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.

27/08/2012

Cronicas Amexicanas: Even from Home...

I am organising my trip to Amexica... and there are already ways to extend it when I come back...

The literary festival America is organise late September near Paris and will be gathering many Mexican and Argentinean artists for the occasion.

One of the events is a meeting around Tango.

Rencontre autour du Tango Argentin

http://www.festival-america.org/les-evenements/les-plus-dam%C3%A9rica/rencontre-magazine-books-autour-du-tango-argentin.html

Here is the presentation:

"Le tango, c'est bien connu, a commencé par être l'objet de tous les scandales.
Avant de figurer dans les grands salons de danse du monde occidental, il s’est épanoui dans les quartiers populaires de Buenos Aires. Au début du XXe siècle, c’est dans les cafés mal famés et les lupanars de la capitale argentine qu’on le danse.
S’y retrouvent aussi bien les immigrés de toute l'Europe, qui ont connu l'exploitation et s'en échappent par le tango, que les hommes et les femmes de la bonne société venus là s’encanailler. Si bien que s’intéresser au tango, c’est s’immerger dans la réalité sociale et politique du « melting pot » argentin.
Danse corporelle, provocante, le tango fascine, et nous plonge au cœur de l’histoire métissée de l’Argentine.
L’écrivaine Elsa Osorio, l’ethnomusicologue Michel Plisson, les danseuses Sol et Mariana Bustelo partageront, le temps d’une rencontre, leur passion pour cette danse magnétique".

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Other debates will include Mexican writers such as Eduardo Antonio PARRA - see here:

http://www.festival-america.org/les-evenements/les-grands-d%C3%A9bats/zones-dombres-1.html

And a special events dedicated to Mexico and Mexican literature:

Mexique
dimanche 23 septembre 2012 de 12h00 à 13h0
http://www.festival-america.org/les-evenements/les-sc%C3%A8nes/mexique.html

Sabina BERMAN, David TOSCANA, Eduardo Antonio PARRA

"En 2010, le Mexique fêtait le 200^e anniversaire de son indépendance. Or, l’histoire de ce vaste pays d’Amérique Latine contient bien des civilisations brillantes – Mayas, Olmèques, Toltèques, Aztèques – auxquelles la conquête espagnole mis un terme dans le sang. Plus proches de nous, les différents épisodes révolutionnaires qui émaillent l’histoire du Mexique au XIX^ème et au 20^ème siècle ont marqué l’imaginaire de plusieurs générations de lecteurs et de cinéphiles. Que dire de sa capitale, Mexico, ville monstre de 25 millions d’habitants sapée par la violence des gangs et des narcotrafiquants, la corruption et la pauvreté d’une grande partie de la population. La littérature s’est emparée de cette violence originelle, l’interroge pour tenter d’en comprendre les mécanismes, l’illustre dans une production souvent sombre mais jamais dénuée d’humour et de compassion. Trois écrivains viendront partager avec nous leur Mexique intime, Sabina Berman, David Toscana et Eduardo Antonio Parra".

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I'll be there...

Latest news on Somalia's political selection - Aug 26

UN representative to Somalia concerned by slow political transition, wants deadlines met

By Associated Press, Published: August 26

KAMPALA, Uganda — The U.N. representative to Somalia said he is “deeply concerned by the ongoing delays” in choosing all the 275 members of parliament who will select a new Somali president.

Somali elders must select the legislators ahead of the planned election on Aug. 28 of a speaker and a deputy, U.N. Special Representative Augustine Mahiga said on Saturday.

Mahiga said there was no “time for delay,” and urged the technical committee and elders compiling the list of parliamentarians to “continue working together in a spirit of mutual trust and flexibility to fulfill their responsibilities as defined in the protocols.”

In an exercise praised by the U.N. as a “watershed moment” in Somalia’s road to peace and stability, 215 Somali lawmakers were sworn in on Aug. 20, the day the mandate of Somalia’s eight-year-old caretaker government expired. It also was the day a new president was to be selected, but those hopes were dashed by political bickering, seat-buying schemes and threats of violence.

Somalia’s intricate clan politics and loyalties must be navigated in the selection of the country’s next leaders. A clan that wins the post of speaker, for example, is not eligible to get the presidency. Somali elders are tasked with naming a full parliament, since a general election is impossible because of the country’s chronic insecurity.

The current political process has been undemocratic, “with unprecedented levels of political interference, corruption and intimidation,” according to the International Crisis Group.

It remains unclear when a new president will be sworn in. Nick Birnback, a spokesman for the U.N. mission to Somalia, said last week that this would happen later in August or in early September. But the International Crisis Group predicted that it would not be until October that a full government is seated. After the president is elected, he must appoint a prime minister who then assembles a Cabinet.

Somalia, which has lacked a stable government since 1991, has seen improved stability recently as government forces and African Union troops pushed the al-Shabab militants out of the capital Mogadishu in August 2011. Although there is the occasional terrorist attack, the city is returning to life.

26/08/2012

Cronicas Mexicanas: Mestizaje

"Une des choses qui définit le Mexique, vraiment, c'est le métissage",

Alberto RUY SANCHEZ, ecrivain mexicain, auteur de 'A mon corps désirant', sur France Culture:

http://www.franceculture.fr/emission-dejeuner-sur-l-herbe-re-decouvrir-la-litterature-mexicaine-rencontre-autour-du-film-%C2%AB-du-ve

Sur les liens entre le Mexique et les cultures espagnoles, marocaines, africaines.

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Sur Alberto Sanchez:

http://www.galaade.com/oeuvre/a-mon-corps-desirant

25/08/2012

Cronicas Mexicanas: Literature is travel...

"Habitué à la parfaite symétrie des tracés parisiens, Alex commença par se sentir désorienté par le chaos urbain du District Fédéral, puis il trouva cela déplaisant, mais il finit par en être fasciné. Mexico lui parut une ville sans limites, livrée à sa propre vitesse, ayant perdu ses freins, prête à rivaliser avec l'infini, remplissant le moindre espace vide, avec n'importe quoi, murets, bicoques, gratte-ciel, toits de tôle, murs de carton, monceaux d'ordures, ruelles sordides, panneau publicitaire sur panneau publicitaire..."

Carlos Fuentes, 'La Buena Compania', Gallimard, traduction de Céline Zins

Call to photographers in France and Europe

Appel à candidatures 2013

Bonjour,

L'association Fetart lance la 3eme édition du Festival Circulation(s), Festival de la jeune photographie européenne qui se déroulera en fev-mars 2013 à Paris. Le parrain de cette édition est François Cheval, Directeur du Musée Nicéphore Niépce.

Dédié à la jeune photographie européenne, Circulation(s) a pour vocation de fédérer et de créer un réseau d’acteurs européens du monde de l’image partageant la même ambition que celle de Fetart : aider les jeunes photographes à s’insérer dans le monde professionnel.

Cette nouvelle édition présentera un panorama représentatif de la nouvelle génération de photographes au travers d’expositions. Dans ce cadre, Fetart lance un appel à candidature européen pour sélectionner les photographes qui participeront à Circulation(s) #3.

Date limite d’envoi des candidatures : 20 septembre 2012

Télécharger l'appel à candidature en français

N'hésitez pas à faire suivre l'information !

Retrouvez toutes les informations sur le site du festival www.festival-circulations.com

- CRITÈRES

L'appel à candidature est ouvert à tous les photographes européens ou résidants en Europe. Il n'y a pas de limite d'âge.

- CANDIDATURE

Les frais d'inscription concernant la candidature sont de 5 euros. Vous pouvez :
– soit payer en espèce ou par chèque : joindre les 5 euros (chèque ou espèce) dans l’enveloppe de votre dossier ;
– soit payer par Paypal à l'adresse suivante : candidature@fetart.org.

- TIRAGES

Fetart prend en charge le tirage des photographies des artistes dans la limite de 20 tirages par artiste (le contrecollage selon le
budget).
Le tirage se fera EXCLUSIVEMENT sur Paris courant janvier 2012.
Les artistes retenus qui ne sont pas domiciliés sur Paris S'ENGAGENT à envoyer les images en haute définition pour effectuer les
tirages à une date qui leur sera indiquée par l'association Fetart, à la même adresse que leur candidature.

- LOGEMENT ET TRANSPORT

Fetart étant une association à but non lucratif fonctionnant sur le principe du bénévolat, le transport des photographes (et celui des oeuvres le cas échéant) ainsi que leur logement pendant la durée de l'exposition sera à la charge financière des artistes.

Les membres de l'association peuvent cependant aider les photographes à trouver un lieu d'hébergement sur Paris.

- DÉPÔT DES CANDIDATURES
Date limite d'envoi des candidatures : 20 septembre 2012.

24/08/2012

Cronicas Amexicanas

It's time to be serious about this western call...

If I travel to Mexico, I figured out it might be a good idea to stop in the US before hand. To get an introduction, a taste of the Mexican community in New York City. I am going to Amexica after all...

Of course, some might say this travel should go through California and New Mexico but my time is limited and let's remember one fact: I still do not drive.

So a shorter flight to Amexica might involve a stopover in NYC before I head to MEX.

I want to explore Mexican New York!

According to the New York Times, "in the past two decades, the Mexican population in New York City has grown more than fivefold, with immigrants settling across the five boroughs". But the younger generation struggles to get work or education... Read here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/nyregion/mexicans-in-new-york-city-lag-in-education.html?pagewanted=all

In 2003, the Teachers College at Columbia University stated that "Mexicans (were) New York City's Fastest Growing Ethnic Group":

http://www.tc.edu/news.htm?articleID=4495

The growth is due to immigration and "most immigrants come from rural areas near Mexico City", the article added, underlining that "Mexican New Yorkers are mostly young and unskilled".

This research paper shows that more than 60 percent of all Mexican New Yorkers reside in Queens and Brooklyn, although there are significant populations in the Bronx and in Manhattan. Within Brooklyn, "the neighbourhoods of Sunset Park and Bushwick have major Mexican populations". In Queens, "Elmhurst, North Corona and Jackson Heights have the highest concentrations of Mexicans, and East Harlem hosts Manhattan's largest Mexican community".

From "Sunset Park", Faber and Faber, to Sunset Park, Brooklyn

I have been willing to go around Sunset Park for more than a year, since I had been reading one of my favourite American writer Paul Auster's latest novel named like the famous Brooklyn neighbourhood.

The novel virtually took me back to Miami (where I lived in 2008) before heading to New York and Brooklyn specifically...

The other unmissable place seems to be the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York, in Midtown...

http://www.lavitrina.com/

And the Mano Mano Cultural centre:

http://www.manoamano.us/en/who-we-are.html

I guess I know where I am going to head once in New York!

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Literature is travel and travel is literature...

To Be Continued.

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PS. I found that book...

23/08/2012

Somalia: U.S. AFRICOM Commander Reports Progress Against al-Shabab

Latest press release from the US Commandement in Africa:

U.S. AFRICOM Commander Reports Progress Against al-Shabab in Africa

08:14 GMT, August 23, 2012

THEBEPHATSHWA AIR BASE | Calling the elimination of safe havens and support for terrorist groups in Africa his top priority, the commander of U.S. Africa Command reported that U.S. support for Somalia’s military has had a direct impact in degrading the al-Shabab terror organization there.

“The performance of African militaries in Somalia … has been extraordinary,” Army Gen. Carter F. Ham told Soldiers Radio and Television Service reporter Gail McCabe during closing ceremonies for exercise Southern Accord here.

Ham noted the U.S. government role in training and equipping these forces and the impact it has had in increasing the African partners’ counterterrorism capabilities.

“They really have degraded the capability of al-Shabab, an al-Qaida affiliate operating in Somalia, where most of Somali territory is no longer receptive to al-Shabab,” he said. “They certainly still have some strong points, but are [al-Shabab is] greatly diminished over the last year, because of the role of Africans.”

While holding up Somalia as a positive trend on the continent, Ham acknowledged progress elsewhere remains mixed. He noted Mali, where about two-thirds of the country “is essentially outside the control of the interim government … and is largely controlled by transnational terrorist organizations.”

Ham called the terrorist threat his most pressing challenge. “In fact, I would say it is my highest priority, as the geographic combatant commander, … to protect America, Americans and American interests from threats that emerge from the continent of Africa,” he said. “And at present, the most dangerous of those threats are transnational terrorists.”

Countering this threat is the common denominator that drives Ham’s theater engagement strategy and its broad array of operations, exercises and security cooperation programs. This includes teaching partner nations how to improve their border security, intelligence and tactical capabilities and equipping African nations so they can operate more effectively.

It’s an effort Ham said involves the entire U.S. interagency – the departments of State, Commerce, Treasury and Justice, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other organizations – as they coordinate efforts to help address the underlying causes that create an environment where terrorists can operate.

The president’s recently released policy directive for sub-Saharan Africa recognizes the importance of security in advancing economic development that lays the foundation for democracy, Ham noted.

“The two are interrelated,” he said. “You can’t really have good, strong economic development if there is not security and stability.”

So Africom focuses on helping African partners promote security and stability. “We think it is important that we help African nations develop their own capabilities to provide their own security and also to begin the capability to contribute more expansively to regional security,” Ham said.

U.S. engagements in Africa, such as Southern Accord, are tailored to help partners build capacity and to respect the rule of law, the general said. "What we are really trying to do is help you build security forces that are not only tactically capable, but forces that are genuinely responsive to legitimate civilian control – that operate according to the rule of law and see themselves as servants of that nation,’” he explained. “And we are seeing that over and over again, and we certainly see that here in Botswana.”

Promoting that kind of engagement requires close relationships that are built over time. “It is all about relationships,” Ham said. “It is the ability to talk to a chief of defense or minister of defense and in some cases, heads of state to convey to them what it is that we are trying to do, and make sure they understand that we … don’t want to do anything that they don’t want us to do.”

A true partnership benefits all the participants, Ham said, recognizing the gains both U.S. service members and Botswana Defense Force members received as they worked together during Southern Accord.

Ham said he’s sometimes asked why what the United States needs a combatant command focused on Africa and why what happens in Africa matters to the United States. “I could easily say there are a billion reasons,” he said, recognizing the African continent’s population.

But also citing global economies and the global nature of security challenges, Ham emphasized that “what happens in Africa affects us in the United States.”

“So I think there is a whole host of reasons why America and Americans should care about advancing our interests in Africa,” he said. “And security is one component of an overall U.S. approach.”

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Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

22/08/2012

Human Rights Watch on Ethiopia: Transition Should Support Human Rights Reform

Ethiopia: Transition Should Support Human Rights Reform
Release Political Prisoners, Repeal Restrictive Laws, Reform Legislation

(Nairobi, August 21, 2012) – Ethiopia’s new leadership should commit to fundamental human rights reforms in the wake of the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Human Rights Watch said today. Meles’s death was announced by the Ethiopian state media on August 21, 2012.

Ethiopia’s international partners should call on the government to support fundamental rights and freedoms in the country and a prompt rollback of repressive laws, Human Rights Watch said.

“Ethiopia’s government should commit to respect for human rights and core rights reforms in the coming days and weeks,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The country’s new leadership should reassure Ethiopians by building on Meles’s positive legacy while reversing his government’s most pernicious policies.”

Meles had been in power since 1991, when the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) lead a coalition of armed opposition groups in overturning the rule of Mengistu Haile Mariam.

Meles leaves a mixed legacy on human rights, Human Rights Watch said. Under his leadership the country has experienced significant, albeit uneven, economic development and progress. At the same time – particularly since the controversial 2005 elections – Ethiopia has seen a sharp deterioration in civil and political rights, with mounting restrictions on freedom of expression, association, and assembly. The ruling party has increasingly consolidated its power, weakening the independence of core institutions such as the judiciary and the independent media that are crucial to the rule of law, Human Rights Watch said.

“Ethiopia’s leadership should demonstrate its commitment to human rights reform by taking urgent steps to amend or repeal some of the most damaging legislation, including its anti-terrorism laws and restrictions on civil society,” Lefkow said. “It should release the scores of political prisoners who are unlawfully detained and make clear that the transition will result in a meaningful opening of political space.”

21/08/2012

Cronicas Mexicanas - Prelude: I want to be a capsicum

So I have a new travel project which is to travel the continent I still haven't visited and long dreamt about: Latina America.

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Quotes

Doing some research, I found on the Lonely Planet introduction guide to Mexico, my Amexica, those ferw sentences that are striking lots of points with me:

"Mexico is a great country for making plans as you go. You can just pick a spot on the map. hop on a plane or bus or get in the car, and enjoy choosing what to do when you get there"...

"Mexico offers so many wonderful things to see and do that you’re guaranteed to want to fit more in".

"These are times to put the guidebook down and do your own exploring".

"WHEN TO GO: No time is a bad time to visit Mexico"...

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The term Amexica comes from the book's title by Ed Vulliamy, 'Amexica: War Along the Borderline',

a investigation on the US-Mexico 'war on drugs. I love the word, which reflectsthe link between the US and Mexico in North America.

If you want to know more about the book, you can watch this debate filmed at the Frontline Club, early July:

http://www.frontlineclub.com/blogs/theforum/2012/07/mexicos-pretend-war.html

Or read the review from The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/amexica-ed-vulliamy-review

The Taste of Mexico

I found this beautiful text in this wonderful review 'Long Cours' about a chef looking for the different tastes of chilis/capsicum among hundreds of species in Mexico:

The article ends with this beautiful statement: "Le piment a fait le tour du monde", the chili/capsicum has been all around the world... I want to be a capsicum!

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TRAVEL LITERATURE - Recommendations from Lonely planet

God’s Middle Finger Richard Grant risks his life to find out what’s really going on in the Sierra Madre Occidental. Great stuff – but don’t let it spook you! (Published in the UK as Bandit Roads.)

In the Sierra Madre Jeff Biggers spends a year living with the Rarámuri of the Copper Canyon. An informative and touching book.

Tequila Oil Hugh Thomson takes a tequila-inspired drive through 1970s small-town Mexico to sell his car in Central America – and returns 30 years later to find out more about the places he passed through.

Sliced Iguana Isabella Tree takes peyote with the Huichol and meets the matriarchs of Juchitán in this warm account of Mexico and its indigenous cultures.

The Lawless Roads Graham Greene wandered through Mexico to Chiapas in the 1930s, a time of conflict between Catholics and an atheistic state.

Time Among the Maya Ronald Wright investigates the Maya concept of time and their tragic modern history.

A Visit to Don Otavio Sybille Bedford’s witty and lyrical tale of travels in the now-vanished Mexico of the 1950s is still surprisingly relevant.

Tarahumara – Where Night is the Day of the Moon Bernard

Somalia has a new Parliament

It is a historical step for Somalia. The country has managed to elect its new parliament yesterday, August 20th, 2012, after more than two decades of civial war, chaos, terrorism and lawlessness.

As the Associated Press reported: "Somalia's chief justice on Monday swore in 215 new members of parliament, an accomplishment but one that fell far short of U.N. hopes that the Horn of Africa nation would seat a full 275-member parliament that would vote in a new president".

You can read the entire article here:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jOawi0HUULRDqdKX9DPXxPyv7wAA?docId=80f7912fe2cf46c1ba58337c7c311428

As it is, the political process in the country is moving but obviously not fast enough nor without complication.

On the BBC, Mary Harper, Somalia's export for the World Service, explains well that the date of 20 August 2012 "is key for two main reasons": it "marks the end of the mandate of Somalia's transitional government. And, perhaps more significantly, the first parliament chosen in Somalia is to sit in Mogadishu for more than two decades".