Africa: hope is coming...

Africa is the second most populous continent in the world and, probably, one of the richest places when talking about natural and cultural resources. In fact, it represents 20.4% of the total land in the world and 15% of its human population. However, at the same time, it has a long history of slavery, abuse and exploitation by other countries over many years.

         
 Thirteen centuries of slavery and another century of colonialism have led Africa to a false independence in worldwide economic trade. In the late 19^th century, the European imperialist powers occupied most of the continent and created many colonial territories. Only two countries, Ethiopia and Liberia, kept their sovereignty. Soon, after the Berlin Conference was held in 1884 and these European powers managed to ensure the political division they wanted and set up their own spheres of influence. That division still remains today.

         
 With the conclusion of World War II, these colonial territories gradually obtained formal but not political or economic independence. Apparently, the European powers became weaker but, at the same time, strong individual authorities grew unexpectedly thanks to foreign help. Most of the countries in Africa are republics that operate under a kind of presidential system; and that is one of the many reasons that have prevented democratic, peaceful development. We can see other factors as well; for example, instability, corruption, violence, authoritarianism and ethnic conflicts. Some have been incited by a group of dictators who had been gradually gaining the affection and kindness of the population in their corresponding countries from the beginning. As time went by, that worship turned into fear, and that fondness became hate.

Instability was constant and the military was seen as the only tool to keep and assure peaceful rules. Between 1960 and 1980, there were more than 70 coups and 13 prime minister assassinations. One of the main reasons for these civil struggles was disappointment with the imposed borders of many African nations fixed by Europeans countries during the Berlin Conference. Cold War conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union also contributed to instability. When a country became independent for the first time, it was often expected to ally itself with one of the two superpowers. Many countries in North Africa received Soviet military aid, while others in Central and Southern Africa were supported by the United States. There was a major famine in Ethiopia and hundreds of thousands of people starved. Some said that Marxist economic laws made that situation worse.

 

In the 21^st century, however, the number of armed conflicts in Africa has decreased. This has to do with the assumption of new worldwide trade rules instead of continuing with the communist systems. And this is the reason why foreign economic investment has suddenly grown, especially from powerful countries like China. Many African nations have experienced a very rapid improvement of their economies over the last three years. 
 

In the meantime, all the African nations, except Morocco, got involved and joined together in the African Union in 2002. The idea was to create a common economic and political space where every country could speak, suggest and contribute to the development of the larger African community. There were legislative, executive and judicial organs and all with a highly organized structure. Although each nation ultimately lost a part of its strength in the continent, the union of these countries resulted in more power and tougher defense against possible abuses from abroad.

          
Although it has abundant natural resources, Africa is still the world's poorest and most underdeveloped continent. Some reasons for this include corrupt governments that have often committed human rights violations, failed planning from the African Union, high levels of illiteracy, poor access to foreign money and frequent tribal and military conflicts. According to the United Nations' Human Development Report in 2003, the bottom 25 listed nations (151^st to 175^th) were all African. Poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and inadequate water supply and sanitation, as well as poor health, affect a large proportion of people who live on the African continent.

          
It is true that some of the problems and difficulties that African nations currently have come from bad domestic policies, political corruption and, sometimes, ethnic struggles; however, it is also a fact that external factors have had an important influence on the current situation of abandon and reliance on other countries’ investment, for example, from China. Anyone can have access to poverty and famine statistics for Africa, and in fact, poverty is increasing in some areas of the continent. In my opinion, however, tough control and an scandalous lack of solidarity from rich foreign companies and nations are the roots of the whole situation.

          
So, for a better understanding, let’s look at several real cases of outrage and exploitation of the African population and natural resources by different institutions, be they nations or big multinational companies. 

1.- COLTAN MINES IN CONGO. As you all know, coltan, short for columbite-tantalite or, in other words, “the grey gold”, is a mineral with metal that is mainly found in Australia and in the eastern regions of Africa, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), where 80% of the world’s coltan reserves are. Once coltan is refined, it becomes a heat resistant powder that has unique properties for storing electric charges. This is why coltan is so important for the cell phone industry and is a vital component in the capacitors that control the electric boards of cell phones and other electronic devices.

           
First of all, how is coltan mined and obtained? The main “tool” is hands. There is usually a large, deep crater where particles of coltan are constantly falling due to its heavy weight after having been separated from mud, water and other residue of non-useful minerals. Mines are open 24 hours a day and a team of miners obtain hardly a kilo of coltan per day. In addition, most of the workers are very young, covered by mud and dust and with reddened eyes.

         
 The price big companies pay for a kilo of coltan is very high and it rises daily. Companies like Nokia or Sony have sometimes paid more than 400$ for a kilo of coltan. But, this doesn’t correspond to the salaries that miners receive. It is even more painful that most of the workers in several mines all around the Democratic Republic of Congo are children, because they can retrieve the ore from difficult places and, of course, the pay that owners give to them is even lower.

          
Secondly, it is known that the coltan trade is financing civil war. Almost all the parties and military forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo and, in addition, neighboring countries like Burundi or Rwanda have obtained enormous profits from coltan which they invest them in military strategies, despite the fact that, for example, there are no coltan mines in Rwanda. Uganda is also implicated in smuggling coltan out of Congo for resale in Belgium.

         
 The third subject has to do with gorillas. One of the biggest National Parks in Africa is located in Congo and its name is Kahuzi Biega. The number of mountain gorillas has decreased surprisingly in the last decades as the wide fields of trees have been reduced due to the growth of mines. And that is not all; another reason for the reduction of gorillas is that their meat is being used as food not only for miners but also for the rebel armies that control the area.

         
 In the end, however, small changes are taking place. For instance, a few companies that belong to the technological industry and usually buy coltan are actually asking their suppliers to certify that the ore they buy does not come from Congo or neighboring countries but from legitimate sources. At last, however, governments and big companies are seeking for other alternatives to African coltan, and as a result they have found small areas in Greenland where coltan could be mined. The problem simply moves…

2.- BLOODY IVORY TRADE. Behind every object made of ivory that is sold anywhere in the world, there is probably a trail of human and animal suffering and exploitation. The “price” that is often paid for ivory production is well known: photographs in the media show trucks full of elephant tusks or pieces of ivory decorating zoo fences or many state offices.

          
At the same time, there is another important problem that has to do with ivory trade: the human toll. It is not just a matter of elephants but also of human beings. Exploitation, political corruption and taxpayer abuses by public officials are sadly frequent, and so criminal interests in the end are being served. Like diamonds, gold or coltan, ivory is taking its own place as a resource conflict in Africa. 

         
 International criminal syndicates, corrupt governments and some of the world's most notorious terrorists and rebel armies -for example, Al-Shabab from Somalia or the Janjaweed from Sudan- are financing and strengthening the global trade in illegal ivory. Several governments from African and foreign countries are also deeply implicated in facilitating the extraction, trade and export of ivory for personal profits.

         
 Change, of course, should come from not only the African nations but certainly from those countries, especially in Asia, that can control the demands of ivory and offer guarantees in order to create a fair, reliable ivory supply chain. Thailand is both a principal receiver and a major manufacturing state of illegal ivory products. But what is important here is that Thailand is currently fixing its legal system by trying to control the illegal ivory trade and, at the same time that it reduces the consumption of this product. Finally, citizens can also take action by requiring environmental conservation, public and fair trade policies and, for instance, by trying not to buy ivory objects that have been manufactured illegally. Human rights are here in danger and elephants are sadly on the way to extinction. 

3.- BITTER CHOCOLATE. In Ivory Coast, the West African country that produces half the world’s cocoa, children carrying long saws and machetes are a common image. They are soon taken out of school and put to work at big cocoa farms all over the country. Severe wounds are very usual and they work for hours without any possibility of resting. 

          
The most important chocolate manufacturers have promised several times to eradicate forced child labour, but the years go by and these big companies do not keep their word even when the US Congress threaten them with economic sanctions. This project is named The Cocoa Protocol and its first and most important goal is taking children off the chocolate farms in Ivory Coast. As the congressman Eliot Engel says: “The bottom line is to stop child slavery”.

These are only three examples of the exploitation and national and international abuse of African population and their natural resources. We could mention others, like the diamond scandal in Sierra Leone, or the long-standing oil conflict in Sudan and South Sudan.

          
A Harvard University study led by Professor Calestous Juma showed that Africa could feed itself by making the transition from importation, under illegal and dark policies, to self-sufficiency. "African agriculture is at the crossroads," says Dr. Juma. "We have come to the end of a century of policies that favored Africa's export of raw materials and importation of food”. Although there has been a facing up to the reality of discrimination, exploitation and international abuse, Africa is starting to focus on agricultural innovation as its new engine for regional trade and prosperity. 
           
Hope is coming…

Bolandres

Benin, a Little Treasure in Africa

            

There is no need for a time machine to transport you to another time. There is a place in Africa where, magically, time seems suspended in the air; this place is Benin. Do you want to know it a bit better? If so, let’s go to the core of atavistic Africa.

Benin is a little-known country located in West Africa, open to the Gulf of Guinea, an ethnic mosaic that retains traditions and indigenous languages despite the effects of colonization. It’s a place rooted in the past and barely exploited by tourist, a place with a harsh history of slavery and a long road ahead of it.

Benin is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Niger and Burkina Faso to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the South. Its flag displays three colours: the green symbolizes the forest and the country’s natural wealth, the yellow refers to its mineral wealth of the continent and the red is reminiscent of the millions of dead from slavery, a terrible story shared by many of the nations which emerged after decolonization; all of these colours are those of Pan-Africanism, the political, social and cultural movement for the independence and brotherhood of the peoples of Africa. Nelson Mandela was one of the spiritual forebears of this movement.

A former French colony, Benin is a small, safe, varied, colourful and friendly country where tourism is still not a widespread activity and where we can find very authentic scenes without much outside influence.

Its hot climate has two rainy seasons: one torrential, between April and July and another more moderate one between September and November. The best time to visit is between November and February, when the weather is cool and dry. There are huge differences of temperature between the tropical area where mangroves abound and the interior one with savannah-type vegetation.

This variety permits authentic nature sanctuaries like the Pendjari National Park in the Northwest, declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1986 and known for its biodiversity and wildlife: lions, elephants, hippos, antelope etc… The French colonists, aware of its rich fauna, reserved it for hunting for years. The beauty of the park is enhanced by the Atakora range in the distance. The coast is the habitat of many birds, more than three hundred different species, endemic fish, turtles and even humpback whales.

Nine million people inhabit this multi-ethnic country. Groups like the Fulani are spread out throughout central and northern Benin, while to the south we find Guinean people such as the Fon, the Yoruba and the Mina and, in the northwest, the Somba and Taneka. There is an even greater linguistic and dialectal diversity (more than fifty). Although Benin has been independent since 1960, the official language continues to be French as a colonial inheritance.

A more ungrateful past is its history of slavery as millions of slaves left Benin’s shores over the centuries. This lucrative human trafficking was even carried out by the kings of Benin. In Ouidah, a city on the Atlantic coast, The Door of No Return symbolizes the end of a slave’s life in Africa. Most slaves would never return to their homes after being shipped to America. Further along the beach is a smaller statue showing some of those who returned and this monument is called The Door of Return.

The problem has persisted into the 21st century; thousands of children were sold by their relatives to overcome poverty, until finally, in 2006, the government of Benin abolished the exploitation of children.

Benin’s economy is highly dependent on subsistence agriculture and cotton production. Gold, oil and marble exploitations are under foreign ownership. The currency is the West Africa Franc but dollars and Euros are accepted in the cities.

 

Benin is the only country in the world where a non monotheistic religion is officially recognized, in fact, since 1991. This is the Voodoo that in the Yoruba language means "soul". Although colonization introduced Christianity and this religion is practised by elites, while Islam has entered from north, the true essence of Benin’s people is Voodoo: an animistic religion where the dead pass away to other stage, nor hell, nor heaven but among us. One way of paying homage, loving and remembering them is through totems, anthropomorphic figures called fetishes. Authentic Voodoo rituals with dances and animals sacrifices are found everywhere.

                          

Benin is an elongated country that faces the sea on its southern end, with a short coastline open to Atlantic in the western segment of the Gulf of Guinea. The importance of the sea is crucial from a strategic and commercial point of view and this is why the majority of the population lives here.

There are two capitals, the official one, Porto Novo which keeps its colonial name, given by the Portuguese for its resemblance to Oporto and, Cotonou, the main city of Benin which is the seat of political and economic power and with a population of about million and half people that has tripled in the last two decades, the country's most populated city. Cotonou preserves the architectural heritage of its Marxist-Leninist past in many buildings. 

It also boasts the Dantokpa market, one of the largest of Western Africa, covering over 20 hectares. Traders from neighbouring countries come here to sell their goods in the stalls of the main building and labyrinth of adjacent streets. Next to the crowd, noisy motorbikes and vans speed by.

A wide variety of fruits and fabrics for sale give more colour, if indeed that is possible, to this moving painting. Pedestrians wearing colourful prints and carrying full baskets on their heads are the principal actors.

 The market environment becomes a cultural and exhibition center during the Art Festival of Dantokpa. Photographs, paintings and craftwork take over the market streets and surprise the market’s usual buyers.

Bargaining is an obligatory practice in this market that gathers together all kinds of goods, from fabrics, foods, spare car parts and furniture to smuggled goods like alcohol or tobacco.

The market’s far north end is one of the most visited areas; it is dedicated to the sale of fetishes. There are all sorts of amulets and stuffed animals for Voodoo ceremonies.

Fetishes are the most disconcerting of Dantokpa's wares: monkey heads, turtles, frogs, birds, Voodoo dolls...

The Port district is Cotonou's colonial core. An ideal spot to walk through the streets, visit art deco buildings from the twenties and thirties and enjoy its peculiar atmosphere

Ganvié called the African Venice is located at Nokoué Lake. The city lives floating in the wetland. All transport and travel is by water. Every activity is done afloat. In the seventeenth century, escaping from slave trade, the ethnic group Tofinu hid in the swamp and settled in bamboo shacks built in the mud.

Without a doubt, Benin is worth visiting before mass tourism puts an end to its authenticity; a fascinating place which attracts not by material riches but by its profound spiritual wealth and goodness.
                                                                                      

 Aliud

The Cinemaniac Corner: Africa, Paris, Santiago

The Cinemaniac Corner

Among the many movies about or concerned with travelling, three come to my mind in a quick mental review. How different are the places visited in them!

THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)

I'm sure that this film would not have been so famous and unforgettable if the main characters had not been played by Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. But, in a certain sense, the weakness of the plot is made up for by the beautiful work and thorny relationship portrayed by these classic stars. It is no doubt his great performance that won Humphrey's solitary 'Oscar' for this movie. But the work of both actors makes the film worthy of being included in the essential 'must see' list.

The story takes place in Uganda during the First World War. The Germans attack a Methodist mission run out by Rose (Katherine Hepburn), and she has no choice but to escape together with the alcoholic skipper of a small riverboat named Charlie (Humphrey Bogart). Yes, you guessed it! The boat’s name is 'the African Queen'. And yes, you also guessed it! After a long personal struggle and many dangerous adventures, Rose falls in love with Charlie.

This captivating relationship is the most interesting part of this film directed by John Huston, an amazing adventure about a stuck-up missionary and an apparently cynical bachelor.

The rest of it involves the suicidal goal of reaching the lake by going through the forest on the river, facing waterfalls, rapids, and even the Germans, but I don't want to ruin the ending if you haven't seen it yet.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (2011)

Can we travel through time, visit other decades, go back to past years? That is part of the attractive charm of this mature movie by Woody Allen, although his fondness of the capital of France is also easily observed.

It could be labelled as a romantic comedy fantasy film, and it's all about a couple who move to Paris because of his work commitments in a thorny trip together with her wealthy parents, in the days just before their wedding. They are soon captivated by the romantic atmosphere of the city and this directly affects their relationship.

Gil, the man, tries to convince his girlfriend to live in Paris so that he can finish his first novel easily. Inez, the woman, wants to settle down as a married couple in Malibu. Suddenly, a pretty Parisian woman enters Gil’s life, and the group is completed by an insufferable pedant called Paul.

The best part of the movie starts when, on one certain night, Gil gets drunk and gets lost in the streets of the Latin Quarter. At midnight, a 1920s car pulls up and its passengers ask him to join a party. What comes later is astonishing, as he meets well-known artists in the flesh such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and even Luis Buñuel, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí.

Later on, the trip moves back to even earlier periods of history such as the Belle Époque and the Renaissance. But I don´t want to give away the ending.

I’ll only remark that we meet some odd secondary characters played by actors such as Daniel Lundh, Adrien Brody, and even… Carla Bruni!

THE WAY (2010)

I Know that the artistic level of this film can't be compared with the previous movies, but I think it is an honest attempt to treat a topic I love: the Camino de Santiago, which in my opinion is much more than just a trip along European walking trails in the North of Spain.

Emilio Estevez directs the film and Martin Sheen plays the main character, Thomas, who happens to be an American ophthalmologist who has to travel to the Pyrenees after receiving the news of the death of his son Daniel as he tried to start walking the 'Camino' (in real life Emilio Estevez is Martin Sheen’s son). He then decides to follow his son’s footsteps and walk the Camino to Compostela in his place.

This dreadful tragedy determines the plot, which develops along the pilgrimage route, with the participation of a small group of funny folks: Thomas, an overweight man from Holland, a Canadian woman who is the victim of her husband’s abuse and wants to give up from smoking, and a young man from Ireland who considers himself a great writer.

One of the thorniest details is that Thomas carries with him his son’s ashes, and scatters some of them over the countryside every now and then while walking, until he gets to the coast of Finisterre.

Although it is obvious that the film makes some concessions to Spanish stereotypes, you can find enough similarities to real situations, some enjoyable, others really challenging, if you have had the experience of walking the Camino.

The film is not merely the chronicle of a hiking experience along the trail of the yellow shells; it aims to show a trip with lot more significance for one's inner life, using the freedom and loneliness of a month’s walk! 

The Thanksgiving Turkey