Africa: Faces in Words

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Unseen, unheard; no one should be the bearer of these two words. Unfortunately, Africa is often in the forefront of this association.

Our common humanity should change this; we should never look away because it is too distant. Our commitment to one another, to human rights, and the ability to learn should always keep us connected no matter the severity and complexity of problems.

Ethiopian FGM radio Warnings Reach Nomadic Women - Nomadic girls in the Danakil Desert of Ethiopia often skip school to fetch and carry water. But in one settled pocket, girls are going to school and mothers in the past two years have begun heeding radio warnings on female genital mutilation. Ethiopian FGM Radio Warnings Reach Nomadic Women - Medeshivalley.com

UN to set up agency promoting Womens rights - The UN is to set up a single agency dedicated to promote the rights of women and girls around the world. The UN General Assembly voted in favour of the body after four years of negotiations. UN to set up agency promoting women's rights - The BBC

Somaliland: Ahmed Shide Jama, “It is as if no one knows we are here” - Ahmed Shide Jama, in his late 60s, is the leader of one of Somaliland's marginalized minority groups, the Gabooyo. He lives in the Daami area of Hargeisa, capital of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, with at least 8,000 other families (48,000 people). Somaliland : Ahmed Shide Jama, "It is as if no one knows we are here" - Medeshivalley.com

Several journalists seriously hurt in press conference bombing in Mogadishu - Reporters Without Borders condemned a bomb attack yesterday that left around a dozen people injured including about eight journalists who were seriously hurt. The bomb went off at a press conference given by the spokesman for the Islamist al-Shahaab militia at a police college in a northern district of the capital Mogadishu. Several journalists seriously hurt in press conference bombing in Mogadishu - Reporters Without Borders

Africa Plans for Day of Peace - The African Union (AU) has called for the cessation of all hostilities and conflict to stop - at least for one day - on the International Day of Peace to be celebrated on September 21. Africa Plans for Day of Peace - allafrica.com

Rwanda’s children of rape - Like 20,000 other Rwandan teenagers, Diane Kayirangwa was born out of the murderous chaos that killed so many in her country in 1994. Her father was an unknown member of the Interahamwe - the ethnic Hutu militia licensed by the extremist government then in power to eradicate the Tutsi minority. Her mother, Anastasie, was one of the Tutsi women targeted. She survived - but only just. Rwanda's children of rape - The BBC

Africa: U.S. Families Adoption of Children, for Trade or Charity - "ADOPTION is becoming the new export industry for our country. Experts I have spoken with are of the opinion that it might overtake coffee as major export industry..." Those were the words of Ellene Moria, who runs a women's programme on a local radio station in Ethiopia. They were laden with acrimonious emotion which many historians and social commentators never captured the historic trade in human beings during slave trade with. Africa: U.S. Families Adoption of Children, for Trade or Charity? - allafrica.com

Chad: More Than Half of Families At Risk of Hunger - Over 60 percent of the population in drought-plagued Chad are at risk of going hungry, according to a WFP food security report. Weak harvests have left small farmers particularly vulnerable as the country enters the summer lean season. WFP is working to help 2.3 million people in the worst affected areas. Chad: More Than Half Of Families At Risk Of Hunger - ramadji.com/

Alysha Atma spends many hours working on projects that support and benefit the beleaguered people of African nations who spend way too much time off the western media's radar. This writer explains that she is a culmination of all her experiences, most importantly knowledge she says, and all that she still needs to learn; lessons of love, laughter and the extraordinary giving of both young and old. She says she has the enormous fortune of learning from the best; every person around her, and the amazing strength and fortitude of those she has never met but will always strive to listen to. "I continue to work and write because I believe in the power of community and the power of one, both contradictory to each other and yet can move together in a very powerful way. I feel a responsibility to use my place, freedoms and connections here in the US to stand up and yell for those who need my voice and actions. I have seen such strength in my fellow humans that I cannot even begin to comprehend, they have traveled distances, have gone without food, water, shelter and safety for days and weeks at a time. I have a responsibility as a fellow human to put our common humanity before anything else. Everyone deserves to look towards tomorrow, to dream of a safe future and to have a peaceful present." You can write to Alysha Atma at: alyshann78@comcast.net