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Chinese Energy Expansion in Central Asia.

China is investing more and more in Central Asia, especially because of Russia’s weakened position, as the region’s historic economic partner. Beijing is realizing commercial projects in various strategic sectors, primarily in the energy sector with investments
in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

In recent years, China has increasingly deepened trade relations with Central Asia, carrying out various projects with the five countries in the area. In 2023, according to official statistics, China overtook the Russian Federation as the region’s main trading partner, thanks to the signing of numerous trade agreements and the strengthening of logistics links
with local countries.

Railway. In Kazakhstan, Beijing has overtaken Moscow in annual trade. Pixabay

Among these, “Kazakhstan is the last […] to see Beijing surpass Moscow in terms of annual trade turnover,” according to the Kazakh National Institute of Statistics. In the country, China is carrying out projects of various kinds: for example, a Chinese company is implementing a project worth over $200 million to build a cement plant.
Furthermore, a plan of over 100 million euros is being considered to build a large hospital with 600 beds, in the central area of the country. In particular, however, China is focusing more and more on energy diplomacy: in Kazakhstan, it has proposed to build the country’s first nuclear power plant.

Ambitious projects in Uzbekistan
In Uzbekistan, a Chinese company intends to promote the development of solar energy in the country through the creation of training programs for Uzbek workers to collaboratively build infrastructure.
However, the main Chinese-led growth sector is that of electric cars: as The Diplomat Magazine observes, more than 90% of electric vehicles sold in 2022 come from China.
In the first 10 months of 2023, Beijing exported more than 20,000 electric vehicles to Uzbekistan, a number expected to rise due to agreements between Chinese companies and the Ministry of Energy.

Uzbekistan. The government has encouraged the purchase of electric cars. Shutterstock/BT image

Since 2019, Uzbekistan has been strongly supporting this market through economic incentives and tax breaks to encourage the purchase of electric cars. With support from the Government, demand has increased significantly in the last two years, parallelly with the construction of the infrastructure necessary for this technology, such as charging stations. In 2022, 36 charging stations were built and in December it was decided to increase the number to 2,500 by the end of this year. In 2023, private businesses gained the right to sell electricity at independent prices, and as of January 1, 2024, many hotels, shopping centres and motorway service stations were forced to build electric charging stations. In addition to Government support, the market is growing above all thanks to Chinese investments: the Chinese brand BYD, which is increasingly spreading on Uzbek streets, has opened a production plant in collaboration with a local brand, Uzavtosanoat. Although the growing market appears to be driven by increasing consumer demand, the development of the sector depends on the implementation of reforms in the energy sector.

Electric cars in Kyrgyzstan
Chinese brands also dominate electric vehicle production in Kyrgyzstan: in the first eight months of 2023, Kyrgyzstan had imported more than 4,000 electric vehicles from China, almost 6 times more than in the same period in 2022. However, this growing market is not based on growing demand from the population, as is the case in Uzbekistan: only 30 charging stations have been built in Kyrgyzstan, most of which are located in Bishkek, the capital.

City Hall, Bishkek. The majority of Chinese electric vehicle imports into Kyrgyzstan are destined for export to Russia. CC BY-SA 4.0/ Davide Mauro

The lack of infrastructure dedicated to electric vehicles, such as charging stations and service stations, combined with the energy deficit affecting the country, blocks the development of demand among the population. As a result, the majority of Chinese electric vehicle imports into Kyrgyzstan are destined for export to Russia. Chinese electric cars have a series of advantages over their Western counterparts, such as geographical proximity and advantageous import prices. Also, Kyrgyzstan is a convenient market for re-exports to Russia thanks
to lower taxation.(Illustration: 123rf)

Irene Quaglia/CgP

 

Music. The Tinariwen. Beyond fear.

The music of the Malian group has the traits of blues, rock, world and traditional Tuareg music. Amatssou sings about exile, suffering and the pride of a people.

Inspired by Amatssou, Tinariwen’s latest album, the video by Swiss photographer Benoît Peverelli (viewable from the end of October on YouTube) shows Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni and the other musicians of the famous Malian band moving in an almost rarefied atmosphere among the rocks of the Tassili n’Ajjer plateau, in southern Algeria, where they recorded the twelve songs of their latest work.
Suggestive images of sunrises in the desert, slow, solemn gestures that accompany the writing of sentences in Tifinagh in the sand, the wrapping of the white cheche around the head, or the fingers moving on the instruments. The music is intensely evocative, a few punctuated phrases speak of a dispersed Tuareg community, divided by wars and wish the brothers the power of understanding and the sisters
the splendour of tradition.

A refined video – Peverelli has also worked for Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Vogue – which makes you think about how many light years have passed since Tinariwen’s songs crossed oases and villages on cassettes, reproduced several times (the first “professional” recording was from 1992).The story of the legendary “Desert Boys” has been intertwined for decades with that of the Tuareg of Azawad, in northern Mali, and with their struggles for independence from the government of Bamako. Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, the founder, and other members of the band participated in the rebellion of the early 90s, creating the myth of the guerrillas with his guitar. Since their inception, Tinariwen have always sung about the exile, the suffering and the pride of a people who were masters of the great Saharan spaces for centuries before being colonized and divided by pointless borders.

Tinariwen in concert. CC BY 2.0/ Steve Terrell

Even in Amatssou, their ninth album released in May 2023, they denounce the abuses that the Tuareg population is forced to suffer, they attack those who have betrayed, but despite the difficulties of the present – the north of Mali is disputed between jihadist movements, terrorists of the Islamic State group and the Malian army supported by Wagner’s Russian mercenaries – invite us to stay united and move forward, “beyond fear” as the album title indicates in Tamasheq.
Since 2009, the year in which they created Imidiwan in Tessalit, a municipality in the north-east of Mali where Ibrahim and Hassan were born, they have no longer recorded in their country. Subsequent albums were composed in other deserts: Tassili in southern Algeria, Emman and Elwan in the Mojave in Joshua Tree and Amadjar in southern Morocco and Mauritania. For Amatssou they returned to the Algerian Tassili n’Ajjer, where they used the equipment of Imarhan, a Tuareg rock band that has a recording studio in Tamanrasset, the oasis (now a city) where the first group of Tinariwen was formed in 1979.

As usual, they made use of the collaboration of external musicians: Hicham Bouhasse of Imarhan, guitar and percussion, Miloudi Mad Chaghli, lute, as well as the female voices of Machar Aicha and Machar Fatimata who also play the tinde and the imzad (the single-string violin). Amar Chaoui contributed from Paris playing percussion, and from Nashville Wes Corbett’s banjo weaves a dialogue in the opening track Kek Alghalm with the “meandering” guitars typical of Malian desert blues. Also from Nashville, Fats Kaplin’s violin combines his melodic notes in Tenere Den and in three other songs. From Los Angeles Daniel Lanois, musician and producer (U2, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel), has enriched Tinariwen’s sound with elements such as the pedal steel guitar, of the American country tradition, which do not distort but rather enhance their music. Above all, he deserves credit for having “stitched” together the various contributions in post-production. In the final song Tinde, the guitars and other instruments are silent, only the percussions accompany the voice of Machar Fatimata in a tribute to the Tuareg culture and the timeless beauty of nights around the campfire in the desert. (Open Photo: Amatssou album – Tinariwen website)

Anna Jannello

 

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 the Christian community, many young people continue to feel like believers.

Robert, a young university student, says: “On a personal level I don’t feel that I have lost my faith, I think I have known a God of love who, despite everything, has not gone away, so my faith continues to be there. In my way, not with classical prayer, not as perhaps required by the Catholic faith, but in my way I don’t feel I have lost my faith.”

The experience of faith is difficult for everyone, even for those who remain. Louis says: “I stayed in this community to ask myself many questions and to question myself a lot.”

Francis instead comments: “There are too many answers already given, compared to the urgent questions; an announcement of discovery, of surprise is necessary.”

Louis insists: “I don’t consider myself an atheist, I don’t consider myself a person who no longer believes in God, who doesn’t have a spiritual side; I simply don’t think that that is my way of praying, of being part of it, of demonstrating my spiritual side, because it is something that I experience more as an individual, relative to me and
not to a group of people.”

This experience of faith not only does not have a community behind it but, above all, it is lived without passing through its mediation; it is a faith that does not know the richness and effort of discussion, sharing, or internal openness to brothers and sisters in the faith and the value of a community journey.

The sense of belonging to a community is a trait that distinguishes those who have remained and know a shared faith, with the bonds, community commitments and relationships that this generates. Those who remained speak of the parish as something that belongs to them because their personal journey is closely intertwined with the common one: often, unfortunately, more with pastoral than with spiritual life.

Those who remain often have a role in the parish: through this – which is almost always educational – a relationship with the community, with its mission and its initiatives takes shape. This often gives rise to a sense of a very strong “we”, for which the community is “my community”.

Yet even here a question arises: faced with a certain way of reasoning about faith and life and its questions, did those who remained do so out of faith? Is it the faith of the community that involves and convinces them, or the role they have in it?

Belonging is certainly a precious and decisive fact, as long as its foundation is the spiritual bond with the faith of the Church.

A young woman, however, who has moved away from the parish expresses strong regret for what she experienced, for the times she shared with other young people. And even if she has left the parish community, she will always carry it with her.

The young people who remain feel a strong sense of belonging to the community and this is why they are always willing to get involved, increasingly discovering the sense of being Christian in a mission context. (Photo:123rf)
(F.B.)

Nigeria. The open wound of kidnapping priests.

Kidnapping for ransom has long become a real industry in Nigeria. Priests and religious are the target.

It is a sunny and hot Sunday morning. Father Steven is getting ready to go to celebrate mass in one of the parish chapels where today the community is celebrating the first communions. The previous evening, he had held a meeting with the catechists and some of the children’s parents and everything was ready for the ceremony. He leaves the house, making sure he has everything he needs with him and reaches his old motorbike. “How many kilometres have we done together”, he thinks, smiling. The motorbike starts right away. Passing through the gate, he greets some Christians going to church for mass. It’s not long before arrives to the outskirts of town.

Church leaders in Nigeria demonstrate against kidnappings targeting priests. Photo: AciAfrica

Despite being a Sunday, he meets only a few cars and motorbikes. The road has many bends so he has to drive slowly, he thinks about his curate, Father Eugene, who recently had a fall from his motorbike but luckily was not injured. His thoughts are suddenly interrupted when some armed men order him to stop, firing several shots into the air. He has no choice but to approach them slowly.
They tell him to get off the motorbike, to stay calm and reassure him that everything will be all right. They tie his hands behind his back but before they cover his head with a hood, Father Steven sadly witnesses his old motorbike being burned.
He is put onto a pickup with some men and drive off quickly while other men follow them on motorbikes. The young priest was able to count eight and asked himself, who could they be? Terrorists or bandits? Father Steven understands, however, that they are not from the area, they speak Arabic but with different accents.  After two or three hours’ drive, they stop and let him get off,  take off his hood and give him some water. The kidnappers know that the priest is a precious asset and tell him that they have already contacted the bishop. Father Steven realizes that they are well-organized people and know their way around.
He also understands that these people are only the operational part of a larger scheme, the people with the power, who also have high-level contacts, are elsewhere. He is then tied with a chain to a tree and has no idea where he might be. As the hours pass, he listens to irritable voices and many mobile phone calls.

The kidnapping economy is increasingly expanding, also due to the government’s inability to react. File swm

Three days later, towards evening they put him back in the pickup and placed a hood over his head. A few hours later they remove the rope from his hands, take the hood off and show him a path he must follow. Father Steven walks in the night, in the light of a full moon, for several kilometres until he sees the headlights of a car approaching. When it stops, he realises it is the Vicar General of the diocese together with a layman, they give him a welcoming hug and he gets into the car. During the journey, no one speaks as they are very tense but gradually the fear passes. When they finally reach home, the bishop and some priests are waiting for them. The next day Father Steven learns that a ransom of $20,000 was paid for his release.The kidnapping of priests and religious staff is a growing phenomenon. John Osakwe, an analyst for a security agency in Lagos comments: “The kidnappers know that the church does not abandon its priests, they are therefore considered easy and sure profitable prey.” From 2023 to March 2024, 25 priests were kidnapped in Nigeria, 22 were released after the ransom was paid and three were killed. Most of the priests who were victims of kidnapping were captured along the road or in attacks on their homes.

Fr. Vitus Borogo, killed at Prison Farm, Kujama, during a terrorist raid. Photo AciAfrica

The kidnapping economy is increasingly expanding, also due to the government’s inability to react. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had promised to crack down on the kidnappings but between 2021 and 2023, risk management consultancy SBM Intelligence recorded the abductions of 3,964 people. However, the number could be much higher because not all abductions are reported to the authorities.
It is not easy to distinguish between kidnappings committed by terrorist groups or by criminal groups just trying to obtain an economic return. Whether committed by terrorists or bandits, some distinct forms of kidnapping have been catalogued: planned kidnappings of specific, previously identified people; arbitrary kidnappings, especially along the streets, taking victims at random; mass kidnappings (with raids generally planned on villages, places of worship, including churches and mosques, schools, trains and railway stations). In the case of kidnappings of precisely chosen victims, both kidnappings along the usual route of the person to be kidnapped and nocturnal attacks on the home were noted. There is a high level of complicity by the banks through which most of the ransoms are paid. As reported in an article by The Nation in Nigeria, there are 133 million bank account holders, of which five million are fake. Banks use stolen identity cards of dead people to open accounts that are used by kidnappers to receive ransom payments.

“We have no more money to pay the kidnappers”
“The lack of security is impoverishing the Church in Nigeria – said Mgr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, bishop of the diocese of Sokoto – Most of the money was spent to rescue priests, seminarians and other pastoral workers who were kidnapped by various groups of militiamen in the region”. Speaking of his diocese he continues: “We had our churches burned, our cathedral was almost destroyed. I lost a priest and a seminarian. We no longer have money to save our pastoral agents
from kidnappers.”

Mgr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, bishop of the diocese of Sokoto. Photo: Javier Sánchez Salcedo

In a letter addressed to the church in Nigeria, the secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Nigerian archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu says: “Nothing can justify the crime of kidnapping. The physical violence and mental torture that accompany kidnappings undermine the pillars of civil and social harmony, as they traumatize the people involved, their families and society in general.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the bishops, clergy and religious, seminarians, devout members of the Church, all Christians and people of goodwill throughout the nation,” continues the letter in which he expresses “a deep sense of empathy for the innocent victims of these kidnappings and their families”. “Equally, we call on the Government of Nigeria to act quickly to address this threat and stop the ongoing crisis.” Archbishop Nwachukwu hopes that “in addition to adopting measures to protect lives and property, the State, with the support of the Church, should seek ways to reposition the nation on the path to economic growth, political stability and religious cohesion”.

Robert O. Omoweh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The EU and the “-stan” countries.

Central Asia plays a crucial role in the geopolitical agenda of many countries, including those of the European Union. The region is rich in mineral resources and fossil fuels, as well as being a crossroads for trade routes with the rest of Asia.

Central Asia includes a group of five states, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, all of which emerged following the fall of the Soviet Union and united by the suffix
“-stan”, a term which in the Sanskrit language means land, nation, place.
Great interest in this geographical area has been shown by France, as suggested by the two on-site visits by the President of the Republic Macron which took place at the beginning of November 2023 intending to forge strategic alliances to exploit the energy resources in which the region is rich. This interest is not limited to France alone but extends to the entire European Union.
The EU Commission itself believes that the region represents a bridge towards China, Afghanistan, and the Middle East as well as a source of significant energy imports for the European Union.
Over the years, the EU has maintained an open dialogue with the countries of the area, inaugurating in 2019 a new strategy for the region which emphasizes promoting resilience, prosperity and regional cooperation in Central Asia.

Kazakhstan. Mangistau region Drilling Rig in the steppe. It is a very important trading partner for the European Union. 123rf

Kazakhstan, the largest country in the region and first among the others in terms of GDP, is a very important trading partner for the European Union. The balance of payments leans clearly in Kazakhstan’s favour: in 2022 alone, it exported mineral products valued at 26 billion euros to the old continent and in 2021 it directed 39% of its total exports to the community market. For its part, the EU is the largest foreign investor in Kazakhstan, providing a total of €61.5 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) stock in 2021.
The EU maintains solid trade also with Uzbekistan. The first of the quintet in terms of pro capita GDP, from 10 April 2021, it is the 9th country to join the Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+), a status that allows it to benefit from preferential customs tariffs on goods entering the common market. Kyrgyzstan joined the same agreement, while Tajikistan joined only the standard GSP system.
Although Turkmenistan is mostly closed to the outside world and its status of “permanent neutrality” is even recognized by the United Nations, the Turkmen delegation still decided to strengthen relations with the EU as part of the strategy for the region together
with the other countries in the area.

The geopolitical implications of uranium
To understand the importance of Central Asia on the international stage, the presence of significant underground uranium deposits and its geopolitical implications must be highlighted. After the recent coup in Niger, this aspect has become more crucial than ever. The Sahelian state was the second largest uranium supplier to the European Union in 2022, contributing 25.4%, positioning itself just below Kazakhstan, which instead reached 26.8% of total uranium imports to Europe.
Following the coup, it cannot be ruled out that Kazakhstan will play an even more prominent role in the Union’s foreign policy plans, given that the country has one of the largest uranium reserves in the world estimated at 957,220 tonnes.

Uzbekistan. Parliament building in Tashkent. The country has significant uranium deposits. CC BY-SA 4.0/ LBM1948

Uzbekistan also has significant uranium deposits, notably 49,200 tonnes of uranium (tU) in reasonably secured recoverable resources and 49,220 tU in recoverable sandstone resources, as well as 32,900 tU in black clays. Although the deposits are smaller in size, the production is still conspicuous, with 3,500 tonnes of uranium extracted annually since 2020, a factor that leads the country to rank fifth in the world for exports of the mineral. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan also have uranium deposits, widely exploited in the Soviet era. In both countries, however, the current management of the resource is strongly influenced by the political context: in Kyrgyzstan, the Jogorku Kenesh, or the Kyrgyz Supreme Council, voted in May 2019 to ban the extraction and exploration of uranium, while in Tajikistan the uranium supply chain is still active today, but obtaining recent and accurate data is complicated since the regime established that the size of Tajikistan’s uranium resources is to remain secret.

The power of hydrocarbons
The large gas and oil resources found in the “-stan” countries, place them in an even more relevant geopolitical position which is why China is also interested in expanding its influence in the area. In fact, like the EU, Beijing does not have sufficient hydrocarbon reserves to satisfy internal demand, which makes the country dependent on imports. First, in terms of gaseous hydrocarbon deposits, Turkmenistan holds the fourth largest offshore and onshore gas reserves in the world, after Iran, Russia and Qatar. Based on 2021 data, China is the first to take advantage of the 11 trillion cubic meters of Turkmen gas, from which it manages to obtain 53.7% of its total imports. The third and fourth supplier countries to China are respectively Kazakhstan with 12.3%, just below Myanmar, and Uzbekistan which, with its reserves of 1.84 trillion m3, provides 6.58% of total imports.

Turkmenistan. Natural gas facility near Darvaza (Derweze). It holds the fourth-largest offshore and onshore gas reserves in the world. 123rf

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have negligible gas and oil reserves, not enough to satisfy domestic demand. As a result, they are forced to import energy resources from other countries in the area and from Russia.Kazakhstan remains the main protagonist. The country has significant gas reserves, estimated at 2,300 billion cubic meters in 2020, but oil is the resource on which the country relies to satisfy 50% of domestic energy demand (2020) and consolidate its influence at the international level thanks to its reserves estimated at 4.77 billion cubic meters. Large quantities of Kazakh oil are sent to EU countries. Of the 70 million tons extracted in 2021, 20% were exported to Greece, 16% to Germany, 8.7% to France, 7% to Spain, 6.4% to Austria, 5% to Lithuania and 4.3% to Italy. Together, uranium and oil allow Kazakhstan to emerge not only as a regional power in the heart of Asia but also as a major strategic player in the current geopolitical landscape. The estimate of the oil reserves of the other two countries in the area, however, is to be considered marginal compared to that of Kazakhstan: Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have just under 100 million cubic meters, while Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, together, have less than 9 million cubic meters.

Future projections
In the future it is plausible to imagine a further rapprochement of the “–stan” countries to the orbit of influence of the European Union. As happened with the countries of South America and the Caribbean following the third enlargement of the Union, the potential entry of other former USSR candidates such as Georgia, Moldova, and above all Ukraine should lead to greater cultural closeness between the EU and the countries of the area, a basis on which new and fruitful dialogue can be started.The dialogue with these countries, over time, will necessarily have to extend to very important issues such as respect for human and social rights, as well as the progressive affirmation of democratic principles. Based on 2023 data provided by Freedom House, the five countries under analysis are characterized by being places with a well-established authoritarian regime, where political freedoms and rights
are completely absent.

The Aral Sea is a formerly undrained Salt Lake in Central Asia, located on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. 123rf

At the same time, on the side of climate and environmental diplomacy, the EU will have to put pressure on the Central Asian countries to apply more stringent rules for the protection of the environment and the mitigation of climate change. The consequences of exploiting resources in an unsustainable way are already visible in the area. The massive withdrawal of water to support Soviet agricultural production of cotton in the 1950s caused a drastic reduction in the size of the Aral Sea, located on the border between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, previously the fourth-largest lake in the world. The environmental impact of the loss of the Aral Sea is not yet fully known. What we do know is that the cotton that contributed to its destruction is harvested by forced labour and destined for European shops.
In conclusion, relations between the European Union and Central Asia outline a heterogeneous framework of political, economic and geostrategic interests. The region deserves the EU’s attention not only for its energy resources but also for the connections that could be developed with the rest of the Asian continent. (Open Photo: Pixabay)

Luca Sinagra Brisca/CgP

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 said to his wife: “Here we are, starving, while the elephant and hippo have stored away much grain for these lean times. The big ones have, the little ones have not, but tomorrow we shall have our share.”

At sunrise, the spider spoke with the elephant: “Great land animal, king wherever you walk on the earth, I come to you as a messenger from the hippo. The King of the Water requests you to deliver one hundred baskets of grain to the river’s edge, in exchange for which he will give you a fine horse when the harvest comes again. But none of the lower animals must hear of this transaction which is a matter only for kings. This evening when the sun goes down, may it please your majesty?”

That evening the young elephants deposited one hundred bags of grain on the riverbank. The spider thanked them and said he would tell the hippo to collect them, but no sooner had the elephants tramped off into the bush than his own family swarmed onto the riverbank to carry the grain home with them. That night the spider family and all their relatives and friends ate until their bodies were bulging, but the spider
was still not content.

With the morning sun bounding into the African sky, he appeared on the riverbank to address the hippo: “Great water animal, king wherever you go in the river, I come to you as a messenger from the elephant. The King of the Land has much grain but needs fish to make soup, so he requests you to deliver one hundred baskets of fish to the river’s edge, in return for which he will give you a fine horse when the harvest comes again.  But none of the lower animals must hear of the transaction which is a matter only for kings. This evening when the sun is going down, may it please your majesty?”

That evening the young hippos placed one hundred baskets of fish on the riverbank, and as soon as they had splashed back into the river, the bubbles breaking on the surface above their heads, hordes of spiders scuttled down to the water’s edge to drag the fish away.

Again, there was a night of carousing and guzzling, and shortly before the sun came up the spider addressed his family and friends: “Listen – he said -, for two nights we have driven our hunger away, and there is enough left over for many nights to come. But the famine will not last forever, and one day we shall be called upon to pay for all this lovely food. So, I must ask you to plait a long thick rope, as thick as a cobra and as long as from here to Bajimso. And here is my plan.”

When he had told them, they rolled about laughing, and small groups of them danced like tiny dervishes in their glee.The rains came, the fields waved with grain, and the famine was only a memory, when the elephant sent for the spider and demanded his fine horse.

The spider said he would talk with the hippo and return the day after the next. The spider’s family and friends helped him drag the long rope to a very thick baobab tree.

Tying one end securely around the tree, he pulled the other end through the jungle and handed it to the elephant. “Here is a rope, King of the Land. Tomorrow the King of the Water will tie the horse – which is still wild and untamed – to the other end of the rope; in the meanwhile, you must attach your end to a strong tree. At dawn, when the tree shakes, let all young elephants pull for all they are worth so that the horse
will be brought to you.”

Then he went to the hippo, saying that the elephant had kept his promise of a gift of a fine horse, but as a spider’s strength was not sufficient to pull a horse, especially such a wild and untamed one, he had fastened the rope to a baobab tree. “At dawn, let your young hippos unfasten the rope and pull for all they are worth so that the horse will be brought to you.”

When the elephants saw the branches of the tree shaking in the dawn and the leaves dancing, they untied the rope and pulled with all their combined strength. But the hippos were pulling with all theirs, and neither side moved backward or forwards while the sun rose in the morning and set at the end of the day, and elephants and hippos lay down utterly exhausted and slept where they fell.

On the next day, they tried again, with as little success. “Tie the rope to a tree,” said the elephant, and far away the hippo said the same.

The next morning the elephant and the hippo met halfway, each one nearly bursting with rage. “I’ve come to ask you what kind of a horse it is that can keep my young hippos pulling and straining in vain for two whole days,” bellowed the hippo.

As the elephant protested, the spider said, “If I hear again that you are looking for me, you will share the fate of the unfortunate antelope who was misguided enough to argue with me.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve come to see you about,” replied the angry elephant. When they realized that they had been engaged in a fruitless and exhausting tug-of-war, that there was no horse, and that the crafty spider had tricked each of them in turn, they vowed to catch and punish the tiny rogue. But the spider went into hiding, afraid to show himself, growing thin and weak until he had to emerge – or die of hunger.

Staggering along, looking for food, he found an antelope hide, complete with hoofs and head, and crawled under it just as the elephant crashed through the trees and lumbered into the clearing. His cunning brain working swiftly, he asked, “0 mighty elephant, are you looking for the spider? Look what he has done to me, until recently an antelope in my prime. We argued, and look what he has done to me.”

The elephant cried, “Do you mean to say that the spider made you so frail? But how? How?” “He pointed at me, that was all, and my health and strength drained out of me, but, please, do not mention this to anybody, for I do not want him to come again. Next time he will surely destroy me completely. Oh, the power of that tiny insect!”.

“Certainly – stammered the elephant -, on condition that you promise not to tell him that I am looking for him.” And as he turned to go, the spider came out into the open, saying, “Elephant, I believe you are seeking me.”

As the elephant protested, the spider said, “If I hear again that you are looking for me, you will share the fate of the unfortunate antelope who was misguided enough to argue with me.”

After the elephant had fled, the spider’s strength returned with some food he found, and he scurried under the antelope’s hide just as the hippo emerged snorting under the trees. “How feeble and decrepit you look, antelope. Whatever has happened to reduce you to such a state?”

“Do not mention it to anybody because I do not want to suffer still further, but I was foolish enough to involve myself in an argument with the spider. He pointed at me and I withered away. So small he is, but so powerful. But how was I to know that until I fell victim to his spell!”

“Well – said the hippo in alarm -, there is no need to mention that I am looking for him, or should I say was looking for him. That will be our little secret, antelope, and I hope your recovery will be swift and complete.”

He turned to go, and the spider came out, saying, “Hippo, it is said in the forest that you are looking for me. Well, here I am!”

“Rumours, my dear fellow, rumours, unfounded at that – blurted the hippo -. What have you ever done to me, eh, that I should be seeking you? No, dear little friend, I am not looking for you, just out for a quiet stroll. But now I must get back to my family. Goodbye, spider!”

And the spider laughed to hear the hippo blundering into trees in his panic, and finally hurling himself into the river with a splash that could be heard as far away as Bajimso. (Illustration: Pixabay)

 Folktale from Hausa People, Nigeria

 

Egypt. Pigeons, what a passion.

In the shade of the pyramids and minarets of Cairo, the tradition of pigeon and homing pigeon breeders has been handed down.

Cairo is a chaotic, immense and difficult city. The streets are always too crowded and the continuous cacophony of horns denies concentration and quickly exhausts one’s energy. But raise your eyes and you will realize that there is another level of the city, hidden and almost inaccessible, a kingdom where birds and their keepers are masters.
It’s a day like many others in the working-class heart of Cairo; the streets crowded with vendors and three-wheeled vans all look the same, dominated by the tall concrete and red brick buildings that have sprouted like mushrooms in recent decades. A monotony of shapes and colours broken only by a large flamboyant structure similar to a cistern or a crooked medieval tower that seems to be supported with long, unstable stilts on the flat roof of a building.

A boy with pigeons at the Souk al Gomaa Friday market in Cairo. Shutterstock/Emily Marie Wilson

Groups of people crowd around the wooden pillars and along the dizzying ladder that seems liable to collapse at any moment. Suddenly, one of these figures takes out two large red flags and starts waving them with regular and rhythmic movements while keeping his eyes raised to the sky. Soon a flock of birds begins to circle lower and lower towards the roof of the building.
It is one of the thousands of gheyas that dot the roofs of the Egyptian capital: dovecotes where many Cairo residents can dedicate themselves to pigeon breeding, a widespread passion which for some is also an important source of income.

Ancient Roots
According to historians, the Egyptians’ love for pigeons is so ancient that even hieroglyphs testify to their widespread presence and the custom of offering them as sacrifices on the occasion of rites or funerals, while in the era of the Fatimid rulers (X-XII century AD) the use of birds as messengers and pets is documented.
It is a tradition found not only in the cities but also in the countryside: in the villages of the delta or further south along the river, and in the enormous agricultural area of the Fayyum, it is not uncommon to notice flocks of birds crowding around certain high constructions.

Muhammad Ali Mosque in Cairo. 123rf

Rural dovecotes are large conical towers similar to chimneys made of sun-dried mud, where holes arranged in geometric patterns and transversal wooden poles allow the pigeons to rest or enter, sheltered from predators.At first glance, their appearance recalls the shape of the minarets of Sahelian mosques and the unmistakable outlines of the rural landscapes that wind along the Nile.
And food has nothing to do with it: while it is true that these birds are often found in various typical delicacies such as the famous hamam mahshi, pigeons stuffed with spiced rice and bulgur cooked for a long time in the oven, at the same time, bird breeding is a true passion that has been handed down for generations. Pigeon racing, for example, is a widely practised sport: on the rooftops of Cairo, many both young and old spend entire afternoons training their squadrons with large flags acting as a call to the roost.

Heavenly challenges
The most common type of race is the long-distance speed race. This involves the flocks being released in distant cities with an encrypted message, contained in a package attached to the leg, which is communicated by the farmers to the jury as counter-evidence as soon as the birds reach the base. These can be seen as Marathons of the skies that fascinate and become legendary competitions, like the one that takes place annually between Cairo and Aswan, almost 700 kilometres of flight across the whole of Egypt.Besides racing, there are other hobbies involving pigeons. Other very popular competitions involve real wars between flocks that have to capture or try to free themselves from opposing teams, with the ownership of the birds themselves and the consequent size of their “army” at stake.

An old woman selling pigeons in an Egyptian market. Shutterstock/RovingPhotogZA

Once down from their towers, breeders and enthusiasts have an unmissable meeting point: the animal market held on Fridays around Al Khelaa, the long road that crosses the famous suburb of the “City of the Dead”. Along the road, thousands of coloured plastic cages are piled up from which birds of all types look out, from tiny canaries to enormous hawks motionless on their perches.
Pigeons and doves are obviously among the best-sellers here. To the untrained eye, these immense flocks are distinguished only by their plumage, which ranges from pure white to dark grey and beige, but the attentive gaze of the breeders can immediately identify different species with their respective characteristics and qualities, establishing the setting of prices starting from a few tens of Egyptian pounds for the youngest and most inexperienced specimens and reach several thousand, more than the average monthly salary of an Egyptian.

Architecture to be conserved
In addition to its social, cultural, economic and ecosystem enhancement aspects, the tradition of pigeon breeding also has its effects on the urban landscape and the appearance of the city. In fact, the gheya are unmistakable structures that make the roofs of Cairo unique. A dizzying castle of vertical and diagonal wooden poles up to 7-8 meters high on which rests a large fence made of thin wooden slats placed side by side and painted in bright colours and with geometric decorative motifs.
Inside the enclosure, accessible with ladders, cages are arranged along the perimeter, while a wide rope net acts as a ceiling and prevents the possible arrival of predators or rival flocks.

Pigeons in Giza City flying on the houses. 123rf

Like tall and lively medieval watchtowers, the pigeon lofts overlook the entire city, becoming a distinctive architectural element, especially in the working-class neighbourhoods where the monotony of the buildings with a concrete skeleton and red brick walls interrupted by a few sparse windows is enlivened by the colours of the decorated walls.
In its frenetic growth, the Egyptian capital (one of the largest metropolises on the planet) is inexorably destroying fundamental parts of its past, such as the famous awamat, the centuries-old floating houses removed from the banks of the Nile a year ago, or various inhabited tombs of the City of the Dead, demolished to widen highways and bridges.The most popular areas are especially prone to suffer demolitions and heavy transformations daily in the name of mobility, urban decorum and a questionable idea of progress that has no regard for anyone, not even for history. The pigeon lofts, however, seem to resist, perhaps thanks to their elevated and almost hidden position, and continue to give colour, lightness and vitality to the skies of a difficult city which never ceases to surprise. (Open Photo: Sunset over Cairo with silhouettes of flying birds. Shutterstock/Repina Valeriya)

Federico Monica/Africa

Nike, ambassador of contemporary Nigerian art.

Recycled material reigns supreme in Nike’s modern art galleries in Lagos and Abuja. It brings together, on crowded walls, sculptures, textiles, jewellery, amulets and paintings that lay claim
to another Nigeria.

It’s not easy to keep up with Nike Okundaye, founder of the Nike Art Gallery art centres in Lagos, Abuja, Òsogbo and Ogídi-Ìjúmi. Known as Mama Nike, she arrives with her four daughters in a very small van decorated with striking colours and photographs. As you enter the gallery in Lagos, you are welcomed by animal sculptures inspired by real creatures and others from the artists’ imagination. They share the space with signs announcing workshops, cultural activities and city tours in which Nike’s seemingly inexhaustible energy takes centre stage.
Smiling, welcoming and overwhelming, Nike takes several questions that she barely has time to answer to quickly classify her interviewer. As she affectionately greets the employees and artists in training, she heads towards the large door leading to a multi-storey gallery whose centre is occupied by panels that share the available space.

Nike Art Gallery, Lagos. CC BY 2.0/Jeremy Weate

The walls are covered with paintings. The floor is also a space covered with contemporary art pieces that occupy enormous tables on which piles of drawings must be unpacked in order to appreciate them. “From rubbish to treasure, from waste to wealth”, is how Nike defines her works, made largely with recycled materials, a technique in which the African continent is a true master.
“We use wax to make large jewels, even animal remains that speak of Nigerian tradition, or wood to make other traditional jewels that can be used to decorate the wall, for those who prefer not to hang up painting,” Nike continues. She stops just long enough to show what she is explaining, but without lingering too much, aware of the enormous work she has managed to concentrate on in the gallery. Her aim is to cover as much as possible and offers her personal attention to each artist, telling how they arrived at that point in their creation, their maturation process and the meaning of shapes and colours.

Nike’s work
“My work focuses on coloured balls and glue. I like to make things that people can wear, for example, the hats I design. We give some pieces a coloured patina to make them look older,” explains Nike, interpreting the genre with unwaning enthusiasm. In the area of textiles, with blue and indigo fabrics printed with geometric figures, you can see another of her best-known techniques. “When we wear a tunic or a certain dress, we are saying something about ourselves”, she says, passing her hand over the garments hanging in the exhibition area.

Visitors at the Nike Art Gallery in Lagos. Photo: Carla Fibla García-Sala

Nike comes from a childhood marked by poverty and the loss of her mother. At the age of 16, she left home and went to live with the artistic community of Òsogbo and a year later she participated in her first exhibition organized by the Goethe Institute. Six years later she managed to study sewing at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts (USA) and in 1981 she won first prize at the Southwest Washington Art Festival. Subsequently, recognition came from London and the UN, which in 1994 chose her among the 50 artists selected worldwide to show their work in a documentary on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the organization.

Creating community
She began sharing her knowledge with her first arts and culture centre which opened in Òsogbo in 1983. Almost 20 years later she did the same in Abuja, the capital, and in 2009 in Lagos. In 1996, she moved to the economic capital of the country and created the Textile and Sewing Center in Ogídi-Ìjúmi (Kogi State), which became her first training workshop. “I’ve always been obsessed with girls’ independence, but how to reach it? We managed to convince schools from 36 states to regularly send us 150 girls so that, while spending two months at the Òsogbo centre, they discover their skills and begin to develop them”, she proudly explains, still showing pieces made by some of the young women who passed through their workshops. Despite being well-known, Nike does not seem to have lost touch with the reality of her people, with the poverty and unemployment that afflict her country, conditions that she tries to show and, in part, remedy through art.

Nike art gallery, Abuja. CC BY-SA 4.0/Turizimpressions

In addition to public relations and monitoring artists in training, Nike dedicates several hours a day to developing their talents. Now in her eighth decade of life, her capacity for inspiration still remains intact. “You learn by trying to imitate, it’s the way to create your own style. This work – she says, indicating the face of a restless child – seems to say: ‘When I grow up, I want to be like you’, but when you look at it you only see a child. Yes, but the child tells you something.”
The reflections she offers while walking through the Lagos gallery leave no loose ends: “All these drawings are like communication by telephone… Here it is the barbed wire, the bamboo that unites us. It’s the cycle of life. The child is born, grows and becomes an adult. And that same child takes care of the one who took care of him or her as a child.”

“Art relaxes people, it’s very important because it has a healing component. You look at a work and feel a certain emotion, sometimes joy.” Photo: Nike Art Gallery

We pass in front of a work of hers which she playfully shows us, explaining that she needed to draw an aeroplane and convey what you feel when you get on board, which is why the painting is full of farewell words and good wishes for the journey. “There is this comparison in contemporary art between old and new creations, but we must focus on young artists because they are the ones who can give the most.”
Nike claims that visiting her art galleries is “a therapy” in which the most important thing is to look at the works and stop at the most evocative part of each one, trying to understand them and thinking about what would be going through the mind of the artist when he or she created them or draws conclusions whose understanding at times cannot be shared. “Art relaxes people, it’s very important because it has a healing component. You look at a work and feel a certain emotion, sometimes joy.”Although it is difficult to choose a technique or material to define current Nigerian contemporary art, Nike highlights the use of bronze, the application of wax – whose origin is in Benin City – and creativity in the textile sector “because it’s what’s attached to your skin, something very important and that’s why I started focusing on the designs we capture on fabrics, the meaning of the symbols we use. And that’s what I’m still dedicated to,” Nike concludes. (Nike Okundaye, founder of the Nike Art Gallery art Centre in Lagos. Photo:Carla Fibla García-Sala)

Carla Fibla García-Sala

 

Vietnam, new-found hope.

In a historic step, the Hanoi government has invited Pope Francis to visit the country. We talk with Mons. Nguyen Anh Tuan, bishop of Ha Tinh “New climate, trusting us more.”

The Catholic community in Vietnam makes up one of the most vibrant Churches in Asia today, with 7 million faithful in a country of over 100 million inhabitants. Almost fifty years after the communist regime conquered Saigon in 1975, opening a new season of persecution for the local Catholic Church, the authorities in Hanoi have officially invited Pope Francis to visit the country with a letter sent by President Vo Van Thuong, who visited the Vatican last July.
On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis officially appointed a permanent representative of the Holy See in Vietnam, Monsignor Marek Zalewski, who is also the apostolic nuncio to Singapore and will now reside in Hanoi. A diplomatic step resulting from patient bilateral negotiations that have continued for years.

Monsignor Louis Nguyen Anh Tuan, bishop of Ha Tinh. Today the government wants Pope Francis to visit the country”. File MM

Last September, precisely to underline the importance of the new climate that had been created, the Pontiff himself wrote a letter to Vietnamese Catholics in which he invited the Catholic faithful to live as “good Christians and good citizens”, testifying to the love of God “without distinction of religion, race or culture”. “We must always move forward…recognizing convergences and respecting differences”, the Pope also wrote. This also entails a responsibility for Vietnamese Catholics who, Francis observed, realize “their own identity as good Christians and good citizens” both by animating their Church and by spreading the Gospel in daily life. A testimony which, thanks to the development of “favourable conditions for the exercise of religious freedom”, can help the Catholic faithful to “promote dialogue and generate hope for the country”.
Monsignor Louis Nguyen Anh Tuan, 63, bishop of Ha Tinh, in the north of the country, comments, “The people were very happy to receive Pope Francis’ letter. It was the first time he addressed the faithful directly and they are now they are waiting for the opportunity to welcome him to Vietnam. We have wanted to invite him for several years. Today the government also wants this visit.”

Ho Chi Minh City. Sunday Mass at Hanh Thong Tay Catholic church. The Catholic Church in Vietnam has almost 7 million baptized people, that is, 9% of the population. Shutterstock /withGod

Speaking about relations between the Holy See and Vietnam, Monsignor Anh Tuan says: “The joint working group between the Vatican and government representatives worked with great patience. The president’s visit to the Vatican last July with the signing of the agreement on the presence of the permanent representative of the Holy See in Hanoi was an important step. We expect it will be of help in our work to expand our pastoral activities, we have seen a change in recent years where we have been given much more freedom.”
During the Coronavirus pandemic, the church was very present and this was recognized by the government. The bishop says: “Saigon was greatly affected and the dedication with which many priests, nuns and lay people assisted the victims was recognized by the government. Trust in us has grown and I think it was an opportunity to testify
to faith through welfare activities.”
Development in a country like Vietnam however remains an open challenge: “The gap between the big cities and the rural areas is very large – explains the bishop of Ha Tinh -. In my diocese I see young people leaving for Saigon, Hanoi, Da Nang, Hai Phong, but also for Korea, Japan, Malaysia or the United States and Europe, where they can earn a living. We educate children in perceiving the faith as something like a spiritual baggage to carry with them wherever they may find themselves in the future. However, our Church is still looking for solutions to their pastoral care, we must work more with the Churches of the destination countries; this is also part of the work of the synodal Church. The Vietnamese Catholics are a dynamic community, wherever they gather, this is confirmed by many. One of the ways we are trying to address the problem is by sending missionaries with them who are not only for the Vietnamese but also at the service of the local Churches where they are introduced. An ad vitam ministry, also made possible by the fact that vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life are still deeply rooted in Vietnam.”

There are 3,047 parishes spread across the country. Shutterstock/godongphoto

This resource is proof of the vitality of the Vietnamese Church. “Last year – says the prelate – in my diocese, we had 105 candidates for the seminary, but we could only take 30. Some bishops send those they cannot accommodate to other countries such as New Zealand or Australia. Vocations are still plentiful, more so in rural areas than in cities. A social reading of this phenomenon can be given: these are the poorest areas and the Catholic families there are much more devout. But I look at the spiritual meaning: it is the place where the Lord calls us to serve the Kingdom of God. After all, as Jesus said in the Gospel: “Blessed are you poor because the Kingdom of God is yours.”
The Catholic Church in Vietnam has almost 7 million baptized people, that is, 9% of the population distributed in 3 archdioceses and 24 dioceses with 41 bishops. There are 11 major seminaries and approximately 7,700 Catholic institutions in the country and 3,047 parishes are spread across the territory with 8,000 priests. Catholicism is the country’s second religion, after Buddhism. (Open Photo: Top view of Vung Tau with the statue of Jesus Christ on the Mountain. Shutterstock/ Dong Nhat Huy)

Giorgio Bernardelli/MM

 

 

 

History. Ancient Urbanisation.

Although colonization contributed to its urban development, Africa had already experienced the flourishing of cities from ancient times. Let us look back at some of these cities through what the continent’s first chroniclers said about them.

The African shore of the Mediterranean is the region in which the most ancient urbanization developed through the work of the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians and the Greeks, to whom Rome subjected and imposed its architectural and decorative canons: Phoenicians: Leptis Magna and Sabratha (Libya); Carthaginians: Kerkuane, Carthage (Tunisia) and Tipasa (Algeria); Greeks: Cyrene, Libya; and others such as Berenice (Benghazi), Adrianapolis (Driana), Tauchira (Toera), Tripoli and Ptolemais (Tolmetta).

The Theatre at the spectacular ruins of Leptis Magna near Al Khums, Libya. 123rf

The cities were located on a maritime trade route between Alexandria and Carthage whose main product was oil. Rome built cities to colonize or defend – the Algerian Djemila and Timgad – and administer – the Tunisian El Djem and the Moroccan Volubilis and the capital of Mauritania Tingitana. From these emerged a series of inland routes connected with the Saharan caravan routes.

The Cities of the Sahel
They were commercial centres that connected the Mediterranean with tropical Africa, such as Ghadamés, a Berber oasis town in the Nalut District of the Tripolitania region in northwestern Libya, of which Abu l-Hasan al-Bakri – a Muslim hagiographer wrote in The Roads and Kingdoms that it was “A beautiful city, well-watered with a palm grove”. Ualata in Mauritania, with a large market of gold, ivory, slaves, aromatic plants, salt, rubber, copper, tapestries and dates, according to Leo Africanus, whose real name was al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi, traveller, geographer and explorer, author of the Description of Africa.Teghazza, in the far north of Mali, supplied salt to the entire region, and there “Business is done for many hundredweights of gold dust”, wrote Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah commonly known as Ibn Battuta, a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar in Through Islam, and said of the Takkeda enclave that “The people have no other work than trade. Every year they go to Egypt, from where they bring back all that is good in cloth and other things. They live in abundance
and in well-being”.

The ancient Moroccan town near Tinghir.123rf

Another geographer, Ibn Hwkal, author of Configuration of the World, wrote of Sijilmasa in Morocco: “Large palm groves, beautiful orchards and gardens can still be seen (…) The inhabitants are generous and cheerful; they distinguish themselves from the peoples of the Maghreb by their external appearance and behaviour. One can see in them the taste for science, modesty and a certain elegance of the body, the practice of virtuous qualities, composure and moderation. The palaces have high and solidly built doors”.
Poetic narrations by same author described other cities in Morocco. Speaking of Agmat he said that “There are all kinds of articles and merchandise”; of An-Nafis that “it is very ancient (…) densely populated and prosperous”; he considered Tamrurt “flirtatious and charming”; Kuga, “the richest in gold of all the countries of the gods”; Tadmekka “the one that most resembles Mecca”; and Uargla “an agglomeration of seven fortified villages”.

The Empires of the Sahel
They were the destination of the caravans. Audaghost in Mauritania was the main gold market. “It is a big city… The people live comfortably and own a lot of goods (…) There are beautiful buildings and very elegant houses (…) Their gold is the best and purest in the world.”
The empire of Ghana arose nearby and the capital, Kumbi Saleh, as Al-Bakri recounted, “is made up of two cities (…) One is inhabited by Muslims, the other is the city of the king”.

View of Timbuktu. Drawn by Martin Bernatz (1802–1878) after a sketch by Heinrich Barth (1821-1865). The lithograph was produced and printed by M. & N. Hanhart – Barth, Heinrich (1858)

Niani was the capital of the Malian Empire. Ibn Khaldum described it as “Very widespread, very populous and very commercial (…) a stopping place for caravans coming from the Maghreb, Ifriquiya and Egypt. The goods are shipped from all parts”. It was overshadowed by Gao, the capital of the Songhay empire, “One of the most famous in the country of the blacks”, and “Its inhabitants are rich merchants who constantly circulate in the region (…) An infinite number of blacks arrive there with a large quantity of gold to purchase objects imported from Barbary and Europe”, according to the writings of Al-Idrissi, Battuta and Leone Africanus respectively.
The Florentine Benedetto Dei visited Timbuktu in 1470 and said: “A lot of business is done selling thick fabrics, twills and cloth.” A century later, Leo Africanus indicated a turning point in business: “Many manuscript books are sold that come from Barbary. There is more profit from this sale than from all other commodities.”
At the end of the 16th century, in his work Tarik el-Fettach, Al Hajj Mahmud Kati (or Mahmoud Kati) an African Muslim Songhai scholar, warned that “Timbuktu had no rivals among the cities of the blacks (…) for the solidity of its institutions, political liberties, purity of customs, safety of persons and property, clemency and compassion for the poor and foreigners, and consideration for students and men of science”.

Great Mosque of Djenné. The city re-emerged in the 19th century as a cosmopolitan and prosperous city. Photo: Andrea Caruccio.

D’Jenne in Mali re-emerged in the 19th century as a cosmopolitan and prosperous city, and by the mid-12th century it was, for Al-Sadi, “A great fortunate and blessed city (…) It is one of the great markets for Muslims”. The French explorer René Caillié confirmed this in the early 19th century: “Every day numerous caravans and merchants arrive carrying all sorts of useful supplies.”
It was the capital of the Bambara kingdom of the same name, which emerged after the dissolution of Songhay. Mungo Park, a Scottish explorer, in the eighteenth century, recognized that “The sight of this sprawling city, the numerous canoes on the river, the lively population, and the crops of the surrounding fields, formed a whole picture of civilization of grandeur, such as I did not expect to find in Africa”.
Bambara city-states such as Zaria, Zanfara, Gobir and Sokoto were urban centres with a thriving life. Katsena and Kano stood out. Leo Africanus said of its inhabitants that they were “Skilled artisans and rich merchants”. Heinrich Barth, a German explorer, was there in the 19th century and underlined the production of its kinds of cotton: “I could estimate the total production of this industry at its minimum export at around 300,000 million Kurds (…) With 50-60,000 Kurds, a family can live comfortably with all expenses included.”

The Cities of East Africa
Kush, an ancient kingdom in Nubia, had three capitals – Kerma, Napata and Meroe – which reflected a culture derived from that of Egypt. In Christian Nubia, Soba, Dongola and Faras were capitals of kingdoms.

Nubian temples. Entrance to Great Enclosure, Musawwarat es-Sufra. CC BY-SA 3.0/COSV

Soba, as documented by Al-Maqrīzī a medieval Egyptian historian, had “Very beautiful buildings, large convents, churches, where gold abounds”, while Dongola was, “Very populated”, the inhabitants “are rich and civilized because they trade with Cairo and with all the cities of Egypt.”On the coast, Mogadishu produced “fabrics that are incomparable; they export most of them to Egypt and elsewhere”; Zayla, “A vast city with a large souk”, while in Kilua “Ivory is almost always given away and gold is very rarely given”, wrote Ibn Battuta.

In the Gulf of Guinea
Begho and Bono Manso (in present-day Ghana) were two important gold trading markets where trade between the interior and the coast was frequent. Kumasi was the capital of all the Akan, while the Yoruba organized themselves into city-states. Ifé was the origin of them all and their spiritual and cultural centre. Oyo was the most powerful, and Benin the best known. Already in the 17th century, Dutch geographer Olfert Dapper in his Description of Africa, said that “It is composed of 30 very straight streets (…) as well as an infinity of small transverse streets.
The houses are close to each other and aligned in good order with roofs and balustrades”.

Cities of the Centre-South
The historical capital of the Mbanza Congo kingdom, renamed São Salvador, was connected to the coast by a wide road. Antonio Pigafetta, navigator, geographer and citizen writer of the Republic of Venice, wrote in his Relación del Reino del Congo: “It was Don Alfonso (…) who surrounded it with walls (…) He did the same with his palace and the royal quarters, leaving in the centre of these enclosures a large open space where the main church was built. Outside the walls there are numerous buildings belonging to the lords, without order, so they can live near the court”.
Further south, Luanda was built in 1575, where shells were used for trade. In his Description of Angola, Abreu de Brito recalled that” one day, while I was in the city, a large quantity of gold coins was sent to the Congo for the purchase of slaves; It was rejected by the sellers. They said that their true currency, their gold, were the shells of Luanda, which were the ones with which they got rich”.

Aerial view of Great Zimbabwe’s Great Enclosure (circumference 250 m, maximum height 11 m)[1] and adjacent ruins looking southeast from the Hill Fort. CC BY-SA 4.0/ Janice Bell

In Great Zimbabwe, populated by the Shona ethnic group, stone building began in the 13th century. On the hill overlooking a valley, the most notable buildings arose: the Acropolis and the Great Enclosure, a wall about seven meters high with carved stones with no connecting element. Inside, the rooms were made of wood and mud. It was the residence of the sovereign.Sofala in Mozambique emerged as a major Portuguese trading emporium. Al-Masudi in Meadows of Gold and Mines of Precious Stones, said of it that it “Produces gold in abundance and other wonders”, while Álvarez Cabral, who visited it in 1500, was amazed to see “Houses like those of Spain (…) There are very rich merchants (…) there is a large quantity of gold, silver, amber, musk, pearls (…) People wear clothes of fine fabric and other beautiful things”. (Open Photo: Tuareg men walking in front of the ancient minaret of the grand mosque in Agadez in Niger. Shutterstock/Catay)

José Luis Cortés López

 

 

Yemen. The Houthis and their Own “Brand”.

By opening the Red Sea front, the Houthis have taken the lead of the Palestinian cause and of anti-Americanism in the region. They address now an Islamic audience broader than the axis led by Iran.

Doing so, the Houthis are capitalizing on traditional anti-Israel and anti-US slogans and symbols of the Iranian galaxy but this time they are also upgrading their status within the Tehran camp.

The Houthis are portraying themselves as the main ´achievers` of the Iranian-related constellation, engendering a transnational competition among pro-Tehran actors: they are the newcomers who have quickly made the headlines.

The Houthis’ military capabilities advancement wouldn’t have been possible without the Iranian support. However, their emboldened and still autonomous posture could become problematic for Iran.

The Houthis are good at exploiting contextual factors to effectively construct political discourse and advance their own interests. The 2023 Red Sea front and the US raids in Yemen are only the most recent demonstrations: the Houthis’ actions are gaining popularity in large segments of Yemen and in the whole region.

In 2001-2002, the Houthis condemned President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s security-oriented alliance with the US to fight al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in the context of the war on terror.

The founder Husayn Al-Houthi exploited government’s choice to amplify criticism of Saleh’s regime, paving the way for the Saada wars fought against the central government (2004-10).

As the popular uprising against the Yemeni government broke out in 2011, the Houthis renamed their movement Ansar Allah to attract supporters beyond the Saada-core.

In mid-2014, the Houthis hijacked popular protests for fuel subsides cut in Sanaa to set up camps and denounce the corruption, while gradually taking the armed control of the city. In 2015, the Houthis exploited the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen which followed their coup to depict themselves as “defenders of the nation against
the “foreign aggression”.

The Houthis are materially and immaterially profiting from the alliance with Iran and its armed network. Since 2015, the Houthis have become closer to Iran and gradually more integrated with the “axis of resistance” than before, due to the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen. They received weapons, military training and advising, intelligence cooperation, and media support from Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah.

This alignment has also strengthened the Houthis’ regional identity, even though as the most external ´planet` of the Iranian constellation. Since October 7th, the Houthis are publicly emphasizing their belonging to the Iranian-led network: “We are in complete coordination with our brothers of the axis of resistance, stated the leader Abdel Malek Al Houthi. They aim to be perceived as the ´vanguard of the axis` stressing, at the same time, their autonomy.

The Houthis have likely understood that they currently are the pro-Iranian actor that can earn more –and risk less- in the Gaza war context. Differently from Tehran and its groups, they are already at war, don’t share power with others and don’t profit from being part of internationally-recognized institutions and legal economy. Furthermore, the Houthis’ access to the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb waterway allows them to damage the Israeli economy and global trade routes, asymmetrically challenging the US maritime power in the area.

However, this doesn’t mean the Houthis are becoming, or will become, more dependent on Iran and the axis. On the contrary, the Houthis are rather exploiting the narrative and symbols of the axis of resistance to advance their own ´brand`, at both the domestic and regional level.

For instance, a poster of Mahdi Al-Mashat (the Houthi president of the Supreme Political Council in Sanaa) stands in the capital side by side with those of axis leaders (such as former Hamas chief Ahmad Yassin, former al-Quds force chief General Qassem Soleimani and Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah). Now the Houthis are displaying photos of Soleimani and former Hashd al-Shaabi leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis “to celebrate” their own “enterprises”, as occurred on the Galaxy Leader ship hijacked on November 19, 2023.

Through violent means, the Houthis are emphasizing their ´revolutionary face` to alter the balance of power in Yemen and in the Middle East. The targeting of Israeli-related vessels and, more broadly, of international maritime trade achieves this goal. In this context, the US-UK raids against Houthi military sites allow the Houthis to reinforce their revolutionary message, as they repeat that they are not going to stop their attacks.

The Houthis are currently addressing a broader Islamic audience thanks to the Red Sea low-intensity battlefield, thus transcending confessional sects (Shia, Sunni) and ethnic ones. For instance, a giant poster of Abdel Malek Al Houthi appeared in Istanbul, Turkey, with the Turkish text “we are all Yemenis”.

The Houthis stress the revolutionary character of their armed movement for two reasons. The first is the appeal to the Zaydi Shia tradition, of which the rebellion against an unjust ruler (khuruj) is central feature.

The second is the anti-imperialist discourse the fallen founder Husayn Al Houthi has cultivated since the beginning against the US.
This discourse ideologically paved the way for the alliance with Iran and the axis of resistance.

In his collection of lectures (“Malazim”), Husayn identified the US and Israel as main enemies and frequently mentioned the ayatollah Khomeini as an inspiring leader not because he was an Iranian or a Shia, but because he “resisted” to the Western pressure.

Echoing again the topics of ´revolution` and ´resistance`, he referred to Hezbollah as “head of mujahidin in this world”. Khomeini is instead missing in the current Houthi leader’s speeches: when Abdelmalek mentions Iran, this is mostly related to the “resistance” against Israel, which therefore remains a key issue.

The Houthis’ attacks against Israel and Western maritime targets have generated a global echo which might trigger competition with other pro-Iranian armed groups of the axis. This scenario is especially likely in case the “attack-retaliation scheme” between Iranian-related forces and the US should continue, but without a major escalation. Due to their kinetic maritime actions, the Houthis are in fact portraying themselves as the ´achievers` of the “resistance” against the US and Israel.

This distinguishes the Yemeni armed movement from other Iranian-related actors, many of them with a longer history of ´resistance` alongside the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), whose frequent attacks haven’t been so effective (ex. more than 170 attacks against US forces by militias in Syria and Iraq), or pursued a ´controlled escalation` path so far (ex. Hezbollah).

The Houthis’ boldness could partly explain recent developments in the axis, pushing some groups to experiment new tactics or heighten the threat level. Since December 2023, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (a militia label created after October 7th to claim attacks against US targets), has threatened to strike against Israeli linked vessels and ports in the Mediterranean Sea, claiming in late January 2024 a drone attack against the Israeli Ashdod port.

The January 28th attack that killed three US soldiers in Jordan (and wounded more than 40 militaries), was also claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq: it occurred two days later the Houthis had directly targeted for the first time an American destroyer (although the Centcom statement still explains the missile was headed “towards” the USS Carney), also striking a British tanker with an anti-ship ballistic missile.

The Houthi-Iran alliance, which has grown due to the war in Yemen, is built upon similar worldviews, shared strategic interests and, most of all, political convenience. The Houthis still need Iran’s weapons to support long-term fighting in Yemen (and in the Red Sea) and Tehran is well aware that the Yemeni armed movement can provide it with an invaluable door on the Red Sea.

However, the quick rise of the Houthi ´brand` can be a double-edged sword for Iran. The Houthis are now more powerful than ever and their actions are gaining popularity in Yemeni and Middle Eastern audiences. Nevertheless, they conserve autonomy in decision-making.

The Israel-Hamas war marks a turning-point for the Houthis: the fact the Yemeni armed movement is now selling its own ´brand` may, at a certain point, generate divergences with Tehran. As the Houthis continue to disrupt maritime trade despite the US-led naval mission “Prosperity Guardian” and the US-UK raids, Washington could opt for retaliation against the Iranian territory ultimately. This is something both Iran and the US seek to avoid.

Without a ceasefire in Gaza, the Houthis could be tempted to further escalate against US interests in the Red Sea and in the region. Washington –who seems to be still overstating the Iranian leverage on Houthis’ decisions- may retaliate by attacking targets in the Iranian territory at last, as deterrence options get narrow. A scenario that would test the limits of the Houthi-Iran alliance. (Photo:123rf)

Eleonora Ardemagni/ISPI

Ecuador. Alexandra Narvaez & Alex Lucitante. “We are people, who care for the earth”.

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 resulted in a historic legal victory in October 2018, when Ecuador’s courts cancelled 52 illegal gold mining concessions, which were illegally granted without the consent of their Cofán community. The community’s legal success protects 79,000 acres of pristine, biodiverse rainforest in the headwaters of Ecuador’s Aguarico River, which is sacred to the Cofán.

The ancestral territory of the Cofán of Sinangoe, located in northern Ecuador around the Cayambe-Coca National Park, covers more than 1,500 square miles of rainforests, wetlands, glacial lagoons, and snowcapped mountains, including the Cayambe volcano. The area is home to 3,000 species of plants, 50 mammal species, 650 bird species, and 100 types of reptiles and amphibians. Additionally, the region is among the most carbon-dense pockets in the Amazon.

The Cofán territory lies inside a biodiverse tropical forest at the headwaters of the Aguarico River, a tributary of the Amazon River. The Cofán are a small nation, numbering just 1,200, and their culture is deeply connected to the land and water. Their way of life depends upon the rivers and forests, with a reliance on subsistence agriculture, hunting, and wild harvesting.

Despite Cofán land titles, the Ecuadorian government has not completely recognized the ancestral lands of the Cofán community, which has protected the territory for thousands of years. The rainforest located within Cofán territory is continuously under threat from illegal logging, small-scale illegal mining, and poaching. Instead of advancing further protection of this biodiversity hotspot, the government has pressed for opening the area up to large-scale gold mining.

Alex Lucitante, 31, and Alexandra Narvaez, 32, are two young Cofán who felt a profound responsibility to protect their ancestral territory and the source of their culture and livelihoods. Alex comes from a family of traditional healers and is a member of the Ceibo Alliance, an Indigenous coalition that unites various groups to protect their territories, rights, and cultures. He hopes to become an attorney to be able to continue to help the Cofán and others defend their territory and way of life.

Alexandra grew up knowing that her role was to defend women and her territory, and to lift the voices of the voiceless. Along with Cofán youths and elders, she formed a forest patrol called La Guardia in 2017 to monitor and halt illegal activities taking place in their territory. Alexandra is also part of an association of women called Shamec’co, of which she’s been the president since 2019. The group seeks to safeguard Cofán territory for the next generations.

In 2017, La Guardia began spotting makeshift mining encampments along the riverbanks in remote parts of their land and within the national park, with loggers, poachers, and illegal gold miners operating actively.

Soon after, in January 2018, during land patrols along the Aguarico River, the Cofán discovered heavy machinery designed to excavate on a large scale. Upon further investigation, they learned that the Ecuadorian government had issued 20 large-scale mining concessions with 32 more concessions pending. The concessions were granted in Cofán territory on the periphery of the national park—without informing or consulting the community.

Upon the discovery of mining operations and concessions, Alex and Alexandra first sought to unify the Cofán and develop a plan to protect their land. The duo supported the community in the development of a strategy to monitor the area affected by the mining. They stepped up patrols by foot and boat to spot and report illegal mining, logging, and fishing in the territory.

They placed camera traps along remote trails to photograph illegal incursions, used GIS tools to map threats to the land, and operated drones over rivers and creeks to document illegal activities from above. The patrols and evidence-gathering led to a meticulous archive of images, footage, and maps that would become critical evidence in the Cofán legal challenge of the mining concessions.

While Alexandra organized the patrols and served as the spokesperson for the community of Sinangoe, Alex spearheaded the legal and media strategies. He coordinated legal trainings, organized downriver communities to join the campaign, formed a media campaign to generate national and international support, and helped bring on more than 60 national and international organizations and 14 local communities into the campaign.

In early 2018, the duo led the Cofán community in the filing of a lawsuit against Ecuador’s government for violating their rights as an Indigenous community and illegally granting mining concessions without free, prior, and informed consent.

In July 2018, Ecuador’s provincial court nullified the 52 mining concessions that the government had granted in violation of the Cofán right to consultation. The Ecuadorian government appealed the ruling and court proceedings continued for three months. The duo organized delegations of Cofán and neighbouring Indigenous groups to demonstrate in front of the courthouse.

Then, in October 2018, the court ruled again in favour of the Cofán. The Court also ruled that the concessions violated the right to a healthy environment and clean water, calling for remediation of the area damaged by previous mining activity. All current mining operations were halted and pending concessions were canceled. The decision closed the door to gold mining in their homeland.

Alex and Alexandra led the Cofán community of Sinangoe to a landmark legal victory that protected the headwaters of the Aguarico River and 79,000 acres of primary rainforest from gold mining. The victory has set a key precedent in Ecuador, where the country’s Constitutional Court is using the case as an example—with a public hearing in the Amazon in November 2021—of how to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples and guarantee free, prior, and informed consent.

In 2022 they received the Goldman Environmental Prize – known as the ‘green Nobel’ – for their efforts. “Now the survival of our people is guaranteed,” says Lucitante.

Narváez believed their victory was something for the whole world to celebrate. “All Indigenous people and nationalities won, so this represents a historic moment for all,” she says. “We all walk on the same land so let’s unite. Because the future that we are fighting for belongs to all of us.”

(The Goldman Environment Report – Photo Goldman Environmental Prize)

 

Photo Gallery – Jubilee 2025. Pilgrims of Hope

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