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Social-economic inequality.

Friday, 1 September 2023 8:00

According to the estimates of the last census, carried out in 2022, the Dominican Republic has a population of 10,695,000. Of these 3/4, equal to 73% are mestizos, 16% white and 11% black.

The other minor ethnic groups present in the country are Asians, especially Chinese, and Europeans (mainly Spanish). There is also a small presence of Jewish migrants, made up of about 600 people, which originated between 1940 and 1945 thanks to the visas granted by the Dominican government to allow them to escape Nazi persecution
during the Second World War.
The Dominican Republic is also home to small but vibrant communities of Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians who arrived during the Ottoman Empire period of the early 20th century. All of these groups have made great contributions to the growth and culture of the Dominican Republic, and this is reflected in the food, customs, and celebrations of the various regions of the country.

Santo Domingo City. CC BY 4.0/ Ronny Medina. About one million people live in the capital.

Spanish is the official language with variations spoken in different parts of the country and the Spanish dialect that is commonly used is Dominican Spanish, a subset of Caribbean Spanish based on the Canarian and Andalusian dialects of southern Spain. This language borrows some words from the Arawak language and from the African languages spoken by the populations who arrived on the island, including some words from archaic Spanish.
From an administrative point of view, the country is divided into 31 provinces which must be added the district of the capital Santo Domingo which constitutes the major economic and cultural centre, as well as the oldest European city in the ‘new world’, since the year of its foundation dates back to 1496. About one million inhabitants live there, while the entire metropolitan area, called Gran Santo Domingo, has a much higher population of about 2.6 million. In addition to Santo Domingo, the main cities include Santiago de los Caballeros with about one million inhabitants, Los Alcarrizos which has 245,000, and La Romana 225,000. The rest of the population live in smaller urban centres, while around 30% of the population live in rural areas.

The Basilica-Cathedral of Our Lady of Altagracia in Salvaleón de Higüey. Around 70% of the population belongs to the Catholic church. Photo: Ph

From a religious point of view, about 70% of the inhabitants belong to the Catholic faith, 20% adhere to the Protestant faith, and the remainder follow Islam, Judaism, Caribbean Vodou, Eastern religions or other beliefs, or declare themselves non-religious. It must be said that the Catholic Church, over the centuries, has contributed decisively to the socio-economic development of the Dominican Republic through the implementation of numerous development projects and the creation
of schools and hospitals.
The living conditions that the population has to deal with are not at all satisfactory. Despite the economic growth of the last decade, it is estimated that a large portion of the population still live below the poverty line. This is clearly seen in aspects such as the quality of health and the lack of basic means for a large part of the population such as drinking water or electricity. In recent years, this economic and social disparity has generated numerous internal tensions also favoured by the spread of corruption, a social scourge that affects the judicial system and the proper exercise of police activity.
The spread of child prostitution is another direct consequence of the endemic state of poverty of the Dominican population. The phenomenon, which was also accentuated following the economic and financial crisis of 2008, was denounced by the major international organizations also due to the high number of cases which often give incentives to families in a state of poverty. In fact, as the economic crises worsen, there is an increase in the phenomenon which, in addition to minors, involves the adult population, both female and male. The latter is based mostly in tourist resorts such as Boca Chica, Puerto Plata, and Santo Domingo. There is also the international traffic of Dominican women, destined to be exploited above all in Western Europe,
Argentina, Brazil, and Costa Rica.

Illegal Haitian working in the sugar plantation. CC BY 2.0/Fran Afonso

In the last decade, within the political-administrative apparatus, there has also been an increase in individual and group interests, corruptive networks with a significant presence of actual criminal components, which have deeply penetrated and weakened the political system causing a significant reduction of trust in democracy and political parties. These, with few exceptions, end up occupying a grey area that makes the differences between them irrelevant and mobile. At the same time, favouritism has become widespread even among social actors.
These problems are also to be associated with those of Haitian migrants gathered in villages called bateyes, lodgings built among the plantations with recycled materials without sanitary facilities or running water. Many of them, once the harvest period is over, find themselves in the position of not being able to leave the country because they are in debt and illegally present. Their children were born in Dominican territory, but the lack of documents prevents their recognition either by the Dominicans or the Haitians, with the result that basic rights such as access to school and medical care are denied. This limbo, which offers these subjects no alternative, means they must work on the plantations in conditions of slavery, thus fuelling the vicious circle. (Open Photo: ©aleksrybalko/123RF.COM) – F.R.

World Bank. New President, Old Doubts.

Friday, 1 September 2023 8:00

Marrakech will host the annual assemblies of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 9 to 15 October. The event, which marks a return to Africa comes 50 years after the assembly in Kenya. This time the World Bank will be led by a new president. Ajay Banga’s new course faces three challenges: competition with the banks of China and BRICS, involving
private finance, combining efforts against climate change
and the fight against poverty.

The World Bank (WB) – strongly controlled by the USA with a majority share of over 17% – and its president, always nominated by the American administration, cannot fail to take into account the directives coming from Washington. This will also be the case for the new president, who will naturally want to make his personal contribution and at the same time take into consideration, at least in part, the proposals and policies of the other member countries.
The brief declarations of appreciation for the appointment of Ajay Banga – elected on May 3 – by President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, help to understand the new mission. Biden highlighted that Banga “Is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history. He has spent more than three decades building and running successful global companies, creating jobs, and driving investment in developing economies, and guiding organizations through periods of fundamental change. He has a proven track record of managing people and systems and working with global leaders around the world to deliver results”.

President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Photo. Usa Gov.

Biden will support his efforts to transform the World Bank, which “Remains one of humanity’s most important institutions for reducing poverty and expanding prosperity around the world”. For her part, Yellen noted the ability of the new president to mobilize resources and public and private partnerships to face the most urgent issues of our time, including global warming.
As chairman of the World Bank Group, Banga also becomes chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

In competition with two banks
His first task will be geopolitical since it is the ongoing economic, political, and military conflicts that determine the redefinition of global power. The WB will be strengthened to benchmark and blunt the international operations of two other emerging banks, China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), with India as its second-largest shareholder, and the New Development Bank (NDB), created by the group of BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa).

The headquarters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing,. CC BY-SA 4.0/ N509FZ

The AIIB is also the banking and financial instrument of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the so-called New Silk Road, which finances development and infrastructure projects, especially in much of Asia. It undoubtedly reflects Chinese economic and geopolitical interests, but at the same time, it is already able to respond, in part, to the many requests for development from poor countries, especially in Africa.
During the 2019-20 fiscal year, the World Bank disbursed $14.5 billion to Africa, but only a small fraction of that went towards building new infrastructure.By comparison, the African Development Bank (AfDB) disbursed $5.1 billion, most of which went to infrastructure.
In the same year, the AIIB paid $6.23 billion to its Asian members for green infrastructure projects in the fields of energy, water,
and urban development.

The logo of the NDB in the bank’s HQ in Shanghai. CC BY-SA 4.0/ Bb3015

The NDB promotes agro-industrial and infrastructural projects and trade exchanges between the BRICS countries and places the support and involvement of poor and emerging countries among its priorities. In fact, the two banks cover the shortcomings of the WB and in many cases replace it. Furthermore, in their trade and investments they favour the use of local currencies, bypassing the dollar.
They do so not out of a mere anti-American spirit, but because after the Great Crisis of 2008, they know that the entire international financial and monetary system, born in Bretton Woods, is in free fall, and they do not want to be crushed by it.

Challenges and false steps
In the geopolitical operation, Banga will focus on Africa, which will increasingly be the continent where the forces fighting for global hegemony will collide. His international profile is perfect, he knows and frequents world leaders, in recent years he has worked a lot with several African countries and, if necessary, can play the card of his Indian origins, the largest developing country. It is no coincidence that he made a long journey of contacts in many states, especially those of Africa such as Kenya, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, to promote his candidacy.
The second task of the new president is to involve the private financial sector in the activities of the World Bank. “There’s not enough money without the private sector,” he told reporters last March. No one could be against private aid and investment. The real question is one of money for whom and for what really controls and drives operations.

Kenya. Nairobi. In recent years Ajay Banga has worked a lot with several African countries. Photo Swm.

Undoubtedly Banga has vast experience in the field of finance, in particular, however, in the speculative sort, the type that is greedy and insensitive to the needs of the poor and of those who have to fight to improve their basic living conditions. His entourage lets it be known that it is intended to distinguish poor countries from those with acceptable development. The former would depend only on the subsidised credits of the IDA, while the latter, which sometimes already venture into international markets to sell their bonds, could be involved in some form of ‘creative finance’. It is feared that IDA funds will become increasingly scarce in the future.
His previous experience as a MasterCard executive in South Africa can be enlightening. In 2016, he made an agreement with the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and with Net1, a financial services company owned by BM, and with its subsidiary Cash Paymaster Service (CPS) to use MasterCard debit cards for the distribution of pensions and other state benefits.
It was supposed to be an initiative of greater administrative efficiency in support of destitute citizens who in this way could avoid endless queues at the counters, possible muggings, and other problems. It was greeted positively by all as an example of inclusion.

South Africa. Shopping Centre in Johannesburg. When Ajay Banga was a MasterCard executive in South Africa, he made an agreement with the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and with Net1, to use MasterCard debit cards for the distribution of pensions and other state benefits. Photo.Swm

It was an experiment for a potential pool of 500 million people worldwide. It should be borne in mind that, until the end of the last century, the World Bank was openly opposed to electronic money transfers as it feared that they would negatively alter the consumption patterns of the poorest people. The second step, however, was to collect the personal data of at least 18 million citizens. On the basis of this vast source, a series of offers of contracts of various types, small insurances, such as those for funerals, telephone subscriptions, etc. was instigated.
Monthly payments for these services were automatically deducted from debit cards. However, many citizens soon found themselves in great difficulty when they realized that there was very little left for day-to-day living. The most dangerous element was the entry of financial engineering. Given that the flow of money was guaranteed by the state, those who issued the debit cards, the insurance companies and the other financial services involved behaved, in fact, like uncontrolled banks, the so-called shadow banking, and started with securitization, i.e., the issuance of securities based on the value of the contracts in their possession. This is exactly what happened in the 2008 crisis with subprime mortgages and the creation of the gigantic bubble of financial derivatives issued on real estate mortgages. In 2020, the CPS
filed for bankruptcy.

Climate change and poverty
The third task concerns the role of the World Bank in the face of climate change. Banga has said that “poverty reduction and shared prosperity cannot be separated from the challenges of managing nature”. A sacrosanct principle on paper. We need to see how it is handled in reality because not all parts of the world are the same. The Bank’s roughly $100 billion a year to help developing countries cope with climate change is well short of the trillion needed. Many developing nations fear that the focus on climate change will divert attention from the fight against poverty. These countries have been hit hard by the pandemic, rising food and energy prices, and unsustainable debt levels.
It must be noted that on the African continent, a large part of budget expenditure is covered by revenues from energy sources, such as oil, gas and coal, or other raw materials.

Many developing nations fear that the focus on climate change will divert attention from the fight against poverty. 123rf.com

This aspect must be duly taken into account in the so-called green transition. In this regard, we must remember that the centre of global pollution is elsewhere. According to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2050 the United States, China and India together will generate CO2 emissions equal to 42% of the total, more than Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, combined. It would be unacceptable if under the presidency of Banga – a former advisor of BeyondNetZero, the climate change fund of General Atlantic, of which he was vice president – the WB used the ‘ecological yardstick’ to condition its interventions and its investments in the poor countries of Africa. We must bear in mind that its current mission is to end extreme poverty and improve the living conditions of 40% of the citizens of each country who live at the lowest end of income distribution. (Open Photo: Ajay Banga, 14th President of the World Bank Group. WB)

Paolo Raimondi

Africa. UN Peacekeeping missions in crisis.

Friday, 1 September 2023 8:00

Last June, the UN Security Council ended the mandate of MINUSMA in Mali while the DRC government announced the end of MONUSCO’s mandate within six months. There are also tensions between MINUSCA and the Central African government.
Increasingly, African fragile states are banking on private military companies to regain control of their territory.

On the last 30 June, the UN Security Council decided unanimously to end the mandate of MINUSMA, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, following the Bamako authorities’ request for an immediate withdrawal of the blue helmets. As a consequence, the Council adopted resolution 2690 to organise the cessation of its operations, the transfer of its tasks, and the withdrawal of its personnel before 31 December 2023.
This is not the first time a UN mission in Africa has been kicked out: in 2010, the UN operation in Chad (MINURCAT) was asked to leave by President Idriss Déby.
MINUSMA is the UN’s largest operation with a $ 1.26 billion annual budget and 17,430 personnel as against $ 300 million and several hundred staff in the Chadian case.
MINUSMA was established by the Security Council in 2013 after an uprising in northern Mali by armed groups linked to al-Qaeda. Ten years later, its efficiency is questioned by the authorities. The Malian interim government, formed in the wake of the 2020 and 2021 coups, justified its request, citing a “crisis of confidence” with the UN. MINUSMA “has certainly not achieved its fundamental goal of supporting the efforts of the government in securing the country”, said the Malian ambassador to the UN, Issa Konfourou, after the vote.

MINUSMA Peacekeepers in Ménaka Region in Mali. UN Photo/Harandane Dicko

On the 1^st June 2023, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres admitted that fighting was continuing in the North, with Islamic State in the Greater Sahara expanding the area under its control. Meanwhile, in Central Mali, groups affiliated with Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin still pose a significant threat. Between July 2022 and May 2023, 1,002 civilians died and 445 others were injured because of armed conflict. These unsatisfactory results coincided with some 300 fatalities for MINUSMA, making it the deadliest UN peacekeeping operation worldwide. The relations between the UN and Mali also deteriorated sizeably after the publication of a report in May 2023 accusing the Malian Armed Forces and the Russian mercenaries of the Wagner Group to have committed a massacre of 500 civilians at Moura, in Central Mali, in March 2022. The UN withdrawal could bear many consequences. Armed group signatories to the 2015 peace agreement referred to MINUSMA’s departure as a “fatal blow” to the peace process. Several northern armed groups already withdrew from the peace agreement in December 2022. Other sources suggest that such withdrawal will embolden jihadists and put an end to the protection of humanitarian aid operations. The departure of the UN could also deprive the authorities of the UN logistical support for the elections in 2024.
MINUSMA’s departure is also likely to worsen Mali’s international standing, possibly leading to further reductions in international donor engagement. Inevitably, Mali will be more dependent on Wagner. Finally, the departure of MINUSMA raises questions about the future of UN peacekeeping worldwide, says a former political advisor of MONUSCO, the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

MONUSCO Helicopter Operates in Mutwanga, North Kivu. UN Photo/Michael Ali

The days or months of MONUSCO itself are numbered as well. MONUSCO is the third largest UN peacekeeping operation concerning its budget ($ 1.12 bn) after MINUSMA and UNMISS, the UN Mission in South Sudan, whose budget reaches $ 1.2 bn. It is also the third largest in size with a staff of 17 753 after UNMISS (17 954) and MINUSCA, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (17,885). MONUSCO, is present in the DRC since 1999. Yet, Kinshasa announced on 13 June 2023 the withdrawal of MONUSCO within six months.

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix said that the blue helmets would leave Congo “as soon as possible”. UN Photo

The Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix on a visit to Kinshasa on the last 7 June declared that the blue helmets would leave Congo “as soon as possible” but “in a responsible way”. Accordingly, some conditions must be met beforehand. The list includes the decrease of security risks, of the negative impact of armed groups and the increase of the capacities of the Congolese army. On 19 June, MONUSCO’s boss, Bintou Keita confirmed that the departure of MONUSCO was on track but that the withdrawal should take place in a peaceful and worthy way. Besides the conditions mentioned by Lacroix, she spoke of the implementation of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reinsertion of armed group fighters and the organization of credible, transparent, and peaceful elections on time, in December 2023 as prerequisites.
The Congolese Minister of Communication, Patrick Muyaya, said that no date for such withdrawal could be fixed yet. But the Kinshasa government is adamant to put an end to MONUSCO’s mandate. Since 15 November 2022, it is putting pressure on the UN to leave the country. The UN presence in the DRC has become unpopular. By the end of July 2022, angry youth demonstrated against MONUSCO in several cities of Eastern Congo, calling for its withdrawal. Their grievance is that MONUSCO failed to end insecurity in the area.
The lack of combativity of the blue helmets, accused to be “per-diemists” and to be only concerned with cashing high salaries and daily allowances is blamed by the local people. The UN already closed offices in the Kasai and Tanganyika provinces.
In an interview with Radio France Internationale, on 19 September 2022, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres admitted that MONUSCO was unable to fight successfully against the M23 rebels who are active at the Rwandan and Ugandan borders. Accordingly, the M23 is a modern army, with heavy equipment which is more sophisticated than MONUSCO’s one. The statement infuriated Kinshasa. According to Congolese Foreign Minister, such statements are demoralizing Congolese troops.

MONUSCO’s departure will leave thousands of internal displaced persons in Eastern Congo without protection. © UNHCR/Hélène Caux

Nevertheless, MONUSCO’s withdrawal could be postponed for another year since President Felix Tshisekedi needs the UN logistical assistance to transport the ballot boxes and the election kits and to compile the results as it did for previous elections in 2006, 2011 and 2018. Meanwhile, the Congolese authorities have already prepared the alternative by hiring mercenaries. A Bulgarian-registered company called Agemira RDC, led by French businessman Olivier Bazin, signed a deal in May 2022 for the refurbishment and the maintenance of two Russian-made Sukhoi SU-25 fighter aircraft and of two MI-24 attack helicopters, manned by Georgian pilots, on the Goma airbase.
Hundred military instructors from the Romanian private military company Associata RALF led by former French legion officer, Horatiu Potra, arrived in Goma at the end of 2022. Previously Potra trained the Emir of Qatar’s guard and worked as an instructor of Faustin-Archange Touadera’s presidential guard, in the context of a Russian contract. Another consequence of MONUSCO’s departure would be to leave thousands of internal displaced persons in Eastern Congo without protection and to stop reporting about human rights violations.
The mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) expires on 15 November 2023. Since the end of MINUSMA, this mission stands now as the most important UN peacekeeping operation both in terms of budget ($ 1.26 bn) and staff numbers (17,885). Its priorities consist in protecting civilians, the rule of law and humanitarian aid, supporting the peace process, the implementation of the ceasefire and the reform of the security sector and the disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation program.

The mandate of the MINUSCA expires on 15 November 2023. UN Photo

Like other UN missions, MINUSCA is criticized for the misbehaviour of some of its members. On the last 21 June, it decided to repatriate the Tanzanian blue helmets accused of sexual abuse like their colleagues from DRC and Gabon who were repatriated earlier for the same reason. Over the last few years, many other incidents occurred between MINUSCA and the local population. On 21 February 2022, four French soldiers of MINUSCA were arrested at the Bangui airport by the Central African Armed Forces (FACA). In November 2021, the presidential guard shot on a bus transporting Egyptian members of the UN Police and injured ten of them. During that month, the Portuguese Justice revealed that former MINUSCA members of the Portuguese Special Forces were involved in diamond trafficking.
These incidents contributed to deteriorate of the climate between local authorities and MINUSCA, especially after the deployment of 1,200 Wagner mercenaries in 2018 in the context of an agreement with Moscow. These mercenaries have been accused of human rights violations but they have also allowed the Bangui authorities to regain control of most of the cities of the country, point out analysts.

Rwandan peacekeeper in CAR.

MINUSCA’s future seems however less fragile than MINUSMA’s since its relations with Wagner and President Faustin-Archange Touadera are less tense than the UN relationship with the Malian leadership. Unlike in Mali, the blue helmets and Wagner are collaborating with each other, reported the French paper Libération on 5 July 2023.
A key element in the cohesion of the pro-government side in the CAR, is the presence of 2,100 Rwandan troops within MINUSCA and the simultaneous presence of 1,200 Rwandan Defence Force soldiers alongside the FACA in the framework of a bilateral agreement between Bangui and Kigali. Unsurprisingly, all these Rwandan soldiers communicate with each other, which helps to avoid incidents.
A strategic alliance has been set up by Presidents Touadera and Paul Kagame, which goes beyond military services. More than 100 Rwandan companies are registered in the CAR in a number of activities including transport, logistics, tourism, agriculture and real estate. A subsidiary of the Rwandan Crystal Ventures holding has obtained a 25 years concession to open five mines, whereas another company called Afrika Oko is active in the gold and diamonds sectors. To some extent, Rwanda and Wagner have a vested interest in maintaining a working relationship to preserve stability and thereby their respective businesses. (The Egyptian contingent of MINUSMA, based in Douentza in the Mopti region of central Mali. UN Photo/Harandane Dicko)

François Misser

Israel. At the Service of the Bedouin Communities.

Friday, 1 September 2023 8:00

Sister Lourdes García, a Mexican Comboni missionary, works in the Bedouin communities of Jahalin, in the Judean desert. Her testimony.

Assalamu Alaikum (‘Peace be upon you’) is the greeting with which we are greeted every time we visit the Bedouin communities in Palestine. Although the word ‘peace’ is part of the daily encounter, its experience remains a longing that rests in the hearts of many Bedouins. The constant threat of forced displacement by the Israeli government, as well as non-recognition by Palestine, leaves these Bedouin communities in a situation of exclusion, precariousness, and extreme poverty.
For twelve years the Comboni Missionary Sisters have been working in the Bedouin communities of Jahalin, located in the Judean desert. We started in the field of health, then in the field of education, with the creation of kindergartens, and finally in every community with training activities for women. The objective is to improve the education of children so that they can continue their studies, and to promote the integration of women in order to improve the quality of life in the different communities. All this with the help of different organizations that have supported various projects.
A small interreligious network is being created to reach the most vulnerable. My hope is that we can live and work together for the common good, with each one using the strengths of their own faith, whether they are Jews, Muslims, or Christians.

Sister Lourdes García: “To improve the education of children”.

Our faith is proclaimed through daily gestures and actions, putting to the test the evangelical values of welcome, respect, encounter, and generosity, which thus become reality. Bonds of closeness, fraternity, and affection have been created with our Muslim brothers and sisters. Living together the significant moments of their lives, I was able to know, in addition to their culture and their traditions, the intimate reality of these communities. The welcome they give us with their joy, generosity and simplicity make us feel at home from the first moment.
We communicate in Arabic, which we learn to be able to express ourselves. Personally, my communication is still limited, but I am very happy to share life with them and to learn from their simplicity and generosity. Every time I understand them a little more and realize that they too have managed to understand me, I see the grace of God that accompanies me and encourages me to be patient, because I know that through the language, I will get to know them better.

For twelve years the Comboni Missionary Sisters have been working in the Bedouin communities of Jahalin, located in the Judean desert.

We visit communities and families to learn more about their needs and this is a big challenge. During these visits, we have observed various realities, for example, that women get married very young and no longer continue their studies or training. Apparently, families prioritize boys; however, many boys do not continue their studies for various reasons, such as lack of means of transport, economic precariousness or simply because they devote themselves to herding sheep. Furthermore, the vast majority do not know English or Hebrew, which is why they have no opportunities to work outside their environment.
Our missionary commitment also continues with the small Christian community of El-Azariyeh, in the city of Lazarus. It is a small Christian community of about ten families. We meet every week to pray the rosary with the women, organize moments of prayer, and visit the sick.
It is a complex reality that we still have much to learn about and understand, but we are encouraged by a strong desire to continue the mission that the Comboni Sisters started more than a decade ago. Continuity with human promotion, through training courses for women and young people, is a concrete way to make them protagonists
of their own lives.

Towards the 2023 Synod. Synodality, a path of renewal and conversion.

Friday, 1 September 2023 8:00

The synod on synodality focuses on the call for interior renewal and constant conversion. To quote an African adage: “The one who does not dig his field dies of hunger”.

Life is like a seed. Those responsible should regularly check the soil for seed fertility, growth, and flowering. And this is also true in human growth. How can the synod on synodality remain fertile to bear fruit now and in the years to come? The Church is called to continuous purification, recognizing that humanity is a work “in progress”. Neither the person nor the Church is a finished product.
Serious reform is needed above all in the most critical and challenging areas: the renewal of religious life, the role of women in the life of the Church, attention to the little ones and the poor, etc.

A true change of heart requires that we operate in the “Jesus style”. A Church that knows on the one hand to listen to and accompany those who have been victims of abuse, without fear of following the path of radicalism against abuse and on the other recognizes the great contribution of women, the rights of children and the rights of those who find it difficult to clarify their identity and personality.
Jesus’ teachings revealed the face of a loving God in whom we can all recognize ourselves as his sons and daughters. The Lord said, “I have called you by name, and you are mine.”
The proof of our being Christians should be manifested primarily in our love for others, starting with the least privileged. The synodal renewal can be inspired by a second African proverb: “Firewood tied up in a bundle does not break”.By walking and working together we can support each other, learn from each other and encourage and animate God’s people in their struggles, fears and hopes.

As a synodal Church, we should work for the good and happiness of all. Such an approach requires a new way of looking at the Church so that it truly appears as the body of Christ where every member is respected and ideas are listened to and welcomed with an open mind. Christ did not come to condemn the world. And with his life and his death, Jesus demonstrated that he did not intend at all to form a club of “perfect people and successful people”. Rather, as Pope Francis has said, the Church should be a field hospital available to tirelessly treat the wounded and suffering.
The fundamental mission of the Church is the announcement of the Good News of Salvation. This message will attract when those to whom it is announced will see the love of a merciful God the Father reflected in our message: the means is the message. If we are arrested for our faith, will there be enough evidence to convict us? We will be successful in our endeavours if we show in our actions what we say in our words.
There is nothing more inviting to a person than being well received and welcome. Despite our weaknesses and the prejudices that often condition us, we can let God’s love shine like a bright light for the benefit of those we meet. We must forcefully and incessantly nourish this light source.

Marcel Uwineza sj
Kenya

Peru. The Ashaninka Ancestral Wisdom. Their Sensory Awareness.

Friday, 1 September 2023 8:00

An indigenous ethnic group, the Ashaninka live in the central forest of the Ucayali department in the Atalaya province of eastern Peru.
The children learn not only from practice but also through
feeling and listening.

The Ashaninka children do not learn through theory but by daily practice from an early age: the boys still barely standing on their own legs already drag the machete and accompany their fathers to work, and the little girls watch their mothers weaving or cooking and try to imitate them. The Ashaninka parents seldom explain how to do something to their children, who learn from practice. It is normal, among this ethnic group, that 3–4-year-old boys accompany their fathers to work and learn by watching and by practicing. The girls learn by playing how to make a fire or how to cook cassava in cans of tuna or milk, which are the staple foods among this community.

The little girls watch their mothers weaving or cooking and try to imitate them. (Photo Swm)

Between the ages of 12 and 13, the Ashaninka boys have already demonstrated their knowledge of those tasks that are mainly performed by the men of the community such as: building, even if just a tiny house, or preparing a small piece of land for growing crops. Young teens have also to show that they are able to hunt and fish, basically they have to demonstrate that they are able to live on their own and can rely on their own skills. In the same way as the boys, the Ashaninka girls have to learn how to do chores. Being able to cook cassava, whether boiled or roasted, shows that a girl masters the necessary knowledge for a woman. Therefore, the Ashaninka children, boys and girls, learn by practicing, they do not need to learn through all those theories which are typical of modern education. The Ashaninka learn also through feeling and listening; for example, when they are hunting, they are able to feel the presence of an animal and to understand how far it is. It is not just a question of hearing, or smelling, or seeing but they can ’feel’ through all their senses interacting together.

The Ashaninka learn also through feeling and listening; for example, when they are hunting, they are able to feel the presence of an animal and understand how far it is. (Photo Swm)

And when the right moment to attack the animal has arrived, they do not have to think or plan or reflect, they just feel it and act consequently. Therefore, any explanation is superfluous.
Indigenous knowledge is based on sensory awareness, on the experience of feeling, explanations are secondary.
Besides, reflecting on what is necessary, or planning how to act, would break the interrelation between these people and their environment, it would interfere with their skill to feel the nature surrounding them. The Ashaninka learn and act spontaneously and intuitively. They get acquainted with their environment through experience.
Learning, among the Ashaninka, is also connected with their spirituality. According to their worldview, the world has been created by a superior being, Tajorentsi, who lives in harmony with other spiritual beings. The ‘shiripiare’ (healer) is the one who is in charge of transmitting the Ashaninka spiritual knowledge through rituals. Knowledge is transmitted throughout this ethnic group with the purpose of generating, nourishing, and protecting life.

Jhonny Mancilla Pérez

Uganda. “Giving our lives to the people of Karamoja”.

Friday, 1 September 2023 8:00

For over a hundred years, the Comboni Missionaries have been working in north-eastern Uganda. “Being a missionary here means living side by side with the people, knowing their language and culture, and, if necessary, giving one’s life for them”. This is what Father Longinos López Fernández, from Spain, and Father Germano Joaquim dos Santos Serra, from Portugal, both working in Karamoja, said. We met them in Karamoja.

Located in north-eastern Uganda, the Karamoja region is one of the poorest in the country. It is a region traditionally inhabited by groups of pastoralists – called Karimojong – who frequently stray into neighbouring Kenya, giving rise to nomadism that easily becomes a source of tension and violence.The region is also the site of important pastoral work since the Christian faith arrived there, thanks to the courage and daring of the Comboni missionaries, whose work continues to this day. The faith is also ensured and strengthened, thanks to the presence of local catechists who guarantee its transmission, always combining it with local tradition and culture.

Elanyangikoi is the name by which Father Longinos López Fernández is known among the Karimojong.

Elanyangikoi is the name by which Father Longinos López Fernández is known among the Karimojong. When he was still a deacon, he was sent to Karamoja for pastoral work experience. One day, he was on his way in a pick-up truck to visit a village. The car was overloaded with people.
All of a sudden, the vehicle found itself in the middle of a raid by a group of warriors from a neighbouring ethnic group, who had come to steal cattle. Longinos still remembers that terrible event: “The only thing I thought to do was to step on the accelerator as much as I could and get as far away as possible from that hell, following the direction taken by the fleeing people. He had never heard gunshots in his life except on television and in the cinema. In the attack one person was killed.
The other passengers and locals commented on Longinos’ behaviour like this: “Apa elanyani ngikoi” [“father outran (in speed) the bullets”]. Since then, Longinos has been Elanyangikoi to everyone. In Karamoja, the work of the missionaries is carried out in harmony with that of the local clergy. The Church’s presence is characterised by a real closeness to the people, made up of direct contact with the persons who live in traditional villages, where ancestral traditions and ancient ways of life still persist.

Karimojong elder. The Church’s presence is characterized by a real closeness to the people.

Father Longinos says: “We Comboni missionaries are called to evangelise by giving our lives to these people, without expecting anything in return. On the other hand, a missionary who is not prepared to live like the people of the place where he is sent, literally getting his hands dirty and working hard to build something tangible as well, is most likely not a ‘good missionary’, because he will always be perceived by the people as someone who is out of touch with their surroundings. Life in the villages is very different from what one finds in the city. Those who come here to help must adapt to the way of life of the locals. Whether you are a white man or an African, it matters little: you have to fit completely into the environment and grow with those who live there.”
To be a missionary in Karamoja, it is indispensable to possess the local language. The study and preservation of this ancient language owe much to two Comboni missionaries, authentic pioneers in this field: Father Bruno Novelli and Father Mario Mantovani, both of whom have been in heaven for years. Today, this important work is carried on by a Portuguese Comboni missionary, Father Germano Serra.

Father Germano Serra. Since his arrival in 1984, he has never stopped studying both the culture and the Karimojong language.

He arrived in Uganda in 1984 and immediately became part of the local culture, well received by the local population. Since his arrival, he has never stopped studying both the culture and the Karimojong language, also trying to preserve and spread it, preventing its disappearance. It can be said without a shadow of a doubt that this has always been one of his missionary goals. And it continues to be so.
Father Germano is proud of his passion for the Karimojong language, which he intends to safeguard at all costs. To this end, he has even opened websites and blogs where only this language is allowed, and people take part in them, competing to see who can show off the best Karimojong. A Karimojong dictionary and grammar are now accessible on the Internet, and it is possible to enrich and deepen them. Father Germano is happy here. He says he would not mind ending his days in Karamoja.We had the opportunity to visit a village in Losilang parish, pastorally cared for by Joseph Lokedin, a diocesan priest. We were greeted festively by the people, who took to dancing in their typical way: the dancers perform prodigious ‘high jumps’.

They build bricks following the traditional method.

The people of the village are very generous towards their pastor. The parish community has also started an income-generating project: they build bricks following the traditional method, handed down by the elders. Although we are in the 21st century, these bricks work wonderfully here and are in great demand.
The courageous commitment shown by the Comboni missionaries working in this region undoubtedly owes its origin to their specific vocation: to give their lives to Africa. But their commitment is also nourished by the example of those who have paid for this evangelising work with their blood.
We went to see the tomb of Father Mario Mantovani, also visited by many visitors today. Father Mario was one of the pillars of the evangelisation work in Karamoja. He was one of the first to specialise in the study of the local language, writing two grammars and a specific study on the verb, and compiling a voluminous vocabulary. Even today, all those who want to work here make use of these three volumes.
One day, Father Mario was travelling with Kiryowa Godfrey, a young Ugandan Comboni brother. Their car was attacked by a large group of raiders (over 300) and the two were riddled with bullets. Before them, 11 other Comboni missionaries had shed blood in Uganda, victims of the violence that here often takes the form of robbery or raid.
In this place whose culture is more than unique and where few foreigners can boast of actually owning the language, Comboni missionaries and sisters are working today. They have come here to give their lives to these wonderful people. (Ecclesia)

Progress in the Tourism Sector.

Friday, 1 September 2023 8:00

The economy of the Dominican Republic is a liberalized, open, and strongly export-oriented economy.

For about a decade, it has been experiencing a phase of expansion, becoming one of the fastest growing in Latin America and the Caribbean, as evidenced by the estimates of the World Bank. The engine of this growth, which generated an increase of 4.9% in real GDP in 2022, is provided by the tertiary sector and in particular by the hotel, bar and restaurant sector; however, it is also derived from the positive situation of macroeconomic influences such as the decrease in oil prices, and the increase in the price of gold, which the country possesses in substantial quantities, together with silver and nickel.
The extraction of bauxite was halted some years ago.In fact, the World Bank also informs us that the tourism sector grew by 24% in the same period, supported both by an active anti-Covid vaccination campaign put in place by the Government and by the consequential recovery of global tourism and expansive budget policies.

Dominicus Beach at sunset in the Dominican Republic. 123rf.com

Economic growth is generating an increase in the middle class and, therefore, it is hoped that there will be a reduction in the still prevalent poverty and inequality. To date, in fact, the growing sectors have not yet managed to support the creation of quality jobs or the quality of basic goods and services. Furthermore, there is a massive transfer of population towards the cities, to the detriment of rural areas forced to suffer growing impoverishment.
In the last 15 years, the urban population has increased by 50% and the country has gone from an agricultural society to being dominated by large metropolitan areas. The World Bank said that the country is grappling with rising inflation which obviously affects the livelihood of the population, especially those already exposed to the effects of poverty. Structural reforms have been launched in recent years to consolidate stability through measures such as constitutional reform, reform in the energy and water sectors, public-private partnerships, and anti-corruption initiatives.These factors, together with the geographical position and the high infrastructural development of the country should attract further foreign direct investments in the coming years and support growth potential in the medium term.

Aerial photo of the Punta Cana Airport. The Dominican Republic has 9 international airports.
CC BY-SA 4.0/ Doodybutch

The central position is, in fact, perfect for international companies looking for easy access to North and South America, especially the United States. They are favoured by the infrastructural system of the country which is suitable for supporting global trade and which is the best in the Latin American area as recognized in 2019 by the ‘Global Competitiveness Report’, published by the World Economic Forum. This network includes 9 international airports, 12 seaports, and over 20,000 kilometres of highways and roads. Manufacturing and commercial companies can reach the States in 3 days by sea and 2 hours by air. In addition, call centres and other service-oriented businesses are located in the same time zone as the East Coast of the United States, which would be a significant advantage in terms of business development opportunities. To this, we must add the strong support given by the Government through the free zone regime and the 79 industrial parks which have already attracted a large number of companies due to highly competitive services. Of these companies, those that produce medical devices represent the largest category of industries in the country.
Currently, there are 33 manufacturers including B. Braun, Cardinal Health, Baxter Healthcare, and others. The electronics segment is also present within these platforms with approximately 22 companies possessing distinct capabilities such as the production of intermediate components and the assembly of final products. There are also logistics parks created to facilitate activities such as storage, deconsolidation, packing, repackaging, labelling, re-labelling, distribution and re-export of goods and companies that have already established their centres include IKEA, Caterpillar, Rolex, Diageo, Evergreen, and others. Ultimately, companies looking to expand their global presence find in the Dominican Republic one of their best allies.

Tobacco field. 123rf.com

As far as the primary sector is concerned, the main crops, mostly destined for foreign markets, are sugar cane, widespread in the southern coastal plain and produced using manpower provided by Haitian labourers. Coffee is another of the predominant crops for the island’s economy and is grown on the slopes of the Sierra de Bahoruco and on the Samana peninsula, while cocoa and tobacco are produced on all the inland plains. Also widespread is the production of rice, corn, and cassava, mostly intended for internal consumption.
The agricultural sector is also linked to the industrial sector concentrated essentially in the transformation of products and whose fabric is made up of sugar factories, tobacco manufacturing and rum distilleries. However, the processing techniques, if we exclude the larger companies, are still not very industrialized and dependent on the use of animals and outdated means. Another important sector for the local economy is that of the forests from which discrete quantities of rare timber and colouring products are extracted, but their intensive exploitation has led to a degree of impoverishment over the course of colouring the last decades. (Open Photo: 123rf.com) – F.R.

Ghana. ‘Hogbetsotso’, a Festival of the Exodus.

Friday, 1 September 2023 8:00

It is one of the indigenous festivals in Ghana celebrated by the Anlo people of Southern Ghana to commemorate the escape from the region of Notsie in Togo to their present abode in the Volta Region of Ghana between the 14th and the 15th centuries.

Hogbetsotso is a festival that reminds the Anlo people of their ancestry. It rekindles the bond of relationship that existed between them and other Ewe-speaking people and also affords the citizens the opportunity to appraise their development programmes in the past year. The festival is an occasion when the whole of Anlo is open to visitors and where the full cultural value of the people is put on display.
The term Hogbetsotso, according to history, was derived from three words from Ewe language spoken by the people of Volta Region- ‘Ho’, meaning to uproot or move, ‘Gbe’ meaning day and ‘Tsotso’, meaning crossing over. So literally, Hogbetsotso means the day the people rose up and moved out of Notsie. The Hogbetsotso Festival is also known as the Festival of Exodus. It stems from the Ewe word ‘Hogbe’ or ‘Hohogbe’, meaning the day of the Exodus.

Chiefs dress in very colourful regalia and sit in state to receive homage from their subjects. (Photo Anlo State).

This historic festival is a day that unfolds Ewe history and brings to play the memories of legendary exodus and heroic acts of men of boldness and their mystical powers that liberated the Ewe-Dogbo people from the rule of ‘tyrant’ King of Kings Torgbui Agorkorli of Notsie in Togo
by walking backward.
Notsie is seen as the place of a major exodus of the Anlo ancestry. In order to commemorate the exodus and the bravery of their traditional rulers who led them on the journey, the people created this annual ‘Festival of the Exodus’. The Anlos are believed to have migrated from Southern Sudan to Notsie, their ancestral federated region (now within the territory of the modern State of Togo), and then to their current home on the eastern coast of Ghana in the late 15th century (1474). The Anlos initially resided in Yorubaland, close to the Benin-Nigeria border, before relocating to Notsie in central Togo, according to history.

Woman in traditional dress on her way to the festival. (Photo Anlo State)

The Hogbetsotso is celebrated in the month of November at Anloga, a town in the Southern Volta of Ghana which is the traditional and ritual capital of the Anlo State. Anloga, also a town marked by a meandering lagoon and golden sand beaches overhanging the Atlantic Ocean, is where the grand durbar is held on every first Saturday in November. The celebration is divided into three activities: Peacemaking ceremony, Purification or ‘dodede’, and a Durbar. The festival is celebrated at Anloga by the Anlo people from Anloga, Keta, Abor, Vodza, Whuti, Dzita, Kedzi, Afiadenyegba, Srogbe, Alakpe, Konu, Atito, Atiavi, Tsiame, and Devegodo, among other villages.
The Anlo-Ewes begin the observance of Hogbetsotso with a period of peacemaking, during which any outstanding problems are resolved. On the last Thursday before the day of the durbar, the ritual performed is aimed at social reconciliation. This activity is aimed at reconciling individuals and groups within the 36 Anlo states. Known as ‘Nugbidodo’ meaning reconciliation, the residents of Anlo strive for peace among themselves at all times.
The belief is that the ancestors dislike unresolved disagreements and misunderstandings because they bring illness and impede development. To resolve any small squabbles, ‘nugbidodo’ is conducted among family members, lineages, clans, and traditional rulers. Moreover, it is widely believed that the Hogbetsotso festival will not be successful until this rite is properly executed.
‘Hanududu’ is one of the events that should not be missed by visitors. It is time when all married landlords give supplies for their wives to prepare meals, and an open house is hosted to that effect. The idea is that people who fight don’t eat together. As a result, this is organised to compel people to feast together, resulting in reconciliation amongst all parties involved and an expression of harmony among family members, clans, and the general public.

Hogbetsotso is a festival that reminds the Anlo people of their ancestry. (Photo Anlo State)

Another important ritual is the state cleansing and sanitation programme known as ‘Dodede’ and ‘Apekplorkplor’ which is also performed by recognised seers. These are events aimed at cleaning up the nearby area. This cleaning ceremony begins at the Volta Estuary and goes on for days until it finally reaches the Mono River in the Republic of Benin. An essential aspect of the festival is a durbar of chiefs and the people. Chiefs dress in very colourful regalia and sit in state to receive homage from their subjects.
The ‘dodede’ rite, which literally means ‘disease removal’, entails the eradication of ailments , as well as the expulsion of bad spirits, believed to be the source of these maladies.
‘Dodede’ is seen to be a good way for individuals to connect with the Supreme God (Mawu), the lower gods (trowo), and their ancestors (togbinoliawo), and it is a completely private rite. There are many other ceremonies associated with the festival, including a purification ceremony of the traditional stool and a period of general cleaning when the villages are swept and rubbish burnt, and dancing, singing, and general merry-making going on throughout the festival.

Children are on their way to the festival. (Photo Anlo State)

During the celebration of this festival, many art forms which contribute to the success and pageantry of the festival are exhibited. One of the most significant rituals that precedes the Hogbetsotso festival is a state divination which is performed by distinguished seers selected from major towns throughout the 36 Anlo States. Once the seers have announced the rituals that need to be carried out, the traditional priests perform the appropriate ceremony invoking the gods of the land. After that, all the seers gather at ‘Atiteti’, one of the Anlo towns on the estuary of the Volta Lake to perform additional sacrifices.
A day is set aside to illustrate how the hostages’ departure or escape was orchestrated. To deceive the king and his elders, the departing party marched backward, giving the impression that they were approaching rather than fleeing Notsie. The ‘Misego’ or ‘Husago’ dance, which is thought to be the vehicle for the exodus, is used to reenact this occurrence today during the Hogbetsotso.
The chiefs and the people of Anlo climax their month-long Hogbetsotso Festival with a grand durbar which attracts traditional authorities from other kingdoms, who are accompanied by large retinues of sub-chiefs and courtiers, amidst beautiful displays of art and culture. The durbar forms a significant part of the week-long Hogbetsotso festival which brings together all the chiefs and elders of Anlo-land at a colourful durbar to mark the annual event in the Volta Region. Due to the rich culture of the Hogbetsotso festival and its historical background, various Ewe cultural troupes from Benin, Nigeria, and the Diaspora have opportunities to put up performances to illustrate the migration of the Anlos from Notsie in Togo to their present location.
Drumming and dancing are essential components of any festival, and the Hogbetsotso is no different.
During the durbar, people from all around Ghana, the Diaspora, and foreigners gather in large numbers to express respect for the paramount chief, who had hitherto avoided public visibility.

The entire festival period is marked by singing, dancing and merry-making. (Photo: Ministry Of Tourism, Arts & Culture)

As it’s a cultural event, the chiefs of the Anlo people led by the ‘Awoemefia’ (Paramount Chief of the Anlo State), currently Torgbui Sri III dress up in colorful traditional clothing known as the regalia. They sit on a raised platform, addressing the Anlo community while locals watch over. The entire festival period is marked by singing, dancing and merry-making. Born of age-old oral legend, the Hogbetsotso festival has been celebrated for generations.
The ‘Agbadza’, the traditional dance of the people of Anlo which is performed vigorously during the grand durbar of the Hogbetsotso festival. It is a way of expressing joy to their ancestors and gods. The ‘Agbadza’ is a staple during the Hogbetsotso providing a glimpse of the Anlo community’s culture and history. Agbadza was formerly known as ‘Atrikpui’, which imitates the flying birds. Sometimes the people, especially the women, dance backwards while carrying their baggage with a stick in their hands and as they move, they watch from left to right to illustrate their departure from Notsie.
The women dress in a manner that reveals their backsides known as ‘Atufu’. Historically, it is said that that is where the women kept their most valuable possessions while embarking on their journey from Notsie. (Open Photo: The Awoamefia of the Anlo State, Torgbui Sri III. Anlo State)

Damian Dieu Donne Avevor

Inequalities. Africa and Climate Change, New Fiscal Rules Are Needed.

Friday, 1 September 2023 8:00

Africa is responsible for only 4% of CO2 emissions but is suffering enormous agricultural and health damage.
It is proposed to provide help by taxing multinationals and the consumption of the richest countries.

Climate change is making its effects felt on humanity, affecting the cornerstones of survival and social organization. But accountability and consequences don’t follow a consistent pattern. On the contrary, they move in an inversely proportional relationship, in the sense that those who have polluted the least suffer the greatest damage.

This is what is highlighted by the Climate Inequality Report 2023 published by the World Inequality Lab work group. Climate change is known to be due to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which began to accelerate during the industrial revolution and due to reach stratospheric levels of our days.

It is estimated that 2,453 billion tons of carbon dioxide have been emitted since 1850, but the contribution of the different continents is extremely different. The biggest polluter was North America, responsible for 27% of all historical emissions. Followed by Europe (22%), China (11%), Russia and South Asia (9% each) and Latin America (6%).

The one that has polluted the least is Africa, responsible for just 3.8% of all the carbon dioxide emitted in the last two centuries. Even the data on current emissions tell us that Africa is the least to blame for all. In 2017, according to the latest available calculation, at the top of the list, we find China with 23% of emissions, followed by the USA (19%) and the European Union (13%).

Africa comes last with 4%, as evidenced by the fact that half of its population still does not have any type of electricity. But if we come to the damage, Africa is the continent that is paying the most. On all levels: agricultural, health, water or social.

On an agricultural level, climate change has a paradoxical effect because productivity has increased in the northernmost part of the globe, as evidenced by Canada and Russia. In the subtropical areas, on the other hand, agriculture is severely damaged, in some areas due to excess rainfall and in others due to its absence. In 2022, Pakistan was hit by a vast flood that caused almost 2,000 deaths and losses of over 15 billion dollars, of which five billion were attributable to the agricultural sector.

In Africa, however, in the Sahel region, the problem is drought. Countries such as Mali, Niger, Sudan, and Somalia, have experienced drops in agricultural productivity of up to 40% in recent years due to the lack of water. The reduction in agricultural harvests has the immediate effect of causing hunger, because in Africa, as in many other countries in the southern hemisphere, a significant percentage of families still practice subsistence agriculture, i.e., they live directly from what they produce. And when there is no more to eat or drink, the only option is to leave.

In 2022, in Somalia, due to drought, more than a million people moved in an attempt to survive. It is the drama of displacements due to natural causes that are destined to get increasingly worse. The World Bank calculates that between now and 2050, over 200 million people could find themselves forced to migrate to neighbouring cities or towns to escape the disasters caused by climate change.

In addition to hunger, thirst, or drowning, climate change can also kill from excessive heat, because heat waves aggravate the condition of those who are already fragile for other reasons. From this point of view, rich countries are also particularly exposed because they have a large percentage of elderly people.

But age is not the only element of fragility that can transform excess heat into mortal danger. Even young people may be at risk of dying if their nutritional status is deficient and if they suffer from recurrent illnesses. For this reason, despite being the continent with the highest proportion of young people, Africa is included among the areas of the world at high risk of mortality due to heat waves.

Moreover, various studies are demonstrating that climate change also affects the biological cycles of insects, including those that transmit diseases. For example, a resurgence of dengue, a viral disease transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, and malaria, a parasite transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito, is expected in tropical and subtropical areas where these diseases are already present.

Climate change imposes a double challenge on all the countries of the world: a change of energy approach to breaking the link with fossil fuels and the adoption of useful measures to protect themselves from the damage caused by climate change is now under way. But all this requires a great financial effort and the countries that most need to defend themselves are those least able to do so due to their own poverty.

Focusing on Africa alone, all the 53 countries that comprise it have declared a need of 2,800 billion dollars for the decade 2020-2030, 70% to be used for transition and energy strengthening and 30% for increased resistance to climate change.
But African governments have admitted that they can cover just 10% of their needs or 264 billion dollars.

All the rest will have to come from elsewhere. And this is where international solidarity comes into play, but it is leaking from all sides. Despite pledges by rich countries to allocate $100 billion annually to poorer countries specifically for climate change-related spending, in 2020 the amount raised stood at $83 billion. All sorts of hardships are invoked by rich countries to justify their defaults, but the World Inequality Lab report points to ways to boost the climate spending relief fund, three in particular.

The first proposal concerns the introduction of a tax on air and sea travel. It has been calculated that if the proposal were adopted by all 195 signatory countries of the Paris Agreement, it could generate an income ranging between 132 and 392 billion dollars a year.

The second proposal concerns the taxation of multinationals. A recent agreement promoted by the OECD provides ways to prevent multinationals from evading taxation by taking advantage of the fact that they operate on a global scale.

The aim is to force multinationals to pay at least 15% of all profits earned worldwide through a series of tax measures that should be applied first and foremost in the countries where multinationals operate through their subsidiaries. But if this level of taxation were not to be activated, or for some other reason should prove insufficient, the system tries to recover the losses through a mechanism that allows the countries in which the parent companies reside to also tax the profits made abroad. This is good, but it is less good that the money is pocketed by the states that are lucky enough to host the parent companies, usually the richest.

However, this injustice could be remedied if that money were donated to funds created to provide assistance to the countries of the South of the world, primarily the ones against climate change.

The third proposal is the invitation to seriously tax the incomes and assets of the richest. This would allow not only to raise funds to be allocated to the fight against climate change, but to directly reduce carbon dioxide emissions since 50% of all carbon dioxide emitted annually worldwide is due to consumption by the richest 10% of the world’s population.

It is a class without borders, considering that billionaires are found not only in North America, Europe, and Japan but also in China, India, and Latin America. Therefore, the responsibility for fair taxation falls on all the countries of the world, but above all on those with a high per capita income. (Open Photo: 123rf.com)

Francesco Gesualdi

Maya. The Magic Town.

Friday, 1 September 2023 8:00

The ltzaes, a brave and peaceful group of Maya have been in these lands since time immemorial.

They were led by a priest named Zamna, and while they were resting after their arduous journey, he recalled the words spoken to him by the queen of Atlantis: “Our land will disappear within one moon. Since you are the wisest and best of my people, I have chosen you as a guide and messenger of my commands.”

“Choose a group of families and three chilames. You shall go to a place which I will show you, and there you will find a city. You will build a high temple and beneath it, you will keep the texts that recount our history, and those that will be written in the future.”

“You and the chosen ones shall sail to the west in nine ships. After nine days you will find an uninhabited land with rivers and mountains, and there you will enter. You will wait until you find water, and there you shall find the city as I have commanded you”.

On the second day of sailing, after they had set off, a storm sank two of two boats. Zamna thought that the end had come for the group,
but the storm waned.

Finally, they came to the uninhabited land of rivers and mountains foretold by the queen, but there was no water: the land was dry, and covered in a strange plant, very green, with hard, sharp, pointed leaves.

Suddenly the sky became dark and heavy rain began to fall. The travellers were happy to receive this water from heaven, but they did not know how long it would last, so Zamna arranged for some
of it to be stored.

As he passed by one of the strange plants, a torn spear his foot. When the Itzaes saw this, they punished the plant by cutting off the leaf and beating it violently against the stones of the place.

However, Zamna noticed that the leaves produced a tough fibre that could be useful for the people. He realized that his wound had been a sign, and ordered them to stop punishing the plant.

Meanwhile, the rain continued, and the water flowed through a gap in the rocks. Zamna followed the stream and discovered the place
indicated by the queen.

So, then the priest joined the vitality of the water, the power of heaven, the essence of the chosen ones, and the strength of the plant – which he named henequen – and he founded the great city we now known as Izamal. (Photo:123rf.com)

(Mayan Legend)

World Youth Day. Pope Francis: “Each of us is an “original”.

Friday, 1 September 2023 8:00

More than one and a half million people took part in World Youth Day (Lisbon, 1- 6 August). Fragments of the Pope’s speeches.

“You are not here by accident. The Lord has called you, not only in these days but from the very beginning of your days. He called you by name. Each of us is called by name. You, you and you, all of us here, myself included: all of us have been called by name. None of us is a Christian by chance; all of us were called by name. In God’s eyes, we are precious children, and he calls us each day in order to embrace and encourage us, to make of us a unique and original masterpiece. Each of us is an “original”, whose beauty we can only begin to glimpse.” (Welcome Ceremony of the Young at the Parque Eduardo VII”.

“I would encourage you, then, to keep seeking and to be ready to take risks. At this moment in time, we are facing enormous challenges; we hear the painful plea of so many people. Indeed, we are experiencing a third world war fought piecemeal. Yet, let us find the courage to see our world not as in its death throes, but in a process of giving birth, not at the end, but at the beginning of a great new chapter of history. We need the courage to think like this. So, work to bring about a new “choreography”, one that respects the “dance” of life by putting the human person at the centre.” (Meeting with university students at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa of Lisbon)

“Jesus dries our hidden tears with his tenderness. Jesus wishes to relieve our loneliness with his closeness. Moments of loneliness are sad indeed, yet Jesus is there; he wants to relieve that loneliness. Jesus wishes to calm our fears, your fears, my fears; he wants to calm those deep fears with his consolation. He also desires to encourage us to embrace the risk of loving. Indeed, you know it well, better than I do, that to love is risky. We must take the risk of loving. Yet, though it is a risk, it is a risk worth taking, and Jesus accompanies us as we do. He always accompanies us, always walks with us. Throughout our lives, he is always by our side.” (Stations of the Cross with Young People)

“Yet the Church and the world need you, the young, as much as the earth needs rain. Jesus now speaks to you, who are the present and the future of our world… do not be afraid….Dear friends, allow me, as an older person, to share with you young people a dream that I carry within me: it is the dream of peace, the dream of young people praying for peace, living in peace and building a peaceful future…. What is more, you are a sign of peace for the world, showing how different nationalities, languages and histories can unite instead of divide. You are the hope of a different world. Thank you for this. Onwards!” (At the conclusion of the Holy Mass for World Youth Day)

Before concluding the World Youth Day, Pope Francis invited young people “from all over the world” in Rome for the Jubilee and announced Seoul, South Korea, as the next World Youth Day site. The event will take place in 2027. He also invited the young people present to come to Rome for the 2025 Jubilee Year, calling it the “Jubilee of Young People”. (Photo Vatican media)

Photo Gallery – Comboni Youth Movement at World Youth Day

Advocacy

Baobab

Youth & Mission