Lancastrians take conflict seriously

Deep in the heart of Lancaster, local businesses are doing their bit to prevent violent conlfict in Africa. Recently a number of jewelry have begun to question the origins of the diamonds they sell to their customers. As one local jeweloer stated, the money made on these illegal diamonds goes to fuel conflict and violence in Africa. By tracking the diamonds and ensuring that they are from a conflict-free zone, both the jeweler and the customer can be ensured that they are not supporting bloodshed in another country. It is heartening to see local businesses taking up a cause such as this. Only through increased awareness can the nature of conflict in the aAfrican continent be truly understood. And this helps, diamond by diamond.

Sierra Leone and its voting problems

Alas, as the elections come closer we realise that Sierra Leone's elections may yet again be frowned upon due to corruption and cheating. This article claims that Registration Officers are underpaid and under protected, and put into corrupt situations such as faulty cameras and no supervision otherwise.
In the past the elections were held with most of these officers belonging to the leading political parties and hence they would lose their respect and their guide lined job descriptions to become political activists changing votes and rigging the elections in favor of their party.
It was expected that the NEC would have worked out these kinks before the elections started preparing but it turns out this wasn't the case. There are hopes that now the NEC will do a better job at getting the population to vote, creating voting schools in useful places and keeping the elections clean.
If the NEC can do this it could prove a sense of sustainable peace in Sierra Leone. Wishful thinking maybe?

Stop Stereotyping Africa

In a recent opinion piece, a political commentator argues that the African continent is too often stereotyped as being filled with violence and poverty. He believes that most people are under the wrong impression about the current state of the continent and that the overall well-being of Africa is much better than people think. He further argues that Africa is ready for an economic boom, much like India and China. He points out how modern many African countries have become and that there are growing industries and productivity. Countries like Nigeria and Tanzania are doing well because of democracy and capitalism. The violence and poverty that we so often associate with Africa only is in a very small portion of the continent, according to the author.
This short opinion article offers a refreshing and optimistic viewpoint on the current state of Africa. But is the author being realistic? Are we under the wrong impression because we only hear about the negative aspects and events within the continent or is Africa as bad as it seems?

Mugabe's Very Own "War on Terror"...

Here’s [another] article about Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe. Though already not known as a world-class humanitarian, his latest round of crackdowns is catching attention as extreme. His government maintains they are taking steps to ensure the safety of the public against a few “terrorists” who threaten the stability of the country. There are so many things wrong with that characterization that it’s hard to know where to start, but let’s take a crack at it, shall we?

For starters, appealing to the stability of Zimbabwe is absurd; the economy is locked into a downward spiral, inflation rates are something like 1,700%--leading most people to operate via barter and trade and circumvent the failed economy altogether—and life expectancy for a woman is about 35. Stability has left the building.

None of that means, of course, that such a country couldn’t be besieged with terrorists. But terrorists aren’t generally thought of as protestors who refuse violence and adhere to democratic principles. Leader of the Movement for Democratic Change: "We are going to do it by democratic means, by being beaten up and by being arrested – but we are going to do it."

So where is the rest of Africa on this one? Is no one paying attention? There seems to be a deeply rooted aversion on the continent to criticizing Mugabe, probably because he is thought of as the great liberator of Zimbabwe who lifted its people from colonial rule all those years ago. Gold Star. That was over thirty years ago, and it’s probably time to start revering a new liberator. The rest of Africa should stand up and help.

Cautious Optimism

The Ivory Coast government and the rebel movement inside the country have a long record of unsuccessful peace agreements that have been aimed at ending the civil war that has divided the country for a number of years. Earlier this month, two sides signed a new deal to form a power-sharing government and set up a joint army command within the country. The new integrated command center will be composed of and equal number of both government troops and the rebels. The agreement was made under the conditions that the two groups will work to demobilize militias from both sides. BBC reports that this joint army command structure is the “first and relatively painless sign that the two leaders intend to keep their word this time round.” Many believe that this peace accord has a better chance of succeeding where others have failed because the top leaders have been directly involved in the process. However, with such a long history of failed peace deals between politicians who are famous for not respecting their word, how can the Ivorian people be expected to be truly optimistic about the current agreement?

Kudos to Ghana at 50

Dan Simpson, retired American diplomat and columnist at the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette gives an appropriate assessment of Ghana at 50 years of Independence.

New, Low-Cost, Anti-Malaria Drug

Malaria has been, and continues to be a huge problem for many Africans. Around 3 million people per year die from the disease, most of those people are from Africa. Even worse, about 1 million of those deaths are African children. To try and help solve this problem, (or at least subside it), Europe's largest pharmaceutical company, Sanofi-Aventis and a non-profit organization, Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDI) have come together to create and distribute a low-cost drug to fight malaria. The drug contains two medications, therefore to help increase the likelihood of killing the parasite. Set at a low-cost most Africans will be able to purchase the drug. Why not make it free? Many Africans say that making it free makes them suspicious of the drugs intent, and putting a price on it that they can afford will be more popular with the population. Malaria is such a large problem, but has been solved by an easy-fix, a cheap drug that contains two medications instead of one. Getting Africa back on track is going to take a lot more than just selling drugs at a low cost, but at the same time helping the smaller issues and leaving the larger ones to Africa, such as civil war and corruption will help get their population strong enough to fight their own battles and win.

A Ban on Some Traditions is Essential

I chose this article so that people do not forget what happened in London on September 21st, 2001. The torso of an unidentified little boy "Adam" washed up in the Thames River. Massive media coverage was initiated, but today, have people forgotten?

Ritual killings and mutilations are still events that happen too often in some African countries. Some individuals believe that these disgusting acts will bring them good fortune. When people try to contact the police about these problems, they encounter barriers that disable them from taking further actions. The countries do not want to admit that this sort of behavior takes place on their land to them because it will cast them in an unfavorable light. One Gabonese citizen has finally been able to put a group together to speak up against this issue. The American embassy helped host the event, which is exactly the kind of assistance that many people need in Africa: the sort that will directly benefit the people.

I believe that Africans should be able to keep their traditional ways, as long as it does not hurt others! Human sacrifices are unacceptable, no matter what! The fact that governments do not actively pursue these criminals is truly appalling. In addition, something else that must not be forgotten is that public human sacrifices, not conducted out of belief that one will benefit from them, but rather out of pure evil, go on every day. One example is the LRA, led by Joseph Kony. When will these evildoers be stopped? When will justice be done? Should we be concerned or should we let these injustices happen? Personally, I believe this is a tragedy and we (the West) must absolutely do something about this!

A Ceasefire That Ceases To Exist

33 minutes before I began reading this article, the six-month old ceasefire between the Ugandan Government, and its rebellious combatant for nearly 20 years, the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), became defunct. This may come as a bit of a shock to many, including myself, who were unaware that ceasefire's had end dates when the problem is clearly ongoing. Although there were recent difficulties arising between the two parties, most notably involving the LRA's indictments from the International Criminal Court (ICC), it is beyond me why all other options have not been exhaustively persued in the days leading up to today. This raises the frightening question (although much more frightening for Ugandans) of "What happens next?". Probably, both sides are currently preparing to attack each other, or perhaps the attacks have already begun, less than an hour after the ceasefire has been ceased. While it is very clear that there had not been much recent progress in terms of negotiations, the sheer brutality and overbearing length of the civil war recently halted would seem, in my mind, to be enough to deter both sides from immediate conflict. Nevertheless, the prospects are grim, as we are likely to be forced to yet again open the book on Ugandan civil war and write in it another tragic chapter.

Stick to making wine...It's time to leave Africa to Africa

The “scramble for Africa” is on, indeed. Here’s another story about international concerns influencing Africa. This situation is a little different than China’s involvement, though. Here, the former colonial giant, France, is continuing to ensure its influence on the African continent with their annual Franco-African summit. France is committed to continuing aid, debt relief, humanitarian assistance, et cetera, to Africa. How nice.
But there might be a problem here. Does anyone else think France has maybe done enough and should consider leaving Africa alone? The trouble is that France, (and other international, well-meaning aid givers) tend to “help” through the institutions of the established state in African nations. But, consider this quote from the article:

"For the average African, the state is the enemy," says Richard Cornwell, a political analyst at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria. "But very often, outside countries, such as France and China, tend to strengthen the state, which is the exact opposite of what the Africans want and need."

Maybe what Africa really needs is a chance to get back on its feet without foreign meddling. It’s not that France is really an evil conspirator, trying to reestablish effective colonial control via international corporations or whatever. It’s just that things like profit have a way of getting between good intentions and net results. Or am I just being paranoid?