Latest Posts Page

The USA in Africa. Boots on the ground.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023 8:00

The presence of American soldiers on the field is still strategic. General Michael Langley, the new commander of Africom, has the task of forging military pacts with many African countries and of facing new threats: from jihadist hotbeds to the expansion of Beijing and Moscow’s spheres of influence.

Michael Langley is the new general at the head of Africom, the United States African Command. A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Langley is the first African-American general decorated with four stars in the Marine Corps’ 246-year history. He assumed the position in August 2022, becoming Africom’s sixth commander since the US military command, headquartered at Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany,
was established in 2007.

Gen. Michael E. Langley, U.S. Marine Corps, became the sixth commander of U.S. Africa Command in August 2022.

His appointment did not come by chance. Langley knows the African continent well, having led the US Marine Forces Europe and Africa between 2020 and 2021, during which he coordinated the largest Africom military exercise with Moroccan military leaders, African Lion. The operation was repeated in June 2022, with the mobilization of 7,500 soldiers sent by ten NATO countries located between Kenitra, near Rabat, some southern regions of Morocco (including Al Mahbes, in Western Sahara, on the border with Algeria), Senegal, and Ghana. Langley previously served in Egypt and Somalia in Operation Restore Hope between 1992 and 1993.

The map of Africom
Africom is one of 11 foreign military commands reporting to the US Department of Defense. Its scope includes 53 African states (with the exception of Egypt which falls within the Middle East area), 11.2 million square miles of land area (three and a half times the size of the United States), nearly 19,000 miles of coastline, more than 800 ethnic groups and over a thousand languages. The command employs around 2,000 units, 1,400 of which are stationed in Stuttgart. Hundreds more operate between MacDill, Florida and Raf Molesworth, UK air bases. Offices connected to the central one in Stuttgart are spread across 38 countries.

Us solder with the Danab Brigade in Somalia. (Photo: Sgt. Zoe Russell)

These also include key stations in Africa, at the headquarters of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, located in Accra, Ghana. Also in Africa, at Camp Lemonnier, in Djibouti, is the headquarters of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. It is from here that, in particular, land-based anti-terrorist military operations on the continent are launched. The other command centres, in addition to Stuttgart, are in Ramstein (also in Germany), Vicenza and Naples (Italy).
At an operational level, one of Africom’s flagship initiatives is a program that provides for the support of its state national guards with the defense forces of African countries. There are currently 15 pairings, including those of the New York and Massachusetts National Guards with the armies of South Africa and Kenya, respectively.
In 2019, Africom released a list of some of its military outposts on the African continent: 13 are permanent (classified as Enduring Footprint), 16 are non-permanent (Non-enduring Footprint).
It is a partial list since it does not include foreign bases on which Africom relies (such as Singo in Uganda and Thiès in Senegal), nor does it refer to other sites where the command is working undercover to extend its range of action on the continent.

Threats
The main threat that Africom faces on the African continent has always been that of terrorism. According to the Global Terrorism Index 2022, Africa represents the global epicentre of international terrorism, with groups such as al-Shabaab in the Horn of Africa and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin in the Sahel in constant turmoil. At the end of October, Africom launched new air offensives in the Buulobarde area, 200 kilometres northwest of Mogadishu, in response to two attacks carried out by jihadists in Kismayo and Beledweyne. It was the occasion that prompted President Joe Biden to send several hundred American soldiers back to the country, a year and a half after Trump’s withdrawal.
However, the ‘real’ test facing General Langley is that of countering the growing Chinese and Russian influence on the African continent.
In fact, the two powers are exploiting the triple food, energy and economic crisis, triggered at a global level by the war in Ukraine, to their advantage, hoarding new business and new allies, especially in East Africa and the Sahel.

A platoon leader in 101st Airborne Division discusses squad-level tactics with Gabonese counterparts. (Photo: U.S. Army)

According to Africom’s top management, after having built its own base in Djibouti from where it aims to more closely control the strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Beijing is now aiming to obtain an outpost along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Africa as well. A scenario that the US wants to hinder at all costs through the establishment of maritime exclusive economic zones with its West African partners. In the confrontation with Russia, Africom has instead targeted the Wagner contractor group – permanently positioned in Mali, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Sudan and Libya – and the arms trafficking managed by Moscow on the continent.In its plan to widen its sphere of influence in Africa, the Kremlin is bringing pressure to bear on the direct and indirect effects of the conflict in Ukraine, following a simple scheme. Increased food and economic insecurity is worsening the state of already long-standing crisis contexts.

US soldier with Kenyan soldiers. (Photo: Sgr Amanda Stock)

East Africa (especially Somalia, the Ethiopian region of Tigray, Kenya, Sudan and South Sudan) and the entire Sahelian belt are increasingly pushed to one side by the grain crisis, by the increase in fertilizer prices (over 200 %) and the inflation of foodstuff prices (more than 40%) and by restrictions on the import-export of minerals and other raw materials with Moscow and, secondly, by the effects of climate change. All of this opens up new manoeuvering spaces for jihadist groups and exposes local governments to further vulnerability, which are looking for the best offer of low-market security. It is in these spaces that the Kremlin is finding a niche in Africa. These are gaps that Africom must plug if it does not want to see the supply channels of resources from Africa at risk. This is the real reason that keeps the US with its boots firmly on the ground in this continent. (US soldiers with Botswanan force members. Photo: Sgt. Sean Carnes)

Rocco Bellantone

Lost for Words.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023 8:00

To save biodiversity, we must save human diversity.

Many Indigenous languages are ‘dying out’. What is not often discussed, however, is the fact that the languages in question do not just disappear naturally. Rather, their speakers are often wiped out – by outsiders.

Even today, where Indigenous people survive, their languages can still be ‘lost’. There may be many causes, but they are almost always rooted in forced assimilation into an industrial society.

The last fluent speaker of a language dies every two weeks, taking with them “the hundreds of generations of traditional knowledge encoded in these ancestral tongues”, according to the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages.

This is not surprising, considering that two million Indigenous children worldwide are being “educated” at schools, institutions created specifically to assimilate tribal children into mainstream society. Death doesn’t linger far from these places.

The purposeful eradication of cultural and linguistic ties is a slow form of genocide that has devastating effects not only on entire peoples but also on the environment.

Languages are closely tied to knowledge. Knowledge is only useful if it can be expressed, used and shared. Knowledge of the places where people live (forests, plains, savannahs, mountains, deserts, tundra) and what they can offer humanity (food, medicines, real solutions to curb climate change) is crucial to us all. Being able to talk about the tiniest nuances of these environments may not seem like much, but the butterfly effect from these conversations is immense.

The Awá people in Brazil call their homeland Harakwá , which means “the place that we Know”. They have studied, managed and looked after their lands since time immemorial, passing down and developing their knowledge through the generations. They depend entirely on their land for food, spirituality, medicine – in short, life – and the land depends on the Awá to protect and nurture it.

But their lands are being destroyed for the rapacious extraction of sugar cane (partly grown for biofuels) and gold mining. Without their lands, the Awá would not survive, and nor would the vast biological diversity
found on their land.

The language of the Awá (Guajá), which carries centuries of ecological knowledge, would be lost. This is not a situation unique to the Awá – it is one repeated all over the globe, where the people living closest to their natural environments are being pushed to the brink, and their lands stolen and exploited for natural resources.

If we lose biodiversity, we lose human diversity and vice versa. Without both, humanity will be plunged into the next Dark Age, one from which we might not recover. Standing up for Indigenous rights, lands and lives has never been more important. (Photo: 123rf.com)

Paula Zamorano Osirio
Resurgence & Ecologist

Her Great Dream.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023 8:00

On the heights of a remote village at the bottom of a valley lived a melancholic girl who had not known her parents, who had died at her birth. Unaware, however, of their end, and thinking of them on the road, she kept hoping that one day she would meet them.

In her illusion, the girl shone with grace like a fairy. She ran through the wild meadows, as free as a sea wave. And the wind, blowing through the branches of the trees and bushes, made her long-braided hair sway.

Far away, an emerald-green landscape glowed placidly under the scorching sun. The grave moan of the savannah rose like a last breath of life, the last hope.

Evening came, beautiful and silent, the shadows of the trees vibrated in the moonlight like human beings. Thinking back to her loneliness and to her parents, the tender, sensitive girl wistfully contemplated the sky flooded with falling stars. And because she believed the words of adults, when she returned home to her aunt, her guardian, she wanted to know where all those stars were going.

“The stars, – the woman answered her -, are the souls of our dead. And those wandering in space are the spirits of our loved ones long since departed on their journey.”
So, the young girl, in order to find her loved ones, was convinced that she had to follow the stars to their resting place.

That very evening, her gaze full of promise, she gazed intently into the firmament. In the moonlight, she saw bats flying. And at times, in the distance, she perceived the mirage of a city she imagined to be that of her parents. All was calm and the cloudless sky bestowed serenity.

Every night, from the window of her small room, the girl contemplated the constellations. As she gazed in wonder at the stars, she thought that in them, as the old people used to say, were really the souls of the absent. “I wish I were a star too! Then I would travel alongside my parents” she told herself.

So, it was that the need to know the truth grew in her. And one night, gazing at the countless falling stars in the sky, the girl felt her heart swell. She absolutely had to follow them. But as the stars faded away at dawn, she burst into sobs.

A long sorrow. She felt abandoned to herself and suffered from loneliness. She did not stop thinking about her departed loved ones, she longed for the day when she could hold them and snuggle up in their arms. Every time she looked at the stars, she felt a strong desire to travel to the country where, according to legend, the shooting stars went.

That idea became a true obsession. Meanwhile, her days were laden with work. With her neighbours, she helped her aunt hoe the fields, sow the seeds and harvest the ripe fruit, always patient and hoping for a miracle.

Until once, tired of waiting, the girl decided to follow her instincts. She left the house and walked towards the place where her heart yearned to realise her great dream. Some birds sang in the sweetness
of the twilight.

Others, on their way back to the nest, were wedging between the foliage. The trees darkened progressively in shadows. The last rays of the sun, imprisoned in the clouds, gilded the landscape on the horizon. All the beautiful colours of the sunset were concentrated in the girl’s gaze.

It was a strange evening. In the sky strewn with twinkling stars, some stars seemed to fall to earth like meteorites. Spotting one heading towards the sea, the girl thought to join it. And so, hoping soon to have the answer to her riddle and to arrive quickly at her parents’ house, she let herself be guided by the star that bounced from wave to wave on the agitated sea and headed towards the secret place where, one after the other, all the falling stars came together.

The magic of that unknown world astonished her. But unfortunately, it brought no answer to her question. So, she cried out: “O star, my beautiful star! Will you take me to the village where my mother and father live? I would be so happy to meet them.”

Suddenly, the star clutched the girl’s chest and carried her across the sky to the place where everyone lived, waiting to meet their loved ones.
They arrived in a village inhabited by strange people, intrigued by the sky and its mysteries.

Lost in the middle of a confused, chattering, noisy crowd, gathered to contemplate the firmament, where the shooting star had disappeared, the girl looked in vain for the figure of her dear mother. But all was but an illusion. Her heart took fright. Tremors invaded her body. She cried out to passers-by, hoping that the echo of her desperate voice would reach the ear of a valiant being.

A smell of rotting leaves floated in the air. Torches lit in the deepest darkness illuminated the paths. Stubbornly, the girl wandered through the palm trees in search of the stars that had fallen into the grass.

Suddenly, in the distance, she saw another beautiful star land. And thinking she recognised in it her missing mother, she hastened to join her on the deserted shore of the sea. Advancing on that trail, the little girl was seized by terrible anguish. Her body shuddered. She cried out for her mother, but only the echo of her own voice returned.

Her soul wounded, the girl was still crying desperately when her mother appeared to her. Still crying, moaning, the little girl was moved. And the mother, majestic and tender, surrounded her with all her affection: it was the first time her heart throbbed with love for her creature.

The woman, slim and upright, was wrapped in a golden pagne knotted on her chest; her head encircled by a golden crown adorned with rubies, emeralds and diamonds, and surmounted by a crystal flower. She sat down beside her daughter on the fine sand of the beach and held her in her arms. The father, also sweet and tender, approached. The little girl’s heart began to beat fast. He was the man of her dreams. Thrilled, all three remained together until the girl, reassured, fell asleep.

But when she awoke to that newfound serenity, her parents were no longer there. The girl stared at the horizon. And reaching out her arms towards the distant void with the colours of hope, she saw the star of happiness twinkling.

She thought then that her life was a miracle, for with the power of the love she devoted to her parents, they could appear to her in dreams in moments of despair, and in absolute secrecy.

She never spoke to anyone about those visits. She felt happy and enjoyed the profound sensation of being able to live an eternity of stillness and absolute peace. Now he knew why the elders said that the stars are the souls of our departed ones. (Photo: 123rf.com)

Folktale from DR Congo

Bolivia. Anata. The Aymara Carnival.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023 8:00

The Anata festival – Anata in Aymara means game – is of pre-Hispanic tradition. It is a moment of joy or Kusisiña. In the Anata,
the relationship between the jaqi (person), nature
and divinity is manifested.

The Anata celebration is generally held in February, with a movable date, during the rainy season, when the plants are in full bloom. For the Andean world, it is a ritual and therefore a sacred moment in which the Andean deities, the apus, the achachilas, the uywiris and basically the Pachamama or Mother Earth are evoked.
In the Andean way of being, the Aymara Ch’allan families thank the Pachamama for the first fruits of the sowing. And this gratitude extends to all of nature, animals, homes, possessions, etc.
It is a sacred period (Waman Puma) and the month of the great maturation of the potato, in which people (jaqis) begin to eat the first fruits. This appreciation shows the festive behaviour of the Andean populations in relation to the agricultural process of plant maturation and growth. That is why Anata is also a cultural expression
of phytolatry or plant worship.

Photo: Pixabay

In the month of February, the time of jallupacha (time of rains), the potato plants flower, bearing in due time the fruits expected by the community: potatoes, quinoa, beans, etc.
The Anata is not a simple expression of play or amusement, but a sacred act of thanksgiving to the Divinity. Playing or Anata is a set of socio-cultural expressions: family, dance, music, clothing, rites, food. It is a time of relationships between men and nature: it is the time to evoke the spirit of the things that surround the Andean people. Because in this time of play, everything that surrounds the jaqi (person), work tools, agricultural products, nature and other things come to life; they are beings who eat and drink. This Andean way of being guides the relationships between the jaqi, divinity, and nature.
Life does not come from being or from the person itself, but from the divinity, the Pachamama. This deity is the generator of life and death. For this reason, when plants flower, it is more than a natural cycle, it is a blessing from Pachamama, Mother Earth. It is the time of fertility, or jallupacha, to be greeted with joy, so that it returns next year.

Photo Pixabay

The Andean anata begins with the arrival of the Guerramallkus, the ancestral spirits. After that, the festivities begin with the entry of the various groups. Each group dresses up as thapakayus, as bears or other animals, and as other characters. Everyone dances to the sound of pinkillu (typical festival music) and pututu (a pierced horn, which can be made from the horn of a goat or a cow).There are three main moments in the party. The first is the family celebration or the so-called ‘fiesta chica’ or ‘fiesta’ jiska uru anata. The second is the community celebration or big community festival, as jach’a anata uru. The third is the farewell party or cacharpaya.In the Jisk’a Anata uru (small festival), the branding or k’illpa of the cattle takes place and the ears of the llamas, alpacas, sheep and heifers are decorated with multicoloured wool. People dance to the music of the tarqueada and the songs are dedicated to their herds and nature.The central part of the fiesta is traditionally known as jach’a anata uru (the big game or big party), in which Andean youths play with water, flowers and mak`unkus (green potato fruits).

Photo: Pixabay

During the party, they visit each other, going from house to house. When the visiting group arrives, one of them must leave a plant as a sign of blessing or thanks for the welcome. For his part, the householder provides them with food, drinks, mixed drinks, festoons and sweets. He thanks them for their visit and for having honoured him with the joy they bring. That is why pijchea and Ch’alla (chewing coca, drinks and food) are shared on this day, thanking Pachamama and God for blessing them with the new fruits which are the real hope for sustaining life. The foods each have their own spiritual name: the potato is called llallawamamala, the corn p`aqola mamala, the wheat mamateresa, the lacayote jak`alairani, the papalizo or ulluku q`illupullira, the goose awkiawki, the izañu qoripututu and others. On this ceremonial day, each of them speaks at the two tables, qharimesa (men’s table) and warmimesa (women’s table) set by the owner of the house from the first day of the festival.Another important moment is the visit to the takawa (sacred place). This is the place that protects the community or the Ayllu. There they prepare two tables for the ch’alla, the pijchea, the jich’i and the kanka (typical food of the feast, new potatoes, and a piece of roasted meat). Food is shared.The dances that are performed in this period of Anata are the Qhachwa (love dance), the anatiris (anata dance) and the Chaywanata (potato dance).
The Qhachwa is the dance of love and marriage invitation. It is performed by unmarried young people who dance to the rhythm of pinquillos and wanqaras. According to tradition, this period of Anata is the best time to get married. For this reason, young people arrange to participate in the Qachwa and dance on the hill of love (munaypata) and choose their future partner.

Photo Max Pixel

The dance of the antiris is a youth dance from the time of Anata. Young men of both sexes beautifully dressed in their festive costumes dance on the day of the Jach’a Anata (great festival). After dancing through the sayañas and fields, they enter the square with great joy, to the rhythm of wanqara music.The Chaywanata dance is the dance of the pampa region Koani, performed by peasants. Their festive costumes are made with the material elements that are used for the daily agricultural work: chaquitaclla (hoe), basket, aguayo, etc.
The dancers of the Chaywanata are characterized by the fact that they wear, together with their clothes, the material elements of the cult of nature: sheepskins, flowers, a potato necklace around their neck, work tools, etc.After a week of partying, the moment of goodbye arrives, the cacharpaya. The community says goodbye to jallupacha time, Anata is leaving but will be back next year. The Guerramallkus, the ancestral spirits, after having gone around the houses three times in a row, set off to the west of the sun. People return to their homes accompanied by the sounds of the qhonqota, the pinkillu and the pututo. The Anata festival ends with a big thank you to Pachamama, Mother Earth.

Jhonny Mancilla

Towards the 2023 Synod. Dialogue. The Proposal of a Decalogue.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023 8:00

If ‘dialogue’ means ‘meeting through the word’ (‘dia-logos’), dialogue is necessary to walk together, to live, that is, that style of ‘synodality’ (‘synod’ means ‘journey made together’), with which Pope Francis is calling the Church to face the challenges and promises of our times.

To experience an authentic synodal process, the Church must increasingly be a people in dialogue, within herself and with others. The path of synodality asks us all to verify ourselves on the ability to dialogue in truth. I invite you to do so by examining ourselves on this decalogue, which I elaborated several years ago and put to the test on many occasions to educate us in dialogue:

1. There is no dialogue without humility. By accepting to listen to the other, by renouncing all claims on them, the way is opened to the truth, to which we all owe obedience.
2. There is no dialogue without listening. It is necessary to silence prejudices and fears, to be open to the new, respectful of the foreignness of the other, welcoming them with trust as an inner guest, eager to live the common belonging to the truth and
to the love that saves.

3. There is no dialogue without amazement. Being amazed, seeing the world with different eyes, feeling part and not all, getting involved and taking risks, disorients, but frees from false resistance and makes one capable of welcoming the truth from wherever it comes.
4. There is no dialogue without a common language. To understand the words of the others, one must listen to their hearts and respect the vital situation from which they come. Only in this way can dialogue be an ‘encounter
in the word’ (‘dia-logos’).
5.There is no dialogue without silence. Silence is necessary both to listen and reflect on what is being proposed by the other, and to express authentic closeness, often conveyed by gestures rather than many words. We will not speak true words if we have not first walked the paths of silence for a long time!

6.There is no dialogue without freedom. To open up to dialogue and live it, you need to be: free from yourself, willing to question yourself; free from others, rejecting the conditionings and fears that they sometimes impose; and free to obey only the truth,
which sets us free (cf. Jn 8:32).
7.There is no dialogue without mutual forgiveness. Anyone who wants to dialogue must clear his mind and heart of any resentment or wound of wrongs suffered. By remembering, the heart must be purified with the request and offer of forgiveness.
8.There is no dialogue without mutual knowledge. Ignorance of the other, of his culture, of his vital world, is at the basis of misunderstandings and closures. To dialogue it is necessary to know the other and to be known by them.

9.There is no dialogue without responsibility. Whoever dialogues must never forget the network of human relationships from which he comes and towards which he is responsible. Dialogue does not eliminate, rather it increases, the sense of responsibility that each one must have
towards the good of all.
10.There is no dialogue without truth. Anyone who has no passion for the truth will not be able to dialogue. In dialogue the heart opens to the one who is the truth, the living God, who comes to dwell in whoever – in dialogue with him – welcomes his love for him.
Therefore, dialogue requires humility, listening, the ability to be amazed, understanding, silence, freedom from oneself, from others and from things, reciprocity in forgiving and knowing one another, responsibility in wanting the good, and obedience to the truth.(Illustrations: Luis Henrique Alves Pinto)

Mons. Bruno Forte
Theologian
Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto (Italy).

Guatemala. A Failed State.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023 8:00

Drug trafficking, corruption, the danger of fraud in the next presidential elections. The Church’s commitment to defending the poor following the example of the martyrs of Quiché. We talk about it with Monsignor Rosolino Bianchetti Boffelli, Bishop of Quiché.

It was a day in August 1995. A farmer was working in his field. The hoe inadvertently moved a stone stuck in the dark earth. It was then that he noticed the strange object: a book closed in a plastic bag. With difficulty, on the thick black cover, the words ‘Holy Bible’ could still be read. The farmer took it, looked around and put it back in its place. He calmly placed the earth and stones on top. It was enough to have a bible at home to be tortured and killed.

Monsignor Rosolino Bianchetti Boffelli, bishop of the diocese of Quiché.

The violence of those bloody years did not extinguish faith. Books and sacred symbols were buried but they continued to be read and prayed with in secret. A missionary recounts: “The Christians buried the Bible. At night, the community gathered at that point to read some passages, thus resurrecting the Word”.That hidden bible symbolizes the historical memory of a civil war that bloodied Guatemala between 1960 and 1996. According to the Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica (REMHI) report, some 200,000 people were killed. More than a million people were forced to flee their homes and hundreds of villages were destroyed. The Commission for Historical Clarification attributed more than 93% of all documented human rights violations to the military government of Guatemala and estimated that Mayan Indians accounted for 83% of the victims. In 1999, the Commission concluded that the state’s actions amounted to genocide.

The martyrs of Quiché
In the highlands of Quiché, on the border with Mexico, tens of thousands were massacred, the vast majority were poor and indigenous people. With them priests, lay people, catechists, and operators were murdered for their commitment alongside the poor and oppressed.
Twenty-five years after the end of the conflict, the church wanted to recognize the sacrifice of many Christians who paid for their fidelity to the Gospel with their blood by beatifying on 23 April 2021, in the diocese of Quiché, three Spanish missionary priests of the Sacred Heart – José María Gran Cirera, Juan Alonso Fernández, and Faustino Villanueva – and seven lay people – Tomás Ramírez Caba, Rosalío Benito Ixchop, Reyes Us Hernández, Domingo Del Barrio Batz, Nicolás Castro, Miguel Tiu Imul, and Juan Barrera Méndez, just 12 years old. All murdered in ‘hatred of faith’ between 1980 and 1991.

Monsignor Rosolino Bianchetti Boffelli, of Italian origin, current bishop of the diocese of Quiché, explains the meaning of that beatification: “Our martyrs were men of great faith, of great trust in God, but at the same time, of great dedication so that there might be a change, a different Guatemala. They were courageous men who did not stop in the face of any kind of threat and ‘embraced their cross’. They were persecuted, tortured, and killed by those who saw the teachings of the gospel as ‘a danger’ to the interests of the powerful”.
The bishop of Quiché also underlines that the example of courage of these Christians is a source of inspiration for today’s communities in Guatemala, which must “face the threats of our time, such as poverty, lack of work, exploitation, and forced migration”.
Archbishop Bianchetti, looking at today’s Guatemala, is not afraid to denounce “the poor governance which has deteriorated more and more due to the oppressive and pervasive presence of organized crime,
linked to drug trafficking”.

Three missionary priests and seven lay people were beatified on 23 April 2021.

The bishop continues: “Drug trafficking has captured the state, at all levels. In the country, there has been an authoritarian involution and even the institutions that govern democracy (Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Justice, Public Prosecutor, etc.) are increasingly controlled by the government, so much so that there is talk of possible fraud in the next presidential elections of June 2023. Furthermore, corruption is rampant, as happened during the pandemic, which has allowed the government to have a free hand with huge sums of money, leaving very few crumbs for the people”. The bishop insists on the Church’s commitment: “As the Catholic Church of Quiché, we have focused on the formation of leaders, starting from the concrete problems of the people: for example, the impact of large infrastructure projects, such as open pit mines or hydroelectric dams, that devastate the environment, take over natural resources, and harm local communities”.“Sometimes it is said that this is a people without hope; I would rather say that we are dealing with a people still marked by the bleeding scars of bestial violence and aware of the current
power of drug trafficking”.

During the civil war, more than 200,000 people were killed. Mayan Indians accounted for 83% of the victims.

The bishop insists: “We have an important network of Catholic broadcasters in the Quiché with a network of five diocesan radio stations that broadcast programs on social, cultural, religious issues, etc.; likewise in the nearby dioceses of Huehuetenango and Sololà. The plurality of these radios serves to enhance local cultural expressions, but they also have common programmes. On the occasion of the last political elections, the parishes promoted debates between the candidates who, however, do not respond to the requests of the people and disappear the day after the vote.”
” We are therefore increasingly convinced, as an Episcopal Conference, that it is necessary to establish a school for leaders, although this work, which is already partly present, is hindered by the need of young people, often the most prepared, to emigrate”.

Looking to the next Synod, Msgr. Bianchetti says: “I would like the role of the laity to be increasingly emphasized and recognized also at a juridical level. For this we also need a reform of canon law, which makes this role legal and not subject to a benign concession by the clergy. The laity could, not only in Guatemala, make a much greater contribution and this would make the Church more alive. Then there is the issue of married clergy, which Pope Francis left open after the Synod for the Amazon, probably to avoid divisions, but the possibility of ordaining married men as priests should be implemented. There are many leaders in the communities who would make excellent priests. I am very happy because this year I have already ordained four young priests, some of whom are indigenous Q’eqchi and Kaqchikel, an unprecedented number that brings the diocesan clergy to over forty units. When I arrived in the Quiché there were four of us! Paraphrasing Tertullian, I would say that ‘the blood of martyrs, of our martyrs, is the seed of new Christians, of new priests’. However, we need to think of a twofold type of priest, a celibate one, more missionary and itinerant, and a married one, residing in the communities. May the Holy Spirit enlighten us, so that we can also advance in this direction”.

Mauro Castagnaro and Pedro Santacruz

Music. Mdou Moctar. The Sounds of the Desert.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023 8:00

From the golden sands of the Sahara Desert to the renowned world of music festivals. Songs of love for his land and his people.

One of the most beautiful and intense albums of last year has a title that is already a whole program: Afrique Victime. It bears the signature of Mdou Moctar, aka Mahamadou Souleymane, a Tuareg artist originally from Niger. Born in the mid-1980s, in the Tuareg heart of the African nation in a town called Tchintabaraden.
Mdou now lives in Agadez, a centre of about 100,000 inhabitants sunk in the sands of the Sahara, a place of passage for many nomadic caravans but also for many migrants to Europe.

Photo: CC BY 2.0/ Rafael Ojea Perez

This is not the first time that Tuareg music has circulated in the rich markets of the West. The new Tuareg music as well as its poetry has centuries of history behind it. The basic instruments are the tindè drums, the flutes, the lutes and the single-stringed violins called imzad. But recently, the dances are led mostly by electric guitars in a cross of sound cultures that brings together the latest generation of musicians to the great masters of the African American blues.
The Tuareg are people who have freedom in their blood, people accustomed to crossing the desert orienting themselves by the stars and feeding on the silence of large spaces. But among the nomads of the desert, there is a culture that we could define as progressive, both on a religious and civil level.
Moctar’s songs perfectly respect this format and Afrique Victime is also a record composed of guitars and field recordings, with poetic meditations on love, religion, women’s rights, inequality and the exploitation of West Africa by colonial powers.

Mdou Moctar at the 2022 Pori Jazz Festival, Finland. CC BY-SA 4.0/Pihamies

Nine pieces with an atmosphere full of energy and with at times almost hypnotic trends, not far from a certain Jimi Hendrix-style psychedelia, but also full of references to Arab melodies and very Afro-style choirs – songs, above all, imbued with love for this land and its people.
‘Chismiten’, the first track on Afrique Victime, opens with the sounds of crickets and a rooster’s cock-a-doodle-doo before Moctar’s guitar takes over. The track builds and builds and speeds up as he adds new cycles of kaleidoscopic guitar riffs between call-and-response vocals in Tuareg about becoming a better person by letting go of jealousy. The song’s verses and choruses, if that’s even what they are, whip back and forth to their own logic, and Moctar keeps adding layers of guitar.

Mdou Moctar Live In Niamey, Chad. (Photo: Niger Press)

With this new recording, the guitarist and singer from Niger makes North African and Tuareg musical traditions the characteristic elements of a sound that knows how to be innovative and contemporary without ever losing references to its own tradition. Also spreading a message of hope, resistance, and resilience. All skills matured since his adolescence when the young Mdou built his first electric guitar using the cables of a bicycle. And his music has come a long way since then: after his debut album Anar, recorded in Nigeria in 2008, four more were recorded in a studio and two live. And with them came, little by little, flattering reviews in the Western media, a growing international reputation, and invitations to the most renowned world music festivals, making the tears and dreams of his people travel even further. (Open Photo: Mdou Moctar. CC BY 2.0/Kelav Slavoran)

Franz Coriasco

Postcard from Ghana. The Culture of Sewing.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023 8:00

Sewing and fabrics speak of Ghana, not only for the millions of dollars that the sector generates every year but also for how deeply this tradition is rooted in every corner of the country. Cities like Kpando, where workshops invade the streets, are proof of this.

In Kpando, a town of about 28,000 inhabitants located in the Volta region, there are two activities that stand out above all: hairdressing salons and sewing workshops. If it is true that the former passes a little more unnoticed, the importance of the latter is such that the inhabitants of this city can find up to 20 stalls of tailor-made clothes on its main street alone. In fact, there is one shop for every 280 inhabitants.
Xorlali operates the wheel of the sewing machine as if she has done it all her life, but it’s only been two years since she finished her apprenticeship. “I was taught a lot of theory at school, but I needed to touch it with my hands”, she recalls as she traces a pattern on a suit.

Amidst piles of scraps and plastic bags full of unused fabrics, the 23-year-old works hard to become, as she says, “the best seamstress in Kpando”. Her workshop has no windows, but it does have a large door that opens onto the street.
Surrounded by these four walls, on just over five square meters, Xorlali sews clothes and takes orders from dozens of customers.
Textile production is a very important sector. So much so that in the Delta Preparatory School textbooks, also in Kpando, there are topics and themes dedicated to sewing. From the different types of sleeves to the making of different collars to the main tools and steps to follow to how to darn. The program is part of a design and technology subject where boys and girls also learn technical drawing and some traditional cooking recipes.
Unsurprisingly, sewing workshops take up most of the city’s kiosks. They are small structures, built with iron sheets or bricks, with colourful and eye-catching facades. Inside, posters show dozens of models wearing different garments, most of which are made of kente, the country’s most famous fabric.

Illustration from a textbook showing different types of garments. (Photo: Margalida Fullana Cànaves)

“It is very common for someone walking down the street to ask you who made the dress you are wearing”, says Xorlali. Unlike the capital Accra and the second most populated city, Kumasi, it is difficult to find ready-made clothes in Kpando. However, you can buy fabrics of a thousand colours for around a dollar a meter. “I love it when someone says I’m his tailor and recommends my work”, adds Xorlali with a big smile.
Ghana is one of the largest textile exporters in the world. According to the latest data gathered by the World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS), the country exported about 53.5 million dollars in this sector in 2019. About 27.9 million, to the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, while another 18.4 million to North America. Europe and Central Asia account for approximately 1.9 million dollars.

Xorlali’s workshop. (Photo: Margalida Fullana Cànaves)

With the needle moving at full speed, Xorlali points out that she usually charges around $4 per garment, “Isn’t that very cheap?”, she complains with wide-open eyes, aware that her profit will increase as she gains experience. She buys the fabrics she uses for his work from some stalls in Kpando Centre, but doesn’t know where they come from. “I think they come from Accra”, she says without thinking.
Serafine, on the other hand, is a 50-year-old woman who runs a small fabric shop in the local market of the city. She sits on a small plastic bucket, accompanied by one of her three children. Her stall, which only has room for about 50 fabrics, is located in one of the narrowest aisles in this large bazaar. Amidst the intense smell of spices and dried fish, her stall, which does not even have a light, goes almost unnoticed.
“I go once a week to Accra and once a month to Lomé’ the Togolese capital to buy fabrics”, says Serafine where she buys 50 to 60 pieces of fabric, each about six meters long. You travel to these cities by car or by trotro, as buses are called here. She usually shops in department stores, where the fabrics are made of cotton. “Even if the fabrics are quite similar, those from Togo are cheaper”, she explains.
Serafine says that since the beginning of the pandemic, entry into Togo has been more difficult than usual. “Some of the main border crossings have been closed and we are now forced to cross the border on secondary roads”, she explains. She also tells us that although the police routinely carry out security checks upon entering and exiting the country, there is no maximum number of meters of fabric that can be transported, so she tries to make the most of each trip.
But of the 100 sewing workshops on Kpando, one stands out above all: that of Anita, a 30-year-old woman who decided to open her own business in 2017. “I started sewing in my room, at my parents’ house, and I now have about 18 employees”, she reveals.
Her workspace is almost on the outskirts of Kpando, but it doesn’t go unnoticed. She has 16 antique sewing machines, these are for apprentices, “but the more proficient sewers use these others”, she says, pointing to a set of nine electric sewing machines.

Anita’s workshop workers with the electric sewing machines. (Photo: Margalida Fullana Cànaves)

“Everyone has their own preferences – Anita adds. I want the people who come to my lab to be serious and appreciate what I do”. That’s why she, unlike Xorlali, can charge up to $120 for an elaborate dress, including fabric and beads. Her shop is not only the most expensive in Kpando, but it is also the sewing workshop where the most privileged people go when they need clothes for special occasions such as funerals. Anita says: “There is a very detailed dress code: if the deceased is over 90, you have to dress in white; if he is between 75 and 90, black and white; and if he’s under 75, black and red.”
As she speaks, she looks towards the street where a very elegant young woman is chatting with another lady. “See that dress, I made it last week. The people on the street with my clothes are my advertisement”.

Margalida Fullana Cànaves

Ghana. Adowa, the Unique Dance Style of the Ashanti.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023 8:00

It is one of the most popular and unique dance styles practiced in Ghana. It belongs to an ethnic group called ‘Ashanti’, which is a part of the Akan community group.

The Adowa dance relates to the word Sankofa. Sankofa (sahn-KO-fah [san: ‘to return’] plus [ko: ‘to go’] plus [fa: ‘to look, to seek and take’]) is a word in the Twi language of the Akan community that translates as ‘Go back and get it’. Sankofa acknowledges that one’s understanding of their future is bound to them through culture and history. This concept is an affirmation of one’s past as being in constant practice and ever-present.
The dance exhibits the theories and conceits of black feminism in the Akan community. It is a traditional African dance said to have originated from the movement of an antelope (Adowa in Twi language).Oral history has it that the dance originated in the early days of warfare when, once, the Great Queen of the Ashantis (Abrewa Tutuwaa) was sick and the only way to get her healed was by obtaining a live antelope from the wild to pacify the gods and make her well again, as revealed by the chief priest.

Adowa Dancer. CC BY-SA 4.0/ Fquasie

The delegation assigned to get this antelope witnessed the outstanding and captivating movements of the creature so, upon their arrival they imitated it and danced for all the households, demonstrating how the antelope exhibited such skillful moves. The old women also imitated and improvised the moves; hence it became a famous and much adored dance within the ethnic group, and it has been practiced until this date. Then it was done only by women, but men also do it now.
According to oral account, the Asafo warriors’ group was the first to have started the Adowa dance. Then old women also imitated and improvised the moves of the dance until it became an adored dance amongst the Ashanti ethnic group. A dance that was initially dominated by women now has no boundaries of gender.
The Adowa is commonly performed during festivals, funerals, marriages, and other celebrations. It has subtly become the official traditional dance to welcome dignitaries and popular personalities to Ghana.
The Adowa dance is a sign of expression that allows performers to communicate their emotions and feelings through their hands and feet. There are different hand movements performed for each setting; people will communicate positive emotions at weddings or engagements and negative emotions at funerals.

Women and little girls dancing Adowa. CC BY-SA 4.0/ Selina-Emma Laryea

This particular dance has a special attachment to royalty since every move, stance, or gesture is a message with meaning; hence, highly trained people usually do this dance in gatherings where Royals are present. The costume worn by the dancers while performing Adowa includes a piece of cloth wrapped around the body from the chest right down to the knees. In the case of women, a red or black cloth
is tied around the head.
Also, jewelry is mainly worn around the head, shoulders, upper arms, wrists, knees, and ankles. In addition, performers also carry a handkerchief, either coloured or dark depending on the occasion. For example, a dark-coloured handkerchief is generally carried only during funerals.Although any gender or age can do this dance, it is more adorable when little boys and girls perform it. The dancers usually adorn themselves in Kente (woven patterned cloth commonly made by the inhabitants of Bonwire, a town in the Ashanti region). The occasion determines the type of Kente to be worn; funerals are usually black and white since it is a moment of mourning and grief. The cloth usually covers the breast area to the knee.

An Adowa ensemble comprises a lead singer, a chorus, and percussion instruments. Photo: Mirko Delazzari

All other functions use colourful Kente cloth which shows royalty, wealth, and status. The dancers decorate themselves with beads and golden necklaces. The beads are put on the wrist, ankles, knees, and neck. The ladies who have long hair cover them with black nets neatly wrapped over their hair. They also put golden bands around their heads to make them stand out. Those without long hair go by the Dansinkran style. This is when the dancers neatly dress their hair with black hair dye, which usually makes them beautiful and presentable.
An Adowa ensemble comprises a lead singer, a chorus, and percussion instruments. The instruments used in a classical Adowa performance are: atumpan (pair of ‘talking’ drums); petia, which is a tenor drum; apentemma, a supporting drum; dondo (hourglass drum); adawuraa (bell); trowa (made of gourd rattles); and rhythmic handclapping. There are normally two dondo (hourglass drums) and one or two adawuraa in the ensemble. The leader and the chorus are nearly always middle-aged women who accompany themselves with handclapping and/or with adawuraa (double bell) or an atoke (single bell).
The bell plays a steady rhythm, to which the chorus sings the responses. The lyrics of the songs express social and moral values such as, chiefs who have passed away, the grieving family, sympathy for the deceased, and the Akan faith.
In Adowa dance, women claim their own narratives and agency in each step and chant, as well as the attire they choose to wear. Adowa dancers are able to name themselves, and practice sisterhood and national pride.
The dancers use a symbolic language, with the different movements of their hands telling their own story. This body language is accentuated by the use of a white linen cloth, which they hold in their hand. The short dance steps are very subtle, drawing attention to the upper part of the body. The music is characterised by polyrhythmic accents, what the music accompanying Adowa is composed of.
In performing Adowa, the hands and feet are mainly utilized by the dancer. There are basic steps to this unique dance style. Firstly, the performer needs to apply pressure and move his or her right foot forward. Movements made by the dancer are exaggerated, and not exactly simple. During the performance, the dancer ensures that there is an interaction with the drummer that is not obvious. In addition, a sad facial expression generally needs to be exhibited by the dancer.

Adowa dance at the funeral of Asantehemaa. CC BY-SA 4.0/ Selina-Emma Laryea

The Adowa dance was originally performed by the Ashanti during funerals and festivals but due to modernity and cross-cultural adaptation, it can be performed by all ethnic groups in Ghana and even outside Ghana. In recent times, it is performed not only at festivities and funerals, but also at all kinds of social occasions, state gatherings, and various religious activities.
In fact, just as Ashanti’s funerals do not totally involve an expression of sadness, there are various Adowa movements to express joy, love, peace, and so on. The movement to express joy involves throwing up the arms and clasping the hands in jubilation. Love and peace are expressed by crossing both hands and fingers in a clasped position. For example, at the loftiness of a dance, if the dancer suddenly falls with his or her back into the arms or lap of another community member, particularly a prominent State official, he or she wishes to convey that he or she depends on the person.
Again, the theme of unity is always present in Adowa dance and is conveyed by crossing the arms and hands with palms opened, or by placing the two palms against one another vertically, as if the dancer has his or her hands clasped in prayer.
On the whole, Adowa movements and gestures affirm critical values and beliefs of the Akan community. In this way, with each successive performance, the role of the Akan traditional dance as a vehicle for expressing Akan’s ethnic identity, is not only ensured, but is enlivened with both individual spirit and the collective enthusiasm of the people of Asante. (Open Photo: Two young girls dancing Adowa. CC BY 2.0/Brendan)

Damian Dieu Donne Avevor

Lesotho. The Troubled Waters.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023 8:00

The wealth generated by the abundance of water has not prevented the increasingly vulnerable country from suffering for decades from land degradation. The government, civil society, and rural communities, with the technical and financial support of the international community, is trying to tackle the problem.

Lesotho is known as the Kingdom of Heaven. Two thirds of its surface is mountainous and contains the highest peak in southern Africa, which is Mount Ntlenyana at 3,482 meters above sea level. Its 30,000 square kilometres are inhabited by just over two million people, with a per capita income ($1,187) five times lower than that of South Africa, despite having a natural resource essential for life: water.

About 90% of Lesotho’s wetlands are located in the northeast of the country.

Adjacent to the South African region of KwaZulu-Natal in the north, the Drakensberg mountain range stretches the length of the country, forming a plateau in the north ranging from 2,700 to 3,200 meters above sea level and which is vital for livestock and the agricultural industry. It is also the main source of the Tugela River, which flows east for over 500 kilometres, and the Orange River, which flows through the west of the country and is the most important river in South Africa.
The tributaries of the Caledon River flow along the 100km of Lesotho’s western border, between the Maloti Mountains and the South African Free State. On its highest peaks, it is possible to see snow even in summer; in winter, temperatures drop below -20°c and their waters drain into the Senqu River which feeds Namibia and Botswana.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, it is a bioregion – a space larger than an ecosystem – whose soil is composed of sandstone and shale and covered with basalt.

To protect land and water
The Orange, Tugela and Caledon tributaries are the source of much of southern Africa’s fresh water, but rural and commercially limited Lesotho is one of the least developed countries in the world – last of all on the Human Development Index, 165^th out of 189. However, it lives alongside one of the continent’s largest economies, which also has a more accessible and useful topography for livestock and agriculture.
“The hills have an altitude of between 1,800 and 2,100 meters, which drops to 1,500 in the plain. The mountain soils are of basaltic origin, shallow but rich, while in the plain it is sandstone resulting in widespread erosion that has seriously damaged the whole territory”, explains Makomoreng Fanana, head of the Renoka movement, a name that means ‘We are one river’ which operates as a link between rural communities, civil society and the government to save both the land and the water that enriches the country.

From left: Makomoreng Fanana, Matsolo Migwi and Moteka Mohale, Renoka’s technicians and experts. (Photo: Carla Fibla García-Sala)

“Lesotho began to suffer from land decline before independence, but we have learned our lesson and we know that one institution alone cannot solve the problem; we need each other”, Fanana says, noting that his action is framed within the Department of Water Affairs, which is responsible for controlling water quality, quantity, sources and management. “The main source is the wetlands in territories managed by another ministry, but we must also take into account local government structures and tribal leaders. To declare a wetland as a protected area, we need to agree and understand why, for what purpose the decision
is made”, he continues.
About 90% of Lesotho’s wetlands are located in the northeast of the country and ensure that water flows along rivers and reaches other regions in the south of the continent. “Our goal is to manage and protect both land and water. But also, to improve the daily life of the communities where the sources of the river are located, ensuring economic development and sustainable use for the future, for the current generation and for those to come”, Fanana points out.

A shepherd watches over his cattle. (Photo Carla Fibla García-Sala)

Renoka’s manager says there have been several attempts to solve the land drainage problem, but they failed because “the approach was top-down, unbalanced and horizontal”, and success was limited to the duration of projects. “Now we are increasing awareness of what is happening and we are investing in behaviour change by developing community-based interventions”, Fanana says.
Mokake Mojakisane, who is the Commissioner for water and heads a major project Integrated Watershed Management (ICM) to combat land degradation says: “We share water with South Africa, Botswana and Namibia; the goal is that 70 cubic meters per second – currently 25 – are transferred from Lesotho to the Vaal River in South Africa, to contribute to 46% of flow capacity. In our program, we integrate the management of river basins because our country is severely degraded by the improper use of land, sources of resources, and can be harmful because we are a country with an abundant amount of water”. Mojakisane stresses that his country benefits from 50% of the hydroelectric energy consumed – the rest is imported from neighbouring countries. The Maseru government is contributing five million euros to the Integrated River Basin Management (ICM) project, which will be completed by the end of 2023.

Dependence on South Africa
Approximately 800 million cubic meters of water leave Lesotho for South Africa each year. This fresh water is not always available to communities living near dams due to access constraints.
This forces the local population to resort to unprotected sources, which often become a source of infections or outbreaks of diarrhoea due to the consumption of contaminated water.
According to the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA), between 1996 and 2020 Lesotho earned 11.2 billion malotis (709.5 million euros) from the sale of 16,401 million cubic meters of drinking water to South Africa. In 2020 it was 65.6 million euros for 780 million cubic meters, in what the authorities of Lesotho and South Africa call ‘an example of successful regional cooperation’. On the ground, however, this has a minimal impact on the standard of living of the population, which sees its precious ‘white gold’ extracted daily.

Mokake Mojakisane, Commissioner for water. (Photo Carla Fibla García-Sala)

The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) is developing one of the most ambitious engineering projects in Africa, with the aim of collecting water – the average annual rainfall exceeds 1,000 l / m2 – from the main rivers of the country and creating large artificial lakes to store it. The water would then be channelled from the north into the rivers of South Africa to reach the dam on the Vaal River, on which the densely populated urban and industrial areas of Johannesburg and Pretoria depend. The initial idea dates back to the 1950s, but an agreement was signed only in 1986, the second phase of which began in 2000 when a sub-agreement was revised and signed that was no longer taken into consideration, although the initial agreement was for this to be done every 12 years.
“A profitable agreement with South Africa would involve raising the rates payable for water exploitation and, in social terms, to ensure that Lesotho does not consider the dams as the property of South Africa. The treaty should be revised to improve what we share, and its management must be totally in the hands of Lesotho because they are our natural resources, on which we depend”, explains Mojakisane.
At the same time, it is important to involve local communities in the various decision-making processes. “The communities are part of the Renoka movement, a program of change, and they are impatient for the interventions to start where they have not yet been implemented. They are ready, but we want the project to be their property, not imposed by Maseru. The chain works because the communities inform us who have the technicians; we identify the challenges with them, and they show us what these places were like. We identify the change and what needs to be done”, Fanana says, after explaining that they are trying to recover the ‘natural sponges’ that retain water in wetlands when it rains and then, in periods of drought, filter it into the ground, preventing
it from drying out.

It is important to involve local communities in the various decision-making processes.

According to preliminary studies by several international organizations, confirmed by Renoka, between 63% and 80% of wetlands in Lesotho
have been lost since 2015.
” We have no alternative but to act by implementing projects that produce results, like what we are doing with the European Union and other international organizations. We have shown that it is possible to reverse the degradation of some of the wetlands or to stop their deterioration by allowing the earth to rest and regenerate”, Fanana said.
Investments in awareness – understanding why waste needs to be removed, when and how to weed, collect stones that spread erosion and implement water harvesting techniques – and community involvement are keys to ending the rifts that pervade the country. Currently, the Mohokare, Makhaleng and Senqu river basins, which are home to six rivers, are implementing the ICM action plan which aims to ‘provide climate-resilient socio-economic development in Lesotho’. (Open Photo.123rf.com)

Carla Fibla García-Sala

Mexico. A Sound that Calls for a Missionary Commitment.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023 8:00

The Comboni magazine ‘Esquila Misional’ celebrates 70 years of life. At the service of the people and of the Mexican church
open to the world.

It was a mild Thursday afternoon of January 22, 1948, when the first five Comboni missionaries landed at the Tijuana airport in Baja California. Waiting for them was Msgr. Felipe Torres Hurtado, apostolic administrator of the Vicariate of Baja California. With him, they went on to the city of La Paz. From the beginning, their presence stood out for being discreet and available to people’s needs. Three years later the Combonis assumed responsibility for the church of Tetepan in the parish of Xochimilco south of the capital city of Mexico. The idea was to start a work of vocations promotion for the formation of future Comboni missionaries and missionary animation.

Father Fernando González, with experience in South Sudan.

In 1953 they opened a training house in the Moctezuma neighbourhood and on January 1 of the same year the first issue of the magazine ‘Las Misiones’ was published, which in September would take the name ‘Esquila Misional’. Father Elio Sassella, founder and first director, explains the choice of the name: “Esquila is the smallest of the bells of a temple. It wants to call everyone with its vibrant voice. The purpose of Esquila Misional is to awaken and call the whole Catholic world to the arduous task of saving souls in the field of foreign missions. We all can and must be missionaries. Therefore, Esquila Misional wants to be a call to spread the Kingdom of God”.
The first issue consisted of only 16 pages. The contents were the experiences of the Comboni missionaries in Africa. In 1962 the number of pages was increased, and it was enriched with new sections. The magazine accompanies the changes within the church. In 1966, to spread the missionary idea among children, ‘Aguilucho’ was born.
In 1967, encouraged above all by the wave of ecclesial openness promoted by the Second Vatican Council and, in particular, by the conciliar decree Ad gentes, Esquila Misional made a significant leap in form and content. The number of pages increased to the current 52 and became more universal, in the sense that its contents no longer concerned only the Comboni missions in Africa or America, but reported the missionary reality of the whole world. With the inauguration of the Centre for Missionary Animation (CAM) in 1976, other publications were founded around Esquila Misional: books, pamphlets, rosaries, audiobooks, etc.

Sr. María de los Angeles Funes Rodríguez, vicar general of the Comboni Missionaries Sisters.

Thanks to technological advances, the magazine improved over time, both in the quality of the paper and in the printing of texts and photographs.
In March 1997, Esquila Misional reached the mythical milestone of 500 issues, which was celebrated with the introduction of colour for the first time on the internal pages. At first, half the pages were colour, then in May 1998 the definitive leap was made, where the 48 internal pages and the covers began to be published in colour, as they are today.
Esquila Misional not only informs but is a strong tool for vocational promotion. Father Fernando González, a Comboni missionary with experience in South Sudan recalls: “I began to read Esquila Misional when I attended catechism in the parish. I was very interested in the part of the magazine where the ‘Letters from the mission’ were. As I read, I imagined missionary adventures, sometimes imagining myself in Africa. Even though I have done a lot of apostolate in my parish and in my diocese, when I heard the call of Jesus, I didn’t hesitate to become a Comboni Missionary. Esquila Misional was the tool through which I discovered my missionary vocation”.
For Sister Tere Soto, a Comboni missionary who works in Chad, reading Esquila Misional gave rise to her desire to give her life for the mission. “I liked reading the section ‘Girls looking for something valid’. The example of many missionaries has touched my heart deeply. God used the magazine to help me answer his call to go into all the world to proclaim the Good News to the peoples”.
Sr. Josefina López, a Comboni Sister working in Costa Rica: “Through a friend from Guadalajara I got to know the magazine Esquila Misional in 1976. I read the testimonies of men and women religious who made me dream of missionary life. Knowing the life of the founder San Daniele Comboni, my interest in the African continent was born, and grew. On August 18, 1977, I entered the postulancy of the Comboni Missionary Sisters in Ciudad Granja, Jalisco. Thank you, Esquila Misional, for being the tool that opened me to the African continent, for being the tool that opened the doors of mission to missionary happiness!”

Fr. Rodríguez Perez Pablo Simón working among the Turkana people in Kenya.

Today Esquila Misional is much more than a simple magazine; it is a whole series of publications and activities aimed at the missionary animation of the Mexican people.
On the other hand, the arrival of the Internet has brought about new possibilities for the media and for missionary animation.
Esquila Misional did not want to miss the opportunity offered by this new technology and, after various attempts and trials, it has finally begun its journey through the networks with its website and its presence in the different social networks. The website was launched in the first years of the new millennium, a Facebook account was opened in 2013, and an Instagram account in 2021. In the past year, the YouTube channel has been relaunched and updated, where videos and missionary testimonies are shared, and a TikTok account is expected to be launched in 2023. Through all these means, Esquila Misional continues to ring the missionary bell to encourage the people and the Mexican church to be open to the world.

(C.C.)

Wagner: The Cornerstone of Russia’s Strategy in Africa.

Wednesday, 1 February 2023 8:00

The Wagner Group – Russia’s most prolific and infamous private military company (PMC) – formed during Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine, a mission that was influential in establishing Russia’s growing strategy of pursuing state goals through deniable
PMC activities.

Although other PMCs such as the Moran Security Group, Rossiskie System Bezopasnosti (RSB) Group, and Patriot have operated in Africa, the spread of Wagner deployments over the past five years has notably advanced Russia’s geopolitical and economic ambitions in sub-Saharan Africa. Now, in the wake of Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine, the PMC model may continue to evolve—further complicating Russian involvement on the continent.

In recent years, Russia has increasingly used PMCs to spread geopolitical influence and expand its military and intelligence footprint. The number of locations in which Russian PMCs operate has rapidly multiplied, growing from 4 in 2015—Ukraine, Syria, Libya, and Sri Lanka—to 27 in 2021, spanning Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

PMCs are technically illegal in Russia, and organizations like Wagner effectively operate as loose networks of shell companies and financial intermediaries rather than singular entities. Nonetheless, PMCs maintain close relationships with the Russian government.

Wagner, for example, is led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, an oligarch close to Russian president Vladimir Putin, and it has operated in connection with the Kremlin, Russian Ministry of Defense (particularly the Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU), Federal Security Service (FSB), and Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

Because PMCs are not officially part of the Russian state, they are difficult to hold accountable for transgressions, cost less to maintain, and are perceived as more expendable than Russian soldiers. PMC troops are often used to carry out dangerous and front-line missions, or to serve as a force multiplier pursuing Russian interests on multiple fronts.

Moscow’s PMC strategy evolved into a more economically focused phase as companies increased deployments to sub-Saharan Africa beginning in 2017. There, PMCs pursued partnerships with resource-rich states that faced security challenges and struggled with weak governance. PMCs exchanged paramilitary, combat, intelligence, disinformation, and other security services for financial gain—usually mining concessions—in addition to broader geopolitical and military gains.

Across its major deployments in Africa, Wagner experienced varying levels of success, including outright failure in Mozambique, where the PMC struggled with counterinsurgency operations before being replaced by a more experienced South African PMC in 2020, less than a year after its mission began. Simultaneously, Wagner accrued an alarming tally of human rights abuses in locations such as the Central African Republic and Mali, where its troops have been reported to have killed, tortured, and raped civilians.

Ukrainian, British, and other European intelligence reports confirmed Wagner’s presence in Ukraine shortly before and during the invasion’s early days. At the same time, disputed rumours spread claiming that the Wagner troops in Ukraine had been redeployed from Africa en masse, particularly from the Central African Republic, echoing
pre-invasion claims.

Yet, Wagner’s recruitment page on Vkontakte (or VK, Russia’s main social network) both launched a recruitment campaign to support operations in Ukraine and insisted that campaigns in Africa would continue. By late July, however, U.S. African Command commander General Stephen Townsend confirmed that Wagner had reduced its presence in Africa “a little bit” to redeploy to Ukraine, and troops came primarily from Libya—one of Wagner’s most established hubs on the continent. Still, Wagner troops maintained control of their four military bases in Libya as well as a robust aircraft and personnel presence.

Even as Russia sustained heavy losses in Ukraine, Russian PMC activity continued relatively uninterrupted in sub-Saharan Africa, including in locations such as Mali, where Wagner had only just arrived several months earlier. Troop numbers in Mali remained relatively constant, indicating that the PMC may have prioritized efforts to strengthen its presence in Ukraine rather than expanding deployments to West Africa.

The endurance of Wagner operations in Africa is not only a sign that Moscow continues to prioritize PMC-linked geopolitical, military, and economic benefits, but also an indication that the PMC model
is working as intended.

One of Russia’s motivations in using PMCs rather than Russian troops is to secure gains at little risk or cost to the state. Because it primarily relies on PMCs for operations in Africa, Russia was able to pursue those aims while dedicating the bulk of its official forces and investments to the war in Ukraine—essentially outsourcing lower-priority missions that still advance state goals.

Russian PMC operations in Africa have also served to soften the impact of international sanctions on Moscow. Although formal Russian financial dealings have been restricted at unprecedented levels, PMCs stationed in resource-rich sub-Saharan countries continue to exploit their resources – particularly gold and gemstones – for financial gain.

In Sudan, for example, Meroe Gold, a Wagner shell company, has received mining concessions from the Sudanese government. By smuggling gold out of Sudan and through countries such as the United Arab Emirates, a common transport hub for undeclared gold, Moscow can buoy its 130 billion USD gold supply and reduce the impacts of sanctions.

The most significant change in PMC operations throughout 2022 was the growing openness of the relationship between Wagner and Moscow. Operationally, Wagner has increasingly behaved like an integrated arm of the Russian military in Ukraine, in stark contrast to its past behavior as a smaller, distinct entity. It has also begun to recruit new members more openly, even advertising its successes on Russian state television.

In a surprising move, Prigozhin admitted his connection to Wagner for the first time in September 2022 after years of denying involvement and even bringing lawsuits against researchers and media outlets that tied him to Wagner activities. Shortly after this acknowledgment, Wagner opened its first official headquarters in St. Petersburg. This clear presence permits Wagner to cast a wider net for resources and civilian support. In December 2022, for example, the center announced a hackathon—a short-term, collaborative event dedicated to rapidly producing software or hardware—focused on UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) technology.

The juxtaposition of usual operations in sub-Saharan Africa with increasingly open operations in Russia and Ukraine presents additional vulnerabilities for the group. It is impossible for Wagner to acknowledge clear ties to Russia in one theater while maintaining deniability in another. As a result, it may be easier to track Wagner’s activities, reveal the harms it causes, and enforce accountability measures under local or international law. Furthermore, acknowledgment of a connection between Wagner and Moscow may jeopardize its ability to operate freely in the long run. Since PMCs are illegal in Russia, they operate at the Kremlin’s pleasure.

Prigozhin’s willingness to openly link himself with Wagner’s activities indicates a strong sense of security, reinforced by indications that he has grown closer to Putin since the invasion. Though unlikely to occur soon, if Prigozhin were to fall out of favor with Putin, the ramifications could impact Wagner’s standing.

These adaptations prove that Russia’s model for PMC intervention is not set in stone; rather, as Wagner becomes more forthcoming about its operations and connections to Moscow, a new phase of Russian PMC activities may emerge.

Even so, Wagner appears committed to continuing and even expanding its operations in Africa, even if that means smaller deployments or less skilled recruits. During the U.S.-Africa Summit in December 2022, Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo alleged that Burkina Faso reached an agreement with Wagner to employ its troops to contain jihadist violence in exchange for mining concessions.

If true, Wagner’s deployment to Burkina Faso will publicly test the impacts of the war in Ukraine on Wagner’s African missions. As Wagner sustains significant losses in Ukraine and must rely on less experienced or disciplined recruits, deployments to countries such as Burkina Faso are unlikely to provide assistance with the scale or capability to effect long-term security improvements.
Moreover, these troops may be more likely to cause additional harms to civilian populations and contribute to local insecurity.

As the consequences of Wagner’s activity in Ukraine unfold in Burkina Faso and other African countries, the drawbacks and true costs of partnering with the Russian PMC may be increasingly apparent. (Photo: Russian mercenaries provide security for convoy with the president of the Central African Republic. Photo: Clément Di Roma/VOA)

Catrina Doxsee/ISPI

Photo Gallery – Jubilee 2025. Pilgrims of Hope

Advocacy

Baobab

Youth & Mission