Just Africa

Force Feeding is a Violation of Human Rights

Its name is “leblouh” or intensive force-feeding, and its victims are young girls. The price: her health, future, happiness and dreams. In the African country of Mauritania young girls are terrified of food because the more they are forced to eat, the closer they are to early marriage, young motherhood and deferring their ambitions of working in the professional world, as doctors, nurses, and teachers.

 

The process of “leblouh” entails placing young girls in a camp during school breaks where they are broken down and told that “thin women are inferior” and that men find skinny women revolting. In one camp, the girls are EACH fed 40 egg-size balls of oil foods in addition to 12 pints of goat’s milk and gruel. The total intake for the day equals 14, 000-16,000 calories, this  is 10,000-12,000 more calories than is recommended for a male body builder to intake in a day. If the girl refuses to eat she is beaten and tortured via the placement of two sticks around one toe, which is then squeezed. Even more disturbing: if she vomits the food, she must drink it.

Girls between the ages of 5-14 go through this fattening process. The aim of which is to make them more attractive to their male counter-parts. It is said that Mauritanian men like their women to be fat. Overweight women are sexy and erotic; the fatter the woman, the more beautiful and appealing she is to them. This preference for bigger women dates back to the ancient Moors (nomadic Muslims of the Arabic and Berber stock) who desired fatter wives, as it was a symbol of a man’s wealth. A fat wife meant that the man could afford to hire maids and servants to do the heavy housework, which left his wife plenty of time to lounge around and eat to her heart’s desire.

 

While the end result is aesthetically pleasing to men, the women pay a hefty price for this beauty ideal. Mauritanian women are literally DYING to be beautiful. These young girls are prone to diabetes, heart disease, depression, hypertension, and low self-esteem. The extra fat creates the illusion of a physically more mature girl, a 14 year-old can look 30 with the added fat, this makes it easier for her to marry at a younger age, giving her ambitions an earlier deferral. Marie Claire Magazine reported Dr. Mohammed Ould Madene, an emergency specialist saying, “The fat ideal is a grave matter of public health” he continued to describe a case where a 14-year-old girl was rushed to the hospital because her heart had collapsed under the enormous weight of her body. Sadly this is becoming all too common.  Older married women, desperate to maintain their weight and keep their husbands, go to the black market to purchase drugs to aid in their weight gain. As MC reported, one woman bought weight gain pills that can cause low blood pressure, kidney failure, and blurred vision if she were to misuse it. The woman did this in response to her husband telling her that he “didn’t like sleeping with a bag of bones”. In another case, a pregnant woman died after taking animal hormones in an attempt to give birth to a fat baby.

 

Before the military coup in August 2008, the practice of “leblouh” was declining in Mauritania; there were even some claims that “leblouh” was extinct. However, after the coup, which replaced the democratic government with a Junta (it became official after the July 2009 election) traditional rules became law. When this happened there was a push for women to revert back to traditional roles, hence “leblouh” became the standard for young girls. According to the Mauritanian Government, before the coup, 20-30 % of girls in the urban areas practiced “leblouh” while in the rural areas 50-60% of girls went through the process of “leblouh”. Now however, approximately 80% of girls undergo “leblouh” regardless of their location.

 

While the Mauritanian government has not legalized this deplorable practice, it has made attempts to stop it by implementing information campaigns about the dangers of diabetes and heart disease, one of which included ballads condemning fattening. In 2010, the Mauritanian government plans to launch a program along with the UN Population Fund that is aimed at eliminating harmful practices, including force-feeding to women.

2010 World Cup and the Ubuntu Culture

For the past few days I’ve been visiting good friends in Pimville, a township in Soweto, South Africa.  Yesterday my South African mother and I went to the next street over to get airtime for her phone and for the phone of her mother.

When we arrived, we went around to the back door, which is the culturally correct way to approach someone’s house here in Pimville.  There was a large shack back there, and inside was our friend.  We greeted her and sat with her while she was drinking a beer. 

The three of us sat and talked. At first we talked about language.  Most Sowetans I’ve met normally speak several languages.  We also talked about culture, and how when someone comes to a new country they must adopt the culture of that place.  Eventually, the conversation turned to one of the main topics in South Africa today:  2010.

As most people know, the FIFA World Cup is coming to South Africa in June 2010.  A huge influx of people is expected for the event.  Out conversation concerned one of the housing ideas for the coming soccer fans.  As it turned out, the woman who we met is going to be hosting some soccer fans at her home here in the township. 

While I listened to the woman talk, I began to imagine a scenario when a soccer fan comes to South Africa for the very first time and is staying in Pimville.  The person will need to be able to get from the township to the stadium in Town (Johannesburg).  There could be problems because the taxi system can be quite confusing.  I’ve been in South Africa several times but I still don’t understand how to get from Soweto to a specific location in Town.  There is also a new bus system called Rea Vaya, but I’ve never used it so I can’t comment on it.  With these things in mind, I imagined that this soccer fan would really need to get good information about how to get around while in South Africa.

Also there will be increased security during the World Cup.  The South African Police now have what people have described as a “shoot-to-kill” mandate.  In the local paper, The Sowetan, Police Commissioner Bheke Cele has said he has told his police that if they encounter, “. . . anybody who has a gun in his hand and is threatening you with a gun then you must use yours.”  That article appeared on Thursday, November 12, 2009.  The very night before, on the TV news there was a story about a three-year old who had been shot dead by police because they thought they saw a gun and ended up firing.  Both SA police and private security will be increased at taxi ranks and in the streets during the World Cup.

Now, I tend to feel relatively safe in Pimville, although I know I could get robbed or even beat up or killed.  But there are good people here who know me and who I know. I’ve become part of a family here.  I listen to them and heed their advice as well as that of other people who have accepted me into their families and lives.

Back to the aforementioned soccer fan . . . when that person arrives, he or she will be a stranger in a strange land.  I can see such a person, out of carelessness, getting involved in a situation they might regret.  If this person is staying in a township like the one I am staying in, the very best thing this soccer fan could do to have a good time in South Africa is to make friends with people in the community where he or she is staying.  They must bua le boahisane ba hao, which is Sesotho for “talk with their neighbours.”  They must also be humble and very respectful to people, especially elders.  You need to learn the basics of the culture.  Period.  And be careful who you trust.

I have experienced unfathomable lover and spiritual growth because of the ubuntu culture of my dear friends, mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers in South Africa.  I’ve also heard gunshots in a residential area as my friends and I walked one night from one township to another, gunshots that probably put bullets into somebody’s body. 

If you come to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, make friends with the good people in the community where you might be staying.  This will not only increase your safety but you will really experience much more than a few soccer matches.  In fact, you might find that the matches end up being among your least significant memories, thoroughly overshadowed by the interaction with South Africa’s beautiful diverse people and cultures.  Don’t come just for the soccer.  Come with your heart open to South Africa and . . . well, if you’re like me, you’ll never want to leave!

Author: Nicholas Carl

What's in a day?

    This blog hits the web just after last week’s International day for the Eradication of Poverty, and the weekend’s U.N. day, and World development information day. But in case you are worried about having missed October’s other gems including World Animal day (Oct 4), World Post day (Oct 9) and World Food Day, (Oct 16), November offers some important U.N. recognized days: World Freedom Day (Nov 9), International Day for Tolerance (Nov 16), Africa Industrialization Day (Nov 20), World Television Day (Nov 21).
    The number of International and World days of is wide and varied. Once the realm of witty agendas and planners, the internet has provided an explosion of quirky calendars with everything from days of World Peace, to International talk like a Pirate Day. I admit to being a skeptic, and in this vein I’ve often looked at the innumerable number of days of this or that as a kind of white noise, water cooler talk for those seeking to add additional meaning to the everyday. Even those “important” days on topics like international peace, or refugees seemed an all too convenient podium for rhetoric, like a nice easy lob over the plate in the world press softball league so that anyone can get a hit and look good. Simply put, they represented more words and talk, when what is always needed is more action.
Since beginning my internship my views on the matter have changed radically.
    The world of international news and the District especially is always a flutter with memos, documents, and press releases. In the deluge of competing interests and headline news these days provide they are both a small podium above the fray and an important incentive with which to pressure administrations to take positions. Words may be just words, but in the advocacy world they are fodder for accountability campaigns. Many organizations took advantage of World Food Day to mobilize letter-writing campaigns to Senators and Congressman regarding Congresses’ Global Food Security Act of 2009, introduced to the Senate last spring by Senators Lugar and Casey.
    This is another important aspect of the international days of awareness. They offer the opportunity to carve out time to discuss, educate, inform and reflect on the issues they represent. After all, in our busy world, what’s in the agenda is law right?
So if the weekend’s international U.N. day remains at the very least the subject of water cooler talk, this week, this is still a good thing. The U.N. needs to be discussed. What of its role in Africa? How effective are its missions in Sudan and the DRC? What is the U.S.’s role as chair of the Security Council? If you do find an interested audience or an opportunity to debate these important issues, be sure to take advantage of the resources available on the web. Just as important as taking advantage of the opportunities to educate and advocate provided by these days is the responsibility to be informed in order to act. Africa Action’s L.E.A.D. campaign follows this very premise by providing a number of resources and opportunities to take action in learning, educating, and acting daily. These resources are available at http://www.africaaction.org/campaign_new/index.php. So when the next day of whatever comes across, let it be more than that day’s trivia fact. When someone asks you “What’s in a day?” take time to L.E.A.D.

W.A. Flooding and Climate Change in Africa

      It has been a wet summer in West Africa as severe flooding has taken a huge toll on the region. The Horn of Africa underwent a similar situation in 2006 when extreme droughts through the end of 2005 were followed by unseasonably heavy rains, which resulted in widespread flooding. At the time, Simon Mechale, the head of Ethiopia’s disaster agency, characterized the devastating flood problem as "the worst that has been observed in a generation." 1 This year, U.N. officials estimate some 600,000 people across West Africa have been hit by heavy flooding, killing at least 25 in Ghana and seven in Burkina Faso. Africa is already infamous for its natural flood and drought cycles 2. The effects and degree of these natural disasters has grown over the decades due largely to the effects of global warming and continued poor land use. This imbalance will make subsistence farming, upon which millions of Africans depend, even more precarious. It will also exacerbate famine and disease.  Oxfam and Christian Aid relief estimate climate change is increasingly hampering the efforts of millions to escape poverty and that 182 million people in Africa are at risk of dying as a consequence of climate change by the end of the century 3.
    Although a number of relief organizations have brought to the fore the effects of global warming and climate change on Africa, the dire situation has largely been ignored. This cannot continue. World leaders should not only work to address the underlying causes (as demonstrated in the G-20’s commitment to end Fossil-Fuel subsidies by 2020) 4 but continue working toward helping poor countries that are struggling to mitigate the effects of global warming. African Governments face difficult decisions regarding balancing job creation with environmental conservation. The international debate over conservation is often a touchy one for developing nations, largely because they feel that the developed world benefited from a time of unbridled carbon-fueled industrial development. As the world’s leading nations and the U.N. work to fight global warming, they must reach out to include leaders of the developing world, especially Africa which is suffering the harshest consequences with the least ability to withstand it. Embracing the input of third-world leaders offers not only a more consolidated approach to the issue but offers a much stronger chance of actual reform.
    Unfortunately Africa’s problems with global warming cannot only be attributed to the actions and attitudes of the West. The overwhelming numbers of those affected are unfortunately part of the problem itself. According to the UN the continent is losing forest twice as fast as the rest of the world. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, only 7.5% of the rural population has access to electricity.5 The overwhelming alternative is charcoal. In fact an enormous and often lucrative charcoal industry has emerged. Roads throughout the countryside all over Africa are replete with makeshift lean-tos holding charcoal cut and burned from the local forests and bagged for sale to the city. Where Africa once boasted seven million square kilometers of forest, a third of that has been lost - most of it to charcoal. Wood and its by-product charcoal, unless radical steps are taken, are likely to remain the primary energy source for decades.
    What is needed are comprehensive education plans. Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan Nobel peace laureate, has worked hard to educate and engage citizens in her homeland through the Greenbelt movement. "One adaptation option for Africa is to keep her forests standing so that they provide essential environmental services such as carbon sinks," she said. The Greenbelt movement works to promote the planting of indigenous trees in forest catchment areas, private farms and public spaces so as to preserve local biological diversity, enhance natural beauty, and prevent soil erosion. Sensitization and mobilization seminars are held to disseminate information on the importance of tree planting6.
    Despite the success of the Greenbelt movement and others, the argument is a notoriously tough sell. For years many efforts to stall the growth of the Sahara by planting trees at its edges have been undercut (literally) by people seeking fuel for food and shelter. The long-term solutions to Africa’s plight are difficult in a region of the world where today’s considerations are of paramount importance over next year’s or even next week’s.
    The untold cost of the devastating floods in West Africa remains to be seen. Beyond the loss of property and the cases of loss of life, the flooding has ruined large amounts of food crops and land, risking food shortages and even starvation. Furthermore, flooding severely damages infrastructure in the areas affected, spoiling clean water supplies and inviting disease. Unfortunately the desperate times risk inviting more desperate measures and the cycle of extremes will continue.



1 http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=87&art_id=qw1156502520623A162

2
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/09/08/west.africa.flooding/

3 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8272603.stm

4 http://www.carbonpositive.net/viewarticle.aspx?articleID=1678

5 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8272603.stm

6 http://gbmna.org/w.php?id=13

Ist Africa HOT?

The scene is set, but the dialogue is not. Bruno sits at the front of a Texas talk show with his new African baby, describing himself as a single parent who thought it would be ‘a cool idea.’ The predominantly African-American crowd is outraged and, when asked why he adopted the child, he attributes the idea to people like Brangelina and Madonna: “And now Bruno has one.” The scene was, undoubtedly, absolutely hysterical - but by satirizing this well-known issue, the film also takes a courageous step in attacking such famous celebrities, a major departure from the usual reporters and journalists (the apparent intellectuals) who simply hail them for doing so many “great things to save Africa.”

 

Last week, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen released his new mockumentary film Brüno, in which he portrays an Austrian fashionista who will stop at nothing to become famous (not entirely unlike many of the interviewed characters in the movie). Cohen is known for his outlandish characters that satirize societal issues by filming ordinary people who are unaware they are in a major motion picture. In this particular case, Africa gets airtime “because it’s gotten popular." Bruno displays this idea more explicitly when he meets with two ditzy blondes from an L.A. PR firm who pronounce Darfur as “Da-four” (followed by a “Da-five” joke), and confirm that Africa is a ‘hot topic’ right now. 

Looking past the obscenities and absolute craziness of the entire film, Baron Cohen makes an interesting – and important - point about Africa in the sense that this continent, made up of approximately 1 billion people from several thousand ethnic groups, has somehow managed to become a ‘fad.’ Charities for Darfur are strongly endorsed by George Clooney; Oprah Winfrey has a fund in South Africa for educating children; Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had their child, Shiloh, in Namibia and, in turn, donated $300,000 for a hospital. And the list goes on. While all these efforts sound admirable, why is it that no celebrities are rushing to endorse poor or homeless Americans? Well now, that would just be condescending, right? So why is it we can do this with Africans?  

I find it to be utterly demeaning that we, as fellow human beings, can allow this many people and this many cultures of such a huge continent to be reduced to a charitable effort because of such a strong disconnect.

On the other hand, the issues many African countries are facing do require publicity and it cannot be argued that certain celebrities (whether it should be the case or not) have a lot of pull with the general population, more so than most politicians. But does it have to be done by ‘charitizing’ cultures? By making Africa simply a hot new trend, people often seek to follow in the footsteps of celebrities without fully understanding the issues. In addition, these do-good celebs are only furthering stereotypes about Africa  (like constant war and lack of education), perpetuating an ‘us and them’ divide. Then again, are politicians any better or more knowledgeable about African issues? Nancy Pelosi can pick up the phone and call African experts just as easily as Bono can.

But what's even worse, the celebrity culture that infuses the desire to “give back” to Africa reinforces the idea that Africans don’t have a wealth of knowledge and perspectives about how to solve problems on their own, without the gracious philanthropists of the West. Where is the investment in African knowledge and better yet, what can we learn from them? Rather than blindly following a cause as a result of George Clooney’s good looks or sending malaria-preventing bed nets because it’s ‘the cool thing’, what would be so difficult about taking a second to read about the issues, where you may find that investment in say local production of bed nets would simultaneously prevent the disease as well as contribute to building infrastructure. Why swoop in and adopt children from all over the continent when hundreds of thousands are left behind and in conditions that need to be addressed? Never mind how African adoptions are reminiscent of imperial and colonial eras, when Africa was considered a place extremely different from other “civilized” places on Earth, and whose people needed to be collected and studied in order to figure out how best to “advance” them. These are the sentiments that seem to not only be subconsciously perpetuated, but are being widely and enthusiastically praised.

Cambridge-educated Baron Cohen once stated, “I remember, when I was in university I studied history, and there was this one major historian of the Third Reich, Ian Kershaw. And his quote was, ‘The path to Auschwitz was paved with indifference.’ I know it is not very funny being a comedian talking about the Holocaust, but I think it’s an interesting idea that not everyone in Germany had to be a raving anti-Semite. They just had to be apathetic.” Perhaps this could be said about Africa as well.  It is not that people are against helping Africa; they just turn the other cheek. So I suppose it is true that maybe it doesn’t matter who it is that makes people look twice, just as long as they do. But has all this celebrity attention really made people any more educated about the actual issues, or is it just that "Africa 'ist hot?'"

Bruno’s attempt at fame through Africa did not work in the film, but however outrageous, the film is provocative when it comes to commentary on Africa and is a push in the right direction for getting truly informed – and having a good laugh while you do it.

By Laura Martin, Executive Office Intern, Africa Action

Seeing it Firsthand - Former Africa Action Intern Nick Carl Sounds Off on Inhalant Abuse in Nairobi

I finally got a chance to look at the Africa Action blog after months of a nearly unbelievable lack of internet access. As I was reading the recent posts, the piece about the kids sniffing glue in Kenya was heart wrenching…especially after seeing children just like them firsthand. At the time, I had no idea what could possibly be done about it, but I felt very inspired to write something of my own. Here goes:

I recently visited Kenya for the first time and, as someone originally from the United States, it was quite a different situation from my usual experiences. In some cases, the subtle cultural differences were so profound and complex that even now, almost three months after leaving the country, I am still wrestling with the little things – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

One of the hardest things I had and still have trouble processing is an issue that’s really no small thing at all – kids inhaling glue in Kenya. It’s still difficult for me to find the right language to describe how it makes me feel – how depressing and sickening it is to me. First of all, coming from the U.S., I had never seen street kids before. Then, while in a matatu [a form of public transportation in Kenya] in Nairobi, we passed some kids lying flat out on the sidewalk. The first child I saw was wearing black pants that were completely torn up, and a shirt so ragged and filthy that his looks went far beyond what I considered poverty to be like. It was his shoes that really struck me though. I just remember the one, because his other foot was under his leg, as he lay corpselike, completely passed out. Where the sole meets the part of the shoe that usually covers and protects the toes, about one-third of his foot was totally exposed – like someone had put a firecracker right there and just blasted out the end it. My first reaction was that he must be a homeless orphan, and his state was so rough that I was beyond speechless – I could barely comprehend what I was seeing. And then I saw the other kids who were with him:

They were on the sidewalk too. One was sitting up, bottom and legs on the ground, propping himself up with his arms just behind his back, almost like he was lounging. His clothes were in a little bit better shape than the boy I saw first, but not by much. He wore a sweater or something like it, which was filthy and gray. His signature feature, though, was the small, empty liquor bottle that hung down from just below the tip of his nose and upper lip, so the bottle’s opening would rest just millimeters from his nostrils. It just hung there…emitting a constant flow of glue fumes so he didn’t even have to force himself to huff it. The intoxicants just flowed into his lungs with each breath he took.

It’s strange, because the only reason I even knew it was glue was because, a day or two earlier, while sitting outside an internet café in Kiserian, I was approached by an adult who had been sniffing the same substance. The man who came toward me staggered heavily, as though each step he took was a struggle to keep from crashing to the uneven dirt and rock between the shops and the street. And he had one of those small bottles in his hand, and between each lunging, staggering step, he brought the bottle to his nose for a sniff, as if he were taking drags from a cigarette. He said angrily, “Give me ten bob!” [like asked for ten “bucks” in the U.S.; bob is slang for the Kenyan shilling, and the amount he asked for was worth about 12 U.S. cents at the time] Not knowing if he might attack me because he was so high, I said “NO!” stood up, and quickly retreated deep into the internet café.

When I finally went back outside, a guy was sitting nearby and said that the man who had been accosting me was  “really a great guy when he’s not on that glue. He’s a really great guy. You’ll see him in the market and talk to him like any normal person. But once he starts on that glue, it changes him completely.”

I believe this glue abuse is a symptom of deeper problems in the country, but it’s so difficult to figure out such complex and dynamic issues when you’re an outsider, who lived there for only three months. At first glance, I thought those kids were orphans, but some of them have parents at home who would take care of them, but they get in with the wrong crowd and go down the wrong path. At least, that’s what I was told. A solution I often heard was that more people needed to pray to God – I even heard that Kibaki got the police to round up a lot of those kids and put them in school. I don’t really know what happened. I was in Kenya to volunteer in a small, primary school on Maasai land - just passing through. 

Now that I’m back in U.S., I am amazed sometimes by the order and calmness with which everyone proceeds about their day and work. When I saw homeless people in D.C. my first reaction was to stay away – what if they tried to rob me? – but then I realized that they probably had some access to food. And then I remembered those kids on the streets of Nairobi who were starving – desperate; I had even heard of instances where they would threaten to throw human feces at passerby, if they were not given money. It’s such a terrible situation but I know that it’s impossible to focus only on the negativity. I just keep reminding myself of the words of an old Sowetan Tswana man I met named Daru, his eyes getting milky and blind, whose son died in Tanzania in exile during the war against the apartheid regime in South Africa…He said, “Khotso (a name given to me in Lesotho meaning peace)…Khotso, you must go home and write about this. Educate the children…We want food man, not guns.” And it’s all true.

I hope that in writing down my experiences, more people will seek to understand and try to help not only the children who are abusing glue, but also look to address the conditions that make sniffing glue an attractive escape.

Those street kids in Kenya need so much more than the glue they have – and they deserve more too. 

For more information on what can be done, check out The Advocacy Project’s webpage on the Undugu Society of Kenya, an organization that seeks to influence legislature to address such issues as the sale and use of inhalant drugs.

Getting ‘Reel’ About Africa’s Debt

“Imagine your creditors tripled the interest they demanded on your loans without warning and then all of a sudden, all at once, called the loans in.” ~ 'Vulture Funds Policy Alert, TransAfrica Forum'

Yes, the topic of Africa’s debt is thankfully back in the news in a big way, with the reintroduction of the “Stop VULTURE Funds” Act (H.R. 2932) last Thursday, June 18, by Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA). Building on the aims of a similar bill introduced in August 2008, the act now before Congress seeks to outlaw the profiteering by private equity or hedge funds in the U.S. at the expense of some of the world’s poorest nations. [ Africa Action Press Release]

Activists and campaigners celebrated this important step in opposition to particular subset of funds that target distressed sovereign debt - buying up the debt of poor countries from either a government or commercial creditor. Vulture Funds' apparently clawing (no pun intended) desire to make a profit – profits reaching into the tens of millions of dollars – siphon much-needed funding away from initiatives like health care, education, combating HIV/AIDS, clean water access etc. in impoverished countries.

Unfamiliar with Vulture Funds and the controversy surrounding them? Here are some quick facts from Jubilee USA’s Vulture Fund Backgrounder:

“A ‘vulture fund’ is a company that buys up the debt of poor countries at a big discount from the original owner with the purpose of suing the indebted country in court once it has some money (often after debt cancellation)”

“…Donegal International, got hold of $15 million from Zambia, money that was freed up by debt relief and should have been used for the fight against HIV/AIDS and poverty. Zambia was not alone: A 2007 report on vulture funds by IMF staff showed that 11 out of 24 poor countries approached said they were involved in litigation worth a total of $1.8 billion with 46 creditors.”

From JUBILEE Debt Campaign UK:

“These companies tend to be quite secretive, and very many of them are based in tax havens. Some are owned by large (often US-based) financial institutions such as hedge funds. In other cases, there is no information on who owns them. Often companies are set up simply to pursue one debt, then shut down again.”

Jubilee USA’s Briefing Note also points out that in Niger, “lawsuit costs were 52.2 percent of health and education expenditure,” and 98.3 percent of Cameroon’s budget revenue ($51.7 million).

The Congressional Representatives supporting the bill have drawn a line in the sand, standing on the side of Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), and they are certainly not the only ones lending a voice to the cries of discontent over Africa’s debt situation. These issues have also been explored in more popular realms as well, where the message may not be in technical terms or political jargon, but attempt to start dialogue over Africa’s urgent debt issues.

Enter Bamako: Abderrahmane Sissako’s 2006 film, whose foundation is the exploration of the crippling debt, poverty, and social injustice facing many African countries.

 

With a plot both original in its premise and powerful in the questions that it raises, Bamako immediately came to my mind because, in many ways, it calls for the changes in Africa’s debt situation that activists have been working on and which has culminated in the Vulture Funds bill.

The central storyline follows a trial in which the citizens of Mali charge that the policies of the defendants, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), have greatly hurt, rather than improved, the socio-economic and political stability of the country. Using real judges and attorneys (who wrote their own dialogue), as well as regular, Malian citizens as witnesses – invited to improvise their testimonies – the result is a film that is much more than a courtroom drama, played out in the dusty courtyard of a Bamako household. In an interview with Sight & Sound, Sissako pointed out that “Victims in Africa don’t need inventing…Just go out on the street and they’re there.” And, truly, the people and their representatives are frank in relating their grievances surrounding such ills as privatized water, education, medicine, and other social services, ultimately questioning the sincerity of such institutions’ claims to want to improve developing courtiers.

Arguably, the power of the film lies in the line it walks between reality and fiction. The possibility of seeking to hold the actions of The World Bank and IMF accountable to the Africans on the ground, who are the ones who suffer from the exploitation of illegitimate debt and poor social and economic program planning, further highlights the power imbalance at play (since deep down, a part of us knows such a trial could never happen). And, in between debates and testimonies, is the interplay and interjection of everyday life in Mali – the people around the neighborhood who pay avid attention to the trial’s broadcast on the radio, and the others who are distracted, indifferent, getting married, or working all day. The documentary style of filming only increases the feeling that you are watching a case of immediate, real-world concern, yet the undercurrent of Sissako’s film is the near-futility of attacking such a colossus of a predicament.

Unlike other movies where a trial figures prominently in the plot, there is no final verdict handed down in Bamako and the film’s conclusion becomes a sign that it is less about the decision that could come from such a trial (or even whether such institutions should be put on trial), and more about educating those who watch. Is globalization the solution to Africa’s problems? Is foreign aid to the continent actually easing poverty? And, honestly, why would the World Bank, IMF, and even other wealthy nations want to perpetuate the terrible conditions of poverty, hunger, illiteracy that plague many of Africa’s nations? (a question even asked by a lawyer for the World Bank in the film).  Sissako’s work asks us to think carefully about these questions if we haven’t before, and to not only see the disconnect between the aims of these financial institutions and the reality of Malian life, but to try and find some hope in resolving these issues.

With the reintroduction of the “Stop VULTURE Funds” Act, with additional co-sponsors and even more momentum behind it, the aims of advocates and activists have now been placed into the hands of the highest government officials in the country. It couldn’t come at more needed time, with the economic downturn hitting poor countries hard and world hunger recently hitting the 1 billion mark – the vast sums of money Vulture Funds seek is badly needed by citizens of the impoverished nations they target. Could it be that we will see change step off the silver screen and into the real world? Only time will tell.

Check out Bamako – on DVD now, and Africa Action’s resource pages for more information on Africa’s Debt and Vulture Funds.

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