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Monthly Archives: May 2023

Sweden, South Africa & the Churches.

Finland has just joined NATO.  Norway was a founding member in 1949. Sweden wishes to join but to date is blocked by Turkey. A few weeks ago, the Russian Ambassador in Stockholm, Ukrainian-born Viktor Tatarinsev, commented “the Swedes will undoubtedly be sent to their deaths in the interests of others” adding that joining NATO would…

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Open wounds.

The wounds caused by the two civil wars are still open since they have not yet been healed. The politicians, the soldiers and the militias that committed crimes against the population for the most part have not been put on trial. And there has not been a sort of Truth and Reconciliation Commission, like the…

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Samela Sateré Mawé. “Nothing for us without us”.

She is a leading voice among Brazil’s Indigenous youth. Her message is simple: Indigenous people must be involved in decision-making processes relating to the measures that must be taken to deal with environmental issues. The importance of social media. Samela is part of a lineage of women that has been forged in the fight for…

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World Youth Day. “There’s a Rush in the Air!”

The official anthem of World Youth Day is entitled “There’s a Rush in the Air!”. We talk about it with Father João Paulo Vaz, author of the texts. There is an official anthem at every World Youth Day (WYD). It is a song that marks every meeting of young people from all over the world…

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Mozambique. Living the missionary spirit.

He received the appointment as auxiliary bishop with “fear and trembling”. But with a great desire to serve the church. We spoke about it with the Combonian Msgr. António Manuel Bogaio Constantino was recently consecrated as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Beira. The archdiocese includes the entire province of Sofala in the central part…

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Peru. The Asheninka Cultural Identity and Spirituality.

The Asheninka live in the departments of Pasco and Ucayali, which are part of the central jungle of Peru. They are estimated to be around 15 thousand people. The term Asheninka has to do with blood family and community family and means ‘Our kinfolks’. The social environment of the Asheninka is based on family, which…

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Ivory Coast and France.

The prolonged phase of unrest reduced the influence of Ivory Coast on the international scene. During the Houphouet-Boigny era the Ivorian president was a powerbroker in the region. He was considered a pillar of Francafrique, the network created by France to control her former colonies in Africa and therefore to play a prominent role on…

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Africa. Organised crime and global supply chains.

The fishing and cocoa industries show how criminal networks and corrupt officials exploit multinational supply chains. Transnational organised crime is usually associated with violent mafia-style groups that traffic drugs, people, arms and wildlife. Less dramatic but equally damaging is the effect of organised crime on global supply chains for legal goods. These logistics networks provide…

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South Africa. Much More than Tricks.

Fantasy and imagination but above all, ingenuity. 200 apprentices from different walks of life train their hands to demonstrate that magic ‘makes the impossible, possible’. It is difficult to escape illusion and optimism when you walk through the gate of the large colonial-style house that houses the College of Magic, in the Claremont district of…

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Advocacy

South Africa. Nonhle Mbuthuma and Sinegugu Zukulu.

Activists Nonhle Mbuthuma and Sinegugu Zukulu have stopped destructive seismic testing for oil and gas off South Africa’s Eastern Cape, in an area known as…

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Baobab

Beautiful Kaya.

Kaya was the most beautiful girl in the village. All the boys courted her, each bringing her small gifts. There were so many invitations from her…

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Youth & Mission

Tunisia. The future in the hands of young people.

While the country is in the grip of a serious economic crisis, in the oasis city of Tozeur, the OxyJeunes youth Centre focuses on schooling and…

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