celebration - Africa Link

Ghana Ce 17,000 I Kenya KShs 190 I Nigeria N 300 I South Africa R 17
Switzerland CHF 5.– I UK £ 2.20 I Euro Countries € 3.50
July/August 2010 Vol.11 No. 2
T h e V o i c e O f A f r i c a i n T h e D i a S p o r a
Africa Day celebrated
in Berne
Couao-Zotti wins Ahmadou Kourouma Prize
Photo by SID/AFP
Interview with Swiss
Migration Director
The Tale of 2010 FIFA World Cup
South Africa Defeats
Pessimists
At Africa Link Solidarity Awards & 10 th Anniversary:
• Governor Aliyu M. Wamakko bags Champion
of Development Award
• Africans reminded to act
Appreciation
AFRICA LINK CELEBRATION
Africa Link Organization expresses its heartfelt gratitude to all those who honored its invitation to the
celebration of its 10th Anniversary and the 3rd Edition of the Africa Link Solidarity Awards held at the
Mehrzweckgebäude hall in Affoltern am Albis, Zurich Canton of Switzerland on 15th May 2010.
We would like to express our appreciation to our readers whose insights and wealth of information enabled
us to come up with a crop of credible candidates for the awards and our jury whose wisdom came up with
our final list for the 2010 awards; and whose continued patronage made it possible for us to celebrate the
10th anniversary.
We thank the African diplomatic missions in Switzerland for their moral and material support towards the
sustenance of the magazine, and the successful organization of the Awards gala. We particularly appreciate
the financial support of the Embassies of Nigeria, Angola and Ghana, and the Embassies of Algeria and
South Africa for ensuring that our distinguished guests were plied with some of the choicest wines from
their countries, and the Swiss African Forum for providing additional wine.
Our special thanks go to Her Excellency, Mrs. Ellen Serwa Nee-Whang, the Ambassador of Ghana to
Switzerland and Permanent Representative to the UN Office at Geneva and Vienna, and Ambassador (Dr.)
Pierre Helg, Deputy State Secretary of Switzerland for officiating at the occasion.
Also our sincere appreciation goes to Mr. Hilary Nwokeabia whose keynote address appealed to the conscience of Africans to care more about home-grown initiatives for the development of the continent and
stimulated lively intellectual discourse.
We salute various members of Africa Link Organization who contributed time and energy to ensure the
success of the evening, especially the presence of Charlene Truter who travelled all the way from Berlin. Mr.
Shedrach Uzenab, Jimoh Oyebanji and Mrs. Abiodun Adex who were very helpful, Titilayo Oduwaiye for
the set-up of the hall, Dayo Oduwaiye, Mrs. Mary Eggenberger-Kekong, Mrs. Metrin Sigrist, Mrs. Rose
Tsumba and Mrs. Judith Ngwa for preparing the dishes served. Also Emmanuel Taylor, James Anene and
his wife who provided transportation, African Mirror Org. for providing the pictorial and video coverage of
the gala night as well as Mrs. Natalie Muhl-Gibbs and Oti Brown whose delicious combination of Gospel,
Reggae, African oldies and new beat kept us well entertained.
And to our Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Usman Sarki who piloted the evening with a combination of panache and aplomb from beginning to end we say a BIG THANK YOU.
And finally we thank you all for your generous support towards our fund-raising. May the Almighty God
bless and replenish you.
Atsen J. Ahua
Secretary
Johnson Oduwaiye,
President
editorial
THE AFRICAN WORLD CUP
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Mr. Sherlock Fortuin, Mr. Gerome Tokpa,
Mr. Paul Nzeshi (Nigeria), Mr. Dennis
Onyango (Kenya), Charlene Truter (Germany)
Technical Editor
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All by Africa Link,
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© by Africa Link Org
July/ August 2010
The World Cup 2010 has come and gone leaving a string of firsts in its wake. It
is the first time that the World Cup has been held on African soil in its eighty-year
history. For the first time, two European nations with a passion for the beautiful
game who had never won the cup before were to clash in the final with Spain
clinching the golden orb by the skin of their teeth.
The Vuvuzela made its debut in football stadia across South Africa and have left
its indelible haunting sound of a mighty swarm of bees in full flight on spectators
and viewers around the world.
The 2010 tournament dubbed the African World Cup, also witnessed for the
first time the giants of world football that for several decades past have come to
take for granted their appearances in the semis and finals crashing out unceremoniously: Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France and Italy were all shunt aside.
For the first time it became glaringly clear that football had to adopt the advantages of technology in enhancing the accuracy of the referee’s job. Pronouncements
after the tournament have indicated that Mr. Blatter and his boys at FIFA may
now be prepared to accept that which has seemed so obvious to everyone but them.
Mention must also be made of a certain Suarez from Uruguay who must have
the thickest of skins to weather the combined ire and hatred of Africa for the
foul that denied Ghana the goal that would have taken an African team to the
semi­-finals for the first time in World Cup history.
The world is hailing South Africa and the continent for superb hosting and a
job well done. But it did not happen by accident. From the cry of the Vuvuzela
that has changed the soundtrack of the football stadium to the flight of the Jabulani and the large number of courts set up to handle cases of crime during the
World Cup to the superb venues that hosted competitors and fans from across
the globe, everything has taken planning and painstaking attention to detail for
almost ten years – the four-year bid process and then the six of preparation after
the bid was won.
The outstanding results on all fronts should be a lesson to other African countries
that have basked in the glory of the African World Cup on the difference between
ten years of diligent preparations versus ad-hoc tokenism. Sadly however, the
latter seems to satisfy the majority of our leaders. For the South Africans the
challenge is to maintain the high standards of performance displayed.
It would have all been crowned with an anthem of glory across the continent
but for the blight put on the final day of the tournament when merchants of
terror threw the people of Uganda into exasperated mourning by blowing up
scores of innocent people gathered at a public arena in Kampala to watch the
Netherlands vs. Spain final.
The Somali militant group, Al Shabab has claimed responsibility for this unprovoked attack on innocent civilians that has resulted in the wanton destruction
of so many lives and put even more lives at risk. Reports of spontaneous revenge
attacks by incensed Ugandans savaging anyone that looks like Somali are disturbing. Wisdom and discernment by African leaders and others whose nationals were
also caught up in the attack is needed to ensure that the situation does not spiral
out of control. They need to take action as one to ensure that the perpetrators of
this dastardly act are brought to book but more importantly, they need to act
as one to ensure that Somalia is stabilized for good. Only then will the positive
legacy of the African World Cup not be blighted forever in the minds of some of
her children and their friends.
3
Contents and Highlights
Editorial
3
Letters
5
Swissline
6
Swiss business dismisses EU membership
Briefs
7
Integration
9
A Need to Discourage Social Norms Surrounding FGM
You & IT
Swiss business dismisses EU membership
page 6
A Need to Discourage FGM
page 9
12
Wireless connections & Your safety!
Celebrations
14
Africa Day Celebration Reaffirms Faith in Unity
Africans Reminded to Act at Africa Link Celebration
Homegrown Initiatives, Innovations and Strategies for
Africa’s Sustainable Development
Politics
24
Swiss Immigration Chief Advocates Dialogue for Better
­Understanding
Book Fair
27
Florent Couao-Zotti wins Ahmadou Kourouma Prize
Health
28
Ten African Countries Desperately Seeking Doctors
Celebration
29
Africa Day Celebration Reaffirms Faith in Unity page 14
James weds Martina
Business
30
At IATA Berlin Meeting
“Germany’s Decision Irresponsible”
Emirates orders 32 eco-efficient Airbuses
No more surprise baggage charges
Celebration
32
Cameroon’s Embassy Marks National Day
Religion
Homegrown Initiatives, and Strategies 34
Copy
page 22
page 0
Life in the Spirit Before and After Pentecost
Entertainment
35
Afro-Pfingsten festival to change name?
Cover
35
South Africa Defeats Pessinists
Cameroon’s Embassy Marks National Day
4
July/ August 2010
page 32
letters
Mai/Juni 2010 Vol.11 No. 1
Ghana Ce 17,000 I Kenya KShs 190 I Nigeria N 300 I South Africa R 17
Switzerland CHF 5.– I UK £ 2.20 I Euro Countries € 3.50
The
Voice
of
Nigerian/Swiss relations in Jeopardy? P.5
AfricA
in
The
Integration: Voluntary
Service
DiASporA
Tunisia’s National Day
celebration
A nigerian and
An ethiopian
Win rolex Award
But it is not without good reason that
many of us stick together in our comfort
zones. I feel we are just being tolerated
and not really whole-heartedly accepted as
they pretend to. How then do you expect
me to feel at home socializing with such a
group of people?
Also, I am aware that engaging in such
activity can help in the much advocated
integration. But how can one be integrated
when the other is not even ready to try to
understand me, much less of accepting
my culture.
This is my personal candid view, and it
is not an attempt to discourage anybody.
Vivian Onyemerekwe, Canton Zurich
The Death of Nigerians
African Rolex Young Laureates
Your report of the Rolex Young Laureate
Award to two Africans, a Nigerian and an
Ethiopian, among the five recipients is a
boost on the dented image of Nigeria in Switzerland proffered by the report of Nigerian
asylum seekers in the country.
That two Africans are among these
young entrepreneurs should make us
proud, and be an encouragement for us to
pursue laudable and honorable ventures.
David Ojango, Kenya
My Difficulty
I enjoyed your publication on volunteer work.
Though I am one of those who would complain of “no time”, but now I feel like finding
time for it [volunteering] to see the outcome.
After all “nothing ventured nothing gained.”
However I foresee a difficulty in identifying my area of interest which I believe
many will find difficult too.
The list of Nigerians who died in the hands
of Swiss authorities published in May / June
2010 is unbelievable!
My question is what has the Nigerian
government or its embassy done about
these losses of life?
It seems Nigeria does not take the
losses really serious. No wonder the Swiss
governments took the matters lightly too,
which proves an African adage that how
you make your bed, is the way people will
lie on it.
Omolola D., Lagos, Nigeria
Excuse
It is common for people to try to find
an excuse for not doing something he/she
does not want to do. I do not buy the idea
of not having time for volunteering when
it is not a daily activity. My advice to all is
to try it, and see the benefit that could be
derived from it.
Michel Mba, Lausanne
Report Appreciated
I appreciate the news on the Rolex award
published in June/July 2010. This is one
of such important news we hardly hear of.
Thank you.
Moses Kruman, Zurich
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Volunteering
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July/ August 2010
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5
swissline
Swiss business dismisses EU membership
Switzerland should resist continued calls
to sign up fully to the European Union,
according to a report from the country’s
business lobby group.
But the banking community now appears
ready to explore the extension of bilateral
ties to include financial services to avoid being frozen out by the threat of increasingly
protectionist EU regulation.
The report by the Swiss Business Federation, Economiesuisse, that was released in
Zurich on Tuesday, ruled out the prospect
of Switzerland becoming a full member of
the EU or withdrawing entirely from the
Eurozone.
Switzerland has negotiated a series of
bilateral agreements with the EU since
voters turned down the prospect of joining the European Economic Area in 1992.
The treaties include participation in the
free movement of workers between states
and the single-border Schengen zone.
A further vote against opening talks for EU
membership in 2001 reinforced Switzerland’s
bilateral position. But expansion of the EU
zone and criticism of the Swiss financial and
tax regimes have put further pressure on
Switzerland to become full members.
pean countries could also be under threat
with full membership as the EU has openly
criticised the strategy as being uncompetitive.
The report also identified a weakening
of business links and domestic productivity
should Switzerland now sever bilateral links
and go it alone completely.
“Losing influence”
Cherry picking?
EU ambassador to Switzerland, Michael Reiterer, said in a recent speech that the future
for Swiss youngsters “lies in Europe”. British
parliamentarian Denis MacShane, a member
of the All Party British-Swiss Parliamentary
Group, this year warned that Switzerland is
losing influence by staying out of the EU.
But the resolve of voters would hardly
be tested by events in Europe that have seen
the euro currency dive and credit problems
lead to a rescue package being put together
to prop up indebted countries. In the last few
months, the isolated Swiss economy has performed far better than any Eurozone country.
Economiesuisse believes the Swiss economy would be better served by continuing on
the bilateral path even without the present
difficulties in Europe. The lobby group’s
report warned against an increase of regulation and costs coupled with a loss of political
autonomy should Switzerland join the EU.
Switzerland’s low cantonal tax rates that
attract foreign enterprises away from Euro-
Economiesuisse director Pascal Gentinetta
rejected criticism that Switzerland is cherry
picking the best parts of the EU.
“The bilateral path is in the mutual interest of both parties,” he told swissinfo.ch. “The
commercial balance of trade is in favour of
the EU [a €17.6 billion or SFr24.7 billion
trade surplus of goods for the EU in 2008].”
“It makes sense for Switzerland to adapt to
European rules in certain areas and to retain
its autonomy in such economic decision-making domains as monetary and fiscal policy.”
6
Economiesuisse reiterated past calls to
further extend bilateral ties in the area
of energy trading, agriculture, regulation
of the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and the trade of general services.
But it also appears that Switzerland could be
poised to tackle the thorny issue of harmonising the trade of financial services with the
EU. This has previously been a no-go area
as compromise over areas such as banking
Photo by Keystone
secrecy and the exchange of tax information
appeared unlikely.
Obstacles remain
However, with the EU now contemplating
new laws that could squeeze out competition
from non-member states, particularly in the
field of alternative investments, Switzerland
has a new incentive to engage with Europe
in this sector.
“The Swiss economy has an interest in
opening up the market for financial services,” Claude-Alain Margelisch, deputy chief
executive of the Swiss Bankers Association,
told journalists in Zurich.
“An integrated Swiss finance sector would
strengthen Europe’s competitiveness with
the large and dynamic finance sectors of the
Americas and Asia,” he added.
A new desire to explore financial services
cooperation may exist, but Gentinetta made
it clear that the obstacles along that path
remain difficult to negotiate.
“It would be important to respect our
wish not to agree to an automatic exchange
of information [in cases of foreign tax-evasion
investigations] and our desire to keep our
own regulatory authority,” he told swissinfo.ch. “We have never said never, but this
would only work if we could find common
interests.”
Matthew Allen, swissinfo.ch
July/ August 2010
briefs
Egypt
Muslim Brotherhood to
back El Baradei
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has announced
that it will support Mohamed El Baradei’s
push for political change, following the
group’s poor showing in parliamentary
elections.
constitutional rules make it almost impossible for an independent candidate to get on
the ballot.
Mali
Ambassador denies Bribery in Africa Independence
The ambassador of Mali to Angola, Farouk
Camara, denied, in Luanda, the idea that
the independence of his country and of some
African countries had been given by the then
colonial power, France, based on bribery.
Speaking to Angop under the 50 years
of the liberation of Africa (some countries
gained their independence starting in the
1960s), the diplomat affirmed that there
were heroes who fought for the freedom of
those countries dominated by colonial nation - France.
“If Mali reached its independence on September 22, 1960, we need to remember this
fact and praise and honor those who fought
for this right”, stressed the source.
He also said that Malians are proud of
reaching their independence in the 1960s, together with other African States, and shortly
after, the Organisation of African Unity
(OAU) was created in 1963, which later
became the African Union (AU), in 2002.
The Brotherhood vowed to help El Baradei
collect signatures on a petition calling for
constitutional changes.
El Baradei, the former head of the UN’s
nuclear watchdog, wants to gather one million signatures.
The announcement from the Brotherhood came shortly after recent elections for
Egypt’s upper house of parliament, the Shura
Council. The Brotherhood, which controls
one-fifth of the lower house of parliament,
failed to win any seats on the Shura Council.
“None of the brotherhood’s candidates
won any seats in 2010 Shura Council
elections, blatant proof that vote rigging
took place,” Mohamed Saad el-Katatni, the
Brotherhood’s parliamentary leader, claimed.
The government insists elections are free
and fair. It says complaints about elections
are being investigated.
El-Katatni said the Brotherhood’s exclusion from the Shura Council has stiffened the
group’s resolve for political reform.
He said the Brotherhood will not necessarily back a possible El Baradei- bid for the
presidency.
El Baradei has said that he might run, but
July/ August 2010
Republic of Benin
Continent’s Rice Status
upgraded
Africa’s indigenous rice varieties are to be
granted ‘elite’ status by scientists in the hope
that they will play a central role in making
farmers’ crops more resilient.
Elite rice varieties that are recognized to
be high-yielding include Asian rice, which
has sometimes been improved with individual traits taken from lower-yielding African
rice. Now scientists have shown that African
varieties are resilient and high-yielding in
their own right.
According to Savitri Mohapatra, spokesperson for the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, scientists
from the Africa Rice Center (Africa Rice),
Benin, did a series of studies on the yield of
African rice and the factors that determine
high yield - the latest of which was conducted
last year (2009).
They concluded that, contrary to common
belief, the yield of African rice is not inferior
to that of Asian rice under the unfavorable
growth conditions that often prevail in parts
of Africa.
“This is contrary to the conventional
thinking of rice researchers - that African
rice has low yield potential,” Mohapatra said.
African rice - Oryza glaberrima - was
first domesticated in West Africa more than
3,000 years ago. Now it is on the verge of
extinction and most African farmers have
turned to Asian rice (O. sativa).
Kenya
Kenya Airways plans to
open nine new routes
Kenya Airways bounced back to business
this year with a pretax profit of 2.67 billion shillings [US$33,208,954.59] for its
full year ending in March. The Airways,
which posted a loss of 5.66 billing shillings [US$70,398,008.61] in the previous
year, said the trend was due partly to a favorable foreign exchange rate.
He repeated that the company was in
talks with Airbus over the purchase of
Airbus 300-330s after delays with Boeing’s
Dreamliner planes.
He said the firm planned to open nine
new routes and increase the frequency of
flights to some destinations like Kigali. It will
also continue to modernize its fleet.
Kenya Airways is 26 percent owned by
Air France-KLM.
AfricaNews
Morocco
King inaugurates $550,000
Social and Sports Club
King Mohammed VI has inaugurated
$550,000 Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan
social and sports club in the urban commune
of Al Aroui (province of the northeastern
city of Nador).
The club, the first of its kind to be built
at the national level, includes, in particular,
a games ground, a multipurpose room, green
areas, a space for the youth (a library and a
computer science room...), changing-rooms,
a cafeteria and administrative and health
facilities.
The 3,000 square-meter facility is part of
the Sports Ministry’s strategy to build 1,000
similar complexes by 2016, with 100 planned
before the end of 2010.
The Ministry plans to bring sports and
social facilities closer to citizens with priori-
7
briefs
ties to women’s and youth’s social and sports
integration and supervision, along with
promoting sports talents.
Nigeria
Nigeria wants UN
­Permanent seat
Nigeria is supporting France for a reformation of the United Nations Security
Council to include Africa as a permanent
member as President Sarkozy of France
called for the reformation to give Africa a
“permanent member representation.”
Speaking at a France-Africa Summit held
in June, he said, “this Summit shall …..strive
to achieve this.”
Nigeria’s president, Jonathan Goodluck,
drew global attention to the need for Africa’s
permanent representation through Nigeria in
the Council. He said Africa’s populous country has played crucial roles in peacekeeping
operations globally and it would be a reward
to Nigeria to have a permanent seat in the
Security Council.
According to the Vanguard, the French
leader said it was long overdue for Africa to
take its rightful position in world governance
and called on world leaders to wake up to the
reality.
AfricaNews
IRIN. “The first consideration is saving face
among the adults; [people] do not think of
the young girl who is the victim of something
that carries inconceivable consequences.”
“Silence is one of the principal causes
of this violence,” said Mohamed Azzedine
Salah, UNICEF deputy regional director.
IRIN
death in 2009 of Anália de Victória Pereira
of the Liberal Democratic Party, the only
female “leader” in opposition.
Angolan political analyst Rafael Marques
said standing as the only women candidate
will draw attention to Araújo but he does not
see her as a serious presidential contender.
IPS
Angola
Uganda
Changing more than
­Policies
War against Female
­Circumcision in Trouble
She may have been little-known in political circles until now, but by putting herself
forward as the first female independent presi-
Efforts to end female genital mutilation
have hit a snag after the government failed
to provide sh400m for compensating the
practitioners.
The money is meant for start up capital
for over 400 promoters of the practice, said
labour state minister Emmanuel Otaala.
“The ministry is proposing to compensate
them with sh1m each for the lost income as
a result of eliminating the practice,” Otaala
explained.
“These people are also looking for survival. Since the female genital mutilation Act
was passed, they have been out of business.”
NewVision
Tanzania
3000 Somalians to get
Citizenship
Senegal
Silence endangers Girls
Girls’ safety hinges on families’ willingness to
speak out about sexual violence; researchers
in Senegal’s southern Casamance region said
at the release of a study that reveals widespread violence against girls aged 10 to 13.
The study, by the UN Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) and the University of Ziguinchor,
found that in Kolda, Sédhiou and Ziguinchor, family, social and cultural pressures
breed silence and impunity.
Having heard of many cases of early pregnancy and violence in and around schools in
2008 and 2009, UNICEF funded and conducted the study for a more detailed picture
of the nature, extent and cause, Christina
de Bruin, head of the agency in Ziguinchor,
told IRIN.
“It is urgent that the taboo surrounding
sexual violence be lifted in society and above
all in the family,” the report states.
For Diatta Yadicone Sané, a state education worker in Sédhiou region, family honor
is an important factor. “In this culture the
family’s honor is first and foremost,” she told
8
dential candidate, Luisete Macedo Araújo
(50) has thrust herself into the limelight.
Araújo is the first Angolan woman to
set her sights on the country’s top job, held
for the last 30 years by the same man, Jose
Eduardo dos Santos.
While the ruling Popular Movement for
the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) has more
than 70 women among its 191 members of
parliament, and several female ministers
in government, there are few high profile
women in opposition.
The second biggest party, the National
Union for the Total Independence of Angola
(UNITA), has 16 seats in the National Assembly, of which four are held by women. The
remaining three opposition parties, sharing
12 seats between them, have no women in
parliament.
Suzana Mendes, editor of Luanda-based
weekly newspaper Angolense and member of
the Forum of Women Journalists, welcomed
Araújo’s entry into politics following the
About 3,000 newly naturalized Somali Bantu
refugees living in Chogo settlements in
Tanga region will soon be granted Tanzanian
citizenship, the refugees agency said.
Speaking at the press conference to mark
the world refugee’s day on June 20, The
United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) country representative, Mr. Oluseyi
Bajulaiye, said since 2005, the government
offered Tanzanian citizenship to a small
group of Somalis who fled to the country
in the 1990s.
Mr. Bajuyaile said 162,000 Burundi
refugees in Rukwa and Tabora region were
granted citizenship recently. He said those
who have been granted citizenship were
hosted in Tanzania since 1972 in the old
settlements of Katumba, Mashamo and
Ulyankulu. He added that Tanzania’s ranking as a host of refugees has dropped from
7th place in 2008 to 21st in 2009.
Tanzania hosted over 680,000 refugees in
Kigoma and Kagera regions in 2000 making
it the first African country with so many
refugees.
The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
July/ August 2010
integration
A Need to Discourage Social
Norms ­Surrounding FGM
By Sylvia Lyall
The excruciating pain she felt on her wedding day and the weeks that followed will
forever be imbibed in her mind. “I was
tearing and I felt like I was dying alive,”
says 25-year-old *Meskela from Eritrea
who has been living in Zurich for the
past seven years. Following her wedding
night, she spent weeks in agony, passing
urine was torture and infection set in. The
mother of two from the Bilen tribe in Eritrea says that back home it is common to
hear women screaming in pain on their
wedding night and thereafter.
Coming from one of the communities in
Africa that still perform Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Meskela is one of the women
living in Switzerland who have undergone the
worst form of FGM – infibulations. This type
of FGM involves the removal of the clitoris as
well as the closure of the outer lips by sewing
them together to narrow and partially seal
the vagina leaving a small hole for menstruation. Urinating takes a while as it can only
trickle down. In her community, this type
of practice is believed to ensure that girls do
not indulge in premarital sex. Meskela has
no memory of the actual cut as it was carried out at infancy. Her first child was born
in Libya en route to Europe and the second
one in Switzerland where, during birth, she
had to undergo an operation to undo part of
the sewing together from the infibulation.
Medical practitioners believe that infibulations render women sexually inactive.
The World Health Organisation (WHO)
states that communities who practice infibulation FGM do it in order to reduce the girl’s
libido and ensure that when the girl matures,
she will not engage in pre-marital sex. The
fear of the pain and of being found out is
expected to further discourage indulging in
sexual intercourse.
Binyam Tekle, a student in Zurich says
that the Tigrinya community in Eritrea,
which he belongs to, practice partial removal
of clitoris, but says that the tribe does not
perceive it as FGM per se. “In our tradition,
FGM is perceived differently and it is seen as
July/ August 2010
a moderate cut because only partial removal
of the clitoris takes place. The woman can
still enjoy her sexual gratification but it is
done to ensure that when she is a teenager,
her sexual urges are controlled.” Binyam explains that the girls undergo clitoridectomy
before one-year. Binyam, however, says the
practice is today more prevalent in the rural
areas in Eritrea.
WHO identifies four major types of
FGM: infibulation which is the worst form
of FGM, Clitoridectomy where partial or
total removal of the clitoris is done. Excision
is the most common form of FGM and
.
involves partial or total removal of the clitoris
and labia minora with or without excision of
the labia majora. The fourth type of FGM
consists of any other procedure performed
on the genitalia of women for non-medical
purposes, such as pricking, piercing, incising
or scraping of the clitoris. The age at which a
girl undergoes FGM varies from community
to community and may range from infancy
to adolescence and is done without any form
of anesthesia. FGM is widely practiced by
certain communities in Africa, Asia and the
Middle East and is a cultural norm. These
communities argue that the practice is part of
their tradition, religion and a right of passage
to womanhood.
Switzerland and other European countries are home to a large number of immigrant women and girls who have undergone
FGM as they originate from communities
FGM practices by country and type
Country
Prevalence
Type
Benin
5-50%
excision
Burkina Faso
up to 70%
excision
Cameroon
local
clitoridectomy and excision
Central Afr. Republic
45-50%
clitoridectomy and excision
Chad
60%
excision and infibulation
Comoros
very local
excision
Côte d'Ivoire
up to 60%
excision
DRC (Congo)
local
excision
Djibouti
98%
excision and infibulation
Egypt
85-95%
clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation
Eritrea
95%
clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation
Ethiopia
70-90%
clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation
Gambia
60-90%
excision and infibulation
Ghana
15-30%
excision
Guinea
65-90%
clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation
Guinea Bissau
local
clitoridectomy and excision
Kenya
50%
clitoridectomy, excision and some infibulation
Liberia
50%
excision
Mali
94%
clitoridectomy, excision and infibulation
Mauritania
25%
clitoridectomy and excision
Niger
local
excision
Nigeria
60-90%
clitoridectomy, excision, some infibulation
Senegal
20%
excision
Sierra Leone
90%
excision
Somalia
98%
infibulation
Sudan
90%
infibulation and excision
Tanzania
18%
excision, infibulation
Togo
12%
excision
Uganda
local
clitoridectomy and excision
Based on statistics from Amnesty International and US govt.
Sources: Based on UN agencies, Amnesty, US govt. and afrol archives 9
integration
Hawa Duale (m) with Warie Dirie (r) activist against FGM and author of Desert Flower at a ceremony to collect her (Dirie) award for her work to end FGM
who still uphold the practice. It is estimated
that up to 7,000 women living in Switzerland have undergone FGM, the majority
being Somalis, Ethiopian and Eritrean and
Sudanese women. The practice is increasingly
being prohibited by law in many European
countries and it is yet to be specifically pro-
hibited by law in Switzerland. According to
Somali-born FGM activist Hawa Duale from
St Gallen: “We need a law which explicitly
says FGM is prohibited in Switzerland and if
you do it, you get a hefty fine or go to jail. As
of now, there is no law specifically prohibiting
FGM in Switzerland. Rather, the practice
would be considered as bodily harm to a girl
which is not the same as FGM.”
Duale, who has in the past nine years
been actively involved in the campaign
against FGM in the eastern part of Switzerland where she lives with her family, is
the founder of the Somali Immigrant Com-
Die Notwendigkeit, sozialen Normen rund um die weibliche
­G enitalverstümmelung entgegenzutreten
Die Weltgesundheitsorganisation WHO
unterscheidet vier Arten weiblicher Genitalverstümmelung (Female Genital
Mutilation FGM):
Die schlimmste Form ist die Infibula­t ion,
bei der die Vaginalöffnung bis auf eine
kleine
Öffnung
zugenäht
wird.
­K litoridektomie ist die teilweise oder
vollständige Entfernung der Klitoris. Exzision ist die häufigste Form der FGM
und bedeutet die teilweise oder vollständige Entfernung der Klitoris und der
inneren Schamlippen, mit oder ohne Beschneidung der äusseren Schamlippen.
Als vierte Art werden jegliche anderen
Eingriffe an den weiblichen Genitalien
aus nichtmedizinischen Gründen bezeichnet, wie das Einstechen, Durchbohren, Einschneiden oder Abschaben der
Klitoris.
10
Das Alter der Mädchen, die beschnitten
werden, variiert von Gemeinschaft zu
­G emeinschaft vom Säuglings- bis zum
­E rwachsenenalter. Die FGM wird ohne
Anästhesie durchgeführt. Die FGM ist
eine kulturelle Praxis, die in gewissen
Gemeinschaften in Afrika, Asien und
dem Mittleren Osten breit angewendet
wird. Diese Praktiken werden als Teil der
Tradition, Religion und als Initiationsritus vom Mädchen zur Frau verstanden.
In der Schweiz leben gemäss Schätzungen bis zu siebentausend Frauen mit Genitalverstümmelungen;
mehrheitlich
stammen sie aus Somalia, Äthiopien, Eritrea und dem Sudan. Die Beschneidung
ist in einer wachsenden Zahl von europäischen Ländern gesetzlich verboten
und sollte auch in der Schweiz ausdrücklich verboten werden. „Wir brauchen ein
Gesetz, das FGM in der Schweiz ausdrücklich verbietet“, sagt die aus Somalia stammende FGM-Aktivistin Hawa
Duale. „Wer es trotzdem tut, muss mit
einer saftigen Busse rechnen oder mit
Gefängnis. Heute gibt es kein solches
Gesetz in der Schweiz. Die Praktiken
werden einfach als Körperverletzung an
einem Mädchen erachtet, aber Genitalverstümmelung ist etwas anderes.“
Duale erklärt weiter: „Man kann FGM
nicht mit Körper-Piercing vergleichen,
das ist etwas gänzlich anderes. Die
­B eschneidung ist eine Verstümmelung,
und die Frau bleibt für den Rest ihres Lebens beeinträchtigt.“
FGM hat enorme physische und emotionale Folgen für die Frauen und die Liste
von Problemen, die damit in Verbindung
gebracht werden, ist endlos. Sie
July/ August 2010
integration
munity and Women’s Group. Duale, who
also works as a translator, is exasperated that
some people argue that FGM is comparable
to body piercing.
“You cannot compare any type of FGM
as to just body piercing because that is something completely different. Women’s circumcision is mutilation and once it’s done the
woman is damaged for the rest of her life.”
FGM causes enormous physical and
emotional damage to the woman and the
list of problems associated with the practice
is endless. These include, severe bleeding,
shock, wound infection, infection of the
urinary track, urine retention, incontinence,
prolonged delivery, difficult gynecological
examination and medication - to name just
a few of the problems.
Duale says that most of the women in
her group have undergone the worst form of
FGM and they meet to openly discuss the
issue of FGM and the way forward. “One
particular woman in our group, who is a
mother of two, has had to undergo up to
eight operations since she came to Switzerland due to tearing during birth. When she
arrived here, she was suffering incontinence
and had been shunned by the community
until she got help.”
­ einhaltet heftige Blutungen, Schock,
b
Wundinfektionen,
Infektionen
der
Harnwege, Harnstau, Inkontinenz, Probleme beim Gebären, Schwierigkeiten
bei gynäkologischen Untersuchungen
und bei der Anwendung von Arzneimitteln – um nur einige der Probleme zu
nennen.
Hawa Duale trifft sich regelmässig mit
einer Gruppe von Frauen, die mehrheitlich die schlimmste Form der Genitalverstümmelung erdulden mussten, um offen über das Thema und die Perspektiven
zu diskutieren. „Eine Frau der Gruppe,
die zwei Kinder hat, musste sich, seit sie
in der Schweiz ist, acht Operationen unterziehen, als Folge von Rissen beim Gebären. Als sie hier ankam, litt sie unter
Inkontinenz und man ging ihr aus dem
Weg, bis sie Hilfe fand.“
In Somalia wird die Genitalverstümmelung im Alter von sechs bis sieben Jahren durchgeführt und ist von einer grossen Feier in der Gemeinschaft begleitet.
July/ August 2010
Duale and her women’s group continuously face opposition from other Somalis living in her area who still want to hang on to
the cultural and traditional practice of FGM.
“This group is against what we are doing
and say I am not a real Muslim. They say
FGM is a Somali tradition and part of our
culture which they believe in. The women
in my group are strong enough and we work
together to discourage FGM as we believe we
must protect our girls from being cut.” An
incensed Duale says, “If I ever hear that they
have cut their daughters, I will be the first one
to accuse them.”
In Somalia, FGM takes place between the
age of six and seven and is accompanied by a
big celebration within the community. The girl
is showered with gifts and is the envy of many
young girls. Friends of the girl and siblings
pressurize their parents to also let them go
through the initiation process in order to be
considered grown up. Those not circumcised
are shunned by their peers who refuse to play
with them. They are considered unclean and
avoided because they still have their clitoris.
There has been a concerted effort by human
rights organization in Switzerland to end the
practice of FGM. The International Organisation of Migration has initiated a campaign
Das Mädchen wird mit Geschenken
überhäuft, und die jüngeren Mädchen
beneiden es. Die Freundinnen und
Schwestern des Mädchens bedrängen
ihre Eltern, sie auch den Initiationsprozess vollziehen zu lassen, damit sie als
erwachsen gelten. Diejenigen, die nicht
beschnitten sind, werden von den
Gleichaltrigen gemieden und vom Spielen ausgeschlossen. Sie gelten als unsauber, weil sie immer noch ihre Klitoris
haben. Es gab gemeinsame Anstrengungen von Menschenrechts­organisationen
in der Schweiz, um die Praxis der Genitalverstümmelung zu stoppen. Die Internationale
Migrations­organisation
(IOM) hat in Genf eine gezielte Kampagne bei Frauen und Männern aus Somalia, Eritrea und Äthiopien lanciert, um
einige der Mythen rund um die FGM anzusprechen.
Sylvia Ezra-Lopez, zuständig für Gender-Fragen bei der IOM, betont, dass
Migranten aus Ländern, wo FGM prak-
targeting both women and men from the
Somali, Eritrean and Ethiopian community
in Geneva, in an effort to address some of the
myth surrounding FGM.
Mrs. Sylvia Lopez-Ekra, Gender Coordinator of IOM says that the fact that migrants
from countries where FGM is practiced settle
in Switzerland does not mean that by migrating they abandon this practice. She says latest
information indicate that those practicing
FGM have no intention of hurting the girl;
rather the intention is to follow a social norm.
“We suspect that FGM is continuing in
some of these communities, but the secrecy
surrounding it and the protection given to
those who carry it out, makes it difficult to
determine the magnitude of the problem”. Lopez however cautions that large-scale
public information campaigns such as those
carried out in African countries where FGM
is practiced cannot be applied in Europe as
that would be counterproductive. “Such a
public campaign could backlash and instead
stigmatize the whole African community who
would be seen as practicing it.”
*Name has been changed to protect
identity.
Sylvia Lyall, a freelance Journalist
tiziert wird, diese nicht aufgeben, wenn
sie sich in der Schweiz niederlassen.
Wer Genitalverstümmelung praktiziert, – das machten neueste Untersuchungen deutlich – hat nicht die Absicht, ein Mädchen zu verletzen; man
möchte vielmehr die soziale Norm erfüllen.
„Wir vermuten, dass FGM in einigen
­d ieser Gemeinschaften weiter praktiziert wird, aber die Verschwiegenheit
und der Schutz, den die Beschneider geniessen, macht es schwierig, das Ausmass des Problems zu erfassen.“
Lopez warnt jedoch vor ähnlich gross­
flächigen Informationskampagnen in
Europa, wie sie in afrikanischen Ländern
durchgeführt werden; diese wären kontraproduktiv. „Solche öffentlichen
Kampagnen könnten zu Gegenreaktionen führen und würden alle afrikanischen Gemeinschaften – auch solche,
die keine Genitalverstümmelung kennen – stigmatisieren.“
11
You & IT
Wireless connections &
Your safety!
By Carlson Ngwa (Blog: www.web2me.info)
Notebook computers are dominating the
computer market due to their light weight,
ease of use, mobile format, and friendly
design. To some individuals, a notebook
computer is the only machinery that generates monthly income, they are a source
of livelihood; a device that puts food on
the table.
Thus users are finding predominately, suitable ways to put their device into effective use; however, some of the associated
ease of use features might come at a
cost if not managed effectively. Having a
notebook computer without a Wireless/
WLAN/Wi-Fi connection is pretty much
uncommon. Unfortunately, unsafe Wireless connections are very much the norm.
Wireless connections or networks are radio
waves which are used to maintain communication channels between computers.
Wireless is the modern method to connect
into the Internet. Their mobility benefit
makes Wireless a much preferred option to
Figure 1: Small Internet infrastructure showing a Wireless Router
the alternative of wired connection which
warrants a computer to be placed at a specific
location. Wired computers connect to the
Internet through an attached RJ45 copper
wire. Figure 1 exemplifies this structure. Computer 1, is the traditional wired connection, whereas computer 2 (notebook)
and computer 3 (desktop) are accessing the
Internet through a Wireless connection.
Figure 2, shows a list of devices that could be
attached to a notebook to obtain a Wireless
connection. Most modern notebooks come
with this device in-built and might not need
any of the listed devices in Figure 2.
It’s not my intention to discuss the technical infrastructure of Wireless Internet
design but rather to point out the security loopholes which could be prevented.
Therefore, the main focus of this article is
to point out some critical areas of safety and
security which most individuals have repeat-
12
edly ignored. The intent is to make sure while
you enjoy the ease of use of a notebook, you
should equally be aware of Wireless related
security issues. Because a Wireless network
relies on radio waves, it could be easily intercepted and listened to by unwanted listeners.
Failure to take precautionary measures to
secure a Wireless network might result in
intruders performing the following malicious
operations. 1) Complete access to local files
and email information 2) transfer of viruses
or Trojan horses into a notebook 3) making
use of Wireless connection to perform illegal
operations on a notebook computer. More on
this in the next issue.
The first area of interest is the locally
stored cookies in the computer. Cookies
are information from other websites stored
locally on a computer to track a user when
he/she visits a specific website. These might
include username and password, credit card
July/ August 2010
You & IT
information, and records of website information last visited. With such information an
infiltrator could steal one’s credentials. It is
very common of hackers to obtain password
information through this method and hijack
a user’s email, social network, and other web
related accounts. Visit my blog web2me.info
to read more on email and web scamming.
Trojan horses are designed to allow a
hacker remote access to a target computer
system. Once a Trojan horse has been installed on a target computer system, it is
possible for a hacker to access it remotely and
perform various operations. The operations
that a hacker can perform are limited by user
privileges on the target computer system and
the design of the Trojan horse (Source: wikipedia.org). A Trojan horse, could either slow
down your computer; taking up all Internet
bandwidth making it difficult to obtain
Internet access or it spans several processes
on the local computer which consume all the
computer’s running memory, starving other
useful operations. Such issues have often
forced many users to either seek repairs or
buy a new computer. However, in most cases
the problem is not on the computer but the
vulnerability of the network or Wireless
connection. Buying a new computer is just
a matter of time before it becomes equally
hijacked or infected.
Making use of Wireless connection for illegal operations is a horrible scenario. It happens because of an open Wireless connection.
Open implies it is unprotected. Therefore,
anyone in the vicinity has free access to the
Wireless network. The problem here is that
each Wireless network is temporary given an
IP address by the Internet service provider
(i.e. Cablecom, ADSL, GGA MUAR, etc.)
to enable a user gain Internet access. This IP
address is shared by everyone using the open
Wireless connection. Thus, if anyone uses a
Wireless service to perform illegal operations,
it could be traced to the owner of the Wireless
network device that is associated with the
Internet connection. In this case only the
owner of the device should be accountable for
any web traffic or searches which originated
from that local Wireless connection.
What are the solutions and how can you
protect your data, computer and your Wireless access point? The next edition of this column will be dedicated to providing answers
to these questions. For now I recommend you
visit my blog web2me.info and provide your
input or propose a possible topic of interest.
To be continued!
July/ August 2010
Figure 2: Different Wireless devices
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13
celebration
Africa Day Celebration Reaffirms Faith
in Unity – Amb. Correia
By Gladys Njuts
African diplomats, Swiss representatives and Africans around
Switzerland converged in Bern
on 25 May 2010 to celebrate
Africa Day. The day marks the
anniversary of the birth of the
Organisation of African Unity
(OAU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1963, which on 9 July
2002 became the African Union
(AU).
In his welcome speech, the
Ambassador of the Republic of
Angola, Dean of the Group of
African Ambassadors in Bern,
H.E. Dr. Apolinàrio Jorge Correia, explained that “Africa Day
symbolises the African continent`s
struggle for independence, development and progress, and also an
occasion for Africans to reaffirm
their faith in the integration and
unity of the continent”.
Africa Day is also an occasion
to measure the progress accomplished by Africans, assess difficulties to overcome, and reflect
H. E. Correia presenting his address
on the most appropriate plans of
action in accelerating the harmonious development of the continent.
This year’s theme “the consolidation and maintenance of peace
through sports”, sheds light on
the interdependence that exists
between peace, development and
prosperity. “This theme is a call
to Africans at home and in the
Diaspora to put together their efforts, talents and means not only
to allow peace to reign throughout
the continent, but also to win
the battle of development and
prosperity”, Ambassador Correia
explained.
The ambassador commended
Switzerland for its economic aid
to many African countries, its
constant engagement for the maintenance of peace and the search for
solutions to conflicts notably in
Sudan and the Great Lakes region.
He also called on the country to be
more involved in Africa by creating
active and dynamic partnerships
with African countries, and rein-
l-r: Mr. I. E. Nwosu, Minister Embassy of Nigeria, Ambassadors Mr. El-Haoués Riache, (Algeria), M. Saïd Benryane (Morocco), Babacar Carlos Mbaye
(Senegal), Rafiaà Limam Baouendi (Tunisia), Apolinario Correia (Angola) Dr. Pierre Helg (Switzerland)
14
July/ August 2010
celebration
Rafiaà Limam Baouendi presenting AU
Chairman’s addressing
force economic ties with the continent which
at present is meagre .
On behalf of Africans, he expressed
profound gratitude to the Federal Council,
Federal Parliament and Swiss people for their
excellent relationship with Africans.
“Africa is not a continent full of problems,
but one with great possibilities”, he said citing
a statement made by the A.U. Commission
President not long ago in the U.S at the wake
of Africa hosting the FIFA World Cup which
was soon to be held in South Africa, the first
time since its conception that it would take
place on African soil.
In his speech for the occasion, delivered
by Tunisian Ambassador Madam Rafiaâ
Limam Baouendi, the African Union Commission Chairperson H.E. Jean Ping urged
Africans to be more determined and to
put forth more effort to make Africa “a
continent that enjoys peace, prosperity and
exerts a dynamic role within the concert of
the Nations.”
Talking about the power of sports and
its positive contribution to peace and social
cohesion, he cited how the Rugby World
Cup of 1995 in South Africa helped in the
reconciliation of the Rainbow Nation torn
apart by decades of apartheid. Thanks to the
personal involvement of a charismatic and
visionary leader and President at the time,
Nelson Mandela wore the Springboks’ jersey
during the competition, which was regarded
as the team of the enemies of the black community. This highly symbolic gesture opened
the era of forgiveness and drove out fears of
reprisals of the Afrikaner community.
The A.U. chairperson further reaffirmed
his confidence that Africa is ready to con-
cretise the cherished dream of its founding
fathers long ago that is “an independent,
united, prosperous and peaceful Africa”.
In his address, Dr. Pierre Helg, Switzerland’s Deputy Secretary of State on behalf of
the Swiss government congratulated African
Union and the African countries for the
achievements made in spite of “considerable
challenges” facing the continent since 47
years ago when the Organisation of African
Unity (now African Unon) was founded.
He noted that the AU – through increased
coordination among its members – ensures
that African positions receive the attention
they deserve, and it addresses the challenges
of the continent and promotes African solutions for African problems.
“Africa is changing for the better and this
is as much appreciated in Switzerland as it is
internationally,” he said.
He assured African nations that Switzerland is willing to contribute to meet the
challenges facing the continent. “We are
determined to work with Africa as a partner
over the coming years and decades and we are
confident our joint efforts to deepen our engagement will be of mutual benefit,” he said.
The celebration was spiced by live performances of an African band and a variety
of African dishes.
The Ambassadors: M. Sharawy (Egypt), E. Mamadou Diarrassouba (Côte d’Ivoire), Léonard Bindzi (Cameroon), Ellen Serwa Nee-Whang (Ghana), George
Johannes (South Africa)
July/ August 2010
15
r-l: H. E. Apolinario J. Correia, Amb. E. M. Diarrassouba and Amb Rafiaà Limam Baouendi waiting to receive
guests
l-r: H. E. El-Haoués Riache, H. E. Babacar Mbaye , and Amb
of Saudi Arabia Hazem M. Karakotly
Mr. & Mrs. Michel Okongo Lomena
r-l: Mr. A. M. Tonye, Minister Embassy of Cameroon,
Mr. Solly Tshivhula, Counsellor Embassy of South
Africa.
Ghanaian diplomats (left) Ernest Amporful, Counsellor and
Kwaku Kankam, 1st Secretary
Mr. Karl Schlumpf , Délégate du Président Swisscham
Africa, and Mrs Vreni Spielhofer, Secretary of 1st Counsellor of Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire
l-r: Mr. José Pinto, Minister Embassy of Angola,
Mr. Martin D. Ebolo 1st secretary and Mr. Alphonse
Toye, Minister Embassy of Cameroon
A belly-dancer performing at the occasion
r-l: Mrs Khadidjata Toure, Commercial Attaché, Embassy
of Côte d’Ivoire, Mrs Betty Tshivhula and Mrs Colette Boni,
Secretary of Ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire
Morocco’s stand at the occasion
Egypt’s stand
Côte d’Ivoire’s stand
Angola’s stand
Nigeria’s stand
Cameroon’s stand
m
unsel-
assy
e Boni,
celebration
Africans Reminded to Act at Africa Link
Celebration
By Charlene Truter, photos by African Mirror
Africans should start caring!
That was the core of the keynote speech
titled “Homegrown Initiatives, Innovations and Strategies for Africa’s Sustainable Development”, delivered by Mr. Hilary U. Nwokeabia to the gathering at the
10th anniversary of Africa Link and the
3rd edition of the Africa Link Solidarity
Awards held in Affoltern a. A., Switzerland, on 17 May 2010.
Grinningly vowing not to “bore the
audience and be as exciting as he can”,
Nwokeabia, a controversial economist and
author of Why the Industrial Revolution ByPasses Africa, indeed drew some lively, vocal
agreement from his audience with his notion
that Africa is not a vacuum to be filled, but
rather a place to be complimented.
“In 1960, Africa gained its first independence. Today as the future begins to cast its
shadow, humanity’s race for development
is rapidly advancing and a new generation
is here. Africa deserves a second independence: an independence from intellectual and
mental servitude.” Advancing this viewpoint
with passionate emphasis, Mr. Nwokeabia
repeatedly emphasized that although the
people of Africa were potentially rich with
home grown initiatives that could impact
phenomenally on development in the continent, these were not effectively harnessed
because, “they (the world) don’t care, and we
(Africans) don’t care”.
Contributing to the debate stirred up
by this critique, Algerian Ambassador to
Switzerland, His Excellency Mr. El-Haoués
Riache, differed with Mr. Nwokeabia by
citing the advances that Africans have made
in education, agriculture and democratic
political development within the continent
as a clear testimony to Africa’s capacity and
commitment to care for its development. The
lively yet courteous discussion that followed
further demonstrated the gathering’s intellectual vitality and openness to any debate
that would harness Africa’s potential.
The event was graced by many highranking officials from diplomatic missions to
Switzerland, people from the business sector,
July/ August 2010
Johnson Oduwaiye
recipients of Africa Link’s Solidarity Awards
and supporters. The designated Chairman of
the occasion, Ambassador Richard Owade of
Kenya had to skip the event at the last minute
to attend a summit on behalf of his country.
However, his Co-Chair, Her Excellency Mrs.
Ellen Nee-Wang, Ambassador of Ghana to
Switzerland, covered both roles brilliantly.
In her address, she praised the Africa Link
group for championing African excellence
in the Diaspora and for creating a platform
for credible African voices in the European
media landscape. She urged the audience to
look to Africa’s potential, not only the many
challenges it faces.
“Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
while Africa as a continent may face a number
of challenges, the prospects and potential for
development of our continent is enormous.
Having realized the dire challenges facing the
continent, African leaders have committed
themselves to a set of precepts, through the
African Union and NEPAD, to promote
peace, security, democracy and better political, economic and corporate governance. In
this regard, democracy and good governance
are on the ascendancy, recognizing that these
are prerequisites for the socio-economic development we desire. It is in recognition of
this new impetus, we in the Diaspora should
complement the efforts of our people back
home by contributing our quota towards the
continent’s development,” she said.
The responsibility of the Diaspora to feed
the African continent with social and intellectual capital was also noted by the master of
ceremonies, Mr. Usman Sarki, senior officer
in the ministry of foreign affairs of Nigeria
and consultant on intellectual property
and development to the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO). Sarki, who
presided over the evenings’ proceedings
with the dignity and grace required by the
occasion, urged the Diaspora to continue to
be “children of Africa that make her proud
wherever they are”, and to provide accurate
information because that will translate into
money and investment. Also in informal
discussions and quick networking sessions
amongst guests over dinner, the need to
harness Africa’s potential by building partnerships for her development not in spite of,
but because of being away from her shores,
was reiterated.
Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Johnson Oduwaiye,
gave a short overview of the magazine’s
growth from its inception as a twelve page
newsletter to “amuse himself and a few
17
celebration
Dr. Pierre Helg delivering his good will message
H. E. (Mrs.) Ellen Serwa Nee-Whang delivering
her good will message
friends” as he put it – to the amusement of
attendees – into a publication that is regarded
for its facilitation of dialogue and understanding between Africans in the Diaspora
and their host countries and between Swiss
authorities and African governments. Oduwaiye summed-up his personal motivation for
the task of bringing the true face of Africa
to the world by quoting from a song, and a
motto of his high school back in Nigeria:
The song “My village, my village, I love you,
wherever I am in the world I will never forget
you my village,” and the motto: “Africa gives
me birth, therefore I exalt her.”
Mr. Oduwaiye told guests that the next
goal set for the magazine is to reinstate its
publication in French. He revealed that the
magazine had published for some time in
French. However this had proved a costly
endeavor and therefore the organization had
been forced to shelve it. It had however commenced the search for partners that could
collaborate with Africa Link to make this a
reality once again. The evening ended with
an exhibition of the gripping works of artist
Shedrach Uzenab (www.sedrachuzenab.ch),
that were put on sale to support Africa Link’s
fund-raising efforts for its activities.
Special guest of honor representing the Swiss government at the occasion,
Ambassador Pierre Helg who from 2004 till
2008 was posted in Nigeria, Chad, Benin
and Equatorial Guinea, delivered a goodwill message in which he also commended
Africa Link for its work. “I commend the
sustainable contribution of Africa Link to
constructive relations between the African
Diaspora in Switzerland and our citizens and
our companies, as well as a better knowledge
of the African Continent in Switzerland. I am
convinced that Africa Link, thanks to all its
activities, such as the publication of magazines, or the organisation of workshops and
events, provides a useful political, economic
and cultural platform of mutually beneficial
contacts,” he said.
What did not go unnoticed was Helg’s
assertion that Africa Link is close to the new
strategic approach towards the continent followed by the Swiss Department of Foreign
Affairs that entails the promotion common
actions and joint efforts in the United Nations in New York and Geneva and the
establishment of balanced trade relations.
The highlight of the evening was the
presentation of the Africa Link Solidarity
Awards. This year four awards were presented to those people or organizations that
have fulfilled the criteria set for the various
categories of awards established by Africa
Link Organization.
18
The recipients were:
Ambassador Martins Iheoghian Uhomoibhi, the out-going Ambassador of Nigeria to
Switzerland, Permanent Representative to
the United Nations in Geneva and newlyappointed Permanent Secretary, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Abuja was honoured
as Envoy of Excellence for demonstrating
African diplomacy in a way that enabled
his numerous achievements on behalf of his
country, Africa and the international community. He dedicated the award to the unity
of Africa. It was received on his behalf by
Mr. Nwosu, deputy Ambassador, Embassy
of Nigeria, Berne.
Alhaji Dr. Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (governor of Sokoto State, Nigeria)
as Champion of Development for his innovative leadership in bringing economic
progress and betterment health and welfare
conditions for people in what was formerly
one of Nigeria’s poorest states. The award
was received on his behalf by Hon. Dahiru
Maishanu, Commissioner for Information
& Culture Sokoto State.
Dr. Apolinario Correia, Ambassador of
Angola to Switzerland was honored as Africa
Link Supporter 2010 for his vocal and practical support to Africa Link. He promised his
personal and his embassy’s continued support, adding that as the Dean of the African
Ambassadors group in Berne, he assured the
Africa Link of the group’s support;
The Embassy of the Republic of South Africa was recognized as Africa Link Supporter
2010 for its patronage since the magazine’s
inception. Africa Link’s coverage of South
African Freedom Day was the impetus for
moving to a full-color publication. First
Secretary, Mr. Jaimal I. Anand who received
the award on behalf of his mission expressed
the appreciation of the embassy for this honor
and hoped the relationship would continue
to grow.
The last award that really drew much appreciation from those present went to Water
for the Third World (W3W), the Swiss-based
humanitarian organization. The organization
Charlene Truter giving vote of thanks
July/ August 2010
1
2
3
4
5
6
1Mr. J. Anand listening to the citation being read
by Mr. Sarki
2H. E. (Mrs.) Ellen Serwa Nee-Whang and
Dr. Helg waiting with the medal and certificate
for presentation
3Mr. Anand poses for a photograph with the
Ambassadors
4H. E. Apolinario J. Correia receiving the award
5H. E. Correia flanked by the officiating
ambassadors
6Mr. Nwosu poses with the award received on
behalf of H. E. Martin Uhomoibhi
7
8
7Mr. Nwosu delivering Amb Uhomoibhi’s
message
8Dr. Kohler and Heini Steinlin receiving the
award on behalf of W-3-W
9The two pose with the award
10Hon. D. Maishanu poses with the award he
received on behalf of Governor Wamakko of
Sokoto state, Nigeria.
9
was recognized as Friend of Africa. W3W developed a cost-effective, ecologically friendly,
pedal pump, mostly used by subsistence
farmers to irrigate vegetable fields and to
disinfect drinking water in combination with
a solar system. The pump is driven purely by
human muscle-power. A clearly touched Dr.
Anton Kohler, president of the organization
and whose son, Matthias Kohler, is already
involved as Coordinator for East Africa,
underlined the organization’s commitment
July/ August 2010
10
to “creating help for self-help”. With the aid
of around 10,000 pumps in use in amongst
others Tanzania, Mexico, Uganda, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Kenya, subsistence
farmers have been able to almost double
their crop yields and improve their health
and economic condition. In between the
speeches, adventurous guests who wanted to
brave the chilly spring evening, could take off
their shoes and try the pump for themselves
in the courtyard. Dr. Kohler said the award
10th Year of Dedicated
Service to Africa
is dedicated to the small farmers and the
craftsmen who developed the pump.
The awards were presented by Ambassador
Nee-Wang and Ambassador Helg.
Although a dignified, formal occasion,
the evening did not lack in festive mood. The
atmosphere was one of warmth and communal familiarity. Natalie Muhl Gibbs colored
the proceedings with soulful renditions of
gospel and soul favorites, and Oti Brown
entertained guests with his dance rhythms.
19
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1Dr. & Mrs Kohler chatting with Mrs. Teboho Fleischli
& Mr. Andreas Zumstein
2Mrs. Ngozi Mbekwe in deep conversation with
Mr. Nwosu and colleague
3r-l: Mr & Mrs. Jaimal Anand, and Amb Riache
4Mr. Johnson Odibo chatting with Mr. and Mrs
Magnus Osei-Akoto
5Mr. Milos Petrovic (l) with Mr. Frank Merola
6Mr. Jakob Baradun chatting with Amb Riache and
Mr. Farid Graba
7Mrs. Heidi Oduwaiye and Mrs. Monika Penike
10
11
8Ms Charlene Truter chatting with Mr. Hilary
Nwokeabia
9Mr. Philip Ebalu (r) and Mr. Remi Alao chatting with
Dr. Helg
10l-r: Mrs. Blessing Uhlmann, Alhaj Kayode Malami,
Mrs. Brigitte Meidingen and Mr. C. N. Ugochukwu
11Alhaj Issa Abdullahi, Mrs. Funke Daramola and Mrs.
Mary Eggenberger-Kekong
12Mrs. Francesca Müller-Höselbarth (r) and Mrs.
Virginia Althaus
13l-r: Judith Uzamuranga, Felicia Gerber, and Natalie
Muhl-Gibbs
12
13
3
1
2
3
6
4
5
6
9
7
8
9
1l2Natalie Muhl-Gibbs and Oti Brown entertaining
guests
schli
3Mrs. Rose Tsumba (r) and Mrs Jessica Omogui
4Hon. Maishanu with Mr. & Mrs James Anene
5Mr. Christian Egli with his friend Yvonne Jerger
6Mr. Etienne Epengola and Mrs Gladys Bahler-Njut
7l-r: Mr. Usman Sarki, Ms Cynthia Fregene, Mr. Jaimal
Anan and Sebastian
d
ith
8Mr. Carlson Ngwa and Mrs. Metrin Sigrist
9Mr. Matthias Kohler and Mr. Shedrach Uzenab
10l-r: Mr. & Mrs. Omodunbi and Mrs. Susan Taylor
11r-l: Pastor J. Fajembola, Wilson Jones, Dr. Segun
Oare, and Charles Simon
10
11
i,
wu
12l-r. Ms Johanna Hurst, Mrs. Nancy Zimmermann and
Mrs. Rachel Maina
13Mrs. Susan Taylor with her little Alex
Mrs.
lie
12
13
Celebration
Homegrown Initiatives, Innovations
and Strategies for Africa’s Sustainable
­Development
A Keynote Address presented by
Mr. Hilary Nwokeabia on the 10th
Anniversary celebration of Africa
Link and 3rd edition of Solidarity
Awards held on 15th May 2010 in
Affoltern am Albis, Switzerland.
It is indeed a great honour to be
standing in front of you, on this
very great occasion – the Africa
Link Awards and 10th anniversary celebration – to deliver this
keynote speech on homegrown
initiatives in Africa. Let me
start by saying that homegrown
initiatives in Africa stands for
those things that project our
identities as Africans, those
things that highlight our capabilities, and most importantly,
those things that help us understand our existence in this
world.
African homegrown initiatives are
not about rejecting other ideas on
Africa’s development. No, they
are not about refusing to know
about others or work with them.
Homegrown initiatives are about
knowing primarily and purpose- Mr. Hilary delivering the keynote address.
fully about our own selves, and
preparing for what we are capable of doing story, I am told that before I was born, many
when we are called to work with others. countries in Africa fought and gained their
Homegrown initiative is about knowing what independence from the colonial masters, in
Africans can contribute to humanity’s race 1960. On the first of October of 1960, I am
to development in a globalizing world where told that Nigeria gained its independence
we all have to work together. In this case, the from Britain. I also read the autobiography
Africa Link initiative is an excellent example of President Jonathan Goodluck and realized
of a homegrown initiative. For ten years, that he too was only three years at the time
it has helped Africans to know themselves of this independence. Much to my surprise,
better as we continue to mix with the rest of I have been invited to major international
the world. For that, I congratulate Johnson forums to talk about Africa’s independence.
When I tell the hosts that I do not know the
Oduwaiye and his team.
The 10th Anniversary of the Africa Link story very well, they tell me that I should
projects also come at a major milestone in be able to find something interesting to say.
Africa’s history. As we all might have known, As such, I will tell you today what I have
the epic story in 2010 in Africa is the celebra- been telling the crowds around the world.
tion of 50 years of independence. In this In 1960, Africa gained its first independ-
22
ence. Today as the future begins
to cast its shadow, humanity’s
race for development is rapidly
advancing and a new generation is
here, Africa deserves a second independence: an independence from
intellectual and mental servitude;
an independence from secondhand development theories; most
importantly, an independence that
permits Africans to look back in
their history, engage their intellectual prowess to produce Africa’s
version of economic growth while
ensuring its future generations’
ability to do the same – hence
sustainable development.
The issue of mental servitude
continues to be a major factor
and has taken funny dimensions
in Africa. You just have to hear
the facts to see the depth of the
problem. Most of you must have
heard the theory of the shape of
the earth. In that theory, some
people once told Africans that the
world was flat and if you go so
far in one direction, you fall off.
Africans followed. Africans taught
and granted academic certificates
to our people on the basis that the
earth was flat and anybody who
went too far in any direction was going to
fall off. Later, some people turned around
to tell Africans that the earth was no longer
flat but round. Africans also turned around
and started granting Africans certificates on
the basis that the earth is now round. Why
all of this? A key reason is because Africans
have neither retained enough of their original
methods nor built new ones to repose and
query these ideas and generate Africa’s own
answers in what I call homegrown initiatives. The few methods that Africans have
are being ignored and they have operated in
a scattered manner.
In the post colonial era of more than 50
years of independence, the constant reliance
on mental servitude and second-hand theoJuly/ August 2010
Celebration
ries has taken the basic means of a renewed our societal activities that we must strive to and the result was astonishing. These alone
post colonial supervisory function away from bring to an end. It is becoming increasingly led me to write the book: Why Industrial
the so called independent states of Africa. clear in the aspects of our societal lives Revolution By-Passes Africa.
As such, recourse to local ideas and values that we must modify, improve and prepare
Madam Chairperson, distinguished ladies
that are supposed to guide the action of our to pass on to the next generation so that and gentlemen,
leaders, expose and repose the validity of they live a better life.
These
stories,
external inputs in our lives that is missing What is shocking is
among others are to
The independence that most
and most frequently ruins the elements that these movies are
say that homegrown
­African countries fought for
necessary for our sustainable development. seriously loved all
initiatives for Africa
are not restricted in
The famous President Sarkozy of France once around Africa. Yet, I
and gained in the 1960s was a
said it in his speech at Dakar University on have never seen any
­quasi-political independence. Now any form or shape.
26 July 2007 that Africa has not implicated of our leaders honorThey spread across
Africa needs a second independ- all walks of life. It is
itself sufficiently in the history of humanity. ing those small boys
Although his speech was severely criticized and girls as a way of
ence: intellectual independence – just that no or very
by the African elite, it is about time that propping their ego
few Africans are askthe homegrown initiatives,
we acknowledge that Africa, by ignoring or and encouraging
ing, no or very few
homegrown innovations, the
Africans are telling
suppressing homegrown initiatives will never them in something
and so, no or very
be taken seriously in humanity’s race for de- that they started
homegrown strategies sumvelopment. Think of it. Africa has become a against all odds. You
little progress is being
ming most importantly into the
continent where the replacement generations think this is only
made and Africa fails
­economic independence
may not know their mother tongues because possible in the movie
to go up the sustainthey are modernizing. Yet, as more recent his- industry. You are set
able development ladtory has shown, many Japanese engineers and for a surprise. Today, a civilization is held to der using its own resources.
To conclude, I would like to say that
scientists, including the Chairman of Toyota, a standstill because the once thriving sources
the largest automaker in the world, could of chemistry, innovation, science and tech- the profound mental servitude in the post
build sophisticated machines and structures nologies such as the Pyramidal architectures, independence era within Africa’s intellectual
not being able to make continuous statements geometry, calculus and astrology that were elites has lead to a poor position of Africa in
in either English or French.
developed more than five thousand years ago the global development history of humanity
Even at this, let me say that there is hope. in Africa have been turned into knowledge today. It has blocked our leaders to promote
Many homegrown initiatives are thriving in museums and no longer sources of progress the best of brains in the continent. It means
Africa. A few hints may help in finding an for humanity’s race for development. The that we have been unable to adopt policies of
appropriate design in some new development science of mummification of bodies is now freedom which allow for intelligent use of our
such as what we now call ‘Nollywood’ - the lost because nobody cared to preserve them. resources, the creation and stimulation of the
Nigerian movies. In those movies, very young Think of it. This is not only in the past, there intangible values and standard characteristics
boys and girls who have been to America, are more recent examples. Just because Afri- of open societies, that is at the root of the failEurope and other parts of the world are cans do not care, key African inventions such ure of discourse on African development and
protesting that the stories that they see in as the famous ‘African talking drums’ are the lack of tolerance of alternative solutions
the Cowboy movies do not represent their now produced by others, outside Africa, and to our current development models – the
innovativeness. They are protesting that the sold to Africans for use in Africa. Think of it. second hand theories. This has many a time
Cowboys’ movies do not reflect what and African homegrown innovations in medicine perpetuated dysfunctional attempts brought
who they want to become. As such, they are now one of the best existing treasure into the continent from outside. From this
have taken the bull
troves for new phar- standpoint, one could consider that the
by the horns, despite
The science of mummification of maceutical products independence that most African countries
a depressive system
bodies is now lost because nobody in the world today. fought for and gained in the 1960s was a
of governance, to
Once, a relative came quasi-political independence. Now Africa
cared to preserve them.
model their core soback from United needs a second independence: intellectual
cietal activities and
States of America to independence - the homegrown initiatives,
values in what I call homegrown initiatives. give thanksgiving for surviving a $100,000 homegrown innovations, the homegrown
Some ask, “What can they achieve from open heart surgery due to aneurysms. As strategies summing most importantly into
this?” The answer is simple. These movies he was describing his ordeal, an old woman the economic independence and the ability of
have become the best and most powerful listening on the side expressed big surprise. the continent’s future generation to produce
form of societal/organizational research tak- When asked, she lamented that the western a variant version of sustainable economic
ing place in Nigeria and the whole of Africa. medicine had to cut a relative for something development. In my view, it is from this
By that, they ask and answer the question, they had cured for ages with a chemical the discourse that we must strive to gain a secwho is an African? They expose, repose and size of a Paracetamol tablet. We asked her to ond independence for the future generation
query the strategies by which our societies prove her claim. She produced a mixture as of Africans to build a better life and sustain
conduct their activities. By the movies, it is we watched, gave it to another person of a the development of Africa.
I thank you.
now becoming easy to see those aspects of similar heart condition, specified some rules,
July/ August 2010
23
interview
Swiss Immigration Chief Advocates
­Dialogue for Better Understanding
You were once reported to have said that
some asylum seekers from Nigeria took advantage of the asylum application process
in Switzerland to migrate to the country.
Can you expatiate on this and also explain
to our readers the differences in the Swiss
asylum system as compared with those of
other European countries that make Switzerland more attractive to them?
I want us to distinguish between asylum
seekers and refugees. We want to be attractive
to refugees but not to people who could not
be classified as refugees based on our accepted
criteria, such as war and persecution.
I do understand the situation in Africa,
and Nigeria for that matter. Many Africans
who do not have opportunities in their
countries to realize their dreams flee from
their countries in search of greener pastures
somewhere else. Some of these end up in
Switzerland. Much as we may sympathize
24
Photo by FOM
In March this year, Mr. Joseph Ndukaku Chiakwa, a Nigerian whose application for asylum
in Switzerland had been rejected, died at the
Zurich Airport in the process of being forcibly
deported from the country. This highlighted once
again the unease in the relationship between the
two countries over the issue of asylum seekers.
The Nigerian community in Switzerland protested loudly to the Swiss and Nigerian governments and a diplomatic spat ensued. Protests
about the dehumanizing conditions in which
Africans were held in Swiss detention centers
and deported shackled and manacled from the
country housing the headquarters of the United
Nations Human Rights Council re-echoed in
the media and African platforms. Tempers
have cooled somewhat as the Swiss authorities
investigate the death of Mr. Chiakwa. Many
questions however remain unanswered about
this and other issues relating to humanitarian and migration issues between Switzerland
and African communities. In search of answers,
Africa Link editor-in-chief Johnson Oduwaiye
sought out Alard du Bois-Reymond, the Director of the Swiss Office of Migration (Bundesamt
für Migration) and asked him to comment on
these as well as on the apparent discriminatory
treatment that some Africans receive at the
hands of the Swiss police authorities among
other things. Read on.
Dr. Bois-Reymond
with their plight, we do not have any policy
or relations that support Africans migration
to Switzerland for economic reasons. We accept refugees from any country and we want
to help them, but we do not encourage migration for economic reasons except for highly
qualified people outside the European Union.
The bottom-line here is that the channel
for refugees is being exploited for economic
migration which is outside our policy. In my
view, such abuse endangers the whole traditional humanitarian gesture of Switzerland.
It has been reported that you intend to
set up a task force on processing asylum
seekers’ applications. Is this task force for
asylum seekers from a particular region
(Africa for example) or for all regions?
When will it start work?
It has been set up, and held its first meeting on 3 May 2010. The second is scheduled
for mid June 10. It is specifically on Nigeria
to address general migration issues with
Nigeria.
You may ask why?
From our statistics Nigeria and Eritrea
have the highest number of asylum seekers in
Switzerland. We had an enormous increase of
Nigerian asylum seekers over the last 2 years
and in 2009 we had 1,800 asylum applicaJuly/ August 2010
interview
tions from Nigeria, compared to 300 in 2007.
What problems, if any, is the country facing as a result of these asylum seekers?
And do you agree with the suggestion that
the problems are not as grave as the politicians are trying to make the people believe
but being exaggerated for their own political gains?
The suggestion may be correct to some
extent, but the problems have become an
issue and have attracted public attention
in that the Swiss people are now aware that
some claims of asylum seekers have nothing
to do with refugee matters.
For example most Nigerian asylum seekers came here for economic reasons which
make it impossible to grant them asylum.
Furthermore and to their detriment, many
of them have already been convicted of offences, including dealing in drugs. These
facts are not hidden from public knowledge
and therefore create a negative image of them.
I feel we have to address the problem
frankly to enable an objective true picture of
Nigerians in the country. It may be a paradox
because if we address the problem we can get
beyond them, with the possibility of solving
them. If we do not, they will come up later
as a political problem, and then we will be
giving the politicians opportunities to use
it for their own political gains as suggested.
Is there any way the Nigerian community
here could be of help to the task force?
Yes. We are in close contact with the
embassy. And I have a very interesting discussion with the Nigerian Diaspora. I feel in
informal basis they can be of help to correct
July/ August 2010
our findings, and give us some ideas of what
to look into, as the task force at the formal
level is basically made up of the Swiss federal
and cantonal governments’ officials.
Did the numbers of asylum seekers from
Africa decrease or increase during the past
five years. Also during this period how
many applied for asylum, how many were
granted and how many were refused?
Eritrea and Nigeria have increased a lot
for different reasons. In the case of Eritrea
the tribunal has decided we should accept
Eritreans who refused to be drafted into the
army because of the nature of punishment
they receive from their government. In the
case of Nigeria, it has increased by about 70
per cent. There is no reason for the increase
beside the economic one, and they also invent poor reasons which can be immediately
faulted.
One of the reasons suggested as leading
some asylum seekers to indulge in drug
business is idleness combined with the
long wait that they have to endure before
they know their fate. Is it not be necessary
for your task force to look into this point,
and see how the asylum seekers could be
occupied, for example, with regular language lessons or small jobs which could
keep them busy and not idle? As the saying
goes, ‘Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.’
That is a good point. The procedure and
the identification with the possibility of the
appeal is too long. Yes if we can get them
occupied it may help, but we cannot pay
them a salary.
You may not have to pay them salary. The
work could be in the form of voluntary
service which attracts a token amount to
encourage them and keep them busy.
A voluntary community service may be
something to be considered. A program like
that may even be to their own advantage as
the community may start to develop a better
and more positive opinion about them for the
services they are rendering to the community. In Tessin something like that is being
practiced where they clean the public parks.
How is the Return Assistance Program
faring now? How many countries in Africa
are benefitting from it? And how many returnees have benefited from the program?
It is a program that has benefitted many
voluntary returnees from different countries
worldwide. It is something the African asylum seekers can profit from very well if more
of them accept the offer. We have only 10 per
cent African voluntary returnees, and about 5
per cent Nigerians returned voluntarily. We
would like them to use the program more
because we believe it could help them in their
present situation.
Your alleged statement that 99.5% of Nigerian asylum seekers are involved in one
form of crime or other received serious
criticism and protest. It has also to some
extent, coupled with the death of a Nigerian, affected Nigerian/Swiss relations.
You were asked to apologize for making
such a damaging remark about the Nigerians and Nigeria, but it was reported that
you said you would not. How is the situa-
25
interview
tion now between the two countries? And
have you apologized?
My comment was misinterpreted; I did
not say 99.5 per cent of Nigerians are drug
dealers. What I said was that 99.5 per cent
of Nigerian asylum seekers were not accepted
as refugees. What I said was that 700 out of
1,700 have been convicted of drug related
crimes, that is 41 per cent. And for this I
feel sorry. I clarified things with Nigeria’s
representative in Berne and with the ambassador, Dr. Martin Uhomoibhi.
I feel we (the two countries) are now on
a good footing, and I am looking forward to
our next discussion in mid-July in Nigeria.
What is on the agenda, and what do you
expect from that meeting?
There are important migration issues to be
discussed. I hope for good progress in these
matters. Also I expect the resumption of
the suspended special flight (level 4) for the
repatriation of asylum seekers whose applications are rejected, but refuse to return voluntarily. Nigeria wants to know first how the
tragic death of her citizen, Joseph Ndukaku
Chiakwa on 17th March occurred before
the resumption of the flight can commence.
The death Joseph is not the first of African
asylum seekers in the hands of police authority or in detention under mysterious
circumstances. Considering the number
of such deaths, many are of the opinion
that the Swiss authorities “do not care” if
an African is killed in such circumstances
because to them the life of an African is
worth less than that of a Swiss. What do
you have to say about this assertion?
I can understand the feelings and perception of the Africans in such a situation. But
it is not true. Swiss authorities have always
taken every investigation very seriously.
Let me give two instances to back it up. In
2001 we had a death of a Palestinian before
boarding a flight. After the investigation, a
doctor was convicted for the death. In 1999,
a Nigerian died in a prison and the investigation showed he died of safe keeping on the
floor. The Swiss authorities improved the safe
keeping to avoid such occurrence. These are
some instances that show the authorities see
the life of anybody, be the person a Swiss or
not, on the same level. If the investigations
had shown bias in favor of the authorities,
then the fear expressed by the Africans could
have been justified.
26
Has the cause of the death of Joseph Ndukaku Chiakwa who died on 17 March
2010 at the Zurich airport in the course of
forced deportation been established?
I have spoken with the Zurich government, and was told the investigation is more
complicated than it was earlier thought. And
because they take it seriously it will take more
time to arrive at a conclusion. But I can assure you that a thorough investigation will
be done, and justice will equally be done if
a mistake has been committed.
Asylum seekers whose applications were
rejected are said to be repatriated by force
in a dehumanizing way such as having
their feet in shackles, and being made to
wear special helmets throughout the journey. Why should they be so treated?
In the first place the day any asylum
seeker’s application is rejected, if he or she
shows readiness to go voluntarily; there will
be no need for such treatment. Instead such
asylum seeker will receive assistance in cash
and vocational training. But in the case of
those who refuse to go, and refuse the assistance, what do you want us to do? Keep them
in prison? Or release them and leave them to
be living illegally here?
When they refuse to go voluntarily there
is no alternative than to use force which is
something we don’t like but are compelled
to do. And there are laws of the country we
also have to respect, and abide by; else we
will be breaking our own laws.
Now as for the shackles and helmets we
have witnessed instances in which some
have tried to wound themselves by banging
their heads against something. The helmet is
therefore for their own protection. Regarding
the shackles, we had some difficult experience some times ago. There had been some
fights in the plane between some of them and
the police officers who were escorting them
back. So the shackles are for security reasons.
However we will look into it so that even if it
is a forced repatriation, it will be done with
human dignity.
There have been several complaints
about police harassment and indecent
­t reatment of black Africans in this country that has led many blacks to see the
­police as not only racist but also xeno­
phobic. What is your office doing to address such ­t reatment of Africans? Should
not a task force be set up to look into these
complaints?
I feel this is where integration issues come
in. I know there are some misconceptions
between the Africans and the Swiss people,
which are largely based on ignorance of each
other. Such misconceptions are prejudicial
and do not help relationships. Unfortunately
people live in the same country yet live far
apart because everyone sticks to his or her
community because of the perceptions which
make interaction almost impossible.
Yes, integration is not easy whether one
likes it or not. I feel what is necessary is to
identify and learn about our differences to
help diffuse the problems that may be emanating from these differences. We have to
sincerely look for solutions to our differences
rather than sweep them under the carpet.
And the integration process should be attended to by both parties, nurtured by sincere
dialogue, to lead to mutual understanding.
This is what we should encourage that will
help bring all other things in place.
July/ August 2010
BOOK FAIR
r-l: Pierre -Marcel Favre, president of the Book Fair, Mr. Didier Burkhalter, member of Swiss Federal Council, Ms Edita Vokral, deputy director of the DDC
Geneva Book Fair
Florent Couao-Zotti wins Ahmadou
­Kourouma Prize
By Misseli M. Bationo
With more than 100,000 visitors, the 24th edition of the Inter­
national Book and Press Fair is definitely one of the major
cultural events of Geneva. For the second consecutive year,
Africa Link was one of the main exhibitors at the 7th Salon
Africain, a co-lateral event co-sponsored by the Division of
­Development and Cooperation (DDC) and OIF (Organisation
Internationale de la Francophonie) which was celebrating its
40th anniversary.
50 years of independence celebrated by many African countries
this year was the main topic discussed in various forums organised
during the week-long event (28 April-2d May). Among other issues
related to the continent, the relations between Africa and France and
Africa and China were the most discussed.
Florent Couao-Zotti, a 45 year old author from Benin, won the
Ahmadou Kourouma Prize for literature for his last book “Si la cour
du mouton est sale, ce n’est pas au porc de le dire” (Ed. Le Serpent à
plumes). The presentation of the prize was one of the most attended
events at the Salon Africain. It was the first time the prize was won
by a thriller.
The Salon Africain official opening of the Salon Africain was
made by Mr. Didier Burkhalter, member of the Swiss Federal Council together with Pierre-Marcel Favre, president of the Fair, Libère
Bararunyeretse permanent representative of OIF with UNOG and
Edita Vekral, deputy director of the DDC.
July/ August 2010
Mr. Florent Couao-Zotti (right) poses with prize cheque
Mr. Misseli Bationo, Africa Link Associate Editor briefing Mr. Didier
Burkhalter and Ms. Edita Vokral during their visit to Africa Link stand.
Photos by Aldag-Delfikprod
27
Ten African Countries Desperately
­Seeking Doctors
Shortages of medical staff have been identified as one of the major impediments to
achieving the health-related UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For
example, one of the poorest countries in
the world, Mozambique, has just 548 doctors for a population of more than 22 million, according to the UN World Health
Organization (WHO).
The WHO’s baseline estimate for achieving
health-related MDGs is at least 23 health
workers per 10,000 people - against an
average of 13 in Africa. IRIN/PlusNews has
compiled a list of 10 African countries - in
no particular order - that are critically short
of skilled personnel:
Chad - With less than one doctor for
every 20,000 people and just four hospital
beds for every 10,000, Chad has one of the
worst health-worker shortages in the world.
Many countries are bolstering their staff with
community health workers, but according to
WHO’s World Health Statistics Report 2010,
Chad has just 154 of these.
The country requires 300 percent more
health workers because of increased healthcare needs and a reduction in the medical
workforce from HIV-related illness or death.
Burundi - Malaria is responsible for 40
percent of health-centre consultations and
47 percent of in-patient deaths in Burundi,
but there is just one doctor per 34,744 people
and two nurses per 10,000.
The government provides free maternal
and child healthcare and free treatment and
care for people living with HIV, but the
country’s lack of skilled health professionals has severely hampered this programme.
Ethiopia - One of Africa’s most populous nations, Ethiopia is extremely short of
doctors, with less than one doctor for every
36,407 people.
Research shows that Ethiopia’s public
health sector is losing as many as 26 percent
of its physicians to private healthcare and to
other countries.
To cope, the Ethiopian government has
rolled out a “health extension worker” programme, training an estimated 30,000 lay
health workers to improve primary services
in rural areas. Today, there is one health
28
extension worker per 2,500 people.
Tanzania - The Ministry of Health reported in 2007 that the country had 1,339
physicians, mostly in the Dar es Salaam
region, which had at least one doctor per
10,000 people, six times the national average. Many regions have a ratio as low as 0.1
doctors per 10,000 people.
The country has trained “assistant medical
officers” (AMO) to cope with the shortage.
There are about as many AMOs as there are
physicians in Tanzania.
Somalia - Ravaged by civil war for nearly
two decades, it is unsurprising that Somalia
has one of the worst health-worker shortages
in Africa. A poor road network and limited
number of health facilities compounds the
lack of access to healthcare.
A 2009 study of three districts in southcentral Somalia found just 11 doctors serving
a population of about 600,000; the same
population was also served by 161 nurses
and auxiliary nurses and 32 community
health workers.
Liberia - Still recovering from a 14-year
civil war that ended in 2003, Liberia has just
51 doctors, according to the WHO.
Fewer than half of all births are attended
by a skilled health professional, and maternal
mortality is very high, at 994 maternal deaths
per 100,000 live births.
NGOs such as Merlin are training midwives and community health workers to
boost numbers, but the situation remains
critical.
Sierra Leone - In March 2010, health
workers in Sierra Leone won a six-fold pay
rise from the government to cope with a likely
deluge of patients seeking treatment following the introduction of free medical care for
pregnant women and lactating mothers and
children under five.
Nevertheless, Sierra Leone has a serious
health worker gap, with about three doctors
per 100,000 people. The country is using
Cuban and Nigerian doctors to fill part of
the personnel gap, but concerns remain that
the limited health workforce will not cope
with the burden of free healthcare for large
sections of the population.
Malawi - With an estimated two doctors
for every 100,000 people and a 60 percent
vacancy rate for nurses in rural areas, Malawi
has turned to “task-shifting” - the use of less
qualified health workers. A new cadre of
health worker, called a health surveillance
assistant (HSA), carries out tasks usually
handled by highly trained physicians. In
2007, for example, 95 percent of 625,000
HIV tests were performed by non-medical
counselors.
Malawi’s task-shifting seems to be paying
off, but there has been some criticism of the
short training period of 10 weeks for HSAs,
and suggestions that rigorous selection is
being sacrificed in the attempt to meet recruitment targets.
Mozambique - The country has fewer
than three doctors per 100,000 people, half
of whom operate in the capital, Maputo.
Political instability and economic structural
adjustment programmes in the 1980s hit
Mozambique’s health system hard, forcing
the closure of up to 50 percent of public
health centres.
The country relies largely on “técnicos de
medicina” - non-physician clinicians who
undergo training for 30 months - to provide
the clinical and managerial tasks carried out
by doctors. It aims to have trained close to
1,000 técnicos by the end of 2010.
Mozambique has been able to significantly
scale up its antiretroviral rollout through
técnicos, but a 2007 evaluation found that
their training had not adequately prepared
them for clinical responsibilities, while
existing health-system resources were inadequate for providing care. The government is
re-evaluating the técnicos scope of practice.
Niger - The country has just 288 doctors
for a population of 14 million and one of the
worst health crises in the world. Niger is in
the grip of a severe food crisis, and health
centres are struggling to cope with high
numbers of cases of severe malnutrition.
Almost 90 percent of health workers are
in cities - leaving rural areas with 885 medical staff, according to 2008 Health Ministry
data; 40 percent of all health workers operate
in the capital, Niamey.
[This report does not necessarily reflect the
views of the United Nations]
July/ August 2010
Photos by Africa Link & Alex Kässer
health
Photos by Africa Link & Alex Kässer
JAMES WEDS MARTINA
Exchange of rings at the registry
Seal with a kiss
A little help
Posing for a photograph
The couple with their witnesses, Mr. Johnson Oduwaiye
and Mrs Filomena Jordhen outside the registry
With the grand ma’am Katharina Kässer
A group photograph with parents, sibling, friends
and relatives
The bride’s sister, Alex, facing the camera
Kisses unlimited
Hand in hand to the reception that followed
The Cutting of cake. Guess who baked it? Darling sister
Alex
“A heart in heart”, a quilt (one of the gifts) from sweet
mother Regula Kässer
Business
At IATA Berlin Meeting
Charlene Truter
“Germany’s Decision Irresponsible”
The decision of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to introduce an
annual departure tax hike of €1billion is
short-sighted and irresponsible. That was
the word from Giovanni Bisignani, CEO
of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) at the 66th Annual General
Meeting and World Air Transport Summit
held in Berlin, Germany, from 6 -8 June.
Bisignani, who announced his own departure from office come the next general meeting, pulled no punches in calling it a “cashgrab by a cash-strapped government” under
the pretext of environmental considerations.
“Painting it green adds insult to injury. There
will be no environmental benefit from the
economic damage caused,” he said.
He reminded attendees of the failed
attempt by the Dutch government to raise
€300 million
with a similar tax. This ended-up costing
the Dutch aviation industry €1,2 billion. In
an economic climate where European GDP
growth sees a low of 0,9% and European
airlines are the only ones in the red with
losses of $2.8 billion, this new tax tactic is
a burden that they can hardly bear, he said.
He also lashed out very strongly against
partners in the labour and supply sector who
are destroying all cost-saving initiatives by
sticking their hands even deeper in the association’s empty pockets, as he called it. In
2009 IATA achieved
cost savings of $2.1
billion, but that disappeared with the
increases in supplier
rates.
In presenting his
Vision 2050-plan
for the aviation industry, environment
was high-up on the
agenda. He urged
government leaders
to get serious about
the environment
and work on a globally co-ordinated
approach instead of
senseless individual
country taxes as the Angela Merkel
German government
is doing now. He challenged governments
to stop investing “peanuts” into research
for biofuels. As example he referred to the
$1,5trillion made available as economic
stimulus of which a mere $600million was
dedicated by US Departments of Energy and
Agriculture to biofuel research.
“We are ahead of governments and every
other industry. Even UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon commended aviation as a role
model. Our biggest opportunity is biofuels
with the potential to reduce our carbon
footprint by 80%. Airlines have successfully
tested them and some have committed to
purchase. Certification is expected within
a year. Soon, the price could be right. With
every doubling of production, costs should
fall 20%. Local production using jatropha,
camelina, algae or even urban waste will
give greater supply stability. New economic
opportunities in virtually any location will
break the tyranny of oil. Governments have
a strategic role in supporting this vision. But
they are not delivering.”
Emirates orders 32 eco-efficient Airbuses
Dubai based Emirates Airline has caused
a stir at the ILA Berlin Air Show with the
largest ever A380 Airbus order to date.
“We and our passengers are huge fans
of Airbus,” said Emirates Airline Group
Chairman and CEO, His Highness Sheikh
Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum.
30
Emirates has been a loyal supporter of
the iconic A380 since its inception. The first
Airbus was received in July 2008. Currently
the airline operates ten aircraft serving eight
international destinations including London
Heathrow, Toronto, Paris, Jeddah, Bangkok,
Seoul, Sydney and Auckland. With the latest
order of 32 Airbuses the lists of destinations
is expected to expand.
The mega-deal to the tune of €12,7 Milliard even had Chancellor Angela Merkel
grinning in attendance to sign on the dotted
line. All Emirates’ A380 are powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 engines and delivered
from Hamburg. The A380 programme alone
adds an estimated 40,000 direct, indirect and
July/ August 2010
Business
induced German jobs.
The airline, who has received numerous awards over the last ten years from the
industry and travelers alike for excellence,
sees the acquisition of the A380’s as a further investment to bring customers to their
destinations in comfort.
“This latest order, adding to the 58
A380’s previously ordered, affirms Emirates’
strategy to become a world leading carrier
and to further establish Dubai as a central
gateway to worldwide air travel. The A380 is
our flagship in terms of passenger comfort,
innovation, operating and environmental
efficiency and revenue generation. Our latest
commitment signals Emirates’ confidence
in the growth to come in a thriving aviation
sector,” said H.H.Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed
Al- Maktoum.
President and CEO of Airbus, Tom Enders, was indeed a very happy man. “This is the
best endorsement I have ever seen. On behalf
of all of us at Airbus, we thank Emirates
for their confidence and support.” The first
sale for the superjumbo in 2010 might now
silence those critics who have questioned the
logic of Airbus’s reliance on the A380 during
the slow sales years.
One of the Emirates’ A380 Airbus
Seen as the most cost-effective answer to
traffic congestion and international air travel
growth whilst minimizing the environmental
impact, the A380 has been lauded by operators and passengers alike. In total the A380
order now stands at 234 from 17 customers
after the Dubai injection.
The decision to opt for a staggered expansion of the Emirates A380 fleet to 90 aircraft
over the next seven years is part of it’s strategy
to ensure they have the delivery slots they
want when they want it, the airline’s chief
executive, Tim Clark, told FlightGlobal.
No more surprise baggage charges
Anyone whose ever missed the complicated fine print on airline baggage regulations and ended-up dishing out more
for that long awaited holiday trip, not on
cocktails on the beach, but on what you’re
taking along, will appreciate the newest
decision on baggage rules by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The association announced its Automated
Carrier Baggage Rules (ACBR), an initiative
to bring more transparency to baggage rules
as part of its Simplifying the Business program at its General Meeting in Berlin, 6-8
June. IATA, which represent 230 airlines in
the industry comprising 93% of the scheduled international air traffic, started its Simplifying program in in 2004 with a mission to
lower industry costs and improve passenger
service. Cost saving initiatives already in
progress, either in the planning or implementation phase, include Bar Coded Boarding
Passes, to be fully implemented by the end of
July/ August 2010
2010 (saving US$1.5 billion annually); Fast
Travel program including self boarding (saving US$1.6 billion annually); IATA e-freight
which converts 20 paper documents into one
electronic message (US$4.9 billion annually)
and IATA e-services which already saves the
industry US$2.9 billion annually.
With ACBR customers and travel agents
will have, immediately on booking an itinerary, the complete information on fees and
baggage allowance rules. This will be made
possible through a central database for interline baggage rules. IATA is partnering with
the Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO), who will host the database. ATPCO
collects and distributes fare and fare related
information electronically for over 450 airlines and distributes this information to all
major pricing systems to support worldwide
shopping and ticket sales. The new database
will be available to airlines, travel agents,
and passengers. Airlines will be required to
submit their baggage rules to ATPCO by
September 2010 for implementation in early
2011. Travel agents and airlines can then
link to the new database through existing
reservations and ticketing systems to give
passengers clearer outcome on baggage fees.
“Baggage rules are becoming increasingly
complex and confusing. We must improve
transparency so that travelers know what to
expect. Airlines have a variety of different
rules and fees depending on the number of
bags checked, class of travel, frequent flyer
status and routings. ACBR will put all of that
information in one place so passengers can
have a complete understanding of baggage
fees before they buy their tickets – even for
complicated journeys,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
IATA hopes the new development will
bring faster and more accurate handling of
baggage charges at check-in and reduce disputes between carriers over whose baggage
allowances and charges apply.
31
Celebration
Cameroon’s Embassy Marks
­National Day
H. E. Bindzi delivering his address
A cross section of guests listening to the ambassador’s speech
The embassy of Cameroon in Bern, Switzerland, held a reception at Bellevue Hotel, Bern to celebrate the country’s National Day and the commemoration of the
50th independence day of what was then
known as French Cameroon.
The occasion attracted people from all walks
of life. Amongst them were diplomats, government officials, business personnel, and
a cross section of Cameroonians living in
Switzerland.
In his welcome address, Cameroon’s Ambassador H.E. Mr. Leonard H. Bindzi briefed
guests about the history of his country and
the journey to independence. He explained
that the country was a German protectorate
from 1884 – 1919; and from 1919 – 1945,
placed under the mandate of the United Nations and separately administered, a greater
half by France, and the other half by Great
Britain up until its independence.
The independence of the French administered part of Cameroon on 1 January 1960,
paved the way for the eventual independence
32
of English Speaking Cameroon on 1 October
1961, the same day on which following a
referendum, the two Cameroons were united
and eventually named The Federal Republic
of Cameroon. This was later changed through
a plebiscite on 20 May 1972, to the United
Republic of Cameroon, and since 1983,
simply Republic of Cameroon.
Next year, that is 2011, the Republic of
Cameroon will commemorate 50 years of
independence and reunification.
Since its independence, Cameroon has
been embarking on the socio-economic
development of its population, while consolidating its unity and stability. Since 1982
President Paul Biya has been building “a
democratic state.”
Guests were treated to a variety of
Cameroonian dishes, and entertained by a
live band. “The country of Roger MILLA,
Samuel ETO`O, Manu DIBANGO, and
Yannick NOAH wishes to thank you [for
coming]”, said Ambassador Bindzi, while
wishing them an enjoyable evening.
Mr. Alphonse Toye, Minister Embassy of
Cameroon (l) and Dr. Wilson Njoh
Mr. Urs Von Arb of Swiss office of Migration &
his wife
Mrs. Shazila Osman, Counsellor Embassy of
Malaysia and Mr. Hasan Habib, Counsellor of
Pakistan
July/ August 2010
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1H. E. Bindzi and spouse ready to welcome guests
2The couple seen here welcoming guests
3Mr. Karl Schlumpf of Swisscham Africa (l) and
Mr. R. Kamdem Kamgaing Vice President SGS AG
4l-r: Amba El-Haoués Riache, Apolinario Correia
5l-r: Rev Odilon Mbock, Alex Owona,
Mrs. Maradan
6Jacquis Tonga (l) Yanze-Kontchou
7l-r: Peter Akum, Finance Attaché Embassy
of Ghana, I. E. Nwosu, Minister Embassy of
Ghana, Issa Abdullahi and Cynthia Fregene of
Swiss African Forum and Dr. Wilson Njoh
8The hostesses at the reception
9The Ambassador and his wife with a couple
9
10Some of the families that grace the occasion
For your Social
Events contact
Africa Link
for coverage and
publication.
Cost: Negotiable
10
religion
Life in the Spirit Before and After
­Pentecost
Rev. Reginaldo André Kruklis
Isaiah 44:1-4.
Pentecost was a Jewish festival that occurred fifty days after the Passover. Jesus
was crucified during the Passover celebration. Seven weeks later, on the day of Pentecost, the risen Lord Jesus fulfilled the
promise he had made in John 15:26, that
He would send the Holy Spirit.
Then Peter preached saying, this is what
was spoken by the prophet Joel, “And in
the last days it shall be, God declares, that
I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh...”
(Acts 2:16–17)
In other words, Peter says that we have
entered into the last days, the Messiah has
come, he has accomplished redemption on
the cross, he has risen and ascended to the
right hand of God, and before he returns in
glory there will be a time marked by something never seen before.
Itaipú hydroelectric dam
In Southern Brazil is a huge hydroelectric
dam called Itaipú. The place is just before
Iguassu Falls on the Parana River, one of the
seven largest rivers in the world. The length
of the dam is 7,700 m (25,300 ft). The dam
is 196 metres high, equivalent to a 65-storey
building. The construction took 14 years and
cost US$ 19.6 billion. It has 20 huge turbines
producing 95 billion kilowatt-hour supplying
20% of all the energy needed in Brazil and
90% of all energy needed in the country of
Paraguay.
Now let’s use this as an illustration of
the experience of the Spirit before and after
Pentecost. During the long period of construction the Parana River wasn’t completely
stopped. Even as the reservoir of over 100
kms was filling, part of the river was allowed
to flow past. The country people downstream
depended on it. But on the day the reservoir
poured through the turbines a power was
unleashed that spread far beyond the few
people down river and brought possibilities
they had only dreamed of.
Well, Pentecost is like the opening of the
Itaipú Dam. Before Pentecost the river of
34
God’s Spirit blessed the people of Israel and
was their very life. Before the dam was completed and the reservoir lake was officially
unleashed on the day of Pentecost, the Old
Testament saints downstream enjoyed wonderful benefits from the river of God’s Spirit.
But after Pentecost the power of the Spirit
spread out to light the whole world. None of
the benefits enjoyed in the pre-Pentecostal
days were taken away. But 94 billion kWh
were added to enable the church to take the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ to
every tongue and tribe and nation.
The understanding of the Old Testament
spiritual experience is needed to wake us up
to OUR privileges in these last days that were
inaugurated at Pentecost. In many places the
present church has become so sleepy that
some believers have even fallen behind the
Old Testament in their appropriation of what
the Spirit has to give.
Now look how Isaiah talked about Pentecost eight hundred years before it happened.
Isaiah 44:1-4
We should read about these things, and
ask ourselves the simple question: If they
experienced so much of God’s Spirit which
was but a view of the dam under construction, how much more should we enjoy under
the 20 turbines of Pentecost?
What does Pentecost as the outpouring
of the Spirit mean in our days and according to Isaiah?
1) Our Fears Are Taken Away
First, it will mean that our fears will be
taken away. Verse 2: Fear not, O Jacob, my
servant. When we are drenched with the
Spirit, we are drenched with the assurance
that whatever seems fearful tomorrow does
not need to be fearful if you are filled with the
Spirit. Relations at home may be tense, health
may be deteriorating, the boss may be planning your dismissal, tomorrow may bring a
very threatening confrontation – whatever is
making you anxious about tomorrow, open
your heart to the outpouring of God’s Spirit;
look to his word of promise and he will fill
you with hope and conquer your fear.
2) A Satisfaction That You Never Knew
Before
Our longing for God is satisfied. Verse
3 describes the effect of the outpouring in
another way. I will pour water on the thirsty
(land). The word “land” is not in the original,
“I will pour water on him that is thirsty.” I
take this to mean that when the Holy Spirit
is poured out, not only are fears removed but
longings are satisfied.
John Piper says: “Our future can look
bleak for two reasons: one is the prospect that
misery is coming; the other is the prospect
that happiness is not coming. And isn’t
virtually all the work of the human heart
exhausted by these two things: fearing future
misery and thirsting for future happiness?”
3) A Continuous Growth in Joy until
Perfection in Eternity
We will always flourish. Verse 4 describes
yet another effect of the outpouring of the
Spirit. Those who experience it will spring up
among grass like willows by flowing streams.
Doesn’t this imply that the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit is not supposed to be a one-time
thing or a sporadic thing, but instead should
be continual? We should drink up the Holy
Spirit the way a tree by the stream continually
drinks up water. The assurance of hope will
give rise to the flourishing of joy.
4) We Will Be Springs, Not Sponges
What about the spillover of love? The
final promise is that we will be springs, not
sponges. The human heart cannot be satisfied
until it becomes a spring from which others
can drink. Hope we must have! Joy we must
have! But the goal of our quest is reached
when our joy in God spills over in love to
others for the glory of God.
Let the Word of God Fill Your Mind
and Heart.
How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit?
How can we experience an outpouring of
the Holy Spirit upon our church that fills
us with joy and frees us and empowers us
to love those around us in ways so authentic
that they are won to Christ?
Meditate day and night upon the incomparable, hope-giving promises of God. The
full assurance of hope comes from meditating
on the promises of God’s Word.
Do this.
Rev. Reginaldo André Kruklis is Pastor of the
International Protestant Church of Zürich
July/ August 2010
ENTERTAINMENT
Afro-Pfingsten festival to
­change name?
By Mola Ajisafe
This year’s Afro-Pfingsten festival witnessed an unprecedented turnout where
over 60,000 people visited the open market, tickets for the concerts on Saturday
and Sunday were sold out, and tickets for
the traditional Sunday Fairtrade brunch
were sold out a week in advance. And a
record of 300 guests trouped to the Fairtrade centre for the products and a variety
of delicacies from North Africa.
Thanks to St. Peter (the Saint believed to
be responsible for weather) for providing
three days of sunshine which helped the
turnout.
Afro-Pfingsten 2010 featured as usual, a
film festival, exhibitions, a symposia, concerts and a market, which were well attended
and appreciated by the attendees.
There were performing artistes from Africa, Jamaica, Latin America and Switzerland
giving the festival a global touch. Among
them was Papi Sanchez from Dominican
Republic, Max Romeo from Jamaica, Chica
Torpedo from Switzerland, Bassekou Kouyaté
& Ngoni Ba from Mali, and Mayra Andrade
A mammoth crowd at the Sunday concert listening to Mr. Daniel Bühler,
the organizer of the festival
from Cape Verde. ­Others were Angélique
Kidjo from Benin and Zolani Mahole from
South Africa.
They gave the spectators more than the
worth of their gate fee to the delight of both
parties.
Next year the event will take place from
9 to 13 June. The question now is, will the
festival still maintain its popular name AfroPfingsten Festival or change to Afro Whitsun
Festival which is now being circulated? And
what is the reason for the change?
Time will tell.
Some members of Children of Future humanitarian group at their stand
Pascal of Afro Shop Amavi-Dada at his stand
July/ August 2010
35
cover
President Jacob Zuma and FIFA President Joseph Blatter
The Tale of 2010 FIFA World Cup
South Africa Defeats
Pessimists
By Dele Babatunde
When some six years ago FIFA President,
Sepp Blatter opened the envelope to reveal
that South Africa had been chosen by the
football governing body’s Executive Committee to host the 2010 World Cup, a lot of
eyebrows shot up especially amongst journalists from Western media covering the
event. Of course the big question on their
minds and in many of the capitals of the
Western world was: “Had FIFA not shot
itself in the foot by entrusting its flagship
competition to an African nation?”
Many sceptics believed that FIFA, in going
for South Africa, did so more out of sentiment than any genuine faith in the ability of
the nation to come clean with the necessary
facilities.
The whispering campaign continued
up to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
They pointed to the wonderfully efficient
36
transportation and communication systems, the magnificent stadia and finally and
more tellingly the virtual crime free nature
of the month-long tournament! However,
despite this subtle propaganda war on South
Africa’s integrity, Blatter stood his ground
insisting that come rain come shine the
tournament would go ahead in the summer
of 2010.
But Blatter’s optimism threatened to look
misplaced when in addition to reports that
South Africa was running behind schedule in
its efforts to meet the various deadlines, the
nation’s largest workers union, the National
Union of Mineworkers, called its 70,000
members working on World Cup stadia out
on strike; ostensibly hoping to use the World
Cup to force government into caving into
their demands for a wage increase.
Apart from the potentially crippling
strikes, the issue of funding meant that South
Africa was forced to re-evaluate some of the
lofty projects like the proposed high-speed
rail link, the Gautrain, between some of the
major cities like Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The cost of the project which was put at about
R24 billion (about 3.2 billion US dollars)
when it was first conceived in May 2006,
rose due to inflation and in the end only the
80-kilometre stretch of the Gautrain between
Johannesburg and OR Tambo International
Airport was completed on time. In fact it was
formally opened to the public on June 8 – just
three days to the kick off of the Mundial. The
rest is to be completed in 2011.
However, in spite of all these problems
and FIFA diplomatically turning a blind
eye to South Africa’s failure to meet a June
2009 deadline for the most of the stadia to
be ready, a clear indication that the tournament would be going ahead was when Zurich
allowed the pre-World Cup tournament,
July/ August 2010
Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
cover
President Blatter and President Zuma presenting the World Cup trophy to Iker Casillas, captain of Spain, after Spain defeated the Nederlands in the final match
the FIFA Confederations Cup to proceed as
scheduled on June 14, 2009. The opening
match was played at the smaller Ellis Park
Stadium in Johannesburg, as the flagship
stadium for the World Cup, Soccer City, also
in Johannesburg, was not ready.
The Confederations Cup, which FIFA
introduced to help hosting nations test run
their facilities and readiness to host the main
World Cup, went off better than many had
expected with only a few hitches here and
there. This prompted FIFA to once again lash
out at the skeptics, stressing that they never
doubted the ability of their 2010 hosts and
that contrary to widespread beliefs that they
had a “plan B” in case South Africa fluffed
their lines – “South Africa was plan A and B”.
And so, after six years of toiling and
battling various odds and many sceptics,
on a bitterly cold June evening the opening
ceremony of the first World Cup to be staged
on African soil (and also the first to held in
the southern hemisphere since Argentina’78)
finally kicked off with a defining sound as
fighter jets of the South African Defence
Force roared overhead to the delight of the
84, 490 fans inside the breathtaking Soccer
City Stadium in Johannesburg and millions
of other South Africans happy that at last
their dream had been realised.
Bafana Bafana (The Boys), as the host
nation’s football team is called, then kicked
off the ’main event’ with the opening match
against Mexico. Midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala sending South African football fans
into raptures when he scored the first goal of
July/ August 2010
South Africa 2010 – a stunning strike against
the Latin Americans.
But in a tone, which was to later define
the performances of African teams, Bafana
Bafana were unable to hold onto their lead
and finished the match all square after
Mexico’s captain, Rafael Marquez scored a
late equaliser.
Before the tournament experts had tipped
African teams to do well especially since the
competition was taking place in their ’back
yard’ coupled by the fact that they had a
fairly large representation of six sides out of
the 32 taking part in the tournament.
Barely 24 hours after the South African
reversal, the continent had an even poorer
outing when Nigeria’s Super Eagles narrowly
lost 1-0 to Argentina. Then Algeria also
lost 1-0 to World Cup debutants, Slovenia
and the African opening game losing trend
continued for a third straight match when
the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon were
upstaged 1-0 by one of the Asian sides, Japan.
However, Ghana did the continent proud
by winning their opening match 1-0 against
Serbia. The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire continued this decent run on the fifth day of the
competition when they pulled off a goalless
draw with European side, Portugal. Then the
Desert Foxes further did the continent proud
when they held England to a goalless draw in
a match in which they often outplayed their
more illustrious Three Lions’.
However, the continent was brought back
crashing down to earth when two more African teams suffered more reversals – South
Africa losing heavily to Uruguay 3-0; while
Nigeria shot themselves in the foot when a
needless red card by midfielder, Sani Kaita
allowed Greece to come from behind to
win 2-1.
The Black Stars somewhat restored some
pride when in their own opening match they
were held to a 1-1 draw by Australia. But later
on in the evening Cameroon became the first
team to crash out of the World Cup when
they lost their second game 2-1 to Denmark
– despite taking the lead.
On day 10, Cote d’Ivoire’s South Africa
2010 dreams also went up in smoke when
they were outclassed 3-1 by five-time champions, Brazil.
However, in one of the ironies of the
World Cup, Nigeria still had a chance of
progressing to the Round of 16 even though
they had lost their first two matches; but all
they needed to do to grab the qualification
lifeline was to beat South Korea in their last
game since it was almost certain Argentina
would give them a huge helping hand by
beating Greece.
The South Americans duly obliged Nigeria by beating Greece 2-0 but the Eagles
botched this gift after they failed to build on
their early lead and allowed the Asian nation
to level the match 2-2 and subsequently pick
up the second qualification ticket behind
Argentina in Group B.
Earlier South Africa became the first host
nation to fail to progress to the knock out
stage of the World Cup even though they beat
1998 winners, France 2-1; but their heavy
37
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
cover
The Uruguay team celebrates as Sebastian Abreu scores the winning penalty in a penalty shoot out
between Uruguay and Ghana.
defeat to Uruguay meant they had to score
at least three goals without conceding any
which they ultimately could not do.
Twenty-four hours after three African
teams had exited the tournament Algeria became the fourth to join them when they lost
1-0 to the US in their final game of Group
C. But even though Ghana also lost by an
identical score line to Germany on the same
day the North Africans crashed out, the Black
Stars became the only African side to progress
courtesy of the four points they had picked
up before their last game. Ghana qualified
second in Group D behind the Germans.
As the curtains fell on the group stage two
African sides, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire
bowed out with mixed results – while the
Indomitable Lions lost their third straight
game 2-1 to Holland, the Elephants restored
some of their pride by beating North Korea
3-0. However, the win was not enough to
secure them qualification. Ghana, which was
the sole African team out of the original six
to survive the first round cull, consequently
assumed the mantel of the continent’s hopes
with every football fan from Cairo to Cape
Town, from Nairobi to Dakar all rooting for
the Black Stars.
The support from the over one billion
fans seemed to boost the Black Stars, who
played arguably their best performance of
the tournament to overcome the stubborn
resistance of the US 2-1 to become only the
third African team to reach the quarter-finals
of the World Cup where Uruguay stood between them and a place in the history books.
38
Again the Black Stars played the game of
their lives and even took the lead through a
late first half thunderbolt from Sulley Montari only for a well taken free kick by the
Player of the Tournament, Diego Forlan to
bring parity in the second half. And it was
during the extra time of this game that one
of the most decisive and controversial incidents of the World Cup took place when Luis
Suarez stopped a last minute goal to ensure
the Latin Americans reached the semi-finals
for the first time in 40 years.
So what exactly went wrong with the
African teams especially as hopes for an African breakthrough at the World Cup have
simmered ever since Cameroon’s performance in 1990, when charismatic 38-year-old
striker Roger Milla led the Indomitable Lions
to the quarterfinals, beating Argentina along
the way. Senegal emulated the Cameroonians
12 years later at Korea and Japan where they
also claimed the scalp of a football power,
France along the way. And now again only
another quarterfinal showing to show for
since Italia’90.
The traditional explanation for Africa’s
World Cup failures is excessive individualism
and lack of team-oriented tactical discipline.
But Neil Tovey, a former South Africa national team player and now a coach in the
country’s top professional league, places more
blame on African soccer administration.
“We all know how talented African players are – they’re playing in the top leagues in
the world,” Tovey told The Associated Press.
“To get it right, you need to have a foun-
dation, and I don’t believe the associations
involved in African football are as professional as their European counterparts.”
Seemingly simple matters such as setting
up World Cup training camps seemed to vex
some of the African teams, Tovey said, obviously alluding to Nigeria’s shambolic build
up, which contributed in no small measure to
the poor outing of the Super Eagles.
Even FIFA president Sepp Blatter, a
staunch supporter of African football, has
spoken critically of the coaching merry-goround.
“The talent of African players is at least
as great as that of players from other countries,” he told a news conference ahead of
the World Cup.
“It is as if they are dancing or playing at
acrobatics. What is missing is tactics. But
how can they have this if they change the
coach just a few months before the start of
the biggest competition in the world?”
Alexis Adele, a football specialist at Fanion, a sports daily in Cote d’Ivoire, said the
fast-paced rotation of coaches is a problem
across the continent – and particularly in his
own country. Cote d’Ivoire’s Elephants have
had five coaches, all European, since 2008.
“We hire a coach for three or four months
and if there aren’t results, we send them
packing,” he said.
“We hire someone on Monday and we
want to be winning on Tuesday. It’s not logical. This kind of work takes time.”
But even while African fans were bemoaning their poor outing the World Cup still had
to go on and fans were treated to a number
of upsets and truly enthralling games as the
tournament climaxed on July 11th with Spain
needing extra time to beat Holland 1-0 in the
final played at Soccer City.
But was the $5 billion said to have been
spent on a month-long football tournament
really worth it? Besides the almost 1 million
foreigners who visited South Africa the fiesta
also got some very weighty endorsements
from top politicians and football administrators both within and outside South Africa.
South African President Jacob Zuma said
of the event: “I think the tournament went
extremely well and we are very happy, South
Africans are happy. You just have to see the
reaction of the people at all the matches. I had
an opportunity to be in Toronto at the G8
meeting and the excitement I saw from other
heads of state was unbelievable. I think we
have proved that not only South Africa, but
Africa is capable of hosting any major event.”
July/ August 2010
He also acknowledge how much pressure
was on their shoulders especially following
the scepticism towards South Africa in the
run up to the World Cup.
“I think it was very important for us
to succeed. But you must remember that,
as South Africans, we pride ourselves on
the fact that we always rise up to any challenge. As a matter of fact, nobody believed
that we would have a smooth transition
from apartheid and we did it. When South
Africa first declared its intentions to host
the World Cup, some people said ‘what is
this country from Africa thinking’. Yes, we
lost the first time (to Germany for the 2006
World Cup), but we knew that we would
do it next time. That is what defines us as
a country – our attitude and the belief that
nothing is impossible. We knew we deserved
it, but some continued to say, ‘impossible,
they won’t be able to organise it’ and they
talked about a ‘Plan B’. When we completed
the stadiums, people started to talk about
security and other issues, but we have had a
great tournament. And today, a lot of people
who are honest enough have come out and
said ‘we confess, we were wrong about your
country’”.
Even foreign heads of state hailed South
Africa 2010. German Chancellor Angela
Merkel, who dropped the veneer of her
exalted office to jump up in the VIP Box to
celebrate with her national team, also said
South Africa should be really proud for staging such a wonderful World Cup.
“I could already see from afar that the
tournament had been wonderfully organised
and that the atmosphere was incredible.
Now I’m here I have to say that South Africa
should be really proud of themselves. I told
President Jacob Zuma that they’re doing a
great job and that they’ve gained the respect
of the whole world. It’s been a huge victory
for the people of South Africa. When we
look back on the tournament in the future,
we’ll remember Africa in a different light.”
She also gave her views on what the World
Cup would do to the rest of the continent:
“I think that it’s given the whole of Africa
more confidence. In South Africa, the infrastructure has been improved considerably.
There will be more possibilities for young
people. It will give them courage and create
jobs for the unemployed – I think it’s been a
resounding success.”
But while politicians will always strive to
say the right things, what about the economists and those saddled with checking on the
July/ August 2010
Photo: SID/AFP/Stephen de Sakutin
cover
Captain Casillas & Coach del Bosque on arrival in Madrid
rand worth of the football spectacle?
Says the man in charge of South Africa’s
coffers, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan:
“Government has spent 33 billion rand
(about US$ 4.4 bn) over the last seven years
in preparation for the World Cup. In return,
Government estimates that the World Cup
created 130,000 jobs and will contribute
0.4 per cent to the country’s GDP this year,
injecting 38 billion rand (about US$ 5 bn)
into the economy.”
“The full benefits we will only understand
in the coming months, but clearly people
have been coming into the country in large
numbers and spending money, which will
increase our VAT receipts, and benefit the
hospitality and retail industry. The World
Cup has also resulted in a new burst of entrepreneurship from South Africans,” said
Gordhan.
Leading economist Iraj Abedian says that
his company, Pan African Advisory Services,
is already noticing increased interest in the
country as an investment destination.
“There has been an amazing and remarkable mindset shift. Africa has been bedevilled
by deep and wide Afro-pessimism but this
has been replaced with a different perception
of South Africa and Africa – that of capability, which is a new thing,” said Abedian.
Abedian explains how the World Cup
will benefit different sectors of the economy
at different stages.
“Investment houses in South Africa are
not benefiting today, but in mid to long term
they are rubbing their hands as they look
to attract partners for investment. On the
other hand restaurant owners will be missing
the event after July 11. Hotels have created
infrastructure that they are benefiting from
now but after the event they going to look
for other opportunities and other means to
get returns on their investment,” continued
Abedian, who reflected on the increased
potential for the hotel and tourism industry
in particular after the tournament.
“Historically we have not been a destination from the South American market but
more and more from that quarter are now
visiting South Africa with four teams from
this region in the last eight. It is a welcome
change in diversifying tourism sources to
the country”.
Both agree that the World Cup experience not only proves to the world that South
Africa means business but gives the country
a model for meeting many of its other infrastructure and developmental needs.
However, perhaps another legacy of the
World Cup in South Africa is that it has
forced FIFA to finally shift ground on the
issue of technology especially in the wake
of officiating blunders in high profile games
involving England and Germany and incidentally only a few hours later the Argentina
versus Mexico game.
But ultimately FIFA’s faith in South
Africa has shown that something good can
actually come out of the continent after all;
with virtually every foreign visitor leaving the
World Cup harbouring a different perspective of Africa.
39
Weitere Informationen: Samuel Bieri,
www.sportthebridge.ch, samuelbieri@hotmail.com
Aktivitäten: > Fussballturnier > Informationsstände
> Beiträge zum Thema «Integration und Rassismus»
> Essens- und Getränkestände (schweizerische und
afrikanische Köstlichkeiten)
Unter diesem Motto führen das Swiss African Forum (SAF)
und der Verein Sport – The Bridge (STB) am 31. Juli 2010
zum fünften Mal den Swiss Football Cup der Nationen
(vormals Swiss African Football Cup) auf der Berner Allmend
durch. Der SFC der Nationen ist ein in der Region Bern
einmaliger Sportanlass.
Motto: Integration durch Sport
Teilnahme: Teams von 11 bis 15 Personen aus allen Ländern,
ob Anfänger oder Profi, Hauptsache Spiel, Sport und Spass!
31. Juli 2010, 8-20 h, Allmend Bern
Swiss Football Cup
der Nationen 2010
AFRICAN
SAfrica
-Fire Eaters Show
-Bern African Fire Eaters
-Kids Karate show (Langenthal)
-Children's Clown (Dimitri)
-Poetry rap (Senegal)
-Swiss Folks songs (Bern)
-Swiss Alphorn Trio
-Algeria Dancers
-Algeria community Bern
-Massai community Zurich
-Maasai Dancers (Keyna)
-Green peace Bern
-Information about climate
-change and protection
Swiss Alphorn Trio
Eritria Trio Band and Dancers
Fashion and African Dance
Swiss African Forum (SAF) Postfach 357, CH- 3000 Bern 14, Tel. +41 76 339 10 98
Ab 9 Uhr bis 22.00 Uhr
Heaven Angle on Earth single singer
Swiss Kenyan Group Langenthal
New Jack Rapper's
Young Intelligent Blend Rappers
Group from Bern, blend from East, West Africa
Eritrea Trio Band and Dancers
Community Eritrea Bern
IT and the Universal Band
Afro American, Group (Olten)
Fashion show Tribute to peace and security in the world
From Solothun, A blend from East,
West, Central,
North and South Africa
-Aids Organization
(Biel, Bern & Zurich)
A short speech about H.I.V information
-Single lady poetry singer
(Zoffingen)
Amaris
Bern Entertainment Line up
Featuring:-
BERN
Juggling Show (Mombasa Kenya)
1- Hat Juggling
2- Bottle Juggling
3- Bottle Balance
4- Acrobatic Bench Balancing
Yallaa Tribal style Dance
& Orientalischer Dance
Entrance:- Free
Fire Eaters
New Jack Rapper`s
Yallaa Tribal style Dance
&
Orientalischer Dance
Amaris,
Single Lady singer
WAISENHAUSPLATZ
Sa 7th and So 8th August 2010
CULTURAL FESTIVAL
SWISS