Africa: Faces in Words

Weekly update from the African nations.

Photo: thedailybeast.com

(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.

Important insights from last week, not to be missed:

Doctors Without Borders Treating Wounded in Sudan Conflict - The medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders says it is continuing to follow people on the move from violence in Abyei, an area claimed by both north and South Sudan. This follows an intense battle two days ago in which northern government troops seized the area. The United Nations has demanded that the north remove its troops from Abyei immediately. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Doctors-Without-Borders-Treating-Wounded-in-Sudan-Conflict-122453314.html

Rights Groups Call on US to Protect Against LRA Rebel Attacks - A coalition of nearly 40 human rights and humanitarian organizations is calling on the Obama administration to step up efforts to protect civilians against LRA rebels. For many years the Lord’s Resistance Army was based in northern Uganda, but now rebels are launching brutal attacks in several countries. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/decapua-lra-us-23-may11-122455449.html

Eritrea: Refugees and Responsibility - "If refugee flows are a sign of political meltdown, then Eritrea is a level seven nuclear disaster. Figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees indicate that Eritrea, with a population of only about five million, has been among the top ten refugee producing countries in the world for the better part of the decade." http://allafrica.com/stories/201105162044.html

Nigeria: Post-Election Violence killed 800 - Deadly election-related and communal violence in northern Nigeria following the April 2011 presidential voting left more than 800 people dead, Human Rights Watch said today. The victims were killed in three days of rioting in 12 northern states. Nigeria's state and federal authorities should promptly investigate and prosecute those who orchestrated and carried out these crimes and address the root causes of recurring inter-communal violence. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/16/nigeria-post-election-violence-killed-800

Cameroon: ‘Sodomy’ Law Violates Basic Rights - The March arrest, conviction, and sentencing of Roger Jean-Claude Mbede to three years in prison for being homosexual is a gross violation of Mbede's rights to freedom of expression and equality guaranteed by the Cameroonian constitution, Alternatives-Cameroun, Association pour la Defense de l'Homosexualitè (ADEFHO), and Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Cameroon's top leaders. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/17/cameroon-sodomy-law-violates-basic-rights

News media in Uganda identified as Presidential Enemy No.1 - Reporters Without Borders condemns the threatening letter that President Yoweri Museveni sent to the national media on 17 May, in which he accused some of them, and international media such as Al-Jazeera and the BBC, of encouraging recent “walk-to-work” protests and said they deserved to be treated as “enemies.” http://en.rsf.org/news-media-identified-as-19-05-2011,40311.html

Nigeria’s lead poisoning victims need long-term care, aid group says at award ceremony - Victims of a lead poisoning epidemic that has killed hundreds of children in Nigeria’s northwest are in need of long-term care, said an international aid agency. The U.K.-based office of Doctors Without Borders said that the work it has been doing to treat the victims was only “a beginning” as it accepted the U.N.-backed Green Star Award for leadership in environmental emergencies in Bern, Switzerland on Wednesday. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nigerias-lead-poisoning-victims-need-long-term-care-aid-group-says-at-award-ceremony/2011/05/19/AF9Uc56G_story.html?wprss=

Sudan Army Launches Air Raids, as Darfur rebels vow Overthrow - A deadly wave of government-led bombings and ground attacks hit Darfur early this week, just on the heels of a vow by two prominent rebel leaders to work together for “regime change.” The humanitarian impact of the government’s air strikes and ground attacks were unclear and likely exacerbated by the fact that the government has blocked access for peacekeepers and aid groups to the affected areas. http://enoughproject.org/blogs/sudan-army-launches-air-raids-darfur-rebels-vow-overthrow?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+enoughblog+%28Enough+Said%29

Cote d’Ivoire: Impartial Justice Top Task for Quattara - Alassane Ouattara should act promptly to make sure that those responsible for grave crimes in Côte d'Ivoire over the past dozen years are credibly brought to account, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to him. Ouattara is to be inaugurated as president on May 21, 2011. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/19/c-te-d-ivoire-impartial-justice-top-task-ouattar

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