every opportunity to do it. However, there is the right way to do things and lots of wrong ways to do things which in the end can cost you your future or your life, dashing the hopes and dreams of your people and your country.

So before you strike out with less than savory types for the "promised land" read these online articles and resource sites on Migration carefully, and follow the instructions on the package!

BBC Talking Point Special Report June 2004: Migration

Billy's Journey: Crossing the Sahara and Europe at Last
Gao's (Mali) Deadly Migrant Trade
Guinea: Unstoppable Exodous
Factfile: Global Migration
Migration: Global Village Voices

Some of the saddest memories I will have of my experiences in Europe over the past 24 years will be those memories of the people in search of a better life from faraway lands who ended up in a worse condition than what they left behind. I know that such a statement could draw some vehement fire from those who disagree, but I know what I've seen and have been told by many of the migrants and refugees fleeing Africa and other regions of the world.

If you can, stay in your own country or on the African continent, work hard to get a good education, and build a better future for yourselves and for your people. If you can do that successfully, the world will beat a path to your door. Thereafter, almost everywhere in the world that you may travel you will be made to feel welcome, and you yourself will feel like a queen or king in a foreign land.

I'm doing it for them, that's why!

Young students in one-room rural schoolhouse in southern Uganda.
Photo by Susanne Behnke, Uganda 2003

Sometimes it's a good idea to keep my mouth shut and let the photos do the talking. The image is the message.

Why am I doing this?

Group of rural Ugandan children in song for visitors from abroad.
Photo by Susanne Behnke, Uganda 2003

I was having a nice chat by telephone last evening with my friend Janine Smith, an outstanding multi-talented performing artist from Brooklyn, New York (Yo B.K.!, Yo Man). Janine lives here in Germany and tours with her very popular and funky Blues/Soul/Jazz fusion band Voodoo Child. Janine also instructs and leads inter-racial, multi-national choirs in northern Germany. You can find out more about her on the Voodoo Child website and perhaps iTunes website.

Anyway, Janine is a real intelligent and sympathetic soulmate for me (sometimes), and last night we were discussing Africans living here in Germany and in Africa and all the difficult issues facing them here and there and everywhere.

So I was discussing with her the latest news out of Darfur, the child-trafficking crisis across West and Central Africa and into Europe and the Middle East, gender-related issues for the women and girls of Africa, and the latest atrocities in the D.R.C. and Burundi and Oh My God... you know. This usually bums Janine out because she is a real sensitive artist and a New York sister and so forth.

So Janine says to me,
"...but Bill (that's my other name)...but Bill The Beast is so Big! What can we do to help these people when The Beast is all over the place in Africa?".

So I answered Janine,
"Look here Baby, ordinary people like you and me have to get in there to help 'em out, no matter how small the effort might seem. We have to dance at the edge of the Abyss if necessary and pull 'em out! What are we going to do, let monsters like Omar (al-Beshir) wipe out the people of Darfur and southern Sudan and do nothing, be silent about it and let all these people just die?'

'Be silent like people were back in the 1940's when Jews and ethnic groups all across Europe were being rounded-up and trucked away and murdered by the millions, and then pretend we didn't know anything about it. I can't do that, not me. The ghosts of my ancestors__ of my grandmothers and grandfathers won't let me rest if I don't do something, when there is something I can do to help. Not me doggone it___I can't be silent no more!"

I think what I said to Janine last night goes for a lot of us around the world, no matter our color or our nationality or ethnic group or religious beliefs or whatever we think makes us so different from one another. Of course we can't all express it in the rich cultural lingo of the descendents of black African slaves taken from the continent more than 300 years ago, but don't worry about that.

I didn't start this weblog to be some kind of activist or protest website, but as a platform for ideas and communication exchanges and a way to easily publish things on my mind and on the minds of those who visit this blog. It is obviously focused on Africa and her peoples and natural biodiversity.

I've received some very nice and encouraging comments and acclaim about Jewels in the Jungle over the past 90+ days it has been online from people deeply involved with humanitarian and economic development work as well as colleagues and professionals from the technology and academic world. I really appreciate those nice comments and thank all who have offerred them.

I am convinced that such simple and easy-to-use web publishing tools like Blogger and Movable Type and Radio Userland can go a long way in helping peoples in the developing world to connect to one another and to people throughout the (cyber) world.

Blogging can be a solid first step into the exciting world of ICT (Information & Communication Technology) for millions of people who have something to say or to share. The costs to start is either very low or absolutely free.

So stay tuned to our Jewels in the Jungle blog as we dig deeper into the technology and make some changes and improvements over the next months. In the tradition of the great Saint Louis and Chicago blues musicians of my home " we're gonna rock this sucka" over the next many months. Maybe Janine of "Voodoo Child" could write a little song for "Jewels in the Jungle".

I definately intend to mercilessly rock Omar's World down in Khartoum and all of his ilk across the continent, until people like him are gone from Africa for good.

Until we can look at photos like the one of these lovely Ugandan children and know in our hearts that they are going to be allright. We've got some work to do, Baby.

Good News Out of Africa

That's right, Good News Out of Africa. Africa has lot's of good news stories, everyday. It's the bad guys like Omar al-Beshir (el-Bastado of Sudan) that try to steal the light from Africa and her people and the rest of us around the world. Speaking of Sudan, let's start with the good news there today.

Sudan Has More Pyramids than Egypt !!

When I first began to learn about African history in middle school in America (a long, long time ago) we of course were taught a great deal about ancient Egyptian dynasties and civilizations. Back in those days textbooks contained practically nothing about the great cultures and civilizations of sub-Saharan Africa. There of course was a purpose to this madness, which I hear has since been rectified to some extent in American school textbooks for young people.

Anyway, did you know that Sudan has (and had in the past) more pyramids than Egypt? Did you know that they have a culture (on record) dating back more than 200,000 years and that there are artifacts in a museum which prove that? This is news to the culturally and historically illiterate amongst us, probably most of us. This is good news on Friday the 13th! Check out the link above if you don't believe me.

Oh yeah, there is some bad news connected to this story. Certain highly developed and civillized peoples of Egypt (and Europe) robbed "cleaner than a camel's carcass" practically every ancient holy gravesite and pyramid built in Sudan during the last 100,000 years or so. Na ya.

BBC African Photo Essay Contest

More good news out of Africa. Buried in one of my earlier postings this month (see "Sudan's Army Anger Over U.N. War" dated August 02) I made mention of a nice little contest for ameteur photobugs and unemployed pro photographers sponsored by the BBC World News online team. It's a rather easy way to pick up a new digital camera worth USD$ 300.00 bucks (retail, not black market price). In case you didn't catch the original posting perhaps you might check it out today, if you are interested that is and/or need the camera or the money. I'd love to enter, but I am not in Africa, and I would like to see someone there win the prize. I'm also interested in seeing the photography, such as the 11 photos displayed in the BBC Africa Photo Contest Gallery.

Somalians Find a Good Life in the U.S.A.

This is some of the best news "Out of Africa" I've seen all day. Actually it's about some very persecuted folks gettin' the heck out of Africa. It seems that Omar over in Sudan has some real like-minded buddies just across the border in Somalia. What I mean is that apparently there are some black North African "Arabs" (I know, they don't look like Arabs to me either) who have a lighter skin complexion and other dubious differences which give them the right to persecute, murder, rape, and conduct other general human rights abuses against their fellow black countrymen and countrywomen. These incidents over a long period of time would make a movie like "Blackhawk Down" look like a Disney family film. No, I haven't seen the movie Blackhawk Down___waiting for it to come to German T.V. in the next century or so.

Anyway, it seems that the Government of the U.S.A. (GoUSA) made a decision last year to accept the immigration of 12,000 Somali bantus (ooohh, bantu is a controversial word) to the United States. According to this news story things are working out really well for most of the families presently located in New York State and South Carolina. I think that it is a real nice story and I am eager to see life become a success for these new immigrants. I hope that some of the families settle in my hometown, one of the best cities in the world (naturally).

200 years of slavery and persecution under their fellow Africans before they get a break. You need to read this story (see link above) and I need to contact my friend Yvette (author of the weblog Inside Somaliland) to see what she has to say about these people. This is cool enough to encourage me to get back to the States sooner and help out with our new African residents.

Darfur: If you have a voice, use it !

If you thought that you may escape the international traditional media and the international alternative media (i.e. bloggers and the Web) coverage on the Crisis in Darfur, you were wrong and you are on the wrong blog for escape from this important global issue. As far as I am concerned, the plight of the refugees in Darfur and Chad is everybody's business, and I am going to keep trying to do my part including raising people's awareness and knowledge about Sudan through regular postings to this blog.

When you see an emergency of this scale unfolding before you very eyes, and you have a voice, then you damn well need to speak up, loudly! The perpetrators of these crimes in the region of Darfur and the Government of Sudan in Khartoum needs to hear the outraged Voices of the World, and understand what time it is... that it is time for them to backoff and let us help these people, or else.

John Prendergast of the ICG (International Crisis Group) gave a chilling account of what he and renowned Harvard University professor Samantha Powers witnessed firsthand on their recent trip to Northern Darfur. Here is the link to his July 15 report for the New York TImes "Sudan's Ravines of Death". You can find more ICG information and reports on Sudan at their special Crisisweb site Crisis in Darfur.

AllAfrica.com has a recent "must read" interview with John Prendergast here:
To Save Lives in Darfur, Back African Peacekeepers and Demand War Crimes Accountability

Human Rights Watch has just released another scathing report on continued attacks and atrocities by both Janjaweed militias and GoS regular military and police that you can read here:
Darfur: New Atrocities Disprove Khartoum’s Claims

The BBC and CNNI continue their relentless LIVE reporting from within the region of Darfur and Chad including excellent interviews (i.e. BBC's Hardtalk ) with officials from the GoS and experts from the International Community. It's a pleasure to watch some of the excellent female reporters and journalists expose and publicly shame the very world officials who are supposed to be bringing everthing under control in Darfur. Go get 'em girls, dog 'em!

BBC World: Sudan Faces New Atrocity Charges

BBC Hardtalk: Interview with Sudan Vice President Ali Osman Taha

CNNI: Khartoum 'worsening Darfur crisis'

Goree Island Slave House Exposed as a Fake!

That's right, I couldn't believe it myself until I read this article in The Seattle Times, and I still can't believe it. I mean how many of us have looked at our TV sets with extreme sadness and tears running down our faces over the story of Goree Island and its famous Slave House and portal, The Door of No Return? Zillions, that's how many!

Everybody who is anybody travelling through West Africa and particularly Senegal over the past few decades has stopped to pay his/her respects at Goree Island___Presidents and Prime Ministers, The Pope, movie stars and famous personalities___ 200,000 people a year visit this landmark and shrine to one of the saddest episodes in human history, The Transatlantic Slave Trade between Africa and The Americas.

Renowned professor Philip Curtin of John Hopkins University, author of more than 24 books on the African Slave Trade and African History, says "The whole story (about Goree Island) is a phony." No, No, No___this can't be. Not only that, the Senegalese government and Senegal historians and other experts on African History have known about this scam for quite some time!

According to the professor, The Slave House on Goree Island was not a depot for slaves awaiting the brutal and inhuman treatment and transport by slavers and their ships sitting off the coast of Dakar, but that it served in the late 1700's as a mansion house for some white French dude. The transport to slave ships of African slaves actually took place at the mouth of the Senegal and Gambia rivers on the mainland, miles away from Goree Island.

Aint nothin' sacred anymore? Now the Senegalese will have to move the whole attraction to the mainland and drop the theatre about the "Door of No Return"; otherwise, the tourists may not return. How am I going to break this news to the folks back home, another lie about our roots? What does the President of Senegal (whom I like from what I've heard and read about him) and his Minister of Culture and Tourism have to say about this? I'm waitin' Monsieur Presidente?

My thanks to the author of Black Looks blog, where I learned about this story first. You need to check out her August 10th posting on the Locust plague in Africa at the moment, that's scary stuff!

Women Emerging: A Tribute to Uganda

Women Emerging: A Tribute to Uganda

I was browsing the blog "Black Looks" authored by a self-described African feminist living in Spain and ran across the link to a website featuring outstanding art by some of Uganda's leading modernist painters. The exhibition took place in 2002 at the University of California - Berkeley's Center for African Studies and a San Francisco gallery named The Art Room.

Do check out this website thoroughly as both the artwork and the many references to literature and documents about the Women's Movement in present day Uganda are very interesting.

In celebration to the Women and Girls of Uganda, and throughout the African continent. Something positive for a change for my readers. Enjoy.

Is he from Darfur?

This photo of a young boy is a strong symbol of why we all must help to support and protect Africa's hope for a bright future...from Sudan to South Africa.
Photo by Susanne Behnke

Looks as if zillions of people around the world have stirred up quite a bit of dust and heat down in Sudan. That's good, but concerned people everywhere need to keep a very close eye on that 30-day countdown for Khartoum and the actions of the U.N and the A.U. and the rest of the "International Community".

The right thing to do in the meantime is to prepare professional military troops to go in and protect those refugees and the aid workers in Darfur and Chad, because the GoS will do nothing but continue their killings of innocent civilians and then lie about it "LIVE on international TV". Khartoum is already attempting to erase the evidence of genocide within the 90 days they have requested of the U.N. and show the world its "behind" while it does it.

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, down in the Jungle... things have been conspicuously quiet. I'll have more photos and info on Uganda this month and hopefully some new inputs from Tanzania as well. You will get a chance soon to meet "The Professor", an African scholar and intellectual friend of mine. He was born in Tanzania back in the period when Africa was just emerging from European colonization, and he has lots of experience and stories about working with African leaders and governments and their international partners. He is a real treasure who I would like to share with all of you.

I've also added some new weblog links to my blogroll Hot Blogs ToGo today in order to help my visitors learn more about what other people are publishing to the Blogosphere regarding Africa. Check the right-hand side of this homepage for the new additions mostly Africa and Africa Blog and Southern Cross and Ethiopundit. Check my blogroll regularly for new additions.

Well, that's it for now. Have a nice weekend. Boy, it's really hot in Germany today, 30°C plus. The Europeans are really suffering from this heat. Think I'll go have a cold beer and watch 'em. Ciao.

UNSIG - Sudan Country Profile

SIG - Sudan Country Profile

Hey, that U.N. Sudan Information Gateway website has lots of information and uses modern web technologies in a very impressive and easy-to-understand way.

For example, the site has well organized menues including News and Media feeds from various independent sources, a Country Profile section with an excellent Map Centre, loads of downloadable reports and documents, and the STARBASE database and statistical records system. I particularly found the various maps on IDP's (internally displaced persons) from the 20 year-old-war between the Khartoum regime and Southern Sudan interesting, and alarming.

I also learned on the website that I have been mispelling Omar's (President of Sudan) name wrong! Oh my gosh, I must correct that in all my postings about Omar immediately!

Here is an excerpt from a web page in the Country Profile section:

"...In 1989 a coup brought into power a military regime led by Lt. General Umar Hassan Ahmed al-Beshir which was dominated by the National Islamic Front led by Hassan al Turabi, Speaker of the 400 seat National Assembly. Following the 1989 coup the war against the SPLA intensified..."

Do visit the U.N. Sudan Information Gateway site, since many of us are paying for it with our tax dollars (and other currencies) as citizens of the world and member countries in-good-standing with the U.N.

O.K., most member countries don't pay SQUAT to the U.N. At least we should keep their excellent web design teams around.

Last and certainly least of all, In All Fairness to the GoS (Government of Sudan), here is the link to the Sudan Embassy (Washington, D.C.) where you can get the latest news direct from the camel's mouth about what is REALLY GOING ON in Darfur and the rest of Sudan. Enjoy.
Embassy of Sudan website in Washington, D.C.

IRIN - In all fairness to the United Nations

United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks

Did you know that the U.N. has an excellent, modern news and multimedia information network named IRIN? Well you do now and you can visit them at the link(s) above.

In all fairness to the United Nations___ (yeah, I'm rather pissed-off at the U.N. right now, I know)___ I do use their online resources extensively to help educate myself and others to what's going on in the world.

IRINNEWS.ORG was started by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) back in 1994 during the African Great Lakes regional crisis (Rwanda Genocide, Zaire/Congo War plus Genocide, et. al. stuff) and in the IRIN's own words,

"...IRIN pioneered the use of email and web technology to deliver and receive information to and from some of the most remote and underdeveloped places in Africa..."

Well, the year 1994 was still back in the Stone Age in the Internet Timeline chronology, but I have to admit that in 10 years the U.N. OHCA has built an excellent platform for news and info about the continents and peoples of Africa and Asia___it's a must resource for people who are serious about development and humanitarian issues. IRIN also has a very good broadcast radio network with satellite up/downlink services from Worldspace, an African-owned and operated satellite network provider based in Washington, D.C.

Pay particular attention to the IRIN Web Specials with downloadable reports and online multimedia presentations. I just dumped the IRIN Web Special reports on Northern Uganda and Child Soldiers in the D.R.C. to my PC today. Oh yeah, there is also lot's of news and reports on Darfur as well.

The United Nations has also setup a whole new website just for the Sudan Crisis named the "Sudan Information Gateway" which I haven't had the chance to visit yet, but you should. Remember, we've got to keep the pressure up on Omar, 'cause Omar el-Beshir is not too bright you see and he needs that kind of help to remember what he is supposed to be doing.

Sudan army's anger over UN 'war'

BBC NEWS Africa Sudan army's anger over UN 'war'

Well, here's the latest official word from the Government of Sudan (a.k.a. GoS):

"The Security Council resolution about the Darfur issue is a declaration of war on the Sudan and its people," armed forces spokesman General Mohamed Beshir Suleiman told the official Al Anbaa daily newspaper..." (see link above for full article)

Well, my answer to the General after reading his statements and his declaration of another Holy Jihad in Sudan against "The West" is, "Fine with me, Dude, let's get it on right now, screw the 30 days. Move the women and children to safety, and let's get it on."

The BBC has some other interesting articles and features on its Africa homepage today, BBC News Africa August 02, 2004 . Of special note are the following features:

Darfur: What's the Way Forward (a BBC Africa Live debate on August 4th at 16:30 and 18:30 GMT, email and audio participation)

Africa Photo Essay Contest (see Photo Journals link and dropdown menue) ( Teaching in Uganda - essay on a school for HIV/AIDS orphans in Kampala)

Finally, I found this article published in the online version of the U.K. newspaper "The Scotsman" not only an interesting point of view on the Crisis in Darfur, but a scathing criticism of the United Nations Security Council limited actions and failure to head off the crisis in time:
The Scotsman (online) - U.N. Takes the Path of Least Resistance

According to the latest Blogosphere Stats from Technorati, there are over 3.3 million blogs (weblogs) being tracked just by that service since July 7th, and there are between 8,000 - 17,000 new blogs being created around the world every day. My first casual search on blog articles related to the Darfur Crisis today yielded 308 postings, many of them excellently written.

Now that's what I call an alternative movement to mainstream media! The crescendo of voices is rising in volume and numbers against Khartoum and the Janjaweed Arab Militias, every day.