Virgin Cleansing Myth

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 13:16 PM EDT, 9 February 2012

Photo by Nicole Hinrichs - All Rights ReservedNEW DELHI, India – Yesterday we wrote about the scandal of three Indian politicians watching pornography during a parliament session. Today, Indian is once again in the news but in a slightly more positive light.

South African peace activist, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the 1984 Noble Peace Prize winner, is now chairman of ‘The Elders.” This group is comprised of prominent people of diverse backgrounds and heritage who are dedicated to addressing humanitarian issues from around the world.

Tutu, 80, is spearheading a global movement called “Girls Not Brides” which is aimed at ending child marriages. We have focused a lot of attention on this issue because this practice has such a deleterious impact on its victims. Child brides are subjected to rape, fistulas, physical and psychological abuse, and murder often condoned by the community as the right of the husband because of a lack of a dowry or as an honor killing.

Tutu told Reuters late Wednesday that "India is doing fantastically.” But intimated that the country’s growth and role as a significant world player could increase exponentially if it “enlisted the participation of 50 percent of the population,’ which means Women. The problem of marginalization, discrimination, abuse and murder of women is not unique to India.

Child marriages are most prevalent in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, but also occurs in the United States. Though many countries have laws on the books prohibiting this practice, most of the families that engage in this type of behavior live in remote regions of the country where the police have, in their opinion, more pressing concerns than what they consider to be a ‘family matter.’

According to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), “100 million girls will be married before the age of 18 in the coming decade. Most will be in sub-Saharan Africa countries, some of which are (Mali, DRC, Mozambique, Eritrea, Ethiopia) and the Asian Subcontinent countries, some of which are (Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh). In Niger, for example, 74.5% of women in their early 20s were married as children. In Bangladesh, 66.2% were. Child marriage also occurs in parts of the world including the United States and the Middle East. (Source: ICRW)

According to UNICEF, an estimated 14 million girls between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth each year. Because their bodies have not fully developed they are twice as likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth as women in their 20s. Girls who marry between the ages of 10 and 14 are five times as likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth, and their infants are 60 percent more likely to die. (Source: UNICEF)

In India, 47 percent of women between the ages of 20 and 24 are married before the legal age of 18 according to the government's latest National Family Health Survey. Tutu, who is traveling in India with other Elders, including former Irish President Mary Robinson and Gro Harlem Brundtland, who was Norway's first prime minister, believes that this type of inequality is a definite impediment to increased socioeconomic development.

Tutu has been a vociferous campaigner on the issues of fighting HIV/AIDS, an epidemic that has plagued his own country, South Africa. In numerous interviews he asserts his belief that girls married off to older men, have little control over their sex lives and thus are more likely to be infected by HIV/AIDS as a consequence.

This is especially true in South Africa, where older men who lack access to proper healthcare resort to raping female babies and infant girls. This abhorrent practice is known as the Virgin Cleansing Myth “that if a man infected with HIV, AIDS, or other sexually transmitted diseases has sex with a virgin girl, he will be cured of his disease.” (Source: Wikipedia)

There are many issues that must be addressed worldwide in an effort to achieve gender equality.  We don’t believe that ‘gender equality’ equates with ‘gender sameness.’ Women and men are uniquely created to complement each other and we believe this is healthy. It is only when one or the other, but in the case of this post, when a man chooses to exert control over a woman and to rob her of her natural right to self-determination, that we must stand up in one voice and denounce the perpetrators.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Tutu, The Elders, and NGOs are doing their part to increase global awareness of the practice of child marriages. We can support these campaigns at a grassroots level through donations, writing and blogging about this issue, or just reaching out to a woman in need in your community. To achieve gender equality at all levels of society we must do all that we can in support of the development of 50 percent of humanity. Women.

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The Weight of First | Pres. Johnson Sirleaf

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 17:13 PM EDT, 3 February 2012

MONROVIA - Liberia's re-elected President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who is the first and only female President in Africa, has named the first ministers of her new cabinet on Thursday.  She appointed new finance and foreign affairs ministers but retained her defense minister.

President Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel Laureate, has vowed to continue to implement the changes she initiated during her first term.  She was sworn in for a second term in power this week and is being watched by her countrymen and the world to see if she will be more aggressive in her efforts to eradicate the corruption which plagues Liberia and other African nations.

She has also promised to cut poverty and high youth unemployment which is rampant in a nation that has been besieged by protracted nine year civil war. U.N. peacekeepers have overseen the country's security since the end of some 14 years of war in 2003. But the world body is under pressure to end the costly, 9,000-strong mission.

Foreign investors compound the issue of high unemployment and housing shortages by importing workers and seizing control of land. Under her governance, more foreign corporations have been awarded the right to harvest trees for lumber often displacing residents and leaving the terrain vulnerable to run off and mudslides.

This type of Neo-Colonialism is spreading across the Continent as Western countries seek to openly exploit the vast natural resources of Africa. Liberia is mineral rich and since the discovery of vast oil reserves off of its Coastal shelf it is poised for exploitation and the resultant corruption that can occur when multinational petroleum companies strike deals with the government.

President Johnson Sirleaf must remain vigilant against the type of exploitation that occurs in Nigeria's oil and gas industry. In the Delta region of Nigeria, the environment is extremely polluted as the country does not enforce any environmental protections regulations. The citizenry's health and lifestyles are also adversely impacted by lax and sometimes criminal disregard for how these companies drill and dispose of the oil and gas.

We congratulate Liberia in re-electing the first female African President and look forward to seeing what she can accomplish in her second term.

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First War, Now Elephantiasis

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 23:55 PM EDT, 30 January 2012

UGANDA - When I was a child I first encountered a person afflicted with Elephantiasis when we moved to Nigeria. I wrote about this encounter in my post The Road to Naijiriya which details my arrival in Lagos as we embarked on our new life in Ile Ife.

Now, this disease is once again in the media as health services in Southern Africa have alerted the region to the need for increased preventative measures and prophylactic treatment options.

The 20-year civil war in Uganda has left severe scars on the economy, infrastructure, health and human services, and most of all on a populace that no longer has access to basic necessities such as potable water, food and medical treatment.

Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as Elephantiasis, "afflicts over 25 million men with genital disease and over 15 million people with lymphoedema. Currently, more than 1.3 billion people in 72 countries are at risk. Approximately 65% of those infected live in the WHO South-East Asia Region, 30% in the African Region, and the remainder in other tropical areas." (Source: World Health Organization)

With proper medical treatment, the condition, which is caused by a parasite that is part of the roundworms family, can be cured. The parasite is usually transmitted to its human host through a mosquito bite. It subsequently invades and proliferates throughout the lymphatic system where it blocks and disrupts the immune system. "The adult parasites live for 6-8 years and, during their life time, produce millions of microfilariae (small larvae) that circulate in the blood." (Source: WHO)

Although, quite disturbing, this condition is easily treatable for patients with access to proper health care. However, in countries like Uganda, which has a long history of civil unrest and unstable governments; this disease remains unchecked in its transmission and infection. In addition to the excruciating physical pain caused by the disease, there is the accompanying psychological and sociological impact.

People afflicted by this disease remain ostracized by society and their communities much like lepers in previous centuries. They are also unable to earn a living because of the crippling disfigurement caused by the symptoms of this disease. The adult worms can be successfully killed usually with one treatment, however, the disfigurement suffered by the individual remains unless they can arrange to have surgery to remove the tumors.

It is sad that the Ugandan people who have been victimized by a series wars instigated by despotic rulers, the most egregious being Idi Amin, must now face a new marauder in the form of this parasite.

To learn more about the disease watch the Voice of America video below.

[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnWwHthkGkY"]

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Nollywood | Bollywood

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 14:14 PM EDT, 25 January 2012

NIGERIA - Lagos is one of the most populace cities in Africa. It is also the seat of the Nigerian film industry which began in 1992 and is known as Nollywood. It is the third largest film industry in the world after India's Bollywood and Hollywood in the U.S. Nollywood produces 2,500 films a year most for under $15,000.

The Indian movie industry caters to a population of over 1.2 billion citizens, and Nigeria, roughly 158 million. These numbers are the reason Nigeria is the largest and most dominant film industry on the Continent. (Source: World Bank, World Development Population Indicators)

In 2011, Bollywood and Nollywood concluded plans to host a joint film festival for both movie industries to commemorate the 60th and 50th independence anniversaries of both countries respectively. As former British Colonies, this festival would have provided a venue and opportunity to strengthen the cultural and economic ties that have existed between India and Nigeria. Unfortunately, due to safety concerns the 8th ION International Film Festival was moved from Port Harcourt, Nigeria to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The first Nollywood movie, Living in Bondage, was incredibly successful and is credited with launching the booming film industry in Nigeria. The films produced in Nigeria are financed and sold by electronics merchants and sold all over Nigeria in open air markets. Prior to 1992 most of the movies sold in Nigeria were imported from America or China or other markets. Since the advent of Nollywood, Nigerians claim that they only watch Nigerian made movies because they get to watch themselves and enjoy their unique culture, jokes, and the hope for a better life these films inspire.

Nigerian producers assert that Nollywood has become the voice of Africa. Because it is such a robust market it has become the benchmark for African film industry. In the West, Bollywood films have come to define the success of a film industry in an emerging market. Even though the highly acclaimed "Slumdog Millionaire" is not a Bollywood film, many Americans with only a cursory knowledge of the industry may concur with one of the movie's stars, Anil Kapoor that the movie is reminiscent of the genre.

Indian movie stars are well compensated through lucrative movie contracts, commercial and video appearances and product licensing. By contrast, many Nigerian actors work for little or no money because many believe that investing sweat equity into Nollywood's film industry is an important contribution. These actors feel that they are part of an important social and economic movement that helps ordinary Nigerians to dream of achieving a better life.

Nigerians believe that Lagos like New York, is a place that will make you or break you. If you can make it in Lagos you can make it anywhere in the world because life there is so grueling. I remember even as a child the sprawling ghettos, the crumbling infrastructure, and how crime was a dominant feature of Lagos. It has not changed much in the intervening years despite the incredible wealth generated by the oil industry.

In the early 1970's the Nigerian citizenry were increasingly subject to wanton violence as soldiers returned home from the Biafra wars with no opportunities and weapons. These men subsequently turned to crime as a means of support and began to terrorize the population. The danger posed by these marauders crippled downtown Lagos which resulted in the closure of restaurants, movie theaters and other entertainment venues. Going to watch a movie in a theater could result in the loss of life or property.

This socio-economic reality contributed to the underground development of the film industry because it was no longer safe to go out to the theaters to watch movies. In fact, there are only three functioning movie theaters in Lagos and none of them show Nollywood films. Most of the Nigerian made films are sold directly to the consumer who then view them at home or in communal settings.

These films speak directly to this population of poor people who have come to Lagos in search of a dream. When Nigerians watch these films they not only see themselves in the characters to whom they can aspire, and it provides them with the strength to continue to strive and not to loose hope. The film "Living in Bondage," is similar to a Medieval "English Morality Play," because during the lead character's struggles to make it he is repeatedly tempted to rely on the old tradition of Juju and witchcraft. Ultimately, this path provides him with worldly riches he desires at the cost of his soul. After experiencing other challenges, the character is finally redeemed through his conversion to Evangelical Christianity.

In a nation that is 52% Muslim and 47% Christian, Nollywood producers have adjusted their product to suit consumer demand. As more and more people struggle to survive in the economic downturn that followed the devaluation of the Naira, they need more than escape, and religion has begun to fill this void.  One of the largest film makers in Nollywood is Helen Ukpabio who is the head of Liberty Gospel Church which has over 50,000 members and 78 churches. Throughout many of her films, she blames witchcraft as the source of suffering for most Nigerians and the reason why many of their souls will be damned to hell.

Her films have captured a large segment of the 80 million viewers of Nollywood by presenting stories which preach the doctrine of achieving peace, prosperity and salvation by overcoming obstacles with the help of the church and a hefty donation. Though it may not have been her intention, Ms. Ukpabio and other Nollywood directors and producers recognized an opportunity to leverage the industry by moving from pure escapism to marketing religion as the new panacea. Right or wrong, the direction in which Nollywood is moving can be viewed cynically as a ploy to fleece the downtrodden, or beneficently as a tool to bolster faith.  Only time will judge, but for now Nollywood remains a powerful symbol of Africa's ascendancy.

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African Voices Challenge the ‘Single Story’

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African Voices Challenge the ‘Single Story’

The Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speaks about the traditions of a single story framed by prejudice, stereotypes, and misinformation. The author of “Half of a Yellow Sun” (2006), she has several other notable books, short stories, plays and poem anthologies under her belt, but this presentation transcends continents, cultures, and class. View the video here.

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People traffickers stalk Eritreans in Sudan desert

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In the Nahmias Cipher Report we write a lot about Ethiopia in general, and the abhorrent practice of modern day slavery around the world. This post caught our eye and we felt it was worthy of reposting. "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" ~ Edmund Burke

Bab'Aziz in the Desert | Sufism

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A truly powerful movie that is metaphoric and profound on so many levels. Words fail to capture the depth of longing portrayed by the principal character of this film who is the veritable "everyman" calling out to the great unknown for guidance, support, and assistance. As an artist and a deeply spiritual person the other worldliness and mysticism experienced by the characters in this film transcend man made boundaries to emote true connection to the "unseen" that binds us all. In a time of deep divides along geographical, political and religious lines, it is important for people to remember that ultimately these factions and the resultant conflicts have been a facet of humanity since its beginning. Therefore, we should not define ourselves by this our greatest failing, instead we should strive to identify the communality of our experiences, our humanity, and our intrinsic need to understand from whence we came and to where we return.

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Ethiopian Christmas 2012 | Melkam Gena!

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 01:22 AM EDT, 6 January 2012

ETHIOPIA - At the end of 2011, Jews, Muslims and Christians celebrated major holidays commemorating the end of their religious calendars. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christians in the Diaspora celebrate Christmas on the traditional 25th of December. However, all Ethiopians celebrate the holiday on the 7thof January which is the 29th of December on the Ethiopian calendar.

Also known as Liddet, Gena and Qiddus Bale Wold, the holiday actually begins at sundown of the 6th of January with a night long church service. Like Muslims and Jews, the traditional Ethiopian Orthodox Liturgical day always begins at sunrise and ends at sunset of the evening before the calendar date. Lidet is significant from a religious perspective, but does not have the commercial overtones that the festival has in Western countries.

Christmas also signals the end of 40 days of fasting which began on Advent (Sibket, in Amharic) and ends on Christmas Eve with the Feast of Gena. Like Muslims who fast for one month without eating or drinking from sunrise to sundown, Ethiopians also fast, but are allowed to consume vegetarian meals such as lentils, ground split peas, grains, fruit, varieties of vegetable stew accompanied by injera and/or bread. Meat and diary products are only eaten on feasting days i.e. Christmas, Epiphany, Easter and at all other times. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christians, Jews and Muslims do not eat pork as it forbidden by their religious beliefs.

The morning of Christmas begins with a spectacular procession. After the mass service, people go home to break the fast by eating chicken, lamb or beef accompanied by Injera and served in beautifully decorated baskets. It is a very festive occasion filled with joy, family, great food and song.  Watch the video below and enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu83TJAjfoI]

Malaria Vaccine | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 22:08 p.m. EDT, 22 October 2011

I narrowly survived an infection of cerebral malaria when I was 10 years old.  We lived just outside of Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, and because my father did not believe in Western medicine, he forbade my mother from seeking treatment for me when I fell ill.  If treated at the immediate onset of symptoms the chances of recovery are quite high.

However, by the time she took me into Dar to the hospital, I beyond the threshold of medical intervention. The doctors told my mother to take me home and prepare for my death.  My mother did take me home where I lapsed into a coma while she tried everything she knew to break the fever and bring me back.

Through her valiant caring and prayer I awoke from my coma I remained critically ill for many months afterward.  I was one of the lucky few who survive cerebral malaria in which mortality rates for patients is as high as 50%.  This particularly pernicious disease  is the number one killer in the world today with a 90% percent of malaria-related deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.

The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) was funded in large part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and conducted trials on 6,000 children at 11 sites across sub-Saharan Africa.  The trials  showed that three doses of the RTS,S vaccine reduced the risk of children experiencing clinical malaria and severe malaria by 56 percent and 47 percent respectively.

Research is continuing, and efficacy and safety results in 6 to 12 week-old babies are expected by the end of 2012. Information about the longer-term protective effects of the vaccine, 30 months after the third dose, should be available by the end of 2014.

"A vaccine is the simplest, most cost-effective way to save lives," says Gates.

"These results demonstrate the power of working with partners to create a malaria vaccine that has the potential to protect millions of children from this devastating disease."

"These results confirm findings from previous Phase II studies and support ongoing efforts to advance the development of this malaria vaccine candidate," says Tsiri Agbenyega, a principal investigator of the trial and Chair of the Clinical Trials Partnership Committee.

"Having worked in malaria research for more than 25 years, I can attest to how difficult making progress against this disease has been. Sadly, many have resigned themselves to malaria being a fact of life in Africa. This need not be the case."

The team is now working towards approval by regulatory authorities. If the Phase III trials go well, the World Health Organization (WHO) has indicated that it could recommend the RTS,S malaria vaccine candidate as early as 2015, allowing African nations to include the vaccine in their national immunization programs.

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PBS | Women, War and Peace

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Women, War & Peace is a bold new five-part PBS series challenging the conventional wisdom that war and peace are men’s domain. Spotlighting the stories of women in conflict zones from Bosnia to Afghanistan and Colombia to Liberia, it places women at the center of an urgent dialogue about conflict and security, and reframes our understanding of modern warfare.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/30099445]

Featuring narrators Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton, Geena Davis and Alfre Woodard, Women, War & Peace is the most comprehensive global media initiative ever mounted on the roles of women in war and peace

Watch on your local PBS station Tuesday nights from Oct. 11 to Nov. 8. Check local listings for air times.  (Source: PBS)

Botswana's 45 Years of Freedom

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Friday, 30 September 2011, the Southern African nation Botswana will celebrate its National Independence Day.  This date marks the country’s 45th anniversary of the country's independence from Great Britain. Since gaining its independence in 1966, Botswana has been a stable democracy governed by an elected President.

This prosperous African nation is currently governed by President Seretse Khama Ian Khama and Vice President Mompati Sebogodi Merafhe.  In 1966, Botswana was one of the poorest countries in the Southern Africa region but, the increased prevalence of foreign  multinational  corporations operating in Botswana seems to correlate with the growth in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from a per capita income of US$70 to around US$14,800 in 2010.

The phenomena of foreign multinationals manipulating emerging economies to their advantage is not new and today this is known as Neo-Colonialism.  In Africa and other emerging markets the introduction of these profit driven entities into the country often has a deleterious impact on both the population and environment. Some of today's most egregious Neo-Colonialist offenders are the petroleum conglomerates that with the aid of corrupt government officials exploit oil rich nations like Nigeria.

Though it is too early to judge, Botswana may be an exception to this trend since the economy seems to have benefited from the foreign investment. But, like many African countries rich in natural resources, the motivation to invest in the country is purely market driven.  Botswana's abundance of gold, uranium, diamonds, and copper make it attractive to multinational mining companies that extract and sell these lucrative commodities in the global market place.

The adverse effects of Colonialism and Neo-Colonialism are rampant in Africa  which makes Botswana's day of celebration note worthy. We wish Botswanans  continued prosperity and support them as they express their national pride. We congratulate this nation in accomplishing what few other African nations have realized - freedom, stability, peace and democracy.

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Happy Ethiopian New Year | Melkam Addis Amet

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 13:33 PM EDT, 10 September 2011

Enkutatash - 11.9.11This is an inspirational time of the year because of the proximity of the major holidays of the Abrahamic religions.

We have just concluded Ramadan and now we are celebrating the Ethiopian New Year.  Enkutatash is the  word for new year in Amharic the official language of Ethiopia.

The new year is also known as Ri'se Awde Amet (Head Anniversary) in Ge'ez, an appellation preferred by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

It occurs on September 11 in the Gregorian calendar, except for leap years, when it occurs on September 12. The Ethiopian calendar year 1998 'Amätä Məhrät ("Year of Mercy") began on September 11, 2005. However, the Ethiopian years 1996 and 1992 AM began on September 12, 2003 and 1999, respectively.

This date correspondence applies from the Gregorian years 1900 to 2099. Generally, because every fourth Ethiopian year is a leap year without exception, while Gregorian years divisible by 100 are not leap years, a set of corresponding dates will thus apply only for one century. However, because the Gregorian year 2000 is a leap year, then in this case the correspondences continue for two centuries. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Ethiopian New Year will be followed by the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.  We honor all of our readers by acknowledging and celebrating their holy holidays and we thank them and wish them happiness and joy on during these perennial festivals.

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Fistula: The Scourge of Child Brides

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 22:40 PM EDT, 6 September 2011

Child Bride Streets of Calcutta by BrajeshwarIn many countries around the world, young girls are being forced into marriage by their families or society. These marriages are less about religious practices than the economic needs of the families into which these girls are born.

Across the continent of Africa, Middle East and Europe, marrying off young girls is a common practice and in the Amhara region of Ethiopia some girls are married as young as five years old. It is reported that close to half Amharan girls are married before their 15th birthday.

On November 2, 2010, Anna Nicholas reported in the Telegraph about a 10-year old Romanian girl who had given birth to a healthy baby in a hospital in Jerez de La Frontera in southwest Spain.  According to a 2010 poll conducted by Unicef over 64 million women around the world between the ages of 20-24 were married before the age of 18, and in the next ten years over 100 million girls who are under the age of 18 will be married.

Among the many adverse consequences of underage girls being married are a lack of education as most are forced to leave school if they were lucky enough to have had the opportunity to attend, decreased autonomy and ability to make decisions for themselves and their children. Additionally, girls aged 15-19 are twice as likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20-24, according to the United Nations.

According to the Mayo Clinic,  rectovaginal fistula are a form of injury caused during childbirth.  This type of injury include tears in the perineum that extend to the bowel and anal sphincter, the rings of muscle at the end of the rectum that helps hold in stool.  Complete pelvic bone development occurs around 21, so when girls whose hips are too small for the baby's head to pass through, it presses down on her pelvic bone, cutting off blood supply and causing the tissue to die. The resulting hole causes urinal or fecal incontinence.

Fistula affects 2 million women around the world, mostly in Africa, according to the World Health Organization.  In the West this embarrassing and unhealthy condition was virtually eradicated in the 19th century with the discovery of Caesarean sections.  Although, this procedure also has its opponents and risks, the quality of life for women who for medical reasons cannot deliver vaginally is greatly improved.

For women suffering from fistulas, the uncontrolled leakage of feces and urine often results in abandonment by their husbands and the inability to find another protector because they are deemed unclean.  A Kenyan woman was recently interviewed about the negative impact her fistula has had on her life.

She said "people would ask who is making that bad smell, coughing and covering their noses. So I was always isolating myself."  Since she was too poor to buy sanitary pads, she stuffed her underwear with rags but the feces still leaked onto her clothes, forcing her to wash them several times a day. She often doused herself in perfume to hide the smell and endured painful attempts by a midwife who tried to suture the hole four times without success.

After years of suffering shame and isolation, she was fortunate enough to receive an operation at Kenyatta National Hospital's 15-day "fistula camp" which resulted in her complete recovery and the reclamation of her life.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyg_ENqvnpk&feature=related]

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Eid Mubarak 2011 | Happy Ramadan

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Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 01:45 AM EDT, 3 August 2011

To all of our Muslim readers we would like to wish you a very Happy Ramadan.  Having just broken the fast with our dear friends from Tunisia, we are privileged to have had the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to diversity and the values of religious tolerance that we espouse.

"Toleration isn't much. But it is the first step towards curiosity, interest, study, understanding, appreciating and finally valuing diversity. If we can get everyone on the first step of tolerance, at least we won't be killing each other." ~ Anon (taken from the Native American Indian Traditional Code of Ethics. Inter-Tribal Times, 1994-OCT)

Eid Mubarak!

Eid Mubarak

Eid Mubarak

"There will be peace on earth when there is peace among the world religions." ~ Hans Kung, Theologian

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South Sudan. Newest Country. Newest Colony?

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10 July 2011 - Last year we reported on Land Grabs in Ethiopia and earlier this year we featured a post on Neo-Colonialism in Africa.

Yesterday, South Sudan became an independent country poised to become the 193rd member of the United Nations.  Simultaneous to its creation representatives from multinational corporations have begun to pour into Juba, the capital of the fledgling nation.  The number of foreigners arriving is so noticeable that locals have begun to complain.

Foreign powers invading and carving up Africa in order to exploit its land and resources is well-known practice.  In the 19th Century the era of European Colonization began in Africa.  At that time, the major players were the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Belgium. These countries arbitrarily sectioned off areas of the continent without consideration of tribal or familial connection.

In South Sudan representatives from Chinese and Lebanese multinationals and smaller companies from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and Zambia are a few of the countries  seeking to establish a strong hold in the newly formed country.  In the wake of the announcement of the nascent state's formation these Neo-Colonialists have begun a process which will ultimately result in a transformation of the country.

Like many underdeveloped areas of Africa, Juba's dirt roads are crowded with pedestrians carrying impossibly large loads on their heads. People transporting firewood, water and produce for sale.  They traverse the country via dusty pathways and compete with large horned cows for minimal space to either side. Because inhabitants of the country have been engaged in war and survival they are ill-equipped to work the emerging economy.

Thus, it is a certainty that most of the Southern Sudanese people will be relegated to service level job as domestics, cooks, drivers or resort to criminal  activities  such as prostitution, drugs robbery and murder.  Under colonialism these were the only positions available to the indigenous people and they rarely if ever had the opportunity to advance.

While living in Nigeria as a child, I recall the slow transformation of the country as the oil wealth poured into its national coffers.  Unfortunately, the petroleum companies transferred the profits of the 'black gold' back to their countries of origin and the remainder to government official to ensure continuity of service.  Corruption in many African countries is pervasive and an expected cost of doing business.

In Nigeria bribes to government officials are used to encourage them to turn a blind eye to the adverse environmental impact of petroleum pollution to the surrounding territory. When the British Petroleum (BP) oil spill occurred off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico the world was justifiably horrified.

However, on the Nigerian Coastal environment, large areas of the mangrove ecosystem have been destroyed. Oil spill has also destroyed farmlands, polluted ground and drinkable water and caused drawbacks in fishing off the coastal waters. There has been continuous regional crises in the Niger Delta area as a result of oil spill pollution of the coastal ecosystem.

Between 1976 and 1998 a total of 5724 incidents resulted in the spill of approximately 2,571,113.90 barrels of oil into the Delta region environment. Some major spills in the coastal zone are the GOCON’s Escravos spill in 1978 of about 300,000 barrels, Shell Petroleum Development Corporation’s (SPDC’s) Forcados Terminal tank failure in 1978 of about 580,000 barrels, Texaco Funiwa-5 blow out in 1980 of about 400,000 barrels, and the Abudu pipe line spill in 1982 of about 18,818 barrels (NDES, 1997).

Other major oil spill incidents are the Jesse fire incident which claimed about a thousand lives and the Idoho Oil spill in January 1998, in which about 40,000 barrels were spilled into the environment (Nwilo et al, 2000)." (Source: Niger Delta Today)

Despite these gross violation of human rights and environmental protection, there is rarely any outcry from the global community about these abuses.  I distinctly remember walking along the pristine beaches of Tanzania and every so often I would encounter globules of oil washed up on the shore.

As I lifted my gaze from the globules at my feet toward the horizon I saw a mirage like view of a moored oil tanker.  The captain and its crew routinely stopped off the Tanzanian coast to clean the tanks and jettisoned the waste into the Indian Ocean.  Were this to occur anywhere in the Western world there would be a cacophonous outcry but this is rarely the case in Africa.

Given this track record of egregious violations by petroleum companies operating in Africa we can only hope and watch as South Sudan develops its economy based on its most valuable resource.

Follow Nahmias Cipher Report on Twitter
Twitter: @nahmias_report Editor: @ayannanahmias

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Death Toll Rises in Congo Plane Crash

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KINSHASA - 8 July 2010 - In a country plagued by civil war, genocide and marauding hoards who routinely terrorize the population and rape girls and women; it seems as if it could not bear another tragedy.  Yet, this was the case when a plane carrying 112 people crashed today at the airport of Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

This is the second high-profile crash to occur in the Congo. In April, a United Nations' twin jet commuter type aircraft crashed while trying to land at Kinshasa International Airport killing 32 people.

The general director of the Hewa Bora Airways which operated the crashed aircraft stated that 72 people have died so far but that number is expected to rise as the wreckage of the Boeing 727 is cleared.  The flight, operated by Hewa Bora Airways, was flying its regular route from Kinshasa to Kisangani and Goma. The plane crash landed with the 112 passengers and crew and though it has yet to be confirmed, media reports are stating that there are as many as 53 survivors.

The cause of the crash is unknown but is suspected that the pilot misjudged the distance to the landing strip because of heavy storm weather.  It is surmised that  he tried to pull up but subsequently crashed in a nearby forest.  In a country where so much of the infrastructure and government services have been decimated, security and passenger safety measures taken for granted in the West are often lax

The result is overcrowding and excess baggage which exceed the aircraft's weight capacity.  The DRC transport minister was quoted in reports saying the death toll reached 127, with only 51 people surviving the tragedy.

South Sudan Secedes | UN to Grant Membership

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UN Security Council Chamber in New York.NEW YORK - Yesterday, 5 July 2011, United Nations officials announced that South Sudan could become a member state after seceding.  South Sudan's secession was a prerequisite set forth by the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for it to be considered for membership.

On 9 July 2011 the Council will vote to confirm South Sudan as the 193rd member state and barring no veto, it could be confirmed as a member state on July 14. However, for over a decade this conflict-ravaged region has been subject to violent civil war and genocide in addition to the battle for control of its rich oil-producing regions. Because of this instability the future state shall remain under U.N. guardianship for the foreseeable future.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said in a statement late on Tuesday he was disappointed there had not been an end to hostilities in South Kordofan, the north's main oil state which borders the south. Similar to the global outcry against the holocaust in Darfur, the continued hostilities have been condemned by Ban Ki Moon and others.  The U.N. Secretary General has demanded the cessation of conflict as it imposes a "grave humanitarian impact" on an already victimized and weary population.

As part of the U.N.'s preparation to assume guardianship over South Sudan, the international peace keeping organization is expected to deploy up to 7,000 U.N. peace keepers in the new state. This mission is tentatively called UNMIS, which will be the fourth separate blue-helmeted force in Sudan. The others were for Dafur, Abyei in response to the genocide and to monitor compliance with the 2005 north-south peace deal that ended decades of civil war.

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