Separating truth from fiction in the most successful African movie of all time Carey Baraka 1. To talk about The Gods Must Be Crazy, we have to start with the VHS tapes. We didn’t have many of them when I was growing up in Kisumu, a port city in western Kenya on the banks of Lake… Read More The Gods Are Still Crazy
An interview with Magdi el Gizouli Adam Benjamin Sudan’s ongoing war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has killed thousands and displaced millions. The current crisis follows years of political upheaval across the country. In late 2018 and 2019, mass protests calling for democratic rule led to the collapse of the… Read More Marketing War (2023)
Bamenda — Pope Leo warned that the world is being ravaged by “tyrants,” in forceful comments made after US President Donald Trump attacked the pontiff for his stance on the war with Iran. Leo has emerged as strong critic of the conflict and his speech again preached a message of peace and rebuked leaders using religious language… Read More Pope warns of world ravaged by ‘tyrants’ in the wake of Trump attacks
Since independence, the Republic of Congo has been suffering from ethnic strife, armed rebellions and military interventions by neighbouring countries. The presence of valuable minerals has added fuel to the strife which has taken millions of lives. Can peace ever come to this troubled nation? D.J. Ravindran The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), formerly… Read More Congo: A Tragedy in Many Parts Over Many Decades
The Slave Ship: A Human History, by Marcus Rediker. 2008 Reviewed by by jayspencergreen Interview with Marcus Rediker The cover of my edition of Marcus Rediker’s The Slave Ship features a quotation from the Sunday Telegraph describing it as “A truly magnificent book.” Such is my prejudice that I imagine Telegraph readers coming to Rediker’s work not to be educated about the shaping… Read More The Slave Ship
Maya Jasanoff places Conrad as a pioneer of understanding the forces that shape the modern world ‘Konrad was supposed to stay in Congo for three years, but after just one trip up and down the river between Kinshasa and Kisangani he quit. He saw in Congo a European regime of appalling greed, violence, and hypocrisy,… Read More The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World
The surging export of hides created domestic tensions – and shows how globalisation plays out in unexpected ways What can help to protect women’s health, boost the incomes of impoverished families and thus allow girls to avoid early marriage? What – when it disappears – can set back children’s education, damage mental wellbeing, drive conflict within communities… Read More China, Africa and disappearing donkeys: an unexpected crisis offers a clue to perils ahead
Residents of two Nigerian communities who are taking legal action against Shell over oil pollution are set to take their cases to trial at the high court in 2027. Members of the Bille and Ogale communities in the Niger delta, which have a combined population of about 50,000, are suing Shell and a Nigerian-based subsidiary… Read More Nigerian communities to take Shell to high court over oil pollution
academic thought has shifted to see southern African rock art as more often reflecting spiritually and culturally significant images and motifs, according to the British Museum. Some images have been understood to reflect visions seen by shamans when they entered trance-like states to perform communal tasks like healing the sick. “When they painted, they were not just… Read More This artist is painstakingly recreating mysterious ancient rock art
Internal displacement and return in Mozambique Núria López Torres and Agus Morales he tropical paradise of Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique, is the scene of a conflict that has forced nearly a million people from their homes. The region has attracted attention for its natural resources: gold, rubies, graphite, and natural gas. Since 2017, Islamic… Read More A Crisis in Paradise. Photo Essay
After the truth-shower 