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The Birthplace of the Rainbow.

Victoria Falls is one of the best known and most spectacular sights in Africa. Its history is lost in the mists of time. We visited this majestic and mysterious birthplace of the rainbow

A 1,737- meter-long crack in the ground blocks the way to the Zambezi, which falls with an impressive drop of up to 107 meters. As it reaches the localities of Victoria Falls and Livingstone, the two border towns that mark the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, the Zambezi, the fourth-longest river in Africa opens up to become almost two kilometres wide, embracing the entire extension of the falls. The grandiose flowing face of the falls is interrupted at two points by the natural watersheds of two large islands, Cataract Island and Livingstone Island, which are never submerged by water even during floods, as evidenced by the abundant deciduous vegetation covering them.

The face is almost entirely visible from the Zimbabwean side, along a scenic path that runs along the precipice and allows you to admire the four main sections of the falls. The first is Devil’s Cataract, which is the lowest at 74 meters high, and nevertheless impressive; it is in fact the only one that, on the Zimbabwe side, can be viewed from a central point thanks to a flight of steps that descend into the gorge.
After Cataract Island comes the highest and largest stretch, the Main Falls, perhaps the most spectacular and photographed section of Victoria Falls. Rainbow Falls follows, which takes its name from the singular phenomenon of the perennial rainbow (sometimes even two appear) that dominates the falls, originating from the refraction of sunlight in the droplets of nebulized water, a phenomenon to which the falls owe their ancient (and little-known) name of shungu na mutitima (or chongo na mutitima), which in the Tonga language means ‘the place of the rainbow’. Lastly, there is The Eastern Cataract, the only section visible from the front from Zambia.

Millions of years ago
The history of the falls was written by the river on the rocks. Millions of millions of years ago, an eruption formed a vast base of basalt rock between today’s Zimbabwe and Zambia, which takes the name of Batoka Plateau, having cracked at the current Victoria Falls. After the great Ice Age, the rise in temperatures and the consequent return of rains gave rise to innumerable watercourses on the African continent, one of which was the primitive Zambezi.

The very powerful winds following the thaw created formations of giant transversal dunes which, together with the lifting of the earth’s crust at the edges of the Kalahari-Zimbabwe fault, blocked the course of many rivers which, instead of continuing south, diverted some towards the Atlantic and others to the east.
The latter went to fill the vast depression of the Kalahari, forming that enormous prehistoric lake called Lake Magkadigkadi (whose remains are still seen in Botswana in the great saline area of Sowa and the Magkadigkadi Pan), which until 20,000 years ago occupied a large part of Southern Africa. The rivers, however, carried a large amount of sediment, which raised the bottom of the lake until it dried up about 10,000 years ago.

The Zambezi began to flow on the same sedimentary rocks that had decreed the death of the lake and at the same time filled the fracture in the basalt. It gradually eroded the rocks, finding its way to the ocean along the slight natural depression that had followed the fracture of the plateau. Here, due to the abrupt change of direction of the water, erosion became more intense, and in the following epochs, the soft sedimentary rock was carried away up to the deepest and hardest basalt, a hundred meters deeper. The different colours of the sedimentary layers eroded by the water are clearly visible from many viewpoints overlooking the gorges.

Discovery by explorers
Compared to this story, the fact that David Livingstone was, in November 1855, the first European to discover the falls seems an insignificant detail. But it was probably thanks to him that today we know them for what they are. They had already been reported in 1715 on a map by the cartographer Nicolas de Fer (the result of the stories of local populations).However, the first European eyewitness account was that of Livingstone, led by the Makalolo (inhabitants of the region at the time) to what they called Mosi oa tunya (‘The smoke that thunders’). “Nothing in England can match such a spectacle of such beauty and majesty that it seems reserved for angels”, noted the explorer, who named the falls in honour of the sovereign of England.

The story of the falls will continue with Cecil John Rhodes, an entrepreneur and politician in her Majesty’s colonies, and his dream of uniting all British possessions through a single railway. The project led to the erection of the iron bridge over the Zambezi in 1905, an extraordinary engineering work that, more than a hundred years after its inauguration, still fulfils the task of ensuring transit between Zimbabwe and Zambia at a strategic point. A 2005 appraisal established that with simple maintenance works the bridge could last another hundred years.
The volume of the river varies considerably during the year, due to the alternation of dry seasons (generally from May to October) and the rainy season (November-April). It is completely normal that at the end of the dry season the rivers reach the minimum flow and consequently also the waterfalls originating from them. The hydrometric levels of the river have certified a record level of flooding in the river in recent months, which had not been recorded for over forty years.

Gianni Bauce/Africa

 

Africa. The Gas Routes .

Out of 55 African countries, only 18 produce gas, although 87 per cent of African production is supplied by three countries: Algeria, Nigeria, and Egypt.

The war in Ukraine has suddenly put Africa in the foreground, with the wheat crisis, but also with the opportunities created for its energy sources, mainly gas. The EU hopes to draw on this, as it seeks to become independent from Russian gas, and for this reason, in mid-May, it launched an energy plan (REPowerEU) in which, in addition to renewables, gas maintains a strategic role. This situation has restored centrality to the Mediterranean, which, as it looked towards the East, had been marginalized. As a crossroads of civilizations, the Mediterranean is the new gas route for Europe, with gas pipelines or methane tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG).

A severely unbalanced market
Africa did not wait for the Ukrainian crisis to exploit its gas, even if in the world context its importance remains modest.
Africa possesses, as of early 2021, 6.9 per cent of the world’s proven gas reserves, against Russia alone with 19.9 per cent and the CIS countries (Confederation of Independent States) with 30.1 per cent while Turkmenistan alone owns 7.2 per cent of world reserves, more than the US which has 6.7 per cent, and the EU with 0.2 per cent (Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2021).

Huge tanker gas carrier at the berth of a power station on the island Malta. 123rf.com

The gas market is therefore highly unbalanced: two countries, the United States (23.7 per cent) and Russia (16.6 per cent), produce 40.3 per cent of total world production. The most economically developed countries (OECD) own 10.8 per cent of reserves, produce 38.4 per cent of gas and consume 46 per cent, compared to 89.2 per cent (reserves), 61.6 per cent (production) and 54 per cent (consumption) of non-OECD countries.

The more prominent countries
Currently, the more prominent African countries in the gas market are: Algeria, in 10th place with 2.1 per cent of world production and 1.2 per cent of reserves; Egypt in 14th place with respectively 1.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent; Nigeria in 16th place, with 1.3 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively; and Libya (0.3 per cent and 0.8 per cent).
Three out of four are also Mediterranean countries, hence the interest of multinationals such as the Italian Eni or the French Total, which are also present in other African countries. Out of 55 African countries, only 18 produce gas, although 87 per cent of African production is supplied by three countries: Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt.

Map of gas pipelines across Mediterranean and Sahara. CC BY-SA 3.0/ Mahmoudb1953

There are five medium-sized producers: Libya, Angola, Mozambique, Tunisia, and the Ivory Coast. It should be noted that African gas is, in proportion, destined more and more for the consumption of families and businesses, for the production of electricity and less and less for export.
While in 1970 only two countries were gas exporters (Algeria and Libya), today there are seven African exporting countries: Algeria (58 per cent), Nigeria (28 per cent), Mozambique (5 per cent), Libya (4.5 per cent), Angola (2 percent), Egypt (1.5 per cent). Europe, even before the Ukrainian war, was the main source of outlet for African gas with 62 per cent, 43 per cent through pipelines and 57 per cent by ship in the form of LNG, while only 10 per cent of African gas is destined for Africa (data relating to 2020, source BP).

The other strategic challenge
Algeria is not only the largest producer of African gas, but also the country best equipped for transportation, relying on three gas pipelines linking it to Europe, via Spain and Italy, and on natural gas liquefaction units (LNG) and ports. Of the two gas pipelines that connect them to Spain, Algeria has suspended transport through the one that passes through Morocco, the GME (Gas Maghreb Europe), following the breakdown of diplomatic relations and the increase in tensions between the two countries due to the Western Sahara issue.
Algiers committed itself, even before the Ukrainian crisis, to boosting transport through the gas pipeline that links it directly to Spain (Medgaz) and the one that reaches Sicily via Tunisia (TransMed). We should also remember Libya and the Greenstream gas pipeline that reaches Gela in Sicily but which, given the tension in the country, is not a candidate for expansion for the time being. The Algerian network originates in the Sahara, and this brings it closer to Africa’s largest gas reserve, that of the Niger delta in Nigeria.

Natural gas pipeline construction work. 123rf.com

The country is engaged in two pipeline projects, still on paper. The first leads through Niger to Algeria and the European market. The second passes under the sea along the coast of West Africa and is expected to make landfall in Morocco; it would be an extension of the gas pipeline that currently carries gas from Nigeria off the coast of Ghana, serving Benin and Togo. Given the costs, investments and time required for implementation, it is unlikely that both projects can be implemented. For this reason, the economic-diplomatic battle between Algeria and Morocco accelerated due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, on 25 July, Algeria’s state-owned oil company, Sonatrach, announced three major oil and gas discoveries in the Sahara desert.
The first discovery is a gas condensate located in two different reservoirs which were found following the drilling of an exploration well in the Illizi Basin, located at the border with Libya. According to the company, the flow rates recorded by the two reservoirs amounted to 513,000 cubic metres/day of gas during the test phase.
Another discovery of crude oil was made in partnership with Italian oil company Eni in the northern region of the Berkine Basin. ‘During the production test, the well produced 1,300 barrels/ day of oil and 51,000 cm/ day of associated gas’, said Sonatrach. The two discoveries are located close to existing oil and gas facilities.

The eastern Mediterranean has been shown, more than a decade ago, to be rich in gas. The dispute between Turkey and Greece over the delimitation of their respective exclusive economic zones is preventing gas research projects and the passage of a gas pipeline, which could also affect Cyprus, whose northern part has been occupied by Ankara since 1974, and Israel. Thus, the EastMed gas pipeline project that could carry gas from Israel via Cyprus to Greece and to Italy remains on paper for the moment. In the meantime, Turkey has become a strategic gas distribution pole for both Russia and Europe, and this also explains the role that Ankara plays in the Ukrainian crisis.

Gas and ecological transition
Faced with the challenge of gas for Europe and Africa, the climate dimension is placed on the back burner. The Africans want to take advantage of the upcoming COP27 climate conference, to be held in November in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to take stock of the possibilities of exploiting their energy sources. In particular, they ask that gas be considered as an element of the ecological transition and that therefore Africa can take advantage of it longer than expected to bridge the gap with the West. We may take for example the electricity grids, ready to receive renewable energy, something still largely lacking in much of Africa. As for Europe, the Russian gas crisis has revived fossil and nuclear sources. Among the victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we must now also count those caused by the abandonment of more stringent policies to combat climate change. (Open Photo: Gas storage spheres tank in petrochemical plant in sunset. 123rf.com)

Luciano Ardesi/MO

World Mission Sunday. “You shall be my witnesses”.

This year World Mission Day will be celebrated on Sunday, on 23 October, focused on the theme: “You shall be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

In his message, the Pope reflected on three foundations of the life and mission of every disciple: “You shall be my witnesses”, “to the ends of the earth” and “you shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit”.
The first, he said, is “the call of every Christian to bear witness to Christ,” calling it the “heart of Jesus’ teaching to the disciples.”
Pope Francis said Christ was the first to be sent to proclaim, as the Father’s missionary and as His “faithful witness.” “Every Christian is called to be a missionary and witness to Christ. And the Church, the community of Christ’s disciples, has no other mission than that of bringing the Gospel to the entire world by bearing witness to Christ. To evangelize is the very identity of the Church.”

123rf.com

The Pope said each baptized Christian is called to carry out the Church’s mission in a communitarian way, even in the ordinary activities of our daily lives.Christians, he added, are sent on mission by the Church in Christ’s name, and never under our own initiative. He noted that Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs, since “the witness of Christians to Christ is primarily communitarian in nature.”
“The disciples are urged to live their personal lives in a missionary key: they are sent by Jesus to the world not only to carry out, but also and above all to live the mission entrusted to them; not only to bear witness, but also and above all to be witnesses of Christ.”Missionaries, said Pope Francis, proclaim the Good News of God’s salvation in Christ, not their own abilities or persuasive qualities.
“In evangelization,” he added, “the example of a Christian life and the proclamation of Christ are inseparable. One is at the service of the other.”Pope Francis went on to consider a second foundation of the Christian mission: “to the ends of the earth.”

He said the early disciples gradually expanded the scope of their mission, and lived an image of the Church “going forth” and guided by divine Providence, not the desire to proselytize.
As they faced persecution, early Christians fled their homelands, taking the Gospel with them to new countries, something which happens in our own day.Pope Francis added that the phrase “to the ends of the earth” also challenges modern Christians to proclaim Christ to those who have still not encountered Him.
“Christ’s Church will continue to “go forth” towards new geographical, social and existential horizons, towards “borderline” places and human situations, in order to bear witness to Christ and His love to men and women of every people, culture and social status.”

The Pope then turned to the third foundation of mission: “You will receive power from the Holy Spirit”.He said the Spirit broke the bonds of the Apostles’ fear in the first days after Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The Spirit prompted St. Peter to give his missionary address to people in Jerusalem, as recounted in Acts, kicking off an “an era in which the disciples of Jesus evangelized the world.”
Pope Francis added that Christians are only able to bear “full and genuine witness to Christ the Lord without the Spirit’s inspiration and assistance.  “All Christ’s missionary disciples are called to recognize the essential importance of the Spirit’s work, to dwell in his presence daily and to receive His unfailing strength and guidance. Indeed, it is precisely when we feel tired, unmotivated or confused that we should remember to have recourse to the Holy Spirit in prayer.”
Prayer, said the Pope, plays an important role in the missionary life, since it “allows us to be refreshed and strengthened by the Spirit as the inexhaustible divine source of renewed energy and joy in sharing Christ’s life with others.”

Pope Francis said that “In light of this action of the Holy Spirit, we also want to consider the missionary anniversaries to be celebrated in 2022.”
The first is the 400th anniversary since the establishment of the Sacred Congregation De Propaganda Fide, now the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
This year also marks the 200th anniversary of the foundation of Society for the Propagation of the Faith by a young French woman, Pauline Jaricot. He pointed out: “ The Congregation proved to be crucial for setting the Church’s evangelizing mission truly free from interference by worldly powers, in order to establish those local Churches.”
Pope St. Paul VI granted the Society the status of “Pontifical” 100 years ago, along with the Association of the Holy Childhood and the Society of Saint Peter the Apostle.
Pope Francis prayed that the local Churches will “find in these Societies a sure means for fostering the missionary spirit among the People of God.”
In conclusion, the Pope expressed his dream to see a “completely missionary Church, and a new era of missionary activity among Christian communities.”

Devin Watkins/VN

Agroforestry. Life back to the land.

Two projects, systems of agroforestry, are helping bring life back to the land  in Central America

Rainforests are the most productive ecosystems on the planet, and yet we take the opposite approach when growing food. We slash and burn vast areas of forest to make way for cattle and monoculture crops that require billions of gallons of water every year — alongside the use of pesticides, herbicides and genetically modified hybrids.

A generation of farmers are abandoning their land in desperation, fleeing to over-crowded cities and leaving their once-cherished land depleted. Thanks to the work of two projects, however, systems of agroforestry are helping bring life back to the land.

In the village of Tatin, near Livingston in Guatemala, Contour Lines has been revolutionising the agriculture system in the area by planting rows of fruit trees, legumes and annuals along the contours of the hills. The root systems help prevent rainwater runoff and soil erosion and “build terraces of fertility over time”, the project says. The plants also sequester carbon and provide the community with a wider variety of food. So far almost 317,00 trees have been planted across 115 villages.

Juan, a 23-year-old farmer and a member of the Q’eqchi’ ethnic group, told Resurgence & Ecologist: “Before this project began, I was going to leave. But when young people start seeing projects like this happen in their communities, they might decide to stay. Our staple crops, such as corn, aren’t growing like they used to. People my age want to leave the village and find work in the cities instead.”

Flory Coc, aged 43, has worked on farms her entire life. She told me how the introduction of food forests has transformed farming as she’s known it: “The women in Guatemala, especially my Q’eqchi’ group, are engaged in cultivating the land, and this is very beneficial to us because we are deeply connected to the land,” she said.

“I can assure you that women are the power behind cultivating food… Growing food forests makes our lives a lot easier because it involves less physical labour. We are currently trying to look for an alternative solution. If we are dedicated to only one crop as a monoculture, it can fail due to lack of fertiliser, which is expensive. In using this method, the earth loses its nutrients. We are also forced to use insecticides.
Through the food forest project, we are changing and encouraging the growth of more plants, which also feeds us as a community.
And we can use the same plot of land each time. The whole community is part of this transition.”

Mike Hands is a tropical ecologist and the founder and director of the Inga Foundation in neighbouring Honduras. He has worked closely with local communities to combat deforestation by popularising an agroforestry system known as inga alley cropping.

It was a difficult experience watching entire forests go up in smoke during field studies in Africa during the 1980s as farmers used slash-and-burn techniques to plant crops. Hands recalled seeing “vast areas of forest being replaced by nothing but grass”. Today, roughly 7% of the world’s population uses slash-and-burn. The fires release the carbon stored by the trees back into the atmosphere at alarming rates.

“In the humid tropics there are barely any sustainable agricultures. This was the problem I was trying to address in the eighties. Why was this so?” Hands asked. “You’ve got the most biologically successful ecosystem in the rainforest and yet people are turning to slash-and-burn. It doesn’t work. It maintains people in poverty.”

The agroforestry system Hands helps promote is based on the use of inga, which is grown as a companion plant alongside other crops such as cacao and coffee. Inga “ticks away in the background and can be something that farmers sell”, Hands explained.

Since inga is a nitrogen-fixer and fruiting tree, it provides nutrients for the soil, protects roots, and acts as natural pest control. It also provides firewood, and this slops villagers from encroaching into the forests.

“For the first time, people were able to grow crops again,” Hands said. “This was a breakthrough.” He added: “We told the farmers that we could give them everything they need, but even so they would have to wait two years before getting a successful harvest. But even knowing that, they still wanted the system.”

Pilot schemes have now demonstrated the resilience of inga alley cropping in the face of storms – including climatic El Niño events.
The inga alleys have proved to be more resistant to changing weather patterns.

“El Niño ripped every peak of conventional cropping on those slopes and was followed by nine weeks of drought, from which most conventional harvests on slopes failed. The only crops that survived were in the inga alleys,” Hands said.

Seeing the success of their neighbours’ plots, many other families are turning to the technique. “We are now witnessing a critical mass of families that are spreading on their own. We now have around 700 families implementing inga alleys,” Hands said.

With the help of funding from organisations such as Kew Gardens and the Eden Project, the foundation currently houses over 75,000 seedlings, including cacao, rambutan, mahogany, and of course inga.

With an agricultural system collapsing under climate breakdown, food shortages are an inevitable part of diversity loss. The work of these two projects shows that using agroforestry techniques to replace monocultures and slash-and-burn can provide a robust and resilient solution that helps nourish the earth and feed mouths.
(Photo: 123rf.com)

Yasmin Dahnoun
Resurgence & Ecologist

Industrial-scale piracy.

Foreign industries of transformation of fresh fish into fish meal and oil for export to European, Asian and American countries flourish on the coast.

The entire informal fishing chain in Senegal employs more than 600,000 people, contributing 3.5% to the gross domestic product. According to Aliou Ba, a Senegalese activist of Greenpeace Africa, fishing is a crucial sector both for socio-economic stability and for the food security of the populations of the entire region: “The local fish market, however, is now poorly supplied and very expensive, due to the over-exploitation and depletion of fish resources perpetrated by large foreign fishing boats. At the same time, the usually foreign industries of transformation of fresh fish into fish meal and oil for export to European, Asian and American countries flourish on the coast”.
These products, increasingly in demand on world markets, are used as feed in intensive farming of animals or other more valuable fish – such as, for example, salmon in Norway and Sweden – as ingredients in the cosmetic industry and in the manufacture of food for pets. “Senegalese fishermen, like their colleagues from neighbouring countries, are experiencing a dramatic situation”, Aliou ruled.

The entire informal fishing chain in Senegal employs more than 600,000 people. (Photo: M.Cattani)

A report published in June 2021 by the Changing Markets and Greenpeace Foundation estimates the fish caught each year off the western coast of Africa and grabbed by foreign processing industries, at over 500,000 tons. Natural resources that, the Report specifies, could feed 33 million inhabitants of the African region.
According to Greenpeace’s observations and complaints, the main culprits of industrial fishing in these waters are European, Chinese, Turkish, and Russian countries. Fleets that, according to Aliou Ba, “often operate thanks to licenses granted by the Senegalese government in a non-transparent way, in spite of the decision, in 2012, to freeze all new fishing concessions to try to curb the over-exploitation of fish stocks”.
In May 2020, the National Coalition against the granting of illegal licenses, which brings together the major players involved in the sector, wrote an open letter to the President of the Republic Macky Sall to denounce the attempt by 52 foreign companies to obtain illegal permits. Added to this are illegal fishing boats flying the Senegalese flag using borrowed names or mixed companies as a cover to circumvent fishing bans in areas intended exclusively for local use.
“It is a context in which it is not easy for African states to control, define real responsibilities and sanction harmful and illegal practices”, comments Aliou. This is why Greenpeace Africa has for some time been unsuccessfully asking the Dakar government to publish the complete list of national and international fishing vessels active in Senegalese waters. An opening in this sense was aired last year by Macky Sall himself, who, following protests from sector unions, had also promised to organize an ad hoc presidential council. Words which, so far, no deeds have followed.

The local fish market, however, is now poorly supplied and very expensive. (Photo: L. Doretti)

In April 2022, neighbouring Mauritania, on the other hand, succumbed to pressure from Greenpeace and other associations in defence of informal fishing by joining the international program Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI). A decision that Aliou Ba hopes will soon be followed by Senegal as well. “To solve the problem of the plundering of our seas, a common regional strategy must be implemented which focuses on shared surveillance and regulation of the entire sector”.
For Aliou Ba, strategic resources – such as yaboy, a pelagic sardinella at risk of extinction, particularly used in the processing industries to manufacture oil and fishmeal, which, in addition to being rich in iron, zinc, vitamin A and B12, contributes to 75 % of the animal protein intake of the inhabitants of Senegal – should be protected and managed in a more forward-looking way by African governments, especially in a regional and global context destabilized by conflicts and climate change. “The erosion of the coasts and of the seabed, which also causes the destruction of the infrastructure and homes of informal fishermen, is violent in Senegal and is exacerbating the numerous criticalities that threaten artisanal fishing”, concludes Aliou Ba. (Open Photo: 123rf.com)
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Senegal. The Colours of the Pirogues.

The fishing sector is crucial both for socio-economic stability and for the food security of the populations of the entire region. Fishing vessels from Europe, China, Turkey, and Russia are endangering the livelihoods of many local fishermen. We accompanied some fishermen on a fishing night.

In Soumbédioune, a colourful harbour nestled between the rocks of Medina, one of the oldest districts of Dakar, the bustle is incessant. Lines of women carry crates of freshly disembarked fish on their heads towards the stalls of the adjacent market, while a crowd of kids hops from one pirogue to another, sewing up nets and preparing lines, hooks, baits, and floats for the ‘grands frères’ who are waiting to set sail.
It is close to sunset. Today the sea is an oily expanse that placidly reflects the glint of the sun glittering on the surface.
Nearly perfect weather conditions herald a crowded and perhaps less risky fishing trip than usual.

The fleet of ‘informal fishermen’ of Soumbédioune.

Sitting on the only and well-used bench or on polystyrene crates resting on the ground, their backs against the wall of a dilapidated building overlooking the beach, young and very young sailors who have recently returned to port take turns with their mates on the evening shift.
They stare at the ocean as if they could not leave it even after returning, safe and sound, to the land. Whenever a boat appears in the bay, pointing its bow towards the cliff to return to port, the boys jump up and quickly set out the logs to slide the hull over the sand and pebbles of the shore. Everyone participates, all together, in helping their companions to bring their catch to shore.
A human chain of mighty arms, tense muscles glistening with sweat, pulls the pirogues from the shore to the beach. Competition in these parts has not eroded mutual aid, that pragmatic pillar on which survival in the difficult contexts of life and work is still based.

A son of the port
Madj, like all the children of the port of Soumbédioune, scrutinizes the ripples of the waves without ever taking his eyes off the horizon. His face, furrowed by the wind and the sun, contracts with each gust, each wave, each increase in current, betraying his concern. Dressed in a military jacket, tracksuit trousers, an Air Jordan sweatshirt and an artist’s beret, with short salt-beaded dreadlocks sprouting here and there, this expert artisan fisherman in his forties knows the waters of Dakar like the back of his hand.

Madj, a son of the port.

“It can be said that I was born on this beach. I have a photograph of me as a child, on my father’s shoulders, taken right here”. Madj does not own a boat, but often accompanies his friend Bouba into the sea, a young captain of one of the many colourful wooden pirogues that, arranged one after the other on the beach, make up the fleet of ‘informal fishermen’ of Soumbédioune. Long and narrow dugout tree trunks on which the brightly coloured paint – the green-yellow-red of the Senegalese flag prevails – and the writings, especially ‘Allah’ and formulas of blessing in the Wolof language, only partially hide the cracks that open in the hulls, a thousand and one times riveted and repaired.
In the dry season, which in Senegal runs from October to June, mainly squid, sardines and trout are caught. They are particularly sought-after in luxury restaurants in the rich districts of Dakar, in regional markets and, even more so, in large-scale European, Asian, and American distribution: “I fell in love with this profession seeing the work of our fathers, our uncles and grandparents. Those were real fish! Today we only catch small fish, ‘African fish’. The best, or what remains of the finest tuna, swordfish, prawns, and crustaceans, are all exported”.

Soumbédioune, one of the oldest districts of Dakar.

Despite it becoming harder and less profitable over the years, Madj is proud of his job: “It’s a noble job, not for everyone. Only real men, not just any sort, go out to sea”. Like many Senegalese artisanal fishermen, hit by the worst crisis in the fishing sector in the history of the country, he too is constantly looking for alternative jobs to try to meet the needs of the family: “In recent years, many young people have deserted the sea to look for work on the mainland. Several then took the ‘path of adventure’, emigrating to the region or to Europe”.
The route leading to the Spanish Canary Islands, one of the most dangerous migratory routes in the world – even more lethal, according to the estimates of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) than that of the central Mediterranean – has regained strength in 2020, taking a further 50 thousand sub-Saharan citizens to the European coasts closest to Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco.

In recent years, many young people have emigrated to Europe. (Photo Swm)

As a result of the socio-economic crisis and the greater travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, in the last two years, hundreds of small fishing boats converted into precarious ferries of hope have evaded the patrols, by ship and helicopter, of the Spanish Civil Guard and Frontex, a private security agency in charge of controlling the external borders of the European Union.
Barça wala barcakh!, as they say in Wolof: Barcelona or death! A generational cry that provides a feeble foothold to the perceived lack of employment and prospects, especially by younger people, throughout West Africa.  (Photos: Michele Cattani) – (AdG)

The Danger of a Nuclear Nightmare.

The development of nuclear technology to power electricity generation was hailed as a triumph of modern technology.

We can never forget and not be on our guard from the history that nuclear power was first used in the atom bomb that wiped out two Asian cities in World War II. The horrific death of almost a million people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki made the world realize that nuclear war is one that no one can win. It gave rise to the MAD doctrine that a nuclear war would be a war of “Mutual Assured Destruction” that would result from an exchange of nuclear missiles with nuclear warheads. The bombing of Japan by the United States immediately brought about the capitulation and unconditional surrender of Japan.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia is making a similar threat to Europe over Ukraine. What’s his game plan to threaten Europe to get Ukraine to surrender, lift sanctions and stop supplying arms to the Ukraine military?

Russian troops are occupying the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Europe and shelling the areas close to it and blaming Ukraine. It’s absurd that Ukraine would destroy its own nuclear power plants and contaminate Europe. Russian shelling even knocked out the power line that fed electricity to the plant to maintain its cooling system.

The backup generators kicked in just in time to prevent a very dangerous situation. If the cooling fails in a nuclear power plant, it explodes. Nothing can stop it. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last month arrived at the plant recently and made a safety inspection, it is hoped that this UN agency has the influence to bring about the demilitarization of the plant.

Nuclear power plants are very dangerous and it takes 100 thousand years for the dangerous cancer-causing radiated waste material to decompose. Human error, conflict, terrorist attacks is what causes disasters. Enemies could capture one plant and hold the nation
to ransom.

This is a reminder that humans can do the most horrific acts of destruction without respect for human life. That is the extremist thinking, or non-thinking, of Vladimir Putin. His forces cannot defeat Ukraine so he has unleashed the most horrific shelling, bomb and missile strikes at civilian targets all over Ukraine. He has no respect for human life and the human suffering it is causing. He is a leader with great power and no empathy.

Such a human is a very dangerous one and threatening to unleash nuclear radiation in desperation for him to win the war by shelling the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant bit by bit until he achieves surrender is madness.  He would be like a petulant child holding the dinner plates and smashing them one by one until he gets what he wants. It would be like what happened at Chernobyl, a cloud of deadly destructive radiation could blow across Europe.

When power stations fail, they can bring widespread death and destruction and nuclear radiation that goes on killing people and animals for decades. The Chernobyl Nuclear Plant that exploded when the cooling failed has left a vast area uninhabitable. The power plant in Japan also exploded due to a tsunami. All nuclear plants are susceptible to catastrophic damage from natural causes such as earthquakes, typhoons and human terrorism.

The threat of a limited nuclear strike by Russia in Ukraine is real. There is greatly increased tension between Russia and the five nuclear nations US, China, Russia, the UK and France. The UN’s five permanent members of the Security Council said clearly in 2021 that “nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought” and yet they are all upgrading their nuclear weapons stockpiles, which reached a total of 13,000 worldwide.

That is down from about 236,000 during the Cold War. Thanks to a treaty that all agreed to reduce the number. The Federation of American Scientists estimates the UK alone has 190 nuclear warheads of which 120 are ready to fire at any time. Imagine that, they are all at ready for MAD, primed to unleash a nuclear war.

That treaty was due for renewal at last month’s UN meeting in New York at the UN Security Council but after years of negotiation, Russia blocked the final document of the critical and urgent treaty because it mentioned the danger of the Russian troops occupying and the shelling of areas around the Ukraine Zaporizhzhya Power Plant. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was “deeply disappointed” at the lack of agreement. “Russia obstructed progress by refusing to compromise on a proposed text accepted by all other states,” she said.

Not only does Putin threaten Europe by shelling around the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as we write but he has spoken of a possible nuclear strike “if provoked.” In response to this, UN Secretary-General Guterres spoke out. “Following Russia’s unprovoked and unlawful war of aggression against Ukraine, we call on Russia to cease its irresponsible and dangerous nuclear rhetoric and behavior,” he said.

President Vladimir Putin insisted that Russia remained faithful to the treaty’s “letter and spirit” and that there could be “no winners” in a nuclear war, according to the Kremlin. Guterres said at the 10th review conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, an international treaty since 1970 that is designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons: “Today, humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.”

“We have been extraordinarily lucky so far. But luck is not a strategy. Nor is it a shield from geopolitical tensions boiling over into nuclear conflict,” he added. He challenged all nations to wake up and “put humanity on a new path towards a world free of nuclear weapons.” “Eliminating nuclear weapons is the only guarantee they will never be used,” he said.

Most people live in ignorance of the terrible dangers that the powerful and intellectual humans have wrought in the world. We don’t know what nuclear radiation can do to life on earth, it can eliminate it. A nuclear war would cause a nuclear winter, the resulting black clouds would block the sun for months or years and all life would die. That’s just how bad it is.

We have to work for sanity, peace, rational dialogue and reach a consensus of nations to live with mutual respect for all life and especially human life on planet Earth and not Mutual Assured Destruction. (Photo 123rf.com)

Fr. Shay Cullen – Philippines

 

 

Mission. Walking Together.

October Is Missionary Month. Three Young Comboni Missionaries Share their Vocation Journey

My name is Brother Alberto Lamana. I was born in 1971 in Zaragoza, Spain.  I came to know the Comboni Missionaries during my secondary school education. The Comboni community of Zaragoza had started a youth group. I joined the group.
The group became a springboard for my vocation discernment. Little by little I began to imagine my life as a missionary.

Meantime, I had to choose between becoming a priest or a brother. The Comboni missionaries offer their candidates these two possibilities.  Thus, after much prayer and consultation with the vocation promoter, I felt that my call was to be a Brother.
The service of the brothers that emphasises human promotion and social ministry attracted me.  Consequently, in 1994, I decided to enter the Comboni postulancy as a brother.

Later, in the novitiate, when I read the writings of St. Daniel Comboni, the founder of the Comboni missionaries, I confirmed the same reality.  I was impressed by Comboni’s courage and absolute dedication to a cause radically founded on the Gospel. I see my vocation as a dynamic process that is cultivated day by day.  It is a gift that develops and grows. Throughout my missionary life, I have had important experiences that have helped me to reinforce or live my vocation.

In 1997, during my time at the Formation House for Brothers in Nairobi, I did apostolate with the St. Vincent de Paul group in the slum of Kibera. Frequent visits to the most disadvantaged people in that marginalised context made me discover the harsh dimension of poverty: women, men and children struggling to survive and to get by on so little money! Their witness of faith and inner strength was for me a real school of life.

After completing my formation journey in Nairobi, I was assigned to the mission of Mapuordit in South Sudan. There I had to enter a new culture and language. Initially, the adaptation process was difficult. But I soon felt fully welcomed and accepted. That experience taught me to walk more slowly, at the pace of the people, accepting so many limits that are imposed on us and that we cannot control. This helped me to grow in an attitude of surrender knowing that not everything is in our hands, but that the Lord continues to realise his Kingdom despite our difficulty in seeing the seeds of life.

In South Sudan, I also had the grace to collaborate with other Comboni Missionaries and Comboni sisters, in the establishment of the Catholic Radio Network (CRN).
This was an initiative aimed at creating a network of radio stations in each of the dioceses of South Sudan and the Nuba Mountains.

My missionary life and work took a twist in 2015.  I was elected General Assistant in our Institute. The Institute was asking me to be part of the General Council of our Congregation in Rome. It was a new phase of missionary service for me.

When I look back over my life, I realise how my vocation has evolved. I see that at the beginning I felt a deep desire to be useful, to serve, to help others. Over time I have discovered my vulnerability and weakness. This makes me feel more in communion with the disadvantaged, growing in mercy, aware that they are sisters and brothers who invite me to walk with them. I feel more and more the need to grow in the ability to read the reality around me with the eyes of faith and not so much with my own reasoning. God continues to mould me and to strengthen my vocation so as to follow him more closely.

Simon. “My dream is to share the word of God”
I am Simon Yomkuey. I was born in 1988 in Mayom County, South Sudan. In 1993, I moved to Khartoum with my brother.
We had a house in the area of Omdurman and I attended the Comboni primary school in Bahry.

During secondary school, I started showing more interest in the Comboni Missionaries. When I finished school, a diocesan with whom I used to share my queries, advised me to continue studying.  So, I proceeded to the School of Management in the Department of accounting and finance. In 2011, the independence referendum of South Sudan was celebrated, and the university was transferred to its original place, Juba. I moved there where I graduated in 2013.

When I was in Juba, I met a Comboni Missionary and I told him that I was interested in meeting the Combonis. He invited me to a one-year programme called ‘come and see’, during which we used to meet many aspirants, boys and girls, every last Saturday of the month. They would explain to us about vocations, providing booklets on the life of Comboni, and other material.

After a year, in 2014, I was admitted to the six-month pre-postulancy, followed by an experience in a parish. Then, I moved to Nairobi for the postulancy, where I did a three-year philosophical course, followed by a two-year novitiate in Namugongo, Uganda. I professed my first religious vows, on 23 May 2020.

After the novitiate, I was assigned to the scholasticate of Pietermaritzburg, in South Africa. I could not visit my family—I had not seen them since 2018—because South Sudan was under Covid lockdown. While waiting, I took the opportunity to stay in the Comboni community concerned with assisting the South Sudanese displaced in Uganda. When the borders eventually opened, I returned to Juba and, before South Africa could close them again, I entered the country.

Why did I decide to become a Comboni?  A vocation is a mystery. I really admire some priests whom I have encountered. When I was at university, I had a strange feeling, as if I was forgetting something, or something was missing in me, though I couldn’t name it. I used to prepare my schoolbooks, clothes and shoes for the following day, yet my mind kept telling me that something was missing.

When the idea of joining the Comboni Missionaries came, suddenly, that strange feeling disappeared.  What inspired me, from the few Comboni’s whom I knew in my parish, was their simplicity and kindness, their sense of belonging and especially their way of welcoming people, listening, and trusting them. No one considered himself greater than the others; there was an element of equality. I also learned from their sacrifices. All this motivated me to join them.

My dream is to share the Word of God with those who have not heard it. It can be done physically, or through the mass media. Technology allows us to reach far beyond our surroundings. My aim is to reach those who are abandoned and disowned.

Brother Mwangaza : “My trust in God has no limits”
My name is Mwangaza Kabale, I was born in 1985, in the town of Butembo, in the eastern part of the DR Congo.  With my parents, we led a quiet life. As a young boy, I joined the youth group of the Eucharistic Crusade. I am sure that it was from this experience of a life of faith that the desire to serve God as a priest or a religious was born in me very early on. My school life went smoothly. After primary school at Vutetse Primary School, I attended secondary school in Butembo.

Meanwhile, the idea of becoming a priest had become increasingly clear. In 2006, at the end of secondary school, I spent some time in the vocational group of my parish to deepen my motivations. Eventually, I plucked up my courage and told my parents that I intended to enter the diocesan seminary. Surprisingly, they told me no. Not because they were against the idea, but because they wanted me to improve my knowledge.

“Attend at least three years of university courses. Then, you can decide what you want”, was their request. I obeyed and enrolled at the University of Agriculture in Butembo. When, in 2009, I presented them with my degree, they smiled at me and said: “We did what we thought was a duty for us and good thing for you. Now you are old enough to decide your own future. Go where your heart takes you”.

During university, I became friends with the Comboni Sisters working in my parish. They introduced me to priests and brothers of their own religious family, and I began to frequent and observe them, at first with curiosity, then with fascinated eyes and heart. It did not take me long to understand that this would be the life God wanted from me.

The desire to answer ‘yes’ to God was pushing me. Finally, in 2009, a few months after graduating, I entered the Comboni Postulancy in Kisangani. This step helped me to better discern my vocation, clarify my motivations and identify with the Comboni charism. After Postulancy, I was admitted to the Novitiate in Sarh, Chad. On 13th May 2012, in a ceremony that touched me deeply, I made my first religious profession and I became a member of the Comboni Institute.

Soon after, I was sent to Kinshasa (DR Congo) to complete my agronomic training with a master’s degree in Agroforestry. In 2015, I went to Nairobi, Kenya, to attend the Scholasticate at the Comboni Brothers’ Centre. After an English language course, I enthusiastically threw myself into the various courses to acquire a master’s degree in Sustainable Development. In Nairobi, I spent four unforgettable years.

In 2019, I was destined for the mission in South Sudan, in the diocese of Rumbek.  I find myself surprisingly willing to get close to people, especially young people, and to share their lives, their concerns, challenges, sufferings, joys and hopes. Living for them and of them is my life. And what a life!

I run three schools in the Rumbek diocese. Our vision for these schools is to turn them into financially and administratively self-sufficient institutions. Life here is certainly not rosy. I often find myself taking one step forward and two steps back.

But I am not discouraged. I know that there will still be difficulties, but this people will overcome them, and I feel over the moon when I think that I have the opportunity to make my personal contribution to this miracle. My trust in God has no limits. I firmly believe that he has the destiny of this people in his hands and that he will not let them down. (swm)

 

Africa. The World of the Albinos.

Fierce superstitions marginalize those who have inherited the lack of melanin and sometimes endanger their lives. Even if something is changing. Like in Ukerewe, a small island on Lake Victoria.

The ‘Tribe of Ghosts’. This is the name given to the albino people in Tanzania, the largest ‘black-white’ community in the world and one of the most persecuted. Often, it has become a valuable commodity for superstitious rich people, Africans and non-Africans, who believe that having bones or organs of these people brings money and luck. Or that the ashes of their bodies, mutilated and burned, can heal diseases. Or even those who think of curing AIDS with the rape of albino women.

There is no end to the horrors to which these human ghosts are subjected. But something is slowly changing. In 2013 a UN declaration condemned all these cruelties while a few years earlier, in 2010, an albino,
Salun Khalfani Barwani, was elected to the Tanzanian parliament and certainly influenced the choices made by President John Magufuli (who passed away in 2021), with the creation of local special teams to combat violence against the white people.
And so regional protection associations began to spring up supported by international ones which bring about a real improvement in the situation. Now, especially in the cities, you can see them, these whites of Africa with dreamy eyes, going out, working, mingling in the chaos of the great mother. With their dark glasses and exotic wide-brimmed hats.
Because it is not enough to have one’s fellow men as enemies, in these latitudes, there is also the sun which here is no joke even for those
who have melanin.

And so, Alfred Kapore, responsible for the Mwanza region for albinos (he, too, is an albino), explains that with this hereditary genetic disease – the lack of melanin leaves the skin unprotected: in Tanzania, one new-born baby out of 1400 is affected – it can become difficult to work, to move, especially in small villages, where there is poverty and often what is needed to protect oneself from the natural enemy is lacking. Creams, glasses and hats. Where even these basics are lacking, those who are ghosts must behave like one, isolating themselves from real life.
And thus, wicked beliefs are fed. Ghosts are said to be demons and expendable beings.

The island of Ukerewe
However, there is a place, an island, which for a long time has offered refuge to these persecuted people. Like a promised land, the island of Ukerewe, in the middle of the immense Lake Victoria, still welcomes Kapore and his family. And many like him.
We embark, with a nostalgic look at the elegant and dying Vittoria ship, heading for Ukerewe,Eden of the albinos.

The island is large and hosts, as Ramadan Alfani, president of the local black-whites tells us, 82 people with albinism. And it offers relative tranquillity in the shade of trees that all have a person who takes care of them, on land that is not abandoned and in front of waters full of fish. The small milk-coloured children show us the pride of being able to go to school, where they are welcomed with enthusiasm by their classmates, and then, from their poor houses, they fetch creams, glasses, and hats (gifts from Canadian NGOs).

Here families have managed to stick together with humble resources linked to fields and fishing and, thanks to oversight by the community, dangers are fewer. But even here we must take good care of the children as they come and go to school and when darkness falls. Fear is in the DNA of African albinos, inside and outside them. Day and night. An island elder explains why they are afraid. People cut off arms and legs, or the genitals, and leave the corpse behind. A mother tells how her son is laughed at and excluded. There is even the desecration of burials and the fear of kidnappings. But in Ukerewe, they tell us, acceptance and integration are better observed and for this reason, many live there and form families. And there is also a legal office and a hospital, both dedicated to the problems of ‘Zeruzeru’ (ghosts).
Of course, Alfred Kapore says that “if there was a cream that made them black, he would be delighted”.

Donatella Penati Murè
(Text & Photos)

Why Zebras have Striped Skins.

Long ago before people started taking any other animal apart from the dog, it was said that donkeys could also be tamed. This rumour was told by one man who went to the bush to hunt.

After killing the animal, he had hunted he found that it was very heavy for him to carry alone. So, he decided to find a way by which he could carry his prey. And as he was thinking, he saw a donkey pass nearby in the bush. All of a sudden, an idea came into his head. He thought that if he took his prey and put it on the back of the donkey, it would help him carry his load. So, he went after the donkey. He put the load on its back easily, for it did not attack him or run away.

He led the way until they reached his compound. After unloading heavy loads. Donkeys did not know what was going on up to this time. They came to understand only after most of their friends had been taken away. They started to hide deep in the bushes. But all was in vain! People had realised that donkeys were very useful animals.

So, they made special efforts to hunt them down, wherever donkeys could be found. This problem really worried the donkeys. Many of their kind had been captured.
The rumours they heard were horrifying. Rumour had it that those donkeys which had been captured were working too much and they were given only food enough to keep them going.

This was indeed frightening. The rest of the donkeys decided to act quickly, lest they become victims of circumstance like their unfortunate friends. They therefore held an impromptu meeting. Here they discussed what should be done about the whole problem. One donkey suggested that they should seek help from Hare since he was known to be cunning and clever. All agreed that Hare should be asked for advice.

The next morning the donkey representative went to see Hare, who was only too willing to help. Hare asked him to tell all his friends to come to his compound early the next morning. This they did, and when they arrived, they found Hare with whitewash in a huge can, ready to act. As the donkeys were not fast enough in thinking, they wondered how whitewash could have anything to do with their problem. Hare tried to explain but they seemed rather stubborn. Nobody was willing to be the first one to be experimented on.

Finally, one donkey volunteered and stepped forward. Immediately, Hare set to work. He started painting stripes of whitewash on the donkey’s skin. Soon the donkey had black-and-white stripes instead of being plain black or grey. As the first donkey was painted over, the other donkeys admired him.
They all started wishing they could look like their friend. The moment that followed was full of struggle and scrambling over who should reach the paint first. The warning from Hare that they should be careful went unheeded. Hence, the struggling and fighting continued.

It happened that after a number of donkeys had been painted, one donkey pushed to the front with such force that he stepped in the bucket that contained the whitewash. The whole bucket overturned pouring out all the paint. This was the end of everything. The remaining donkeys were helpless because they were the unfortunate ones.

Hare told them that he could not help them anymore because the fault had been theirs. And so, although the aggressive donkey was cursed for this bad act, nothing was done for their betterment, for the spilt paint could not be recovered. Hence, those donkeys that had been painted were safe from people’s reach.

They were the lucky ones and changed their name from donkeys to zebras. This name set them apart from the unfortunate donkeys who after this were all captured by men, and taken away to work for them. They were less fortunate and that is why they continue to be known
as donkeys.

Folktale from Luhya People in Kenya

African Union. Twenty Years Later.

The supranational institution has worked to prevent conflicts but has not achieved the expected results. The decisions taken by the assembly of heads of state rarely affect regional situations, also due to the inefficiency of the operational bodies and the lack of economic resources. The urgency of reforms.

The African Unity started in July 2002 in Durban, South Africa, came out in a very different political climate. Africa was experiencing a wave of democratization and was living its historic moment after the shock of the Rwandan genocide. The governments of some key states – first of all South Africa – were going through a moment of strong popular legitimacy and international support. Even Ghedaffi’s leadership seemed to represent a guarantee of stability and genuine Pan-Africanism (as well as ensuring an appropriate injection of petrodollars).

African heads of state gather for a group photograph. (Photo: AU)

The model of the European Union – which was also at a good point during those years, between enlargement and the advent of the single currency – seemed successful.
The conversion from the ‘old’ Organization of African Unity – OAU (1963-2001) – the standard bearer of decolonization – to the ‘new’ AU, the advocate of pacification, prosperity and integration, was to represent the definitive liberation from the colonial yoke, the advent of a more assertive Africa capable of integrating itself advantageously into the networks of the world economy and politics.

Contradictions
In the two decades that followed, the project did not produce the desired results, either internally or in the international sphere. However, efforts to promote peace and prevent conflicts, including those related to coups, have been considerable.

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat. (Photo: AU)

The AU Charter affirmed the principle of responsibility to protect and also envisaged – and sometimes implemented – sanctions against governments born from unconstitutional coups, proving to be more courageous than its reference model, the EU, whose weapons to be used against member states that violate the principles of democracy and the rule of law were notoriously cut back.
But even in this, the practice of the AU is not without contradictions. The fact is that the numerous declarations that the supreme body of the AU (the Assembly of Heads of State) adopts, rarely really affect the internal and regional status quo. One reason is the solid grip and influence some states and political leaders exert over their peers.
Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, the African regional powers, hardly risk embarrassment in these summits and indeed have ample room to influence decisions and appointments.

Danger of immobility
But another reason is that the AU has given itself a big head that thinks and decides, the Assembly of heads of state; however, its other bodies, including those that should implement the strategic decisions of the summit, are plethoric, weak, and underfunded.
As for the Pan-African Parliament, in addition to being just a merely consultative body, it has proved inconclusive and contentious on several occasions. The inadequacy of the operational bodies, and the lack of economic, logistical or leadership resources, have led most of the time to immobility. In 2018, the then president of the organization, Paul Kagame had commissioned a group of experts to identify the shortcomings and lines of reform of the AU. The excessive power of the political bodies in the face of the weakness of the technical and independent bodies (principally the Commission) was in the first place among the distortions to be reformed, as well as the lack of its own financial resources.

Uncertain present
The idea of ​​providing the AU with its own budget (financed by a share of around 0.2% of the value of the extra-African imports of each state, for example) has been discreetly put aside.
Until a few years ago, more than half of the AU’s operating costs were borne by external donors (mainly the European Union).

Ordinary Session of the African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Photo: AU)

Today it seems that at least 70% of the Union budget is provided by the member states, but its monetary impact remains insufficient and prevents the initiation of adequate measures in the numerous sectors in which the AU intends to operate.
The AU undoubtedly has a great future. As with other international organizations – including the EU – its problem is the present. The problem being working through these years in which more or less credible actors compete for world or regional hegemony in ways that we thought were ‘consigned to history’. But to be up to the tasks that await it, it will have to set itself more ambitious goals and tighter deadlines. Otherwise, its lethargy will degrade into euthanasia.( Open Photo: 123rf.com)

Paul De Stefani

 

Peru. The Asheninka Minga.

The Asheninka, are an indigenous ethnic group that lives in the centre of the forest in the district of Ucayali in the province of Atalaya in the northern part of Peru. Minga: not only communal work but also small informal tasks for the family.

The term minga comes from the Quechua culture mink’a meaning ‘asking for help by promising something’. Mink’a is a type of traditional communal work (chuqu), in the Andean communities, for purposes of social utility and community infrastructure projects. Participants are traditionally paid in kind. Mink’a is still practiced in indigenous communities also for minor jobs to be carried out in a family: relatives and acquaintances gather for mutually accomplishing a task.
Once a family has decided to ask the help of relatives, acquaintances, or neighbours, to carry out a small job for the family, they start to prepare food and drinks for the people who will arrive to work for them. Seven days before the gathering, the men of the family go to fish in the river or to mitayar (hunt) in the mountains, meanwhile the women prepare masato (fermented yucca drink). Once everything is ready, the householder asks relatives, acquaintances, and neighbours for their help about one day before the job needs to be done.

On the day of the minga, the mingueros: men, women, young people and even elder children begin to arrive at around 6:30 in the morning bringing with them machetes, axes and other tools to carry out the work. For his part, the householder welcomes them offering masato, coca and cigarettes. At 7:00 AM, they all start to work. The men and older youth do the heaviest work such as cutting down trees, while women and children do lighter works such as cutting bushes or rooting out weeds. The householder supervises the work of the mingueros; he collaborates with them and offers them masato. His wife and other people stay at home preparing the midday meal.
After six hours of hard work, which is done in a relaxed and merry atmosphere, the householder offers the mingueros a lunch, which could consist of a succulent Creole chicken broth, or a roast of bush meat accompanied by masato. While everybody is enjoying the delicious food and the masato, the householder takes advantage of the lunch break to thank all those that have arrived for helping, and at the same time, he reaffirms that he is always willing to help anybody who might need his collaboration, and encourages his guests to take advantage of the moment to announce another minga event.

After lunch, a recreational activity is organized for young people, a soccer competition, or a chengarito or a penalito.
While some play games, others dance to the rhythm of the local music, and still others drink masato, the typical drink of the Amazon. The entertainment lasts until 6:00 PM.
Minga is an example of the fraternal work in the Asheninka culture. The people who gather to help a neighbour or a relative do it in an atmosphere of fraternity, and then at the end of the work, they celebrate life and friendship all together. A minga event is also an occasion to meet other people, exchange experiences and strengthen relationships in a constructive way. (123RF.com)

Jhonny Mancilla Pérez

Photo Gallery – Jubilee 2025. Pilgrims of Hope

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