The African Diaspora Film Festival is a cultural institution installed in New York since 1993. Their mission aims “to present films to diverse audiences, redesign the Black cinema experience, and strengthen the role of African and African descent directors in contemporary world cinema.”

Their annual film festival remains one of the most important cultural events for Africans and others in New York. It usually takes place in late autumn but the organizers screen films all year round.

The summer festival has already begun and will end on the 29th so there’s lots of time to view films on the rest of the schedule. On the final day of the festival, the film “Arugba” will be screened.

The blurb on the DVD describes it as “set against the backdrop of a corrupt society seeking cleansing, rebirth and nationhood, with all its attendant intrigues, the film intimately presents a world in which modernity and tradition exist alongside each other but seldom in equilibrium” This film is the latest masterpiece by the venerable Nigerian cineaste; Tundé Kélani.

Mr. Kélani may not be available for a chat with the audience after the screening of his film on the 29th. And so, he sat down to a one hour conversation with Afrobeatradio’s Wuyi Jacobs over an international call. Unable to attend due to preparations related to Nigeria’s 50th independence celebrations in October. However, through the machinations of AfrobeatRadio’s producer Akenataa Hammagadji, an interview was arranged. It was an opportunity not to be missed. I have been familiar with Mr. Kelani’s works since my days as a theatre student at the University of Ife now Obafemi Awolowo University.

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Yoruba with English subtitles.

Born in Lagos in 1948, Mr. Kelani was raised in Abeokuta at this paternal lineage compound, at the insistence of his father who wanted him fully immersed in traditions and culture of his Yoruba people. He would spent his vacation from school in Lagos and later Ibadan where his parents worked and lived. This combination of access to traditional life and culture, and to the urban life of Lagos and Ibadan will later in life give him access to a great cultural store of visual imagery, literature, theatre and festivals that inspire his work as a filmmaker.

He recounts with some relish his long relationship with the camera. It was unusual at the time for a nine-year-old to count a camera among his possessions. His father wanted him to be a pharmacist but by the time he finished high school in Abeokuta, it had become clear to him without doubt that his life’s vocation lay in photography.

TK as he is fondly called by friends and associates became an apprentice photographer in the Lagos studios of Dotun Okubajo from 1969 to 1970. Shortly after, he joined the newly established Western Nigerian Television as a trainee cameramen and started on a career path that would lead him to being one of Africa’s most prolific filmmakers.

TK has played a central if not pivotal role in Nigerian Cinema. He has contributed to most of the the feature films on celluloid that have been made since the 1970s. His credits as cinematographer include such films as Anikura, Ogun Ajaye, Iya Ni Wura, Taxi Driver, Fopomoyo, and Iwa. His own feature film credits include, Ti Oluwa Nile, Ayo Ni Mo Fe, Koseegbe, Oleku, Saworoide, Thunderbolt, Agogo Eewo.

Tunde Kelani does newsreel, shorts and documentary work for BBC world service and other international news organizations in Nigeria and Africa, including, the M-Net New Directions initiative as cinematographer, director and producer.

Written by Wuyi Jacobs
Akenataa Hammagaadji contributed to this article and broadcast the interview on his WVKR radio program FirstWorldMusic on Sunday August 22, 2010.
Photographic Slide Show Edgardo Parada & Wuyi Jacobs
All Pictures were provided by Tunde Kelani and Mainframe Film and Television Productions

Photo by Chris Kendall

The west African country of Mali is a rich place with a noble history which began even before the decisive juncture circa 1234, with the epic victory of Soundiata Keïta over Soumangourou Kanté. The country was destined for greatness.

The economic poverty that the country finds itself in right now is nothing but a blink of the eye in their long, majestic timeline. Mali is still great. In the area of music, they are without peer.

The night sky in Bamako twinkles with more stars than any other place. Just look at the number of Malian artists who have cracked the world music charts and who have toured the US this year so far. Tinariwen, Vieux Farka Touré, Ali Farka Touré, Diabaté Toumani, Kouyaté Bassékou, Dagnon Bako, Keïta Salif; seven artists from this small country and an eight is about to be the latest conqueror of the hearts of Americans.

Already, idiots in the press have coined or continued to perpetrate the propagation of asinine sobriquets. This from people who, I am sure, have no idea what a nightingale looks like, let alone identify one by sound. Sic. Don’t be surprised if the worldbeaters and afropoppers say that she is the Tina Turner of Mali, or some such inane comparison.

Simply put, Khaira Arby is a great singer and stage performer. She began her twenty date American tour with a concert at Bard College and it was a privilege for me to be there to witness this great artist.

Ms. Arby possesses a commanding stage presence and she exuded confidence that her music could move people despite the linguistic chasm between her and her audience which she bridged with with the endearing use of the few English words she knew. She created the ambiance for a total enjoyment of the music.

Her voice is a powerful, crystalline, soprano instrument that pierced the balmy New York night sky and levitated the spirit to the dance floor. She made use of it most of time but she also showed some finesse, caressing some lines with a softer voice in a lower register. Combined with lively facial expressions and hand gestures, it made for dramatic interpretations from the stage, thus did she entrance her audience.

The rhythms and melodies of the Songhai [they arose when Mali began to slide] are especially infectious. Whether it’s the graceful takamba or shades of the energetic gao-gao, the appeal is irresistible. Ms. Arby’s repertoire spanned these genres and more. Song construction relied on slight variations of the lines, and each variation emphasized when sung, lending to captivating sonic interpretations.

The opening song was an invocation of the maoulana, the rassoul, the nabi, to ensure a successful evening and such techniques were employed on it as with many others. Sometimes she took to the calabash and pounded out deeper rhythms than the man in her band. Formidable!

As for the band, she could not have had more solid support. Abdourahamane Touré forced a chainsaw buzz from his guitar, showing off his BFA degree in Hendrixology. As much as he wowed the crowd with his wizardry, the sound can be jarring if overused and I do hope it was tempered in studio on the new ceedee just out this week.

By contrast, the warm tinkling from the dièlin’goni of Ebelaw Yattara was exciting always. Baba Larab was solid and dependable on bass. The rhythmic core that called the body to dance was provided for by batterie and calabash. Both did this in different ways. Mahalmadane Traoré was the drummer of both.

On batterie, the triplet beats were rousing and on calabash, the beats reflected the gait of camels and provided dancers with many opportunities for physical interpretation. Towards the middle of the second set, Ms. Arby showed her stage experience by declaring “Finish!” in order to elicit a chorus of opposition from the audience, which she got.

And when she thought it was not loud enough, she employed that other trick that artists use, cupping her hands to her ears to signal, “I can’t hear you!”. Thus did she beguile and endear herself to her audience. When the show was finally finished, the audience implored her for more and she complied, saying “One”.

Just another English word she knew. Judging from this first concert, I’d say the tour will be very successful as will her new ceedee, “Timbuktu Tarab”. If you go to the show and enjoyed it, please buzz it to viral status. Highly recommended.

Written by Akenataa Hammagaadji.
Akenaata Hammagaadji is an African music expert and cultural critic. He is the radio host of First World Music, an African music programme broadcast from WVKR. His insightful music reviews, which goes beyond music into cultural dissections, can be found in his weekly First World Music Newsletter, now a blog on afrobeatradio.net

Tendayi Viki

This post is the first one in a series titled African Democracy that deals with the issues related to democratization process in Africa in the contexts of its historic and contemporary local realities. The general presumption of the series is that immense complexities Africa represents are not necessarily suitable for a direct adaptation of an “American version of Democracy” and that the task of democratization of Africa may require a paradigm shift in defining what is truly involved in building a system that is socially, politically, economically and ecologically just but also feasibly implementable in Africa by peaceful means.

Neal Gorenflo

Source: sharable. net

This is reprint of the interview article titled Tendayi Viki: The African Commons published on May 21st. The interview was conducted by Neal Gorenflo in 2010. Tendai Viki and Neal Gorenflo are not affiliated with AR.

Licenced under the Creative Commons.

The African Commons

Dr. Tendayi Viki was born and raised in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. He is now senior lecturer in social psychology at the University of Kent in England. Currently a visiting fellow at Stanford University, his research interests include intergroup relations and multi-cultural co-innovation. He’s also founder of social news site thegoodin.us, which aggregates stories about those who do good in the world. I recently sat down with Dr. Viki to explore the social structure of Zimbabwean villages and their commons-based agricultural practices.

How was it growing up in Zimbabwe?

The cultural influences from the West, combined with a strongly collective culture, made for an interesting mix of ideas and ideologies. Almost every parent aspired for their children to get a great western education. And yet almost every parent also aspired for their children to remain committed to traditional Shona culture. Later in life, I realized that cultures’ sharing the best from each other is probably one of the best ways to tackle some of our global issues.

How is sharing a part of that traditional culture?

In one sense African communities have always known and valued the idea that sharing is important. The community often plays a huge role in every person’s success, even here in the US. In Zimbabwe, this is explicitly recognized. There are also boundaries placed around incessant wealth creation, which can be used to harm others. So for example, traditionally in Zimbabwe, rural communities engaged in communal farming. The land is owned by the community, if you want to call that ownership (it’s more like stewardship). Each family is allocated a plot on the basis of some socially agreed rules. Whatever they grow on there is theirs, but they never own the land outright. So it’s a balance between individual ownership and community relationships.

What is the social structure of the typical Zimbabwean village?

Particular areas have a Chief. The Chief is technically royalty, and he overseas the day to day social affairs of the community. Under the Chief, there are a number administrators called Sabhukus. If, say, my son recently got married and he now needs land for his family, we will go to the Sabuku who will then allocate to us, on the basis of our need. We can use the land, we can build homes on it, we can farm, but we don’t own the land outright. We can’t take it to the bank and use it as collateral for a loan.

So the Sabhuku owns that land?

No, he just holds it in trust for the Chief. The Chief hold the land in trust from the people. They both have some power over allocating it, but neither of them can go to the bank to get money and use the land as collateral or sell the land.

It sounds as though there is a lot of potential in that system for abuse and cronyism. Is that the case? How are humanity’s worst impulses kept in check by the system?

Cronyism is certainly a problem in situations such as these. It is something that probably feeds into the political system on a national level. However, in rural communities there is some recourse through the chief. So if the Sabhuku’s decisions are deemed unfair, a person can appeal to the Chief. For the chief, community cohesiveness is ultimately his goal and duty, so his decisions are strongly influenced by this. It is also important to put in place very strong normative pressures against cronyism. But it can definitely be a huge problem in these communal spaces.

Is that it, or is there more sharing that happens within the community?

There is a lot of sharing within communal communities. It is almost like everything you own can be borrowed by others for use. People help each other with planting and harvesting crops. You just provide some beer and food and invite the whole village to come help and almost everyone comes. People help each other out during weddings, funerals and during many other ceremonies. People also often lend each other tools, and share food whenever necessary. It is considered rude to let people leave your house without offering them food. Not like a cup of tea or coffee. I am talking about a real meal, like lunch or dinner. Whenever I go home and I go to visit relatives, if I make the mistake of visiting more that 2 or 3 of them on any given day, I am usually very, very full at the end of the day after eating 4 or 5 full-course meals! It is considered rude to refuse food!

When so much is shared in common, there’s a lot of potential for conflict. How is conflict managed?

I think in communal Zimbabwe you will find a lot of what the Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom regards as key factors to the success of the commons.

* The first thing is that the rules governing the use of collective goods are well matched to local needs and conditions. These are also clearly understood by all members of the common and are passed down from generation to generation via oral communication.

* The rights of community members to manage the common is recognized and endorsed by external authorities all the way up to government.

* A graduated system of sanctions is used and community members have access to low-cost conflict resolution mechanisms. Conflicts are resolved by the Chief who can make rulings on issues involving land disputes, theft, and other minor infractions. If the issue is not resolved or the crimes are serious (e.g. rape and murder), this is the kicked to the police to take over.

There is a lot of poverty in Africa. How does that hurt the commons?

There is an historical context to African poverty that is often ignored. But it is also true that social relationships can have a constraining effect on individual autonomy. People some times refer to this as “crabs in bucket.” People in the communal context may constrain individual entrepreneurship just to maintain the social order. This is certainly the experience of some people from collectivist societies. But this is not inevitable. I don’t believe that individual ownership is an exclusive prerequisite for creating wealth. There must be a balance, something like communal capitalism, community capitalism, or, as my friend Neeraj Sonalkar calls it, “relational entrepreneurship.”

Interesting idea! But how would that work?

So these are rough ideas I have. But imagine a community that encourages entrepreneurship but consistently and methodically places constraints, such that the businesses that have the most value are those that facilitate and improve the social relationships among people. Not the kind of social responsibility as in McDonalds paying for a couple of kids to go to University. Sure, that is valuable, but imagine that the actual business, the money-making machine is the one that facilitate better lives for the community. This course requires communal relationships that value and applaud entrepreneurship but frown very strongly at businesses that take advantage of people.

People have embraced the notion that you need individuals to own property for economic development to occur. But this overlooks that clear fact while wealth has been increasing in the West, social relationships have suffered. As such, you have very, very rich people who are also very, very sad people.

Much of the focus of philanthropy in the West is on giving aid to developing nations. I, however, think the West has as much or even more to gain from developing nations. How can Africa help the West?

You need to check out this project, “Design for the First World.” I love the idea. I think developing nations have a lot to contribute to the cultural aspects of values and human happiness. Sure the West can provide financial resources, but even this has to be done collaboratively. It has to be a two way street, with the recognition of equal value from both sides. I think that mutual beneficial cross-cultural contact is a totally shareable idea!

You’re currently a fellow at Stanford University. When you look at the school and the city of Palo Alto that surrounds the campus, what do you think that American communities like that one can learn from Africa?

I have really enjoyed my time here. I love Palo Alto’s entrepreneurial culture. There is a real celebration of people starting their own businesses. Also, the community is quite strong in terms of meet-ups, conferences, and workshops. The open source idea is really in the line of communal societies. I think such spaces can really benefit a lot from the study of best and worst practices in the African commons. How do you regulate and allocate shared resources? How do you resolve conflict? These are all important questions in open source communities.

African Democracy Series is compiled by Mark Bajkowski.

Mark, born in Poland, is a Jack of all trades, master of none, who lives in New York since 1979. Mark has an unusually wide range of interests and is known to relate well to the people half of his age. Since his early childhood, he felt a curious relation to Africa, which unavoidably brings up the controversial subject of multiple-life experiences.

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In a scenario reminiscent of women’s protests during colonial times, and perhaps the only time since Nigeria’s independence that so many women came together in one place to act together on one overriding issue, Pastor Ibanga (and her co-organizers) like women leaders before them – women like Mrs. Funmilayo Kuti, Mrs. Margaret Ekpo, Hajiya Sawaba Gambo and others – co-organized and led ‘The Jos Women for Peace March’ which brought out a hundred thousand women to downtown Jos, Nigeria to march, protest and mourn the children and women killed in the most gruesome manner in the March 2010 reprisal attacks in Dogo-Nahawa village.

Violence between Christians and Muslims in neighboring Plateau State earlier this year left a trail of dead bodies in its wake. The so-called 2010 Jos riots were said to be motivated by multiple factors. Although the clashes have been dubbed ‘religious violence’ by many international and local News sources, many informed commentators including people living in and around Jos cite ethnic differences and economic competition as the root causes of the violence. The violence that first erupted in and around Jos on 17 January, 2010, lasted over four days. At the end of the riots, over 200 people were killed. Tens of Houses, businesses, churches, mosques and vehicles burned to the ground.

On March 7, 2010, Less than 2 months later, Jos was to wake up to gruesome reprisal attacks in which hundreds of people died in Dogo-Nahawa village; the victims mostly Christians, women and children. These attacks were allegedly perpetrated by groups of Muslim Hausa-Fulani herdsmen. The death toll was put at over 500.

“What seems to be a recurring decimal is that over time, those who have in the past used violence to settle political issues, economic issues, social matters, inter-tribal disagreements, or any issue for that matter, now continue to use that same path of violence and cover it up with religion.”

- Benjamin A. Kwashi, Anglican Archbishop of Jos

Northern Nigeria has had a long history of religion based crisis, the Jos riot of 1945 and in 1953 are examples of such disturbances. “In the late 1960s violence against Christian Igbo immigrants in the Muslim north, was a key factor in the attempt of Biafra, the Igbo south east of Nigeria, to secede and the cause of the civil war.”

In early 1980s, an armed quasi-Muslim fringe group sparked religious riots in Kano, Kaduna, and Maiduguri. An attempt by the Nigerian Army to contain them triggered riots which led to the deaths of over 5000 people between December 18 and 29, 1980. The riots were called Maitatsine or Yan Tatsine, meaning followers of the Maitatsine in the local Hausa language. Churches and mosques were destroyed, whole communities were killed and displaced. In the Maitatsine riots, it took the then Federal military government over three years to restore order. The Maitatsine riots shook the Nigerian nation to its very core and remains one of the key reference points for political and social disturbances in post – civil war Nigeria till date, and the 20th Century precursor  to unfolding saga of ‘internationalized political Islam’.

“There were always two drivers of this violence – the genuine religious differences in values that led to disagreements over education, crime and punishment, alcohol and other issues. And the political manipulation of those differences.”

In 1990 Muslim and Christian rioting began in Bauchi State. Again in 1991 rioting exploded in Kano after a German fundamentalist Christian announced a campaign to bring his Good News Revival campaign to Kano. The decision to hold the Miss World beauty pageant in Nigeria led to rioting between Christians and Muslims in the northern city of Kaduna. Six days of rioting left at least 215 dead, several thousand injured after and an estimated 12,000 people displaced.

This Day, a Nigerian daily, published an article written by one of its staff writers in which she wrote that the Prophet Mohamed PBUH would not have objected to the event and would have chosen a wife from among the contestants. Islamic leaders were quick to condemned the article as blasphemous. Muslim youths attacked the paper’s offices, setting fire to them and to churches in Kaduna City. Christian youth retaliated by burning mosques, Muslim owned businesses and houses. Ms Isioma Daniel, the journalist who wrote the article fled into exile after a fatwa was issues on her.

“But sudden battles between Christians and Muslims were not as spontaneous as they were portrayed. When military rule ended in 1999, democratic politics provided a perfect platform for corrupt and cynical politicians to play on religious fears to gain votes. So in the lead up to the second election in 2003 governors of northern states declared Sharia law in defiance of the constitution.”

The religious violence continues in Nigeria. On July 14, 2010, violence between Christians and Muslims erupted again. This time in Taraba State, also in central Nigeria. At least five people were reported dead by the Nigerian Police, many more were left bloodied. Taraba State Police Commissioner, Aliyu Musa said the killings started on Tuesday July 13, in the community of Bukari after Christian youth became angry over the location of a mosque and burned down the mosque, resulting in counter attack by Muslim youth. Security agents were said to have intervened, eventually restoring calm to the community.

Pastor Ibanga is a Senior Pastor at the Jos Christian Mission International. She was in the US on the invitation of the Cecilia Attais Foundation for a conference on conflict resolution. Bola Omoniyi lives and works in the US.

By AfrobeatRadio

Additional sources:
Nigeria: Death toll from inter-communal violence mounts
Religious conflict in Nigeria – spontaneous or synthetic?
Nigeria: Death toll from inter-communal violence mounts
2010 Jos riots

The WGWC team arrived in South Africa on time for the World Cup. Well, we all know how that ended. Spain is the world’s soccer champion with its 1-0 win over Netherlands. Since the team’s arrival in Johannesburg, however, they have been dealing with health issues due to malaria. AfrobeatRadio will bring you the WGWC team’s experience in South Africa, and a final interview on their overall experience in Africa shortly. While we wait, we wish the sick members of the WGWC a speedy recovery.

In the mean time, while in Nigeria, WGWC brings you a short video of a Nigerian woman’s perspective on the roles of women in African societies and what needs to be done to strive for equality.

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Follow their journey on their website and on Facebook

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This week, RAISE Hope for Congo, released a new video campaign that sends the message to technology companies that their consumers want them to make their products conflict-free. The “Hello, I’m a Mac, and I’m helping fuel the war in the Congo” campaign made by Brooke Smith, an actress, writer and director, and cinematographer Steven Lubensky, with actors Joshua Malina and John Lehr, both of whom featured in the original “Hello, I’m a Mac” Ads is intended as an alternate version that links our everyday technology accessories to the bloody war in the Eastern DR Congo has claimed  estimated 7 million lives since 1998 in the war. Yaa-Lengi, who co-founded the Congo Coalition, insists the figure is up to 10 million.

While not the only mineral fueling the war in the Congo, coltan (columbite–tantalite) is the mineral at the center of issues.  80% World’s known reserves are in Congo (DRC), mostly in the Eastern provinces of Kivus and Orientale. Tantalum from coltan is used in capacitors in consumer electronics products such as cell phones, DVD players, video game systems and computers, including iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, PCs, cell phones, digital cameras, etc.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In Nick Kristof’s Op’ed column in The New York Times this week, writes “Electronics manufacturers have tried to hush all this up. They want you to look at a gadget and think ‘sleek,’ not ‘blood.’” Be that as it may be, the violence committed by all manners of comers in the DRC (and Africa) is well documented and has inspired mountains of literature that includes the great, at once gloomy and elegantly written controversial novels “The Heart of Darkness” (1899) by Joseph Conrad;

He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision—he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath—”The horror! The horror!”

– Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

And V. S. Naipul’s “A Bend In The River”. (1979)

“The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it.”

In V.S.Naipul’s novel as in the DRC, “most of the characters are eaten by the voracious modern world”.

“Nobody’s going anywhere,” the apparently successful local party boss tells Salim, “We’re all going to Hell and every man knows that in his bones. We’re being killed. Nothing has any meaning. That is why everyone is so frantic. Everyone wants to make his money and run away. But where? That is what is driving people mad.”

A popular history book by Adam Hochschild “King Leopold’s Ghost” (1998), explores the exploitation of the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium between 1885 and 1908, and also form the basis on which a documentary by the same name starring Don Cheadle, Alfre Woodard and  James Cromwell was recently made. It has also countless books, documentaries, articles, websites, movements and so on. In our series on the Congo, we interviewed author Dave Donelson on his more recent novel “Heart of Diamonds“.

Map of DR Congo

At the heart of DR Congo’s misery is its bountiful resources that has inspired epic greed and theft of resources. The DRC is a large country with 2,345,408 square kilometres (905,567 sq miles) which make it slightly greater than the combined areas of Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, and Norway.

The Congo is situated at the very heart of Africa, South of the Sahara; geo-politically central Africa. The DRC is bounded by (clockwise from the southwest) Angola, the South Atlantic Ocean, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania across Lake Tanganyika, and Zambia.

The DRC is extremely wealthy in diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt and zinc, coltan, cassiterite, uranium, copper, tin, silver, cobalt, niobium, timber, hydro power, manganese and Petroleum. It is the world’s chief supplier of coltan used in mobile phones and other electronic gadgets, and cassiterite, used in food packaging.

The current ongoing war in the DRC has be described as Africa’s first World War because it has directly involved eight different African  countries at some time or another and in one form or another.  According to Anup Shah in his article The Democratic Republic of Congo on his Global Issues Journal Site:

There have been a number of complex reasons including conflicts over basic resources such as water, access and control over rich minerals and other resources as well as various political agendas. This has been fueled and supported by various national and international corporations and other regimes which have interest in the outcome of the conflict. They include Angola, Namibia, Chad, Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Libya, Zimbabwe and Burundi. Arguably, their involvement is based on personal motivations for economic benefit for by many of the leaders of these countries, their cronies, their family members and friends who are vested in exploiting and expropriating Congo’s resources.

According to Friends of the Congo, The Friends of the Congo (FOTC), a not-for-profit human rights advocacy organization based in Washington, DC., established at the behest of Congolese human rights and grassroots institutions in the DR Congo:

Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and their proxy militias are the primary exploiters of coltan in the Congo. In an 18 month period Rwanda made $250 million as a result of exploitation of coltan in the Congo. Although Rwanda and Uganda possess little or no coltan, during the period of the war in the Congo, their exports escalated exponentially. For example, Rwanda’s coltan export went from less than 50 tons in 1995 to almost 250 tons in 1998. Zero cassiterite was transported from the Congo to Uganda in 1998, however by 2000 151 drums were transported.

Coltan is short for Columbite-tantalite – a black tar-like mineral found in major quantities in the Congo. The Congo possesses 80 percent of the world’s coltan. When coltan is refined it becomes a heat resistant powder that can hold a high electric charge. The properties of refined coltan is a vital element in creating devices that store energy or capacitors, which are used in a vast array of small electronic devices, especially in mobile phones, laptop computers, pagers, and other electronic devices.

The international community has not been left out of the DR Congo crimes either, starting with the United Nation’s Peace Operations  to the Congo known by its acronym MONUC, and along with International Development and non governmental AID organizations have all been implicated in all manners of scandals and profits seeking motives. The UN for instance has been described as a business party whose presence in the DC guarantees international funding for itself and also for providing support for international organizations operating in the Congo, and and sometimes collaborating with militias directly responsible for much of the mayhem. Also, UN personnel have also been implicated in prostitution.

The United Nations in its 2001 report on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources in the Congo that “The consequences of illegal exploitation has been twofold and we are seeing same pattern in Afghanistan under US occupation:

1. Massive availability of financial resources for the Rwandan Patriotic Army, and the individual enrichment of top Ugandan military commanders and civilians;

2. The emergence of of illegal networks headed by either top military officers or businessmen.

Although the countries mentioned above directly exploit coltan, foreign multi-national corporations have also been deeply involved in the exploitation of coltan in the Congo. The coltan mined by rebels and foreign forces is sold to foreign corporations often through specialized smuggling rings. Although, the United Nations in its reports on the Congo do not directly blame the multi-national corporations for the conflict in the Congo, the United Nations does say that these companies serve as “the engine of the conflict in the DRC.”

Major United States players include:

Cabot Corporation, Boston, MA
OM Group, Cleveland, Ohio
AVX, Myrtle Beach, SC
Eagle Wings Resources International, Ohio
Trinitech International, Ohio
Kemet Electronics Corporation, Greenville, SC
Vishay Sprague. Malvern, PA

Corporations from other countries have been also a part of the coltan exploitation chain; These companies include but are not limited to Germany’s HC Starc and EPCOS, China’s Nigncxia, and Belgium’s George Forrest International.

Once the coltan is processed and converted to capacitors, it is then sold to companies such as Nokia, Motorola, Compaq, Alcatel, Dell, Hewlett-Packard , IBM, Lucent, Ericsson and Sony for use in a wide assortment of everyday products ranging from cell phones to computer chips and game consoles.

Some of the uses of coltan in modern society:
Laptop computers, Cellular phones
Jet engines, Rockets
Cutting tools, Camera lenses
X-ray film, Ink jet printers
Hearing aids, Pacemakers
Airbag protection systems, Ignition and motor control modules,
GPS, ABS systems in automobiles
Game consoles such as Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo
Video cameras, Digital still cameras
Sputtering targets, Chemical process equipment
Cathodic protection systems for steel structures such as bridges, water tanks
Prosthetic devices for humans – hips, plates in the skull, also mesh to repair bone removed after damage by cancer
Suture clips
Corrosion resistant fasteners, screws, nuts, bolts
High temperature furnace parts
High temperature alloys for air and land based turbines

Joseph Kabila was elected President in 2006. He appointed Antoine Gizenga as Prime Minister. The parliament is made up of a National Assembly and a Senate. The National Assembly has 500 members. It is led by Vital Kamerhe. The Senate has108 members and is led by Kengo Wa Dondo. Presidential and legislative elections take place every five years.As for the people of the DR Congo

Since the outbreak of fighting in August 1998:

Some 5.4 million people have died

It has been the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II
The vast majority have actually died from non-violent causes such as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition—all typically preventable in normal circumstances, but have come about because of the conflict
Although 19% of the population, children account for 47% of the deaths
Although many have returned home as violence has slightly decreased, there are still some 1.5 million internally displaced or refugees Some 45,000 continue to die each month

These shocking figures would usually be more than enough to get media attention the world over, especially if it were to threaten influential nations in some way. Yet, perhaps as a cruel irony, influential nations in the world benefit from the vast resources coming from the DRC for which people are dying over.

The story of the DRC cannot be told in one single loop of an article. And so, we have chosen to tell it through the eyes, the voices, the bodies and the pain of those whose experience it is. At AfrobeatRadio, we began to examine various aspects of the crisis immediately the program debut on WBAI 99.5 FM PACIFICA Radio, NY in the Spring of 2009. We now bring you that Series of interviews in the coming weeks.They include conversations with 1 Professor emeritus of African Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja. 2 Professor Richard Hull, professor of African History at New York University.  3 Keith Harmon Snow,  award-winning independent war correspondent, photographer, and human rights investigator. 4, Dave Donelson, Journalist and author of Heart of Diamonds. 5, Professor George White, Assistant Professor of History at York College, CUNY. 6, Congolese Activist, Joseph Mbangu. 7, Congolese Photographer, Misengabo Kapuadi, and 8, Congolese businessman, Kulia Nzogu. The conversations culminated in a radio Panel on  AfrobeatRadio on WBAI. We hope you enjoy the interview but more than that, we hope that the voices we bring to you on the Congo crisis will move you to act. The Congo Series was produced with the help of the Friends of the Congo.

Written by AfrobeatRadio

Additional Sources:
Friends of the Congo
Wikipedia_Democratic Republic of the Congo
Wikipedia_Heart of Darkness
Wikipedia_A Bend in the River

Cover image source: jaromil.dyne.org

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The event, organized by the Educational Outreach Department of the United Nations, treated the participants to a Slide show on Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and excerpts from “Slave Routes: A Global Vision”, a UNESCO film produced by Dr. Sheila Walker, who also moderated the conference. The conference featured student presentations through essays, dance, songs and spoken word, promoted open discussion, commentary and questions from all sites from their disparate locations. A Poem and Rap “Defining Blackness” presented by American students opened the students’ segment. Students from the Gambia followed with “Remembering the Impact of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Gambia through Intercultural Dialogue” consisting of Slavery Song, Poem and Readings.

The United Kingdom students’ presentation focused on “The Contribution of Freed Slaves to British Culture” while students from Trinidad and Tobago presented “Celebration” in Dance, Poems including “Roll De Drums” and “The Legacy”, and Drumming titled “Rhythm of The People”. Ghanaian students presented the main Lecture of the Day: “Expressing our Freedom through Culture”. Cuban students presented “Amistad America” and finally, the Jamaica students closed out with their presentation.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for young people to get involved directly with the United Nations. It is important to show students that we can all come together for a common purpose in what is rapidly becoming a truly global society.”
- Dr. Gwendolyn Lee, the National President of The Links, Incorporated

The links, Incorporated sponsored the participation of three hundred American students from across the US to the conference. AfrobeatRadio covered the UN event in partnership with the Links, Inc.

Our guest is Zingi Mkefa, a South African radio host presenting an arts and entertainment radio talk show on Radio Today, South Africa. Zingy joins us to discuss democracy, politics and post apartheid legacy, Art, culture, and the upcoming World Cup in South Africa. This conversation took place on May 1, 2010, with Leon James and Wuyi Jacobs live on WBAI 99.5 FM PACIFICA Radio, NYC.

With eloquence and passion, Zingy shares with us his aspirations for his home country, South Africa, and why he is never too far from home. He talks of the South African preoccupation with “themselves” resulting in the sense of a “certain separateness” from the rest of the continent. South Africans, certainly the artists and culture practitioners, are engaged in “working out” and “forming” new identities for blacks by blacks. A separate identity he says, different from that which was assumed during the struggle against Apartheid. This preoccupation with identity is not new; many newly independent African nations went through this phase immediately pre- and post- independence, as new nation States emerged with  new confidence. A new confidence only too often short lived, arrested by dictatorships, wars and a plethora of other issues – a fate South Africa has so far avoided. However, as South Africa evolves new identities, it is indeed contributing to ever growing lists of emerging and new ethnic identities that are in constant formation on the continent and its Diasporas.

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In a sense, the “struggle” continues but it take different forms, different attitudes and substance now. It has assumed new dimensions as well, in every sphere of life; the struggle of class consciousness, of poverty- huge economic disparities between minority white and blacks, and between the emerging middle class blacks, also a minority, and majority of poor blacks. Counterpoised with the struggle  between cosmopolitanism and chauvinism- the tension between internationalism of the World Cup and the xenophobia of the new breed ANC nationalism.

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On a continent where 17 countries are celebrating 50 years of independence this year and with South African, independent now for 17 years, a teenage country, if one could describe a country as such; confident, boisterous but also hesitant. The jury is still out on South Africa and much work is yet to be done.  Motsoko Pheko in his article The price of freedom in the South African Mail & Guardian Online sums it up in his reflections on South Africa’s recent celebration of its Freedom Day.

Sixteen years of the post-apartheid period, however, shows that the foundation upon which South Africa is built has dangerous cracks. The negotiated settlement was one-sided. The negotiations did not take into consideration the primary objectives for which the liberation struggle was fought. The fundamental interests of the majority 80% were terribly compromised. The negotiators mistook the beginning of a long journey for arrival at the destination.

In South Africa most unemployed people are Africans. The poorest people are Africans. People who live in squalid inhuman settlements are Africans. These inhuman shelters often burn or flood, destroying lives and property. The least equipped hospitals and clinics are those that serve Africans.
The worst or no roads are where Africans live. The least educated and skilled people in South Africa are Africans. People who have no money for education and are being educated in the lowest numbers are Africans.
People who have the shortest life expectancy are Africans. People with the highest child mortality are Africans. Yet billions of rands are buying land and servicing the apartheid debt.

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Zingy Mkefa was a 2006 Fulbright Scholar. He earned an MA in Journalism at New York University and has written on the arts for some of South Africa’s leading publications, including the Sunday Times, the Sunday Independent, Art South Africa and the now-defunct Nigerian-owned enterprise ThisDay (South Africa). While in New York, Zingi also spent time working for America’s oldest weekly political magazine, the left-wing The Nation.

We sincerely hope you enjoy our conversation with Zingy Mkefa. Please share it with others. Thank you.

Credits:
South African World Cup Stadium pictures were taken from World Cup 2010 South Africa

His professional credits include The Martha Graham Dance Company, Sean Curran Company, Fosse (1st National Tour), A Christmas Carol (Madison Square Garden Theater), Encores Golden Boy, NYC Opera’s Alcina/Turandot, and a featured performer for Jacob’s Pillow Katherine Dunham Tribute conceived and directed by Reginald Yates.

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He has presented solo concerts at Jacob’s Pillow, Stella Adler Studio (as resident artist), Florida International University and George Faison Firehouse Theater. His awards and honors include Martha Hill Prize from The Juilliard School, National Foundation for Advancement of Arts-1st Place, Presidential Scholar for the Arts, National Society of Arts and Letters (1st Place) and Jerome Foundation Fellow.

Gelan Lambert has danced the works of Alvin Ailey, Hinton Battle, Margie Gillis, Jiri Kylian, Jose Limon, Donald McKayle, Mia Michaels, Reginald Yates and others.

Akenaata Hammagaadji is an African music expert and cultural critic. He is the radio host of First World Music; an African music programme broadcast from WVKR. His insightful music reviews, which goes beyond music into cultural dissections, can be found in his weekly First World Music Newsletter, now a blog on afrobeatradio.net

Suliman Baldo

Our guest today is Suliman Baldo, we sat down to a conversation on the unfolding historic elections in Sudan and his prognosis for post election in Sudan. Suliman Baldo is a widely recognized Sudanese, expert on conflict resolution, emergency relief, development, and human rights in Africa. He has worked extensively in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Sudan, and traveled widely throughout the rest of the African continent. In the 1980s and early 1990s, he taught at the University of Khartoum and worked as a Field Director for Oxfam America, covering Sudan and the Horn of Africa. He founded the Al-Fanar Center for Development Services in Khartoum, Sudan. He is currently Africa Director at the International Center for Transitional Justice. Suliman Baldo holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature (1982).

This interview was broadcast on Saturday April 17 on AfrobeatRadio on WBAI 99.5 FM, NY.

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The Republic of the Sudan, located in the north-eastern Africa, is the largest country in Africa and the tenth largest in the world by land area. It is bordered by Egypt, the Red Sea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Chad and Libya.

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After gaining independence from Egypt, and the United Kingdom in 1956, Sudan suffered a civil war that lased 17 years and was subsequently followed by ethnic, religious, and economic conflicts between the Northern Sudanese of Arab and Nubian roots and Southern Sudan made up of Christians and practitioners of indigenous African  religions which led to a second civil war in 1983. In 1989. In the midst of continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized by then colonel Omar al-Bashir, who proclaimed himself the President of Sudan after a bloodless coup.

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Sudan ended the civil war with the help of international mediation in 2005 and adopted a new constitution under a Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) also referred to as Naivasha Agreement, with  THE MACHAKOS PROTOCOL the Machakos Protocol (or Chapter I), signed in Machakos, Kenya on July 20, 2002 – Agreement on broad principles of government and governance. Under the CPA, Southern Sudan was granted a  limited autonomy, to be followed by a referendum about independence. The CPA also provided for a 6 year interim period, after which, the referendum for Independence of the South will be held in 2011. Southern Sudan has been ruled by the SPLM, the dominant rebel group under the CPA.

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Sudan is rich in natural resources including crude oil, natural gas, gold, silver, chrome, uranium, copper, cobalt, and many others.

You can listen to other interviews and write-ups with/by Suliman Baldo
On Charlie Rose: the first steps to solving the Congo crisis
On open Democracy: Darfur’s peace plan: the view from the ground
On Vanity Fair: Seeking Justice in Africa. A Q&A with Suliman Baldo, who helps war-scarred countries to rebuild.
For more information on Sudan and the CPA:
DRAFT 2005 Constitution
Sudan Embassy