Africa – Pike & Hurricane

Witchcraft in Africa: Practice and belief

Leon Wafula — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 14:36:25 +0000

Growing up, I heard stories about extraordinary occurrences, that were created with the aid of supernatural powers and defied what was considered normal. These powers were either gifts or curses that were bestowed to a select few people, whom we casually referred to as witches or sorcerers. In Africa witchcraft or the belief of it has existed since people started living in communities. Witchcraft in Africa has been studied more extensively as a topic by many anthropological researchers.

In East Africa, the practice of magic has its origin in indigenous African religion. The practice involved the worship of ancestors and performing of rituals that people then believed would guarantee good fortune. With the introduction of exotic religions of Islam and Christianity, these religious practices were discouraged and later labeled as witchcraft. With colonialism, laws were introduced to criminalize these practices and harsh punishments were inflicted on the people that were suspected of engaging in these practices. However that did not stop people from believing and some from practicing it. These colonial era laws are still in force in many parts today.

Witchcraft today

Today witchcraft or magic is still practiced by some groups of people. The contentious issue surrounding it is whether it is real or just imagined. Skeptics argue that many people are quick to link anything that results from inexplicable events as being caused by supernatural powers, like witchcraft. Believers will try to give examples of events that they believe are the result of witchcraft.

The uses range from curing illnesses, creating good fortune, love, financial success, politics and protection from harm. On the negative side it has been linked to causing ill health, bad luck and misfortune to unsuspected people. It is also used as a form of punishment.

In medicine, herbs, incantations and animal sacrifice are some of the activities that are practiced by traditional healers known as witch doctors. Throughout Africa this is the most common type of use of witchcraft. People have testified of being cured from illnesses that modern medicine has failed to cure through the intervention of witch doctors. However, many people have fallen prey to unscrupulous people who pretend to cure only to take their money and fail to perform anything for the unsuspecting patient.

Love potions and spells are also an important part of witchcraft. The main reason women and men in their twenties and thirties visit witch doctors is to get lucky in love. These situations are typically depicted in many films and other works of literature because they form part of the general practice of people in Africa. In many Nollywood films, the main antagonist usually relies on witchcraft to secure their love interest and in most cases they succeed––at least at first. Witchcraft does not only win you love but it also helps you ward off potential rivals for your love interest.

In sports also as in other parts of human life witchcraft has a role to play. In football it is believed by many in sub-Saharan Africa that it affects the performance of players. In the 2002 African Cup of Nations, a former goalkeeper of Cameroon was caught burying bones under the turf and spraying a potion to cast a spell on the field before a crucial semi final game against Zambia. Many teams are also accompanied by witch doctors when going for competitions. Failure to win has often been attributed to the potency of the witch doctors magic against that of the rival team.

Also in politics the belief of witchcraft is rampant. Political leaders in many African nations are either believed to be practitioners of witchcraft or employ very powerful sorcerers who protect their lives, grant them charisma, and destroy their opponents chances of success. In most cases political competition is seen as a battle of who is better at witchcraft. In 2005 the Malawian President moved out of a 300 room presidential mansion claiming that it was haunted and his political opponents had something to do with it. This belief has stopped many upstanding and prospective leaders from engaging in politics for fear of being bewitched.

Tale or testimony?

In Tanzania, I heard stories of people who were subjected to a lot of weird forms of punishments just for doing something wrong to an elderly person suspected of practicing witchcraft. Healthy people would die under mysterious circumstances, some will be infected with diseases and some would have a cloud of bad luck hanging over their heads. Some stories are funny but some are so bizarre that only someone with very high levels of imaginations could make them up.

One such story was a young man who had a sexual relationship with a woman whose father was rumored to be a powerful witch. She got pregnant and her parents demanded the man to take responsibility over the pregnancy to which he refused and denied even knowing her. The father told him to tell everyone in the neighborhood or anyone else who he thinks might be the father of the unborn child to go and notify the woman’s parents and take responsibility for the pregnancy in one week or he should be ready to suffer the consequences.

A week later the young man started experiencing pregnancy symptoms such as nausea, fatigue, and abdominal pains. He visited a local clinic where he was tested and the results were just as shocking to the nurses as they were to him. He was told he exhibited all signs of a pregnant woman. He went home and told his family and neighbors about his mysterious illness. They all deduced that he must have been bewitched and the first suspect was the pregnant woman’s father.

He later went with his parents to visit her, carrying with him something to take to them as a token, demonstrating how sorry the young man was. The parents accepted their apology but the young man was forced to carry the pregnancy for six more months as punishment until in the later stages of the pregnancy it magically reverted back to the woman for her to give birth.

Other incidents have been reported in Kenya where thieves who steal livestock have started behaving like the animal they stole after the owner visited a witch who cast a spell on them.

Goat thieves start bleating and eating grass, cattle thieves start mooing and eating grass, and chicken thieves also start behaving like chicken. In some cases, people have been glued to items they have stolen and cannot remove them from their hands. Like in one occasion it was reported that a thief who stole a television set was unable to put it down and therefore he could only carry it everywhere he went until he decided to return it back to where he stole it from.

Some skeptics claim these stories are not true and are advertisements to supposed witches who are masquerading as gifted while they, in reality, are not. Others believe that these actions and beliefs whether true or imagined help act as deterrents for delinquent behavior.

The dark side of magic

In many societies the belief of witchcraft has played a major role in underdevelopment. People refuse to take part in activities fearing that someone will cause harm to them or a loved one. During the population census in Tanzania many clerks have expressed that people are unwilling to give correct information fearing that the data collected will be used to bewitch them. Therefore affecting the national planning process which relies on the data collected during the census. Some people also refuse to seek help believing that they have been bewitched and they are therefore beyond help.

Another negative effect of this belief is the killings that have been reported of people suspected of being witches. In most cases in Eastern Africa elderly women are accused falsely of practicing witchcraft and executed in public by angry leaching mobs. In recent years what has come to the world’s attention is the plight of people with albinism who have for years been killed and dismembered, whether against the belief that their body parts contain magical power or, quite the opposite, that they are cursed and bring misfortune. So-called “albino hunters” sell corpses for as much as US$ 75,000. Allegations against children are a novel, yet growing phenomenon, according to UNICEF. Children with unusual behavior, such as aggressive or solitary tendencies, run a risk to get accused of being possessed by evil spirits. Orphans taken in by family members or step children are found to be particularly vulnerable. The children face physical and mental abuse, are threatened to be killed, and often end up on the streets.

Despite its negative effects, witchcraft is still part of many Africans’ culture. Proponents of witchcraft claim that it is colonial stereotypes that have transformed an essential aspect of African identity to be viewed as evil. The belief in witchcraft has also been used in history to unite different groups of people to oppose colonial incursions in Africa. One such movement was the Majimaji Rebellion in Tanzania against German colonial rule which broke out in 1905 until 1907. A witch doctor by the name of Kinjikitile Ngwale raised an army from people of 10 different tribes. He gave them a potion with magic powers which they believed would turn the bullet fired by European guns into water. Therefore, rendering them useless. Unfortunately, the rebellion was defeated but the unity that this belief created still inspires many people today.

Related articles:

Witchcraft Brewery: The Dark History of Beer, Witchcraft and Gender

Kidnapped, Butchered, Offered: Human Sacrifices in the 21st Century

Photo Credits:

File:Live Witches.jpg, by SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0

Serie MAGIE NOIRE, by supermonkeyfly photos, CC BY-NC 2.0

The post Witchcraft in Africa: Practice and belief appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

What Goes Around Should Always Come Back Around

Kristina Bartl — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 15:31:59 +0000

I still remember the first time I went to visit the British Museum with my brother. I found myself staring at the museum’s collection map and, as indecisive as I am, I could not pick a starting point for our journey. Did I want to be taken back to Ancient Rome and Greece and stroll through halls full of temples and statues? Or was I rather in the mood for South Indian Artifacts such as the statue of Shiva Nataraja? And what about Ancient Egypt — I always wanted to see a Sphinx! I was amazed by the fact that all those treasures could be found within one building in Central London, but my brother only rolled his eyes and said: “Ever heard of Colonialism?” and all of a sudden I was not that amazed anymore.

They came, they saw, they took

People who grew up in western parts of the world tend to forget that exhibition material is more than just a collection of pretty things to look at. Those objects are related to ancient myths and represent the origin of entire cultures. One of the many ways Britain exploited several parts of the world as a colonizer, was the theft of cultural assets, only for them to be displayed in their museums. Especially in the last few years, countries have started to demand those stolen artifacts back. Since then it’s been heavily discussed in the media if those artifacts should be returned or not.

Museums have two main arguments that speak against them handing back the artifacts. Firstly, it is claimed that the countries of origin do not have the required knowledge and means to maintain the objects. The fact that western museums consider their knowledge regarding ancient artifacts as superior to eastern museums, is not a good look considering the entity of this discussion. Furthermore, and almost a bit ironically, there is a claim that returning some of these goods is almost impossible, because the original owners are not traceable, even though researching the artefacts’ origins is a huge part of the museums’ work. Yes, returning heavy marvel-built parts of Greek temples back to their home country would be without a doubt an intense process, but maybe this is just one more hint that they were never meant to be displayed in foreign museums in the first place.

Cultural appreciation or exploitation?

Museums are not the only places where we can find awkwardly placed ancient artefacts. Within one mile distance from the British Museum stands Cleopatra’s Needle, which has no connection to Cleopatra besides its origin. It came all the way from Alexandria in 1877 after being gifted to Britain by the Sultan of Egypt and Sudan. Two similar obelisks found their way to Paris and New York. Shipping those enormous artifacts to their current placements was expensive and nearly took the lives of some of the sailors. All this expenditure for a monument. What is it with the West and its obsession with other cultures? Whilst cases such as Cleopatra’s needle are at least not as ethically questionable as the display of stolen artifacts, it is still an example of the West and its exceptionally strong interest in other cultures. On the one hand, some representatives have openly spoken about appreciating the fact that their culture is being displayed to a huge audience, yet it should also be possible for their citizens to see the artifacts that have been crafted by their ancestors.

Some museums, such as the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, introduced a policy which is dedicated to the returning of goods that are reclaimed by their original owners. There are also private collectors who handed back artifacts that they inherited, which is how some of the famous Benin Bronzes found their way back home, while most of them are still in the British Museum in London or in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. France handed back a few objects in November last year, but it does not outweigh the fact that former colonies only own a small percentage of their cultural artifacts, whilst their former colonizers withhold most of them. For example, 90 percent of African artifacts displayed are exhibited in European museums.

The discussion surrounding the stolen artifacts has, of course, many more factors and stories that have to be considered, but in the end; theft is theft. If former colonies reclaim their cultural heritage, they have every right to have them handed back. And if it is, for whatever reason, not possible to return stolen goods, then there has to be at least enough transparency regarding how they ended up in the museum’s possession. Britain, and other former colonizers, have profited from other cultures for long enough and it is time for them to talk about their history. After all, that’s what museums are here for, isn’t it?

by Kristina Bartl

Photo Credits

London, Das British Museum, symbol

Museum, Roof, Architecture, London, hurk

Benin Bronzes, Archie, CC BY 2.0

The post What Goes Around Should Always Come Back Around appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Nambia: Is the “i” silent in “dplomatc relatons”?

Nina Kolarzik — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 19:46:27 +0000

Two years ago, the president of the United States of America managed to give debates on his competence and capacity for remembering new fuel. At a meeting of the United Nations, when he spoke to African leaders, Trump was referring twice to the country “Nambia”, praising its increasingly self-sufficient health system. The world wide web quickly picked up on it since no-one knew about a country with such a name. While Zambia, Namibia and Gambia are real countries, some rumours suggested that the US president was simply inventing a new country. In an official transcript that was published later by the White House although, the error was corrected and it became clear that the Trump was referring to Namibia, which he mispronounced. Twice.

Next to criticism specifically in regards to the US president and his lack of knowledge or interest in a whole continent, this incident also raised questions about dependency relations that are often inherent in developmental assistance aid.

A critical case of foreign aid

One would expect a wide outrage as a reaction to such an ignorant mistake on a high diplomatic level. Imagine the reaction if the Namibian president Hage Geingob was calling Trump the president of the “United States of Amrica”. But on the official level no outrage followed. Geingob, who was present during the speech, showed no reaction. While this could be due to diplomatic protocol, it is also suggested that it was for the sake of good relations between Namibia and the US. For the latter speaks, that also in the following the Namibian government did not respond to it and the issue of “Nambia” was remarkably absent from the conventional Namibian media.

Developed and developing: unequal relations in foreign aid

Let’s use this case as a reason to look into the unequal relations that can be inherent in foreign aid, or official development assistance (ODA) as it is often called. Bilateral ODA (means through states or their agencies) is the most common aid flow. There is a wide range of scepticism when it comes to foreign aid regarding efficiency, conditionality or distribution and the global aid system is criticised as in-transparent, corrupt, in need of reforms and even as a new version of colonialism and imperialism. One major critic is written by Dambisa Moyo in her book Dead Aid.

One critical point is the intention behind ODA. Is it primarily intended to benefit the receivers or the donors? The motivation is often oriented towards the economic, political and strategic objectives of the donors and it becomes problematic latest when additional problems for the receiver emerge. Of course it is hard to see the true motivation and to differentiate between developmental and non-developmental reasons, official statements and truth. Roger C. Riddell, author of Does Foreign Aid Really Work?, compares ODA with a Trojan Horse. Common knowledge tells us that nothing is given without costs but that for the things we seemingly get for free, we often have to pay a high price in the end.

The United States: the helping hand to the world?

In context to the mentioned relation between Namibia and the US agency USAID, it is time to talk about the creation of dependency. Power inequalities in the global aid system come into being due to economic and political structures that are created to keep the poor receiver countries poor and give the donors power over them. One example to visualize this is trade. While on one hand developing countries are demanded to bring about market liberation, OECD countries on the other hand have tariff barriers to block free market access and protect their economies. This serves donors own trade interest.

Their domestic markets are increasingly mature and suffer from under-consumption, therefore they search for markets overseas. In less developed countries there is more consumption potential that only waits for more spending power. Aid provision serves here to increase the ability to consume. Dependency structures are built even more clearly when it comes to so-called tied aid, for example when it comes with the condition to consume goods and services from the donors. It makes the receivers not only dependent, but also increases costs instead of empowering the local market. These structures aim at preserving the status, wealth and power of the donor countries.

In the emerging discussion of China as an increasing donor of ODA in African countries and a future competition about access to natural resources between Chinese and Western interests, the discussions around ODA gain new relevance.

At the moment, the US is still the biggest bilateral donor. According to its state agency USAID, the twofold purpose of its ODA is “furthering America’s interests while improving lives in the developing world”. On its website, USAID stresses that self-reliance and improving the capabilities for the partners to develop themselves are the key objectives. The aid is linked to security, to the creation of democratic, stable societies and expanding the US export market. With that, USAID is part of the US foreign policy and puts its own interest first. America first. When USAID head Mark Green compares the agency to the Chinese approach it is highlighted that China is building dependencies.

But is the US ODA itself free from dependency structures? Fact is that Namibia was in its fight against HIV/AIDS greatly supported by US aid, thanks to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that was established with Bush and is set to continue with Trump. The question cannot be answered in this article, since the factors mentioned here are only few of all the relevant ones, but the facts are enough of a reason to raise the the question.

#Nambia

The purpose of this article is not to say there are no altruistic, humanitarian reasons, no empathy and morality. But the potential of aid is bigger then its real effect, since US ODA for example is structured in a way that helps only as long as it is beneficial for the US interests. This can end in politicians of small countries like Namibia not speaking up against the US president, as we have seen.

You could say that state leaders are also just humans and make mistake. That implies although, that they are to be corrected, as everyone else. Since Trump’s administration showed more interest in battling half of the world instead of caring about the international relations to African nations, people were not much surprised by the incident. The citizens of Namibia reacted with both anger and humor, making the best out of a situation, that put their country for once into the spotlight. They now use the hashtag #Nambia to promote their own country.

by Nina Kolarzik

Photo Credits

“USAID Relief supplies arrive in Port au Prince”, USAID_IMAGES, CC BY-SA 2.0

“#USAIDTransforms_1600x800_Quote-White_Pictograms_6”, USAID_IMAGES, CC BY-NC 2.0

“NaBo11_d60_2834a”, jerryoldenettel, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The post Nambia: Is the “i” silent in “dplomatc relatons”? appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

The Nile: River Wars

Nikhil Gupta — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 13:28:21 +0000

It’s weird to imagine human beings as walking, talking sacs of water. After all, 70% of our body consists of it. Water is just as important to the individual as it is to the whole- it facilitates life on this planet. In 2010, the UN recognized water as a basic human right and called for countries and International Organizations to provide financial resources, help with capacity building and share technologies in order to grow together.

That’s fantastic right? Well, one thing studying political science teaches you is that it’s always complicated. Let’s try to break down the logistics of the idealistic goal of providing safe drinking water for the entire planet.

Water the tensions?

Fires require friction. And in this story, the friction is fundamental. Everyone needs water. However, clean water is scarce. How does one hydrate an exponentially growing population with the added complication of an imminent, irreversible, change of climate? Langford highlights that there are two dominant approaches to answer this question. The economic approach sees water as a commodity. This means that the delivery of water depends on market mechanisms and is regulated by price. Conversely, the social approach advocates for a top-priority universal access to water.

No prizes for guessing–the former is the dominant and widely practised approach.

In fact, several reports indicate that the implications of climate change would be droughts and mass water shortages. Researchers from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre conducted a study wherein they identified areas in the world where the likelihood of a water war is more likely to occur. The most volatile of these areas are transboundary waters i.e water bodies that transcend political borders and are shared by neighbouring countries. The likelihood of water-related friction amongst these countries is expected to increase by 74.9 to 95 percent. The lead author of this study, Fabio Farinosi, said in a statement that the key factor that would equip countries to avoid conflict is cooperation.

And there’s the catch! Countries sharing rivers as part of their main fresh water supply find themselves in a zero sum game situation. Ideally, they need to balance domestic needs with the needs of every party involved. But the reality is far from this, as there exist a multitude of factors influencing a country’s stance on a foreign policy situation.

And the situation surrounding the world’s longest river is turning out to be quite the conundrum.

11 Recipes for War

The Nile river basin encompasses 11 countries, and over 300 million people depend on it. Its resources, however, are distributed unequally and some countries are more vulnerable than others. In order to devise a win-win scenario, one needs to choose between equality and equity. Domestic and international needs must be shared instead of seen as a trade off.

Easier said than done. In particular, the geopolitical situation between Egypt and Ethiopia is quite concerning. The problem stems from the flow of river and the relative geography of the countries. For centuries, Egypt has had the lion’s share of the river, mainly due to historical treaties. It is also the most dependent on it. In 1979, the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat made the bold claim that the only thing that could make Egypt go to war is water. This status quo has been put to the test when Ethiopia decided on the creation of the largest dam in Africa by the blue Nile river.

How exactly is this a problem? Well, dams are like taps–they control the flow of the water. Moreover, Egypt happens to be at the bottom of this pyramid i.e. there are 10 other nations that are further upstream and would receive water from the Nile before Egypt. This concern was noted by Mohamed Abdel Aty–Egypt’s minister of water resources and irrigation. He estimates that if the water that’s coming to Egypt is reduced by 2% , one million people will be without a job.

From an Ethiopian perspective, the project to build the dam was seen as an initiative to fight their own poverty, and transition into a middle income country. Egypt’s claim to Nile’s waters can be traced back to the Nile Waters Agreement that was signed between Egypt and Sudan during the British colonial rule. This agreement assigned no water to Ethiopia and the other 8 countries that are based around the river. Thus, although Egypt might need the water most, the upstream states would not recognize its legal and historical claim.

The Ethiopian government claims that the dam would do no harm to Egypt because it is solely meant for hydroelectric purposes. The country has no plans to divert water for irrigation. This may be true in theory, but if the reservoir behind the dam is being filled, it could hold back water supply to Egypt for an entire year. This is especially worrisome for them because water passing through each upstream country comes with a unique set of complications. For instance, water passing through Ethiopian highlands would provide a year-long flow for Sudanese farmers that would be very pleased with this development. Alex de Waal of the World Peace Foundation states that the Sudanese government is already handing out leases for farmlands that will be irrigated once the dam in Ethiopia is built. While this is a boon for Sudan, it could be disastrous for Egypt.

Zero Sum Game

In addition to all the technicalities, there’s an emotional connection between Egyptians and the Nile. They’ve had an entire ancient civilization built around it. It’s their history- written in books and songs. If some sort of agreement isn’t reached, the chances for armed conflict are less abstract. It seems as though there’s trade offs to be made everywhere. One country’s misfortunes are another’s chance to grow and develop.

In such a stalemate, I’m reminded of the movie Saw–the one where a group of strangers play a sick game against their will that involves cutting off their own legs and other gory things for seven movies. It is later revealed that in every game, the strangers had to make a choice–similar to a zero sum situation wherein they either choose to win everything, or cooperate with each other. The idea was that in every situation, it was possible for every participant to survive through communication and trust.

This is the real world though. And unlike the Saw, the countries involved can get help from outside. If anything, the potential volatility in this region must be acknowledged by the African Union and the United Nations. War can always be prevented.

by Nikhil Gupta

Photo Credits:

On_The_Nile, pixelsniper CC BY 2.0

City of Aswan and the Nile river, Christian Junker CC BY NC NC 2.0

Nile Sudan, Stefan Gara CC BY NC ND

Nile at night, Bora S. Kamel CC BY NC SA

The post The Nile: River Wars appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Beer vs. Water

Nikhil Gupta — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 19:09:33 +0000

Literally dying of thirst? Drink a Corona!

Now I know that’s tempting, but unfortunately science says it’ll dehydrate you further. This peculiar trade off is relevant in places like North Mexico and East Africa where it is common for people to wake up one morning and find that there isn’t fresh water to drink.

Ahogado el niño, tapando el pozo.

That’s a Mexican saying which literally translates into “trying to close the well after the child has already drowned” – trying to prevent something which in reality is “too little too late.” In Mexicali and Zaragoza, even the wells are drying up.

Through the magic of the NAFTA agreement, Constellation brands i.e. the third largest beer manufacturer in the United States (owns Corona, Modelo Especial, and Negra Modelo brands) can set up production plants in Mexico at low costs, and export beer across the border without paying tariffs. In 2015, they decided to expand their plants by spending over $2 billion in Zaragoza, Coahuila. In 2016, they focused on setting up a multi million dollar plant in Mexicali.

The problem is that Constellation Brands is exploiting water from the wells of these cities by drilling up to 500 metres deep into the ground. Needless to say, the dry Mexican climate only adds to the misery. In the case of Mexicali, its prime source of water supply comes from the Colorado river. However, being one of the most exploited rivers in North America, only 7% of the river’s flow reaches Mexico. Scientists estimate that the river’s flow will decrease by 5-20% within the next 40 years due to climate change.

Let’s do some basic math then. It takes a little over 3 litres of water to produce 1 liter of beer. In arid places that walk on fine margins, this is a big deal. According to estimates, Constellation Brands could own up to 75% of Mexicali’s water supply. And it isn’t even a case where a company privatizes water with the objective of providing water. Natural water is being dug up in order to make beer – resulting in higher profits for the company on one hand, and locals without water on the other. This caused a massive uproar among people in Mexicali that has largely been ignored by the government. The Mexicali Resiste started a Boycott Modelo campaign that resulted in confrontations between protesters and the police. The bigger picture remains unchanged.

Frustrations can be seen at a political level as well. In an interview with the Guardian, Mayor Leoncio Martínez Sánchez of the municipality of Zaragoza said that “there’s barely a drop of water when you open the tap”

Echoes

This dynamic is paralleled in other parts of the world. For instance, Nile Breweries , based around the source of the Nile river, is owned by the world’s second largest beer producer SABMiller. Similarly in Kenya, East African Breweries (EABL) is located on the banks of Ruaraka river. Surprise, surprise- EABL is owned by Diageo, the world’s biggest liquor producer.

Thus, we notice a trend. The existence of these breweries negatively impacts the water security of countries with a dry climate and a lack of structure that ensures access to safe drinking water. Lobbying efforts of major corporations have added fuel to the fire. For instance, companies in favour of privatization of water such as Nestlé and AB InBev (the world’s largest beer producer) have been partners of the World Water Week in the past. This conflict of interest is quite demoralizing as the voices of common people that are most affected by these activities are never heard.

What can we do about this? The short answer is spread awareness. Granted, alcohol is a strong enough motivator to look away, but stories of those affected need to be echoed worldwide in order to facilitate change.

What’s the way out?

It’s clear that this world can’t live without beer. Perhaps it could be possible to come up with smarter solutions instead. Perhaps the solution is not only the responsibility of the people, but also that of corporations.

In Sweden, the brewery Nya Carnegiebryggeriet, Carlsberg, and the Swedish Environmental (IVL) just launched a new pilsner called PU:REST that is brewed with recycled wastewater. It may not be the sexiest idea, but it is certainly one of the future. While this concept is still new and available only in Sweden, it serves as a stellar example of corporate social responsibility and other breweries should follow suit.

Let’s not sacrifice the basic needs of others for a cold pint.

by Nikhil Gupta

Photo Credits:

The moment a water balloon bursts with two funny water balloons, Public Domain Photography, CC BY-SA 2.0

Its my birthday! Party Woo, Sam Ilic, CC BC-NC 2-0

Child sit on cracked earth, ittipon

The post Beer vs. Water appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

The Social Network of Ethnic Conflict

Nikhil Gupta — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 15:59:14 +0000

Social media is a place where you will find anything ranging from a passively nihilistic moth meme– to rallying people into committing violence. The latter is slightly more concerning. How does one go about drawing a line here? Surely, social media platforms extend a certain responsibility when it comes to controlling hostile and potentially life threatening content…right? Let’s take a closer look at how the use of Facebook can be a dangerous prospect in some countries.

The Coveted Torch of Information

In a typically democratic and well-developed country- the responsibility of filtering and distributing information is bestowed onto the industry of traditional journalism. Clearly, such a responsibility is no joke and there are conventional standards set to uphold the integrity of this industry. The journalist is, for instance, required to be objective and unbiased. In this regard the press is referred to as the 4th estate, and its freedom is essential to maintain democracy. The Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) substantiates this through statistical research and have found that a freer press is an integral part of freedom.

Such a status quo has encountered a post-millennial, generation Z problem. The press has been using long-established, traditional media platforms such as TV broadcasts, radio and newspapers. However, the world is changing. Social media platforms have been – either knowingly or unwittingly – competing with these traditional media platforms over the coveted torch of information. The former makes the audience its nucleus, whereas the latter puts the audience in a passive position- Nobody likes being told what’s what!

Information Rivers and Floods

An exponential rise of social media platforms has accelerated the flow of information in the world. A vast amount of information is available to us at our utmost convenience. The catch here is that its independence means that there are no conventional standards of filtering this information. Consequently, the combination of an information overload and convenience can be disastrous. This is mainly because the traditional media has been heavily undermined by the so-called fake news epidemic. The gimmick here is that people don’t like being told what’s what on the one hand – but ironically on the other hand resort to dubious sources of information that confirm their pre-existing biases. This can be observed in the watershed cases of the presidential elections in the US, and Brexit.

If the impact of misinformation via social media on countries with an established political structure and a 4th estate is this high, then what about misinformation in countries without such a system? In the cases of Myanmar and South Sudan, misinformation and hate speech spread across Facebook have contributed to ethnic conflict.

Dark Side of the Coin

I remember being immensely fascinated and inspired by my friend who participated in the Egyptian Revolution. People – in absolute solidarity – rose up against a despot in a revolution that inspired its neighbors to muster the courage and follow suit. The role of Facebook for Egyptians evolved from a place to vent into a platform to organize protests and rallies. However, Facebook was a mere tool used by Egyptians in a cause that was already echoed in the country. In the words of Professor Henry Jenkins, “We do not live on platforms, we live across platforms. We choose the right tools for the right job.” The dark side of the coin here is that false information circulating around Facebook can be misinterpreted as truth.

In Myanmar, for instance, Facebook is often seen as ‘the internet’. This is unsurprising when you realize that half a decade ago, Myanmar was one of the least connected countries in the world. In 2012, only 1.1% of its population had access to the internet. However, in 2013, the price of mobile SIM cards dropped from over $200 to $2 due to the deregulation of telecommunications. This led to a majority of the population to purchase SIM cards with internet access. Around this time, Facebook went viral and soon was considered a status symbol. In essence, people resorted to this social media platform for daily information.

The flipside is manifested in Buddhist extremists that circulate hate speech against Rohingya muslims. In 2014, a Muslim man was rumoured to have raped a Buddhist woman, and this information spread like wildfire on Facebook. Upon reading this on extremist Buddhist monk- Ashin Wirathu’s public page, people did not question the legitimacy of the information by searching for evidence. Instead, it resulted in a riot of people that ultimately ended with two people dying.

Facebook and ‘the Enemy’

Myanmar has, in recent times, been scrutinized by the international community over cases of multiple human rights violations against the Rohingyas. According to Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), casualties are a shattering 10,000 deaths. Facebook is used as a tool by influential individuals to paint a picture of ¨an enemy¨ according to their arbitrary bidding. They have no journalistic responsibility to relay an unbiased truth. Instead, misinformation is used for the pursuit of power by the manipulation of a vulnerable people. I know, sometimes, the truth hurts.

Feeling unnerved yet? Well, it gets darker. It seems political vulnerability and Facebook’s openness have more in common than you thought, as a similar dynamic can be seen in other countries. South Sudan’s on and off civil war has left its 4th estate in shambles. Information isn’t relayed through the metric of objectivity, but as a tool to rally for the war effort. Berlin based researcher Stephen Kovats notes, “Linkages between social media, and word of mouth, and ending up with a gun in the hand or a machete, those are fairly clear.”

The logic is painfully straightforward. Unity is good for the cause and anger is a powerful fuel that unites. Someone finds a gruesome image of people killed in an unrelated war. Regardless of its truth, it is spread around Facebook with the claim that the enemy had a hand in it. The resulting anger creates a larger divide between the two factions and in the case of South Sudan, takes a racial context. In 2016, a UN report concluded that “social media has been used by partisans on all sides, including some senior government officials, to exaggerate incidents, spread falsehoods and veiled threats, or post outright messages of incitement.”

Accountability to the people

So how did this come to be? Surely Facebook must have a protocol to deal with hate speech and life threatening misinformation. The truth is that it heavily relies on users reporting the hate speech for it to be flagged and ultimately removed. However, there exists a massive problem in translation. The main languages of both South Sudan and Myanmar are in a different text and Facebook is severely understaffed in both countries to have the resources to deal with these intricacies.

In the case of South Sudan, Facebook is not equipped to recognize certain offensive discourses and there are several terms used commonly in South Sudan that go under the radar. For instance, the term ‘kokoro’ is a derogatory term used to describe people that eat too much. However, in a social context it is used to refer to the Dinka tribe in an offensive manner. Similarly, the term ‘ber’ is used to address people who do not associate with either tribes and must, therefore, be killed. In Myanmar, discourses such as ¨if its kalar, get rid of the whole race¨, and ¨just feed them to the pigs¨ are circulated on Facebook.

The truth hurts because Facebook has it all backwards. While Mark Zuckerberg has officially acknowledged these concerns, attempts to rectify this are frankly not enough because countries like Myanmar and South Sudan are nowhere near Facebook’s list of priorities.

What now?

So in a nutshell, Facebook’s prioritization of incessant expansion abroad has left the social media platform vulnerable to being a breeding ground for violence. In an attempt to expand their business, they managed to become ever-present in countries where its omnipotence has, albeit as a bi-product, resulted in a monopoly of information. This monopoly is unfortunately used for misinformation.

What can be done to change this? The main focus should be raising awareness to people in these countries about misinformation. I believe that this is a calling for the industry of journalism to evolve from the use of not only mass media, but also to be equally active and prevalent in social media. If people are -from a position of convenience i.e. social media-made aware of legitimate sources of information, it could save lives.

Related articles:

Ashin Wirathu: One Man Triggering Ethnic Conflict

Lessons Learned from Chapel Hill

Photo Credits

Ayeyarwady Bagan, Yoshitaka Ando (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Facebook Translations, Marco Bardus (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Information, Rosalyn Davis (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Myanmar: Urgent Humanitarin Needs in Rakhine State, EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Myanmar’s Rakhine State: different realites of displaced, confined and resettled communities, EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

South Sudan, Steve Evans (CC BY-NC 2.0)

The post The Social Network of Ethnic Conflict appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Masters of War—Bypassing Morality

Merle Emrich — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 08:25:47 +0000

Rheinmetall—a German arms producer, bound by regulations of the German state and international agreements. In theory, arms deals and moral values are balanced out. Yet, the devil is in the details.

Built to Destroy

Let us leave aside the question if military production and arms deals can ever be morally right. Let us assume that a balance between humanitarian values and arms deals can be achieved through (inter)national regulations, and that that is as good as it gets. Now, let us take a look at Rheinmetall and how these regulations are supposed to work.

Rheinmetall is a German, internationally active company which, aside from car parts, produces military equipment. In Germany, arms exports need to be permitted by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA), and in special political cases even by the Federal Security Council, which limits Rheinmetall’s export options. Usually, weapon exports to countries that are involved in conflict, or that are likely to be involved in a conflict soon, will not be approved. Through these regulations exports, especially to countries in the Middle East, are supposed to be limited if not prevented entirely. But how come bombs produced by Rheinmetall are used in Yemen’s civil war? How come the UN had to stop a Rheinmetall export to Iran?

Running Gun Blues

What would a regulation be without any loopholes to bypass that very regulation? In the case of Rheinmetall, the loophole takes on the form of production abroad. Having production locations in, for example, Italy (RWM Italia) and South Africa (Rheinmetall Denel Munition), allows Rheinmetall to sell military equipment to countries that the German government does not permit exports to.

In regions with high unemployment rates, such as Domusnovas on Sardinia, Rheinmetall’s subsidiary company RWM Italia is a welcomed source of employment irrespective of possible moral considerations. In October 2016, organisations, such as Human Rights Watch, reported that Saudi Arabia had used MK 83 bombs in Yemen. These bombs had been produced in Italy by RWM Italia. Even though it is questionable whether the export of bombs to Saudi Arabia is reconcilable with Italian law, RWM Italia was able to go through with the deal due to an unclear allocation of responsibility. While Germany sees the responsibility for export controls on Italy as it is the country of production, the Italians argue that RWM Italia is Germany’s responsibility since it is part of Rheinmetall, a German company.

In South Africa, the situation is a similar one. Since 2008, Rheinmetall has a joint venture (RDM) with Denel, a South African aerospace and defence technology company. Rheinmetall profits from South Africa’s less strict export regulations and can thus bypass German export controls. In 2017, Denel planned to sell surface-to-air missiles to Iran that supports the opposition fighting Yemen’s government which is supported by Saudi Arabia. The propelling charges for these missiles are produced by RDM. Had the UN Security Council not stopped the export, Rheinmetall would have been part of arms deals with two opposing parties in the civil war in Yemen.

Through subsidiary companies and joint ventures abroad, Rheinmetall is able to bypass German regulations on arms exports. This way, military equipment produced in, for instance, Italy or South Africa reappears in countries such as Saudi Arabia which is involved in the civil war in Yemen. It is thus not merely national restrictions that are bypassed, but regulations that have a specific, and very important, purpose: the prevention of weapons being delivered to conflict zones and to governments with a disregard for human rights. All legal considerations aside, this is a matter which is highly morally questionable.

A Matter of Habit

Arms production and the following arms deals always drag along moral questions. They are a balancing act on a thin rope between humanitarian values and profit, and not only profit of the weapons producer but in form of increasing employment through arms companies. Countries such as Germany try not to fall off this metaphorical rope by placing restrictions on military exports—even though some decisions regarding arms deals remain controversial. And yet, companies such as Rheinmetall are able to bypass these regulations—to bypass morality, one might say—by moving production locations abroad where there are less restrictions or where responsibilities are not clearly defined. Thereby, they turn the moral balancing act into a one-legged spectacle that, while being profitable, is hardly going to de-escalate conflicts.

By Merle Emrich

Photo Credit:

Panzerhaubitze 2000, Tobias Nordhausen CC BY 2.0

Child in Ruins, Felton Davis CC BY 2.0

The post Masters of War—Bypassing Morality appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Photo Essay: Impressions from Zimbabwe

EditorChief — Sun, 11 Mar 2018 12:19:41 +0000

IMER-student James Morrison-Knight shares photos from his travel in Zimbabwe and interviews his friend Tawanda Maviga about his hopes for his home country in the aftermath of the coup against former president Robert Mugabe.

What brought you to Sweden, and how long have you been living outside of Zimbabwe?

My name is Tawanda and I am a student at the Global Political Studies department at Malmö University. I arrived in Sweden in July 2014 from the United Kingdom where I had been living for over a decade, having moved there from Zimbabwe. My girlfriend, who is Swedish, played a big role in me coming to Sweden. When she enrolled in university in Sweden, I decided to apply too, enticed by the free education mode, coupled by the excitement of learning a new language. In all, I have been living outside Zimbabwe for 17 years.

How did you feel when the coup against Mugabe was announced?

Last November, Zimbabweans and the world woke up to the news that the military had usurped power from Robert Mugabe, after 37 years […] I was one of those who welcomed the army, who stood up to their Commander in Chief and told him he had to go. Some of us were born and only knew Mugabe as the leader of Zimbabwe, and the stories that parents told pointed to a deteriorating situation during his rule. The coup was a welcome development, demonstrated by the celebrations of Zimbabweans of different backgrounds.

What is the most exciting prospect you see for the future of Zimbabwe and its people?

The new President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, seems intent on doing better than his old boss. This could be exactly what the people of Zimbabwe need: in trying to impress, he will hopefully fix some critical problems, such as the crippling cash shortages, high unemployment and restoring the rule of law. It is still early days, but it is encouraging that the new president has declared that Zimbabwe is willing to work with the world.

You just returned from Zimbabwe, what were your impressions of how people have responded to the recent developments?

One of the most noticeable things that struck me was the absence of police roadblocks, which had become notorious in recent years […] In 2016, on my last visit, the road from the airport to my parents’ house, a stretch of 15 km, was littered with police roadblocks, but this time there was not a single roadblock in sight. The cab driver seemed pleased as he narrated this to me. This is but one of the many stories of hope I heard on my recent trip to Zimbabwe. I felt a widespread air of optimism and hope. Only time will tell if this optimism will transform to a better life for the long-suffering citizens of Zimbabwe.

How connected do you feel to Zimbabwe currently, and do you see yourself returning in the future?

Zimbabwe has a special place in my heart. I was born there, spent my formative years there, I am Zimbabwean first and foremost. I look at myself as a transnational, someone who maintains ties with both his country of birth and his adopted country. I am deeply invested in the dream of creating a better Zimbabwe, evidenced by the fact that I am currently building myself a house there. I definitely see myself returning in the future, to play my role in making a better country for future generations of Zimbabweans.

By James Morrison-Knight

Photo Credits:

The post Photo Essay: Impressions from Zimbabwe appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

A Whole New World – With New Horizons to Pursue

Julia Glatthaar — Sat, 10 Mar 2018 17:54:53 +0000

Writing about hope today is not always the easiest of all tasks. In general, people seem to be very pessimistic about the future of the country they are living in, and often rightfully so; they are unhappy with the government they are living under, frustrated with the way the prior government worked and angry about the way their tax money is being spent. Phrases such as “Things used to be so much better” are being passed around and the world does not seem like such a bright or colourful place to be.

But, it is February and you are struggling to keep all of your great New Year’s resolutions. So now is the perfect time to truly start over and really get excited for 2018. This article is for all you grouching, naggering and grumbling folks, it is about inspiring projects and about how 2018 and our future will be a better time.

So, here are my top 2018 hopeful headlines.

A Space Oddity

This is some of the most exciting news I have heard so far this year, and it combines Tesla with SpaceX, bringing us one step closer to human settlements on Mars and becoming a multiplanetary society. It is the perfect follow-up to my last article on SpaceX and the Big F***ing Rocket. The BFR has now finally been launched with a very peculiar payload: The sportscar of Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. The car is complete with a dummy called Starman, who is listening to “Space Oddity” by David Bowie.

“I took a [road]trip on a gemini spacecraft and […] I passed through the shadow of Jupiter” includes some fantastic views, great destinations, David Bowie Music, and a really, really nice car that is flying at a speed of 3.5 km/sec (Check out the video here).

This car not only serves the purpose of getting people interested in space again, it is also the starting point of a long overdue discussion on space pollution.

Macedonia Times Two?

This is quite a confusing thing I found out about recently, when I went on a trip to Skopje, the capital city of what I thought to be Macedonia. However, Macedonia is a department in Northern Greece that shares a border with FYROM—the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the country I went to. Quite a mouthful and very confusing, right?

The name has been a topic of much dispute between the country and the Greek department. The ancient Kingdom of Macedonia, before splitting up, had included both of these parties. Today, millions of Greek people identify as Macedonian and have little in common with their Northern Slavik counterpart. It has been a long conflict about who has the right to name themselves Macedonia, but more importantly it is about who can claim Macedonian cultural heritage to be theirs.

Well, things regarding the name are finally looking up! FYROM’s new prime minister is seen as a very open and calm person, just the thing that is needed. Talks between FYROM and Greece over a new name have just started and most people are rather positive that this time the dispute will finally be settled.

The Canadian Anthem turns Gender Neutral

On 31 January, just in time for the Winter Olympics, the Canadian Senate passed a bill to change the second line of the Canadian anthem from “true patriot love, in all thy sons command” to “in all of us command”. The athletes are said to be practising the revised anthem, that can now be representative of their countries development in gender neutrality. Canada now joins Austria, who also tweaked its anthem to include “sons and daughters”. This movement is truly inspiring and leaves room to wonder which countries will follow suit!

Zuma on the Run

Another country that has some reason to celebrate is South Africa. Especially now, when the country is facing major challenges, such as running out of water to supply the region of Cape Town, the news regarding their controversial head of the state is very much appreciated by some of its citizens.

Jacob Zuma, the now former president, has resigned to give way to Cyril Ramaphosa, who has been waiting since December to finally take over Zuma’s position as President of South Africa and as party leader of the ANC- the African National Congress.

In the eyes of many South Africans, the ANC has lost its reputation and has become a static party, where dynamic discussions of issues and changes have become a feature of a long ago past. The hope is that through their new leader, the party can leave behind scandals and corruption to come out strong in the next elections in 2019. Hope is also prominent among the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) that they will be able to replace the ANC in 2019.

The Winter Olympics

North and South Korea will compete under a unification flag in this Winter Olympics, and for the first time ever (in Women’s Ice Hockey) they will form a team together.

And now to the really good news: This Winter Olympics for the first time in history, a team from the African continent is competing in bobsledding.

Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga are three U.S.-based Nigerian athletes, and they will make history in 2018. They practiced with a handcrafted wooden sleigh first, and started this project from scratch through a crowdfunding campaign, showing that literally, anything can be possible in 2018…

By Julia Glatthaar

Pictures:

1. By Official SpaceX Photos, Falcon Heavy Demo Mission, CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)

2. By beaumontpete, Canada Day cupcake, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)

3. By GovernmentZA, President Jacob Zuma attends United States of America vs Bafana Bafana soccer match, 17 Nov 2010, Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)

The post A Whole New World – With New Horizons to Pursue appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.

Nigeria: from recession toward sustainability

Anna Bernard — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 23:03:43 +0000

Sustainable business practice is a hot topic because ensuring the continuity of today’s economical survival into the future is of great concern. The core question is how a country can reconcile the need to be environmentally and socially sustainable with the demands of a market-based system, whose key measurements of success are growth and profit. Nigeria is just climbing out of recession and while the government is focusing on structural reforms to diversify the country’s economy, financial institutions have adopted a guideline of sustainable business principles that help evaluate the effect of their operations on the quality of lives, the economy and even the very existence of the Nigerian economic system as a whole.

Giant strides and setbacks

Firstly, we need to remember that Nigeria is a mammoth in all respects: in it resides the biggest population of the continent of Africa (the 7th biggest in the world) and its capital, Lagos, is one of the fastest growing megacities of all times. Nigeria also plays a key geopolitical role in West Africa while being one of the rising African economic giants side by side with South Africa and Egypt.

The risk is that when a giant falls, it falls hard. Nigeria slipped into recession in 2016, battling with unpredictable fluctuations in oil prices; a falling naira, the Nigerian currency; and an inflation rate higher than in more than a decade. The population of the country is relatively young and filled with potential, but at the same time it is a critical challenge to be checked – a tinderbox waiting to flare up if desperation and disillusionment creep in.

Just a year ago the prospects for a reemerging Nigeria seemed gloomy to say the least: its economy is reliant on oil and susceptible to knockouts when crude prices crash and Nigeria is perturbed by the threat of extremist terrorism. An ongoing task for the Nigerian officials has been to reassure Nigerians and foreign investors that President Buhari, who was on medical leave for most of 2017, is strong enough to steer the country out of harms way.

President Muhammadu Buhari

Sustainability a.k.a. how to stay in business

When the going gets tough, the tough get going and that is exactly what Nigeria is doing as it is emerging from its first recession in 25 years. The climb back has been nerve-wracking with the aforementioned internal challenges and external variables, such as fluctuating oil prices, putting additional pressure on the economy and the Nigerian society.

However, due to the recession, the government has become aware of the urgent need for structural reforms to properly diversify the country’s economy. Infrastructure for agriculture, energy, and transport, are necessary for a more sustainable Nigeria that would not depend on oil for growth.

Bank alert

Already as early as 2012 the Nigerian business sector emphasized the necessity of sustainability within its own framework. The Bankers’ Committee adopted in July 2012 the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles that oblige “banks, discount houses and development finance institutions to develop a management approach that balances the environmental and social risks identified with the opportunities to be exploited through their business activities”.

What makes balancing like this ever more daunting is that sustainability comes with a price that does not necessarily square with the profit incentives that the market has to offer. It is all too common to hear that many companies succeed by doing nothing at all to be more sustainable; others even survive by doing harm.

However, according to Ibukun Awosika, the Chairwoman of the First Bank Nigeria Limited “business sustainability is an approach that creates long-term stakeholder value by implementing a business strategy that considers every dimension of how a business operates in the ethical, social, environmental, cultural, and economic spheres.” A wholesome approach like this seems critical in a complicated situation with which Nigeria is dealing as it is leaving the recession behind.

In the future Nigeria should expect evermore complex challenges; however if it practices what it preaches and strides forward with its sustainable aspirations while learning from its experiences in the recession, the mammoth need not fear extinction.

By: Anna Bernard

Images:

Global Panorama, Nigeria Flag, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Global Panorama, Gen Buhari, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

David Holt, Money 013 nigeria 1995, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Satanold, IMG_0454, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

The post Nigeria: from recession toward sustainability appeared first on Pike & Hurricane.