Daily Archives: October 27, 2015

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The ‘hippo trench’ across Africa: US military quietly builds giant security belt in middle of continent

Mail & Guardian

afr contNIGERIA has welcomed a US decision to send up to 300 military personnel to Cameroon to help the regional fight against Boko Haram, despite having itself requested more direct help from Washington.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman Garba Shehu on Thursday said the deployment was a “welcome development” while the military said it demonstrated cooperation was needed against the Islamists.

Washington last year provided intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance expertise to Nigeria in the hunt for more than 200 schoolgirls abducted from their school.

The assistance included drones and spy planes as well as up to 80 military personnel sent to Chad’s capital, N’Djamena. In 2013, the US set up a drone base in neighboring Niger.

But the US is not only involved in fighting back Boko Haram on the continent. In recent years, the US has quietly ramped up its military presence across Africa, even if it officially insists its footprint on the continent is light. The decisive point seems to have been the election of  President Barack Obama in 2008. Continue reading The ‘hippo trench’ across Africa: US military quietly builds giant security belt in middle of continent →

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Volunteers are at front lines of Europe’s response to refugees

National Catholic Reporter

Hungarian volunteers share conversation, Sept. 24, as they give coffee to refugees passing through Hegyeshalom, Hungary, on the way to Austria. (CNS photo/Paul Jeffrey)
Hungarian volunteers share conversation, Sept. 24, as they give coffee to refugees passing through Hegyeshalom, Hungary, on the way to Austria. (CNS photo/Paul Jeffrey)

HEGYESHALOM, HUNGARY Along the border between Hungary and Austria, Rosala Holzschuh stands in the midnight darkness as thousands of refugees flow past her on their way toward Western Europe. As a cold wind swirls around her, Holzschuh looks for children with no shoes, and when she spots one, she grabs their parent and steers them toward a pile of donated socks and shoes.

As Europe faces its largest refugee crisis in decades, government agencies and charitable groups simply cannot fill the enormous humanitarian gaps. Holzschuh, a Catholic from Vienna, is one of tens of thousands of volunteers spread across several countries, shepherding the multitude of refugees and migrants crossing their lands.

“The children are freezing, and they arrive here after hours on the train with no food or water. So we need to help. I found a group asking for volunteers on Facebook, and so I come here and prepare sandwiches and try to give the refugees a warm welcome,” she said. Continue reading Volunteers are at front lines of Europe’s response to refugees →

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South Africa: Looking behind the barricades

Independent Catholic News

Fr Anthony Egan, SJ

While the chaos that accompanies the student protests over fees hikes at a number of our major universities has caught the media’s attention, the underlying causes seem woefully under-examined. In a nutshell, the problem comes down to money: most students can barely afford existing fees let alone fee increases, while universities cannot afford not to increase fees.

Academic fees for tertiary education are very high in South Africa for most students, particularly those who come from underprivileged backgrounds. The average estimated cost per year of study is way beyond the means of the poor, the working class and even sections of the middle class. Even though the NSFAS bursary scheme is in place, many complain that it is haphazardly administered, excludes students whose family incomes are slightly over the fund’s means test and is frequently insufficient. Many potential students simply cannot afford tertiary education. Continue reading South Africa: Looking behind the barricades →

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Mugabe awarded ‘China’s Nobel peace prize’

Mail & Guardian

News of Mugabe’s Chinese award sparked fury among opposition groups in Zimbabwe and ridicule among human rights activists.

Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, is being honored for supposedly "injecting fresh energy" into the global quest for harmony. (Reuters)
Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, is being honored for supposedly “injecting fresh energy” into the global quest for harmony. (Reuters)

The chairperson of an award dubbed China’s Nobel peace prize has defended the decision to honor Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, for supposedly “injecting fresh energy” into the global quest for harmony.

Mugabe, who has been accused of using systematic violence and torture to maintain his 35-year grip on power, recently became the latest recipient of China’s Confucius peace prize.

The Beijing-run Global Times newspaper said 91-year-old Mugabe had beaten off competition from candidates including the Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, and the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye. Continue reading Mugabe awarded ‘China’s Nobel peace prize’ →

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Africa’s Senior Citizens Cornered By Poverty

InterPress Service

Despite the UN goal to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger globally, Africa's senior citizens are finding themselves cornered with destitution. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo
Despite the UN goal to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger globally, Africa’s senior citizens are finding themselves cornered with destitution. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo

NAIROBI and HARARE, Oct 21 2015 (IPS) – Kenya has made tremendous steps towards ensuring that the elderly population does not slide into extreme poverty, hunger and, consequently, premature death.

This comes a midst concerns that due to the breakdown of sociology-cultural safety nets, Africa’s senior citizens aged 60 years and above are often falling deeper and deeper into poverty and destitution.

Government estimates places the number of Kenyans aged over 60 years at two million out of a total population of 45 million people.

Beatrice Akoth, a social worker working with the needy in Nairobi told IPS that a vast majority of the elderly are often fragile, poor and emotionally vulnerable needing care and support. Continue reading Africa’s Senior Citizens Cornered By Poverty →