Africa: Faces in Words

Important insights from last week, not to be missed...

Small child in Angola Courtesy: lutheranworld.org

(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:

Somalia: Paul and Rachel Chandler released The British couple freed today after being held captive by Somali pirates for more than a year today said that they were just happy to be alive. http://www.medeshivalley.com/2010/11/somalia-paul-and-rachel-chandler.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+medeshivalley/JLIj+(Medeshivalley.com)

Blogger beaten and kept in detention after completing four-year jail sentence - Reporters Without Borders condemns last night’s disgraceful mistreatment of Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman, better known by the blog name of Kareem Amer, and calls for his immediate release. The detained blogger should have been freed on 5 November on completing a four-year jail sentence. http://en.rsf.org/egypte-blogger-beaten-and-kept-in-10-11-2010,38799.html

Uganda: Southern Sudanese Army attacks Moyo, Abduct Fourteen - ARMED Southern Sudan Army (SPLA) soldiers yesterday attacked a village in the West Nile district of Moyo and abducted 11 civilians. http://allafrica.com/stories/201011110052.html

Angola: UN relief Official Presses for Probe into Reported Abuse of Deportees - The head of the United Nations humanitarian arm today called for an investigation into reports that hundreds of people expelled from Angola and forced to cross the border into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been subjected to sexual violence, including rape. http://allafrica.com/stories/201011110078.html

Morocco Urged to Investigate Deaths in Western Sahara Protest Camp - The Moroccan authorities must open an independent investigation into events that led to a number of deaths and injuries at Gadaym Izik, a protest camp near Laayoune, Western Sahara, Amnesty International said today. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/morocco-urged-investigate-deaths-western-sahara-protest-camp-2010-11-11

Central African Republic: a heightened sense of Vulnerability - The decision to provide food aid in Mboki, Obo, Rafai and Zemio – four of the larger towns in the region – reflects our concern over the continuing erosion of food security in eastern Central African Republic. http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/interview/2010/central-african-republic-interview-2010-11-11.htm

In Zimbabwe, arrest warrant against Veteran Editor - Zimbabwean police should withdraw an arrest warrantissued last week against exiled editor Wilf Mbanga concerning a 2008 story about the murder of an election official, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. cpj.org/2010/11/in-zimbabwe-arrest-warrant-against-veteran-editor.php

Somalia’s Wars Swell a Refugee Camp in Kenya - When Abdullahi Salat came here as a young boy in 1991, fleeing civil war in his homeland, Somalia, little more than shrubs and a few tents dotted the landscape. The woman working for the United Nations who greeted him at this safe haven, then nearly empty, showed him to his own tent and sprinkled a handful of seeds into his palm. www.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/world/africa/12dadaab.html

Militant group releases hostage list - Nigeria's main militant group in the oil-rich southern delta has released a list of hostages it had taken in an attack on an offshore oil rig, with at least two names matching those of a US and a Canadian worker believed to be held. www.iol.co.za/news/africa/militant-group-releases-hostage-list-1.746918

Haiti Cholera Death told passes 900 - The death toll from Haiti's month-old cholera outbreak continues to grow. According to statistics released by the Haitian Ministry of Health Sunday morning, 917 people have died from the bacterial infection, while there have been some 14,642 hospitalizations. www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/11/14/haiti.cholera/index.html?eref=rss_world&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_world+(RSS:+World)