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Monthly Archives: March 2022

Europe. Drug-trafficking Ports.

The ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp have become the main entry hubs for cocaine in Europe These are two large structures, not just for the enormous number of containers handled every year, but also because they have become the two main hubs on European soil that are used by drug traffickers. In itself, a port…

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Egypt. The Copts. Second-class Citizens.

Since the 2011 Arab uprisings, Christians in Egypt have lived on a knife edge as they cannot rely on the country’s authorities whose policies fail to protect them. Today in Egypt the Coptic Christian population is divided into Catholics and the Orthodox Christians, the latter being a vast majority, some 9.5 million inhabitants, around 10%…

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The Enemy Inside.

The fight is not only between Peuls and other groups. In many areas there is also an inner fight within the community. Younger generations coming especially from the lower castes of the community refuse the role of a Peul aristocracy that they judge as corrupt and deceitful. To challenge the status quo, they take up…

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The crisis of chieftaincy.

The crisis of traditional authorities is a common phenomenon in many northern areas in West African countries and is not limited to Peuls. In addition to the factors listed above, traditional leaders lost their authoritativeness due to their links with the politicians. In many areas, politicians are directly involved in the nomination of traditional monarchs…

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Saudi Arabia in Africa.

With its petrodollars and religious penetration, Saudi Arabia is broadening its influence on the continent. It is spreading the Salafi doctrine of radical and conservative Islam. The Saudi heir Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced that next April a summit will be held in Riyadh on collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Africa. What are the…

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Evangelizing in a Changing World.

In the face of epochal transformations, the missionary service is called to renew itself. A Comboni Missionary looks at innovative ways of evangelizing in line with the teaching of the Church.   The dynamics of globalization and of the digital revolution, on top of the dominant neo-liberal financial capitalism, are shaping the world in a…

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The Leopard, the Tortoise, and the Bush Rat.

Once there was a great famine on earth, and all the animals were very thin and weak from want of food; but there was one exception, and that was the tortoise and all his family. They were very fat, and did not seem to suffer at all. Even the leopard was very thin, in spite…

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The Third Way of African Philosophy.

The Mozambican, Severino Elias Ngoenha, the main exponent of African philosophical thinking in Portuguese-speaking Africa, tells of his journey of research and the challenges of modern African thinking which ‘must be capable of finding adequate answers, without looking back too much and without too many ideologisms’. What is meant by ‘African philosophy’? There is no…

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Herbs & Plants. Aerva lanata. A Diverse Medicinal Herb.

The continent of Africa is endowed with plenty of important medicinal plants. One of such plants is Aerva lanata (L.) A. L. Juss. ex Schultes (Family Amaranthaceae) which has been used since time immemorial for a number of medical conditions. It is a strangling herb or undershrub that can grow to 90 cm in height. It…

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Advocacy

Ecuador. Alexandra Narvaez & Alex Lucitante. “We are people, who…

Two young leaders from the A’i Cofán community of Sinangoe in Ecuador led a movement to protect their people’s ancestral territory from gold mining. Their leadership…

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Baobab

The Spider, the Elephant and The Hippo.

Because there was a famine in the land, the spider and his family grew thinner and thinner and hungrier and hungrier. In his desperation, the spider…

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Youth & Mission

The voices of young people. Some leave and some remain.

Leaving the Church does not mean abandoning the faith; moving away from the faith does not mean giving up one's spirituality. Even though they are leaving…

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