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'Piracy' in Somalia & Nigeria | People & Power | 17 Nov 2016
'Piracy' in Somalia & Nigeria | People & Power | 17 Nov 2016 Ambakisye-Okang Dukuzumurenyi 22 Views • 5 years ago

The event followed a now familiar pattern: a small convoy of dusty 4x4 vehicles drove on to the edge of the airstrip at Galkayo in Puntland, north-central Somalia; armed security guards took up watchful positions nearby and a number of bemused-looking men stepped gingerly from the cars and lined up to have their photographs taken by the media.

On this occasion there were 11 of them; all had been hostages until that morning. They were sailors from a Malaysian cargo vessel that had been hijacked by Somali pirates a few years ago and held until a ransom was paid for their release.

One of them gave a brief account of what had happened. "On November 26, 2010 our ship was hijacked in the Indian Ocean. Their demand was 20 million. After that, they threatened the owner. You now increase money or we will shoot the crew. The owner didn't increase the money and then one Indian is shot with just three bullets. Then they hit us and tortured us. Tell your family to bring us money, otherwise we will kill you!"

The crew had been held for three and a half years but they were the fortunate ones. Five of their crew mates had died in that time. Now the survivors were going home and a UN plane with two envoys on board was flying in to see them to safety.

Such scenes have become relatively commonplace in Galkayo in recent times. Eighty percent of global trade is carried by sea and Somalia sits on a key maritime route linking Europe and Asia. More than 18,000 ships pass its shores every year. Over the past decade, Somali pirates, often former fishermen whose traditional livelihoods have been destroyed by foreign trawlers and toxic waste dumping, have attacked more than 300 vessels and kidnapped 700 people.

Faced with such a threat, the international community responded aggressively. In 2008, European states, the US and others began sending naval forces to these seas. They are still there today - warships, planes and helicopters patrolling thousands of square miles and doing a fair job of keeping the hijackers at bay. The UN and others have also played an increasing role in facilitating negotiations for the release of hostages - such as those set free at places such as Galkayo - for whose liberty large ransoms have been paid.

But if the problem is now slowly coming under control in Somalia, the same cannot be said for other parts of the world where piracy is on the increase. Lawlessness, desperation, poverty, greed and even political radicalism have brought the phenomenon to the waters of South America, Asia and, perhaps most aggressively, to West Africa.

In an effort to understand the reasons why, Bertrand Monnet, a French academic and filmmaker, has been travelling to piracy hot spots around the coast of Africa. In an extraordinary and very tense series of encounters, he came to face to face with heavily armed pirate gangs operating in and around the Niger Delta, where Nigeria's huge offshore oil industry, which employs thousands of expatriates, offers rich ransom pickings. It gradually became clear that piracy in West Africa has many of the same root causes as piracy in Somalia and elsewhere, not least of which is that those who don't share in the benefits and profits of global trade have ever fewer reasons these days to respect the security of those who do.

Source: Al Jazeera


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Baka Pygmies, the Turning-point [2013]
Baka Pygmies, the Turning-point [2013] Ambakisye-Okang Dukuzumurenyi 22 Views • 5 years ago

"The pygmies traditionally lived in the forest. They were mobile, semi-nomadic and relatively far from the tracks while farmers had chosen to develop their villages along the tracks. Then because of the attraction of the tracks, the pygmies finally arrived along the road too and their numbers increased. So their habitat finally became structured and developed. Moangue-Le Bosquet, which interests us because of the large population, is also interesting as regards cultural evolution. We're in a town! There's a school, a hospital, shops... So tomorrow's way of life is already starting here."
Alain Froment – Doctor of Medicine, Anthropologist - IRD Director of Research.

"It is agreed that growth is similar in all modern populations of humans. It must be remembered that growth is a change in dimensions until the adult size is attained. If the size differs between populations, this means that the processes responsible for this size are also different.
This difference in size and difference in growth reveal very rich and substantial human biological diversity.
In the case of the Pygmies, we assume that small size is an adaptation to their environment, to the forest. But what interests us is how adult size becomes established.
Six years of data gathering means that we can now sketch a growth curve for the Baka. And its immediate usefulness—seen very clearly this year—is proof that all the data that we are collecting are applicable."
Fernando Ramirez Rozzi – Anthropologist, Biologist – CNRS Director of Research.
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http://maget.maget.free.fr/A-K....ALO/Baka-cueillette.

"Bridging the Gap" - Diébédo Francis Kere
"Bridging the Gap" - Diébédo Francis Kere Ambakisye-Okang Dukuzumurenyi 22 Views • 5 years ago

Diébédo Francis Kéré, Architect from Burkina Faso, studied at the „Technische Universität Berlin". He focuses on education as the developing concept for his country, in which he has already built an essential infrastructure.In the focus of Kéré's drafts are the climatic adaptation, low building costs and the self building: "The community needs to be educated how to monitor the climatic circumstances and to use local materials. Only people who take part in the building process can maintain and spread the word about these architectural projects." (1)While he was studying, he founded the association "Schulbausteine für Gando e. V." for the funding of his first project, a Primary School in his native village. The building was finished in 2001 and received the Aga -- Khan -- Award for its exemplarity as well as its concise and elegant architecture using basic, constructive instruments. The school is the result of a vision, initially verbalized by the architect and realised by the community. The jury valued especially the great potential of a project which helps the community to develop a healthy pride and hope and creates at the same time a solid base for its development. The fact that Kéré built a Primary School for Gando exemplifies his commitment for education. To him, education is the foundation for every social, technical and economical development.Meanwhile the Primary School was completed with the Teachers Housing, another school building and a library, so that 900 children can go to school in Gando. Many young men were trained through construction and are now able to find qualified paied work far beyond the region. Diébédo Francis Kéré connects research and experience as a lecturer at the "Technische Universität Berlin" and as an architect in his own office. His research is contributed to the impartial development of strategies for architecture with local character. As an architect he defines himself as "a bridge between cultures, between the technically and economically developed countries of "the north" and the less developed African countries (the south)" (2)(Excerpt from biographical materials provided by the architect.) (1) Kéré, Diébédo Francis: "Todos construimos", in Arquitectura Viva No. 117, supplement ZaragozaKioto -- Arquitecturas para un planeta sostenible, p. 10-11. (2) Kéré, Diébédo Francis: "Todos construimos", in Arquitectura Viva No. 117, supplement ZaragozaKioto -- Arquitecturas para un planeta sostenible, p. 10-11.

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