Africa is becoming increasingly important politically and economically, yet the Harper Government is not realizing Africa’s value maintains Professor Edward Jackson in The Mark, a progressive Canadian politics and culture publication.
The Harper Government intends to close more embassies in Africa and has already reduced aid to African countries instead focusing more on strengthening ties with the United States and the Americas among other national priorities.
The article enumerates the reasons why Canada should foster more meaningful diplomatic and economic relationships with Africa maintaining that it is both “bad policy” and ‘“bad strategy” to neglect the continent.
Historically, Canada has enjoyed a positive reputation in Africa for its development activities. Canada was thus able to wield greater influence in world affairs due to relationships fostered with African countries, particularly those within La Francophonie and the Commonwealth.
Secondly, by cutting aid funding to Africa, Canada is also undermining its commitment to poverty alleviation in some of the world’s poorest countries. Reengagement with Africa would not only address the poverty crisis, but as well Canada could gain a leadership position in key areas such as local governance, microfinance, anti-corruption and other important areas.
Thirdly, Canada’s commitment to democracy promotion and human rights with emphasis on women is being challenged in Africa by competitors such as China, Saudi Arabia and Iran, all of which have questionable human rights records.
Africa is also important from an economic point of view. By neglecting Africa, Canada is undermining important economic interests. There are commercial opportunities that have yet to be explored within Ghana for instance and other African countries with impressive economic growth. If Canada does not explore them other countries will reap the benefits of these opportunities such as China, India and South Africa that already have a strong presence in the region.
The article then sites issues of security as an important reason as to why Canada should have a greater presence in Africa. Terrorism, drug networks and regional warlords are potentially a threat to global stability which should be of great concern.
The article does echo the sentiments of many in the diasporic Caribbean and African-Canadian community - Africa is not irrelevant and moreover needs to be a national priority. However, the article only scratched the surface of Africa’s worth, omitting the cultural and historical value of the continent as well as its growing innovative spirit. In reducing Africa to poverty alleviation, security concerns and a set of economic interests that must be explored lest China or India will take them is deeply problematic. Questions of economic colonialism, exploitation of resources and paternalism arise. Africa’s value certainly goes beyond how it can best serve Canada’s and other countries’ interests.
Full Article: http://www.themarknews.com/articles/3181-why-canada-must-commit-to-africa
T.E.Dennis Photography
By Patrick Dennis Jr.
In a day and age when it seems every young black person claims to be a rapper, few stand out from the crowd. Toronto’s own Reema Major is one of those few aspiring artists whose style, delivery and persona appear to be genuine and long lasting.
The self-proclaimed “Mother of the new school era, and young buck that the old G’s co-sign” showcased her skills this past Tuesday at Canada’s Wonderland. The event entitled “Summer Bling” featured some of the city’s best young talents and also one of Canada’s top artists, Karl Wolf. Reema headlined the event and did not disappoint.
At the tender age of 16, Reema has mastered the art of performing. On stage she has the confidence and swagger of artists at least twice her age, but as the cliché goes- age is nothing but a number. Performing her current song on the radio, “I’m The One” Reema showed why so many have called her the queen of Canadian hip-hop. Her lyrics and punch lines are hard hitting; she flows like an artist who has been doing this for years.
Many are quick to compare her style to that of Nicki Minaj. “I think that when you are a female coming into a male-dominated industry, people are quick to compare.” explained Reema. “I think it’s reassurance you are doing something right–if you’re whack you won’t be compared at all.” Considering the fact that Reema has really only been putting out music since she was 15, it’s tough compare her body of work to Minaj. From a lyrical stand point however, hands down Reema takes the win. The honesty and conviction in her music speaks for itself.
Reema insists that there is no animosity towards Nicki or any other female artists; she gladly welcomes the comparisons as she knows that when people hear her music and get to know her better as an artist the comparisons will stop. She is a firm believer that female artists need to stick together. “I think power is important, and I think unity is power. Where there is a strong team together, there will be power and by women fighting it just makes us weak,” she proclaimed.
Having gone through a lot in her young life, Reema uses her music as her expression and voice. With all the success she has gained so far she remains humble and grateful for it all. “I’m just grateful. As a ghetto kid, this time last year I was sitting on a stoop. No deal, no money- just a ghetto kid. You have to stay humble because as quick as he [GOD] gave it to you; he can take it away,” Reema explained. It is that understanding and attitude that draws people to her.
Speaking to her you feel like you’re talking to someone wise beyond her years. The delivery of her rhymes mixed with the complexity of her lyrics the perfect blend of what hip-hop and rap truly are. A student of the old school era of flow, Reema uses clever word play not heard in many artists today. She is certainly above the crowd.
This fast-talking, intelligent and passionate artist is certainly on her way to becoming a superstar. She is currently promoting her mixtape, I AM LEGEND (which is available for download on her website), Reema is also busy working on her debut album (due out sometime in 2012). Reema Major will be performing alongside another Toronto artist, KOS at the CNE on September 2nd.
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By Angela Walcott
The Dance Music Comedy (DMC) Expo is unique to Canada. Not only will it showcase young up-and-coming artists in dance and music, on September 10 this talent competition will feature a category for comedy, a $750 cash prize and studio recording time for the lucky winners in each category.
Executive producer Brian Francis started the DMC Expo after three years of research. “I’ve seen many trade shows in the US and Canada, but none of them touched on a variety of entertainment,” says Francis. “I wanted to provide artists with an opportunity to showcase their craft,” says Francis who was a trade show manager for many years. It was his entrepreneurial spirit, which eventually led to producing shows.
Combining dance, music and comedy under one show came not out of necessity to fill a niche market but a more personal need. He wanted to expand on his love for both dance and comedy. Francis began his comedy career doing stand-up at Yuk Yuk’s when he was 27 years old. He participated in the Nubian Nights that provided black, Caribbean-Canadian influenced comedians with a platform. The events often played to sold-out crowds.
“The biggest misconception about comedians is that they are dirty or vulgar,” Francis points out. Francis has a strict policy for DMC Expo where he does not allow vulgar content or profanity of any kind in his show. Competitors who break this rule will be disqualified from the competition. Brian Francis will be headlining the comedy portion of the competition and he will ensure that you don’t necessarily have to use profanity in order to be funny.
Long before Francis was cracking people up with his dry sense of humour, quick wit and impeccable sense of comedic timing, he was dancing. “I was so into break-dancing. There was a time that was all I ever did,” he reflects. In the ‘80s he was part of the “Break Patrol” crew that managed to place 14th out of 1500 competitors in the Crunchy Break Challenge at the CNE.
Francis says he is a good judge of talent and has a good ear for music. Musicians are composed mainly of R&B contestants and while a good ear for music is an essential quality to have as a judge, he was looking for the entire package: entertainment value, a level of professionalism, the ability to interact with the audience, natural talent, commitment and punctuality.
While this is the first year for the expo, Francis would like to see this become an annual event, and he has already mapped out in his mind how he would do things differently and where he would focus more of his efforts and how to learn from his experiences. Overall, Francis wants people to walk away feeling entertained and inspired to live their dreams.
Exhibitors will also be on hand at the Expo offering many products and services for the arts and entertainment community not to mention exhibitors focusing on clothing, studio recording services , vocal coaching services and much more.
Those who will be attending the DMC Expo on September 10th will be in for a special treat as Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Glenn Lewis will be the headline performer. Many fans will remember Lewis for his mega-hit “Don’t You Forget It”.
Brian Francis, his wife and a close friend who serves as the production assistant are the three key players in the planning of this event. Plus there is the assistance of countless volunteers. In lieu of sponsors, Francis has chosen cross promotion for this venture. While the task of organizing this event has presented some minor challenges along the way, Francis remains upbeat, “If you have your health, you can do anything.” This is exactly what Brian Francis is doing.
The event will be held at The International Centre in Mississauga on September 10. To order tickets in advance, email [email protected] for a discount and quote promo code SWAY-DMC.
Tickets can also be purchased in advance at the Rehearsal Factory for $30 or $40 at the door at the International Centre on the day of the performance.
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By Darling Nicky
An Unsung Canadian Hero Dies at 61
“This is very hard. It was just May that I wrote an article about Jack Layton’s amazing Federal Campaign. Now, I’m writing about his death.” via @darlingnicky999 on Twitter
It was just 112 days after John Gilbert “Jack” Layton led the New Democratic Party to form the Official Opposition with 103 seats won, which made Jack the most successful leader of the party in history, passed away on August 22, 2011 after a rapid decline in health due to cancer.
For those who don’t really follow politics and perhaps don’t even understand how the Canadian government works, Jack did BIG things in his career. Liken him to “The Little Engine That Could”. His last official post was NOT as head of a mere political party, he was the LEADER of the Official Opposition – Jack got to sit directly across from Prime Minister Harper in the House of Commons! Yeah Son – that’s HUGE! Did I mention he “repped” Toronto too? Oh yes, Jack Layton was a Member of Parliament for the Toronto-Danforth constituency and even held the rank of (acting and deputy) Mayor a few times.
One of the qualities that Jack Layton will be most remembered for is his loyalty to this country and his ability to involve and engage young Canadians in modern politics.
“…truly a loss to Canadian politics both as a voice and as keeping it entertaining and relevant to young Canadians.” via @botzie_sWc on Twitter
Survived by his wife Olivia Chow, MP for Trinity-Spadina, Layton left this Earth with the following words from an open letter to Canadians written 2 days before his death.
“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.” – Jack Layton
#thatswhatHEsaid
Will and Jada: Happiest Couple on Earth Calls it Quits?
“Do YOU believe that Will Smith’s and Jada’s marriage is over? Why? I coulda sworn they had that “open” arrangement. #jussayin.” via @darlingnicky999 on Twitter
By the time you read this, I’m sure we’ll all know a little more about what’s really happening with this breaking news that Hollywood power-couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith are divorcing after 13 years of (disgustingly) happy wedded bliss. You don’t need me to recap their story for you – Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star and emerging Hollywood heavy-hitter finds romance with Cosby Show spinoff A Different World’s spunky and rebellious breakout actress. Will finds comfort (and nookie) in the pint-sized beauty as he regroups from the shadows of his first marriage with Sheree Fletcher (with whom he had his first son Trey), and marries a 2-months pregnant Jada Pinkett in 1997. For 13 years, this couple has been revered as one of the most committed and loyal couples in all of Hollywood, never shying away from PDA’s and going on record several times saying that divorce is not an option for them. Entertainment Tonight ran a story last night indicating that the on-set relationship between Jada and Marc Anthony (yes, J.Lo’s ex) as they filmed Hawthorne may have contributed to the separation.
At this point, everything is just speculation until an official response to the rumours is issued, and preferably from them jointly, but it definitely does get you thinking (even more) about what in the world is really happening to the marital institution.
“They have money, success, talent, talented children, and love. If they can’t work, perhaps we need a NEW norm for relationships.” via @darlingnicky999 on Twitter
#thatswhatSHEsaid
Darling Nicky is an entertainment writer, blogger and publicist. Check out her out at www.darlingnicky.ca
By Tendisai Cromwell
Last week, the streets of England were set ablaze. Characterized by wanton violence and lawlessness, thousands of youth engaged in some of the most destructive rioting England has endured in decades.
What began as a peaceful protest against the shooting death of Mark Duggan by police in London, rapidly devolved into a chaotic three-day street rampage resulting in deaths, assaults, the destruction of property and widespread looting. Hundreds have been apprehended and it is expected that up to 3000 individuals could be implicated in the rioting. How this anarchic, violent spirit swept across England has yielded much conjecture and many are pointing to race and class.
Residents of Tottenham, where Duggan was fatally shot, are no strangers to police violence. With yet another death of a young black man at the hands of the authorities without due explanation, members of the community had risen up. The rioting that emerged from that protest raged on in largely, but not exclusively black and lower income neighbourhoods. This is causing heated debate about whether the riots were the result of legitimate grievances of a marginalized segment of society or whether anti-police brutality protests were usurped by thrill-seeking, opportunistic youth.
Brit Rochelle Ross-Goulding, 25, tells swaymag.ca that she had been raised in the lower income areas of London describing those years as a period of instability, living on benefits and moving every two to three years between temporary and subsidized housing. Having lived in some of these communities herself, she is intimately aware of the conditions within. Ross-Goulding staunchly condemns the rioting and looks inwardly to the communities in placing the blame rather than outwardly to the government.
“Young people have to start taking ownership for their decisions. It’s difficult sometimes because of the cards some of us have been dealt, but we can’t hold other people to blame forever and do nothing about it ourselves, ”Ross-Goulding said.
While expressing profound disappointment in the behaviour of the rioters, Ross-Goulding hopes that the British government will take note and address disparities in a progressive manner.
Amina Sheikh, 26, an international student at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London believes that the root of the riots lies in government actions.
“I think what we saw is a result of the society, institutions and culture. It’s not an individual issue, or a black issue, or a particular community issue, it’s a result of the state and system. It’s the fault of the British government and economy,” Sheikh expressed.
Many more voices are emerging from the ashes of the torched buildings, including that of Tottenham’s MP David Lammy. Lammy remarked in a speech during a General Debate on Public Order, that although the behaviour displayed was inexcusable, there are many systemic problems that have caused many youth to feel disconnected from their communities and resultantly unbound by a moral code to British society. He also made an appeal for an open and independent investigation into the death of Duggan.
Lammy, himself, was referenced by British historian and broadcaster, David Starkey. Starkey suggested that Lammy, as a successful black man, is an exception amidst a pervasive black culture responsible for the rioting violence.
“The whites have become black, a particular sort of violent, destructive, nihilistic, gangster culture has become the fashion and black and white, boy and girl operate in this language together, this language which is wholly false, which is this Jamaican patois,” Starkey said in a BBC interview.
Starkey’s inflammatory statements invoked a fury of criticism, though his opinions are shared by many as the debate widens and is had on all levels – in political and academic realms, locally and globally, on the streets and online.
Some say that the events should be a wake-up call to the British government who can no longer afford to ignore certain social realities hidden beneath the surface.
The Guardian reported on Monday that in response to the rioting, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his committment to help England’s 120,000 most troubled families. While condemning the violence, Cameron admitted to some sense of responsibility on the part of the government.
“Social problems that have been festering for decades have exploded in our face,” Cameron remarked. “People’s behaviour doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it’s affected by the rules that government sets and how they’re enforced, by the services that government provides and how they are delivered and perhaps above all by the signals government sends about the kinds of behaviour that are encouraged and rewarded.”
Whether or not the riots represented the unbridled cry of the underprivileged, marginalized and racially profiled may never fully be ascertained, yet a very important dialogue has opened about a society that may have very well been crumbling long before rioters took to the street.
]]>By Darling Nicky
Co-Host of The View marries long-time boyfriend
“I find it interesting that Joy Behar married her man after being together 29 years. Like really, what difference did it make?” via @darlingnicky999 on Twitter
I don’t watch The View regularly, but for some reason I always knew about this Steve Janowitz fella as the comedic co-host of The View Joy Behar’s main squeeze. Like Oprah and Stedman, it was a non-issue for us as an audience as much as it was for them (for 29 years) that they weren’t married. They did plan a 2009 wedding, but Joy herself called it off citing “wedding jitters”. Really? Jitters? Like as if they didn’t know each other by then.
As the divorce rate climbs and climbs, I’m really trying to understand why so many people are still holding onto traditional relationships. If I’ve lived with a guy for even five years, we’re as married as the couple who walks down a church aisle and signs a certificate in front of a bunch of people who are there (in part) for the free food and open bar at the reception later. In fact, if you share the same residence for 12 months, you are legally common-law spouses, so apart from being able to collect some medical benefits and receive life insurance funds uncontested, why the heck would anyone just up and decide that seeking the legitimacy of a certificate would make their relationship any more valid. AFTER 29 YEARS? I don’t want to hear about any kind of religious obligation, if you’ve “lived in sin” for so long, your devotion to your religious values can’t be that overwhelming.
Maybe they did it just to say they did it. So, in a few years when they feel claustrophobic in the constraints of their legally binding relationship, perhaps they will divorce. Just to say they did it.
#thatswhatSHEsaid
Rapper The Game under Investigation for Twitter Prank
“The authorities said that the ’1st Amendment does not permit you to do the social media equivalent of yelling FIRE.” via @darlingnicky999 on Twitter
Wow! Rapper The Game should really consider deleting his Twitter account because he is once again in hot water over a recent tweet that was sent from his account encouraging his almost 600,000 followers interested in an internship to call a number which turned out to be the City of Compton’s Sheriff’s Office. This in turn inundated the Sheriff’s Office with phone calls causing police officers to have to filter through the barrage of calls to determine which were legitimate, and which were related to the prank.
When Headquarters Bureau Captain Mike Parker tweeted The Game to remove the tweet, The Game replied with,
“Yall can track a tweet down but can’t solve murders ! Dat was an accident but maybe now yall can actually do yall job.” via @TheGame on Twitter
The Game may face criminal charges for delaying and/or obstructing police officers while on duty.
The Game may be a playful stage name, but c’mon Son, Twitter tricks are for kids!
#thatswhatSHEsaid
In another Twitter scandal, New Edition member Johnny Gill is embroiled in a legal battle over another incident using the 140 character social media. Turns out he accused the wife of his record label’s CEO Bill Dewitt of leaking a song with this tweet:
“I have every reason to believe ira from the record company put this song out might cry with unfinished vocal from me,” via @RealJohnnyGill on Twitter
Allegedly he also referred to Ira Dewitt as “f*cking nuts” which led her to file a lawsuit against him for defamation of character.
“Let Johnny Gill’s legal woes be a lesson to keep your beefs OFF Twitter.” via @darlingnicky999 on Twitter
#thatswhatSHEsaid
Darling Nicky is an entertainment writer, blogger and publicist. Check out her out at www.darlingnicky.ca
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By Tendisai Cromwell
The internet show Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl is quickly gaining notoriety in North America for its relatable characters, comical portrayal of office life and the central character, an inhibited black woman named J.
Trapped in an uninspiring office job, J finds herself in an array of socially awkward situations. Unable to navigate social waters with ease, hilarity ensues when J endures those painful moments interacting with her office crush or passively accepts the poor treatment of her coworkers. She compensates for her social ineptitude by acting overly friendly and appeasing others. J mentally scripts many of her interactions, only letting loose with her equally awkward best friend. The show is interspersed with comedic scenes of J aggressively performing rap lyrics in private or experiencing internal moments of extreme anger to deal with her reality.
In dealing with office politics, interracial dating and friendship, the show is generating interest among those who haven’t seen this type of relatable black female character on mainstream television. The show indeed adds much needed variety to the overwhelmingly one-dimensional representation of black women.
The relatively low budget production is the creation of director, writer, editor and Stanford graduate Issa Rae, who is also the main character of the show. The episodes are generally under 10 minutes and released every first Thursday of the month on the official website.
To watch episodes visit the official website: www.awkwardblackgirl.com/episodes
Visit the Facebook page
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By Samuel Getachew
Kallie Ejigu is a rapidly emerging young journalist. As an executive producer with EBS TV, a Maryland-based specialty channel targeting the global Ethiopian community, she hosts ”The Benchmark with Kallie Ejigu.” The show, which can be seen on EBS in Canada, has gained popularity among many Ethiopian Canadian households across the nation. She talks to Sway about influence and gender equality.
SG: You once described notable women such as Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama as women “who have and are changing the way we not only live our lives because of their political and social actions, but because of how they have been changing the way women can be perceived”. Please explain.
Ejigu: Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama are two examples of women who have been able to break the rigidity of what it means to be a woman. They aren’t exclusively a journalist or a lawyer; they are business women, motivators. First Lady Michelle is a wife and a mother, and Oprah represents a break from the traditional family setting. They both don’t just represent the changing climate of politics, media, and activism but also what it means to be a woman who pursues everything she wants without being beholden to societal expectations of her role.
What do you think of the current status of Ethiopia when it comes to the important issue of gender equality?
What’s interesting about gender equality is that even in the most developed nations women are still fighting to be paid equally or to be hired without discrimination. It’s truly a global issue. I believe a women’s elevation deals with her voice, the ability to speak and be heard and to act. This is called agency, and in Ethiopia women do not have much agency.
Because much of the population is rural, there are hierarchies which have perpetuated themselves and are in the fabric of daily life that maintain gender inequality. I don’t think the issue is unique, but that simply the prescription must come from Ethiopians. It’s a fabric of our culture that has shaped us, so we must be actors in changing and re-working it to better progress everyone. It’s possible, we just need to act.
Tell us about your new show ‘The Benchmark with Kallie Ejigu”?
I was approached by EBS in November of 2010 to produce a show for them. Knowing that the main demographic would be Ethiopians in Ethiopia, I felt that a show that could better shape the perceptions and truth in the minds of Ethiopians of what was going on in the Diaspora was important. More importantly though, I wanted to provide inspiration for young people to feel encouraged to pursue their dreams, as my guests had, and to persevere through challenges.
It’s difficult everywhere in the world to have a goal and to be humble enough to not only continually change and mould oneself but to accept failure as a blessing and as a means of growth and self-elevation. So for me, having the range of guests that I’ve had, they’ve all represented Africans here in North America who have had the courage to not only recognize their dream but to go whole-heartedly in the pursuit of it.
You have been involved with broadcasting for a long time. When and how did you get in to it?
I grew up watching 20/20, 60 minutes, PBS, and Oprah and knew the impact positive TV could have on the young and the old. I first started working in television when I was 17. I began at a local school station working as an anchor and reporter for two shows there. It was a lot of hard work, but I fell in love with the pre-production and production process. From that experience I knew I would have to give my all and work at as many different mediums and formats as possible, to better shape my skills as a journalist. It’s been six years now, and, God willing, many more to come.
If you “could change the world” as your Blog suggests when it comes to Ethiopia – what would it be?
That’s the billion dollar question. For me, education, hands down, is the most magnificent catalyst in positive change. Whether it be elementary, university, or trade schools; learning a new word, new skill, new equation little by little opens our eyes to understanding not only our current condition but what was wrong with the past. Ethiopia’s wealth rests in her population, and it’s currently a population of untapped minds. The trajectory could be enormous if we worked on building literacy and trade skills.
Who are some of your Ethiopian heroes and why?
That’s also a difficult question, honestly. It’s hard for me not to say my sister and father, only because my most intimate and propelling moments were encouraged by their hands. I’d have to say some of the most inspiring heroes in Ethiopia are the journalists who’ve maintained and stood by the integrity of their work, in the face of discouragement, being silenced, and jailed. They hold on to faith and courage in the face of fire. That’s heroic.
Where would you want to be in five years?
In five years, I’d love to be producing documentary films; ones that speak not to starving bodies but to vibrant culture and endless possibilities. I’d like to be intimately tied to a development project in Ethiopia and to also have several passports full of stamps.
Anything you would like to add?
I’d like to thank those who have watched either “The Benchmark” or any other productions I’ve been involved in. The support from back home is overwhelming and incredibly encouraging. I pray I can give back, some time soon, the same kind of love and support that everyone has given me.
]]>Our “crowning glory” has its perks but there are a number of us who have been asked by strangers or misguided peers if they can touch our hair. Our hair texture is often likened to cotton or carpet and even worse is being questioned if it’s real.Whether or not it is in its natural state, black hair quite often seems to be a topic of conversation. It doesn’t matter if we are being complimented on our hair or offended, there are times when others may not understand that simply reaching out and touching it is off limits.
In Can I Touch Your Hair? Black Women and the Petting Zoo, Renee Martin argues, “Even worse than the ones that ask, are those that assume that they have right to touch me without permission. I believe that part of this urge stems from the fact that black women like so many other WOC, have historically been denied even the smallest forms of bodily autonomy. ”
While some black men and women may be irritated at the curiousity of people of other races others claim what’s more annoying is when that curiousity comes from a member of their own community.
The feature can be found here.
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Deeq M Afrika
By Tendisai Cromwell
The merciless rain has not touched the land upon which you rely for your source of food and livelihood for some time. This dry earth is barren, unable to yield sufficient crops for years. The last of your livestock has died and scarcity is common in your household. Weakened by malnutrition, your youngest child cries from the pangs of hunger as your wife rations the ever-depleting food from the family reserve. In desperation, your family packs only essential possessions to embark upon an arduous 20-day journey towards an uncertain future in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. Upon your departure, you will have 1400 travel companions, but many, mostly children, will die along the way littering the path with their bodies.
This is the bleak picture that the UN and aid agency reports paint of the famine plaguing Somalia, which has claimed the lives of ten of thousands. Extreme droughts, the worst in six decades, are affecting much of East Africa which UNICEF has characterized as “the most severe humanitarian emergency in the world.”
Currently affecting two regions in southern Somalia, Mark Bowden, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia warns of the spread of famine to all regions if swift action is not taken. 2.8 million Somalis are currently in need of emergency assistance and an estimated $300 million is required within two months.
Samiya Ahmed, Aspire2Lead founder
For Somalia-born Samiya Ahmed, founder of the Toronto youth-based nonprofit organization, Aspire2Lead, the drought is deeply personal. Her uncle residing in the less affected eastern region has lost half of his livestock.
“Famine is spreading all over. This is the tip of iceberg,” Ahmed says.
Aspire2Lead has been engaging in famine relief and awareness initiatives, partnering with local and international organizations to coordinate efforts.
One such partnership is with the Global Somali Emergency Response consisting of Ahmed Farah, Abdisalaan Aato and Deeq M. Afrika, young media professionals who recently travelled to Dadaab refugee camp and neighbouring Somalia. They assessed the extent of the famine, documented it and provided aid. The screening of their documentary, Dadaab: get there or die trying, will take place this evening at York University which explores the hardships endured by refugees fleeing Somalia.
Their website offers first hand accounts of their experiences. One entry describes an elderly woman who journeyed for 22 days from Somalia to Liboi, Kenya, 75 kilometers east of Dadaab.
“We ask how old she is. She doesn’t know. What she knows is that they have walked for 22 days. What she knows is that the woman next to her left Somalia with six children. She abandoned two children of them [sic] on the road to Kenya; they were weak and she was weak. They were about to die and she couldn’t carry them anymore. Two more children died. She now remains with just two of them.”
UNICEF reports that are over 550,000 children in Somalia are malnourished. The journey from Somalia to Kenya has proven far too difficult for many children to endure who die or are left before they reach Dadaab.
“70% of these children are dying. We’re on the verge of losing a whole generation of Somalis right now,” Ahmed says.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations issued its first warnings of a severe drought in 2010, but with a lack of media coverage, financial aid and political will on the part of many governments, the looming famine remained largely ignored.
“We need a better plan to prevent this from happening. We need a ‘never again’ slogan. This cannot be happening is this day and age, knowing what we have in terms of technology, in terms of methods of predicting climatical change,” Ahmed says. “ There was no contingency plan; there was no prevention.”
Aid agencies are appealing to Canadians to donate. The Canadian government has pledged $72 million dollars of federal aid for the East African drought and recently announced its commitment to match charitable donations made by September 16.
Deeq M Afrika
While Samiya believes donations are essential, she does not wish Somalis to be portrayed as helpless victims eternally dependent on aid. She would like to see an emphasis placed on Somalia-based sustainable development programs.
“They are not here to beg or ask for handouts, they are people who are dignified and have honour,” she says, speaking of her countryfolk. “They are independent people, they are very proud people, they are resilient people.”
Via Facebook, Deeq M Afrika shared a similar sentiment of the unbreakable resilience and honourable nature of Somalis.
“We said to one of the refugees, ‘We know this is very little. We are sorry if this is not enough for you and your family, but there are very many people on the road and we have to save a little for them as well.”Do you know what that man did? He returned half of the little we had given him. ‘Please,’ he said, ‘Give it to them.’”
Click here for more information about Aspire2Lead.
For more about the Global Somali Emergency Response, visit globalsomaliresponse.wordpress.com or Facebook.
To Donate to the Global Somali Emergency Response to send survival packs to Somalia visit: www.globalgiving.org/projects/survival-backpacks-for-somali-refugees-in-kenya/
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