African Studies 2019

Sudan is in danger of being kicked out of the African Union as they have little to no control over the people. The AU has given Sudan 15 days for the military to establish civil rule or its membership will be revoked but also worries on the affects of military rule. Though the union is strongly opposes military rule, they plan to use a 2 year period to transition the people and work towards something better in order to keep Sudan alive and in control; but the people have said that they are willing to stand out in the streets and protest the militarism rule and hold out until another civilian government is established. There has been arrests made among the previous holders of powers, Defense Minister Awad Ibn Auf resigned after 2 days in power and its said that former regime officials are set to be prosecuted. Sudan has a lot of moves to make in order to keep the country in the union as well as the people compliant with the government because a military government will not work withou

A woman from California thought it would be the most amazing experience to go on an excursion to see gorillas; but that dream turned to nightmare in the blink of an eye. Kimberly Endicott and her tour guide, Jean Mirenge, were robbed and kidnapped at gunpoint and held as hostages for what I'm sure felt like it lasted a lifetime. On the positive side the the entire ordeal was over as quick as it happened, the Ugandan security forces were able to release them as well as 4 other people that had been taken as they were all in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The gang who kidnapped the California native and her guide used their cell phones to make ransom calls and ask for $500,000 but the police was never going to give it to them but in the end to end the entire situation a ransom was paid, there is little detail as to how it unfolded and how much was truly paid but the exchange was described as "quiet and peaceful". They were returned safe and are just trying to move past t

Peter Tabichi, the Kenyan teacher who gives 80% of his salary back to the community to help out the poor. He is a math and physics teacher in a small rural school in the Pwani Village that has a single computer with bad internet service and a student teacher ratio of 58 to 1; Comparing the fact that most if not all schools in the US have labs simply for computers and a max ratio of 30 to 1 if not to 2 due to teacher assistants its crazy because they have so much less to work with yet they make the most of everything and still come out with an education. The teacher Mr. Tabachi, has recently won the million dollar global teacher prize for going beyond to give the education that the kids in the class as he would find educational content while in cafes that supplied internet as well as leading the math department to an international competition. 

After Mozambique was hit with the cyclone that destroyed everything in its path, a new problem has arrived for the people dealing with what is left of their homes. Cholera, a bacterial infection, has been confirmed in Beira and it is expected that there will be many more to come as the living situations for many people have become squalid as the access to clean water and proper shelter is in high demand with such little to no supply. The world health organization has stated that if the infection spreads throughout the region that it may be a "second disaster" to hit the people of Mozambique but with steps being taken to stop the problem before it may even start, it is expected that 900,000 oral cholera vaccinations arrive to the country to fight the issue before it gets out of hand. With the cyclone having  killed roughly 468 in Mozambique, 259 in Zimbabwe and 51 in Malawi and leaving millions in urgent need of help there is no telling what a cholera outbreak can do to t

Mozambique was hit with a cyclone earlier this week, after dealing with severe flooding, that may have a death toll of possibly over 1,000 people with 10,000 more in danger. The president made an announcement stating that 2 river banks broke which wiped out different communities and isolating them from one another with bodies of some deceased floating in the water. Parts of Malawi and Zimbabwe were affected as it went through Mozambique and all 3 countries having each over 150 accounted for deaths. There are reports from the IFRC that the damage is enormous with pretty much everything from roads to communication lines completely destroyed and some affected areas aren't even accessible. With so many people still missing the official number of those who are officially dead and those who are still just missing can rise as the days/search and rescue continues.  

In Lagos, Nigeria a 3-story building that not only housed residents but a nursery and primary school collapsed with 8 people not making it out alive. As rescuers worked through the night there was at least 37 of the 70 people inside pulled out from the rubles of what was left of the building. Construction in the city of 23.4 million people is not the best, with building coming down regularly enough for it to not be surprising to the people of Lagos but still devastating and worrisome. Lagos with the number of people it has living in its reported to have bad construction, terrible public access to water, and narrow access roads. The living conditions are not being improved as families are living in housing with tilted floors and cracked foundations. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/world/africa/lagos-nigeria-building-collapse-children-school.html

We all know about the ivory problem in Africa, the killings of Elephants for there tusks in order to make different kinds of material objects. The poaching of elephants has been a big problem, but in Tanzania there was an arrest and conviction made of a trafficker; going by the name the "Ivory Queen" was sentenced to 15 years for smuggling over 350 elephant tusks to Asia -- described as a "major victory against poaching". Dating back to around 2015, Yang Fen Glan has been in the trafficking business where it was reported that she smuggled $3.5 million worth of ivory. The demand for ivory in asian countries has since created a rise in poaching all across Africa decreasing the number of elephants from 110,000 to a mere 40,000 between the years of 2009-2014. She has not been the only arrest and conviction of a Chinese person on those counts as there were other men sentenced 35 years in prison and another for 20 for trafficking rhino horns. Our elephant numbers are dra

As we marveled over the fictional movie, Black Panther, one suddenly emerges on Kenyan soil. It is said that one has not been seen in over 100 years; and the rarity that it was spotted in Africa is pretty high. It was researchers from the San Diego Zoo that has made the discovery as they said that the existence of a Black leopard has always been but it wasn't until Tuesday that one has finally been spotted. They also state that since the percentage of all black leopards is only 11% reiterating the fact that it was seen in Africa so surprising. It is recorded that leopards have lost 75% of their population since 1750 and were even categorized under vulnerable on the endangered species list. The last sighting prior to the one on Tuesday was in 1909 in the capital of Ethiopia but are usually found more along Southeast Asia. another cool fact is that the Black Panther was actually spotted near where the movie "Black Panther" was fictionally based on. https://www.nytimes

A boat leaving Djibouti sunk earlier today due to too much weight; the coast guard states to have recovered 30 bodies with 16 survivors out of the reported 130 migrants that were originally boarded. The boat leaving from Djibouti was headed to Yemen in search for a better life and jobs that were available in their planned destination. Though that intended route is known as the most dangerous, tens of thousands of Africans have made and/or attempted the trip; it is reported that approximately 100,000 Africans migrated to Yemen in 2017. The UN Migration has also reported nearly 200+ drownings in that very same water since 2014 with another roughly 160 deaths from the sea conditions. This really only shows you that even though that death is almost certain, people in desperation will do what it takes to have a better life for themselves and their families. Immigrants face imminent danger when making a trip anywhere using any route, but still decide to take the risk in hope that in the end

21 innocent lives were taken as 3 masked men entered a hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya with guns and explosives and opened fire. Amongst those killed was an American man named, Jason Spindler, who was a survivor of another terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11. As bullets rang out and explosions were set off, the lives of 700 people were saved as they were evacuated from the building. The incident started on Tuesday afternoon and did not come to a stop until early into Wednesday morning creating chaos around the area. With it coming to an end the number of those who were killed is yet to be sold as the Kenya red cross said that there were up to 50 people still to be unaccounted for. 

There has been a major upset throughout The Democratic Republic of Congo as  Félix Tshisekedi was declared the winner of the presidential election that many say was rigged being that he in  actuality is the leader of the opposing party. The runner up, Martin Fayulu states that he in fact beat Tshisekedi by a significantly wide margin  and many people demand a recount of the votes. Congo having a long history of corruption the people were hoping for a turn around with this election, but with the winner being the unexpected now no one knows what will happen next.