"Toward a Comprehensive Strategy in Sudan"

The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is holding a hearing today focused on creating a "comprehensive strategy" for Sudan. If you're not lucky enough to be in the room at Dirksen Senate Office Building for the proceedings, click on the link below to read opening statements from Senators Kerry and Lugar, as well as testimony from the five scheduled panelists.

http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2009/hrg090730a.html

What's Going On in Africa Today?

"Clashes Between Militants and Police in Nigeria" (The New York Times)

As many as 50 people were killed on Sunday in clashes between a militant Islamist sect and police officers in the northern Nigerian city of Bauchi. There has been an increase in inter-religious fighting between Christians and Muslims in northern Nigeria in recent months. It is believed that Sunday's attack on a police station was motivated by the belief that policemen receive Western education, which the Muslim attackers staunchly oppose. The city has imposed a curfew and people are said to be "going about normal business" in spite of the violence.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/world/africa/27nigeria.html?_r=2&ref=world



"Guinea-Bissau Holds Runoff Vote on President" (The Associated Press)

The results of yesterday's runoff election between Malam Bacai Sanha and Kumba Yala for the office of president of Guinea-Bissau are due to be released next week. Voter turnout has been estimated at 40-60 percent and the voting proceeded without violence. Both candidates have been urged to peacefully accept the results of the electoral commission and the people of Guinea-Bissau remain optimistic that whoever is elected will bring positive change to the country.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_GUINEA_BISSAU_ELECTION?SITE=CTNHR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT



"Somalia: More Pirate Attacks Expected in September" (AllAfrica)

The end of Monsoon season off the coast of Somalia is expected to coincide with an increase in pirate attacks on merchant ships. Currently, the international efforts of 34 patrol ships stationed along the Somali coast has led to a significant reduction in the numbers of successful pirate attacks, but the sheer size of the Gulf of Aden makes fighting piracy a continuous challenge.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200907260001.html

What's Going On in Africa Today?

“Somalia: Radicals Loot UN Buildings, Forcing Some Operations to Close” (AllAfrica)
-Al-Shabab militants have stolen equipment and vehicles from two UN facilities in the towns of Wajid and Baidoa, where the international organization has temporarily shut down its operations due to the looting.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200907201643.html

“Alarming Africa Male Gay HIV Rate” (BBC News)
-A new report from medical journal The Lancet reveals that in some African countries HIV rates are as much as 10 times higher in gay men than men in the general male population and recommends the redoubling of education efforts among gay men about HIV/AIDS.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8158469.stm

“Rwanda: Ex-Governor Convicted for Role in Rwandan Genocide” (The New York Times)
-The former governor of Kigali, Tharcisse Renzaho, has been convicted of five counts of rape, assassination, and genocide by a United Nations tribunal for his role in his country’s 1994 genocide.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/world/africa/15briefs-Rwanda.html?ref=africa

“Uganda: Rights Group Protests Indefinite Detentions”
-Human Rights Watch (HRW) has cited the Ugandan government as being in violation of its own constitution by holding five detainees without charges, access to a lawyer, or the possibility of family visitation.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200907210006.html

What's Going On in Africa? July 21, 2009 Edition.

“Somalia: Radicals Loot UN Buildings, Forcing Some Operations to Close” (AllAfrica)

-Al-Shabab militants have stolen equipment and vehicles from two UN facilities in the towns of Wajid and Baidoa, where the international organization has temporarily shut down its operations due to the looting.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200907201643.html

“Alarming Africa Male Gay HIV Rate” (BBC News)

-A new report from medical journal The Lancet reveals that in some African countries HIV rates are as much as 10 times higher in gay men than men in the general male population and recommends the redoubling of education efforts among gay men about HIV/AIDS.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8158469.stm

“Rwanda: Ex-Governor Convicted for Role in Rwandan Genocide” (The New York Times)

-The former governor of Kigali, Tharcisse Renzaho, has been convicted of five counts of rape, assassination, and genocide by a United Nations tribunal for his role in his country’s 1994 genocide.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/world/africa/15briefs-Rwanda.html?ref=africa

“Uganda: Rights Group Protests Indefinite Detentions”-

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has cited the Ugandan government as being in violation of its own constitution by holding five detainees without charges, access to a lawyer, or the possibility of family visitation.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200907210006.html

What's Going On in Africa?

"Seizures Show Somalia Rebels Need Money" (The New York Times)

-The recent kidnappings in Somalia (three in the past week) may signal that rebel extremist group al-Shabab is running low on funds.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/world/africa/19somalia.html?_r=2&ref=africa

"Kenya: Waki List Out" (AllAfrica)

-Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has given an envelope containing a list of names of suspected sponsors of the post-election violence in Kenya to Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200907190004.html

"Mauritania's Coup Leader Elected President" (AllAfrica)
-General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, leader of the military junta that has ruled Mauritania since he overthrew the elected government in a coup 11 months ago, won the country's election for president over the weekend.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200907200485.html

"South Africa Tests AIDS Vaccine" (The Washington Post)
-A vaccine designed to prevent infection from HIV subtype C (the strain most commonly found in southern Africa) has been administered to 36 healthy volunteers in South Africa.
-This vaccine was developed by the University of Cape Town (with support from the National Institute of Health) and launched in the United States earlier this year in a clinical trial of 12 healthy volunteers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071901309.html

President Obama Travels to Ghana

Monday morning quarterbacking has begun in earnest on President Obama’s weekend stop in Ghana. The American media has wasted no time in diminishing the significance of the president’s address to the Ghanaian House of Representatives by focusing solely on his “tough love” admonishments and devoting a disproportionate number of column inches to the continent’s security challenges.
The major Western news outlets this morning have parroted the same line from Obama’s 35 minute speech: “Africa’s future is up to Africans.” With only this reductionist coverage available, the American public is left ignorant not only of the numerous links Obama drew between Africa and the United States in his speech, but also of the countries and individuals he credits with affecting positive change on the continent. Readers remain unaware that “civil society and business” worked in tandem to end post-election strife in Kenya, that three-quarters of all South Africans voted in the country’s most recent election, and that individuals like Anas Aremeyaw Anas and Patience Quaye have helped make Ghana safe for democracy through reporting the truth and prosecuting human traffickers, respectively.
President Obama used this platform to address specific policy areas that are crucial to Africa’s development: democracy, opportunity, health, and peaceful conflict resolution. He is honest about Africa’s difficulties with each of these areas, but is also able to demonstrate that Africa is not simply a continent defined by its colonial past or its present strife.
Obama acknowledges that corruption and tyranny exist in many African governments, but is optimistic about the possibility that all African nations will eventually have the option to choose democracy over autocracy, as Ghana and Botswana have done. It is clear that Obama believes in an Africa that can utilize its abundant natural resources and the entrepreneurial spirit of its people to create economic opportunity, especially if these are coupled, at least initially, with effective foreign aid. He touches on the progress that the continent has made with the HIV/AIDS epidemic, applauds the efforts of interfaith groups in Nigeria to fight tropical diseases, and highlights intercontinental initiatives that help compensate for serious gaps in healthcare. Obama outright rejects a picture of Africa that is little more than a “crude caricature of a continent at perpetual war” and poignantly calls for its peoples to take pride in their diversity instead of using it as a rallying point for further conflict and violence.
Obama’s unifying and uplifting rhetoric in this landmark address has one key theme that resonates perfectly with the message of The Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa: Africa Matters! Our president sees Africa as a valuable partner for America, one deserving of understanding and respect. The Africa Society’s mission of educating Americans about Africa has never been more important. President Obama has pointed to Africa and told the world that both its problems and its progress are globally relevant. Now we have to rise to the challenge of creating an educational foundation that Americans can use to better understand and respect their new partner.

More Than Just Teach Africa™, It's International Development

Years ago we had no way of knowing the speed with which the world would evolve or the degree to which, with the advent of globalization, peoples, cultures, and economies around the world would become so intricately interconnected. Many of our modern leaders were not groomed to be global ambassadors and citizens of the world. Imagine how different the United States, Africa, or the world would be if our current policymakers, administrators, and legislators had the benefit of an experience like Teach Africa™. What might the world be like? How would their decisions and policies be different if they had received a substantive and balanced education with respect to Africa? What partnerships might have been forged, relationships cultivated, conflicts averted, lives improved? We may never know. But it’s not too late to find out.

There is a fundamental link between strategic educational capacity and national power. In a nation where, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, the percentage of workers with high school diplomas or college degrees, per capita income, and revenue from income tax are all projected to decline over the next 15 years, it is imperative that we improve and expand upon the current educational system in place. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said "When it comes to education, we shouldn't be playing catch-up with the world -- we should be leading it. Because the skills and knowledge of our workforce will determine whether America can compete and win in the global economy." In this regard we, as Americans are both personally and collectively responsible for defending our country against the looming ramifications of such a decline.

Rosa Whitaker, President and CEO of the Whitaker Group pointed out at a June 23 fundraiser for Congressman Donald M. Payne, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, that educational initiatives such as Teach Africa™ are not only educational, they are an integral form of international development. By educating students about Africa, we are not merely compensating for a gaping void in American curricula or exploring American history through its many links to Africa, we are cultivating the next generation of global leaders: arming them with knowledge, materials, the propensity for tolerance and understanding, and hopefully some perspective as to their place in the global community. What is your place in the global community? And how can you Teach Africa™ in order to strengthen America?

"Maybe He Forgot the Number on Your Hut"

Heading back to the district from the whirlwind Teach Africa™ Youth forum in Houston, I settled in to watch the in-flight movie. The movie selection: He’s Just Not That Into You. Lodged between two passengers, I adjusted my headset and began watching the movie. Within 20 minutes I received a reminder of exactly how important programs like Teach Africa™are.

In an attempt to demonstrate that romantic troubles transcend region and culture, the movie showed scenes of women around the world having similar conversations about dating. Each group of women made various excuses for the sudden disappearance of the men in their lives. The women in Baltimore and Tokyo were shown shopping and talking, while the women in Africa were shown sitting in the dust with goats and huts scattered in the background. One of the women offered, "Maybe he forgot the number on your hut." Another chimed in, "Maybe he was eaten by a lion." Funny, right? According to Claudia Puig of USA Today, it was “…one of the movie's funniest scenes.”

While the movie was entertaining otherwise, I was struck by the oversimplified and dated, if not comedic, portrayal of Africa. Such characterizations are typical, or should I say stereotypical. However, for many Americans, such images are their only insight into life on the continent of Africa. The Teach Africa™ program is designed to address this lack of knowledge and increase understanding through education.

Without access to the truth, we are all consciously or unconsciously influenced by the images presented to us. How do the images of Africa that you receive color your perceptions and impact your actions?