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Sunday 30 November 2014

Fwd: WEST AFRICA: IRIN weekly humanitarian round-up 765 28 November 2014



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humanitarian news and analysis
a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs


Peak youth - seizing the moment

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LONDON, 25 November 2014 (IRIN) - We have accepted the concept "peak oil" - the point where oil production goes into an irreversible decline. Now we are being asked to contemplate that we are also rapidly approaching "peak youth", when there will be more young people than ever before in the history of the planet, and when young people as a proportion of the population will reach a maximum, before starting to drop.
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IRIN's top reads this week

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DUBAI, 27 November 2014 (IRIN) - Want to know what those in the humanitarian community reading? Each week we present our five must reads from the development world.
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Northeast Nigeria: "Hundreds of thousands have fled"

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DAKAR, 28 November 2014 (IRIN) - More than 400,000 people in northeastern Nigeria, who have been forced to flee their homes due to ongoing violence by militant Islamist group Boko Haram, are in "urgent need" of assistance, humanitarian agencies say. This number is likely to increase as attacks against civilians escalate.
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Copyright © IRIN 2014. All rights reserved. This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States. The boundaries, names and designations used on maps on this site and links to external sites do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the UN. Republication is subject to terms and conditions as set out in the IRIN copyright page.




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Fwd: UN DAILY NEWS DIGEST - 28 November




UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE

28 November, 2014
 =========================================================================


'THE WORLD IS ON THE SIDE OF THOSE WHO ARE INVOLVED IN THIS FIGHT' AGAINST EBOLA – UN ENVOY

The top United Nations officials leading the fight against Ebola have made an appeal for people who possess skills that are "quite rare" to join the global effort, such as those who can provide patient care, undertake contact tracing and analyze how the outbreak is evolving in remote areas of the virus-affected countries, saying that "deploying more people to the districts is our highest priority."



"These skills are quite rare in our world today because there are not thousands and thousands of people who are really experienced in Ebola and its management," Dr. David Nabarro, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Envoy on Ebola, said in an interview with the Department of Public Information at the headquarters of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) in Accra, Ghana.



"And so what we're doing is looking very hard for the best people in the world and encouraging them to come and work with the governments of the affected countries," Dr. Nabarro said.



Dr. Nabarro gave the interview together with UNMEER chief Anthony Banbury, in the lead-up to the 1 December target set by the mission, which aims to try to get 70 per cent of the cases isolated and treated, and 70 per cent of the deceased safely buried within 60 days from the beginning of October to 1 December.



According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 15,935 cases have been confirmed in Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Spain and the United States and two previously affected countries of Nigeria and Senegal as of 23 November, with 5,689 reported deaths.



Both Dr. Nabarro and Mr. Banbury said progress so far has been uneven but that they were very pleased by what has been achieved in some parts of the affected countries.



"Tremendous progress has been achieved in some areas," Mr. Banbury said. "That's thanks to the hard work of the communities themselves but also very much the responders, the national and international responders."



"Where we've been able to put the elements of the response in place, we've seen dramatic improvements in the situation," he said. "So we're very heartened by that. It shows the strategy works."



"Unfortunately," he went on to say, "We've not been able to put the elements of the response in place everywhere, and where it's lacking, we see the significant or very bad situation in many of these communities, and that's got to be the focus of our efforts going forward: spreading out our geographic response."



Specifically, Dr. Nabarro said: "We've seen these incredible and promising results from Liberia. We've seen very good results from parts of Sierra Leone. But there are other parts of Sierra Leone and parts of Guinea where the numbers of cases continue to accelerate day by day."



The envoy also noted the spread of the virus into Mali, saying that "the next few weeks are going to be really important."



Dr. Nabarro also drew attention to the fact that "the services in order to respond to Ebola in the affected countries are short of the people who will provide patient care and also who will undertake some of the contact tracing and analysis of how the outbreak is evolving."



And Mr. Banbury elaborated by saying: "Specifically, it means more field crisis managers for UNMEER on the ground, more WHO epidemiologists on the ground, more information management specialists on the ground but we critically need more trained medical teams operating effective Ebola treatment facilities in many places."



"And we need the laboratories to quickly test the samples, the blood samples, of possible Ebola patients, to quickly determine whether they are in fact sick with Ebola so that they can be treated accordingly," he said.



Another priority for UNMEER, he said, is to have more rapid deployment of teams out in the districts.



"If we are going to beat this disease out in the districts we need to be present out there," he said. "Deploying more people to the districts is our highest priority. We're working hard to make it happen."



Mr. Banbury, however, said "it's hard to attract the kinds of people that we need with the right skills who are willing to go out there and live in some austere environments particularly with the holidays coming up. So it's a challenge for us."



Dr. Nabarro said he was heartened by the fact that there was "no donor fatigue."



"The extraordinary thing about this is that the whole world is willing to have a quick and successful response to this outbreak," he said. "They want to see it treated at source; they want to see the countries being able to recover quickly; they want the world not to be threatened by a disease that causes a lot of fear and leads frequently to people to take extreme actions when they're nervous about getting Ebola."



"So I actually, think that the world is on the side of those who are involved in this fight," the UN envoy said.


* * *

EBOLA: UN HEALTH AGENCY ADVISES MALE SURVIVORS TO ABSTAIN FROM SEX FOR 3 MONTHS

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today warned that it is possible for the Ebola virus to be present in semen for 3 months after recovery, as the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said it plans to have 2,700 teams operating throughout villages in the remote forest areas of Guinea to educate villagers and monitor the epidemic at the community level.

UNICEF spokesman Christophe Boulierac announced those plans at the Geneva press briefing by telephone from the village of Meliandou, in the forest area of southeastern Guinea, where epidemiologists believed that the Ebola outbreak began in December 2013.

"Today, the forest region is still the epicentre of Ebola in Guinea", Mr. Boulierac said.

The UNICEF spokesman noted that community mobilization is particularly complicated in the forest area because the resistance had been made worse by strong tensions between communities.

In order to strengthen community mobilization, teams from UNICEF along with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the organization PLAN GUINEA were currently implementing a network of "Community Watch Committees," Mr. Boulierac said.

"Each village had such a committee consisting of five residents, with the aim of educating villagers and monitoring the epidemic at the community level," he was quoted as saying. "To date 660 Community Watch Committees had been established in the forest area, and 2,700 committees should be operational throughout Guinea by the end of the year."

Mr. Boulierac also said children had been impacted by the virus indirectly, such as by disruption to routine vaccinations.

"Parents had refused to take their children to health centres because of fears of Ebola," according to the UNICEF spokesman. "Before the Ebola emergency, less than 40 per cent of Guinean children enjoyed full vaccination coverage. Since March 2014, the number of children covered by routine vaccinations had decreased by half."

WHO, meanwhile, said in a briefing note that "semen may be infectious with the Ebola virus for as long as 3 months after onset of symptoms."

"The Ebola virus is shed in bodily fluids such as blood, vomit, faeces, saliva, urine, tears, and vaginal and seminal fluids," WHO said. "There is evidence that seminal fluids of convalescing men can shed the Ebola virus for at least 82 days after onset of symptoms."

"Because of the potential to transmit the virus sexually during this time, they should maintain good personal hygiene after masturbation, and either abstain from sex (including oral sex) for three months after onset of symptoms, or use condoms if abstinence is not possible," according to the health agency.

WHO, however, said it does not recommend isolation of male convalescent patients whose blood has been tested negative for Ebola.

Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the World Food Programme (WFP), told journalists that WFP had distributed 21, 000 metric tons of food to 1.6 million people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since the end of August 2014 to date.

WFP and the Mali Red Cross were partnering to deliver food to 336 people currently under observation, known as contact cases, in Bamako, the Malian capital, said WFP spokeswoman said.

Ms. Byrs also said WFP had pre-positioned enough contingency stocks in Bamako to feed 10,000 people over a three-month period in case they were required to respond to the Ebola emergency.

WHO Spokeswoman Fadela Chaib in Geneva announced that a WHO press conference would take place on Monday, 1 December by Dr. Bruce Aylward, to give an update on the Ebola crisis in West Africa.

Ms. Chaib also said the total number of cases reported in Sierra Leone since the outbreak began would soon eclipse the number reported from Liberia.


* * *

EMERGENCY DECLARED IN GAZA FOLLOWING SEVERE FLOODING – UN AGENCY

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, has declared an emergency in Gaza City, following extreme weather and severe flooding over the past 48 hours exacerbating the already poor humanitarian situation in the enclave, which is dealing with the aftermath of a last summer's conflict, and an acute fuel and energy crisis.

"We are particularly concerned for those families still seeking adequate shelter and preparing for the winter months, and for the impact the flooding is already having on children unable to attend school,"said UNRWA's Director of Operations Robert Turner in Gaza on Thursday.

No casualties or injuries have been reported, but hundreds of residents in the flooded areas around the Sheikh Radwan storm water lagoon have evacuated their homes. One UNRWA school and an UNRWA Collective Centre in Gaza City have been affected by the rising waters.

The Agency has established an Area Emergency Operations room in Gaza City following contingency planning undertaken last week.

As the largest UN agency in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA supplies emergency fuel to municipalities, water, sanitation and health facilities, partially through the WASH and Health clusters led by UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

On Thursday, UNRWA provided 60,000 litres emergency fuel supplies to run back-up generators of pumping stations and portable pumps. The Agency is also prepared to provide adequate shelter to internally displaced refugees and others should there be a need.

A coastal enclave, Gaza City is one of five areas in the Gaza Strip where UNRWA serves some 1.3 million Palestine refugees. Of the 18 UNRWA Collective Centres, 5 are in Gaza City and currently provide adequate shelter for some 7,000 people displaced by the recent conflict.

As a precautionary measure, many schools in Gaza City were closed on Thursday, affecting almost 65,000 students. Forty-three schools in the North Area of the Strip were also closed. Other UNRWA installations are being assessed, though no damage has yet been reported.

UNRWA is in close consultation with all of its partners, the Palestinian Government and the local municipality who are monitoring the level of rain across the Strip.

The devastation that extreme weather can cause is not new for Palestinian families in Gaza. In December 2013, the fiercest winter storm the region has seen for many years, Alexa, hit the Strip, and brought torrential rains and widespread flooding that displaced thousands.

Established by a General Assembly resolution in 1949, UNRWA is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The Agency's services include education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.


* * *

UN OFFICIAL SEES UPCOMING LIMA CLIMATE TALKS AS 'STEPPING STONE' FOR UNIVERSAL TREATY

As Governments prepare to meet for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru, starting on Monday, a top UN official has highlighted the session as an opportunity to raise immediate awareness on climate change and lay the foundation for a new universal agreement to be adopted in 2015.

"Never before have the risks of climate change been so obvious and the impacts so visible. Never before have we seen such a desire at all levels of society to take climate action. Never before has society had all the smart policy and technology resources to curb greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience," said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in a press release today.

"All of this means we can be confident we will have a productive meeting in Lima, which will lead to an effective outcome in Paris next year," she added, referring to the climate conference that will take place in December 2015 in Paris, France, where the new universal UN-backed treaty on climate change will be adopted.

The UNFCCC is an international treaty that considers what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable.

The 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP), being held in Lima through 12 December, brings together the 196 Parties to the UNFCCC, which is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Over the course of the next two weeks, delegates will attempt to hammer out the new universal treaty, which would enter force by 2020.

Ms. Figueres explained that Governments meeting in Lima under the Ad Hoc Work Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action need to define the scope and the type of contributions they will provide to the Paris agreement, along with clarity on how finance, technology and capacity-building will be handled.

Countries will put forward what they plan to contribute to the 2015 agreement in the form of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) by the first quarter of 2015, in advance of the Paris conference in December.

The Lima conference should provide final clarity on what the INDCs need to contain, including for developing countries that are likely to have a range of options from, for example, sector-wide emission curbs to energy intensity goals, she said.

Welcoming the leadership of the European Union, the United States and China, who have publically announced their post-2020 climate targets and visions, Ms. Figueres stressed that many countries are working hard to increase emission reductions before 2020, when the Paris agreement is set to enter into effect.

"It is hugely encouraging that well ahead of next year's first-quarter deadline, countries have already been outlining what they intend to contribute to the Paris agreement. This is also a clear sign that countries are determined to find common ground and maximize the potential of international cooperation," she said.

In particular, Ms. Figueres said that Governments should work towards streamlining elements of the draft agreement for Paris 2015 and explore common ground on unresolved issues in order to achieve a balanced, well-structured, coherent draft for the next round of work on the text in February next year.

In addition, she noted that the political will of countries to provide climate finance is increasingly coming to the fore.

At a recent pledging conference held in Berlin, Germany, countries made pledges towards the initial capitalization of the Green Climate Fund totalling nearly $9.3 billion. Subsequent pledges took this figure to $9.6 billion, so that the $10 billion milestone is within reach, Ms. Figueres said.

"This shows that countries are determined to build trust and to provide the finance that developing countries need to move forward towards decarbonizing their economies and building resilience," she noted.

During the course of 2014, Governments have been exploring how to raise immediate climate ambition in areas with the greatest potential to curb emissions, ranging from renewable energy to cities, she said.

As part of the "Lima Action Agenda," countries will decide how to maintain and accelerate cooperation on climate change by all actors, including those flowing from the Climate Summit in September, where many climate action pledges were made.

"We have seen an amazing groundswell of momentum building this year. One of the main deliverables of the Lima conference will be ways to build on this momentum and further mobilize action across all levels of society," Ms. Figueres said.

"Society-wide action in concert with Government contributions to the Paris agreement are crucial to meet the agreed goal of limiting global temperature rise to less than two degrees Celsius, and to safeguard this and future generations," she added.


* * *

DEADLY BOKO HARAM ATTACK FORCES THOUSANDS TO FLEE NIGERIA FOR NIGER – UN

A Boko Haram attack earlier this week on the northern Nigerian town of Dammassak left 50 people dead and forced at least 3,000 to flee to neighbouring Niger's Diffa region, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) reported today.

"Our teams in Diffa say that people are still arriving in Niger from Nigeria as a result of the attack," said Adrian Edwards, a UNHCR spokesman based in Geneva.

The town of Dammasak, which lies just a few kilometres from the Niger border, was reportedly captured by Boko Haram on November 24.

UNHCR field staff has reported that while most refugees wait for boats to cross the Komadougou Yobé River separating the two countries, others have been trying to swim across to safety.

Locals in the area have said they have seen people drown while trying to cross the river. Other reports claim that people fleeing were shot by Boko Haram who chased as far as the river banks.

And those who have made it across the river to Niger are reporting there are still many displaced, mostly women, children, older people and some injured on the Nigerian side of the river waiting to cross over to Niger.

The new arrivals also reported that many civilians were killed during the attack on Damassak, especially young men, but that insurgents were also shooting at women and children.

Some said that they believed the attack was in reprisal for the enlistment of young men in self-defence groups, which have been formed to fight the insurgents. According to UNHCR staff on the ground, many children were separated from their parents during the attack and the escape to Niger. In the closest town, Chetimari, children and adults alike are wandering around the makeshift settlements, searching for relatives.

"Refugees said they had no time to collect any of their belongings and had to leave everything behind. With its partners and the local community, UNHCR has been providing plastic sheeting and blankets to help people put up temporary shelters and [as protection] against the night-time cold," Mr. Edwards said.

After an attack on the Nigerian village of Malan Fatori on 5 October, which prompted the flight of more than 1,000 people to Niger, Damassak is the second large attack occurring only a few kilometres away from the Nigerian-Niger border in less than two months.

The increasing presence of the insurgents in close proximity to the border with Niger is likely to lead to new displacements in the near future.

According to authorities, violence in Nigeria has pushed more than 39,000 Nigerians to flee to Cameroon and 2,800 to Chad. In Nigeria, some 700,000 people are internally displaced.

More than 100,000 people have fled to Niger since May 2013, when the Nigerian government declared a state of emergency in three north-eastern states following attacks from Boko Haram. Some 30,000 people have found refuge in the area in the past two months alone.

"While local inhabitants have shared their meagre resources with the Nigerian refugees, we fear that the already fragile economic structure could collapse under the strain," Mr. Edwards said.


* * *

DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION IN MEDITERRANEAN CAN HELP STEM TIDE OF FORCED MIGRATION – UN AGENCY

If countries of the Mediterranean want to stem the tide on forced migration and human suffering, they must put agricultural, food and rural development, including youth-targeted incentives, at the core of regional cooperation, said the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today.

Speaking at the Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Agriculture in Palermo, Italy, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva stressed that increasing agro-entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for rural youth needs to be at the centre of strategies to combat poverty and boost development.

"We need to find alternatives to raise the incentives for the youth to engage in rural activities, such as farming, livestock production, fisheries and aquaculture in their own communities and countries," he explained.

Meaningful and inclusive opportunities for youth in agriculture and agribusinesses will not only impact their lives, but substantially improve livelihoods in rural communities, Mr. Graziano da Silva added.

However, migration of young people – particularly young men – away from rural areas has left behind lopsided community structures that have also placed a disproportionate burden on women who stay behind to take care of children and the elderly.

But forced migration is the "corollary of fear, despair and hunger," said Mr. Graziano da Silva, who also spoke of a worsening crisis amidst a doubling in the number of informal border crossings into Europe, 85 percent of which occur through the Mediterranean.

Referring to last year's shipwreck off the Italian island of Lampedusa that cost the lives of several hundred migrants, Graziano da Silva echoed a recent call by the Pope to prevent the Mediterranean from becoming a vast cemetery.

Tackling mass migration requires addressing its root causes, including wars, ethnic conflicts and extreme poverty, he said, urging cooperation based on solidarity.

"Doors often close in times of crisis. Solidarity helps us open its locks and work together for inclusive and sustainable development," he said.

The FAO Director-General also highlighted three regional initiatives in which FAO participates to strengthen cooperation among Mediterranean countries including the Mediterranean Agricultural Markets Information Network, which provides better and updated information about prices and stock for the most important commodities.


* * *

AHEAD OF WORLD AIDS DAY, UN CHILDREN'S AGENCY URGES MORE INVESTMENT, ACCESS TO TREATMENT

An estimated 1.1 million HIV infections among children under 15 have been averted, but disparity in access to treatment is hampering progress towards reaching a global goal of reducing new infections in children by 90 per cent, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today ahead of World AIDS Day.

New cases of HIV infections declined by more than 50 per cent between 2005 and 2013, as a result of expanding the access of millions of pregnant women living with HIV to services for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission, UNICEF said in a press release. These services include lifelong HIV treatment that markedly reduces the transmission of the virus to babies and keeps their mothers alive and well.

"If we can avert 1.1 million new HIV infections in children, we can protect every child from HIV – but only if we reach every child," UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said.

"We must close the gap, and invest more in reaching every mother, every newborn, every child and every adolescent with HIV prevention and treatment programmes that can save and improve their lives," he added.

The agency stressed that the global goal of reducing new HIV infections in children by 90 per cent between 2009 and 2015 is still out of reach. In fact, in 2013 only 67 per cent of pregnant women living with HIV in all low- and middle-income countries received the most effective antiretroviral medicines for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission.

Among people living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries, adults are much more likely than children to get antiretroviral therapy, UNICEF noted. In 2013, 37 per cent of adults aged 15 and older received treatment, compared with only 23 per cent of children aged 0 to 14 – or less than 1 in 4.

The sharpest declines in new HIV infections among children took place between 2009 and 2013 in eight African countries: Malawi (67 per cent); Ethiopia (57 per cent); Zimbabwe (57 per cent); Botswana (57 per cent); Namibia (57 per cent); Mozambique (57 per cent); South Africa (52 per cent); and Ghana (50 per cent), according to UNICEF.

In addition, the agency emphasized that AIDS mortality trends for adolescents are also of significant concern. While all other age groups have experienced a decline of nearly 40 per cent in AIDS-related deaths between 2005 and 2013, adolescents aged 10 to 19 are the only age group in which AIDS-related deaths are not decreasing.

UNICEF's Statistical Update on Children, Adolescents and AIDS provides the most recent analysis of global data on children and adolescents from birth to 19 years of age.

World AIDS Day, celebrated annually on 1 December, was launched in 1988 and was the first-ever global health day.

* * *

UN REFUGEE AGENCY WELCOMES ADOPTION OF CIVIL REGISTRATION DECLARATION IN ASIA-PACIFIC

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) welcomed the adoption today of an Asia-Pacific ministerial declaration proclaiming a shared vision of civil registration for all people by 2024.

In a briefing to reporters earlier today in Geneva, Adrian Edwards, a spokesperson for the agency, said that the declaration also applies to refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless people.

The adoption of the declaration comes on the final day of a week-long ministerial conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific held in Bangkok. The conference was organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), UNHCR and other development partners.

The registration encompasses the recording of all vital events of people in the region, including births, deaths and marriages, Mr. Edwards noted. Among other things, the declaration recognizes the need to reduce barriers to civil registration faced by marginalized and hard-to-reach populations including refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless people, Mr. Edwards said. It marks the first time States in the region have reached consensus on including such populations in civil registration and vital records systems.

As of now, an estimated 135 million children under five years old across the region have not had their births registered, according to UNHCR.

Similarly, millions of other important life events are not registered, although birth registration is an important protection tool, particularly in situations of displacement, Mr. Edwards said. Indeed, birth registration establishes a child's legal identity and can help prevent statelessness, he emphasized.

In addition, Mr. Edwards noted that birth registration is also an element in UNHCR's Global Action Plan to End Statelessness. Earlier this month, the agency launched I Belong, a global campaign aimed at ending within a decade the problem of statelessness.

At the conference, ministers and senior officials from 44 countries also endorsed a Regional Action Framework with goals and time-bound targets to improve national systems to register and document births, deaths and other vital events and to improve civil registration coverage within 10 years, Mr. Edwards noted.


* * *

AFGHANISTAN: SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS ATTACK ON UK EMBASSY VEHICLE

The United Nations Security Council has condemned in the strongest terms the attack yesterday on a United Kingdom embassy vehicle in Kabul, Afghanistan, reiterating serious concern at the threats posed by the Taliban, Al-Qaida and other terrorist and extremist groups.

The attack – for which the Taliban has claimed responsibility – resulted in a number of deaths and injuries to civilians and security personnel.

In a press statement issued yesterday, the Council also reiterated that "no terrorist act can reverse the path towards Afghan-led peace, democracy and stability in Afghanistan, which is supported by the people and the Government of Afghanistan and by the international community."

In addition to the threats posed by the Taliban, Al-Qaida and other terrorist and extremist groups, the Council reiterated its serious concern at the threats posed by illegal armed groups to the local population, national security forces, international military, and international assistance efforts in Afghanistan, particularly in light of other terrorist attacks in the country.

Reaffirming that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is "criminal and unjustifiable," and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group, the Council underlined the need to "bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice."

As such, the Council urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Council resolutions, to "cooperate actively" with the Afghan authorities in that regard.

The Council also reaffirmed the need and reiterated its determination to combat, by all means, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, in accordance with the UN Charter and all obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and international humanitarian law.

In the statement, the Council also expressed deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims – wishing the injured a speedy recovery – and to the people and Government of Afghanistan and the people and Government of the United Kingdom.


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Fwd: No. 27445: Moves to strengthen responses to Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights issues -- Health and AIDS



AfricaFiles



Title: Moves to strengthen responses to Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights issues
Author: Staff Writer
Category: Health and AIDS
Date: 11/24/2014
Source: AfricaFiles
Source Website: http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=27445

African Charter Article# 16: Every individual shall have the right to enjoy the best attainable state of physical and mental health.

Summary & Comment: The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) is strengthening its Sexual Reproductive Health Rights, HIV and AIDS governance by training parliamentarians to appreciate their roles. MM




http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=27445

Windhoek-The SADC Parliamentary Forum has commissioned a baseline survey ahead of a four-year programme to strengthen the capacity of regional parliaments to respond to reproductive health and Aids governance issues. The programme will be held through SADC's Sexual Reproductive Health Rights, HIV and AIDS Governance (SRHR, HIV&AIDS Governance) programme.

Funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), the programme aims to build the capacity of SADC parliamentarians to support initiatives to promote SRHR, HIV&AIDS Governance responses.

As elected representatives of the people parliamentarians are uniquely positioned to advocate for national and other resources and to legislate around SRHR, HIV&AIDS Governance. However, experts say parliamentarians can only be more effective in playing their watchdog and other roles if they are given relevant information and skills.

The SRHR, HIV&AIDS Governance programme will initially be implemented in seven countries: Angola, Lesotho, Mauritius, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe with a view to replicate its successes in SADC countries.

As a starting point the SADC PF has enlisted the services of the Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division (HEARD) based at the University of KwaZulu Natal to conduct baseline studies in the selected countries to appreciate the current levels of knowledge, attitudes, practices and other variables related to SRHR, HIV&AIDS Governance issues.

Moses Magadza, a Public Relations Officer at SADC PF said expectations were that information gleaned through the baseline studies which started this week and will be conducted over about two months would inform programme implementation strategies and also provide a basis for its monitoring and evaluation.

As part of the baseline study the HEARD team and staff of SADC PF will conduct in-depth interviews and focus group discussion in selected countries.

Additionally they will study various documents that have implications for SRHR or HIV/AIDS responses including national constitutions and legislation, parliamentary committee meeting agendas, minutes and reports of discussions and decisions. National policies, plans and budgets, government declarations, addresses by heads of state; national programme reviews, national surveys, and expenditure reports; parliamentarian capacity-building programme/activity reports; any organograms and process charts or descriptions of the national policy-making and decision-making structure and processes will also be examined.

It is expected that the baseline study will also give stakeholders an opportunity to point out key issues and priorities related to SRHR, HIV&AIDS Governance issues as well as to be involved in planning strategies going forward.




Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the AfricaFiles' editors and network members. They are included in our material as a reflection of a diversity of views and a variety of issues. Material written specifically for AfricaFiles may be edited for length, clarity or inaccuracies.


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Fwd: No. 27450: What lies behind the current turmoil within COSATU? -- Southern Region



AfricaFiles



Title: What lies behind the current turmoil within COSATU?
Author: Jeremy Cronin
Category: Southern Region
Date: 11/27/2014
Source: Umsebenzi, Vol 13, No 15
Source Website: http://www.sacp.org.za/main.php?ID=4560

African Charter Article# 15: Everyone shall have the right to work under satisfactory conditions, receiving equal pay for equal work.

Summary & Comment: Jeremy Cronin advises that since the expulsion of National Union of Metalworkers of SA from the largest labour union, the Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU) the organisation has been consumed by internal divisions, the impact of the Federation on strengthening progressive policies and programmes, intra-COSATU worker-on-worker violence has been recorded. He calls for the rebuilding of the unity of COSATU. MM



http://www.sacp.org.za/main.php?ID=4560

Last Friday cde Zwelinzima Vavi was invited as the key-note speaker to the South African Labour Bulletin's 40th anniversary event. "Is labour at a turning point?" was the question he was asked to address. Focusing on the divisions within COSATU, cde Vavi answered in the affirmative.

There is much to welcome in this very important speech by the general secretary of the largest trade union federation in Africa. Cde Vavi quite correctly dismissed the "many shallow commentators" who would have it that the root cause of current divisions in COSATU lies, for instance, "in personal differences". Also to be welcomed is the strongly expressed support for the reclaiming of worker-democracy and work-place organisation. Likewise cde Vavi's insistence that "We cannot have a situation where unions say one thing in the public arena, say for example on the need to tackle corruption, and then refuse to be accountable in their own unions."

Above all, the speech is to be welcomed for its dire warning to those who imagine that casually splitting the Federation and forming another is the answer. This is how cde Vavi puts it:

"The easy option might appear to be to simply walk away from it all by announcing a split and the formation of a new Federation, forged around a more radical economic agenda combined with a determination to start afresh to entrench accountability and workers' control. I know [that] to many of you in this room [he is addressing an SALB audience remember] this sounds like a good option. But this is not as easy or desirable as it might sound. In a context in which temperatures are running high, and fierce loyalties are felt in one direction or another, any split will produce multiple conflicts at every level."

Cde Vavi goes on to warn that a split will inevitably spill over into factionalising of some 230 shop stewards councils countrywide, the factionalising of 18 affiliates, a civil war of purging and counter-purging, and even the real danger of violent confrontations (which have already happened, by the way).

In all of this cde Vavi is absolutely correct. He is to be commended for stepping up to the plate and warning all those, and we trust he means ALL those, from whatever direction, who are reckless about safe-guarding COSATU unity. He is also correct to say that "unity at any price", a mechanical unity of the kind that arguably emerged from the last COSATU national congress, is not a lasting solution either. It must be a principled unity based on an active programme of action.

But to achieve a principled unity, based on working class solidarity and the re-building of a powerful trade union movement, we need to diagnose the problems within the trade union movement, and within the wider working class, accurately. It is here that cde Vavi's speech falters.

What follows is not a sectarian taking of sides, but an attempt to contribute to the discussion that cde Vavi has initiated. As the SACP we are not under the illusion that COSATU is divided into two neat camps - the one good and the other bad. Indeed, apart from the unending capitalist offensive against COSATU and unions in general, resulting in a dramatic drop in the percentage of private sector workers who are unionised, many of the core internal challenges facing unions - like growing leadership distance from the work-place, bureaucratism, the sins of incumbency, and business unionism - are to be found in all affiliates, no doubt in different forms and in differing degrees.

"Two distinct views"

Having dismissed "shallow commentators" who explain COSATU's current divisions simply in terms of personal differences among the leadership, cde Vavi characterises the core issue at stake in COSATU's divisions in the following terms:

"The underlying differences within the Federation revolve primarily around two distinct views on the ANC's economic agenda and what this has meant to workers' demands enshrined in the Freedom Charter. The first view, as expressed through adopted resolutions in every National Congress and Central Committee since 1997, is that our government has pursued a neo-liberal economic agenda at the expense of the working class, and that this should continue to be vigorously challenged by COSATU. The opposing view is that this criticism is too harsh and the Federation should take a 'nuanced' view. In the past two and a half years the latter view has found expression in the public arena."

This statement lies at the very heart of cde Vavi's analysis of the underlying cause of the divisions within COSATU. Unfortunately this analysis is problematic in many respects. Let us unpack some of the problems systematically:

First let's note that this characterisation of "the root cause" of the divisions within COSATU is itself a NUANCED version of NUMSA's Special NEC version of the root cause:

"We have boldly maintained that at the heart of the crisis in COSATU are two opposing forces: the forces of capitalism and the forces socialism. The capitalist forces within the Federation seek to make workers to understand and tolerate the continuation of white monopoly capitalist domination, by accepting elements of the neoliberal NDP. The socialist forces seek to mobilise the working class to break the power of white monopoly capitalism through the implementation of the Freedom Charter as historically understood by the working class." ("Ideological Reflections and Responses to some recent attacks", NUMSA Special NEC, 15 September 2013)

Of course, it is somewhat helpful that cde Vavi has at least NUANCED this NUMSA declaration of civil war within the Federation. But cde Vavi's nuancing is still basically a milder version of the same perspective. It doesn't serve, therefore, as we will show, as the basis for providing a principled and unifying way forward. This brings us to the second related problem in cde Vavi's characterisation of the root cause of divisions within COSATU.

Second, note how his characterisation of the "root cause" of the divisions is not a balanced attempt to at least understand the opposing perspectives and begin to provide unifying leadership on a way out of the dire cul-de-sac into which, on cde Vavi's own admission, the Federation might be heading. The "first view" is presented as being in line with all resolutions of the Federation, going back to 1997. "The second view" is presented as a Johnny-come-lately deviation that has suddenly popped up publicly in the past two-and-a-half years - i.e. exactly when the current turmoil set in; i.e. implicitly, if not explicitly, it is this "second view" that cde Vavi is blaming for being at the heart of the divisions. I don't think that is a useful approach to addressing unity in the federation.

Third, but what exactly is the "first view"? This is how cde Vavi puts it: "since 1997. our government has pursued a neo-liberal economic agenda at the expense of the working class." But can government's "economic agenda" (to use cde Vavi's term provisionally) over the past 17 years be simplistically reduced to neo-liberalism, finish-and-klaar, without any nuance?

Incontestably, there have been powerful neo-liberal (and other narrow capitalist) ideological influences at work from within and without the state and ANC. It would be strange if that were not the case, given the global context of our democratic breakthrough in 1994, given the power of incumbent monopoly capital within our country, and given the emergent capitalist class formation underway within the ANC (and within COSATU itself, particularly via union investment arms). Over the past 6 years the dominance of a neo-liberal perspective within government has declined somewhat, but powerful neo-liberal tendencies have certainly not disappeared. For instance, a current move from factions within the state bureaucracy (rejected, at least formally, by the ANC and government) is to privatise electricity transmission.

The struggle, as cde Vavi says in concluding his speech, certainly continues. But who wages the struggle? Is it the trade union movement alone? We will return to this last question in a moment.

Fourth, precisely because government (or ANC) economic policy cannot be reduced simplistically to "neo-liberalism" finish-and-klaar, when he briefly traces the history of COSATU's resistance to neo-liberalism in government over the past 17 years, cde Vavi, in effect, NUANCES "view one" (i.e. he unintentionally falls into a version of "view two"!). For instance, he tells us that:

"In 1995 [actually it was 1996] the ANC government unilaterally announced GEAR. Practically, this meant the announcement of a neoliberal programme of privatisation of major state enterprises." etc.

But in the very next paragraph he tells us that "the privatisation of most major state owned enterprises" was stopped. In other words, a key pillar of the 1996 GEAR neo-liberal policy package was not (or could not be) pursued. This is an important NUANCE. There are many more NUANCES that follow in cde Vavi's speech. We are told that the 2010 COSATU CEC "observed that there was paralysis in government caused by policy zigzags", and that concerns were raised that "progressive elements of the National Growth Path document were being ignored", or that "little was being done to resource and vigorously implement the industrial policy action plan".etc. All of these claims (however, accurate they may or may not be) amount, at the very least, to a concession that there were (and are) battles going on inside of government around policy direction. In other words, it is way too simplistic to argue that the "ANC government has pursued neo-liberal policies" finish-and-klaar. If you admit there are zig-zags, then you are nuancing the argument. Perhaps cde Vavi's nuancing at this point is saying little more than any alternatives to neo-liberalism that might exist in government or the ANC, are simply being swept aside. But if so, even this NUANCING is done by sleight of hand, which brings us to:

Fifth, the resistance to GEAR, or to privatisation, is presented by cde Vavi as a battle waged by COSATU out on its own, flying solo. "COSATU succeeded in stopping privatisation of most major state owned enterprises", he says. Certainly COSATU played a critical, arguably the leading role in mobilising against privatisation - but the SACP was also active together with COSATU. Many comrades in government, in the ANC NEC committees, and ANC comrades in parliament also played an active part in resisting privatisation of major state owned enterprises. This struggle continues, and the anti-privatisation forces across our movement and within government are now much stronger. But cde Vavi airbrushes this part of our recent shared history out of existence.

Cde Vavi, tells us that the neo-liberal project "was described by COSATU as the '1996 Class Project''' - actually, it was the SACP that coined the term referring, precisely, to the date of the announcement of GEAR in 1996 (and not 1995). As the SACP we are not now quibbling over copyright here, but rather we are trying to underline a pattern in cde Vavi's argument. COSATU, we are told, was labelled by some ANC leaders as "populist, economistic, ultra-left". That's true. But then so were many of us in the SACP.

The picture portrayed in cde Vavi's argument in summarising the past 15 years or so is a picture of THEM vs. COSATU alone, of the NEO-LIBERALS vs. the FEDERATION.and now, by implication, some of "us" (view two, the COSATU NUANCERS) have gone over to the other side. The drift of cde Vavi's argument here runs the danger of becoming syndicalist (in the strict meaning of that term) - i.e. the only authentic opposition to capitalism is in an ideologically pure trade union movement.

Rebuilding the unity of COSATU on a principled programme of action is the key priority

Cde Vavi is absolutely right - the re-building of a united COSATU on the bed-rock of worker-democracy and a progressive programme of action is the critical priority. In advancing this strategic task, debates about whether to remain within the Tripartite Alliance, of whether to support the ANC in elections, of whether government has sold-out and (if it has) to what degree - are all important but SECONDARY matters. There are, and have always been, contending views on these matters within COSATU and its affiliates.

If, hypothetically, a united COSATU decides not to support the ANC in elections, hundreds of thousands of COSATU members will still be members of and vote for the ANC. If, hypothetically, a united COSATU decides not to remain in the Alliance, auto-workers will still continue to benefit from the billions of rands the ANC-led government has leveraged in order to ensure the survival and development of our auto sector (as opposed to Australia where a genuinely neo-liberal administration has presided over the complete loss of the entire auto sector). Workers in a united COSATU, hypothetically outside of the Alliance, will still, surely, support and seek to advance the ANC government's industrial action plan, or the massive extension of one of the world's largest per capita social redistributive programmes. Workers belonging to a united COSATU that hypothetically is no longer within the Alliance will still surely join SACP campaigns in large numbers on the ground, along with tens of thousands of the non-unionised, the casualised and the unwaged proletariat, to campaign against the predation of mashonisas, the credit bureaux and corrupt politicians and tenderpreneurs.

However, a divided COSATU in which (as cde Vavi has so vividly portrayed) shop-steward councils and affiliate structures are consumed in a worker-on-worker civil war will not be able to lend the full weight of the Federation to support the industrial policy action plans. An internecine union struggle, in which rival factions and rival unions seek to outflank each other with populist rhetoric and narrow short-term and entirely economistic gains for their immediate (or targeted) members will de-focus the union movement from the imperative of building solidarity with the non-unionised and with working class communities.

These are not thumb-suck predictions, already with COSATU consumed by its internal turmoil, the impact of the Federation on strengthening progressive policies and programmes, or on engaging in parliamentary processes has noticeably diminished. Already, there has been intra-COSATU worker-on-worker violence. This is why we insist - rebuilding worker solidarity and the unity of COSATU is the principle challenge, all other matters might be important, but they are secondary. So how do we take forward the re-building of COSATU unity?

The current turmoil within COSATU needs to be firmly located: first within a series of objective factors, most notably monopoly capital's relentless offensive against the working class; and secondly, in a range of subjective responses from within and beyond COSATU ranks.

Objective factors impacting on the organised working class

In any analysis of the current turmoil within COSATU it is absolutely critical to ground it in the very first place in an understanding of monopoly capital's relentless offensive against the working class. This has seen the rolling back and hollowing out of many important formal and institutional trade union gains after 1994. Extensive labour brokering, casualisation, mass retrenchments in a context of persisting crisis levels of unemployment - all have weakened the power of unionised workers in the class balance of forces.

Massive capital flight out of our country, some of it illegal, some of it through dual listings, mergers and acquisitions, transfer pricing, and tax avoidance, coupled with a persisting private sector investment strike, have led to significant de-industrialisation. Weaknesses in government policy and programmes, or the failure to vigorously implement or sufficiently fund aggressive counter-measures have certainly contributed to these problems - but that is different from making government centrally to blame, or from simply declaring the ANC-led government "neo-liberal".

Among the consequences of this capitalist-driven, anti-working class offensive has been the dramatic decline in the percentage of unionised workers in the private sector. Between 1997 and 2013, while the number of unionised private sector workers remained static (at just over 1.8m), the percentage of workers in the private sector who were unionised dropped dramatically from 35.6% to 24.4%. By contrast, in the same period, public sector unionised workers grew both in absolute numbers (from 835,795 to 1,393,189) and in percentage terms (from 55.2% to nearly 70%). (I note in passing that if the ANC-led government's economic-agenda was half as neo-liberal as alleged by some, then we wouldn't be seeing such a high and increasing level of public sector unionisation.)

Subjective responses from within the union movement to this capitalist offensive

There isn't the space here to unpack the diversity of ideological tendencies and responses to the pain being inflicted upon the trade union movement and upon the working class in general -including a variety of syndicalist, vanguardist, personality cults, and other tendencies.

Many of these competing tendencies are further catalysed by different objective realities related to the stratification and segmentation of the working class. Cde Vavi is right to say, for instance, that while "life has not been cushy for public sector workers", their different objective reality is likely to lead to a "slightly different perspective on the world of work". This is surely correct, as is the point cde Vavi goes on to make that where such differences emerge out of different objective realities, the role of a progressive Federation is to build worker unity and solidarity. (It's unfortunate therefore that the general secretary of COSATU takes an unwarranted swipe at public sector unions, suggesting with great hyperbole that their different work-place reality "has made it not difficult for some of their leadership to be persuaded that the state is an eternal ally, and that any class based opposition to the state neoliberal policies is counter-revolutionary." But let's pass over this.)

With massive pressure on unionisation in the private sector, and particularly on the manufacturing sector it would not be surprising if the danger were to arise of intra-COSATU competition to recruit and even poach members from allied affiliates. We are told that this has always been happening - and FAWU leadership has even admitted doing this. However, the new phenomenon that has arisen in the recent past within COSATU is an ideological attempt to justify the extension of scope that offends the core, founding principle of COSATU, "one industry, one union".

NUMSA has, of course, led this ideological attempt, and it consists in two steps. The first is to argue that the "one industry, one union" principle is ineffective, and that NUMSA should organise across sectors along "value chains". There may be substance in this proposition, an idea which the NUMSA leadership has borrowed from the Canadian Auto Workers union1, operating, of course, in a very different reality. Certainly in the South African case in particular we would have to ask strategic and tactical questions about the nature of value chains - these are increasingly dominated upstream and downstream by monopoly capital, and they are increasingly transnationalised. Would organising along these lines by NUMSA, for instance, not run the danger of undermining sectoral unions and particularly their workers in smaller industries that are marginalised within monopoly controlled value chains? Sectoral unions would be deprived of the leverage of better skilled and more permanent workers in the monopoly dominated parts of their particular sector. This in turn could result not just in intra-COSATU affiliate divisions, but the further segmentation of the working class.

None of this might be correct, and there are, no doubt, also persuasive arguments for organising across value chains with a single or several general unions. But this is not the central point. The key issue is that NUMSA has only brought this discussion into the Federation AFTER THE FACT. It has simply steamed ahead.

But the second step that NUMSA has taken in this regard has been an attempt to give "political cover" to this poaching agenda - namely to present its agenda as a class war inside of COSATU itself. And this is the real threat to COSATU unity. It comes from those quarters that elevate important but, from a union point of view, secondary matters (like should the Federation remain within the Alliance) in order to provide ideological cover to justify the hostile poaching, the cannibalising of members of fellow affiliates. That is where the critical challenge to safe-guarding the unity (whatever the political diversity) of a militant and independent COSATU lies.

I have absolutely no doubt that cde Vavi desperately and correctly wants to preserve the unity and integrity of COSATU. We should all support him in this endeavour. He undoubtedly has a key role in this respect. But the manner in which he has attempted to diagnose the root of the problems in COSATU in his SA Labour Bulletin anniversary speech is not helpful.

Cde Jeremy Cronin is SACP First Deputy General Secretary

- See more at: http://www.sacp.org.za/main.php?ID=4560#sthash.8bbOBCHb.dpuf






Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the AfricaFiles' editors and network members. They are included in our material as a reflection of a diversity of views and a variety of issues. Material written specifically for AfricaFiles may be edited for length, clarity or inaccuracies.


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Fwd: No. 27447: The Colour of My Skin -- Eastern Region



AfricaFiles


Title: The Colour of My Skin
Author: Khairoon Abbas
Category: Eastern Region
Date: 11/25/2014
Source:
Source Website:

Summary & Comment: Mixed-race issues are not frequently discussed in Tanzania. In this essay, Khairoon Abbas provides a personal narrative, while exploring the legacy of historical and political factors within the relationships between people of different ethnic origins in Tanzania. Eradicating racial marginalization is one step towards greater socio-economic inclusion.



Every city has that one memorable sight everyone remembers; in New York, there's Times Square, Toronto has the CN Tower and Paris, the Eiffel Tower. In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which is East Africa's largest country, that place is undeniably Kariakoo - the busiest market in the country. As you enter the market, you are surrounded by the scent of freshly ground spices, piled next to each other, forming colourful mountains - everything from turmeric and garam masala to cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Kariakoo is filled with butcheries, mouth-watering fruit stands, electronic and clothes shops, and large displays of the colourful traditional wear called khanga. Word has it that everything you need can be found in Kariakoo - a name derived from "Carrier Corps" during the colonial days when Tanganyika (now Tanzania) was a British protectorate.

To me, Kariakoo represents the melting pot of Tanzania. Kariakoo's merchants, petty traders, buyers, and residents represent Tanzanian history at its core. People of black African origin, Arab and Indian heritage or those who are from intermarriages (mixed race) either come to or live in Kariakoo. They all meet to sell, bargain, establish business contacts, or simply visit to experience the bustling nature of this popular place that I can dare say is the loudest spot because vendors would either use loud speakers or simply shout out to market their products.

In the world of business, there are those who strive to make a profit at any cost, and those who are keen to satisfy their customers. These dynamics are evident in most countries in the world where it is not uncommon to see business people double or triple the price of their merchandise when they know their customers are from another country or place. Some go further - they judge their customers based on the colour of their skin - the lighter-skinned ones including Whites, Indians and Arabs are presumed to have more money than the rest, hence are charged more.

I am one of them. My Arab, Indian and African ancestry has won me a name in Kariakoo - they call me 'Mwarabu' (Arab) and at times 'Cheupe' (whitey) meaning light-skinned one and I have grown accustomed to such labels because I understand they mean no harm. For the traders in Kariakoo, this simply means luring you to buy what they are selling to sustain their livelihood.

But is this really harmless? What does it connote? As far as I am concerned, these labels and name-calling speak volumes about racial categorization, racial preferences, and racial discrimination. These race-related stereotypes are rooted in colonial history and have left indelible marks in human relations. There are people in Africa who still believe that anything 'white' is better than black because black is still associated with poverty, misfortunes, crime, and many other social ills. Some aspire to be lighter-skinned at any cost to seek acceptance and appreciation. I can confidently say that such labelling, if allowed to prevail, evokes a feeling of 'not belonging.' It may result in psychological issues and one may begin to act differently - either defensively to avert the danger of segregation, or conceitedly because they are of lighter skin. All in all, it is racism and it leads to racial marginalization. In addition, this issue of racial marginalization and race disparities and tensions is further complicated by class disparities and inequality, which together put a strain on race relations.

Race issues, which include those that concern mixed-race, are not openly discussed in Tanzania, unlike in other parts of the world such as in North America and Europe, among other regions, where issues of race are explored publicly and debated in the public discourse. For example, the American media often covers issues of race and its repercussions, particularly when black people are involved in shootings or social unrest or when acts of discrimination and racism are involved. In Tanzania, silence surrounds this issue of race. There are unconfirmed reports that minorities - Indians and Arabs, including those of mixed race - are sometimes subjected to acts of discrimination at times by the coercive state apparatus (e.g. police), let alone the general public. The argument is: They are not black hence they are not originally from Tanzania. According to some statistics, Tanzania's mainland is reported to have 99 percent black African people and the other 1 percent consisting of Asian, European or Arab people. While it may be easy to get data on citizens who are Whites, Arabs or Indians, it is much harder to get information of those of mixed race ancestry dubbed "Chotara" (a half-caste) or "Shombe" (mixed-breed) like myself. This is probably due to the lack of discussion or analysis of these racial issues following our unwillingness to look at our past - the slave trade era and colonial legacy, and see how these aspects impact our daily lives.
Historical melting pot

Tanzania has been home to many people of Arab and Indian heritage for many centuries now. Arabs came to the East African coast to take part in the trade of slaves, ivory, and spices. In 1698, the islands of Zanzibar fell to the Sultanate of Oman, whose reach extended along the mainland coast of East Africa. Indians also have a long history in Tanzania as a result of the Gujarati traders who arrived in the 19th century, in addition to those who arrived to work on the Kenya-Uganda railway. Indeed, the history of Tanzania, and to a large extent Africa, recalls painful memories of slavery, subordination, and marginalization. In Tanzania, this is vivid - from Zanzibar's Arab mansions characterized by the high, blank white walls and the colourful stained glass windows of grand Indian residences, to the variety of spices and type of foods we eat. It is a history rich in cultures and the legacy of people of different origin and skin colour. Yet it is also a history that gave birth to racial marginalization - an act that puts or keeps someone in a powerless or unimportant position within a society or group because of their race.

Racial marginalization is one of the factors that explains the birth and prominence of the East African Slave Trade, which was driven by Arab traders. The history of the slave trade is evident throughout the eastern coast of Tanzania, where the town of Bagamoyo has become a central and historical place to learn about how Arabs shipped slaves out of the country. Bagamoyo, which derives from the Kiswahili words of "bwaga moyo"- to lay down your heart- is reminiscent of how the slaves felt when they had to leave the country as a result of slavery. One of the key outcomes of the slave trade is the birth of the Swahili culture, language and people of mixed race from the blending of Arabs and local Bantu women, among other races. However, the Arab, Indian and mixed-race groups were not a threat to colonial rule during the colonial period following the Scramble of Africa in the late 1880s. It was then that Tanganyika fell under German colonial rule. However, after World War One, when the Germans were defeated, Tanganyika became a British Protectorate. Both colonial powers focused their attention on the masses - the majority native African population - in order to control and rule Africans. But it is worth noting that the colonial powers had their own unspoken racial and social structure that placed them at the top, followed by those of Arab and Indian origin and ancestry (mixed-race) with the African majority at the very bottom, something synonymous to the Apartheid system in pre-independent South Africa.

Yet, irrespective of today's global advancement in many spheres, racial marginalization is still visible. For example, some researchers say that the Zanzibar revolution was a reflection of racial conflict between the Arabs and the Africans, while others argue that the revolution was a response of landless peasants in alliance with other oppressed people against the landed aristocrats and their political leadership. The tension between the black majority and Arab and Indian minorities, particularly in Zanzibar, also followed political party lines and those tensions keep haunting the politics of the island to this very day, many years after the 1964 revolution when the Sultan was ousted and Zanzibar was proclaimed a republic.

A political palette

Although mainland Tanzania does not have a history of ethnic or racial tension as happened in other eastern African countries like Uganda, where General Idi Amin expelled Ugandan Asians from the country, incidences of racial marginalization are not uncommon despite a solid socio-economic and political foundation grounded in socialism and self-reliance that guided Tanzania since 1967. The country's political direction under the leadership of the founding father and first President, Mwalimu (teacher) Julius K. Nyerere led to the nationalisation of banks, property and industry, resulting into racial tensions, particularly between affluent Indians and Arab Tanzanians who owned companies, houses and other big businesses. Some Indians and Arabs left the country as a result of this exercise and some were labelled "economic saboteurs," a situation that marked the beginning of another outbreak of racial marginalization. Unconfirmed reports attest to unfortunate incidences of racial marginalization whereby a political leader of Indian or Arab or mixed race would be referred to "yule Mbunge Mhindi" or "yule Mbunge Mwarabu," meaning "that Indian MP" or "that Arab MP" or others could even go to say "yule Mbunge Chotara," which means "that mixed-race parliamentarian."

The most prominent example is Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, originally from Zanzibar, who held public office in Tanzania for over 27 years, in addition to various national, regional and international level positions. Mr. Salim is of Arab descent and when it was proposed that he be a presidential candidate in 2005, there were deafening reactions from within the ruling political party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM, Party of the Revolution), especially within elements of Zanzibar CCM members, who questioned the legitimacy of having "an Arab" take the reins of power. This is despite his impressive political track record, which includes being the Minister for Foreign Affairs (1980-1984), before serving as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and National Service as well as Tanzania's Prime Minister (1984-1985) until his election to the helm of the Organization of African Unity (OAU, now the African Union) General Secretariat in 1985. Dr. Salim, who was the longest-serving and last Secretary General of the OAU, was also the most influential African diplomat in United Nations history, apart from United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan, having served as Tanzania's permanent representative to the UN.

The fact that race was a factor that was used to undermine Dr. Salim as a leading contender for presidency in 2005 is no secret. This was an unintended consequence of deep-seated and unresolved tensions dating back to the Zanzibar revolution and the divisions that existed back then. Dr. Salim's detractors claimed that his father came from Oman - and he was therefore not really Tanzanian - although evidence shows that both his parents and grandparents came from Pemba Island (part of Zanzibar) and that he also has black African roots. Nowadays, there is growing awareness in racial relations in Tanzania but there is only a handful of Arab and Asian descent, who have the confidence to vie for political leadership positions. These include the following politicians of Indian descent: Mr. Mohammed Gulam Dewji, a wealthy businessman Member of Parliament, Hon Mohamed Sanya, Hon Abdulkarim Shah, Hon Mohamed Murji, Hon Aboud Aziz and Hon. Zakia Meghji who is of Arab descent.

Unfortunately, these perceptions and practices have permeated the state apparatus where it has been claimed on numerous occasions that Indians, Arabs and those of mixed race are perpetual targets of the police force; they are construed as offenders even before establishing the crime. One wonders whether this "racial marginalization baggage" is likely to disappear or whether we are set to continue passing this on to future generations. A personal example that really hit home was when my mother was recently thoroughly questioned about where she really is from - where her father and grandfathers came from, which school she attended and so forth, when submitting her application for her national identification card earlier this year. Stating the name of her village of birth and producing a Tanzanian passport was not sufficient. She had to get a birth certificate, and other supportive documents such as school certificates to verify her identity. I would like to presume that her Arab heritage - a product of intermarriage - made her a natural soft target.

Apart from Whites, people of Arab and Indian origin and their descendants - mixed-race, are "expected" to do better economically than the black majority simply because of the implied notion that they are financially better off and enjoy better education and professional opportunities. But this is a generalization and the reality exposes some of those Indians, Arabs or mixed-race people who live below the poverty line, to a series of social labels. Some would be called "Muhindi/Mwarabu maskini" (the poor Indian/Arab) and many a times they are looked down upon, almost like saying 'what's wrong with these ones?' This classification fuels racial animosity that many times is left to simmer, and grants permanency to racial marginalization in a young country like Tanzania. But business knack and business-savvy, a characteristic of Indians and Arabs, is not a coincidence but a result of history. When Arabs and Indians first set foot in Tanzania, it was for economic reasons and this image still exists today. Tanzanians of Indian origin in particular have successfully run businesses and they have maintained this same determination to do business and prosper. A few names come to mind: Mohamed Enterprise Tanzania Limited, which was established by a man of Indian origin and the Said Bakhresa Group, established by a man of Arab origin and many more - though again, they are still a minority.

The reality of mixed-race people in Tanzania

Eradicating racial marginalization that threatens the social fabric of any country takes time and requires commitment from all angles. Yet it is a necessary undertaking in order to create more inclusion of society members in the nation's socio-economic and political arena, and eliminate an unwarranted practice of judging individuals based on their ancestry and skin tone. This notion of umoja or unity, as propagated by Mwalimu Nyerere, must prevail if we are to build a nation of people who stand proud to defend our country and fight any notion or practice of racial marginalization, whether overt or covert. And there is no better time than now.

Tanzania is currently experiencing progress in a number of fronts: for instance in 2012 and 2013, its economy grew at an annual rate of 7 percent. We have witnessed economic growth driven by fast growing, capital-intensive sectors such as communications, financial services, construction, manufacturing, mining and retail trade sectors. The challenge now is to translate this economic growth into quality lives of Tanzanians from all walks of life. We need to enlist the participation of all Tanzanians, black, white, brown. As a developing country, Tanzania still has a number of targets to meet both at national and international levels. Although Tanzania's rank in the Human Development Index has improved since 1995, it is expected to reach only three of the seven Millennium Development Goals by 2015. It particularly lags behind in maternal health, malnutrition and environmental sustainability and poverty eradication. The power behind any country's success is its people who should, in all fairness, enjoy the sense of belonging irrespective of their ancestry because history - good or bad - cannot be changed but is a foundation for all of us to build upon and thrive.

Khairoon Abbas was born and raised in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania, before moving to Canada 12 years ago to pursue her postsecondary education at Carleton University. Khairoon is journalist by training and currently works as a communications and education consultant. She lives in Ottawa with her husband and two-year old son. She can be reached via email: khairoon.abbas(@)gmail.com



References

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"Study Guide: History - Maktaba." Rodwell. TETEA, Nov. 2014.

"Tanzania." Overview. World Bank, 9 Apr. 2014. Web. Nov. 2014.

"The East African Slave Trade." BBC News. BBC, Nov. 2014.

"The World Factbook: Tanzania." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, Nov. 2014.

"Zanzibar: 1964 Revolution and the One-Party System" Extracted from: "Zanzibar" IN Compendium of Elections in Southern Africa (2002), edited by Tom Lodge, Denis Kadima and David Pottie, EISA, 410-412. Web. Nov. 2014.

Ibhawoh, Bonny. "Deconstructing Ujamaa: The Legacy of Julius Nyerere in the Quest for Social and Economic Development in Africa." African Journal of Political Science / Revue Africaine De Science Politique 8.1 (2003): 59-83. Web. Nov. 2014.

Mwakikagile, Godfrey. "Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era." New Africa Press, 2010. Web. Nov. 2014.

Nsehe, Mfonobong. "Africa's 50 Richest 2013: The Newcomers." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. Nov. 2014.

Rajani, Rupal. "Life for Uganda's Asians, 40 Years on." BBC News. N.p., 5 Aug. 2012. Web. Nov. 2014.

Sheriff, Abdul. "Race and Class in the Politics of Zanzibar." Africa Spectrum 36.3 (2001): 301-18. Web. Nov. 2014.






Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the AfricaFiles' editors and network members. They are included in our material as a reflection of a diversity of views and a variety of issues. Material written specifically for AfricaFiles may be edited for length, clarity or inaccuracies.


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