The struggle for Academic freedom in Malawi began when the Inspector General of Malawi Police, Peter Mukhito, summoned Associate Professor Blessings Chinsinga for interrogation “over the contents of one of his lectures in which he gave reasons for popular protests in Egypt and Tunisia.”

Exhibition: Installation, Paintings
Friday October 22, 2010. 7 PM
Germany, Krefeld, St. Töniserstr. 124 SWK

This post is the fifth 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.

This post is the second 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.

Recent years, and now 2010, are seen as years of great natural disasters that also in a great way unify good people all over the world that are rushing to aid those who are suffering. That occasional need involves practically all the continents including Africa. But, in recent years, we need to pay attention also to another type of aid that is being supplied in abundance. This one, however, is actually greatly capable of harming people; it is the “weapon aid”.

Asa

Asa (pronounced “Asha”) was born Bukola Elemide in Paris (France). Not much later she relocated to Nigeria where she spent her childhood and adolescence immersed in the music of the city.  In 2007 she set off to take flight with the release of her first single, Fire on the Mountain which had already received wide airplay on stations in Europe when her self-titled debut album hit stores that year. The result is a collection of provocative and savvy songs that are as personal as they are universal confirming the truth …

For me the time after the New Year is always a strange time: hopes mixing with dis-illusions seem to be a common thread of it. And it is also a quite reflective time. This takes me directly to the issue at hand: how much philosophy is able to help us, common folks, to succeed in everyday lives. What makes it harder for us is that we tend to connect our personal philosophy to our circumstances.

Their stories are numerous, some similar and others flavored by particular struggles in specific sites of discontent. Overall, their attitudes are of stubborn resilience, hope, and survival in environments desperate for their labor but resentful of their presence. Unlike their predecessors who went to European countries…