Bombastic Element

Bunmi Oloruntoba posts a video on, and comments about discriminatory practices against the Baka of the Republic of Central Africa:
“Unrelated to the Baka of Cameroon, but foragers and hunters like them, the Baka populations of the CAR still suffer from a racial ideology shaped during the colonial era by the colonizers who labelled them pygmies, and that ideology which constructs their difference into inferiority, like a baton, was picked up by their farming and herding neighbors, the Bantu, who have continued to stereotype the Baka as ‘physically and socially inferior, as unclean, untrustworthy, immoral, lazy and stupid, even as not fully human’…
Hence, the Baka are exposed to high levels of violence, have very unequal access to justice, and have had to endure racial prejudice in every aspect of their lives…
The racialization of the Baka illustrates why race often isn't about skin color or any discernible features; rather race has to do with human beings in a world of limited resources; we create race or racialize others as a means to exploit them, preserve what is ours or expropriate what is theirs. Therefore the weapon is difference -- any system of recognizing or appropriating difference can be put into play when it comes to racializing others.”

Beautiful Mind

cc Charles King
Charles King writes about the harrowing experience of being caught in the middle of the ongoing service delivery protests in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province:
“Emthonjeni township, Machadodorp: ‘We are fucking tired of poor service delivery,’ is what the few hundred community members protesting outside Emthonjeni were chanting in my face as I barely stood my ground - despite, quite honestly, my insides turning to water. This was on the barricaded and burning R36 (between Machadodorp and Carolina) earlier today.
I had driven slowly around barricades as the police quickly retreated back to Machadodorp for reinforcements; I had to know what - in the community's eyes - this was all about. But what I felt right then was pent up anger spat into my face; I was, suddenly, the enemy. (My thoughts included - 'Just how many journalists have died in identical situations...and was it worth it?')
A pen, a spiral-bound notebook, my camera, and an earnest face prepared to listen might have helped me this time. Also my back was against the wall, this time an impenetrable and writhing circle of chanting human beings. Then, thank God, one woman in the crowd screeched out my name – ‘Charleseee...!’ - and ran me into her arms. This was always-smiling Gloria from Seattle Coffee at Millys on the N4, who had served me great Cafe Mocha's on countless occasions. "He's a journalist, he's a friend," she screamed back at the crowd. That was the turning point... in my favour.”

Project Diaspora writes about a recent decision by 14 Somali villages to publicly renounce Female Genital Mutilation:
“In Puntland, Somalia where an estimated 98% of the population practices FGC, this declaration provides new way forward. 14 villages in this Northeast Zone of Somalia, made history on Monday as they became the first group of communities in the region to collectively pledge to abandon the practice of female genital cutting (FGC).
These communities participated in an empowering three-year education program implemented by the NGO Tostan in collaboration with UNICEF and the Government of Puntland…
Approximately 2,000 people attended the declaration held in a soccer stadium in the city of Garowe…
The particular circumstances in Somalia – namely, the near universal practice of FGC – makes this declaration of abandonment particularly significant. The villagers from Puntland join a growing movement in which over 4,000 communities have followed a similar process of education and community outreach, followed by a public declaration for the abandonment of this harmful traditional practice. It is anticipated that similar public declarations will be made by neighboring communities in Somaliland in the coming months.”

Idea Lab

Guy Berger of Rhodes University blogs on attempts the Namibian and Botswana governments to muzzle criticism via new media, namely mobile phones and blogs:
“Comments and text messages in particular, are causing umbrage in Namibian government circles. Their unhappiness highlights the historic shift of media away from unidirectional, univocal information.
This case underlines the politics entailed when the media becomes a platform for broader communication, which is exactly what's happening with mobile phones in some African countries.
Things came to a head in Namibia in early October at a political rally… A torrent of abuse and threats were issued at the event, and they emanated from the Namibian minister of justice who… launched a racist attack on the editor of The Namibian, Gwen Lister, and accused this celebrated journalist of personally writing the critical SMS messages that have been published in the paper…
What's scary is that in next door Botswana, a draconian law was passed which requires the registration of all media, including bloggers. The system of course could allow for their de-registration and criminalization.
Despite these heavy-handed approaches, the genie of user-generated content is out of the bottle. A totalitarian regime would be required to stop all SMS messaging in order to prevent political criticism, and both Namibia and Botswana count themselves as democracies.

cc EduTech
On the World Bank Blog, Michael Trucano ponders on what improving internet connectivity in Africa will mean to education:
“What does, or might, all of this improved connectivity mean for students and teachers in Africa? How can we keep track of all of the related changes happening throughout the continent?...
Many people see great potential for advances in information and communication technologies to help provide new tools and approaches to educational practices going forward, and indeed the 'potential' is undeniable. Moving beyond the rhetoric, however, it is a challenge to keep track of what is actually happening…
Where all this will lead, no one knows, but there is no denying that we are witnessing encouraging developments. For those interested in the potentially transformative value of the use of technology in education, there will be much to learn from the experiences of African educators and students in the coming years.”

Scribbles from the Den

cc Dibussi Tande

Dibussi Tande investigates how British business interests in West Africa tried to use elected officials to influence the outcome of the decolonization of the British Southern Cameroons:
“Practically all books and articles on the decolonization of the British Southern Cameroons focus primarily on the internal and external political factors that ultimately led to the February 11, 1961 UN-sponsored plebiscite. There are very few studies that focus primarily or exclusively on how British businesses tried to influence the outcome of the decolonization process. This is quite intriguing, considering, as S. E. Stockwell has pointed out in the case of the Gold Coast, that ‘British companies were much more than by-standers in the transition from colony to independence’…
This point was driven home recently when I came across Conservative MP Sir John Tilney’s robust pre- and post-plebiscite defense of the independence option for Southern Cameroons – the (in)famous “Third Option” which was not included in the 1961 plebiscite questions…
Without doubt, the strident support for full Southern Cameroons independence in the British parliament and elsewhere (rather than independence by joining either the Federal Republic of Nigeria or the French Cameroons) was not always driven by altruistic motives, and in some cases had little to do with the actual interests of the people of Southern Cameroons. “

* Dibussi Tande, a writer and activist from Cameroon, produces the blog Scribbles from the Den.

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at Pambazuka News.