Signs of Globalization in Africa? (couldn't help myself...)

p.s. Check today's first post, too!

It takes a Woman to save a country? A Lovely Dream.

It seems like hope for Africa is along the way, at least for Liberia. And the hope, of course, comes in the hands of a woman =]. I found this article about Ellen Sirleaf, the first female president in Africa (with an incredible background), and the changes she has made to her country: apparently the woman represents hope to many Africans (and westerners!). It looks like she has been fighting corruption pretty accurately, stating that women have less reasons to be corrupt and therefore make better presidents. Statements aside, it seems to be working: she just got $4.6 billion worth of debt relief through the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Plus, of course, women work harder (her words, not mine…). She also got an enormous loan for Liberian businesses, which should improve the overall economy of the country.

The writer of the article seems highly skeptical about it, but I believe the woman has come for the good of the country. She seems highly motivated, or maybe I’m just in the mood for hope. Either way, it’s a good investment of time to read the entire article (5 pages) to see things that can be done to help corrupt nations. The writer seems to believe her efforts to be silly in a country that has been destroyed by war, but change comes in the small things, right? Her people seem to mostly like her. Coming from an extremely violent marriage, she seems to understand what it is like to be tied-up to circumstances, and the need for change.

p.s. There is also some cool info on Liberia's history.

The Wonders of...Facebook.

For those of you who think Facebook is a waste of time, think again. This article shows that we can put to use things we (I) never thought could be useful.

Graduate student Ailie Tam recently moved to Madagascar to volunteer for an HIV prevention program there. She then entered a program that pays for the winners to work on charitable project abroad, and thanks to her 4000 votes on (surprise!) Facebook, she won $45,000 for her project in Madagascar.

Of course her motivations weren't so pure... she's doing it all to build her resume and apply for a job in international social work (and trying to get her PhD). According to the article, she was rejected by some graduate schools, and went to battle to make her experiences on fundraising matter. And it worked! her past projects won her much respect from "people that matter", and all thanks to her networking skills, such as... yeah, Facebook.

Considering the benefit that her study will bring to Madagascar (the lady will, after all, help fight the spread of AIDS), her motivations don't really matter. What matters is that she's out there, making good use of everyday commodities for us, and planting a little hope for this internet generation to use their addiction for something else =P. The projcet's goal is to "inspire multitudes to volunteer". Facebook rehab, anyone?

A Festival of Colors and a World to be Discovered

The African Cultural Festival (ACF) was founded by Uche Ozoh, Nigerian born Film Producer and Director, and Shabbir Jiwa, Kenyan born President and CEO TFLSafari.Com, to “create an unprecedented experience that will promote our various cultural heritages and to bring all of us together from our different diasporas as one voice”. They also promote international business trade. Space is given to local businesses, crafts, restaurants, and African tourism. They provide charity services, give away scholarships, and promote classes to teach children African languages, such as Yoruba and Swahili.

The festival provides a way for people of all parts of Africa (and outside of Africa, too) to discuss and come up with possible solutions to the biggest issues being faced by African countries today. Some of the issues they discuss are economic development, education, technology, politics, and cultural matters. The festival is put together by Africans or people who have lived in Africa for a long time. Most of all, they promote the unification of the peoples of Africa, and their theme song is “Africa Unite”.

Archeology in times of War

Article:

“Striking prehistoric rock art created up to 5,000 years ago has been discovered at almost 100 sites in Somaliland on the Gulf of Aden in eastern Africa.”

The paintings include one of the earliest depictions of a mounted hunter. It is believed that at least 10 of these sites will be given World Heritage status. Even though the history of Somalia is rich, it is still unexplored in a country that has dealt with too many wars to appreciate their archeology. Paintings in Dhambalin suggest farming or ritual traditions 5,000 years ago!

“The pictures also depict animals, such as giraffes, no longer found in Somaliland.” This could be a sign of the migration of animals together with the people of Africa. Or maybe giraffes in that particular environment died out.

Something to think about

I don’t have an article for this post. I’ll post a proper one later, but for now I just had to share my thoughts here, and let you guys in on a secret: I think I know what’s wrong with Africa.

My grandfather discovered he had cancer 40 days ago, and last week, he passed away. He lived in Brazil, and the only person there with him was my aunt. He stayed in the best hospital there is, and had all the privileges money and good friendships can buy, and yet… my aunt stayed in the hospital with him for 33 days, and every day she would call and let us know what was going on. The hospital was living hell. The hallways were filled with old, sick people, lying on the floor, dying, from the lack care, space, doctors, and what not. One of the patients that did get in had been there for four years, weighted 20 kg (that’s about 50 pounds) and didn’t have proper care, being left there to die. We could hear the screams of people in extreme pain over the phone. Again, that’s one of the best hospitals. Then my mom said something that made me realize what was so wrong with Brazil, and I believe, Africa: it’s all about the value these nations place on human life. In a world where human life should be the most preserved gift from God, we focus on material things, on power, success, and so on, often forgetting that humans are so fragile and in so much need of help. I guess that’s why African countries like Nigeria haven’t found out how to use their money yet. And maybe poverty, hunger, and death are all part of the price we have to pay for valuing the wrong things.

Just something to think about.

Capoeira is African

One of the most “Brazilian” arts is really African. Created by the Africans brought to Brazil as slaves beginning in 1500, capoeira is a martial art that was forbidden by law but survived underground. It was used by slaves to protect themselves in the hostile environment. There is much dispute surrounding the origin of this art: there are many who disagree on whether it arrived with enslaved Africans or whether Africans created it once they reached Brazil. The article states there is a continued effort to “disfranchise African people of their contributions to world civilization” (assatashakur.org), but truth is, no one disputes that it is an African creation. The word "capoeira" is probably a derivation of the Ki-Kongo word "kipura" which means "to flit from place to place; to struggle, to fight, to flog". N'dongo warriors, using their capoeira skills, would literally catapult themselves across rivers to avoid being captured by the Portuguese slavers. It is an amazing spectacle of agility, acrobatics and physical prowess. It can be a dangerous, even murderous style of combat that gives the trained fighter the ability to beat back an attack by eight men simultaneously, tossing them in all directions and crippling them one by one until all are incapacitated if not dead. In one of the novellas I posted earlier (Little Missy), there is a scene where a slave kills his master with capoeira.

Capoeira is practiced in Brazil today as a form of art, not as a murderous skill. During the carnival, bands of capoeira attract large crowds on the streets. It has become a dance with music provided by singing and percussion instruments, using the berimbau (originated in Tunga, Africa), which has a low-strung wire that is beaten with a stick. Practitioners of Capoeira gather in a circle, called a roda, and those who surround the contestants sing, clap and play the berimbau and drums. History and philosophy are passed through the songs. Then the contestants perform a movement called the Ginga, where they move around each other, almost like a dance, in order to disorient their opponent. It has a unique beat that continues to touch my heart. It is almost impossible to imagine how many years of culture and skill have been put into the capoeira practiced today, but like many of Brazil’s most loved bits of culture, it’s come from Africa.

http://www.assatashakur.org/forum/guerrilla-warfare-tactic-technique-survival/1496-africa-brazil-beyond-capoeira.html