01 April 2023
Highly underfunded forcibly displaced Africans (internally displaced persons/IDPs, asylum seekers and refugees) are thought to number 44 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, up by 5 million since end 2021 – and they “have fewer options with less support than ever” as the Ukraine crisis dominating world attention. Due to underfunding, “(i)n 2022, service providers across Africa have been forced to cut food rations, reduce water and cut hygiene kits by up to 50%.” Of CARE International’s 10 most overlooked humanitarian crises, all 10 were in Africa in 2022. Yet the Ukraine war shows that rich countries are capable of looking after huge numbers of refugees – if they are willing. Media coverage is highly unequal too. “According to CARE, over two million online articles were written about the Ukraine war – more than for 41 other crises combined. There were over three times more articles about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars (217,529) than these 10 African crises combined (66,723).”
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/record-numbers-of-displaced-africans-face-worsening-prospects
South Africa/Russia: The article describes the dilemma Pretoria would face should Putin come to the BRICS summit to be held in Durban in August as the Russian president has been issued with an international arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes. If he attends, South Africa would – internationally and by national laws – be obliged to arrest him. A possible solution would be Russian foreign minister Lavrov to lead his country’s delegation and Putin submitting a video statement to the summit.
https://theconversation.com/icc-arrest-warrant-for-vladimir-putin-a-king-size-dilemma-for-south-africa-202528
Niger: The region of Tillabéri in the west of the country is the epicentre of terrorist violence in Niger. ISS research found or confirmed that this insecurity “significantly aggravate(s) various forms of gender-based violence common during peace time.” An example is child marriage – rates are a lot higher in situations of insecurity, with the early pregnancies and all the other harmful effects that this entails.
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/in-nigers-tillaberi-insecurity-takes-a-toll-on-women-and-girls
Coups in West Africa: The article reflects, not very conclusively, on what to do to make coups less likely and transition periods back to democratic rule more productive.
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/new-targets-needed-to-manage-west-africas-military-transitions
Mining: There is massive demand for “minerals and metals needed to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles and other technologies vital for a green energy future” – of which Africa has a lot. But will the continent benefit? Or will profits go to multinationals and pollution and social harm be Africans’ part of the bargain? The African Development Bank is helping countries “optimise and develop battery and electric vehicle value chains in Africa” so as to benefit from beneficiation (exporting after having added value to raw materials). Lack of skills, infrastructure, capital may often put a break on such efforts. US “support” for such projects may be an easy way out of such bottlenecks – but who’ll profit?
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/mining-for-energy-africa-must-seize-the-green-moment
31 March 2023
South Africa: The Public Servants Association had wanted a 10% pay rise – it has now accepted a 7.5% rise, ending months of negotiations and industrial action.
BBC Africa Live 31 March 2023. 5:43
Colonialism/Catholic Church: Better late than never: the Vatican has “formally rejected (the) 15th Century ‘doctrine of discovery’ used to justify European colonisation”, saying that the papal bulls where it was set out “have never been considered expressions of the Catholic faith” as they went against the “equal dignity and rights of indigenous people”. It sounds wrong – but at least there is recognition that wrong was done.
BBC Africa Live 31 March 2023. 5:05
Swahili people’s origin: Based on data from DNA analysis of more than 80 people – that they were from the elite individuals may have influenced results – the article’s authors found that “Asians and African ancestors began mixing at least 1,000 years ago”. DNA analysis showed that African and Asian (first of all Persian) “backgrounds were intertwined, each contributing about half of the DNA”. Apart from Persians, Indians contributed significantly to Swahili “cosmopolitan Indian Ocean heritage”, Arabs only after Oman took control. Genetic analysis revealed “that the overwhelming majority of male-line ancestors came from Asia, while female-line ancestors came from Africa”, Persian men having children with local women. Probably, “Persian men allied with and married into elite families and adopted local customs to enable them to be more successful traders.” Swahili culture is less patriarchal than Persian or Arab culture, so the African environment seems to have primed on external cultural influences.
https://theconversation.com/ancient-dna-is-restoring-the-origin-story-of-the-swahili-people-of-the-east-african-coast-201154
Rwanda: Recently pardoned Rusesabagina had, in his request for pardon, admitted that he had worked with anti-Rwanda groups and accepted responsibility for their actions. He thus more or less acknowledged that Kigali was right in arresting him (providing Kigali “with ammunition to combat future criticisms of human rights abuses over the arrest”). While the arrest illustrated Kigali’s “determination to neutralise threats it sees to its national security”, the release “portrays Kagame as a pragmatist on the international stage – one willing to negotiate once a security threat is neutralised.” The Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda that had made Rusesabagina known the world over seems to have misrepresented what really happened – according to survivors, he had run the hotel “as a personal profit-making venture”. In his request for pardon, Rusesabagina also promised to respect the political system of Rwanda, he seems to have effectively been silenced.
https://theconversation.com/rwanda-paul-rusesabaginas-release-and-apology-a-master-stroke-by-kagame-202785