Idaya Magazine

Campus-Wide Talks on Nov 3rd

2010-11-02T01:00:00.007-04:00

The following events will be held at Columbia University this Wednesday and they are hosted by the Institute of African Studies at Columbia University:

"Reflections on Native Nostalgia and Contemporary Thoughts on the Future of South Africa" by Jacob Dlamini

Date: Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Location: 754 Schermerhorn Extension, Columbia University
This event is co-sponsored by the University Seminar on Studies in Contemporary Africa and The Department of Anthropology. Dlamini is the author of the book "Native Nostalgia," a columnist for Business Day where he was formerly the Political Editor, and currently a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of History at Yale University

IFRIQIYYA Colloquium in association with IAS and the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies presents:

'ISLAMIC SLAVERY' OR SLAVERY IN MUSLIM SOCIETIES?
Date: Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Time: 12:00 – 2:00pm
Location: Knox Hall, Room 207
A lecture by Professor Abdul Sheriff

Upcoming events

2010-04-21T13:23:00.001-04:00

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21

Tapped: The Movie
New York, NY
Columbia University, Cowin Center at Teacher's College (between 120/121 st and Broadway)
Bottle Exchange: 4 PM - Trade in a plastic water bottle for a Klean Kanteen for the first 100 people there!
Screening: 5 PM

Is access to clean drinking water a basic human right, or a commodity that should be
bought and sold like any other article of commerce? Stephanie Soechtig's debut feature is an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water.

From the producers of Who Killed the Electric Car and I.O.U.S.A., this timely
documentary is a behind-the-scenes look into the unregulated and unseen world of an
industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never to become a commodity: our water.

From the plastic production to the ocean in which so many of these bottles end up, this
inspiring documentary trails the path of the bottled water industry and the communities
which were the unwitting chips on the table. A powerful portrait of the lives affected by
the bottled water industry, this revelatory film features those caught at the intersection of big business and the public's right to water.

Tapped is a story of how one person really can make a difference. Each section of the
film tells the story of a David and Goliath battle in which a regular person, like you or
me, goes up against a big corporation in order to initiate change in the world, and
people should walk away from this film knowing that they can make a difference.

Tapped: The Movie
New York, NY
Columbia University, Cowin Center at Teacher's College (between 120/121 st and Broadway)
Bottle Exchange: 4 PM - Trade in a plastic water bottle for a Klean Kanteen for the first 100 people there!
Screening: 5 PM

To learn more, visit http://www.tappedthefilm.com/

FRIDAY APRIL 23

The Center for African Education and the African Studies Working Group are excited to stage a 3-part event, co-sponsored by the Teachers College Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Community Affairs.

Student Writing Workshop
Friday, April 23rd, 12-2:30pm
Private Dining Room
Grace Dodge Hall

Representations of Africa
Panel discussion & reception
Thursday, April 29th, 7:00-9:30pm
Grace Dodge Hall 179

The goal of this event is to explore how Africa is represented in a number of
different spheres including fiction, academic writing, journalism, and. the
impact of these representations on public opinion of the continent.

This initiative endeavors to promote new knowledge, tolerance, and respect for
the diversity of linguistic, racial and ethnic differences that exist in Africa and
diasporic communities around the world and invites participants to critically
engage with representations of Africa.
For further information, please consult the Center website
http://www.tc.columbia.edu/centers/cae/

FRIDAY APRIL 23

'COMMITTING ANTHROPOLOGY'

April 23rd, 2010

10:00 am to 5pm
The New School
Wolff Conference Room
6 E. 16th Street
Rooms. 906/913

For more information please visit: http://commitanthro.wordpress.com/
Contact: commitanthro@gmail.com

Admission:
Free and open to the public. But please come early - seating will be limited.

The New School for Social Research Anthropology Department is pleased to announce our annual graduate student conference 'Committing Anthropology.' We have assembled an exceptional collection of speakers and participants to discuss the field of contemporary anthropology. Panelists include:

Stephen J. Collier, The New School

Didier Fassin, Institute for Advanced Study

Allen Feldman, NYU

Nicolas Langlitz, The New School

Neni Panourgia, Columbia University

Elizabeth Povinelli, Columbia University

Rayna Rapp, NYU

Sharika Thiranagama, The New School

Miriam Ticktin, The New School

Moderating these panels will be faculty members from The New School's Department of Anthropology. Our moderators include:
Hugh Raffles
Vyjayanthi Rao
Janet Roitman
Ann L. Stoler

THURSDAY APRIL 29-MAY 1

Rethinking Racial Capitalism Conference

FRIDAY APRIL 30- MAY 1

Building an African Presence Conference
Committee on Global Thought
http://cgt.columbia.edu/events/building_african_presence/

Of Combs and Coiffures – The Photography of J.D. Okhai Ojeikere

2010-04-18T20:51:00.004-04:00

As an African woman I am very well aware that although appearances aren’t quite everything, they are nonetheless very important – especially when it comes to one’s hair. From an early age the salon (or, as we pronounce it in my dear country, the saloon) becomes an integral part of our lives. I remember countless afternoons spent sitting on a small wooden stool getting my hair cornrowed for school, held firmly between the hairdresser’s thighs as she skilfully wove my obstinate hair into intricate patterns snaking along my scalp. It always made me laugh when I would talk to my British friends and they would tell me that the salon was where they went to be pampered: as a child, I was convinced that only mysterious army soldiers in darkened rooms could carry out more intense torture than a Surulere hair stylist. But all the pain and tears would be forgotten as soon as the hairdresser released me from her iron grip and I could scamper to the mirror and admire my new ‘do: from two-step to patewo, I loved seeing how my look would transform from one week to the next.

I was never particularly inventive with my hairstyles – probably because of a fear of the side-eye my mother would deliver if I did anything too unconventional – but one detail about my salon experiences that sticks out in my mind is the posters on the wall, interspersed between adverts for relaxer crèmes, that customers could use as inspiration. Pattern upon pattern with names like FESTAC (a residential area of Lagos) and Skyscraper covered the paper, and I would stare at them, mesmerised by their gravity-defying power and a little sad at the relative simplicity of my hairstyle. Glamorous they were, but unfortunately a little too grown up for a girl still in primary school.

Years later, my nostalgia for those years and those posters was awoken by a feature on Next.com on the work of photographer J.D. Okhai Ojeikere. Along with his sons Iria and Amaize, Ojeikere has greatly influenced the direction of photography and documentation in Nigerian society, most famously through his 1960s series on urban hairdressers and the creativity with which they carved inspiring styles for women. His work provides a snapshot of a Nigeria that I never saw: a country recently freed of the burden of colonialism and full of hope and excitement for the future. Even though our history has forced some hard lessons on us, the remarkable spirit and beauty of his photographs reflect the resilience of Nigerians and the depth of our imaginations. And, as a Nigerian woman, they’re a wonderful reminder that my joy at the sight of a perfectly-coiffured head is shared by millions of my fellow citizens. Ojeikere’s photographs are stunning at first glance, but it is the careful thought and the countless stories behind them that make them so incredibly evocative and appealing.

Review of the Rageh Omaar Report: ZIMBABWE - STATE OF DENIAL

2010-04-16T01:01:00.007-04:00

I have just finished watching a forty-five minute report on Zimbabwe titled "Zimbabwe - State of Denial." The report by Aljazeera's star correspondent and the host of its WITNESS show, the British-Somali Rageh Omaar drew a grim picture of the situation in the country. It was a scathing criticism of Robert Mugabe and his party ZANU-PF. The president and his party are accused of single-handedly destroying Zimbabwe's economy and precipitating incredible levels of inflation. The country previously known as the food basket of the entire continent has, as a result of these policies, become dependent on international food aid. But that was not enough: Omaar also criss-crossed the country in order to interview members of the Zimbabwean opposition as well as white farmers. The story behind the land reforms which drew Western wrath at Zimbabwe is told from a different perspective. Yes, the land had been concentrated in the hands of whites (who make up two per cent of the Zimbabwean population), but Mugabe had only moved to take over their farms after he realized that he was losing the support of the people. According to the report, Mugabe never had a problem with white ownership of the land. He had, in fact, upon independence, gone to great lengths to comfort the white minority in the new Zimbabwe.

One will not come out supporting President Robert Mugabe after watching this film. It is decidedly unsympathetic to ZANU-PF. Omaar’s report is dismissive of the Western role in the economic collapse and does not give sufficient hearing to the plight of the landless millions of Zimbabweans. Yes, Mugabe is corrupt and manipulative. And yes, the land reforms have been marred by wide scale irregularities but still; their justness should not be questioned.

Lecture Report: Marriage in 1930s Ghana

2010-04-14T10:39:00.009-04:00

On March 31st 2010 I was fortunate enough to attend a discussion held on Marriage in 1930s Ghana that was sponsored by the Committee on Global Thought and the Institute of African Studies. While the paper that the discussion was based upon is still awaiting publication, it will be a very fascinating read for its use of rare newspaper archives of women's pages from the Gold Coast Independent as the core of the work's historical base. The final paper will instrumental for anyone interested Britain's use of the marriage ordinance as a means to establish indirect rule in the Gold Coast.

The paper is also intriguing for its documentation of the controversies surrounding the sex of the main columnist advocating ordinal marriage in the Gold Coast, the coverage of the tension between the traditional elite and the educated elite, the alienation of the elite from the common people, the power struggle between colonial and customary courts for legal supremacy in the Gold Coast, and the reorganization of the domestic and social life of Ghanaians as a result of this legislation.

The paper also makes a strong argument that the marriage ordinance was an important part of the construction of the citizenship for Ghanaians during the initial phases of indirect colonial rule where the negotiation of British versus Gold Coast identity was still taking place. Most importantly, after reading this paper one will have a firm understanding of the powerful, yet often overlooked perspective on how the British were able to consolidate power over their colonies.

Democracy in Dakar Film Screening & Panel Discussion with Director

2010-04-11T22:44:00.004-04:00

This event will take place in 702 Hamilton Hall from 4pm-6pm Monday 12th of April 2010.

Democracy in Dakar panelist bios:

Benjamin Herson, director and producer of "Democracy in Dakar," is the founder and director of Nomadic Wax, a global hip-hop record label and production company dedicated to recording, documenting and presenting hip-hop and underground music from around the world. Herson has a B.A. in African Studies and Anthropology from Hampshire College and studied Wolof at Columbia University. He is also an internationally celebrated producer and musician.

Timothy Mangin is a Ph.D. candidate in Ethnomusicology at Columbia University. His dissertation is entitled "Senegalese Urban Popular Music: Jazz, Mbalax, and Rap." Mangin holds a B.A, in music from Bowdoin College and a Certificate in African Studies from the Institute of African Studies at Columbia. He was also a pre-doctoral fellow in the Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar on Globalizing City Cultures at the Center for Comparative Literature and Society.

Baay Bia is an award-winning musician and MC from Dakar, Senegal. He began performing in 1991, and in 1993 he formed the group Black Face Productions. His first album, Nation, a collaboration with Bill Diakhou, won the Senegalese Hip Hop Awards in 2002. He released his first solo album, Le Messager, in 2004, and his second, Lilaay Wommat, in 2006. In 2009, Baay Bia and Nomadic Wax released the music video for "Liy Am Amna," directed by Nomadic Wax filmmaker and co-director of "Democracy in Dakar" Magee McIlvaine.

Mars vs. Venus: "The Ultimate Face-off"

2010-04-09T19:01:00.004-04:00

The Vagina Monologues has travelled across the Atlantic - check out this great review of a collaborative project by two Nigerian playwrights addressing the myriad issues that affect men and women in contemporary African societies including sex, marriage and religion: http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/5544636-147/man_talks_woman_answers__.csp

Lecture on Marriage in 1930s Ghana

2010-03-30T12:46:00.004-04:00

DEBATING MARRIAGE IN THE LADIES' CORNER OF THE 1930s: THE FORMATION OF A CIVIC COMMUNITY AND CULTURE IN ACCRA, GHANA

Wednesday,March 31st, 2010, 6:30-8:30pm, at The Faculty House, 2nd floor (Room 2), Columbia University The speaker will be Dr. Jinny Prais, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Committee on Global Thought and the Institute of African Studies, Columbia University. If you have not done so already, please RSVP by 12noon on Wednesday, March 31st: caruso@columbia.edu or 212-854-8045 Seminar participants who wish to join the speaker and co-chairs for an after-session dinner at a nearby restaurant, please contact Yuusuf at caruso@columbia.edu

Movin' On Up

2010-03-25T03:50:00.005-04:00

Progression is an inherent aspect of life. Moving up and onward. Growth. Building. Making Strides.

All of the above is what Ethiopian-American musician, Kenna Zemedkun, sought out to do in his quest to raise awareness about the global clean water crisis. He will be leading a team of his friends, including Lupe Fiasco, Jessica Biel, and Elizabeth Gore, on a climb up Mouth Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain peak on the continent of Africa). The documentary of "Summit on the Summit" was covered by MTV on March 14th this month (check out MTV for a repeat!) and in doing so, Kenna is hoping to raise money for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), The Children's Safe Drinking Water Program, and the PlayPumps International.

And how did this all begin? While Kenna himself was born in Ethiopia, he was raised in the American context where the threat of water concerns had not been one of the primary issues that his family had to deal with. His father, on the other hand, knew a plethora of friends and family members from back in their country who had died on account of waterborne illnesses. This is what inspired Kenna to begin his mission, and this is also what is propelling him to continue it.

Please feel free to chime in your thoughts on this subject matter!

Alongside doing so, please feel free to check out http://www.summitonthesummit.com/#/intro where you can follow the crews adventures. In addition, take a look at the video below for what Kenna has to say about his project....and a quick taste of his musical talents!

Achebe's "Hopes and Impediments" - A Review

2010-03-25T02:44:00.006-04:00

Chinua Achebe, arguably the grandfather of modern African literature, recently published The Education of a British-Protected Child, a collection of predominantly autobiographical essays. As an avid reader (and proud Nigerian) I was excited to leap into this new book, but my ardour was somewhat dampened by a less-than enthusiastic review on Next.com that criticised the outdated subjects addressed in the volume. A good friend (and fellow contributor to this blog) suggested that I read Hopes and Impediments instead, an earlier anthology of Achebe’s work. This is far from the first excellent piece of advice said friend has given me, as this book showcases a side of Achebe’s brilliance as a writer that I had not seen before: not only does he write beautiful fiction, but he is also an incisive, witty and compelling literary critic with plenty to say on issues that are highly pertinent to our contemporary situation.

I am certain almost everyone reading this has heard of the novel Things Fall Apart. The story of Okonkwo and the village of Umuofia is fundamental to the post-colonial literary canon, particularly as a work that “writes back” to empire and engages colonialist discourse head-on. In Hopes and Impediments, which consists of essays written between 1965 and 1987, Achebe moves out of the world of the imaginary in order to address issues ranging from the underlying racism of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness to the role a writer plays within their community. What I most admire about Achebe’s writing is his utter fearlessness: he was working at a time where African writers and intellectuals had to deal with condescending Western critics who claimed to promote the concept of the “universal” while simultaneously denying others equal ownership to it. The post-colonial writer was painted as “unredeemed and unregenerated” because of their “in-between” status: their immersion in Western culture had separated them from their “own people” (that is, the “real” Africans), but their “abortive effort at education” had not pushed them quite far enough into the world of the white man. Achebe turns this twisted logic on its head and asserts that the African writer’s stance between these two worlds places them in an ideal position to respond to and critique them far better than any Westerner, a job that he does admirably well. His tone is, at times, stirringly pugnacious: in the essay “Colonial Criticism” he refers to colonial rhetoric as “complete and utter nonsense” and Western reviewers as “obtuse” – a refreshing burst of frankness in a world that is often overly politically correct. Despite his academic standing, Achebe’s non-fiction remains incredibly accessible for the lay reader while continuously challenging received notions of black/white relations, depictions of Africa and the nature of culture, amongst other topics.

One essay I found particularly touching (as well as a surprising departure from the others) was “Don’t Let Him Die,” a brief yet painfully exquisite eulogy for Achebe’s close friend and fellow writer Christopher Okigbo who was killed during the Biafran war. It vividly evokes the spirit of Okigbo while putting his death in the tragic context of Nigeria at the time, caught in a state of horrific civil strife just a few short years after independence. This piece captures the grief of losing a comrade without sinking into despair: Achebe ends the piece by focusing on how Okigbo would live on through his stunning poetry, grounding his tribute in the overarching theme of the importance of literature as a voice for nations emerging from the shadow of colonialism.

Although Achebe’s more recent collection supposedly recycles many of the ideas in Hopes and Impediments (according to Ikhide R. Ikheloa he is “lecturing the West in the past tense”), perhaps he continues to revert to themes such as racism, colonialism and African literature because they are still pressingly relevant today. I still plan to read The Education of a British-Protected Child out of bull-headed devotion, but for newcomers to Achebe and African literary criticism, Hopes and Impediments, displaying this legendary writer at his very best, is about the most exquisite introduction you could ask for.

HIV/AIDS Awareness: The Red Pump Project

2010-03-10T19:39:00.006-05:00

To the right of the Idaya page is a badge for the Red Pump Project, an annual call-to-arms across the blogosphere and 20 states to raise awareness about the impact that HIV/AIDS has on women and girls in particular. Idaya Magazine has been rocking the red pump for the past few weeks to show our support for this cause and for the many women and girls around the world coping with this disease and the stigma that unfortunately comes with it.

HIV/AIDS is now the biggest killer of women of reproductive age around the world, and in Africa over 60% of HIV-infected people are female. This sobering statistic has very real social, political and economic repercussions across our continent, which is why the members of Idaya feel strongly about the issue and wanted to do our part for the project.

Knowledge is power: visit the website (http://www.theredpumpproject.com/) for more information and remember, even a small drop of water in a pond makes a big ripple - share information with a friend, volunteer at a community clinic, learn your status. The smallest things collectively make a huge impact, which is exactly what we need to end this disease.

Africa at Fifty Years of Independence: A Discussion among Columbia Students

2010-03-09T10:56:00.006-05:00

Abdallah Diagne, a sophomore at Columbia College, wrote the following piece after a lively discussion at an African Students Association meeting on the achievements - or lack thereof - of African nations 50 years after many of them gained their independence (editor's note: the passion and knowledge of my fellow ASA members never ceases to amaze and delight me, even when I don't agree with them):

On Monday February 22^nd I led a discussion for the African Students Association at Columbia University which focused the 50-year anniversary of the independence of many African nations. I began by introducing the viewpoints of some of the authors I read for my African Civilizations class focusing in particular on Fanon, Nyerere and Nkrumah and the notion of unity within the continent right after independence that a few of them deal with (highlighting Nyerere’s conception of a United States of Africa). I then proceeded to ask the ASA members whether they thought that unification was possible, and whether they could identify any hindrances to it. After a large diversity of responses was given, the discussion naturally progressed to Africa’s status after 50 years of independence and whether we have any reason to celebrate. I will talk about the general responses to those issues.

Regarding African unification in the direction of a United States of Africa, my first interlocutors identified situations in which steps toward unification were being taken. They mentioned that most African nations wanted to create a continental Bank of Africa that would be based in Lagos, Nigeria, and then reflected on what kind of difficulties it would create. Some snickering members questioned why Nigeria was the place chosen to locate a continental bank, due to the stereotypes of corruption associated with Nigerians especially after the recent 419 frauds. Our social chair then confirmed that Nigeria was actually almost universally selected to have the honor of hosting a continental bank, and even regional rival Ghana voted for her. This suggests that African nations trust what is arguably the largest economic power outside of South Africa and Egypt, presumably because it is capable of this task and because it is a nation that everyone can identify it. As West Africans (which about 90% of the people present were) we agreed that we do not identify especially well with South Africans and Northern Africans and we would rather be represented by a nation that most generally represents the African spirit. Once this agreement was reached, we moved back to the original question of whether a central bank was a good idea. A number of people said that it would be disastrous because not all nations have the same economic power and we would not want a repeat of what is going on with the EU where major countries like Spain and Greece are struggling economically because of the introduction of the Euro. Such a system would cause inflation in the poorer countries and deflation in the richer countries like Nigeria and Ghana.

We then evaluated Nyerere’s idea and discussed whether a United States of Africa was possible. No one believes that there will ever be unification on the continental scale, but it is plausible that regional federations will form. I told them to recall that most of the boundaries in Africa were arbitrarily determined by Europeans, so they would have been very different if Africans determined them. Most of the divided groups would be reunited, and the fact that they are located within different nations makes the transition to a federation easier. However, cultures in West Africa as opposed to Eastern or Southeastern Africa are too inherently different for their respective populations to coexist peacefully. We thus identified that social unity is the key to unification, and solidified our stance by affirming that local traditions are too strongly rooted for people to willingly give them up for the benefit of a larger nation. Eliminating all polytheistic religions would ease the process of unification, but most groups would not conform, potentially leading to unnecessary strife. It would thus in our best interest to attempt only to unify on a regional level where most of the ethnicities have enough in common to consent to coexist in a larger nation dominated by one political entity.

I mentioned at this point that most African nations were celebrating 50 years of independence later this year, and I urged the group to reflect on their individual nations and assess whether the situation has ameliorated since the Europeans left. I explained how most of the authors outlined the destructive effects of colonialism, with one striking account provided by Fanon when he “concede[s] that whatever proof there is of a once mighty Songhai civilization does not change the fact that the Songhais today are undernourished, illiterate, abandoned to the skies and water, with a blank mind and glazed eyes”. Since almost all the African nations are still seeped in poverty, did we really ameliorate our situation by being autonomous, or would we have been better off under European dominance? Did we do anything right? What is the purpose of celebrating 50 years of independence, and what should we celebrate anyway? At this point the entire mood of the room shifted from a tactful well-this-is-what-I-believe disposition to an all-out, unforgiving what-you-are-saying-is-rubbish one, and tempers flared. One Ghanaian student vividly declared that we may spend every minute of the entire year negatively reflecting on how terrible living in our respective countries may be, but we must allocate one day to at least celebrate that we are independent nations.

The naysayers and those who adopted the most cynical attitudes asserted that any acts of furthering the African cause are done for selfish reasons by individuals who are overly eager to have their efforts praised by an entire group of people. A story was brought up about how a Tanzanian 21 year-old took scrap parts from various machines to build a wind turbine which provided electricity for an entire village. He then focused on expanding his invention to benefit other villages in the area. The detractors argued that this was a selfish act for him to promote his intelligence, a point that I never fully understood. It was like they were admitting that no efforts by Africans is worthy of praise and the only admiration that matters is that given by Westerners. Since they discovered this technology long before we were able to use it on our own, such advances would hardly be front-page newsworthy. The most vocal critic of celebrating independence made the unpopular comment that Somalia, his home nation, is seeped with extreme corruption because they should never have been allowed to run the country themselves, and they should have either let British people do it, or propagate British institutions instead of tearing them down. As a result human rights are not respected, former top universities have no value, and the nation remains in general poverty.

Are such remarks generally applicable to all of Africa? Perhaps, seeing as the vast majority of countries have inordinate percentages of citizens living in poverty that die in hordes from diseases which in the Western world are very avoidable, and who are increasingly wary of governments that seem destined to oppress them. It is arguable that coup d’états would never take place in the Western world, while in Africa they are unfortunately commonplace. The pessimistic citizens have thus ample reasons to want to forgo any mass-scale celebrations of independence because there is very little success to celebrate. All agree that it is wrong to say that Africa has done nothing right since the decolonization movement, but those supporting this view will be hard-pressed to find evidence that would completely satisfy their critics. I thus concede that celebrating 50 years of independence by no means denotes celebrating 50 years of success, nor does it mean we are well on our way to traveling along an asphalt-covered road that the leaders of the decolonization movement probably foresaw in their dreams would exist. For now we must be content with journeying on a dirt road that someday will resemble its European or American brothers, but we should celebrate the fact that it has been 50 years and Africa is still independent – at least on paper.

It would not hurt to remain optimistic that someday our day will come, but for the most part patience is running out. I urged my friends to understand that no matter what appalling situation they can identify in their native countries, it is still possible to do something about it. As the new generation of ‘colonized intellectuals,’ they have much more than the power to change their nations’ fortunes. It just will not do to say that we need the British, the French or the Portuguese to install infrastructures that will help us to thrive in the future. Every child needs to stumble to learn how to walk, and we must always hope the stumbling time is behind us and that we finally have the firm legs to build the asphalt road and walk upon it with pride.

More African Fashion: Gold Coast Trading Co

2010-03-06T08:52:00.005-05:00

FADER Magazine recently spotlighted Emeka Alams, the fashionable mind behind Gold Coast Trading Co, a label that wears its African influences proudly. Check out his signature designs here: http://www.livefromthecoast.com/

A Global Beat...for Peace

2010-03-03T22:21:00.004-05:00

Take a second out of studying for midterms to check out this global effort at awareness on Sudan. This film, a Global Drumbeat for Peace, tells and shows the story of a drum beat (yes...a drum beat!) that starts in Sudan and gets passed around the world in hopes of having every-day people educate themselves on the current conditions in Sudan - of bringing the nation closer to peace. From Brazil, to Ireland, to Australia, individuals were giving voice to the strife that has taken place, and continues to take place...to this day.

Check out the video below -- Do you believe in the efforts put forth in this movie? Do you feel like it will truly do anything that it claims it will do? Tell us what you think!

http://www.cnn.com/video/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_freevideo+%28RSS%3A+Video%29#/video/showbiz/2010/01/09/vassileva.intv.beat.for.peace.cnn

Omar Pene at SOB's

2010-03-02T18:23:00.004-05:00

Musical artists from the African continent have a long-standing romance with New York City. One such performer that we recommend you check out is Senegalese singer Omar Pene, described by Youssou N'Dour as "the living legend of African music." SOB's is an incredible venue for checking out international music acts (and dancing the night away) - tickets to see Pene are $25: http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=1282875

Here's a preview of the magic in store on Friday March 19:

Africa's Poverty is a Curse that Comes from its Riches

2010-03-01T23:53:00.003-05:00

I recently had the privilege of viewing the film ‘Bamako’, a 2006 film by Abderrahmane Sissako. Despite its name the film is not about Mali or the inhabitants of its capital. It is rather an exploration of the real impact the predatory capitalism spread by institutions such as the World Bank is having in African nations. This is certainly a film to see if you have ever wondered about the unspoken darker side of the globalization on which Thomas L. Friedman joyously writes.

A Bridge Over the River Nile

2010-02-28T03:15:00.022-05:00

The Nile is, perhaps, the essence of the African continent: all of its nuances and sundry distilled and typified into its very being. She is unwieldy, fertile, destructive, glorious and inevitably fraught with political dissent. She is also large – very large. At over four-thousand miles, weaving through nine countries and reaching widths of up to five miles, the Nile is the longest river in the world. As with all of Nature's resplendent wonders, she is closely followed by the adulterating wiles of man. As contentious and volatile as the East African political landscape is, one unwavering constant has remained manifest since time immemorial: life itself heeds the beck and call of the River Nile, with all of her tortuous bends and turns. The undeniable significance of the river adds a further layer of gravitas, transforming what would ostensibly be harmless political squabbles into a matter of life and death.

The Nile sustains over three-hundred million people who reside in and around its Basin, extending from Burundi at its southern-most tip through the entirety of Egypt in the north, splitting into the vast Nile Delta and finally escaping into the vastness of the Mediterranean Sea. The Basin population is expected to double within the next twenty years, creating an unprecedented demand for water in a historically drought-ridden region. Of the 180 countries listed in the World Water Development Report’s ranking of water availability per capita, the Nile countries are conspicuously low: Kenya is ranked 154th, Uganda 115th and Ethiopia 137th, while the downstream nations of Egypt and Sudan are ranked 156th and 129th, respectively.

Burgeoning demographic growth, coupled with dwindling resources, is a recipe for political destabilization and armed escalation. At the heart of the issue lie the timeless truths of the African continent: scarcity, greed and inevitable international intervention. This crisis takes the discerning observer back to 1929 when the Nile Water Agreement, a thorny vestige of the colonial era that still bears legitimacy, was first established. The Agreement, brokered by the British, granted the Nile's downstream nations (Sudan and Egypt) extensive rights over the river's use and, more significantly, exclusive veto power concerning any public infrastructure projects built on or along the Nile by any of the upstream nations, much to the chagrin of countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia. The logic behind their concern is that the unimpeded flow of nutrient-rich river water to the downstream states is threatened by the construction of dams, irrigation canals or hydro-electric turbines further up the river. The Nile's flow adopts a particularly sensitive demeanour in the Egyptian context: the country's sustenance hinges completely on the river and its population lives entirely along its banks as the rest of its territory is composed of the largest desert on Earth. The Agreement guarantees both Egypt and Sudan 56 billion cubic meters of the 74 billion cubic meters that constitute the Nile's total water flow (more than 75% of the total water volume). The upstream states claim that the Agreement rests upon an antiquated division that grants the downstream states a de facto monopoly over the rights and usage of the Nile's waters.

Several feckless attempts at reconciliation have been sought in the eighty-year interim since the Agreement's inception, with the most recent endeavour precipitating in the Nile Basin Initiative of 1993 which sought to "develop the Nile in a cooperative manner, share substantial socioeconomic benefits, and promote regional peace and security." Nonetheless, economic incentives, justified and zealous, die hard. The source-countries of the Nile (Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda) have unilaterally embarked upon their own agricultural and developmental infrastructure projects, most notably a 170 mile-long pipeline built in Tanzania, as well as the Tekeze Dam in Ethiopia. While reasonable in their nature, these projects and others like them have had indelible environmental effects on the Nile, most conspicuously in the formation of enormous water reserves which trap nutrient-rich silt necessary for the irrigation of farmlands further downstream. Egypt and Sudan deem any diversion of the Nile as nothing less than an act of war. Exacerbating the issue is the recent involvement of the World Bank in the foray, with the vocal backing of Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Congo. Many of the Nile Basin states view this intervention as a move toward destabilization, in particular on the part of Rwanda and Congo whom the Nile barely grazes. Of course, the downstream nations' vigorous rejection of water diversion is not to be deemed simply as innocent protest. Egypt's agricultural endeavours along the Nile have been marred by their grandiose, embarrassing and ostentatious nature. The earliest of these was Nasser's construction of the Aswan High Dam which resulted in the flooding and mass displacement of 300,000 Nubians. More recently was the Toshka Irrigation Canal Project which sought to construct a colossal artificial artery of the Nile that penetrated directly into the depths of the Sahara, in order to potentially turn the desert into farmable land. The project ended in fiscal, political and social disaster and firmly ingrained the image of Egypt as an irresponsible patron of the Nile in the collective conscience of the upstream states. Perhaps most damning of all were allegations that Egypt sought to create a waterway under the Suez Canal (named the Peace Canal) which would irrigate 600,000 acres of land in Northern Sinai with water from the Nile, and which would ultimately flow into Israel. Needless to say, these rumours struck a particularly contentious nerve among all of the Nile Basin states.

Where does this leave the Basin states? A political stalemate can maintain the semblance of stability for only so long. The conflict holds implications that are all too palpable for the populations of the Nile Basin and cannot continue to remain cordoned off behind the plush walls of foreign ministries and African Union assemblies. The Nile and her abuse are intimately connected to the beating hearts of three-hundred million souls. Compromise can no longer be deemed a lofty ideal, but must be treated as a tangible necessity. The unmoving hubris of the Basin states can only serve to usher in their own undoing.

Recommended Listening: New World Water - Mos Def

L'Afrique, C'est Chic

2010-02-25T14:01:00.005-05:00

It may be cliché to say this, but I love fashion. I’m an avid fan of Lookbook and the Sartorialist, websites dedicated to documenting the beautifully dressed. I love nothing more than curling up on my sofa with a cup of tea in one hand and the latest copy of Vogue in the other, flicking through glossy pages covered in Chanel couture and Prada shoes that I can’t even dream of owning right now. And when I have the time, I enjoy roaming the streets of Soho in search of the perfect summer dress (something that still eludes me). The seeds of my love for all things chic were sown, however, not in New York City but back home in Lagos. I grew up submerged in style, but in a very different way to how it is experienced here.

I don’t often go to stores to buy clothing at home, because it’s usually cheaper and easier to get them made for you. Tailor-made clothes are an everyday part of life across the African continent, meaning that couture is in no way restricted to the moneyed elite. In Nigeria, one can easily get a trendy party outfit made to your exact measurements (and to showcase every curve) for $20 or less, including the cost of the fabric. Customised clothing isn’t just for special occasions either – my mother rocks boubous and dresses made of colourful ankara material every day. Fabric stores and markets are also a huge part of the local economy – Balogun Market, one of the biggest in Lagos, is a veritable nirvana of laces, jacquards and batiks in every conceivable shade, hue and pattern from all over West Africa.

What I love the most about getting clothing made back home is how much of a role the consumer and their cultural background plays in shaping the fashion world. Over here, a small group of designers determine what look is “in” – whether it’s jumpsuits or if grey is the new black. When you walk into a store in NYC no matter how varied the collections may be, the general “direction” of that season has shaped the designers’ choices and that is inevitably what buyers end up picking off the racks. At home, it’s a different experience. If, for example, I needed an outfit for a wedding, my choice of fabric would probably be determined by the bride, but I could complement it with others as I see fit. The style may be modified slightly by the tailor, but ultimately it’s me who gets to decide if I want a cap-sleeve with a sweetheart neckline, or if I want the embroidery in silver or gold. Also, what I wear may depend on if the bride is Yoruba (a buba and iro) or Urhobo (a skirt and blouse with a regal gele). What you wear isn’t determined by fashion editors’ lists of trends, but rather by the weather, custom and/or a sense of whimsy. Clothing – a functional part of everyone’s lives – is a means of creative expression for the masses, but is even more so when you’re a part of the process from yards and tape measures to fittings and zippers.

This is not to say that style exists in a void in Africa. Designers like Louis Vuitton and Boxing Kitten have drawn on African style for their collections. Magazines, bloggers and designers such as Arise, Pop Africana and Duro Olowu are becoming increasingly influential and many people (myself included) often draw inspiration from European clothes but rework them in traditional fabrics. But what I think makes African fashion so unique is how you can see art, function and tradition coming together in such a seemingly effortless way, elevating dressing beyond the mundanity of the mall without putting it out of reach in glass-fronted stores.

East...literally meets West

2010-02-24T20:39:00.003-05:00

When I hear the name Marcus Samuelsson, I cannot help but think of fragrant smells, delicious meals, and exotic tastes. This Ethiopian-born, world acclaimed chef (who grew up in Sweden from a young very age) has managed to surprise his fans for over 10 years with accomplishments ranging from acquiring the executive chef positions at Aquavit and Riingo (Swedish and Japanese cuisine, respectively) to releasing a plethora of cookbooks to being recognized for his culinary skills by the New York Times…all the way to being given the opportunity to prepare a feast for first state dinner for the Barack Obama presidency.

Needless to say, Samuelsson has been gaining plenty of buzz over the last few years, as his presence has been felt throughout the culinary world. And the beginning of 2010 has not proven to be any different for this world acclaimed chef. Having lived in Harlem for the last few years of his life, Samuelsson felt it was time to give back to his community that he can now call home. Interestingly enough, in doing so, he’s decided to put a spin on his usual Swedish-Ethiopian-Japanese cuisine; He’s decided to open up a soul-food restaurant, including everyone’s favorites-cornbread, collard greens, and fried chicken (and many more). Though it has not yet been opened, this upcoming restaurant is something worth keeping a look out for; It is bound to be an out-of-the-ordinary approach to such familiar dishes and an experience worth checking out!

On that note…check out The New York Times article featuring Marcus Samuelsson, entitled “A Night in with Marcus Samuelsson: Munching to the Future” !

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/fashion/21night.html

The Coup and The Council

2010-02-24T15:46:00.013-05:00

Once again the tanks and armored carriers are rolling on the streets in the capital, leaving their unmistakable trail of destruction on the asphalt. The camouflaged soldiers have burst out of their barracks, commandeered the city and erected cantonments on intersections all across Niamey, Niger’s capital. The revolution has made another full circle, in French of course, in the ever more mouthful form of Conseil suprême pour la Restauration de la Démocratie.

As the first volley of shots was fired at the presidential palace, the African Union and ECOWAS, the two regional bodies that are supposedly the most involved in matters on the continent, were in the dark about the unfolding events. The ambushed officials in Abuja and Addis Ababa could only scramble for scraps of news while affecting postures of authority and concern. The one constant in all coup d’états – foreign involvement – was embodied by France, the former colonial power, confirming the intimate details of the military coup.

This is not the first time that such a strange sequence has played out in the African context: there was a similar response in the aftermath of the coup in Guinea-Bissau a year ago. All that the AU could do then was express a vague sense of apprehension and promise to deliberate on the matter. Despite the extensive political consultation that followed, it was clear the organization’s lack of essential information about the situation on the ground had limited the effectiveness of its intervention. Portugal (one of the poorest countries in Europe) exercised more influence than both the AU and ECOWAS combined as the confident statement from its foreign minister on the coup showed.

This obviously poses difficult challenges for both of these organizations. Despite the formation of the AU (formerly known as the Organization of African Unity), the continent’s political order is still vulnerable to foreign interference even after fifty years of independence. The political and economic security sought from the creation of these organizations has yet to materialize. The AU (and, in the case of West Africa, ECOWAS) should have been the most influential force during both coups, if for no other reason than the realization that instability and foreign meddling in one country can undermine the entire region.

This is not to say the continent's leaders are completely unaware of this. Discussions regarding the restoration of democracy in Niger are underway. And there have been successful political interventions that aimed to diffuse crises in Guinea-Conakry, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritania and Madagascar. These instances represent a more proactive stance on the part of the AU, ECOWAS and, in the case of Madagascar, the SADC, in attending to crises.

Military coups have declined in frequency, but this has yet to translate into stability or freedom from the grip of colonialism. Through extensive networks of security and economic apparatuses, the European capitals still maintain control of their former colonies. African governments depend on the metropolises for military hardware and training. The metropolises in turn use this opportunity to gain access to and establish links with key elements in the militaries they train: links that are vital for triggering coups when they are expedient. In this way the national security of African countries is compromised and key institutions are penetrated. The same vulnerability is true for the economies of former colonies as well.

It would be unfeasible to sever military and economic ties at this point but the continent’s leadership must collectively reflect on this problem. To release Africa from foreign domination, and from constant military revolts, there needs to be more secure networks for military and economic infrastructure. That means the creation of rigorous regional academies for all officers in the region. Such institutions would limit the vulnerability of intelligence and provide officers a forum to meet and share expertise and resource.

As for Niger, the engines of the tanks and army lorries are still roaring. When the dust stirred by their commotion settles we will learn the faces of the new young revolutionaries.

Cultural Diffusion: Flowing Both Directions

2010-02-22T17:13:00.004-05:00

For many of us coming from immigrant families, we get sick of hearing about kids these days being Americanized...but what about Westerners being Africanized? Check out this video of the Dutch attempting Ethiopian Eskista!

Here's a link to Japanese doing Ethiopian dance...this one is more humorous than it is accurate:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sekaramuleba

The Joys of the Funeral

2010-02-22T08:21:00.007-05:00

Ghana is said to have one of the most vibrant funeral cultures in the world. So what exactly is a “funeral culture”? At each stage of life- birth, puberty, marriage, and death- Ghanaians believe it essential that the entire community comes together to celebrate the transition of the individual into that new stage. This communal show of solidarity, affection, and recognition is thought to be an essential part of what shapes a person into a fully developed human being. The more elaborate the ceremony, the more the individual is said to be loved. To ensure that a befitting ceremony will be held, it is common for the burial to take place after a period of forty days when the family of the deceased would have had time to draw upon their financial resources and contact all acquaintances of the deceased about his passing.

The funeral itself is quite festive in nature and can often take up an entire day. For this reason it is often held on the weekend. Guests often dress themselves in matching funeral cloth and there is much food and music available for merrymaking. The grief of those in attendance, especially the family, is always tangible but the tone of the event is great joy. It is not uncommon for a funeral attendee to reply, “The funeral was very nice. Losts of fun”. Again, the funeral is a reflection of the Ghanaian perception of death as another stage in life to be celebrated.

It was in the spirit of this celebratory mood that the idea of the fantasy coffin emerged. These are elaborate coffins constructed to reflect a passion or skill that best characterizes the deceased. For instance, many teachers are buried in a coffin shaped like a pen, a farmer could be buried in a chicken shaped coffin, and a pilot could be buried in a plane. The coffins originated from a carver named Kane Quaye whose first fantasy coffin was created almost forty years ago at the request of a family member.

However, the funeral culture in Ghana is not without its critics. Some individuals criticize the practice for fostering an insincere show of mourning. For instance, it is not unusual for some of those in attendance to never have met the deceased or be closely connected to the family in any way. In addition, the practice of sometimes hiring professional criers to attend the event is also seen as detracting from the genuine grief of the family.

The heaviest criticism, however, is targeted at the enormous excess, which what is perceived as an enormous waste of resources. A frequently whispered sentiment at many funerals is, “the man was very poor and would have never been able to get these people to give him this amount of money if he were living. Perhaps if he had his medical condition could have been treated”. There are a number of individuals who believe that it is wrong to focus more on the individual in their death than in their life. Many people, especially politicians struggling to strategize policies to bring Ghanaians out of poverty, are dismayed by what they perceive as this needless show of wealth that often financially cripples the surviving family members. The government has often spoken of bans on excessive spending on funerals but such regulation of private activities is quite difficult to enact. This is especially true because families are always motivated by the fear that their loved one will be perceived as a nothing in the community without such a funeral.

For more information on the funeral culture in Ghana or to see some of the elaborately made fantasy coffins please check out a short video on the subject by National Geographics. Afterwards share your thoughts on the fantasy coffins, the “funeral culture” in Ghana, and its criticisms in the comments section below.

Sauti Za Busara - Zanzibar, Tanzania

2010-02-20T22:50:00.003-05:00

I'm a huge fan of the BBC's photo section and of African music, and so I was pleasantly surprised to find the following picture essay on Sauti Za Busara (Sounds of Wisdom), a music festival held in Stone Town, the capital city of island of Zanzibar. This past week was its seventh anniversary, and over 40 groups representing the continent and the Diaspora performed in front of massive crowds. Food, dancing and celebration marked the 4-day event, which carried on despite the power problems Zanzibar has been dealing with for the past few months. I'm definitely adding this festival to my life's bucket list. Check the photo story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8521925.stm

Music and Visual Magic from Congo: Baloji

2010-02-20T17:49:00.004-05:00

Oroma Elewa, the editor of Pop Africana (a fabulous style-focused site), recently posted about Congolese artist Baloji - his sound is a breath of fresh air for the contemporary African hip-hop scene. Check out the video for "Karibu ya bintou":

I personally love the documentary-style filming and the infectiously unique drum-line of the track (and, of course, his impeccable style and fly hair). Post up your thoughts on this song, and any other upcoming artists we should be paying attention to.

See K'naan and Wale at the Fillmore

2010-02-19T14:03:00.007-05:00

For all my fellow New Yorkers -

Wale and K'naan will be hitting the city on March 31st - John Forté is doing the opening honours.

Ticket information here: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/00004451D0BC6569

Africa Underground Film/Panel/Hip Hop Show

2010-02-18T21:02:00.012-05:00

Don't miss the Meta and the Cornerstone's concert this Saturday following the screening of Fangafrika!

7pm Screening: Fangafrika: The Voice of the Voiceless

Hip Hop may have been born in America, but it is growing up in Africa. Fangafrika is a stylized look at the festival in Ouaga, in Burkina Faso, where Africa' s best and brightest rappers gather using hip hop to tackle the serious issues facing Africans everywhere. The film is a who's who in African hip-hop, from veterans like Pee Froiss, Daara J and PBS to up and coming hot acts.

8:30pm Panel Discussion: Marketing African Media in the New Millennium: A Panel discussion About the Intersection of Technology, Digital Media and its Impact on the African Continent. Panelists to be announced.

Moderated By:

Ngozi Odita http://www.SocietyHAE.com

Panelists:

Toni Blackman - http://www.toniblackman.com

Rebekah Frimpong - http://www.rwul.com/

Professor Sean Jacobs - http://africasacountry.com/

Larry Ossei-Mensah - http://www.myglobalhustle.com/

Ben Herson - http://www.nomadicwax.com

10pm Concert: Meta and the Cornerstones
Featuring members from across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Brooklyn's Meta and the Cornerstones fuse Afropop, reggae, hip-hop and serious soul with a mixture of French, English, Wolof and Fulani vocals. With their powerful lyrics and feel good melodies, the band creates a sound that transcending borders and language barriers.

Date & Time: Sat, Feb 20, 2010, 7:00pm

Location: 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson Street

Venue: 92YTribeca Mainstage

Price: $10.00

To purchase tickets, please visit: http://www.92y.org/shop/92Tri_event_detail.asp?productid=T-MM5PF11

Jewel Tones and Paths to the Sea - Dakar's Gorée Island

2010-02-18T19:07:00.019-05:00

It was love at first sight when I first glimpsed Gorée Island. I was sitting on the ferry from Dakar (the capital city of Senegal) with my father and sister, clutching two cameras in my freezing hands (the Harmattan heat of Lagos seemed incredibly far away this far up the West African coastline) as we chugged closer to this small patch of land sitting in the Atlantic Ocean. As our ferry pulled in and we jumped onto the wooden jetty, I was struck by an odd sensation - I felt as though I'd stepped into a whole other time period. Dakar is a bustling metropolis with street traders, traffic and shouting on every corner. Gorée, just 2 kilometres away from the main city, felt distinctly like a sleepy small town.

For one thing, it's tiny - it's only 300m by 900m (meaning that you can take a leisurely stroll around the island in 45 minutes or less). There are no cars on Gorée, meaning that instead of wide roads marked by zebra crossings there are dusty footpaths criss-crossing across the island. It's quiet, and there's an immediate sense of intimacy and mystery that draws you in and architectural surprises on every corner delight the eye.

A brief history: Gorée is a UNESCO site today, but a few hundred years ago it was one of the first places colonised by Europeans on the West African coast (first by the Portuguese, then the Dutch, followed by the British and finally the French). La Maison de Esclaves (the Slave House) is one of its most famous landmarks and a reminder of Gorée's small but historically significant role in the Atlantic Slave Trade. It has a population of approximately 1000 people, and is home to incredibly talented artisans, a famous girls' secondary school and some of the city's best poisson yassa, according to my father.

The vibrant colours, picturesque views and unique construction details on Gorée were this amateur photographer's dream come true (PLEASE ask permission if you would like to use any of these photographs):

Up and Onward with Teddy Afro

2010-02-17T20:01:00.011-05:00

There are sounds…and there is music. The latter, in the case of contemporary Ethiopian entertainment would be applied to a multitude of musical artists, but no one can deny the fact that Teddy Afro (real name, Tewodros Kassahun) has embodied what Ethiopian "musica" truly means, and goes beyond it’s definition. This prolific musician has transcended boundaries beyond belief, and has recently found himself in heated controversy surrounding that very dynamism of his work.

To give a brief background on Teddy, it would be useful to understand the types of music from his past album releases and its correlation with the current political scene of Ethiopia. One of his most popular albums, Abugida, built up the anticipation of what was yet to come from this musical phenom as it gave a snippet of the pride that he was going to be invoking amongst his fellow countrymen. Even as an Ethiopian-American at the tender age of eleven years old upon release of this album, I found myself listening to and engaging with this album on repeat every chance that I received, all while singing along to any and every word that I’d be able to latch onto. Belting out beautiful tunes ranging from a tribute to the late Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, in the track “Girmawineto” all the way to “Mona Lisa” which explicated upon the facets of beauty in all of humankind, Teddy Afro was just preparing his world-wide listeners for what they were about to hear…and witness.

Teddy Afro’s audience members were unprepared for the personal connection they received upon pressing play on his next, and third, album, “Yasteseryal”. What made Teddy’s tunes even more inspirational was that at the time of this album’s release, the political scene of Ethiopia was getting even more heated with political controversies that were unveiling itself over the course of the year, as they were, for the most part, tied to the General Election of Ethiopia in 2005. In turn, “Yasteseryal” did not cease in addressing these very pressing issues.

Boiling over with political out roar, “Yasteseryal” was a force, though cliché, to be reckoned with. One of the most famous songs on the album (and self-evidently the name of the album itself), “Yasteseryal,” spoke out against the current political regime all while sparking concern, and in some cases, fear on the part of the governmental officials. This in turn led to it’s (and several other songs on the album) to be banned from publically being aired via television or radio stations.

This controversy, however, seemed to be unceasing. Just shortly thereafter, in 2008, Teddy Afro was accused and jailed for a supposed hit-and-run manslaughter that many speculate to actually be a sentencing in response to his politically charged music and/or his call for unity amongst his Ethiopian kinsmen. Fortunately for Teddy Afro, and his fans across the globe, his sentence was reduced from six to two years; Throughout this time, however, fans were right by his side – though not physically, but definitely mentally and spiritually. I personally remember visiting Addis Ababa during the summer of 2008 and driving past Kaliti Jail (the prison within which Teddy Afro was imprisoned) and experiencing a sense of internal remorse and sorrow. As an eighteen-year-old American-born Ethiopian at the time, I deem that it was, and is, safe to say that Teddy Afro has managed to invoke within his listeners a feeling that cannot be explained by use of mere words found in the average dictionary.

Luckily, Teddy Afro was shortly released approximately eight months earlier than was intended…and his presence was felt on the continent of Africa, all the way to the continent of Asia. He was released with a bang, and the world reverberated with the tunes of Teddy’s re-debut after his highly anticipated prison-release. To this day, Teddy has had concerts all across the world, and one of his most famous shows to date took place at the famous DC Armory to celebrate the beginning of the 2010 New Year. What better way to ring in 2010 than to sway to the words of Teddy Afro’s inspirational music and lyricism…to jump in excitement and bask in the strumming tunes of traditional Ethiopian instrumentation played by the famed “Abugida Band”…or to even delight yourself in the forever-famous “Eskista” dancing with your fellow concert goers? Whatever your reasons for attending this legendary show, you were in for an experience…and one that will never be forgotten.

[On that note – Please enjoy the video provided. One of Teddy's most popular and passionate songs released, “Abebayehosh” gives a small taste of the melodic music that one can enjoy from this world-renowned musician, and that especially complements the New Years celebration…and beyond!]

Zimbabwe: One Year of Unity Government

2010-02-17T14:42:00.010-05:00

A year has already passed since a national unity government was established in Zimbabwe. After sustained pressure from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) led by South African presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and the leader of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to share power in January 2009. The Global Political Agreement, as it was christened, not only invented the post of Prime Minister for Tsvangirai, but also stipulated that stabilizing the economy, lifting Western sanctions, reinvigorating of the rule of law, resolving land issues and drafting a new constitution be the first issues addressed by the government. Joint committees set up by the inclusive government would see that the provisions of the agreement were carried out.

Forming this unity government was not an easy process. It came at the end of a long, arduous labor, with the SADC serving as midwife. The negotiations broke down many times with both parties storming out of the talks but thanks to the intense pressure of the SADC and, in particular, the personal involvement of both South African presidents throughout the entire process, an accord was reached.

By all accounts this agreement has spared Zimbabwe from further plunging down into an intractable political abyss and, God forbid, a civil war. Except for isolated instances, the violence that followed the general elections has all but abated. It will take time for the economy to recover fully, but relief has otherwise been palpable with food shelves filling up again and market activities resuming vitality. As a result, daily hardships for most Zimbabweans have diminished. Yet as the government works to issue salaries on time in US dollar, and as this is contributing to the general easing of burden and distress for people, Western governments embargo remains in place. Having failed to derail the reconciliation effort of SADC, these governments seem as ever committed to overthrowing President Mugabe. Brussels welcomed Prime Minister Tsvangirai, but only as a means of empowering him and further isolating him from his partner, President Mugabe. Despite the red carpet treatment he has received, no indication has come from the European Union capital that it intends to ease the economic stranglehold it is has on Zimbabwe.

This is not to say that the unity government has otherwise been on schedule in fulfilling the other provisions of the unity accord. On the contrary, Mugabe and Tsvangirai have simply shifted their power struggle from the streets of Harare to the executive corridors of the government. The two gentlemen have worked diligently to agree on nothing. As the president, however, and the one in actual control, Mugabe assumes the lion’s share of any failure. He has been unwilling to allow his prime minister some authority as per the accord. Despite the GPA arrangement, Mugabe still holds enormous influence in his lap. As a result, efforts towards the reestablishment of the rule of law have gone nowhere. Corruption continues to gnaw the state organs and public service. Prime Minister Tsvangirai, on the other hand, has not done enough to distance himself from Western attempts to impose colonial terms on Zimbabwe. Under Tony Blair the British government had even contemplated a military invasion of the country. During the SADC mediation, the said government actively frustrated reconciliation efforts, inciting opposition parties to abandon talks. Its preferred solution for the crisis is to exacerbate the situation in order to induce general disorder or a military coup. For the GPA to succeed, Prime Minister Tsvangirai must make it clear that he rejects such harmful and undesired foreign meddling. He must also allay the suspicion of President Mugabe. It is of paramount importance that confidence in the unity government is restored as its potential cannot to be taken for granted. If not cultivated and built upon, it could easily evaporate and leave Zimbabweans in a precarious political situation once again.

On Campus Talk with New Mayor of Accra

2010-02-17T08:47:00.012-05:00

If you have any burning questions on the new development initiatives that are being taken in Accra, Ghana attend today's talk with the newly elected Mayor the Honorable Alfred Vanderpuije! The details of the event are as follows:

IAS Brown Bag: Discussion with Honorable Alfred Vanderpuije, Mayor of Accra, Ghana.

Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Time: 12:00-1:00pm

Location: Knox Hall, Room 208

Perspective from an Outside Insider

2010-02-15T18:24:00.008-05:00

Sometimes the moments of greatest clarity of one’s personal identity hide in the most seemingly mundane of circumstances. I take pride in the knowledge that once I have completed my studies at Columbia I will return ‘home’ and use my quarter of a million dollar education on improving the development of the nation in some capacity. A goal that a Kenyan friend cynically retorted “is everyone’s plan”.

Last semester I found myself spending weeks piecing together the fragmented bits of information available to me on the history of medicine in West Africa. Afterwards I walked with the self-confident strut of someone who had “figured it out”. To give the spark notes version of my findings, I had discovered that the British and many other imperialists introduced allopathic medicine merely as a tool of colonialisation. By challenging our traditional ways of medicine they sought to convince us of our encompassing inferiority and convince us of our need for imperialist governance. They succeeded in creating dual, competing systems of medical care that not only represent secular versus religious interpretation of illness but for some represented a political act of cultural affirmation.

The controversies upon which our two healthcare systems were introduced to one another shed much light upon the current failures of both the traditional and allopathic medicinal fields to adequately serve the needs of the Ghanaian population. It unveiled why so many Ghanaian babies die so soon after birth. Before the sacred eight day where, like their ancestors before them, they would have tasted the nsa (spirits) and nsu (water) that would have initiated them into our community. However, it only took five minutes of being an interviewee for a friend’s senior thesis project to make me ask myself what it was that I had really discovered.

The interview was simple. Just a few routine questions on how I prevented illness and treated myself when I was sick. It was in that moment that it struck me that in my course of historicizing the problem with healthcare in Ghana I never bothered to question how I was affected by the historical legacy. How was it that I could so completely and obliviously remove myself from the issue? In my countless hours pent preening over my computer screen while injecting key words into CLIO and praying for a ‘hit’ not once did I look inward. Not once did I ask ‘Where do I fit in and how does the historical legacy of the issue influence me?’

Perhaps my friend was right to voice her cynicism at my plans of return. Perhaps there is something about living here that allows us to unconsciously ‘other’ our own people in a way we may not realize. That allows us to differentiate between ‘them’ and ‘us’ and hinders our actual understanding of our culture. At least when an ostensible outsider is looking in to make policy reforms we are conscious of the limitations on his perspective. What are the implications of our ‘intended’ return if we do unconsciously inhabit these biases? Leave your perspectives on this issue below.

Welcome to the Idaya Magazine Blog!

2010-01-31T23:21:00.006-05:00

Idaya Magazine, Columbia University's student-run Africa-focused publication, is now blogging! Follow us for insightful articles, videos, photos and more on issues ranging from politics and business to art and sports on the continent.