Melissa on the road

Journalist at RFI (ex-DW, BBC, CBC, F24...), writer (on art, music, culture...), I work in radio, podcasting, online, on films. As a writer, I also contributed to the New Arab, Art UK, Byline Times, the i Paper... Born in Paris, I was based in Prague, Miami, London, Nairobi (covering East Africa), Bangui, and in Bristol, UK. I also reported from Italy, Germany, Haiti, Tunisia, Liberia, Senegal, India, Mexico, Iraq, South Africa... This blog is to share my work, news and cultural discoveries.

08/08/2025

Talk about Sudan

I've also been writing about hunger, famine and devastation in Sudan this week.. Article to be published tomorrow... All our coverage so far here: www.rfi.fr/en/tag/sudan/

05/08/2025

More on the US - Rwanda migrant deal

My new article:

Read on from the link:

US - RWANDA

Rwanda agrees to take migrants from US in deal that includes cash grant

Rwandan authorities say they have reached an agreement with the United States to take in up to 250 migrants, as part of a new deal that includes a cash grant. The move is part of a wider effort by the Trump administration to remove migrants to third countries, and has raised fresh concerns over human rights, legality and the growing trend of wealthier nations paying others to take in deportees.

Today world in a nutshell: The United States against South Africa

How South Africa is responding to US tariff threats

South Africa has until Thursday to try to avoid 30 percent tariff on its exports to the United States, which could cost tens of thousands of jobs in the country. Despite Pretoria's efforts, no better trade deal was reached before the 31 July deadline, set by US President Donald Trump.

Workers at the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa works with steel products at the company’s facility in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, South Africa, 29 July 2025. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

South Africa has been used the delay in the US's imposition of 30-percent tariffs to negotiate hard to avoid the penalty and save jobs, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Friday last week.

"These are very complex negotiations, certainly unprecedented," said his Trade and Industry Minister, Parks Tau. "At this stage, we must focus on the task at hand and not on finding those responsible."

Ronald Lamola, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, called for consensus. "We're talking about our economy. This is not the time for political calculations, whether in the opposition or within the national unity government," he said, according to RFI's correspondent. "We must all speak with one voice. And we can't just blame South Africa; this is a global phenomenon."

New measures

South Africa is therefore launching a producer support programme, as announced on Tuesday by Willem Van Der Spuy, head of exports at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC).

"Through this support office, we will connect producers with embassies and potential buyers to penetrate new markets. But also, in general, to help the country diversify its exports," he said.

Pretoria's trade ministry has also launched an "Export Support Desk" to assist affected companies and advise on alternative markets during a period tau described as "a trying moment for South Africa".

Tau said the higher tariff was a threat to the country's export capacity, particularly in key sectors such as automotive, agro-processing, steel, and chemicals.

"We are working with urgency and resolve to implement real, practical interventions that defend jobs and position South Africa competitively in a shifting global landscape," Tau said in a statement late on Thursday.

Trump's new 30 percent tariff is expected to trigger widespread job losses in the nation's automotive and agriculture industries.

South Africa had been trying for months to negotiate a deal with Washington and offered to buy US liquefied natural gas and invest $3.3 billion in US industries in exchange for lower tariffs. But the effort was rejected, even after Pretoria made a last-minute attempt to improve its offer.

In the executive order published on Thursday (31 July), Trump slapped new tariff rates ranging from 10 percent to 41 percent on dozens of countries as he seeks to reshape global trade on more favourable terms for the US.

Almost 1000,000 jobs at risk

More than 70 percent of arable land is still in the hands of the white minority decades after the end of apartheid, according to the latest figures from 2017, and it is these farmers who will be among the hardest hit by Trump's new tariffs.

The hiked tariffs could cost South Africa 100,000 jobs, according to the head of the central bank, Lesetja Kganyago.

South Africa remains the continent's most industrialised economy but is already struggling with an unemployment rate of nearly 33 percent.

"The impact in agriculture could be quite devastating because agriculture employs a lot of low-skilled workers, and here the impact is on citrus fruit, table grapes and wines," Kganyago said on 702 Radio.

Between six to eight percent of South Africa's citrus production is sent to the United States.

For farmers in Citrusdal, 200 kilometres north of Cape Town, this is an essential market and also tariff-free under the preferential African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

"At the moment it's about 25 to 30 percent of our business," said Gerrit van der Merwe among rows of oranges on his 1,000-hectare (nearly 2,500-acre) plot.

Political motivations

The tariff hike underscores how South Africa's strained relations with Washington are now having economic consequences.

South African officials have said that their trade negotiations with the US were closely intertwined with geopolitical and even domestic policy issues, including South Africa's
affirmative action law which Trump disapproves of.

Trump has also falsely claimed that the South African government is seizing white farmers' land.

South Africa criticises US plan to resettle white Afrikaners as refugees

The US government is also unhappy with South Africa for bringing a genocide case against Israel at the UN World Court (ICJ), and for its land reform policy which aims to address racial inequality in land ownership that is a legacy of apartheid.

The US remains South Africa's second-largest bilateral trading partner after China, and its top exports to the US include cars, iron and steel products, and citrus fruits.

Rwanda to take in up to 250 migrants from the US

Rwanda reached deal with US to take in up to 250 migrants, government says

Tuesday, 5th August 2025

REUTERS

*Rwanda has ability to approve each individual, spokesperson says

*Washington has already sent an initial list of 10 people, official says

*Trump seeking to ramp up removals to third countries

The United States and Rwanda have agreed for the African country to accept up to 250 migrants deported from the U.S., the spokesperson for the Rwandan government and an official told Reuters, as President Donald Trump's administration takes a hardline approach toward immigration.

The agreement, first reported by Reuters, was signed by U.S. and Rwandan officials in Kigali in June, said the Rwandan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that Washington had already sent an initial list of 10 people to be vetted.

"Rwanda has agreed with the United States to accept up to 250 migrants, in part because nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement, and our societal values are founded on reintegration and rehabilitation," said the spokesperson for the Rwandan government, Yolande Makolo.

"Under the agreement, Rwanda has the ability to approve each individual proposed for resettlement. Those approved will be provided with workforce training, healthcare, and accommodation support to jumpstart their lives in Rwanda, giving them the opportunity to contribute to one of the fastest-growing economies in the world over the last decade."

The White House and State Department had no immediate comment. The Department of Homeland Security referred questions to the State Department.

President Donald Trump aims to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally and his administration has sought to ramp up removals to third countries, including sending convicted criminals to South Sudan and Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland.

Rwanda has in recent years positioned itself as a destination country for migrants that Western countries would like to remove, despite concerns by rights groups that Kigali does not respect basic human rights.

In May, the foreign minister said Rwanda was in the early stages of talks to receive immigrants deported from the United States.

The Trump administration argues that third-country deportations help swiftly remove some migrants, including those with criminal convictions. Immigration hardliners see third-country removals as a way to deal with offenders who cannot easily be deported and could pose a threat to the public.

Opponents have criticised the deportations as dangerous and cruel, since people could be sent to countries where they could face violence, have no ties and do not speak the language.

US TO PROVIDE GRANT TO RWANDA

Rwanda will be paid by the United States in the form of a grant, the official said, adding that the grant letter was finalised in July. The official declined to say how much the grant was for.

The U.S. and Rwanda could extend the agreement beyond 250 people by mutual consent, the official said, adding that those deported to Rwanda do not have to stay in the country and can leave anytime they choose.

Kigali will only accept those whose prison terms are complete or who have no criminal case against them, as there is no agreement with Washington that would allow people to serve out their U.S. sentence in Rwanda, the official said. No child sex offenders will be accepted.

The Trump administration has pressed other countries to take migrants. It deported more than 200 Venezuelans accused of being gang members to El Salvador in March, where they were jailed until they were released in a prisoner swap last month.

The Supreme Court in June allowed the Trump administration to deport migrants to third countries without giving them a chance to show they could be harmed. But the legality of the removals is being contested in a federal lawsuit in Boston, a case that could potentially wind its way back to the conservative-leaning high court.

Western and regional leaders have praised President Paul Kagame for transforming Rwanda from the ruins of the 1994 genocide that killed more than 1 million people into a thriving economy. Rights groups have accused him of abuses and of supporting rebels in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, accusations that he denies.

Rwanda has also engaged in peace talks led by the Trump administration to bring an end to fighting in eastern Congo. The two African nations signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement in Washington in June, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year.

The agreement to accept migrants deported from the U.S. is not the first such agreement Rwanda has reached. Kigali signed an agreement with Britain in 2022 to take in thousands of asylum seekers, a deal that was scrapped last year by then newly-elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer. No one was sent to Rwanda under the plan because of years of legal challenges.

04/08/2025

On Planet Bristol...

🎙 Just wrapped a nice conversation with Stefan Niederwieser in Austria about my book: We dived deep into the history of Bristol's music scene.... Show coming up in September.

The conversation took some interesting turns, like when we explored: "How punk and reggae combined to shape a unique multicultural sound."

I wrote the first draft of my book exactly ten years ago, between January and August 2015. I had a blast there that year, and Bristol changed me so profoundly

Nice memories...

Can't wait to hear the full episode, coming soon!

Massive Attack: Out Of The Comfort Zone

By Melissa Chemam

This book is dedicated to the history of the band Massive Attack and to their relationship with their home town of Bristol, a city built on the wealth generated by the slave trade. As a port Bristol was also an arrival point for immigrants to the UK, most notably the Windrush generation from the Caribbean in the 1950s.

I wanted to write an in-depth study of the influences that led to the formation of the Wild Bunch and then Massive Attack, to look into Bristol’s past to explore how the city helped shape one of the most successful and innovative musical movements of the last 30 years.

In Bristol in March 2019 with the fantastic Annie McGann for the book launch at Rough Trade

The book is based on interviews with many artists from the city and years of research. It also examines the formative years and relationships between bands and artists from the city from the 1970s to the 2010s – their influences, collaborations and politics and the way in which they opened the door for other including Banksy and Idles.

A song: 'Isha'

Sarah Lenka - 'Isha'

DRC and its ‘Genocost’

DRC President demands the recognition of a ‘Genocost’, a genocide committed for resources

The Congolese government is currently engaged in an international campaign to gain recognition for what it calls an “economic genocide in Congo”. The Democratic Republic of Congo commemorated this weekend a national day for what Kinshasa refers to as the Genocost – what they describe as a genocide due to the exploitation of the country's vast natural resources.

- Melissa Chemam -

Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi called on the parliament of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to adopt an official resolution recognising the genocide committed against Congolese people in the east of the country.

He launched the call on Saturday, during commemorations of the 'Genocost', which have been taking place every 2 August for three years.

A memorial dedicated to the Genocost was inaugurated near the National Museum in Kinshasa.

This mineral-rich region, which borders Rwanda, has been torn apart by conflict for the past 30 years, since the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda, and violence has intensified since early 2025.

The term 'Genocost' was first coined in London in 2013 by an activist from the Congolese Action Youth Platform (CAYP). It emerged in the wake of the publication of the UN’s Mapping Report, which documented the scale and horror of crimes committed in eastern Congo since 1996 and highlighted the responsibility of several neighbouring countries, including Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

For the NGO CAYP France, the creation of an official day of remembrance on 2 August and its endorsement by the authorities is a "victory", as Gloria Menayame, one of their legal experts and project officer told RFI. —but, she also said that it "feels unfinished".

"The adoption of the Genocost campaign is something we welcome," she said. "What we didn’t want was this partial appropriation that only takes what suits the authorities. There’s a lot of talk about international responsibility or the creation of an international tribunal. But they forget to put in place mechanisms to address crimes at the national level. We believe our government has the means, but lacks the will."

Long road to recognition

The idea of demanding the recognition of the 'Genocost' emerged after 2013, when Congolese people, victim to their neighbours’ hunger for the wealth of their subsoil — namely, its mineral resources, started demanding reparation, as well as addressing a logic of predation rooted in the colonial era.

Civil society in the DRC quickly took up the cause, and a square in Kinshasa was symbolically renamed Genocost Square. Gatherings have since been held there every 2 August, marking the start of the Second Congo War in 1998.

But the Congolese authorities adopted the term 'Genocost', only at the end of 2022, following the resurgence of the M23 rebel group in late 2021 and the conflict with Rwanda.

One of the main aims of this campaign is to establish an international criminal tribunal for the Congo.

Ten days ago, President Tshisekedi had also pledged to continue this advocacy in September at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Theoretical issues

The Genocost concept is also not unanimously accepted and remains controversial from a legal perspective.

"On a theoretical level, it remains problematic," Ithiel Batumike, a researcher at Ebuteli, told RFI.

According to him, the use of this concept is rooted in decades of frustration and impunity for crimes committed in the country, and it needs to be clarified in judiciary terms to be used efficiently.

What is sure is that "all Congolese believe it is time to stop this spiral of violence", he said. "The big questions all Congolese are asking themselves: 'Until when?' and 'Why does the international community act as if it doesn't see everything that is happening in Congo, when it is paying sustained attention to other crises where it has actually intervened to stop the massacres?'"

Another issue is the violence committed in the DRC by Congolese leaders and army members.

According to Menayame, the lawyer from CAYP France, within the Congolese government, "there are people who have been named in several United Nations reports as perpetrators of certain crimes committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo."

These names include several generals in conflict zones, and so they should not be left unexposed.

Talk about Sudan

The world's worst humanitarian crisis is being ignored, with over 8 million people displaced, 500,000 children dead from hunger in Sudan. Cholera and war crimes spreading in silence...

Read our articles here: https://www.rfi.fr/en/tag/sudan/

Civilians in Sudanese city El Fasher 'at risk of mass killings and starvation'

Cholera outbreak in Sudan capital kills at least 70 in two days amid ongoing war

UN urges action on Sudan's 'forgotten war' as humanitarian crisis takes hold

International Court of Justice throws out Sudan genocide case against UAE

Listen to my podcast episode:

Spotlight on Africa - Two years of devastation: Sudan’s war claims thousands and displaces millions

03/08/2025

A few words on art restitutions

Dear readers,

Once in a while, in my newsletter, I’d like to offer a slight look away from hard news, politics, or humanitarian crises…

This weekend, as France debates a bill to potentially clear the path to return artefacts looted during colonisation, I look here at where we are now, in the country and in Europe.