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Africa forecast 2022.

The return to the constitutional order in three countries hit by military coups, the downsizing of the French military presence in the Sahel and the instability in Ethiopia are the main challenges.

In North Africa, prospects for the stabilization of war-torn Libya in 2022 are uncertain. By end 2021, both sides were disagreeing about the date of the elections. The Tobruk-based House of Representatives which backs Marshal Khalifa Haftar, as presidential candidate decided on the 19 October 2021, to postpone the legislative elections to January 2022 instead of Dec. 24, 2021, while the Libyan High State Council (HSC), the equivalent of the Senate, proposed in September 2021, to postpone the election to the end of 2022.
The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity led by the provisional Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibah wanted to hold the parliament elections together with the presidential election on the 24 December 2021.The UN Special Envoy for Libya, Ján Kubiš, supported this objective to create conditions for the return to political legitimacy. But on the 22 December, Libya’s election commission called for a postponement for a month of the presidential poll to the 24 January 2022 after a parliamentary committee said that it would be “impossible” to hold elections on the 24 December.

The run-up to the poll has been marred by disputes over the eligibility of candidates and security fears. The electoral commission rejected the candidacy of Col Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam. There was no clarity either for a while on whether Haftar would run for the presidency. Both are accused of serious human rights violations. Then, the interim prime minister, Abdul Hamid al Dbeibah, also wanted to run. Eventually, they were cleared to run by judicial authorities. Yet, the main problem is that there isn’t an accepted legal basis for these elections. Even if they take place on the 24 January 2022, the challenge is to shore up support for the idea that the country will be run by one central government. If not, splinter groups may go in different directions and tear again the country apart, fear political analysts. There is no guarantee that the different sides will accept the result of the election. Moreover, analysts say that because of the lack of consensus on the rules of the game, it might take more than a month to resolve these issues. In such conditions, the choice of a new date in January by the parliament looks difficult to be approved. In neighbouring Tunisia, where local elections are due on 29 January 2022, the question is whether the national dialogue launched by President Kais Saied after his decision to suspend the parliament and sack the government in July 2021 will defuse tensions. The suggestion that the Islamist party Ennahda might be excluded casts doubt on whether this dialogue will be inclusive enough.
In West Africa, the main concern is Mali where presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for 27 February 2022 by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to restore the constitutional order after the military coups of October 2020 and May 2021, are likely to be postponed.

Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maïga of the Republic of Mali.

In September 2021, the Malian Prime Minister Choguel Maiga warned that the elections could be delayed several weeks or months. At any rate, the credibility of such ballots is not guaranteed since two-thirds of the territory is under the control of various jihadist groups. Besides, France’s military withdrawal from the Sahel will take a decisive turn in 2022. The move started on 12 October when the French military pulled out of the Kidal military base in Northern Mali. Further steps include the closure of the Timbuktu and Tessalit bases, as part of a plan announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in June to put an end to the French anti-jihadist operation Barkhane, started in 2012. According to the plan, the number of French troops will be reduced from 5,000 to 2,500 by end of 2022. However, French military instructors and special forces equipped with drones and fighter aircraft should remain in the country and concentrate on operations against the jihadists in the area around the three borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. France should also maintain a military presence in Chad and Niger. But there is little doubt that the French presence in Mali is coming to an end. Algeria’s decision to ban French military aircraft from its airspace makes it more difficult to support operations in the Sahel. Besides, relations between Paris and Bamako have become very tense after the Malian PM accused France of abandoning his country in a speech to the UN Assembly General in September and for failing to consult Mali before announcing its withdrawal decision.
Other factors are leading to a complete withdrawal from Mali. The French government is extremely irritated by the Malian authorities’ decision to dialogue with the Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) or Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims which is affiliated to Al-Qaida.
Another factor that might accelerate the departure of French troops is the decision by the leader of the Malian junta, Col. Assimi Goita, to recruit mercenaries from the Wagner Russian private military company. Paris considers such an initiative as “incompatible” with the continuation of French military cooperation with Mali. Russia already supplied 100 tonnes of military equipment and two MI 171 combat helicopters at the end of September.
In neighbouring Guinea-Conakry, where the elected President Alpha Condé was overthrown by a military coup on 5 September 2021, there are no guarantees either that ECOWAS’s requirement to organise elections within six months, by February 2022, will be met.

Colonel Mamady Doumbouya. CC BY-SA 4.0/ Lagabara07

Indeed, the junta led by Col. Mamady Doumbouya, whose members are subject to travel and visa bans imposed by the ECOWAS said it would hand over power to civilians after a transition period but did not set any deadline for its end. By contrast, the national assembly elections in Gambia and Senegal, scheduled for April and July respectively, are expected to be held on schedule. In São Tomé and Príncipe, the Ação Democrática Independente (ADI) of President Carlos Vila Nova who was elected in September with a comfortable majority of 57.6 per cent is the favourite in the National Assembly elections scheduled for the 10 January. In Chad, attention will be focussed on the follow-up of the national dialogue planned to start at the end of 2021 to prepare the national presidential and parliamentary elections, after the interruption of the constitutional order that followed the death of President Idriss Déby Itno in April 2021 in a fight against the Front pour l’alternance et la concorde au Tchad (FACT) rebels led by Mahamat Mahadi Ali.

Chad’s new President Mahamat Déby Itno.

The problem is whether the dialogue promoted by Idriss Déby’s 37-year-old son, Mahamat Déby, who took the leadership of the ruling Transition Military Council, will be inclusive enough and involve two Libya-based armed groups, the FACT and the Union des forces de la résistance (UFR) led by two cousins of President Déby, Timan and Tom Erdini.
In both Equatorial Guinea and Congo-Brazzaville, there is very little doubt about the outcome of the forthcoming elections in 2022. In Malabo, a victory by Teodoro Obiang Nguema’s Partido Democrático de Guinea Ecuatorial (PDGE) is expected in the House of Representatives, Senate and local elections scheduled for August, owing to the reduced margin of manoeuver left to the opposition coalition CORED. The only question will be the name of the PDGE’s residential candidate for 2023: Teodoro Obiang or his son, Teodorín depending on the health of his father.
In Congo-Brazzaville, observers believe that President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s Parti Congolais du Travail (PCT) will again win the legislative and local elections due in July 2022. But the opposition which, under the umbrella of the Comité d’action pour le renouveau has formed a coalition of 20 parties is taking up the challenge.

Meanwhile, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, people wait with fingers crossed for the political players to reach an agreement on the composition of the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI). By the end of October, such consensus seemed difficult to reach since 13 opposition parties, including former President Joseph Kabila’s Joint Front for Congo coalition, were calling for demonstrations against the nomination of President Felix Tshisekedi’s appointee, Denis Kazadi who was rejected by the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches.
In Sudan, the 25 October 2021 military coup dashed hopes that the presidential, legislative and local elections due in 2022 would take place as planned. Indeed, the coup leader Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan who had been chairing the transition Sovereign Council formed by military and civilian leaders, declared soon after that Sudan was still committed to “international accords” and transition to civilian rule but that elections would be postponed to July 2023.
The main concern, after the arrests of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other civilian members of the transitional government formed after the ousting of former dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, was that the coup may lead the country into civil war. Such concern was fuelled by demonstrations in Khartoum and other cities of people calling for a return to full civilian rule.
The concern is even higher in Ethiopia. The question is whether the country may disintegrate with terrible repercussions for the entire Horn of Africa. Diplomats warn that chaos could also be exploited by jihadist groups such as al-Shabab.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

In Kenya, where presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for 9 August 2022, everyone fears a repetition of previous electoral years where elections were marred by fraud and violence, with thousands killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. In 2018, the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his rival, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga helped defuse the tensions which followed the 2017 presidential elections. The question is whether the spirit behind the handshake will hold. Somaliland‘s peaceful parliamentary and local council elections in May 2021 bode well for a similar scenario for the presidential race in November 2022, in a context where the opposition gained a victory over the ruling Kulmiye party which acknowledged defeat and showed remarkable fair play. Yet, President Muse Bihi Abdi, who is expected to seek a second term, may need to govern more inclusively if he wants to prolong his time in office. In Southern Africa, Lesotho expects to hold its general elections in September or October 2022 whereas Angola is preparing to elect its next president in August 2022, amid controversy over election regulations. President João Lourenço is expected to seek re-election but there is mistrust about how the process has been managed and a lack of consensus about recent constitutional amendments concerning the elections.

João Lourenço, president of Angola.

On September 2, opposition parties called on Lourenço to reject the ratification of the general elections law and return it to the National Assembly. The parliamentary groups of UNITA, CASA-CE, PRS, and Bloco Democrático, called the legislation a “law of electoral fraud and corruption.” The opposition parties also cast doubt on whether the elections will be free and fair. They claim to have been intimidated by authorities. At the same time, they are trying to build a united “Patriotic front” front led by the largest opposition party UNITA with Bloco Democrático and the project Pra-Já Servir Angola against the MPLA which has ruled the country since independence in 1975.

François Misser

 

 

 

 

The West’s Military Carbon Bootprint.

No war, no warming’: slogans on placards at COP26.   But what has the peace movement to do with climate change? Judging by states’ final commitments in the ‘Glasgow Climate Pact’ nothing at all.

Yet, worldwide the military carbon footprint amounts annually to around 5% of all global carbon emissions. This figure includes military bases, land, use of equipment, as well as the military production. Add the impact of contemporary wars and the total could be 6% – one of several estimates from Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR), an organisation formed in 1992, led by distinguished scientists from different disciplines working to end “the misuse of science and technology in threatening human life and the wider environment”.

But among Heads of State closeted in the Glasgow ‘blue zone’ military spending was the dog that didn’t bark. Thanks to SGR and the peace movement amongst the People’s Summit for Climate Justice – a broad coalition of NGOs and climate activists assembled to strategize and plan action – it barked after all.

The USA spends $778 billion on defence annually, China around $250 billion, India $75 billion. According to SGR the USA’s annual military emissions are 205 million tonnes, the UK’s around 11 million – the highest in Europe – with France next at 8 million.
Just moving military personnel and equipment around by air, sea and land burns a prodigious amount of fossil fuels; a Humvee, and America has 60,000, consumes a gallon of diesel every 4-6 miles. There are no accurate figures for China though total carbon emissions are believed to be 10.2 billion metric tonnes.

The 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) came into effect in 1994. It required signatory nations to provide a regular inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions and negotiate further treaties to control emissions. The 1997 Kyoto protocol set legally binding emissions reduction targets for wealthier nations.   But the US negotiated an opt-out for military emissions both from reporting and reduction targets. Kyoto was followed in 2015 by another international treaty, the Paris Climate Agreement. Trump withdrew the US from it, but Biden re-joined this year.

Faced with reporting demands, the most militarised nations have adopted a dual strategy: avoiding systematic reporting or, failing that, burying military emissions under wider anodyne headings.
For example, energy use in Canada’s military bases falls under ‘commercial and institutional emissions’ and military flights hide beneath ‘general transport’.

After the Paris Agreement, under Obama and Biden, the US Department of Defence did begin reporting, but their published figures need to be scaled up significantly to obtain a more accurate picture of total military carbon emissions. Some data points to the supply-side of the military-industrial complex being over five times more polluting than … direct energy consumption by armed forces.
Then there are emissions from bombed fuel depots and the reconstruction of buildings following ceasefires. Saddam Hussein setting fire to Kuwaiti oil fields offers a striking illustration.

With COP26 approaching, at the end of March 2021 the UK Ministry of Defence bestirred itself and produced a slim and optimistic volume and a fine piece of climate virtue signalling. The green transition could even add to the UK’s military capabilities. Energy-saving drones and new technology were anticipated. There would be lots of carbon offsetting. The behemoths of modern warfare would in future feed on bio-fuels and nuclear power. Though it was expected that actual combat in climate-changed, ravaged environments would become more difficult. The impact on food production, were British planes and missiles to be fuelled as proposed by ‘algae and alcohol’, was not discussed.

The poorer nations most immediately affected, or threatened by climate change, left Glasgow disillusioned.
Substantial funding needed to mitigate impending climate-induced catastrophe was still not forthcoming. The British Government’s priorities are clear from its plans and actions.

By 2025 the UK’s military budget will be increased by over 10% above inflation, but from 2021 the International Aid budget will be reduced by 30%.   Until at least 2030, the rich industrialised world, or some 1% of the global population, will be generating 16% of global carbon emissions. Emissions attributable to the Pentagon are larger than those from the 140 poorest countries combined.
Not for nothing did the NGOs entitle their meeting during COP26 “The People’s Summit for Climate Justice”.

Have the NGOs’ efforts to highlight the impact on climate of world expenditure on the military, some $2 trillion globally last year, been successful? On 1 January 2021, the US National Defence Authorisation Act became law after Congress overrode a Trump veto. It requires the Secretary of Defence to produce a detailed report on the Pentagon’s greenhouse gas emissions for each of the last 10 years.

In addition the Pentagon must have clear emissions reduction targets and commit to “monitor, track, and report greenhouse gas emissions from all its operations, including combat operations, deployments, drone attacks, weapons production and testing, and base construction
and functions”.

In June NATO set a target to “contribute to” achieving net zero by 2050. At COP26 itself, the Conflict and Environment Observatory, working with Durham and Lancaster Universities, launched a website, www.militaryemissions.com, monitoring and tracking reporting from the 60 countries with the highest military expenditures. Amongst western nations, to some degree, the NGO campaigns have been successful.

Perhaps the most significant breakthrough to date is a radical Resolution on climate and military emissions being put to the US Congress by Barbara Lee, a Democrat Congresswoman for California’s 13th District (Oakland), with the support of 100 NGOs, many well-known names. The only person in Congress to vote against the Iraq war, Barbara Lee is hardly mainstream Democrat. In her mid-70s, raised a Catholic, her track record of opposition to militarism and war has been, like that of Bruce Kent in UK, courageous and consistent.

In his first week in office President Biden issued an Executive Order requiring a climate risk assessment from the Pentagon. Described by Lee as the “single largest institutional source of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet”, the Pentagon dragged its feet. Its analysis published in late October only just scraped into print before COP26. While recognising Climate Change as a major National Security issue, it lacked the concrete action Lee is seeking in her Resolution.

The combined peace and climate movements get another opportunity to tackle military emissions when COP reconvenes in Cairo next year. But they will be operating in a regime led by, President Sisi, a ruthless politician who swapped his military uniform for a suit.
The Egyptian army remains politically powerful. Then again the Nile provides 97% of the country’s water source. Egypt knows it will be one of the first countries to run dry.

The anti-war and environmental movements with their focus on military emissions have highlighted a fundamental truth. Our acceptance of globalised competition for military ascendancy is incompatible with our quest for a secure future and mitigation of runaway global warming. Negotiations for disarmament must urgently return to the agenda of international diplomacy. And for that we need Statesmen for Global Responsibility – not just scientists and religious leaders.

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

A Long Chess Game.

In the autumn of 2020, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan again broke out violently causing the deaths of 2,425 Armenians and 2,783 Azeris.

The truce, signed on 9 November through the mediation of Russia and after 44 days of intense fighting, stipulated the transfer of all seven districts occupied by Armenia adjacent to Karabakh to Azerbaijan, the division of Karabakh into two parts controlled respectively by Armenia and Azerbaijan, the right of return of the internally displaced people and the refugees of the nineties to the region to which they belonged, the opening of a corridor from Azerbaijan to its autonomous republic of Nakhchivan, and, on the border with Turkey, the link between Karabakh and Armenia by means of the Lachin corridor. This new conflict, unlike that which occurred during the nineties of the last century, produced a marked imbalance of power between the two contenders. This was mainly due to the differences in the development of the two countries in recent years, the result of the large income from petroleum that allowed Azerbaijan to invest also in armaments, modifying to a high degree the existing balance of power and, consequently, strategic aims as well.

Azeri weapons. 9K115 Metis, M69A mortar, anti-tank guided missile. Photo: ©farhadib/123RF.COM

From 1995 to 2018, Azeri military spending increased from 70 million dollars to as much as 1.7 billion; unlike Armenia which, from 50 million dollars in ’95, reached 610 million dollars in 2018. This allowed Azerbaijan to purchase and deploy high-tech armaments such as pilotless drones, from various suppliers: Russia, Turkey and Israel; Armenia remained tied exclusively to mostly second-hand Russian arms. Consequently, while in the past, Azerbaijan followed the principle of the integrity of its borders, its future aims could turn out to be different and directed towards its territorial unification with its former enclave of Nahchıvan, located in Armenia, through the conquest of the strip of Armenian territory that separates them. All this presupposes a high-risk strategy not limited solely to the Lachin corridor but also bringing into question the whole of Armenia.
Nagorno Karabakh, at this juncture, would be transformed into the first and last line of defence and therefore an outpost from where the enemy could launch an attack on the heart of the Armenian national area, as actually happened between September and November 2020. Therefore, for Armenia, the defence of Nagorno Karabakh is tantamount to the defence of its independence and even its existence.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline (South Caucasus gas pipeline) accounted for 49.5 percent of the total volume of gas pumped through the main gas pipelines.

The new outbreak of the conflict is not to be seen solely in the context of a change in power between the two countries but also against the background of a new equilibrium determined by the great actors present in the area and in particular the approach of Azerbaijan to the Turkish-USA sphere of influence. As far as Turkey is concerned, the change of position was due to the strong cultural and ethnic ties that exist between Turks and Azeris that found expression in building new infrastructure together and in the training of Azeri troops by Ankara; at the same time, the USA incentivised the construction of energy installations, especially the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (Btc) pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (Bte) gas pipeline, allowing Baku to diversify its export ending its dependence upon Moscow.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recap Erdogan. (Source: CIHAN photo)

What must also be noted is the Turkish activism in recent years in the different areas of influence often against Russian interests. The heavy defeat suffered by Armenia is to be attributed, apart from its economic weakness, to a certain deterioration in relations with Russia due to the presence at the time of Presidente Nikol Pashinyan – seen as pro-USA – who, in order to maintain a degree of equilibrium regarding political and economic relations with Azerbaijan, preferred to delay before acting effectively to have the parties sign the ceasefire agreement. The timing chosen by Moscow has allowed Baku to take advantage of the conflict but prevented it from breaking through the last Armenian line of defence which would have enabled it to realise completely its strategic objectives; instead, it weakened the Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan, sending a strong message also in that field and legitimised the Azeri conquests by showing no hostility to the country to which it remains tied by strong economic and even geostrategic interests. We must not forget that Azerbaijan is the only country in the area which has not asked to join NATO. However, Turkey emerged all the stronger, showing its ability to influence developments also in this area.

Filippo Romeo

 

Crocodile Tears.

Long ago, Nile Crocodile was in charge of all the water creatures and it was his duty to ensure their well-being. So, one year, when no storm clouds formed in the land was ravaged by drought, Crocodile grew worried about the animals as drinking water had become scarce.

When the river became a dry, sandy bed, Crocodile made a plan to relocate to another river that was over the next hill. Otter was sent on a reconnaissance mission and Crocodile was delighted when he returned, saying that there was plenty of water in that place. Crocodile then summoned Tortoise and Alligator. “I want you to take Lion a report. It will take you a couple of days to reach your destination and you must prepare yourself well for the journey as the countryside is parched and dry and you might not find any water on the way.”

Tortoise and Alligator looked out at the hot, dry landscape and the air that shimmered above it and felt daunted by the prospect of their journey. “We have to make peace with Lion and the animals of his kingdom – said Crocodile -. Otherwise, we shall all die. We need Lion and his animals’ assistance to move over to the other river, especially when we pass by man’s farm.”

Tortoise and Alligator agreed with their leader. “We water creatures can be very helpless on the land,” said Crocodile. When he received the report, Lion was surprised by it. “I need first to have a consultation with Jackal,” he told the messengers sent by Crocodile.

After deliberation, Lion said, “Tomorrow night my advisors and I will be at the appointed place near the willow tree. The one that is at the furthest end of the waterhole – the place where Crocodile resides.”

Crocodile was delighted with the news that Alligator and Tortoise brought him from Lion. He arranged for Otter and a few other water creatures to be present and he organized mounds of fish and other food for the guests who would meet by the willow tree.

As the last light of the day drained away and darkness fell on the dry land, Crocodile and his water creatures warmly welcomed Lion and his entourage of Jackal, Wolf, Baboon and a few other animals. Crocodile was so overcome by the joyous occasion that every so often tears formed in his eyes and ran down his snout and onto the sandy ground.

When all the animals had feasted on the fish and the fine food, Crocodile discussed his plans with them, stating that harmony and peace amongst all the animals was needed otherwise they would destroy each other. Lion also expressed his fear that, in time, the man would destroy them as well. The man had already placed irrigation pumps at the river to water his lands and drinking water was becoming scarcer every day. Also, because the water level of the river that once flowed strongly had dropped drastically, the animals were vulnerable as they were reed to live in very shallow water.

“We are here to give you support,” said Lion, who on this occasion was sympathetic to crocodile and his water creatures. “I give you my word that we will escort you from the dry river bed, past man’s farm to the river where there are sea-cow pools.” “But what can we expect in return?” asked cunning, sly Jackal.

Crocodile thought carefully, then responded. “Peace will be a great asset to both the water and land creatures as they will not kill each other. Also, when you land creatures arrive at the water to drink, I shall not attack you, and in turn, we will be spared Elephant’s antics.”

At that point Lion and his advisor Jackal walked away from the scant shade of the willow tree for a consultation. Then Jackal said, “Crocodile, what security will you offer to ensure that you keep your side
of the agreement?”

“My word stands, “said Crocodile, as a few more tears fell into the sand. “I think that we should trust each other – said Baboon -. We shall all benefit from such an agreement. What is more, the water creatures’ lives are vulnerable at this time. All we need to do, Lion, is commit everything to the written word.”

Sly Jackal did not agree with Baboon, and Wolf, who had satisfied himself with such generous helpings of fish that he was in a good mood, instructed Lion to settle the matter with the agreement. Lion gave a speech to all assembled, announcing that they would cooperate with Crocodile and support him, as the water creatures’ lives were threatened. A document was created and it was decided that the migration should start before midnight.

All the water creatures were summoned from far and wide and Lion not only organized an escort party for the animals, but he mapped the journey to the new river as well. Lion then appointed Jackal as the spy and quietly said to him, “I am suspicious of all this. I will also be a spy until everyone reaches the Sea-cow pools, but I will not be found there when you arrive.”

Elephant was delegated the role of leader because of his soft tread and good sense of smell and hearing. He was followed by Lion with one section of the animals and then Crocodile’s water creatures who had protection on both sides. Wolf was at the tail end of the migration.

While travel plans were being finalized, Crocodile took the yellow snake into his confidence and said to him, “It would be better for us if these animals were captured by the man. I want you to remain here and when I arrive at the sea-cow pool I will shout loudly so that you know that we have arrived at our destination.”

Snake slithered closer to Crocodile. “Snake – said Crocodile -. When I scream, you must irritate the man’s dogs and we’ll see what
happens next.”

The migration continued slowly in the dark and the pace was determined by many of the water creatures who were not used to travelling long distances on land. They ventured safely past the man’s farm and by the time it was dawn, they were all safely at the sea-cow pool.

The water creatures relished the full river and quickly disappeared beneath its muddy surface. However, before Crocodile took to the water, he thanked Lion profusely for his help, crying crocodile tears of joy. Then he asked if he might scream to let off his tense, anxious feelings that had accumulated over the journey. The mountains shook as he shouted and he then gave a lengthy delivery, outlining the advantages of the new agreement.

Just as he was about to depart, Lion heard the first shot that caused Elephant and a few other animals to keel over. “I warned you to be cautious – said angry Jackal -. Why did you allow Crocodile’s tears
to deceive you?”

Crocodile and his water creatures were safely beneath the surface of the muddy water when a fight broke out among the animals, which made them an easy target for the Boer. Most of them survived, however.

Not long after that, Crocodile was blasted by a driver who let off some dynamite. And it is said that even to this day, whenever Elephant is given the opportunity, he throws Crocodile’s descendants into the forks of trees as high up as possible.

Folktale from South Africa

The Karabakh Conflict.

In 1917, ownership of the region of Karabakh was claimed by the new-born republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan following the Russian revolution that caused the decline of the Empire.

This territorial dispute saw the intervention of the victorious powers after the First World War, especially the British who had a sort of protectorate over Transcaucasia. Substantially, they supported the Azerbaijani pretensions so as not to offend the Muslims, co-religionists of the Azerbaijanis and present in large numbers within the British Empire. They also tried not to offend the Armenians, committing themselves to keeping the promise of the victorious powers which had been hit hard by Turkey through genocide. This consisted of agreeing, in case of victory, to vast territorial compensations with the surrender of those territories which, under the control of the Ottoman Empire, constituted Turkish Armenia. Therefore, Armenia, when annexing these extensive territories to the west, could also have given up Karabakh in favour of Azerbaijan. However, subsequent events took a different turn.

In 1920, the Soviet power took over the Caucasus and the victorious powers of the First World War were forced to go back on their promise to allow the annexation of Turkish Armenia by the Armenian Republic. Caught in the crossfire of the Turkish-Soviet alliance, Armenia had not only to give up the idea of annexing the Turkish territories but even had to cede its own territories to Turkey.
In 1921, the Soviet government, under the command of Stalin, not wishing to make an enemy of the Muslim populations, decreed the annexation of the region of Karabakh by Azerbaijan under the condition that it would be recognised as administratively autonomous. This was also intended to prevent national groups of the Empire from acting as single entities capable of co-opting key sectors of every ethnic minority. In fact, such recognition came about two years later with the creation of The Mountainous Karabakh Autonomous Region which, however, excluded vast territories densely populated by Armenians. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani government was implementing a policy of demographic growth in the region to the detriment of the Armenian population.
With anticipation, after the campaign against religion launched by Stalin, all the Armenian churches were closed, and priests were either imprisoned our laicised.
Within a few decades, the Armenians, who in 1920 comprised 94% of the population, were reduced to 75% in the early eighties, while the Azeris had increased from 5% to 24%.

A view of the forested mountains of Nagorno-Karabakh. CC BY-SA 3.0/Sonashen

It was in that period of time (1920 to 1980) that numerous unsuccessful requests were made by the Armenian population of Karabakh for its annexation by the Armenian Soviet Republic though in January 1988, with the coming of Gorbachov’s Perestroika, the Armenians of Karabakh sent a petition to the Kremlin (with 100,000 signatures) seeking a referendum on the future state of the region. As it happened, their request was again rejected and on 20 February 1988, the Soviet of the Deputies of the People of Karabakh approved a motion seeking the union of the region with Armenia. On 15 August 1988, the Armenian Supreme Soviet accepted the request of Karabakh, but it was rejected both by Azerbaijan and the Kremlin. Things remained so until 1991 when the Soviet Union was dissolved.
In April of that year, the Azeri government with active participation on the part of the Soviet armies, commenced ‘Operation Ring’, to complete the work of ethnic cleansing of Karabakh, with partial success in the north of the region. On 30 August of the same year, Azerbaijan proclaimed independence from the USSR. Three days later, at a joint sitting of the Regional Soviet and District Soviets of the region, the secession of Azerbaijan was decreed and, contemporaneously, the Mountainous Republic of Karabakh. This took place on foot of an article of the Soviet constitution according to which, if a Soviet Republic (like Azerbaijan) decided to detach itself from the USSR, the republics or autonomous regions within the secessionist republic (in the case of Karabakh) would have the right to detach themselves from it. Later, in December of that year, a people’s referendum approved the constitution of the Republic of Mountainous Karabakh.

Ancient Gandzasar monastery in Nagorno – Karabakh was targeted by Soviet forces during the “Operation Ring”.

Obviously, as a consequence of these acts, there was an increase in tension between Karabakh and Azerbaijan since Azerbaijan, having been excluded by Karabakh, waited to restore its own authority. In this line, the Azeris set up a complete blockade around the contested region, and launched a real military offensive with frequent shelling and aerial bombing of populated centres. Between 1992 and 1994, the Armenian guerrillas who in the meantime had become organised as the regular army of the new republic, tried to counterattack. In this they succeeded in reaching the Armenian border and in winning the strip of land close to the former Autonomous Mountainous Region of Karabakh, the source of bombings of populated centres. Concerned at the continuing war situation, the foreign ministers of the OSCE (European Organization for Security and Cooperation) member states decided to call a peace conference at Minsk (Byelorussia) in March 1992 with the participation – apart from Armenia and Azerbaijan – of Russia, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden.

After several attempts at bringing about a ceasefire, an armistice was agreed for May 1994 which, nevertheless, did not resolve the fundamental territorial dispute that had remained latent for around 25 years only to explode violently with the two parties to the conflict – Azerbaijan and the Armenians of Karabakh supported by Armenia – appealing to such different principles that rendered reconciliation difficult. Azerbaijan, on the one hand, based its requests on the principle of the integrity of borders and, on the other, Karabakh emphasised the principle of the self-determination of peoples which, in light of the value of democracy propounded by the international community, ought neither be avoided nor contradicted. It is furthermore important to point out that, in the 1990’s, unlike 2020’s, the conflict played a completely marginal role in terms of a geopolitical profile. Proof of this can be seen from the fact that there was no great involvement on the part of foreign powers, especially Russia and Turkey. The latter, in fact, limited itself to certifying, in May 1994, the conquest by Armenia of all of Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent districts, including the strategic Lachin corridor connecting the disputed region with Armenia; at the same time, the Minsk group took no significant measures. Open Photo: © Can Stock Photo / rawf8 (F.R.)

 

2022 the European Year of Youth. “To listen, engage and promote concrete opportunities for youth.”

The EU Commission has adopted the proposal to make 2022 the European Year of Youth.

“During the year, the EU Commission, other EU institutions and Member States will organise various events also in light of the proposals made by young people during the initiatives of the Conference on the Future of Europe,” said Eric Mamer a spokesperson for the Commission announcing the adoption of the proposal to hold a European Year of Youth, which was put forward by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address last September.

“The initiative will encourage young people to become active citizens and to develop professional and personal skills through the opportunities provided by the EU”, he pointed out.
A survey dedicated to the initiative will be launched soon on a youth portal. During the events, young people will discuss the priorities highlighted in the Youth Goals, such as equality and inclusion, sustainability, mental health and well-being, and quality employment.

Young people from outside the EU will also be involved. The Commission calls on Member States to appoint a national coordinator responsible for organising their participation in the European Year of Youth.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “The pandemic has robbed young people of many opportunities – to meet and make new friends, to experience and explore new cultures. While we cannot give them that time back, we are proposing today to designate 2022 the European Year of Youth.”

“From climate to social to digital, young people are at the heart of our policymaking and political priorities. We vow to listen to them, as we are doing in the Conference on the Future of Europe, and we want to work together to shape the future of the European Union. A Union that is stronger if it embraces the aspirations of our young people – grounded in values and bold in action.”

Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Commissioner Mariya Gabriel pointed out: “The European Year of Youth should bring a paradigm shift in how we include young people in policy and decision-making. The objectives of the Year are to listen, engage and promote concrete opportunities for youth. We also need to bridge the gap between generations.”

“Today’s young people are less interested in traditional forms of participation, but they are active in standing up for what they believe in, engaging in new ways. This Year wants to pay tribute and recognise the commitment of young people. With this Decision we start a co-creation process with all interested parties to contribute to the successful organisation of the Year.”

According to UE Commission the European Year of Youth will go hand in hand with NextGenerationEU, which reopens perspectives for young people, including quality jobs and education and training opportunities for the Europe of the future, and supports young people’s
participation in society.

The Year of Youth will seek synergies and complementarity with other EU programmes targeting youth across the policy spectrum – from rural development programmes focussed on young farmers to research and innovation programmes, and from cohesion to climate change actions – including EU programmes with international outreach or of a transnational nature.

Besides, Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, with budgets of €28 billion and €1bn respectively for the current financial period, the EU’s Youth Guarantee and Youth Employment Initiative are creating more opportunities for young people. While, in 2022 also, a new programme called ALMA will be launched to support cross-border professional mobility for disadvantaged young people.

The EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 is the framework for EU youth policy co-operation. It supports youth participation in democratic life and aims to ensure that all young people take part in society. The EU Youth Dialogue is a central tool in these efforts.

Finally, the Conference on the Future of Europe, which will draw its conclusions also in 2022, ensures that the views and opinions of young people on the future of our Union are heard. One-third of participants in the European Citizens’ Panels and of Panel representatives to the Conference Plenaries are also young people, while the president of the European Youth Forum also takes part in plenaries.(swm)

Eritrea. The sacrifice of the red goat.

The Kunama, an Eritrean ethnic group living in the remote and isolated area between the Gash and Setit rivers near the border with Ethiopia. Kunama life is marked by traditional rites and ceremonies handed down by the ancient fathers and scrupulously observed. A glance at the rites of tillage.

The fields have been cleared and prepared and there is nothing else to do now but to wait for the rains that soften the soil and allow ploughing to begin. However, nobody would dare plough his field, under pain of punishment, without first performing the propitiatory rite of laga lasa, the sacrifice of the red goat, as an invocation and blessing for a successful season of sowing and harvesting.

Late one evening, when the pastors and the inhabitants have all returned to the village, one of the elders climbs a small mound and announces that on the following day, the sacrifice of the goat will take place; for this reason, nobody is allowed to absent themselves or leave the village. Each family prepares food to be eaten during the sacrificial ceremony.

The Sacrifice
The following morning, the married men go outside the village to a special place to carry out the sacrificial rite. The red goat, an unblemished animal, is slaughtered with its head facing the rising sun, butchered and cut in pieces to be roasted over a heap of stones. While the animal is being killed, the celebrating elder recites the invocation: “O God, and all you who sleep in the depths of the earth, kindly turn your face to us. May the seed we scatter flourish and produce abundant fruit for all the Kunama, for the Baria-na-ra and for the Beniamer”.
He then takes pieces of the liver, heart and kidneys of the victim and, calling on Annà (God) casts them towards the cardinal points of the compass, starting from the east.

Those present then eat what is left of the meat of the goat. Meanwhile, the women, children and other people of the village together eat the food prepared the previous evening.
After the ritual celebration, the kubula (drums and dancing) and marriage celebrations are forbidden until the celebration of Maskala or Toma Fada in the month of October-November. The prohibition during this period of the use of drums or noisy marriage celebrations is due to the Kunama belief that the tom tom of the drums would deafen the crops, preventing them from growing and the cereals from ripening.

Ploughing
The Kunama do not plough before but after sowing the seed so as to move the surface of the soil and cover the seed.
The agricultural season is a sacred one during which there must be no personal, family or tribal disputes, divorces, robberies, cattle stealing or vendettas under pain of the land becoming infertile. The sacred period must not be profaned by any evil acts.
Four days after the celebration of the laga lasa sacrifice, the ploughing of the fields may begin. The day is then fixed on which all the villagers must first come to the ploughing of the field belonging to the lagá mannà (owner or patron of the land).

On that day, all the families bring some food and aifa which is consumed in the field; the men bring the oxen and implements for ploughing; all the villagers come to the field and share in the work. When the ploughing is done, the oxen are not unyoked from the plough but everyone, both people and beasts, turn towards the rising sun; this is the moment in which the lagá mannà recites the prayer to God and to the souls of the ancestors that the land may yield abundantly for all and he thanks the villagers for ploughing his field.
As a reward for the family which donated the red goat for the sacrifice, the whole village ploughs their field. If the rains are not sufficient, or too late, endangering the crop, the elders inform the village of the day of a meeting for community prayer to invoke Annà and the ancestors, begging for abundant rains.
On the appointed day, a portion of polenta and fresh milk is first distributed to the assembled children; when they have finished eating, everyone, young and old, bow together repeatedly, reciting the various invocations to Annà.

When the seed has grown a little and the weeding has to be done, there is first a sacrifice of the laga garma, the red sheep, in a special place and after the village has been informed. The blood of the victim is collected in small containers to be given later to some of the young men of the village who, sent in all directions, go through the fields sprinkling the blood, a gesture of good fortune. During the sprinkling, the young men neither respond to greetings nor greet anyone else until the end of the ceremonies. When the sacred season of ploughing has begun, it is forbidden to build new houses, to gather honey, to do any weaving (baskets or mats) or make pottery, or do any other work not connected with cultivation. During that period, it is also forbidden to light the fire in the open courtyard for the various purposes of the family as people usually do, and even within the house.
The fire would have a bad influence on the crops.
The ploughing of the fields is not simply a basic necessity for the Kunama people but also a way to keep alive their ties with the whole Kunama family. (K.M.)

 

Africa. The boom of e-commerce.

As use of the Internet grows, so does the number of consumers who shop online. A surprising fact: the sector could benefit from around $15 billion between 2025 and 2030 if there were more women-owned businesses on the platforms.

The number of online shoppers in Africa has surged annually by18% since 2014 (the global average is 12%) and similar growth is expected over the next decade. The e-commerce market in Africa is expected to reach 84 billion dollars by 2030. A growth driven above all by the young, urban, and digitized population of the continent. And with 76 million online shoppers, Nigeria is Africa’s largest e-commerce market.
Online sales platforms have grown substantially in recent years in order to meet the demand of a market which, according to estimates, can continue to guarantee excellent performance, provided that more space is given to female entrepreneurs.

The new report from the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) in partnership with the European Union says clearly: we must bet on and invest in women to drive and to strengthen a sector that has excellent potential among that African population who is looking for services and new lifestyles. Jumia itself, one of the largest e-commerce platforms on the continent, was involved in the drawing up of the report, according to which the sector could benefit from around 15 billion dollars between 2025 and 2030 if there were more women-owned businesses present in those platforms. In other words, companies lose about $3 billion a year because they fail to implement actions to reduce the gender gap in the sector.

After all, the pandemic has also played its part: if on the one hand e-commerce initiatives have increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, on the other, in the first year of the pandemic, male sellers faced a 28% decline in sales, while women sellers suffered a 39% decrease. Changing the trend means investing in training, financing opportunities, working on the positioning of female businesses on platforms, and encouraging those women with entrepreneurial qualities.
The interest and skills of women in the sector is demonstrated by some data: fifty-one percent of Jumia’s online space is occupied by women-owned businesses in Nigeria and Kenya, and 31% in Ivory Coast.
But as the IFC report points out, these are mostly micro-enterprises with few staff and few sales.

The gender gap in the e-commerce sector is also a mirror of that existing at the level of financial services and technology. Let’s continue to consider the three countries analyzed by the report (2019 data): in Ivory Coast only 36% of women have a bank account compared with 47% of men, 33% percent of women use the internet compared with 40% of men, there is disparity of ten points also in the use of digital finance (mobile money). In Kenya 78% percent of women have bank access and 20% use the internet; while 86% of men have a bank account, 33% use the internet, and 80% use digital finance platforms compared with 73% of women. The gap in Nigeria is even wider, where only 27% of women have their own bank account compared with 51% of men and 25% uses the internet compared with 42% of men. There is the same disproportion as far as digital finance is concerned, in fact, only 17% of women use digital financial services compared with 31% of men.  The access to e-commerce by women is more difficult since they often have less capital to invest, and therefore those who decide to face the challenge of starting a business online have little means and this makes them feel vulnerable and insecure.

Top e-commerce platforms in Africa
But let’s see which are the main online shopping platforms in Africa. Established in 1999, South Africa’s online store Bidorbuy is one of the oldest online marketplaces in Africa. What makes the site unique is that buyers not only get to purchase what they want, but they can also make a bid for products, functioning as an online auction. Previously owned items such as antiques and collectables are some of the most popular on Bidorbuy, making up 40% of all items sold.
Another top e-commerce platform is South Africa’s Takealot, which was established in 2002. Customers can shop anything from books to games, computers, and TVs.

Part of what makes Takealot an e-commerce success story is that the online retailer strives to provide its customers with the very latest products in the market, coupled with up-to-date product specification. In April 2017, Takealot scored a significant investment of over US $69 million from Naspers, one of Africa’s biggest digital companies. This came after the online retailer received US $100 million investment from investment firm Tiger Global Management in 2014. Naspers boasts a 53,5% stake in Takealot, while Tiger Global owns about 34%. But probably the best-known e-commerce platform is Jumia, launched in Lagos in 2012. The site has solidified a footprint in over 23 African countries, with a network of over half a million sellers since its inception. Jumia has become a hub for products and services spanning across the retail, food and hospitality, talent recruitment, concierge, hotel, and catering industries. Apart from servicing the needs of consumers and businesses, Jumia has also been upskilling and aiding employment for many Africans who are qualified in areas such as Engineering, IT, and online marketing and web development.

A Kilimall Kenya staff in the company’s headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo sourced from Kilimall)

Kenya also boasts a large online shopping mall. The Kilimall platform is relatively new in the e-commerce space but has remarkably managed to create an inter-continental mark since its launch in 2014. The site, now established in other countries such as Nigeria and Uganda, has a retail customer base that continues to boom. Kilimall is known for providing electronics such as phones, computers, and gadgets. Finally, and again in Lagos, there is Konga, which was established in 2012 as a Lagos-only e-commerce site that specialised in baby and beauty care. Over time the online platform has morphed into a major online retailer. In 2015, Konga joined forces with leading Nigerian banks to launch KongaPay, a safe and convenient online payment method to tackle the issue of trust in Africa, when it came to online payments. (A.S.)

Bolivia. Under the spell of the rich mountain.

They toil in dark and poorly secured tunnels – always looking for the one good mine that will make everyone rich. But what the miners find in the silver mountain of Potosí in Bolivia is hardly enough to live on. A community of Catholic Sisters is helping the miners’ families in this particular moment of the pandemic. 

When the first rays of the morning sun bathe Cerro Rico, the rich mountain of Potosí, in a pale light and the city is still damp and quiet, frozen in the icy morning stiffness, then Percy Fuertes stands up and calls on God. He does so every morning before he goes into the mine.
In Potosí everything has revolved around mining for 500 years. The shops sell dynamite sticks, hoses and compressors, and the most imposing building in town is the old mint from colonial times. Trucks and dirty country vehicles rattle through the narrow streets. There is permanent fine dust over the mining town.
It penetrates every crack, settles on every piece of furniture, dusts the streets and finds its way into every lung, already struggling for oxygen at an altitude of 4,000 meters.

Miners at Cerro Rico silver mine in Potosi. Photo: saiko3p/123rf.com

The mountain has spat out an endless stream of miners terminally ill with lung disease. Many, too, have swallowed its poison working in its deceptive, slippery tunnels or have been poisoned by ammonia or other gases. A supply of cheap ethyl alcohol, sold for the equivalent of one Euro for a quarter of a litre, has tempted thousands to fritter away their money and lives to the detriment of their families. The average life expectancy of a miner is 40 years.
Fuertes has already lived longer. He is 43 and still sinewy and strong enough for the backbreaking work in the mountains. “Every morning there is oatmeal with milk, it makes you strong and protects the lungs”, he says, a gold tooth flashing in his mouth as he smiles. But his humour is false. He hugs his wife Virginia Condori in silence. The relentless mountain sun, the icy wind and the many worries have tanned the 47 year-old’s face dark and covered it with a small network of wrinkles. In a husky voice, she wishes her husband “Good luck!” – and does not know whether and in what condition he will return in the evening. Scratches and bruises are the order of the day.

Miners. Photo: saiko3p/123rf.com

Fuertes works in a team of four on behalf of the broker of a subcontractor disguised as a cooperative that has a concession for a tunnel at 4,300 meters above sea level on the flank of Cerro Rico. The extracted rock is then resold to one of the many smelting plants that are in turn owned by other companies. The ownership and employment relations in Bolivian mining are opaque. Luz Rivera from the social pastoral work of the Catholic Church in Potosí speaks of “slave-like exploitation”. “There are no employment contracts, no social security, the men have to buy the equipment themselves, even organize the journey to and from the mine themselves. Wages are paid weekly, and if the foreman wants, he will arbitrarily deduct something or fire someone without notice”, she says.

One-ton Trucks
Fuertes is a demolition expert. Deep in the tunnel, he uses a pneumatic hammer to drill the holes in which the dynamite sticks are inserted. The fuse, about one and a half meters long, gives him three to four minutes to move away from the blasting site. But running is impossible in the narrow tunnel, which is no more than 1.60 meters high. The ground between the tracks is muddy; the light from headlamps is reflected by thousands of dust particles. The pressure waves from the dull explosions almost burst the eardrums and make breathing even more difficult.

Miners change into high boots and wear helmets before descending into Cerro Rico mine. Photo: flocu/123rf.com

As soon as the dust settles, the men go back into the mine and load the wrought-iron tip-wagon with rock. A loaded truck weighs up to a ton, and can hardly be moved even by two men. Thick beads of sweat form on the foreheads of Fuertes’ two young partners as they push the truck into the daylight. The group of four produces from eight to ten truckloads on a working day that ends between four and five in the afternoon. There is no break for a meal, just some chewed coca leaves in your cheek pouch to fight off hunger and fatigue. Each one of them takes home barely 250 Euro at the end of the month.
“I’ve told him many times to look for another job”, Virginia sighs as she hangs out her washing in her bleak courtyard. Two puppies scramble on the bare concrete floor and the blue paint is peeling off the walls. Fuertes has sometimes worked as a day labourer on the construction site. But he is a man of the dark. He has been working in the mine since he was 16, and toiling in the hot sunlight is not good for him. In the mine he earns twice as much as in the construction industry, but even that is not enough to support the family properly. “I used to work for a mining company and even had social security”, he says proudly. But then came the economic crisis and now the Coronavirus.

Sister Damiana Rodriguez. Photo: Florian Kopp

Because of the pandemic, there was a strict quarantine in Bolivia for four months. Everything stopped moving in Cerro Rico. Fuertes was fired. His wife lost her job as a cleaner in a hostel due to a lack of guests. The family survived thanks only to emergency aid from the State and food donations from the church.
Sister Damiana Rodriguez knows the family well. The three daughters Almendra, 15, and the twins Catherine and Rocío, 8, go to the school of the Order of San Jose de Treveris, which is located in the middle of the mining district of San Pedro. It was founded 28 years ago to enable the miners’ daughters to graduate from high school and open up other life prospects. “Girls suffer particularly in the macho world of miners”, says Sr. Damiana. Women have only a subordinate place. They marry young, get pregnant quickly and suffer at the hands of drinking husbands who beat them. They become widows at an early age.

Food for the poorest
When many families at the Copacabana School became unemployed during the Coronavirus pandemic, the Sisters helped those in particular need with food parcels. A few brightly coloured bags full of rice, pasta, beans, cooking oil and soap are still piled up in a classroom. Virginia and Fuertes grow their own beans and potatoes on a small piece of land outside the city that his parents have given him. “At least we didn’t starve to death – says Virginia -, but sometimes there was only one meal a day”. From what she had saved from her work at the hostel, she bought a cell phone so that her three daughters and 12-year-old Fabricio could at least take part in distance learning. “Sometimes the courses overlap, sometimes I don’t have the money to top up the data quota on my cell phone”, she says.

Percy Fuertes with his daughters and sr. Damiana. Photo: Florian Kopp

Fortunately, the little house in which they live with their in-laws is not far from the school where parents can pick up worksheets or books in person. “In March, the State shut down the school overnight and left us alone. We had to improvise distance learning”, says Sister Damiana, who teaches ethics and religion.
Sometimes she comes to school for meetings with the teaching staff or to hand out material to parents. The empty classrooms make her sad every time. “I miss the life, the laughter and the noise of the girls”, she sighs. The pandemic is a serious set-back for the education system in Bolivia. In primary school, only half of the children can take part in video classes, in the upper school it is just 30 per cent. According to the social worker Rivera’s estimates, child labour in Potosí has risen from 10,000 to 15,000 as a result of the pandemic. There are no official figures.

No glasses, no shoes
At home, the Fuertes family navigates the crisis. The children watch TV or play with the two puppies Poli and Canela. They used to hang out with friends a lot. Fabricio used to go to a football club and Almendra was active in the church youth group. The pandemic has kept all of that to a minimum.
The school books picked up by Fuentes at school are a welcome change. The fact that Sister Damiana came with them also encourages the twins to demonstrate the reading skills they acquired the previous year and painstakingly preserved during the pandemic. Catherine reads quite fluently but Rocío stops and starts. She doesn’t see well and actually needs glasses. But there is no money for that. Not even for real shoes. The twins grew out of the old ones during the pandemic, and slippers have to do for the time being, despite the cold.
Fuertes casts a glance out of the corner of his eye at his two girls. “Maybe we can still find the veta“, he mumbles, the rich vein that all miners dream of. “Then I would definitely quit and offer my family a better life”.

Sandra Weiss/Kontinente

In search of ethical coherence in investments.

To Missionaries, living the Gospel in a radical fashion is a way of advocating for the poor and the earth. The devise, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation is a distant horizon that, however, continually attracts and directs their fragile and sometimes contradictory steps. One of these steps is to invest in the agroecology promoted by the Landless Movement of Brazil. Pointing out in writing their commitments and challenges helps and encourages them to be faithful to this mission.

Evangelizing is the commitment of every missionary. “To evangelize is to make the Kingdom of God present in the world” (EG n. 176). One of the settings where this mission becomes more arduous and urgent is the economy. In today’s world, income and capital concentration has reached obscene levels; it is a scandalous expression of a growing and structural injustice, a deadly social sin.

A deep and urgent conversion
Eight individuals have the same wealth as half of the world’s population! The problem is not, therefore, the lack of financial resources, but their appropriation by individuals and corporations that use them to speculate instead of investing: today, more than ever, financial investments yield more profits than productive investments.

The Second Vatican Council (GS 63) called on Christian communities to act in economic and social life, having as priority the dignity and the integral vocation of every person and to the good of all society.

Pope Francis, in his most recent message to social movements, explicitly said, “It is time to stop the locomotive that is taking us to the abyss ” The initiative “The Economy of Francis and Clara”, particularly aimed at young people, with a focus on new models of life and society, is in the Pope’s desires an enormous challenge: “to give the economy a new soul.”This challenge comprises at least two main lines of action: first, directing the economy at the service of life and not of profit and, secondly, distancing it from all the processes of death that are destroying Creation.

Pope Francis asked this with humility and firmness in the same speech to social movements: “I want to ask in the name of God the large extractive companies – mining, oil, forestry, real estate, and agribusiness – to stop destroying forests, wetlands and mountains, stop contaminating rivers and seas, and stop poisoning people and food.”

Touching the wounds of the poor and of the Earth
These new commitments, however, in Brazil are not born out of nowhere, but from the experiences of sharing and from hopes that open gaps for light, such as the solidarity of communities in the urban peripheries, or the resistance of indigenous peoples.

The Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), the largest social movement in the world, is an example. For more than thirty years, the Movement has worked with rural production cooperatives and marketing of rural products.  Today, there are 160 cooperatives and more than 1,000 associations, comprising 450,000 families in 24 Brazilian states. In just the first 6 months of the COVID pandemic it carried out solidarity actions in several states of the country providing 3,400 tons of food.
It started fifteen new community vegetable gardens to strengthen and insuring this help.

For their part, the Comboni missionaries, through their even sometimes small and frail experience in Brazil, learned to listen more and more to the cry of the poor and of the Earth Through their socio-environmental pastoral commitments, together with the local Church, they had been addressing the “ecological sin”.

The best formulation of this “sin” was given during the Amazon Synod where REPAM (Red Iglesias y Minería – Churches and Mining network) was a protagonist. “Ecological sin”, is a “sin against future generations”, a “transgression against the principles of interdependence” and a “breakdown of the solidarity networks among creatures”.

Some missionaries, therefore, (see Network Justice on the Rails) act against violations caused by the predatory extraction of large mining corporations or share with their communities the suffering caused by the impacts of illegal gold mining. Some others are committed to the defense of peoples and their territories, together with the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) or the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT).

A new proposal and our support
The missionaries believe, in profound communion with Pope Francis, that the abundant life evoked by the Gospels begins with the right to Land, Housing and Work for all people.

In the deep sanitary and economic crisis that many countries go through, food insecurity has once again come to haunt Brazil. About 20 million people live in poverty and at risk of malnutrition: it is the anti-Kingdom, a blasphemy hurting the heart of God! It is the clearest proof of what the Pope has said over and over again: “This economy kills!”

Recently, the MST planned to raise R$ 17.5 million (about US$ 3,2 millions) by issuing an Agribusiness Receivables Certificate (CRA), a type of fixed-income bond used to finance the producer or an agricultural cooperative, backed up by the real economy, that is, production itself. The purpose of this financing is to fund the production, mostly pesticide-free, of rice, corn, milk, soy, grape juice and brown sugar by seven cooperatives.

This Movement’s agro-ecological projects and its support to family farming are prospects for circular, collaborative and sustainable economic processes in which it makes sense to believe. Because of all these reasons, based on their pastoral practice, on the Gospel in which they believe and on the cry that they continually hear, the Comboni Missionaries in Brazil have decided to enter into this financing initiative by investing part of their funds.

Meaning and perspectives
“This support is only a first step to help us recognize how far we still need to go, to ‘give economy a new soul’, in a very practical way,” say the Comboni Missionaries. “We are part of a continental ecumenical movement, the Churches and Mining network (REPAM), which is promoting research, discernment and commitments to free the economy from predatory and devastating extractivism.”

Church investments, too, can contribute to fueling or to the weakening of deadly economies. The Mining Divestment Campaign is a tool to raise awareness in religious life and people in general about violations of mining business and the symbolic and prophetic potential of an ethical distancing from these corporations.

“The next step of our commitment will be to deepen the control of our investments and, possibly, direct them even more towards productive activities that are coherent with our values. We are thus joining the recent initiatives taken in this same sense by the Claretian and the SVD Missionaries, as well as the proposal of the ‘Laudato Si Revolution’ launched by the Franciscans and Jesuits, and also the ‘Laudato Si Action Plan’ coordinated by the Vatican Secretariat for Integral Human Development,” is the Comboni missionaries statement.

The path is still long, but it reveals a progressive awakening of Religious Life towards the paradigm of Integral Ecology and the Economy of Francis and Clara! (Landless Movement – MST©opaidetheo/123RF.COM)

Jean Paul Pezzi

 

 

Kenya/Ethiopia. A journey into Borana’s cultural heritage.

In the vast semi-desert uplands of southern Ethiopia, and in the northern desert region of Kenya, the Borana have their home.

They believe themselves to be the first of the groups that form the great Oromo family. “We were the first to arrive, at dawn”. The experts agree that the Borana — around half a million people, of whom –100,000 live in the south of Kenya — have preserved the most integral and original linguistic, cultural, social and religious characteristics of the entire ethnic group. Among the Oromo of western Ethiopia, the term ‘borana‘ is still understood as meaning one who definitely belongs to the race of the Oromo. Among the elements that confirm that the Borana constitute the original primordial strain of the Oromo we find: the conservation of a social system and a semi-nomadic and pastoral lifestyle; fidelity to the practice of their own traditional religion; the continuation of an essentially egalitarian social structure based upon the system of the gadaa and the role played by two relevant institutional figures: the abba gadaa (‘father of the gadaa‘, the highest political authority) and the qallu (traditional priest).

From a religious point of view, they feel they are especially close to Waaqa, the creator god seen as the source of all that exists: “He gives life and continuity of life to all things”. They speak of him as “the beginning and the end”: “Waaqa is one and is many”, infinite and infinitesimal at the same time. In “Waaqa everything is present and everything exists in him”.  He is the “weaver who unites past, present and future in a single cloth”; in an even more meaningful way: “He is the one who keeps together bone, flesh and spirit”.  All the Borana frequently turn to Waaqa, praying to him and recognising his omnipotence and goodness. There are endless invocations for peace, rain, health, the growth of the children and the stock.

The Gadaa System
This is the sacred framework into which every new-born Borana child is inserted. His journey of insertion into society begins only after the name-giving rite with which his right to guard the herds, to express his opinion in the assemblies and to take part in war is recognised. By means of a series of periodical rites proposed by the gadaa, he gradually forms a close network of relationships that mark his life, helping him to cultivate his own identity and to assume his role in society.

The structure of the gadaa is first of all a system of traditional power, exercised democratically and based upon a stratified hierarchy, founded upon the seven “age classes” (or lubba) into which the population is divided. The men follow the phases of the long passage from infancy to old age together.
Each age passage (once every eight years) brings about a rise in the social hierarchy, as they enter the higher lubba. The phases are: that of the daballee (1-8 years), gammee (8-24 years; this is a “repeated lubba” of 16 years), kussa (24-30 years), raaba didiqqaa (or minor raaba, 30-38 years), raaba gugurdaa (major raaba, 38-46 years); gadaa (46-54 years) which is the most important lubba; its members are also called qommicha, (meaning ‘strong ones’) and yuuba (55-78 years; three periods of eight years during which the men are free of all directive responsibilities). When they have completed the three periods as yuuba, the men become gadaamoji, members of the class of the elders: they are free from all political and economic activity and may assume only a ritual role.
The women are excluded from the age classes and from the exercise of power. It is their duty to look after the children and the home. Nevertheless, among the Borana, the women enjoy not only a high level of autonomy and esteem but also have their own times and spaces to organise themselves on a social level and to assume specifically ritual roles within the female ceremonial environment.

All religious, ritual and political responsibility is vested in the members of the gadaa, the lubba of the “strong ones”, which gives its name to the entire system. It is said that the gommi-cha “nama sederà Boraanaa cufa harba qabu” (hold in their hands all the Borana laws and customs).
They rule under the authority of the abba gadaa (the father of the gadaa), who is elected democratically and holds office for eight years, assisted by special counsellors called waayuu (a word which means “holiness”, “respect”, “blessing”, “goodness”, “peace”), chosen from among people of good standing.
In times of emergencies or critical situations in the life of the whole group, the abba gadaa may call the gumii gaayoo (“assembly of many”, open to all the Borana) to render the decision-making more democratic. As a rule, however, the gumii gaayoo is called every eight years. This is a gathering attended by tens of thousands of Borana from Ethiopia and Kenya. The last general assemblies were especially important since they established: exact rules to be followed in the matter of guarding and using water sources; which land was to be used for cultivation and which for pasture; the creation of reserves of fodder for the calves; the protection of indigenous plants; the prohibition of the illegal sale of water; punishments for drunkenness. (P.C.)

 

Getting married.

Among the Borana people marriage is preceded by several stages and long negotiations, which can go on even for two years.

The boy’s father takes the first step by visiting the girl’s parents, on this occasion he brings them some tobacco and coffee as gifts. The girl’s parents accept the gifts the first time but on the second visit if they don’t want to marry their daughter to that young man, they will refuse any other gift and will inform the boy’s father about their decision.
If they accept the gifts it means that they are favourable to this marriage, as long as their daughter agrees; if she does not, negotiations
and visits are suspended.

The girl’s parents also organise a Kadda, which is a family meeting to examine if there are all the necessary conditions for the marriage between the two young people to take place. For instance, a person of Sabbo ethnicity can only marry another one of Gona ethnicity.
If there are all conditions and all family members approve, negotiations between the two families will continue, and they will be facilitated by the gifts offered by the groom-to-be.
One of the most important phases in a marriage preparation among the Borana people, is the  Buni Ayana or Buni Dageti, which is the occasion when the boyfriend, who is accompanied by a friend (jalla) goes to the girl’s home. The boy, before entering the house, sits in front of the cattle fence and waits for the return of the cows from pasture. He brings two bundles; one contains coffee berries and the other one some tobacco. When the cows come back from pasture, the boy enters the house of his girlfriend’s family and sits in a place prepared just for him, the Golo BuIa, he addresses himself to the girl’s father and the most important members of her family and says, “Abo intalla na ken”, (Father, give me the girl).  He repeats the request to all family members three times and each of them answers: “Dageti”, (I have heard you). After this formal request, the wedding date is set.

On the wedding day some women build the hut for the spouses. They start at dawn. The hut, which is called min includes a bedroom (Dibu Fuda) and the place where fire is lit, and where the couple will eat and receive guests (Bada). While working, the women sing, and remember their own wedding, and the feeling of nostalgia for their mothers’ love. At about four o’clock in the afternoon the hut is ready. In the evening the groom arrives on a donkey loaded with household furnishings. A respectable groom must bring at least 15 indispensable items, such as the Elebuna, the pot used to roast coffee beans, the buni bowl (Qori), and the wooden goblet used to drink buni (Budunu buna). As soon as he arrives, the groom enters the house and prepares some buni which will be drunk during the prayer.

Gola. The screen
At nightfall, the groom leaves his new home, accompanied by his inseparable friend. They bring several pounds of coffee berries and tobacco. They wait for the return of the cows and then they go to see the bride’s parents. They will spend the night in their hut behind the gola,
a sort of screen.
At about nine in the evening a series of rituals are performed, only family members attend. The groom offers his father-in-law the tobacco and the coffee berries he has brought. Eight of the coffee berries are roasted over fire, the bride’s father eats two of those and drinks the milk which has just been milked three times. Then he passes the cup to his wife. This ritual sets the seal on the new ties between the groom and the girl’s family, and from that moment on, the mother-in-law is not supposed to look into the groom’s eyes anymore.

On this occasion the girl’s family members give some advice to the groom about his future married life. The suggestions to the bride
are given privately.
The father tells the girl: “Daughter, we gave you to this man, because God created man for woman, and woman for man. Now your husband has all the rights over you. When he comes back home, get him something to drink, if he is hungry, make sure the food is ready. Do not betray him and respect him as you respect your father”. The same suggestions are given by her mother.

Fuda. The wedding rite
Early in the morning, the bride, who is helped by her mother and a girlfriend, wears her wedding gown, the gorfu, which is made of cow skin. Her hair is greased with butter. A jar filled with milk is tied onto her hips, the bride then is also given a stick (sike), a small perfume bottle (kif) and a comb (fila). When everything is ready, the girl’s parents give their daughter to her husband, they bless the couple and then addressing the groom they say, “Take care of her, do not let her starve and make sure you can always provide her with clothes. Go in peace”.
The couple drinks some milk from the chichio and then they head to the cattle fence of the groom’s family. Upon arrival, the bride sits on a cow skin while the groom assisted by his father, kills a young bull according to the rakho ritual. Meanwhile, the groom’s mother combs the bride: she does three small braids on her head; then everybody enters the new hut, while the bride’s parents kill a calf and put a strip of its skin (medicha) on their daughter’s wrist. This ritual marks the end of the wedding ceremony. (P.C.)

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