30/11/2023
28/11/2023
Interview with Apolline Traoré
'Sira': a story of Burkinabé women resisting jihadists
• RFI English
Ten days ago, I interviewed the Burkinabé filmmaker Apolline Traore about her film on the islamist insurgency in the Sahel, for the film fest Afrika Eye Festival.
Here below is a short extract of our conversation, in a video for RFI English.
Article to come this weekend.
"Sira" tells the story of a young woman abducted by jihadists who draws on her wits and courage to survive. Offering a rare insight into the lives of thousands living with Islamist violence in the Sahel, the film has already won prizes at home and abroad – and is now in the running for the 2024 Academy Awards.
Burkinabé director Apolline Traoré spoke to RFI about her experience making the film:
16/11/2023
Azawad: Après la défaite des rebelles touaregs, quel risque pour la région?
L'armée malienne a annoncé le 14 novembre 2023 avoir repris la ville stratégique de Kidal, dans le nord du pays, fief de la rébellion touareg du Cadre stratégique permanent (CSP).
Dans un communiqué publié en fin de journée, le CSP a reconnu s'être retiré de son fief de Kidal, mais a assuré continuer le combat contre l'État central.
Voici le point de vue de l'un de leur membre sur la situation sécuritaire au Mali et au Sahel.
Azawad - Wagner : Un tournant risqué pour la stabilité au Sahel
Le 14 novembre 2023, les mouvements politico-militaires de l’Azawad ont annoncé leur retrait de Kidal afin de minimiser les pertes et de se repositionner autour de la ville.
En effet, depuis quelques mois les autorités de Bamako ont décidé de relancer les affrontements militaires avec l’Azawad en faisant appel à des mercenaires du groupe russe Wagner et aux autres pays de la nouvelle alliance des États du Sahel (Niger, Burkina).
Le conflit prend ainsi une dimension internationale qui risque d’éloigner davantage toute solution politique, pourtant privilégiée par la signature d’un accord de paix en 2015 sous l’égide de l’Algérie comme chef de file de la médiation internationale.
Huit ans après, la junte a donc choisi l’option militaire, menée essentiellement par une armée de mercenaires étrangers dotée de matériels inédits dans ce conflit. Il serait par conséquent difficile pour le Mali de se prévaloir aujourd’hui d’une quelconque victoire dans ces conditions.
En 2014, l’armée malienne avait subi une humiliation sans précédent dans cette même localité de Kidal à la suite d’une bataille qui avait vu l’engagement de plus de deux mille soldats. Traumatisée par cette défaite, l’armée n’a pu revenir à Kidal que dans les bagages d’un groupe de mercenaires étrangers.
L’actuel épisode de Kidal vient conforter ceux qui pensent que la solution de la question de l’Azawad ne pourra être que l‘indépendance totale de ce territoire. La détermination du peuple de l’Azawad finira par venir à bout des réticences de la communauté internationale qui bloque depuis des décennies l’accès de ce peuple à l’autodétermination, pourtant brandie ailleurs au nom du droit des peuples à disposer d’eux-mêmes, principe inscrit dans la Charte des Nations unies et considéré comme un des piliers essentiels du droit international.
Les combattants de l’Azawad qui ont fait le choix de la dignité et de l’avenir laisseront sur le trottoir de l’Histoire les quelques faibles esprits instrumentalisés dans une collaboration active avec les ennemis de leur peuple. L’histoire leur réservera sans aucun doute le sort qui est généralement celui des insignifiants et des traitres aux nobles causes.
D’autre part, se profile à l’horizon le risque d’une extension de ce conflit aux autres pays de l’AES (Alliance des Etats du Sahel) qui affichent ouvertement leur soutien à la junte malienne dans cette aventure de Kidal.
Le Niger tout particulièrement ne tirerait aucun profit à s’engager dans ce conflit car cela risque de mettre à mal sa propre cohésion nationale. Personne n’est dupe des ressorts inavouables sous-tendus par ce soutien.
La sagesse et la responsabilité auraient commandé de tenir compte des réalités sous-régionales et du fait que les équilibres communautaires soient encore à trouver. L’armée malienne n’est toujours pas une armée nationale. Elle demeure une armée au service d’une conception ethno-centrée du pays dont nombre de communautés sont encore largement exclues.
Loin de résoudre le problème de fond, cet épisode militaire à Kidal constitue un nouveau tournant de l’instabilité au Sahel. Chacun sait qu’à travers Kidal, c’est une communauté qui est visée et tout soutien à l’armée malienne non recomposée peut être par conséquent ressentie comme une agression à l’encontre d’une composante particulière de la population.
Abdoulahi ATTAYOUB
Lyon (France)
Le 15 novembre 2023
11/11/2023
Afrika Eye 2023
14-19 November 2023
Bristol
“Afrika Eye 2023 is in our sights" Seventeen years on from the first Afrika Eye, we’re as excited as ever to be bringing a packed programme of films, from and about Africa, to venues across Bristol.
Films that dig deep into political issues, transcend the mundane, highlight the creative spirit and touch hearts and minds. With an overwhelming choice of films from across the continent, we are only able to scratch the surface of what’s on offer.
Films from Mozambique, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Zambia and DRC will be filling our screens this year, plus director’s interviews and guest speakers. We’d love you to join us."
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Programme here:
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Read more on my Substack newsletter from here:
Arts & Festivals for November-December 2023
09/11/2023
Entangled Pasts, 1768–now - Art, Colonialism and Change
More about this soon...
Entangled Pasts, 1768–now
Art, Colonialism and Change
3 February - 28 April 2024
@ Royal Academy, London
Main Galleries | Burlington House
J.M.W. Turner and Ellen Gallagher. Joshua Reynolds and Yinka Shonibare. John Singleton Copley and Hew Locke. Past and present collide in one powerful exhibition.
Next spring, we bring together over 100 major contemporary and historic works as part of a conversation about art and its role in shaping narratives of empire, enslavement, resistance, abolition and colonialism – and how it may help set a course for the future.
Artworks by leading contemporary artists including Sonia Boyce, Frank Bowling, John Akomfrah and Isaac Julien will be on display alongside works by artists from the past 250 years including Joshua Reynolds, J.M.W.Turner and John Singleton Copley – creating connections across time which explore questions of power, representation and history.
In the setting of our Main Galleries, experience large-scale works including the life-size painted cut-out figures of Lubaina Himid’s installation Naming the Money, and Hew Locke’s Armada, a flotilla of ‘votive boats’ recalling different periods and places.
Plus, powerful paintings, photographs, sculptures, drawings and prints by El Anatsui, Kerry James Marshall, Kara Walker, Shahzia Sikander, Mohini Chandra and Betye Saar.
Informed by our ongoing research of the RA and its colonial past, this exhibition engages around 50 artists connected to the RA to explore themes of migration, exchange, artistic traditions, identity and belonging.
This exhibition will contain themes of slavery and racism, and historical racial language and imagery. Please contact us for more information.
Our Friends preview days take place 31 January, 10am–6pm, 1 February, 10am–6pm, and 2 February, 10am–9pm.
#EntangledPasts
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/entangled-pasts
A message to Suella Braverman from Ahmed Masoud
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I first saw his play 'The Shroud Maker' in Bristol in Dec. 2021 as part of the Bristol Palestine Film Festival: the best performance I saw on Palestinian history!
I interview Ahmed Masoud last year. Read the story here:
PalArt Festival at Rich Mix: A voice for Palestinian artists in the UK
Elias Sime : The Story of Zoma
Wonderful work...
Elias Sime: Eregata እርጋታ
Arnolfini opened its autumn season for 2023 with Eregata እርጋታ , the first major solo European museum exhibition of one of Ethiopia’s leading contemporary artists, Elias Sime, introducing audiences to a man and maker of extraordinary craftsmanship and collaborative spirit.
This film explores Zoma Museum, an environmentally conscious art institution in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia co-founded by acclaimed artist Elias Sime and anthropologist, curator and writer Meskerem Assegued.
Zoma Museum takes a transformative and collaborative approach to art, architecture, education, sustainability, and the celebration and preservation of heritage and tradition.
06/11/2023
Gaza, Palestine, Israel: Ideas for a future state
Israeli-American peace activist Miko Peled has been advocating anti-Zionism for decades, arguing that Western governments who back Israel “are supporting the fight against justice, the fight against peace”.
As US officials stress the need for a two-state solution, Peled tells host Steve Clemons that a serious peace between Palestinians and Israelis can only be achieved if all of them - followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam - live as equals and share the country.
The biggest problem facing the Palestinians, according to Peled, is that they are “political orphans” - they have no regional power defending their rights and aspirations.
03/11/2023
The Beatles - Now And Then - The Last Beatles Song (Short Film)
This is very moving...
...or maybe, I'm just very emotional these days.
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Now and Then's eventful journey to fruition took place over five decades and is the product of conversations and collaborations between the four Beatles that go on to this day. The long mythologised John Lennon demo was first worked on in February 1995 by Paul, George and Ringo as part of The Beatles Anthology project but it remained unfinished, partly because of the impossible technological challenges involved in working with the vocal John had recorded on tape in the 1970s. For years it looked like the song could never be completed. But in 2022 there was a stroke of serendipity. A software system developed by Peter Jackson and his team, used throughout the production of the documentary series Get Back, finally opened the way for the uncoupling of John’s vocal from his piano part. As a result, the original recording could be brought to life and worked on anew with contributions from all four Beatles. This remarkable story of musical archaeology reflects The Beatles’ endless creative curiosity and shared fascination with technology. It marks the completion of the last recording that John, Paul and George and Ringo will get to make together and celebrates the legacy of the foremost and most influential band in popular music history. Video Director: Oliver Murray Producers: Jonathan Clyde and Sophie Hilton Original score: Paul Englishby Sound Designer: Alastair Sirkett Audio Restoration: Park Road Post Production Pre-order Now And Then: https://TheBeatles.lnk.to/NowAndThenYT
02/11/2023
Kidal, 2 Nov. 2013: 10 years
I was a freelance journalist for RFI, reporting for a few days in Algeria, when our colleagues were killed in Mali in 2013.
Now the date, 2 November, is International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.
Here is my piece for RFI English:
Ten years ago, RFI reporters Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon were murdered in Mali
RFI reporters Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon were shot dead in northern Mali on 2 November 2013 after concluding an interview with a Tuareg leader. Ten years later, questions remain about what happened that day.
Issued on:
"On 2 November 2013, journalist Ghislaine Dupont and reporting technician Claude Verlon, reporting in the Kidal region of northern Mali, were kidnapped then cravenly murdered," France Médias Monde (FMM), which owns Radio France Internationale (RFI), recalls in a press release.
The investigation into what happened remains "particularly complex", the statement adds.
The families fear that justice will never be served, as only one member of the commando that kidnapped and murdered the the reporters is reported to be still alive.
Slow investigation
Four members of the commando unit have been identified, and RFI has filed a civil case and is involved in the legal proceedings.
Verlon's sister, Marie-Pierre Ritleng described the investigation as "moving forward, but slowly", and she told RFI that he fears that answers about the murders might remain hidden for a while longer.
Dupont's mother, Marie-Solange Poinsot, told RFI that she stills cries for her daughter "every day".
"I miss her a lot, she was the joy of my life," she said, expressing concern that she will not see justice prevail before her own death.
Poinsot, 93, still thinks that the French army is hiding important facts, probably to protect the military.
As many as ten French soldiers were present in Kidal on the day of murders, according to French official sources, but they were poorly equipped and barely able to ensure their own safety.
Previous reports appear to show a gap of at least 20 minutes between the raising of the alert by the special forces unit about the murders, and the reaction of regular troops, described by the army as "the only soldiers equipped to intervene".
Verlon's daughter, Apolline, wrote to both French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron asking for the truth to be brought to light so that the bereaved families can finally begin the process of mourning.
This year, she told RFI that she only wanted to know the truth to live in peace, and "to cease to imagine all the worst possible scenarios of what could have happened on that day in November 2013".
Training African journalists
At RFI's request, in December 2013 the United Nations proclaimed 2 November International day to end impunity for crimes against journalists.
RFI has also decided to honour Dupont and Verlon by training young journalists from the African continent.
A special ceremony was held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, to honour this years' trainee graduates.
"The Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon Scholarship was created to continue and pay tribute to the passion and expertise of the two reporters," FMM wrote in its statement, and "to transmit their knowledge and values to journalists and technicians, the very people who worked alongside them in the editorial staff of RFI or in the field".
01/11/2023
Latest from Gaza
1 November 2023
First wounded and foreigners escape war-torn Gaza through Rafah border crossing into Egypt
Ambulances transported wounded residents out of Gaza for urgent medical care in Egypt Wednesday, with hundreds of desperate foreign passport holders also starting to flee the territory wracked by three weeks of war with Israel.
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| AFP |
The evacuation of the first people to escape war-torn Gaza provided a rare glimmer of hope in an otherwise desolate humanitarian crisis.
A first group of civilian evacuees from Gaza crossed into Egypt under a Qatari-mediated deal on Wednesday while Israeli forces bombed the Palestinian enclave from land, sea and air as they a pressed their offensive against Hamas militants.
The evacuees, who had been trapped in Gaza since the start of the war more than three weeks ago, were driven in ambulances through the Rafah border crossing.
Reports from the Reuters news agency say they were undergoing security checks on the Egyptian side.
Reporters from the French news agency AFP also report seeing a column of 40 white ambulances streaming through the Rafah border crossing, as crowds of foreign and dual national families gathered nearby, hoping to leave the catastrophic conditions of Gaza behind them.
At least two children were seen in the ambulances, one with a large bandage wrapped around his stomach, as medics examined the wounded and transferred them to stretchers.
"We've faced many problems in Gaza, the least of which were the shortage of water and the power outage. There were bigger problems such as the bombardment. We were afraid. Many families were martyred," Jordanian citizen Saleh Hussein told AFP, adding she received word in the middle of the night that she was on the list for evacuation.
Suffering and humiliation
The Hamas-run health ministry estimates that 8,796 people have so far been killed in Israeli bombing.
Israel said 11 soldiers died in ground fighting in Gaza on Tuesday, taking to 326 the number of troops killed since 7 October.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to "continue until victory" over Hamas, after the brutal 7 October attack sparked the latest conflict, the deadliest in decades of unrest between the two sides.
From Rafah, AFPTV images showed Wednesday whole families, struggling to carry their worldly possessions, rushing through the heavily fortified crossing towards Egypt.
The crossing was expected to admit at least 400 foreign passport holders from today and 90 of the most seriously wounded and sick.
A first group of mostly women and children arrived in Egypt, an official told AFP on condition of anonymity, as TV images showed parents with pushchairs and elderly people clambering off a bus.
"It's enough. We've endured enough humiliation," said Gaza resident Rafik al-Hilou, accompanying relatives including children aged one and four hoping to cross into Egypt.
"We lack the most basic human needs. No internet, no phones, no means of communication, not even water. For the past four days, we haven't been able to feed this child a piece of bread. What are you waiting for?"
Israeli officials said 70 aid trucks entered Gaza from Egypt Tuesday, one of the biggest ever daily flows, but far less than humanitarian groups say is needed.
Fearing supplies entering Gaza could be diverted to Hamas, or that aid shipments could conceal arms, Israeli security personnel carry out stringent inspections that have slowed the flow of aid to a trickle.
'No hope in Gaza'
The flaring humanitarian crisis in Gaza has been described by the United Nations and other aid agencies as "unprecedented".
A strike on Gaza's largest refugee camp, Jabalia, killed at least 47 people Tuesday, including a Hamas commander involved in the October attacks, according to Israel.
Hamas said seven hostages, including three foreign passport holders, had died in the bombing, a claim impossible to verify.
Israel also said its warplanes had hit a "vast" tunnel complex at the site, killing "many Hamas terrorists", including local battalion commander Ibrahim Biari.
Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza remained desperate, with food, fuel and medicine for the 2.4 million residents all running short, according to aid groups.
"There is no hope in the Gaza Strip," resident Amen al-Aqluk told AFP. "It is not safe anymore here. When the border opens, everybody will leave and emigrate. We encounter death everyday, 24 hours a day."
(with AFP and Reuters)
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