The African Cypher

"The African Cypher" is the name of a new documentary about Stouh African sound and dancing.

 

Here is the trailer:

 

http://vimeo.com/43178378 

 

Out in South Africa this week.

More soon I hope!
I'm looking into it...

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The African Cypher

Description

Directed by: Bryan Little
Produced by: Filipa Domingues
Cinematography by: Grant Appleton
Edited by: Grant Birch
Sound design and composition by: Simon Kohler
A Fly on the Wall production in association with Red Bull Media House

Dance/Social Documentary
Running time : 89 min
English/Afrikaans/Zulu/Sotho/Totsi Taal : Subtitled in English 

RECALLING MOGADISHU

This article published today in the Guardian illustrates again what I was reporting on about Mogadishu last month: The Somali capital is learning again to live at peace.

Peace returns to Mogadishu

Liberated from Islamist militants, the Somali capital is recovering from the ravages of war Daniel Howden  - Mogadishu

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/peace-returns-to-mogadishu-7888917.html



This quote from a former doctor recently returned to his homeland from exil summarises it all: "his first impression on coming home was that he had arrived in Hiroshima".

"It was a beautiful place, they used to call it the White City," he said.

Anyone who visits Mogadishu can tell how beautiful the site is and how majestuous the city seems to have been...

It of course reminds me of another "White City", Alger la Blanche, whcih used to be sublime and is less, for some other reasons I won't develop here.

But as one of the Somali returnee Daniel Howden interviewed for this article says well, this new Mogadishu says "it's hard for outsiders to comprehend: It's half relaxing, half scary."

Very accurate.

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A new start

Mogadishu is still standing and solwly comes back to life, I heard lots of testimonies saying the very same statement while in Somalia with the AMISOM Ugandan contingent, last April.

Here are a few other photos I took to illustrate a little, while I am still hoping to publish an article on the issue on an English publication...

The view from the AMISOM compound, Mogadishu

Keeping peace...

Healthcare centre near Km4

Mogadishu Airport's police

Food centre at the Tarabunka-Dikfeer IDP (Internally displaced people) camp

Activity at Mogadishu's seaport

African islamists coordinating?

A Guardian article from their South African correspondent spreads the news:

According to the US military in Africa, at least three African islamist group would be joinng their efforts... Al-Shabaab militants - active in the Horn of Africa - Boko Haram - from Nigeria - and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb are increasingly co-ordinating their activities, the US states...

Here is the article:


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/26/africa-islamist-militants-coordinating-threat

 

Africa's Islamist militants 'co-ordinate efforts in threat to continent's security'

Head of US Africa Command says Boko Haram, al-Shabaab and al-Qaida in north Africa sharing money, explosives and training

• David Smith in Johannesburg
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 26 June 2012 16.30 BST

 --

 

Here is the press release from AFRICOM, American Forces Press Service:

http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=8031&lang=0

It announces that "U.S. Africa Command's top military officer detailed existing and emerging threats from extremist organizations on the continent in a speech at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, D.C, June 25, 2012".

It underlines that "each of the extremist organizations is worrisome in its own right", according to the general, and that "there are indications they are seeking to coordinate and synchronize their efforts".

Let's see if there is any comment from Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Somalia or Kenya on the issue the next few days... 

Uganda on my mind

I was talking a lot about Uganda those past few days...

Wish I could fly for a few weeks to Entebbe and work from Kampala on the many issues that are so fascinating about this country.

I went to Uganda twice in 2011, in Kampala, Gulu and Lira, during the elections in February then in May 2011, and had an amazing human and journalistic experience.

 (Kampala by day - During the presidential campaign, Feb. 2011)

I mentioned a few days ago the film Call Me Kuchu - a feature-length documentary film on Uganda homosexual communities and the lack of right for gay and lesbian people - it will be out in the UK this coming Autumn, I hope to interview the filmmakers soon. So here is one issue.

Then remains the LRA issue.

Here is an article published today on the UN radio's website about joined Western efforts to try to prove good intentions around the quest against Joseph Kony and the LRA. We all know it is however difficult to state where exactly Joseph Kony currently is and what are the actions of the LRA, but this is precisely why I would love to read more on the problem

Here is the link of the UN radio's report:

http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2012/06/un-and-african-union-plan-to-stop-kony-and-lra/

'UN and African Union plan to stop Kony and LRA'

It states that the "UN and African Union envoys have highlighted a new regional strategy that they hope will bring an end to the activities of Joseph Kony and his rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)".

It also add that "The AU Special Envoy on the LRA, Francisco Madeira said a task force of  5,000 troops set up to find Kony and the LRA is almost operational".

--

Uganda has also been in the news this week because of:

- a government plan to ban 38 non-governmental organisations it accuses of promoting homosexuality, see more on the BBC's website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18531948#TWEET162878


- and an infamous landslide in the eastern region, near Kenya's border, see more here:

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Landslides+kill+18+in+Bududa++450+missing/-/688334/1435674/-/4rxa1g/-/index.html


And finally, Uganda is on my mind asa Global Witness' report is out regarding the oil discovery. "As Uganda’s draft oil laws are presented to Parliament, a Global Witness analysis of the legislation highlights the need for greater environmental, social and transparency provisions", the NGO says. See here:


http://www.globalwitness.org/library/ugandas-oil-laws-global-witness-analysis

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For all those reasons and much more, and of course out of passion for the beautiful country, I'd be ready to go back anytime.

Your comments and news from Uganda are welcome!

Cheers.

 

 

US / West African relations: on Counternarcotics Assistance

The US government has launched the West Africa Cooperative Security Initiative (WACSI) in order to "combating transnational organized crime in West Africa", the U.S. Department of State stated.

It consequently participated on June 21 in an international mission "to promote cooperation with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)".

WACSI is premised on the concept that cooperation with international partners and donor coordination is essential to fight transnational crime...

Here is the press release published on the U.S. Department of Stat's website:

United States Participates in International Mission to the Economic Community of West African States to Promote Cooperation on Counternarcotics Assistance

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 22, 2012

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/06/193916.htm

Politique Africaine

And discovering also... a review on African politics:

Politique Africaine

 Written in French, created in the 1980s, and now directed by Laurent Fourchard and Marie-Emmanuelle Pommerolle.

The website: 


http://www.politique-africaine.com/larevue.htm

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This is a great week for discovering new Africa-related artists and thinkers!

Discovering writers: Melissa Tandiwe Myambo

Discovering thanks to my favourite radio programme, 'The Strand', on the BBC World Service:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00tgvkw

On this Monday evening / Tuesday morning's programme: Caine Prize nominee Melissa Tandiwe Myambo.

 Melissa Tandiwe Myambo is from Zimbabwe and was invited on The Strand to talk about her story 'The Departure Lounge'.

Ahead of the award ceremony on July 2nd, The radio programme will be meeting all five of the writers on this year's shortlist.

--

More on the Caine Prize for African Writing:
http://isthisafrica.com/2012-caine-prize-shortlist/

The Caine Prize for African Writing is one of the most prestigious literary awards for African authors. It is named after the late Sir Michael Caine who intended that the award be, ”open to writers from anywhere in Africa for work published in English. Its focus is on the short story, as reflecting the contemporary development of the African story-telling tradition.”
The first Prize was given in 2000 at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair.
In July of each year, a week of press opportunities, story readings and signings is held for the shortlisted candidates before the winner of the £10,000 prize is announced.

The shortlist is as follows:
Rotimi Babatunde (Nigeria) – “Bombay’s Republic.” 
Billy Kahora (Kenya) – “Urban Zoning”
Stanley Kenani (Malawi) - “Love on Trial”
Melissa Tandiwe Myambo (Zimbabwe) -  ”La Salle de Depart”
Constance Myburgh (South Africa) - “Hunter Emmanuel”
Click on the links to read the short stories and check back in July to find out who won. Tell us which one you like. Happy reading!

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More on Melissa Tandiwe Myambo here:


http://xokigbo.wordpress.com/tag/melissa-tandiwe-myambo/

(Ikhide R. Ikheloa's blog. He "reads and writes obsessively", is "Passionate about the stories of Africa.")

Burundi in pictures on BBC Afrique's website

Hello people,

my section at the BBC World Service, dedicated to French-speaking Africa, is celebrting Burundi's anniversary of independence with this beautiful slideshow of photographs:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/afrique/nos_emissions/2012/06/120625_burundi_gallery.shtml

It is pretty rare! Thanks to our correspondents in the Great Lakes region.

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En images: le Burundi en fête

Le Burundi est connu pour la division ethnique entre Hutus et Tutsis, après deux longues guerres civiles qui ont causé la mort de milliers de personnes. Aujourd’hui, une ère nouvelle s’ouvre pour le pays.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/afrique/nos_emissions/2012/06/120625_burundi_gallery.shtml

"Call Me Kuchu": Being gay in Uganda

Call Me Kuchu is a feature-length documentary film from Uganda about the lack of right for gay and lesbian people in the Central African country.

It has been directed by Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall.

It deals with the every-day difficulties homosexuals encounter in Uganda, a country which unfortunately recognises no rights for LGBT - "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" - people.

The ocumentary is specifically about the life and death of one of Uganda’s first openly gay activists, David Kato.

It was recipient of diverse grants from numerous funders, including Chicken & Egg Pictures, Frameline and the Catapult Film Fund, as well as fellowships with the Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2011, the Film Independent Documentary Lab, and the Fast Track film financing market at L.A. Film Festival 2011.

David Kato was killed out of hatred in January 2011, just a few weeks before my first trip to Kampala, and I remember the shock in provoke in the gay community and among human rights activists in the whole East African region.  

More here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/27/ugandan-gay-rights-activist-murdered


More information about the film at www.callmekuchu.com :

"In an unmarked office at the end of a dirt track, veteran activist David Kato labors to repeal Uganda’s homophobic laws and liberate his fellow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women, or “kuchus.” But David’s formidable task just became much more difficult. A new “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” proposes death for HIV-positive gay men, and prison for anyone who fails to turn in a known homosexual. Inspired by American evangelicals who have christened Uganda ground zero in their war on the “homosexual agenda,” the Bill awaits debate in Uganda’s Parliament. Meanwhile, local newspapers have begun outing kuchus with vicious fervor under headlines such as: “HOMO TERROR! We Name and Shame Top Gays in the City.” "

--


http://callmekuchu.com/

Four Ugandans fight for justice & freedom on the frontlines of Africa's gay rights movement:

http://facebook.com/CallMeKuchu

(Virtual) Summer in Algiers

A new web documentary dedicated to the contemporary Algiers has been lauched yesterday from Paris. It broadcasts documentaries filmed in the Algerian capital, from different points o you, by different filmmakers or just regular citizens, in norder to capture a bit of nowadays Algiers, far from stereotyopes or from the images of the past.

You can see them here, all day long, on this website:

http://www.un-ete-a-alger.com/#/accueil 

The website will show during six weeks different films depicting today's Algiers.


Presentation in French:

"UN ETE A ALGER" est un web documentaire imaginé par Aurélie Charon et Caroline Gillet, avec Yanis Koussim, Lamine Ammar-Khodja, Amina Zoubir, Hassen Ferhani. Narrative/Une chambre à soi / avec le soutien du CNC, dont le lancement a été donné hier, 24 juin 2012.

Co produit par Narrative et Une chambre à soi.

"Loin de l'Alger colonial, loin d'Alger la blanche vue d'ici, on est au coeur du nouvel Alger qui revit : les jeunes portent déjà la révolution dont ils rêvent dans leurs envies, leurs corps et leurs vies. Après le printemps arabe, l'été sera algérien. La parole est à eux", affirment les réalisatrices.

http://www.un-ete-a-alger.com/#/accueil 


More details on the Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/uneteaalger/info 

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It all started with a radio documentary project created for France Inter:
http://www.franceinter.fr/emission-alger-nouvelle-generation

I must adnit it does bring back lost of memories of my two last trip to Algiers, which happened in 2001 and 1992, especially the views from the balconies like in the film "50 contre 1"...

Wherever you are, you can spend the Summer in Algiers, claim the producers... I really wanted to visit Algeria again this year myself, but I still have not been able to. That's a start. And a very beautiful one.

http://www.un-ete-a-alger.com/#/accueil