North Africa And Women's Issues

This is not how I wanted to be able to showcase the North of the continent but today two articles came up on my homepage, which is set to BBC News Africa, to make sure I'm kept up to date while on foreign soil.  Unfortunately, two stories came up that are not happy stories, but at least one of them comes with a silver lining.

I'll start with the worst one, don't want to end the post badly ;).  19 Sudanese men were flogged for cross-dressing and breaking Sharia law.  They were too womanly, leading people to think that they were gay.  Right now I am very mad at people who make irrational conclusions about sexuality and gayness from the most random of evidence.  The average gay person does not going around dressing like a woman.  Most gay men I know are nothing like me, I have never thought that any of them are trying to be womanly or like me.  Even the ones who act effeminate don't seem womanly to me either.  These men weren't even given the chance to defend themselves either.  They could have been a drag troupe or dressing up for a fancy dress party or a play.  We will never know.  However these sentiments are not just Muslim, even Southern Sudan and other devoutly Christian areas of Africa do not tolerate what are considered overt and blatant gay actions.

The second is an encouraging development from a terrible situation.  An Eygptian woman came forward on television to speak up about her rape by policemen.  This is a very big step, albeit having to be made with her completely covered from head -to-toe in black so as not be identified.  I cannot for the life of me find the YouTube video that people have been able to watch of her appearance :(. Instead, here is a video of Eygptian women debating with a man over the way rape is treated in their country.  The issue they are talking about is very serious and polarised views clash, but I must also warn you of other clashes.  Your eyes may not be able to reconcile the rather suspect blond wig adorning one of the ladies' heads so as to hide her hair in place of a hijab.



The good news is that there is debate going on about the injustices that are being sanctioned by religion and that women are trying to take control of their lives and their bodies.

Leadership, Shopping And Recycled Wonders

Obama's Forum got me thinking about youth leaders and how it is important for not only Africa's young to start taking the helm, but for all the youth around the world to start thinking about what they can be doing to better their families, communities, countries, continents and ultimately the planet.  Even though our world has always been interconnected through shipping routes, the slave trade, and spices, never before have people been able to connect so easily and in a plethora of ways both physically and virtually.

This reminded me of Kimmie Week's initiative, Youth Action International, YAI.  He was not at the conference, I think they are trying to give other people who may not have the fame that Week's has a chance in the limelight.  Week's started his leadership journey very young.  At 17 he was already writing reports exposing the injustices of child soldiers!  And now his efforts not only help his home country Liberia, but also now extend to Sierra Leone and Uganda, other places on the continent where child soldiers have been deployed.

He moved to the US when the government set out to assassinate him, after his efforts to expose the wrongs in his country.  He took advantage of the opportunity to set up an international network and now has people volunteering from all over America through YAI Chapters based at universities.  He demands commitment from the people he allows to travel with him.  Every year 3 interns get to travel around Africa with him.  They have to have served an YAI chapter for at least year and they have to raise their own funds.  People who move with him are another level of "wanting to help out" - they are seriously dedicated.  Here is a video on their latest project:



You can find out how to get involved with YAI here.

Here is a video that, even though is not his full speech, really gives a good idea of the kind of person Kimmie is and why he is in demand as a public speaker, and also an inkling into who he is as a person and his passion for humanity:



This speech was for Humanity Uniting Brilliance, HUB, an organisation that provides a social enterprise platform to help those in need take ownership of their destiny through entrepreneurial endeavors, while learning from brilliant leaders around the world.  I took a look at The Global Marketplace, where the goods produced by the people they empower can be bought, and of course naturally gravitated to their African collection.  Unlike in my post about fair trade, ethical fashion, these products are available to a wider group of people looking to buy products that not only make them feel good, but also help the environment and people around the world trying to alleviate the poverty in their lives.  You can buy a bracelet for $8 all the way to a "Village in a Box" (hmmmmm as my sister would say) for $535.  The Box is intended to be used to get your family and friends to be as excited about HUB as you are by selling the items and using them to create events and things.

It is amazing what can be made from recycled paper, pata patas, and plastic! Right now the countries in Africa benefitting from this intiative are Mali, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Kenya.  The great thing about this is that it is a worldwide venture too.  You can get items from from all over such, as a wallet made from recycled tire tube from El Salvador if you want!! It just blows my mind what people can do with someone else's rubbish.  Reminds me of the Welcome to Lagos Series. If you haven't taken a gander, you can see the 3 episodes here, here and here.

Obama's Address To The President's Forum With Young African Leaders: " You represent a different vision, a vision of Africa on the move."

President Barack Hussein Obama did not disappoint and gave a rousing speech, (here is the transcript, but I would advise you to watch the video), in keeping with his reputation as a gifted and insightful orator.  He made sure to single out the accomplishments of the audience from a Djiboutian starting off selling ice cream to now running his own accounting practice, a Malawian using her positive HIV status to break barriers, to an Ivorian journalist fighting for the rights of Muslim women (which made me think of North Africa's absence again :( ). He also drew from his father's life, telling of how he was able to take advantage of educational exchange and also how Kenya was in a better position economically that South Korea in the 60s but is now not as developed - a cautionary tale about all of our squandered opportunities.  He capped it off by answering questions from attendees representing Mocambique, Liberia, Mali, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Somalia.  He answered eloquently off-the-cuff about HIV, Zimbabwe, Somalia and the bombings in Uganda, the World Cup, brain drain, and the potential pitfalls and the opportunities for success on the continent.

Can I just say that I loved the woman in the purple's outfit.  One because it's purple, my fav colour.  Two because it was beautiful.  She is one of those that people back home would tell you to watch out for.  He he he.  Also could not find the leader I knew in the audience.  I have eyes and ears everywhere.  I may be useless, but I like to surround myself with those that  bedazzle he he he...

Obama speeches always yield a healthy crop of quotes so I am going to let his words speak for themselves, with other little tidbits interspersed of course:

"Welcome to the White House, and welcome to the United States of America.  And that includes even our friends from Ghana, who beat us in the World Cup. (Laughter.) Where are you? Over there? That's all right.  It was close. We'll see you in 2014. (Laughter.)"

Later the response from a Ghanaian attendee:   A Ghanaian football pundits thoughts before the US-Ghana match:  "This is not war, it is football.  If it were war, then maybe we should be afraid because the might of America is more than us."

"You reflect the extraordinary history and diversity of the continent."

"In fact you represent the Africa that is so often overlooked - the great progress that many Africans have achieved and the unlimited potential that you've got going forward into the 21st Century."

"I don't see Africa as a world apart; I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world."

FYI, in case you didn't know Senegal, Gabon, Nigeria and Madagascar are all celebrating 50 years of Independence. Randomly, Scuttle the Seagull from A Little Mermaid's voice said all of that in my head because he says "In case you didn't know the prince is getting married today" to Ariel in a very silly voice.  Sorry! This is my third post today, overload of seriousness, needed a bit of nonsense he he he...;}

"Africa's future belongs to its young people."

"Yes Youth Can" Kenya's adoption of Obama's "Yes We Can."

A quote from an tweeting attendee "If your actions inspire others to dream more, to learn more, to do more and become more then you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
This reminded me of how I  have no desire to become another twit on twitter. I'm sure its lovely.  I'm just not wired enough for that kind of deluge of information. So I now rely on MIghTy African to sieve for me so I can keep up-to-date with extra fast breaking news :).  You can read his comments on the Town Hall style meeting here. As my mother always says, "sieve, take what means something to you and discard the rest". Which has led me to coin a new euphemism:

"Sieve: don't be afraid to throw out the husks to keep the rice."


"The future is what you make it.  And so if you keep dreaming and keep working and keep learning and don't give up, then I'm confident that countries and the entire continent and the entire world will be better for it."

"Some old leaders get into old habits, and those habits are hard to break."

"Here is the interesting moment that we are in though - if you look at where the greatest opportunities are, they're actually now in emerging markets.  There are countries in Africa that are growing 7, 8, 9 percent a year.  So if you are an entrepreneur now with an idea you may be able to grow faster and achieve more back home that you could here."

"I've always said the destiny of Africa is going to be determined by Africans.  It's not going to be determined by me.  It is not going to be determined by people outside of the continent.  It's going to be determined by you.  All we can do is make sure our voices are heard and you're able to rise up and take hold of these opportunities.  If you do that, I think that there are going to be a lot of people who - even if they are educated abroad - want to come home to make their mark."

"I am a profound believer in not looking at violence as a solution to problems.  And I think the moral and ethical  power that comes with non-violence when properly mobilised is profound."
When I read this I was like hmmmm torture, rendition, Guantanamo, Afghanistan, Iraq...but a little bit later he said:

"And now it is not as if we are perfect.  Obviously we've got all kinds of problems as well.  But what it does mean is that the peaceful transfer of power and the notion that people always have a voice - our trust that democratic process is one that has to be embraced in all your countries as well."

"Oftentimes women are not getting the same voice in African countries, despite the fact that they are carrying more than their fair share of burdens."

"I will say that in Africa in particular, one thing we know is that empowering women is going to be critical to reducing the [HIV] transmission rate. We know that because so often women, not having any control over sexual practices and their own body, end up having extremely high transmission rates."

"Africa has some of our most loyal friends.  Every survey that's take, when you ask what continent generally has the most positive view about America, it turns out Africa generally has a positive view of America and positive experiences so I think you should be confident even if I'm not President that the American people genuinely want to see Africa succeed."

"South Africa has its problems, but from what everybody could see during the World Cup,  the potential for moving that country forward as a multiracial, African democracy that can succeed on the world stage, that's the model so far at least Zimbabwe has not followed.  And that's where I'd like to see it go."

"I think that this metaphor of the success of the World Cup and the bombing [in Uganda] shows that each of you are going to be confronted with two paths.  There's going to be a path that takes us into a direction of more conflict, more bloodshed, less economic development, continued poverty even as the rest of the world races ahead - or there's a vision in which people come together for the betterment and development of their own country."

"And for all the great promise that's been fulfilled over the last 50 years, I want you to understand - because I think it's important for us to be honest with ourselves - Africa has also missed huge opportunities for too long."

"Your Voices Are Heard On The Global Stage"

Here is a video of some of the attendees' views on the Forum, held at the National Museum of African Art in DC, and what needs to be done in their countries and around Africa to continue to develop and grow. As Hilary said in her speech "your voices are heard on the global stage", referring to the privileged position the Young Leaders have to affect their families, communities, countries and continent and their ability to harness global forces if they so choose, due to their education and drive.  Technically this is a potentially global platform due to the affordances of the Internet he he he. It is nice to see people passionately and intelligently taking up the challenge of change, even though the path they will have to take is likely to be rife with setbacks and resistance.  As Clinton said it is a worthy cause to take up as the benefits outweigh the opportunity costs of the journey.

Hilary Clinton Speaks to the President's Forum of Young African Leaders: "Africa's future is up to Africans"

Hilary Clinton delivered a great speech during the first day of the President's Forum for Young African Leaders. It inspired me to finally start a new blog feature, AMASHIBI, (a-ma-SHI-bvi/ wi), which means words. She described the continent as a place "brimming with potential" and the fact that 60% are under the age of 25 means that there is a really opportunity for us to be leaders.  With poverty and child mortality on the decline, even though it may not seem we are not making progress due to the fact that there is a systematic focus on negativity when reporting on the continent, Africa is set  to fulfill its "promise of becoming a leader."

She said it was time to focus on the "gains" not on the challenges to help inspire people.  She commended the elections in Ghana, Botswana and SA as "models of freeness".  She quoted Obama who had said in Ghana last year that "Africa's future is up to Africans." She then acknowledged that the US needs to view its relationship with the continent differently - it needs to be partners with it, not the benevolent dictator.  She called for expanding trade agreements to be more conducive to bilateral exchange and to encourage intercontinental trade as well.  She also called for full female participation and mentioned the African Women's Entrepreneurship Program that kicked off in DC on the 26th of July and is moving to Kansas City tomorrow. She talked about needing to take climate change seriously too.

She also brought up the need to continue to educate Americans about Africa.  She talked about how when she had made a visit to the continent in the late 90s as First Lady, she realised she needed to be proactive in this regard.  This was confirmed when a reporter asked her "So what's the capital of Africa".  Oh dear! Oh dear dear dear dear...As LOLZ likes to say "Africa is not a country, its a continent." It inspired a lovely T-Shirt I know have that was made for Africa week for my undergrad's African Students Association that had a little Africa filled in solid at the front with the country bit and then large Africa that covered the back with all the boarders outlined and the continent part of the quote.  I decree that this should be an initiative the American government takes up: passing out free t-shirts to the public like the ones we had ;). Although an African American once told me she was led to believe that Africa was a country because the map was presented to her as the outline of the continent with the country borders inside and this was the same way they presented America to her with the state borders so she assumed that that what in actuality were countries were in fact states.  Quite a logical deduction when you think about it.  So the word continent has to be featured on the back in LARGE LETTERS with the outline in order for this initiative to really educate ;}.

She also touched on how we are pioneers in Information Technology.  It always blows my mind how people do not know that we had mobile phones too by the mid-90s and by the year 2000 our adoption was exponential.  My "proudly" Canadian friend told me about an aid worker's joke that plays on the fact that the difference between Manhattan and Northern Ghana is that they can get reception in the remote area in which they were stationed :). Clinton mentioned Ushaidi, meaning testimony in Swahili, an application that was originally pioneered in Kenya using google maps to alert people on their phones as to where violence was occurring during the 2008 elections.  It has now been used in Burundi, South Africa, DRC, Sudan, Namibia, India and Haiti.  She also mentioned Apps-4-Africa, an initiative to foster application development for mobile phones.  Winners are to be announced in September.  She believes that this will lead to being able to implement e-government in African countries.  We know how to use "good ideas [to] leapfrog technologies and borders."

For the amount of times she mentioned Africa holistically, you would think North Africa was represented.  You are talking to Sub-Saharan Africa, not the whole continent.  Let us be clear about that.  Still very annoyed about this.  It irked me even more when she talked about the separate entrepreneurship program aimed at Muslim countries which included Eygpt.  She made it seem like they weren't serious. I would gander they were skeptical because of US sentiment towards Islam. The only low point in what was a very inspiring speech.

President Obama's Forum With Young African Leaders: 3-5 August

Tomorrow The (US) President's Forum with Young African Leaders kicks off.  115 attendees from 47 Sub-Saharan Africa will be engaged.  Already spotted a problem.  The North and everything South of that divide is being perpetuated.  Why are they not engaging North Africa at the same time?  The whole continent has been connected for millenia.  I know it is to do with the whole Middle East crisis where the majority of Northern African countries have a majority Muslim population and somehow this negates their Africaness!  They had special colonisation tactics for Muslim populations, and this sort of thinking is being perpetuated every time that Sub-Saharan divide is enforced.  Sub-Saharan Africa is not all the same, diversity amongst regions and within countries is very evident and some of that diversity comes from Muslim populations. So systematically singling out North Africa really is quite unfounded when dealing with the continent as a whole. Africa's problems will not be fully solved without cohesive, inclusive and interconnected plans. Alienation is not the answer.

However, I am sure that positives will come from this conference. It is definitely important to keep building bridges. To follow what is going on you can watch things live at US State Department's blog, DipNote, as well as read news as it comes in.  Here are some articles of interest that have already been posted on DipNote: youth empowering citizens, investing in female education, and mobile technology and development.

Here is a list of the attendees.

Salt: A Spy Movie Full Of Women's Issues

After Inception, I do not expect to be wowed by what Hollywood is offering, and I haven't.  I'm expecting to be entertained and I was watching Salt.  However, there was something lacking in the movie.  Was excited to see Angelina Jolie in a role originally intended for a dude, in a Mission Impossible-esque fashion.  Kind of like when back in the day Will Smith getting the lead role of in Enemy of the State was a big deal as it was originally written for Tom Cruise and everyone was wondering: Could a black person carry such a film and be believable?  Well as they say art imitates life and vice versa ala Barack Obama becoming the first black president.  Now that we have proved that a black man can do what a white man can do in America, it is only a matter of time before the same is done for women.I love how Hollywood underestimates the audience and our intelligence and always finds ways to perpetuate stupid and discriminatory conventions.   Craziness that this sort of thing still goes on in our world....

The film was good. It has the twists and turns to keep you intrigued, although the beginning is a little slow, but purposefully so, though you only become aware after the fact that it makes sense to be  like that.  The action is great. Enough plausible moves to make the implausible believable.  The script however needed to give us a bit more exposition and the little that was there was disjunctive and/ or inadequate. I was unable to really emotionally attach and really root for Salt.  Instead of thinking about being clever, all the way down to the spy being name being Salt, a wink at the SALT, the acronym for Strategic Arms Limitations Talks between the US and Russian during the Cold War, they should have been thinking about how to beef up the dialogue and story. At least the movie has served a higher purpose - go to school, study International Relations, and you'll be able to spot random stuff like that like my little ones! ;}

Chiwetel Ejiofor, a Naija-Brit actor, also features. LOVE HIM!  I don't think I have ever seen him act badly, even if the film was suspect like, ahem, Four Brothers. He is so talented and his roles are so diverse and intriguing.  Such a chameleon.  He makes me happy.  His role was limited in this installment, but if sequels are on the cards, it is clear that he is going to have more screen time and that is absolutely fine with me he he he.

Speaking of African connections, in the funeral scene how did I know there were Africans? This is the third film this summer, after STC2 and The A-Team, that I have seen that has some sort of African clothing in them with the big head wrap and the hat on the guys head and things and looking very Nigerian to show Africans are about.  Not hard to spot amongst the people who they are sitting with due to the fact that everyone else is wearing black and they are situated right bang centre in the middle of the shot! These guys need to take a lesson from Inception, or forget about us all together. It's ok, we are quite happy to be invisible if you are going to keep making us caricatures of ourselves.

After the movie, had a very intense conversation with my movie buddy for the night, a "proud" Canadian with whom I see eye-to-eye on a lot of things in the world, especially the illusions and the nonsense.  Having read an article about Salt in Entertainment Weekly, I was aware that they had the scene where her husband saves her at the beginning so as not to emasculate him.  The man has bigger problems if he is not able to relinquish power to his significant other when they are the more qualified in the situation.  Perpetuating these archaic beliefs that a woman has to temper herself so that lesser men can feel they are more is nonsense.  Or that even if the guy is all together you still have to.  If men's egos are so fragile then something needs to be done about it.  It is stifling always having to be around 60-80% of yourself for fear of hurting some dudes feelings or making him feel less of a man.  A real man assesses the situation and allows the right actions to take place for a positive outcome. Even if that means letting a woman take the lead. Jeez!

This movie also brought up the issue of women being "men" - as in doing a job as well as a man can.  Emotions are not the devil, they are part of human nature.  Men are forced to bury theirs and most of the time they feel caged and unable to express themselves for fear of being a pansy.  Being in control does not mean acting like a robot - that is what robots are for. It is about being aware of oneself, the good and the bad - and emotion can be both.  To their credit, they did a couple of laudable things to show that women can do spy work and gave it a womans touch.  They didn't thankfully make Salt ugly and unfashionable because those are the only kind of women that are smart and can act like men as they have nothing better to do.  She used feminine items to help herself out in tricky situations. The fact that they show that she has a deep love for her husband and will do anything to save him shows that emotion in a woman can propel her to do amazing things rather than being self destructive or debilitated when men and/ or love are in the mix.

However, after certain things occur in the movie, Salt is not allowed to grieve.  When we are first presented with the situation, it is clear why she cannot.  But in the aftermath, I'm sorry, if she really feels the way we are led to be believe before embarking on her revenge, she would have taken a moment in the bathroom to cry and regroup.  I know a lot of strong women whom many believe never cry, but they find their moments where no one can see to let go.  This sort of twisting of how a woman should act if she is going strong is erroneous and perpetuates the myth that strong women are not women and/ or have no feelings. We always either have to be overly-emotional or completely stone cold.  But is ok for Maximus in Gladiator to take a moment to cry when he finds his family slain and for him to cherish their wooden figures and use his emotion to avenge the emperor.  Because that kind of love and honour and sense of justice is only for men.  Women are just there to bring it about.  DRUGS I TELL YOU DRUGS!!!!

This made me think of my love of Jane Austen, and how I really relate to her characters need to fight to be a woman free to be who she is, love as she pleases and pursue her goals without stereotype.  Most of her heroines were fighting to be able to marry for love, without monetary considerations usurping the choice to marry freely.  Now it seems we are fighting to be able to have a head and a heart.  It seems right now we are being forced to chose between one and the other.  Salt was set up to be a sequel, this is evident from the ending. They have a good enough base to build on. I hope that Angelina Jolie takes the opportunity to use her clout further to really make sure that the script is the shiznit and that Salt has an emotional core that doesn't hinder, but enhances her abilities.

More water and quotes...

Today I was at sea, and after yesterday's metaphor for finding purpose in life, it seemed fitting to be taking a catamaran to visit Catalina Island, off the Southern Californian Coast, for some R and R. The island's topography is a lot like Siavonga, a town by Lake Kariba.  Siavonga never fails to revitalise me, and Catalina Island came close to that kind of regeneration.  I felt the hot sun on my back, my body was warmed, I stretched and reacquainted myself with my functioning body. I even took a a proper, full body dip in the Pacific for the first time :). I have only been able to wade because, contrary to what you may have seen on Baywatch, California beaches are pretty cold and the most I have ever managed is going in to my knees! I'm sorry but 20-25 degrees Celcius is not hot, it's not even warm! You need at least 30 to be able to start going into water without risking turning into, in my case, a brown icicle.  While out on the ferry, looking at the great expanse of water I felt at home. Deep, wide water has a way of calming me.  So being in that "canoe" on the river with no end in sight is not so bad really.  Especially seeing as my fortune cookie after dinner told me to expect a "welcome surprise this week" ;}! So maybe I'm getting close to that waterfall...

Also thought you would appreciate some more quotes I liked from So Long a Letter:

"Man is one: greatness and animal fused together. None of his acts is pure charity.  None is pure bestiality."

"A woman is like a ball; once a ball is thrown no one can predict where it will bounce. You have no control over where it rolls, and even less over who gets it.  Often it is grabbed by an unexpected hand..."

Transitioning From Young And Eager To Accomplished

I feel like I have been in a perpetual cycle of trying to transistion from the young and eager African I have always been to one that is accomplished, having made enough steps and made enough marks along the way to be able to look back and see a clear path from which to continue journeying on.  I am either walking around in circles or wandering around aimlessly or do not know how to read my own map. God forbid I am running in the same spot and created so much dust I cannot see that I am accomplishing nothing at all! I can see a few marks here and there but cannot connect them to be able to show a way that leads to something truly fruitful and meaningful.  That could just be the high bar I set for myself, propelling me to continue to challenge myself.  Or it could be that I am really quite useless and am still in denial or worse deluded into thinking I am making progress!

I re-read Mariama Ba's African classic, So Long a Letter, this week as I am setting out to concatenate all my various actions through school and work to finally start doing something that makes me happy and contributes to the continent.  Even though the characters are Muslim, West African, married with children, and living through the excitment of independence,  the strength that both Ramatoulaye and Aissatou show when life throws them curve balls is so inspiring.  The fact that they are able to do what it is they love and provide for their families without the help of their husbands is admirable.  The friendship that they have for each other and the advice they are able to give when the other is in crisis is something to aspire to.  Which reminded me of the counsel, help and shoulders to cry on my best friends have offered me, especially in this last year.  I am eternally grateful to have such love in my life, particularly from my African Posse of the female persuasion.   BIMBO just made an important life decision and was weighing the rationality of her thought process in making it.  Her ruminations made me think of a quote that really resonated with what it is that we who love Africa are all trying to do:

We are trying to "appreciate a multitude of civilisations without renoucing our own,  to raise our vision of the world, cultivate our personalities, strengthen our qualities, to make up for our inadequacies, to develop universal moral values in us," to make a better Africa.

However, trying to make that transition from young and eager to accomplished is no easy feat.  Finding people to give us a chance, finding the right organisation and/ or the resources to venture out and do our thing for many of us is proving difficult, especially in these uncertain and turbulent times.  Our youth invites people to find reasons not to give us the responsibility to be innovative, creative and productive in order to grow and thus we are being stifled.  Having some experience can leave us in limbo with too much for some things and not enough for others, causing us to be overlooked, or worse, underestimated. Going for what it is that we want to do and will make us happy versus quelling worrisome parents trepidations and satisfying expectations with regards our life choices is the perpetual quandary of the African child.  With family and friends adding more pepper to the already hot soup, it is hard to find our own ingredients to make our unique life recipes.  Trying to please oneself while fielding off societal expectations is quite tiresome.  There are things that are expected of a young African Woman, some which are great to aspire to, and others that are suffocating and restrictive. Ditto for the African Man. And for men and women in all cultures around the world.

I have decided that so long as you know what kind of life path you want and what you want to accomplish then all you have to do is seek out ways to achieve your goals and not be afraid of not knowing or changing the plan as you go along, despite the naysayers, pessimists and party-poopers.  You need to be flexible and prepared from anything. Piece of cake...ha!

All you need to know is the kind of river you are travelling on, the kind of boat you are captain of, and the direction you are going.  As you navigate the unforseen twists and turns, the rapids and placid waters, the crocodiles and the hippos, you will start to see how it all fits together as you learn to navigate and work out and hopefully eventually foresee these diversions and as people provide safe harbour with resources and advice along the way for you.

Right now I am on a very wide river that is eeriely calm and so wide all I can see is water (which leads me to think I may be stranded in the middle of some ocean) in a very tiny canoe with one paddle.  I think I am headed for a waterfall and I'm about to cascade into a period of exciting rapids. I pray I am not headed for a patch of tricky hyacinth that may trap me in unproductive pursuits indefinitely. I am hoping this happens soon because wandering around aimlessly is not something I do well...I can be aimless while knowing what path I need to take though ha ha ha ;}.

This post is dedicated to R4L, BIMBO, LOLZ, OXFORD SHIRT, COMBINE and MINI MI: Without you, my nervous conditions would paralyse, rather than propel me to excel.  :)

"Welcome To Lagos" Concluded

The last episode of the BBC's Welcome To Lagos looks to the future, while focusing on a slum under constant threat of demolition.  It is located on a beachy patch right across from Victoria Island, where everyone aspires to live in its big houses one day.  You can't help but like Esther, she had me at "Chelsea for Life"! Anyone who bleeds blue is good with me he he he...

As we watch Esther keep house at the beach, her hair changes from weave, to braids, to gelled with a hair piece to unkempt and in equal measure we witness the twists and turns in her tale.  She is there to dig a ditch to protect the homestead when the rains come and the sea swells up and takes up more of the slums space, destroying anything in its path.  She dreams of a better life without needing a man to help her get there.  She tries the best she can with the circumstances she has been dealt with the pride, dignity and resourcefulness of a strong African woman.  And with a little silliness too :). All with a smile and an unfazed optimism, even though she lives with constant uncertainty.

We also see a traffic cop turned beautification squad leader and traditional dance instructor (! ;}) romp through the streets tearing down any illegal construction.  He is a Lagos native whose pride in his roots has led him to clean up his city during the day and teach they young their culture in his free time.  Although his tactics may be a rather crude and rough, ultimately he is carrying out his orders.  However, one cannot help but wonder about how there is no care for people's belongings and goods as this "beautification" is being carried out, and where they are to go as the better places the Government are planning to build have not been created yet.  Progress is a double-edged sword.  While it is clear that chasing away the area boys to clean up the patches they trolled is creating Green spaces that both benefit the people and the environment, the guerrilla-style slum destruction seems a little too chaotic and callous.

Either way it is clear that Lagos is moving forward and there is nothing to stop the city from thriving and becoming a megacity rivaling any around the world.  We will have wait to see the social costs borne from all of Lagos' economic development.

All in all this was a well crafted docu-series that I felt gave me insight into a part of Lagos life.

"Welcome To Lagos" Continued

The second episode contains more of the first, except the setting is the Makoko slum.  Likened to Venice (hmmmmm really?!), it is a place where people have taken matters into their own hands and have built their own houses in the lagoon that surrounds Lagos and get from here to there in boats.  Their story is linked to the sawmills, as that is where the timber that is the primary material for slum houses is processed.

Once again the resourcefulness and entrepreneurial spirit is displayed.  However, with the man we follow this episode, there is something more.  You can really see a pride in this man.  A pride bourne from being able to retain his customs while moving into the future by being a part of the megacity.  A pride of thinking of innovative ways to make sure that his children and grandchildren are able to go to school and university.  A pride that allows him to gather all his family for a meal every day to teach them his ways. A pride from knowing that even if the Government seeks to destroy rather than help to build his community, he and his neighbours have found ways to reclaim land, erect their houses and make their own expansion plans.  Combining the old with the new.  That is Africa in a nutshell really.

This sense of community is also shown when the workers at the sawmills gather money together to pay for a fellow worker's funeral and for his family to be taken back to the village.  People are not waiting around for someone to take care of them, they are finding ways to take care of each other. It was also nice to see a woman running one of the sawmills. With many a story about how women are subjugated on the continent, I thought it was refreshing to see the other side being told.  There are many a businesswoman and entrepreneuress about too.  However the two children who had run away from home and lied about their age and were fighting to work at the woman's sawmill is disturbing.  But which society in the world has never profitted from child labour at some point in its transition to being fully modern?  At least it didn't look like they were being worked to the bone.  And they did have time to be able to be children and make kites and fly them.  With modernity come its ills unfortunately.

Here are links to Episode 2:

"Welcome To Lagos"

Finally started watching the BBC Docu-miniseries Welcome to Lagos that BIMBO had told me about a coupla months back. Was a little apprehensive going in, wondering how the Western Eye was going to interpret the images and the lives of the people in the slums.  I was pleasantly surprised though.  They really highlighted the ingenuity, resourcefulness, entrepreneurial spirit, camaraderie and optimism of the Nigerians who are moving from the rural areas at a rate of 600,000 a year, to one of the world's megacities, Lagos.  Felt that the documentary kept riding the comparisons to the Western world a little - we get it, there is more that meets the eye, these people are diamonds in the rough once you get over the superficial.

I was happy to see that even though the focus was on the slums, images of the developed areas of the city were interspersed throughout the episode so as not to make Lagos seem like one big ghetto, as was done with Lusaka in the RED documentary. I also like how everything wasn't romanticised - we witnessed the daily city-wide power cuts and the lawlessness that happens in the dumps.  I also liked how the man with the family found a way to give his wife and children what they needed either by fixing things or finding a way to refurbish what the rich threw away.  It also shed light on how wasteful people get once they are not living from day to day and how many things that still have use get thrown away.  It showed how recycling is already a way of life in Lagos.  "Living Green" sometimes starts out of necessity.

I was really impressed with the cattle market. It showed how people apply their knowledge and are able to use every part of the cow, bar the hair, for something - horns for plastic, the contents of the cows digestive tract for fertiliser, blood for chicken feed and who knew you could eat the skin?! That and the fact that even in the slums there already is an transnational network with cattle herders travelling from Mali, Cameroun and Chad to come an trade.  The awareness of the world around them shows how the people realise we are all interconnected, like the man said as the dollar goes up and down, life in the slum is affected. When cattle were not able to come in from Chad prices skyrocketed.

Here are links to the first episode:

"Merchants of Hope": The Disillusionment In The African Football Dream

Finally watched the Current TV documentary Soccer's Lost Boys. I am glad I waited till after the World Cup as it was depressing to see what happens to these boys who are sold hope by sketchy Africans and Europeans alike.



First and foremost I agree with a comment made that comparing this situation with those of the Lost Boys of Sudan is not equal.  I know that documentaries like to be incendiary, but that was a bit much.  I liked how one of the men who had been tricked into going to Morocco by an agent said that the people who deal in the African Dream are "Sellers of hope".  When asked why people still fall for it, even though it is clear that nothing comes of it, he continued to say that that is what they do they are "Merchants of hope" that deal with "total disillusionment."  These people prey of the hopes and dreams of young children who want to emulate their heroes Drogba, Essien and Eto'o and their families who are easily led to believe that their investment will be return exponentially.  So "Sellers" or "Merchants of hope" I think would have been a better title.

Africans have to take responsibility for the inception of the disillusionment.  Our stars need to not only come back and set up schools, football camps and better the communities they came from, they also need to speak up regularly about how they are the exception not the rule.  They also need to talk about how they got to where they are, because when recruited, payment to an agent is not required, the club pays for the expenses.  And even if things more often that not don't pan out, at least families are not left destitute. I happened to sit next to a young Zambian football player off to Germany and France to try his luck.  I flew with him to South Africa and made sure he got on his connecting flight as he had never flown before. He had all his documents in an envelope and who to call if anything went wrong. That is how it is supposed to be done. These realities need to be revealed.

This reminds me of the article in Time's June World Cup Issue about Samuel Eto'o. During his conversation with the Time's reporter Eto'o made use of the word dream a total 14 times including when he said  "My whole life is a dream, a dream come true, a dream I'll only wake up from the day I stop playing football." However this is the exception not the rule. Most of the time, the boys end up realising they are actually in a nightmare that they can't wake up from. The ones who are manage to make it to Europe are still likely to be met with disappointment. Eto'o went through a reputable sports academies in Cameroun: L'Ecole de Football des Brassieries du Cameroun and the Kadji Sport Academy, played for his country at the U-16 level and was recruited by Real Madrid. And the people who are read the article are not the people who are going to be bamboozled.  This story needs to be told through channels that will reach those vulnerable to these get-rich-quick-through-football schemes as well.

Essien's journey is similiar, taking him to France first after representing Ghana at Youth level.  Drogba was lucky to have family in France.  Essien finished high school and Drogba was banned from football when he had to repeat a year of school.  Unlike what Mr. Smith, the dubious Ghanaian Youth Coach said, these guys did not abandon their education to become the stars they we know and love. He should not be encouraging kids to do so in the name of their idols.

The exploitation continues in Europe, where those interested profiting from football and those interested in exploiting the precarious situation these boys find themselves in once they are no longer legal take advantage. Continuing the illusion of hope by making these boys play games hoping that they will be spotted by an agent, or locals taking advantage of the boys need to survive at whatever cost is just as despicable as the coaches and agents in Africa who pluck them from their families.

What I liked most about the documentary is that it showed that there are Africans and Europeans who have seen this problem and are doing something about it.  You can find more information about the initiatives mentioned in the documentary below.  There are also links to other initiatives going on and what Drogba and Essien are doing (Eto'o site is temporarily down btw):

The Right To Dream, The Craig Bellamy Foundation, Foot Solidaire, FIFA and Foot Solidaire, Win in Africa With Africa, 1Goal, Essien's Foundation, Drogba's Foundation, Eto'o's Foundation.

African Union Announces Advisory Council and Peace Ambassadors

The AU has taken inspiration from the UN and has announced Advisory Councillors and Peace Ambassadors to help bring about stability around the continent.  The list is impressive and diverse, from former presidents and powerful businessmen appointed as Councillors to sports personalities and musicians named Ambassadors, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, President F. W. De Klerk, Mo Ibrahim, Graca Machel and Professor Wangari Maathai, as well as Micheal Essien, Maria Mutola, Angelique Kidjo and Youssou N'Dour.

The BBC's Africa Have Your Say  has started a debate about it. People are predictably skeptical.  It always irritates me when people provide diatribes, lamenting the state of Africa that completely ignore any positivity in the situation, instead of insight and ideas for change.


Without hope there is no way for progress.

Instead of shutting every idea down and being skeptical, try a little faith my fellow Africans and be proactive to to find a way to a better tomorrow.  Passive aggressiveness, anger and spite are not helpful really: They are debilitating - they poison the mind and dishearten the soul. I think it is great that we are taking the initiative to use Peace Day as a way of reinvigorating dedication to bettering Africa, using our own accomplished and prominent figures, both on the continent and globally, to lead the way.  Homophily is a powerful thing.  As much I am a fan of the Angelina Jolies and Bonos in the world, them turning up to a village to help perpetuates the notion that an outsider has to come for us Africans to be saved.  Having someone African coming to our aid sends a profoundly potent message - that we too have the initiative to change our fates for the better :)

What will you be doing on the 21st of September?

Desmond Tutu Announces His Imminent Retirement

Archbishop Tutu, one of Africa's most prized ambassadors has announced that he will be withdrawing from public life, set to retire by February 2011.  His presence in local and global affairs will be greatly missed.  However, we will not forget his great deeds that have superceded his physical presence.  When his name is invoked, we will remember the humanity, compassion, peace, love, courage, community, unity and humility that he stood for, as well as the passion that he had for South African, African and global affairs, seeking to emulate him however and whenever we can.

His most notable accomplishments are receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his efforts championing the anti-Apartheid cause in South Africa and around the world, leading him to create his own organisation - The Desmond Tutu Peace Centre, to continue the legacy he created.  He also headed the Truth and Reconcillation Committee set up by South Africa's first ANC government to help South Africa soothe and heal the wounds Apartheid inflicted.  He is also among the select group of accomplished global leaders that compose The Elders, congregated by Nelson Mandela to tackle global issues such as the situation in Zimbabwe, and equality for women and girls. Eminent Africans Koffi Annan and Graca Machel are included in the ranks too.  

It is only fitting include some wise words from the man himself.  Here are his thoughts on leadership, which reminded me of a Nelson Mandela quote: "It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur.  You take the front line when there is danger.  Then people will appreciate leadership."

I just have a bit of advice for Archbishop Tutu (I know really what can I offer to such a man?!).  If he has to drink Rooibos tea during his retirement, can he make it into iced tea because really that tea tastes like the devil unless its taste is masked by lemon and lots of sugar (As you can see not much to offer at all)!! And I hope all you dudes took note of how he wants to make hot chocolate for his wife and actually wants to spend time with her because he believes she is the best decision he ever made.  He is inspirational in every way!

How can you not adore this man! He believed that the World Cup was the most notable event in South Africa since the end of Apartheid. I too believe it will have positive ramifications in both South Africa and the rest of the continent.  Here is a video of  him demonstrating World Cup and Nelson Mandela fever.  It also shows how even though he deals with serious issues on a daily basis, he is also a little bit silly! Further proof to support my belief:

You have to have a bit of youthful silliness in your life in order to be a positive instrument of change in this world ;}.

Inception: Even Better Than I Imagined!!

In case you have been living in a cave here is the trailer:



What you think you know, you really don't!!!! This trailer harks back to the old days when you were given enough to be excited, but the best bits hadn't already been revealed.  Unless you go around looking for movie reviews and spoilers now that the film has come out, PREPARE TO HAVE YOUR MIND BLOWN AND MESSED WITH!!!! Christopher Nolan has outdone himself once again.  Absolutely loved the Dark Knight, notably due to Nolan's brilliant direction of Heath Ledger.  But this is a definitely ensemble piece that coupled with awesome CGI, killer action scenes and plot with many layers, echoing the events in the movie as they unfold, culminates into a thoughtful, mind boggling, thrill ride of a movie.  This is how summer blockbusters are done man!!!!

Leonardo DiCaprio has done it again.  He never makes a wrong move.  He is a picky actor and he always picks right. He knows his strengths and he plays to them once again, playing flawed character with a lick of evil that really should get you to dislike him but somehow even though you know there is something fundamentally wrong with him, you still root for him. Reminiscent of his character in Blood Diamond actually. Ellen Page is coming into her own, although it annoys me how a strong female character always ends up being a little bit annoying. Why can't women be strong and loveable at the same time pray tell me?! This movie also made me fall in love with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose mawkish character in 500 Days of Summer did nothing to warm me up to him again after his teenage acting days in 3rd Rock from the Sun and 10 Things I Hate About You.  Although his turn as the baddy in G.I. Joe was not bad even though the movie sucked.  Loved his dapper dressing and fighting skills in a world of altered physics in Inception.  He has won me over.

Only pet peeves were that it was clear that the scenes in Mombasa were not in Mombasa.  The place looked more like it could be Zanzibar, but in actual fact it was shot in Morocco. Go figure! At least the people were African for the most part and were actually speaking Swahili.  That, and LAX was not LAX.  This is why it is not good to travel and see the world, you can't be fooled by creative liberties taken.  Reminds me of the car chase scene in the second Matrix that was supposedly on the 101 towards SFO and they rebuilt it but changed stuff and it was quite clearly not the 101.  I should not notice such details but I do.

This movie completely lived up to my expectations and beyond!!! It has been a long time since that happened.  Yes I have watched movies that have satisfied my anticipation, but this movie took me to a place I have not been since the Matrix (not the sequels). This definitely my favourite for the summer!!! JUST AWESOME POSSUM!! The movies is long, running way over 2 hours but you do not notice, that is how involving it is visually and mentally. I don't think anything else is going to top this really.  The plot is so intricate and the Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels/ X-Men: The Last Stand ending still has me reeling as I will  never know the answer with certainty!!!! If you happen to figure it out please let me know, already have a coupla theories with the information we are presented with.

YOU HAVE TO GO SEE IT!!!! RIGHT NOW!!!!!! Forget your job, leave your kids, jilt your significant other, food is not important, postpone that shower, in fact take a hiatus from life all together: this your only mission in life.  SERIOUSLY!!!!

African Fashion: Green, Ethical, Trendy, Not For Africans?

Fashion model Liya Kebede, who has acted in The Lord of War and The Good Shepherd, is not only a UN Goodwill Ambassador, but also an African businesswoman.  In an effort to help local artisans, she created her fashion line Lemlem in 2007 "to inspire economic independence in her native country, [Ethiopia], and to preserve the art of weaving." Here are some lovely photos of the weaving process.  However, most of the clothes are for kids and all of the items are rather pricey. It is clear that this venture is not meant for African consumption, but to appeal to elite Western consumers.

This seems to be a trend - eco-chic and/ or ethical style.  Dressing is one of the easiest ways we can express who we are and what we stand for, and it seems fashion has no intention of not jumping on the green and ethical bandwagon.

Lauren Pierce is a line by designer Lauren Bush, that boasts one-of-a-kind pieces made from sustainable textiles dyed by DRC women with ten percent of the profits going to Women for Women International to help women in post-conflict areas. The targeted demographic is the natural, confident, vanguard, humanitarian, activist woman.  She also has to have deep pockets.

Yodit Eklund, an Ethiopian-American, created the line Bantu, that offers swimwear that intends to get Africa to be thought of as producing finished products, rather than the raw materials that are of less economic value. Vanity Fair sold it to the consumers Bantu was trying to reach as a way to save Africa.   Hmmmmm  :* (that is me kissing my teeth at the simplification of how to make a difference in Africa).  However, this sentiment sort of encapsulates the novel ways a certain conscious, proactive and ethical class of Westerners are got into helping our continent nowadays.

What makes me sad is that upwardly mobile Africans are not targeted too.  There are people in the diaspora and indeed even people across Africa who can afford to help their own.  And yet they are not marketed to.  They are not encouraged to take pride in dressing in fine garb designed and created by their own.  They are not at the forefront, being the trendsetters.  At the same time, why aren't we seeking out these avenues to contribute and to show what Africa has to offer with pride? Instead we will be the ones to ask our Western friend where they got their clothing from and they get to tell this great story of how fashion is doing its part to to move Africa in a positive direction both economically and culturally.

Happy Belated Birthday Madiba!

Haven't been on the ball lately.  Nelson Mandela celebrated his 92nd birthday on the 18th.  It is a blessing that he is still with us, and true inspiration!

Here are some pictures of the celebrations in South Africa.

Life In A Day

This seems like an interesting piece of filmmaking...Clicked on this by mistake when trying to get my music fix on YouTube.  On the 24th of July Kevin MacDonald and Ridley Scott are trying some experimental documentary film making by calling upon all of us, the people of the world, to shoot video of our lives that they will then edit to create a film of life on earth in a day that they are quite literally calling "Life In A Day".

Can't wait to see how things work out and how different places end up being represented as ultimately in the end it is out of the people's hands.  How will they select what is worthy? Are they looking for equal and unbiased representation across continents, countries, social and economic class, race, gender, the list goes on...Either way, really tapping into the power of social media and the free production and access to content.  And even though they claim all clips used will be rewarded with a co-director credit, if this thing wins acclaim and awards, who will be going up to the podium....exactly! Not the people who provided the raw materials but the ones who present the finished product.  Genius and yet rather exploitative.  Very much like life really so I guess it all makes sense in the end.

Very interesting...

This Is Ridiculous!

The Christiano Ronaldo baby mama daddy story just gets stranger by the minute.  Why does he have black toenails? I think my sister and I should stop digging for clues because we just find nonsense instead!

Another bit of ridiculousness!! Nadal passed by the Victoria Falls on his way to watch La Furia Roja!!! Of course he would have to visit my country while I am stuck overseas! I am not a happy puppy bob, not a happy puppy.

And all of you who know my love for Nadal please stop telling me about this.  This coupled with not being able to be in SA for the World Cup has completely ruined my summer.  Je suis tres upset.