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Economy. Oil & Gas and Green hydrogen.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

The government is focusing on green hydrogen to diversify the rapidly growing economy, aiming for growth in the renewable energy sector. The country is among those most suffering from the climate crisis with increasingly frequent and destructive floods and longer
periods of drought.

On the one hand, the prospect of becoming Africa’s third largest gas exporter in a few years, after Nigeria and Algeria; on the other, extreme vulnerability to the effects of climate change. This is the contradictory situation Mauritania is facing in the short and medium term.
It is one of the least densely populated and poorest countries on the African continent: less than 5 million inhabitants live on a territory of 1,030,700 km², of which 2.3 – according to Unicef – live in conditions of multidimensional poverty. The West African state, however, has years of economic growth ahead of it, the International Monetary Fund predicts the +5.1% forecast for 2024 will reach +14.3% in 2025.

The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim is an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. Photo: Courtesy by BP p.l.c.

The reason for this giant leap forward can be found in the coming into operation of the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim offshore gas extraction project. The field is located 120 Km off the coast of the country, along the maritime borders shared with Senegal, at a depth of 2,850 metres. Operated by BP and Kosmos Energy, Grand Tortue Ahmeyim will reach full capacity in 2025 and by 2030 could produce 10 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year.
Europe is eager to find alternatives to Russian gas and is therefore following the development of the project with interest. NJ Ayuk, executive director of the African Energy Chamber (an energy group based in South Africa), explains that around 15 trillion cubic feet of gas could potentially be extracted from the site. “Taking advantage of its strategic location and the strong European demand, the field is perfectly in line with the European Union’s goal of reducing Russian gas imports by two-thirds by the end of 2024,” he comments.
The 100,000 barrels per day Sangomar oil field is expected to come online in 2025. The Sandiara plant is being equipped to obtain electricity from gas and expectations are also increasing regarding the reserves of the BirAllah field, estimated at 80 trillion cubic feet. Additionally, Mauritania’s national oil company is trying to rehabilitate the Banda gas field, which is expected to contain another trillion cubic feet.
Among the most active investors are France and Qatar. “TotalEnergies is conducting exploratory activities,” NJ Ayuk continues, “QatarEnergy in April 2023 had instead finalized the acquisition from Shell of a 40% stake in the C-10 offshore block”, where several sources of oil were found.

Growing Economy
The Nouakchott government expects to collect an Ouguiya equivalent of 20 million dollars (2% of the national GDP) in 2024 and 2.6 billion dollars in 2025, from the exports of gas extracted from the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim. This money alone, however, will not be enough to implement the structural transformation of the economy that the country needs, as reported in the latest Country Diagnostic Note drawn up by the African Development Bank. If it is true that the government, led since 2019 by President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, has so far kept the threat of Jihadist infiltration under control, guaranteeing the country political stability in a region with strong coup traction such as the Sahel, Mauritania must, however, cope with several other age-old problems.

The desert allows agriculture on just 0.5% of arable land over the entire national territory. File smw

The desert allows agriculture on just 0.5% of arable land over the entire national territory. In vast rural areas, access to electricity, drinking water and sanitation services is very low. Energy dependence on fossil fuels and on investments made in the sector by foreign companies, and economic dependence on China, which last August cancelled 18.5 million euros of debt owed by Mauritania, risk keeping the country at a standstill despite the enormous reserves of raw materials at its disposal.

Climate Crisis
Added to this are the devastating effects of the climate crisis, with increasingly frequent and destructive floods and longer periods of drought. Between 2000 and 2021, across sub-Saharan Africa, Mauritania was the third country to have suffered the greatest impacts on this front after Somalia and Swaziland.
The World Bank Report “Navigating the Storm – How urbanisation and climate change exacerbate the Risk of flooding in Mauritania”, finds that the damage caused by flooding to infrastructure in the last rainy season cost the country’s economy 3% of its GDP.

The country has been suffering from long periods of drought. File swm

The study underlines that without the adoption of a unified institutional framework that provides for coordinated responses to these emergencies, and without the adoption of a new regulatory system that promotes the development of cities and population centres that are more resilient to climate change, starting from more prudent management of water resources, the ongoing urbanization processes, linked to the gradual growth of the population and the abandonment of rural areas, will come face to face with the fury of the next
natural disasters.

Green Hydrogen
Alongside these policies of adaptation to the climate crisis, interesting growth opportunities are also opening up for the country in the renewable energy sector. Mauritania has around 700 thousand km² of land in which to install solar panels and wind turbines. Overall, there is talk of a potential of 350 gigawatts of energy to be obtained from these sources. The International Energy Agency’s report, “Renewable Energy Opportunities for Mauritania”, indicates that increasing energy generation capacity from renewable sources could help the country reduce the impact of extractive activities which currently cover almost a quarter of its national GDP.
The use of solar and wind power systems to start the energy generators that power mining activities, replacing diesel and heavy fuel oil, would guarantee greater energy security and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. For now, however, the interests of foreign companies and governments are focused on green hydrogen.

From right, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould El-Ghazaouani, and President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Photo: European Commission.

In March 2023 the Mauritanian government signed a 34-billion-dollar agreement with Infinity Power Holding, a joint venture between Egyptian Infinity, Emirati Masdar and German Conjuncta GmbH, for the realization of the Aman project which involves the construction of a plant producing 8 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year. “The 15 GW project marks a turning point in the field of African renewables”, NJ Ayuk continues, “TotalEnergies and Chariot are also developing another 10 GW project called Nour”. The European Union also wants to invest in green hydrogen “cultivated” in Mauritania. In a meeting held in Nouakchott at the beginning of February 2024 with President Ghazouani, the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, confirmed that member countries will look at the projects in the pipeline in Mauritania to achieve the objective of producing ten million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 at a national level. The first part of this agreement will be the financing of the new road infrastructure between Nouakchott and Nouadhibou, where one of the hubs under development is located. (Illustration:123rf)

Rocco Bellantone

Sister Nelly, a mother for women prisoners.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

For more than twenty-five years, Sr. Nelly Leòn Correa from Chile has accompanied inmates in and outside the prison and created the “Mujer, Levántate” (Woman, Stand Up) Foundation for them. A testimony of faith and courage.

An open smile and eyes that exude sweetness. A sweetness that she inherited from her mother. But at the age of 17, she lost her mother and thought she could not cope with such great pain.
Instead, this suffering would give her the strength to continue. She moved to the capital Santiago and studied to become a religious teacher, living in a rented room.

To support herself, she worked as a maid and then in a laundry. Once she finished her studies, Nelly dedicated herself to teaching the poorest girls and while she carried out this service, she witnessed the abuse of a seven-year-old girl by an adult. The crime would go unpunished and this set Nelly wondering how she could help poor girls and women build a better future, not only economically, but above all in terms of values and spirituality. She began to talk to a priest who suggested a path that she had never considered, the religious vocation.

In the 1980s, without her father’s consent, she joined the Congregation of the Good Shepherd, a community of Catholic nuns who for over two hundred years have dedicated themselves to accompanying women in vulnerable situations, especially those deprived of their freedom.

In 1986 she took her first religious vows. Her first mission was to serve in a shelter for poor girls, many of whom were abandoned, and she remained with them for several years, deeply experiencing motherhood, loving and caring for each girl as a child of her own heart.

In 1999 she was sent to the city of Valparaíso, to accompany women in prison. And although this had always been her great religious dream, behind bars she found a much harsher and more painful reality than she expected. Behind those women, she saw so many broken lives, and so much anguish, to the point that she thought she could no longer continue her work. But her faith, and her great ability to empathize with others, helped her to resist and continue.

In 2005 she returned to the city of Santiago, on a mission to the largest women’s prison in the country. This time her heart broke as she saw the miserable conditions in which the inmates lived and the lack of respect for their dignity. Her impact is so strong that Sister Nelly admits she experienced a profound crisis of faith, questioning how God allowed his daughters to live in such misery. But she didn’t give up.

She decided to listen to those women and get to know them so that they would realise that their lives are important to her, and know that someone in the world cares about them. This also moved her to study for a master’s degree in Psychospiritual Accompaniment, to better respond to the needs of many women wounded by society and
by their own mistakes.

The first fruit of this new challenge was the creation of a shelter for women who are released from prison and who, in order not to fall back into the same mistaken ways, should not return to the places where they committed crimes.

With very few material resources, but with the strength of her conviction, Sister Nelly formed a network of collaborators that eventually gave life to the “Mujer, Levántate” Foundation. What was initially just a temporary reception project, became a permanent service that seeks to empower women in prison so that, when they regain their freedom, they can be better prepared to integrate into society. For this reason, the Foundation is currently working on their personal, relational, psychological, spiritual and work skills.

The impact of the “Mujer, Levántate” programs, which assists 250 women every year, is such that only 6% of those who benefit from this program commit crimes again, while the national re-offending rate is 50 percent. “It is not a personal goal, but that of the professional team that accompanies the girls. When they arrive, they are shattered into pieces and the Foundation tries to put them back together again.”

The meetings with psychologists and social workers are fundamental, but equally so is the embrace of God through the smile, the welcome and the trust that Sister Nelly accords to each one of them when they arrive at the Foundation’s house for their journey of reintegration into society. “It is perhaps the only occasion in which they experience the goodness of the Lord in their lives, despite the mistakes they have made and without being asked for anything in return”, the Sister continues.

Between 2020 and 2021, during the lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, Chilean prisons prohibited people from entering or leaving. Only new inmates could enter. Sister Nelly asked to remain inside the women’s prison in Santiago and spent 18 months there, without ever being able to leave.

Without having been sentenced to any prison sentence, she felt free to live and serve in prison, and became a sister to all women deprived of freedom, experiencing the drama of imprisonment in her flesh, in a spirit of fraternity. Sr Nelly comments: “Having shared imprisonment with the inmates was the most beautiful experience of my life”.

Today, Sr. Nelly is involved in strengthening the projects of the “Mujer, Levántate” Foundation and in expanding the shelter, where women make the transition to civilian life after regaining their freedom. Last February in Abu Dhabi, Sr. Nelly received the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity. (R.L.)
(Photo: Zayed Award for Human Fraternity)

The Asian Faces of Mary.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

Non-Christians venerate Mary in Asia. Mary stands as an interreligious bridge that belongs to everyone. She is the most universal religious figure on the continent. Professor Michael Chamboni, coordinator of the Asian Catholic Studies Initiative, explains why.

At Novena church, the most famous church in Singapore, it is not uncommon to see Muslim and Hindu devotees bringing their petitions to Mary. These non-Catholic visitors come to this shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help for many reasons. Some visitors explain that when they were young, they went to a Catholic school and got in the habit of making vows to the Virgin. They pray according to their religious tradition but keep Mary in their own spiritual life. They do not want to convert to Christianity but value the figure of Mary.

Singapore. The Church of Saint Alphonsus, or Novena Church as it is more popularly known. (facebook)

Hindus and Muslim
Through the many places of pilgrimage, Mary can be found at the centre of the great inter-religious circuits of Asia. In India, for example, thousands of Hindu devotees go to Our Lady of Velankanni (Tamil Nadu), where Mary is said to have appeared in the 16th and 17th centuries, to pray and make vows.
Concerned with health, family, or work issues, these Hindu devotees join Catholic pilgrims to seek help from Mary. They make vows, promise material offerings, specific actions, and hope for progress. Ultimately, these Hindu devotees look after Mary’s capacity to improve things.

Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu. It is known as the Lourdes of the East. CC BY-SA 4.0/ Matthew T Rader

This pan-religious nature of Marian devotions can challenge our understanding of religion. Modern people tend to believe that religions are coherent bodies of doctrines defined by a set of scriptures and a specific clergy. Religions are often presented as a system of beliefs and practices. But with the venerations of Mary by Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist devotees, this supposedly universal definition of religion does not work. Religious practices do not always fit into predefined doctrines
and coherent systems.

Mary in the homes
Mary cannot be reduced to public worship sites. She is the most common religious figure in the domestic sphere. Her statues and images are commonly found inside the living rooms and bedrooms of numerous Asian people. Between the individual heart of people and their public sanctuaries and churches, there is their private home. This space is an essential realm of their religious life.
At home, Mary may escape from regulations promoted by state and religious authorities. This was the case with Maria Kannon in Edo Japan. Today, Jesuit Aristotle Dy reports that inside Chinese-Filipino houses that he visited, Mary can sometimes be found next to a statue of Guanyin. The two receive the same incense offering and are portrayed by her devotees as emanations of the same principle.

Maria Kannon in Edo Japan. Photo: Gemeinfrei/ Iwanafish

In other words, the predominance of Mary within the intimacy of the domestic sphere, where she can coexist with various religious traditions and practices, invites us to question our tendency to reduce religion to its public and compartmentalized display. Simply put, either at home or at public pilgrimage sites, Marian devotees are not easily reducible to their predefined religions. They assert their hopes and needs that are often shaped by religious languages, sociopolitical realities, and cultural habits. Challenging our preconceptions, people draw inspiration from different sources and traditions. For many, religious life is not limited to a system or a social belonging. It is also made of interpersonal relationships with a variety of other-worldly figures.
Subsequently, the variety of these Marian devotions invites us to also reconsider cross-religious hybridity and encounters. If Mary invites us to rethink religion, she also challenges many discourses on interreligious dialogue. In Singapore, India, and Vietnam, some political forces have long promoted an understanding of religions in which the risk for intercommunal violence is always highlighted.
In their eyes, religions make people highly emotional and irrational. Therefore, in highly diverse societies, the state must closely monitor religions and religious leaders to prevent interreligious violence. But this characterization of religions is also a way to reinforce the legitimacy of the state and its control over people. For instance, in Indonesia, interfaith marriages are made illegal by the state.
But pan-religious Marian devotions provide a different understanding of interreligious relations. First, we saw that religions cannot be reduced to predefined and mutually exclusive systems. Lived religions are more creative, mixed, and flexible. Second, Mary shows that faith practitioners can ignore established authorities and official doctrines to cross boundaries without killing each other. Pious people can generate a wide range of cross-religious devotions and pilgrimages to build forms of communion inside socio-religious diversity.

Mary as an interreligious bridge
Despite concerns for narrowly defined orthodoxy, Mary stands as an interreligious bridge that belongs to everyone.
Silently, she is a popular ally to build religious coexistence and prevent intercommunal violence. In practice, she offers an alternative to vertical control and condescendence.
Although the cross-religious nature of Marian devotions may raise legitimate concerns about syncretism, there is a lot to learn from it. The universality of Mary in Asia helps us to revisit the ways we understand religion, interreligious relations, and religious regulations.
Nevertheless, and this will be my final point, this cross-religious nature of Marian devotions may also help us to question our definition of Asian religions. What makes a religion Asian? How is Mary part of this Asianization and de-Asianization of religious traditions?

Mary stands as an interreligious bridge that belongs to everyone. (facebook)

In her book, “Race, Gender, and Religion in the Vietnamese Diaspora”, sociologist Thien-Huong Ninh presents the transformations that Our Lady of La Vang has gone through during the past few decades. This Marian devotion is based on an apparition of Mary in the late 18th century near the village of La Vang (central Vietnam). One intriguing aspect is that until the end of the 20th century, Our Lady of La Vang was represented through artistic features rooted in a European style. Mary looked like a Westerner.
In the late 1990s, however, Vietnamese bishops got inspired by Van Nhan Tran, a U.S.-based Vietnamese artist, and began to promote representations of Our Lady of La Vang wearing traditional Vietnamese outfits such as white traditional clothes (áo dài) and a golden headdress.
Soon, this Vietnamese version of Mary became extremely popular throughout the Vietnamese diaspora and in Vietnam. In the USA, she became the center of the largest Marian pilgrimage in the country. In October 2023, a shrine of our Lady of La Vang was even inaugurated near Fatima, Portugal.

Vietnam. Our Lady of La Vang. (facebook)

Our Lady of La Vang
For some Vietnamese, this version of Our Lady of La Vang is a matter of national pride. Meanwhile, for others, it is a symbol of the harmonious diversity that Catholicism supposedly represents. Her worldwide popularity relates to different political contexts, migratory patterns, and international imaginaries. But Our Lady of La Vang also illustrates the constant remaking of Catholicism as an Asian religion. Despite modern prejudices, the papal religion has long been and continues to recast itself as a religion of Asia. In this process, Mary is an important factor to consider. In conclusion, Marian devotions deserve more than intellectual disdain, pious blindness, or doctrinal reinforcement. If they challenge various ideologies and doctrines, they also remind us that devotional practices are well alive, owned by all, and able to address all sorts of hopes, concerns, and needs.
Despite our necessary dogma, Mary is not easy to capture. Despite our comforting devotions, she is never as immaculate as one may assume. Despite a certain modern push to either marginalize or idealize her role within Christianity, her popularity forces us to re-envision her exact significance.
Asian devotions highlight her centrality to the dialogue that Asian people cultivate with Christian and non-Christian traditions. Mary in Asia remains an intriguing question taking us beyond our comfort zone. With her colorful devotees, she is a challenging figure who invites us to reconsider our religious position and the ways we conceptualize religion, Catholicism, and interfaith dialogue.

A ‘Catholic Toolkit for Young Europeans’ ahead of 2024 EU elections.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

As the 2024 European elections approach, COMECE (Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union) has released the ‘Catholic Toolkit for Young Europeans’.

This comprehensive toolkit aims to empower young people across Europe to actively engage in the democratic process, guided by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching.

Developed by the COMECE Youth Platform, which brings together Catholic youth organizations active at the EU level, this toolkit includes resources and insights specifically tailored for young people
and youth organizations.

It provides them with essential tools to communicate about the EU elections and navigate the often-unclear context of the upcoming elections. Focusing on encouraging voter participation, the toolkit underscores the importance of civic engagement and the pivotal role of youth in shaping Europe’s future.

“We hope that this tool will be useful for young people and will motivate them to take active part in political life, starting from the coming EU elections. We encourage them to be aware of the importance of their vote as a concrete way to contribute to the European
project that is their future”, says Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto, General Secretary of COMECE.

The toolkit offers a diverse array of resources, including informative content, reflection questions, and practical guidance on the electoral process. Inspired by Catholic Social Teaching, it motivates young people to reflect on the ethical aspects of their political involvement, emphasising values like solidarity, justice, and human dignity.

Structured into five main sections, each begins with a relevant quote from an Encyclical letter or Apostolic exhortation. The toolkit delves into topics such as politics, citizenship, the Common Good, European identity, and critical thinking. At the end of each section, questions prompt readers to reflect on the material and consider their decisions in light of the upcoming elections.

Additionally, the toolkit offers practical insights into the European election process, including useful links for young people. These resources aim to help them understand how to vote and the impact of the European Union on citizens at the local and regional levels.

With the support of the COMECE Youth Net, the toolkit has been translated into 13 languages. This ensures that all young people can understand its messages and share the materials with their peers.

The COMECE Youth Platform equips young people with the knowledge and resources they need to actively participate in the elections, fostering a culture of active citizenship and democratic participation among Europe’s youth.

Download the toolkit [online – printable]

Music. The soul of Madagascar.

Wednesday, 1 May 2024 8:00

Malagasy music is a rainbow of vivid colours, cheerful and full of rhythm. A mix of traditional folk and modern sounds, it is all there to be heard and experienced.

Madagascar is a land both complicated and wonderful. Inhabited since 2000 BC. by a people coming from Indonesia, it was discovered by the Portuguese in the 16th century; then came the Dutch, the English and the French who made it a protectorate and then a colony in the 19th century. Independence came in 1960, the very year in which, in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of the capital Antananarivo, a certain Paul Bert Rahasimanana was born, destined, with the stage name of Rossy, to become one of the most representative musical icons of his land.

Paul Bert Rahasimanana, more commonly known by his stage name Rossy, is a popular musician in Madagascar. CC BY-SA 3.0/ Sudplanète

Rossy began to receive notice in his early twenties with his music inspired by the songs and style of a band called Mahaleo, popular in the 1970s.Rossy developed his own style following the same recipe: mixing traditional folk with modern sounds by writing songs full of references to the social situation of the country: protest and value-based folk songs not far from those of Bob Dylan but full of references to third world problems.Malagasy music is a rainbow of vivid colours, it is cheerful and full of rhythm; accordions and guitars (including electric) and flutes abound, but also a typical instrument called valiha, a kind of zither made with large bamboo canes whose strings are made from bark threads of the same plant.

A valiha player. The valiha is a tube zither made from a species of local bamboo; it is considered the “national instrument” of Madagascar. CC BY-SA 3.0/ Rob Hooft

The first to establish themselves on the international scene were Les Surf, active between ’63 and ’71, especially in French-speaking countries; but if Les Surf imitated the pop and yeyè groups in vogue at the time, Rossy, like his inspirers, brought to the West the authenticity of a musical tradition still almost unknown outside his homeland.
Thanks, above all to the global rock star Peter Gabriel who at the beginning of the Nineties published his second album Island of Ghosts on his Real World label and the following one, with the emblematic title of One Eye on the Future, One Eye on the Past. With modern music – known as Salegy in Malagasy – which had its main exponent in Eugene Jaojoby, Rossy and his songs revealed the same overwhelming communicative force – almost impossible to listen to while standing still – but with an elegant and modern approach attributable to the best worldwide music and at the same time transcending mere entertainment to become a profound expression of the culture of its people. (Open Photo: Young Malagasy woman with a child.123rf)

Franz Corlasco

Iran. Ayatollahs, bombs & Barbies.

Monday, 1 April 2024 8:00

Democratic states are all alike; every autocratic state is autocratic in its own way. Democracies are alike in featuring universal suffrage, striving for a body of robust accountable institutions and political practice, and sustaining a vibrant civil society. Autocracies, however, have strikingly distinctive features.

Take Iran and China. Despite common features for example, Iran like China now wants spies to harass and report back on dissidents in the UK and alternates brutal repression of dissent with reform and diplomatic activity. Putin, of course, brazenly carries out political assassinations of exiles, and opposition leaders such as Alexei Navalny. But Iran’s religious history has created its own unique political dynamics.

Reformists can become President in Iran. Towards the end of Muhammad Khatami’s time as Iran’s President, 1997-2005, I used to visit Tehran for formal sessions of interfaith dialogue, a rare opportunity to observe the interaction of religion and politics. In 2003, seeking better relations with the USA, Khatami offered G.W. Bush a “grand bargain deal” signed off by the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Prolonged behind-the-scenes negotiations at the UN had led the Iranians, in return for the lifting of debilitating economic sanctions, to offer to end support for Hamas and to pressure Hezbollah to stand down its military wing. A way would have been opened for Iran to join the WTO. Bush did not reply – arguably a costly lost opportunity.

President Reagan went on a six-day visit to China in 1984. In comparison, after the capture of diplomat hostages during the revolutionary fervour of Ayatollah Khomeini’s takeover in 1979, and after the West’s support for Iraq in the war against Iran (1980-1988), the Islamic Republic became what might be called the USA’s official enemy.

Bush, who included Iran alongside North Korea and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in his “axis of evil”, was in thrall to a neo-con clique, led by his Vice-President Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld (Secretary of Defense). They were pushing for regime change and had destabilisation plans. Iran was not about to be visited by a US President.

The Iranian State, its constitution, politics and power structures, are complex, opaque and sui generis. The Foreign Minister, for example, is appointed by the President, but the Judiciary and Supreme Court by the Supreme Leader, the name given to Ayatollah Khomeini and his successor. Ali Khamenei (84), the ultra-authoritarian Supreme Leader for 35 years since 1989, with the IRCG, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as his military base, can block Presidential initiatives.
The constitution makes tension between elected and religious
authority inevitable.

Both President Khatami and President Hassan Rouhani 2013-2021, who had studied in Britain, were by Iranian standards reformists. They were both succeeded by hardliners. The White House was partly to thank for provoking reactionary policy change. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, mayor of Tehran, who followed Khatami in 2005, was something of a religious fanatic, anti-American and anti-Israel. Ebrahim Raisi, elected President in 2021 after Rouhani, was a protégé of the Supreme Leader and a former member of a four-man prosecution committee which in 1988, according to Amnesty International, executed political prisoners in their thousands, many by hanging from cranes.

Whilst President, Rouhani achieved a major diplomatic breakthrough. In 2015 The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Acton (JCPOA) limited Iran’s development of nuclear power to peaceful purposes – as had Khatami when President. Signed by China, Russia, France, Germany, UK, the EU and the USA, the agreement gave Rouhani a timetable for the lifting of sanctions which had been wrecking Iran’s economy.

At a reception in London a few years ago I asked former President Khatami about Shi’a teaching on nuclear weapons. ‘Haram’ (forbidden) he said. ‘Haram for use?’ I queried. ‘Haram for use and possession’, he replied with emphasis in English. We await the day Patriarch Kirill of Moscow declares that Russia’s nuclear weapons are forbidden.

A Guardian Council appointed by the Supreme Leader selects nominees for the Presidential elections. In 2017, Ibrahim Raisi, by then Chief Justice of Iran, stood against Rouhani who was seeking a second term and was trounced getting 38% of the vote against Rouhani’s 57% on a 73% voter turnout with 3% of votes invalid. But in 2021 Raisi won the presidential elections with 62% of the vote on a 48% – post-revolution lowest – turn-out with 13% of the votes invalid.

What had happened in the interim? Trump had happened: providing a damaging example of American impact on Iran’s internal affairs. After only a few months in office, Trump refused certification for lifting sanctions on Iran and, on 8 May 2018, withdrew from the JPCOA. Rouhani and the reformers were discredited, the hardliners rejoiced, Raisi had a virtually clear run at the presidency, the centrifuges whirled away again seeking to produce enough weapons grade uranium for a bomb. The American neo-cons had undermined the Iranian reformers.

What of Iranian civil society? The world witnessed mass protests in 2022-2023 after Mahsa Amini died from police beating. The women and men of Women, Life, Freedom, were brutally repressed by Raisi’s murderous security apparatus. The protesters’ courageous defiance and greater numbers than those facing Putin’s mafia in Russia shocked the Iranian government. Iran’s civil society has paid a high price for Bush and Trump’s policies. Iranian foreign and external security policy may have positive nationalist support and tacit approval.

Iranian culture is, of course, strikingly different from that of China and Russia. I witnessed a telling little cultural clash between Iran’s governed and government in 2002. To counteract the attraction and influence of western Barbie dolls the religious authorities announced the launch of Iranian dolls, Dara and Sara, dressed in traditional fashion in keeping with Islamic values.

Guided by the wife of a friend I plunged into the Tehran bazaar, crowded with women, black hijabs and chadors all around, intending to buy the new dolls to take home for the grandchildren. I discovered a silent revolt against the velayat e-faqih, the rule of the mullahs. No Dara and Sara. Lots of Barbies.

Weeks after my return home a letter arrived inviting me to the Iranian embassy. I had written an article critical of Iran’s human rights record ending on a light note with my failed quest for Dara and Sara. I guessed a ban on future entry to Iran awaited me. At the Embassy I was ushered into a large hall and seated at an isolated table with a covering cloth and flowers – hiding a microphone I assumed. There, as I expected, my host upbraided me at length for my ‘negativity about Iran’. Then he lifted the tablecloth and presented me with Dara and Sara. Urbane, unexpected and sophisticated diplomacy.

Today Iran is in the hands of particularly dangerous hardline characters. But in the future, there may be more opportunities for liberalising change than in other autocracies. For this is not Putin’s Russia or Xi’s China. There are still Khatamis and Rouhanis in the wings. Twenty years ago, the autocratic, black and traditional world of Dara and Sara could dialogue with the democratic, pink and modern world of Barbie. Let’s hope one day another opportunity for dialogue and negotiation will arise and not be thrown away – however bleak the picture is today.(Photo:The various kinds of local-style dolls are sold in the Grand Bazaar Market Imam Square of Isfahan for tourists as souvenirs. These dolls dress up like an Iranian people. Shutterstock/ Chaton Chokpatara)

Ian Linden
Professor at St Mary’s University,
Strawberry Hill, London.

Chinese Energy Expansion in Central Asia.

Monday, 1 April 2024 8:00

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.

Monday, 1 April 2024 8:00

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.

Monday, 1 April 2024 8:00

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.

Monday, 1 April 2024 8:00

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.

Monday, 1 April 2024 8:00

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.

Monday, 1 April 2024 8:00

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)

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