Continued…….. https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/my-struggles-as-a-black-american-in-the-dominican-republic/

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIHan1LxAys/?igsh=X1p0dlhoTk9N
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/227/monograph/book/17842
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/1/18/dominican-republic-justifying-the-unjustifiable#:~:text=Deeply%20needed%20to%20the%20 antagonistic,off%20an%20imagined%20Haitian%20invasion.
https://www.npr.org/trannoscripts/138601410
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIHan1LxAys/?igsh=X1p0dlhoTk9N

ISRAEL’S LIES CONTINUE UNRAVELLING

Israel claimed its 23 March k*lling of aid workers was based on a perceived threat. This was unequivocally debunked by video footage recovered from one of the slain medic’s mobile phones, which proved this wasn’t a tragic mistake, but yet another chapter in a longstanding Israeli strategy: fabricate a threat, blame the victims, and manufacture sympathy.

This is a tactic Israel has employed for decades, long before its current onslaught on Gaza, which began on 7 October 2023. In May 2021, for instance, Israel bombed a media tower in Gaza housing Al Jazeera and the Associated Press, claiming it contained H*mas assets. The claim was later found to be entirely baseless. In the last 18 months alone, Israel has made multiple false allegations. At the onset of its 7 October offensive, Tel Aviv claimed that Palestinian fighters had beheaded children and committed mass r*pe of Israelis. Both accusations were proven false due to a lack of evidence.

Continued……. In November of the same year, Israel alleged Al-Shifa Hospital was a H*mas base holding hostages, complete with tunnels and elaborate command centers beneath it. Yet, following its two-week siege that destroyed Gaza’s largest and most advanced hospital, no evidence was produced to substantiate the claim. These fabrications are routinely circulated and regurgitated by its longtime ally and funder, the US, which hypocritically and chronically labels others as vessels of misinformation.

Rights groups continue to document numerous instances where Israeli forces knowingly targeted Palestinian civilians. On 31 October 2023, for example, an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Gaza k*lled 106 civilians - including 54 children - in an attack “absent [of] any apparent military target,” according to Human Rights Watch. Meanwhile, Israel continues to associate all Palestinian civilians with H*mas, using this narrative to justify collective punishment. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that this practise supports a “plausible claim of g*nocidal acts.”

Sources

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/world/middleeast/gaza-israel-aid-workers-deaths-video.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/06/world/middleeast/gaza-aid-workers-killed-israel.html

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/4/palestinian-aid-workers-likely-shot-execution-style-forensic-expert-says

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-says-killing-15-aid-workers-gaza-caused-by-sense-threat-2025-04-07/

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250409-survivor-recounts-israeli-attack-in-gaza-that-killed-15-aid-workers

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/15/give-us-10-minutes-how-israel-bombed-gaza-media-tower

https://theintercept.com/2023/11/21/al-shifa-hospital-hamas-israel/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/15/israel/palestine-unlawful-israeli-airstrikes-kill-civilians

https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/al-shifa-medical-complex-witnesses-one-largest-massacres-palestinian-history-enar

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/04/gaza-israeli-strike-killing-106-civilians-apparent-war-crime

https://www.icj-cij.org/node/203447

‘THIS IS NOT A DEMOCRACY, THIS IS A REVOLUTION!’

President Ibrahim Traoré has warned against attempts by foreign forces and their agents to put a stop to Burkina Faso’s popular and progressive revolution. In this clip, he again draws attention to an alleged plot to do just that - being organised from neighbouring Ivory Coast (referred to by him here as ‘Lagoon side’ after Ébrié Lagoon). He says their plan is to make his country go again through ‘the events of ‘87’ - which saw the assassination of revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara, to whom Traoré has often been compared.

Continued……. Traoré also muses on the concept of democracy. He is adamant that, in the true sense of the word, it is currently inapplicable. A popular and progressive revolution such as the one he is leading right now needs to be completed first.

Since coming to power in a coup in 2022, Traoré has worked to transform the country, pushing it towards greater food sovereignty, industrialisation and overall self-determination. His international critics denounce the revolutionary process as undemocratic. These outlets and institutions focus on Traoré’s military background and decry what they deem backward ‘military rule.’

Today, the definition of democracy has become so warped that it is taken to mean simply voting in an election every 4-5 years. Little does it matter if the people have any real say in policy or are engaged in any political activities between election cycles. In a country such as the United States, thousands of people fight tirelessly against their government’s warmongering, from the Iraq invasion in 2013 to the support for Israel and its ongoing destruction of Palestinian Territories. These citizens plead and beg for universal healthcare, but all demands fall on deaf ears. We are made to believe that this is democracy because there was a vote, irrespective of how limited the options are.

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

CAMEROON’S FATHER OF INDEPENDENCE

The great Cameroonian Independence leader Ruben Um Nyobè would have turned 112 this week. Born in Nyong-et-Kéllé on 10 April 1913, he led the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC), an anti-colonial pan-African organisation with socialist leanings. Nyobè and the UPC fought for complete independence, refusing to submit to neo-colonial rule. In 1955, the UPC was banned and, three years later, Nyobè was murdered by the French military for continuing the fight for freedom.

On 13 March 1959, the United Nations General Assembly agreed that France’s colonisation of Cameroon should end, leading to Cameroonian independence on 1 January 1960. However, the UPC was still banned in the country and president Ahmadou Ahidjo was picked by France to ensure French interests post-independence.

Continued……. Thus, the UPC continued their struggle under the leadership of Félix-Roland Moumié, until he was killed by a French spy in 1960, and then Ernest Ouandié, until he was killed by the Ahidjo government in 1971.

The legacy of Ruben Um Nyobè has long been buried. It is now coming to light as more Cameroonians and Africans seek out their revolutionary history.

Sources

https://www.counterfire.org/article/cameroon-neo-colonised-before-independence/

https://www.justiceinfo.net/en/82062-cameroon-um-nyobe-hero-symbol-french-colonial-crimes.html

https://face2faceafrica.com/article/felix-moumie

https://www.dibussi.com/2008/01/saturday-januar.html

SOUTH AFRICA OPPOSITION PARTIES CONDEMN ZELENSKY’S PLANNED VISIT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s planned 24 April visit to South Africa on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s request has generated opposition in the host country.

South Africa’s third-largest party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), said it will hold a protest to express its displeasure if Zelensky appears. MK Secretary-General Floyd Shivambu said Ramaphosa’s decision was ‘misguided’ and in ‘clear alignment with European imperial interests.’

The South African Communist Party (SACP), which has been a close ally of the ANC for decades, has also denounced the invitation, with SACP spokesperson Alex Mashilo describing it as an ‘ill-considered move’. Mashilo called Zelensky a ‘puppet of the US-led imperialist bloc’ and said the visit would place South Africa on what he termed as the wrong side of history.

However, on 10 April, the president’s office confirmed that the visit would go ahead as planned.

Continued……Ramaphosa’s move represents a significant departure from his government’s position on the Russia-Ukraine war over the last two years. South Africa maintained a non-aligned stance on the conflict and rejected the West’s demand to align with Kiev. This led US-aligned states to accuse Pretoria of siding with Moscow, with whom it has enjoyed close ties dating back to the struggle against apartheid.

Video credit: @newslivesa (X)

Sources

https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/mk-party-plans-protests-against-volodymyr-zelenskys-controversial-visit-to-south-africa-d7b5a825-b16a-4de2-9fb2-740c2017fc4e

https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/sacp-criticises-ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelenskys-upcoming-state-visit-to-south-africa-2e7d1017-ddd0-4381-9130-c20bfdc8f7cd

https://www.ewn.co.za/2025/04/10/presidency-confirms-24-april-for-zelenskys-working-visit-to-sa

WHITES STILL CONTROL SAFARI TOURISM IN AFRICA

Something to consider next time you’re touring Africa. 

In this clip, travel creator Weyni Tesfai said the tourism industry was built on colonialism, with devastating consequences for local wildlife, as trophy hunting destroyed the harmonious human-wildlife dynamics that preceded colonialism. Much of the same remained even after independence, with the industry catering to and profiting Europeans, leaving Africans with crumbs and ruined ecosystems.

Tourism has grown more than five-fold from 6.7 million visitors in 1990 to 33.8 million in 2012, contributing 2.8 per cent to Africa’s GDP, according to the Africa Policy Research Institute. However, local communities have barely benefited due to the heavy reliance on foreign-owned businesses, imports and profits flowing out of Africa.

Continued……. A World Bank case study of the Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar shows that while tourism makes up 27 per cent of GDP and 80 per cent of foreign exchange earnings, locals hold only 25 per cent of jobs, mostly in low-skilled roles, with foreign-owned hotels dominating the market.

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank also played a role in the current affairs as they promoted tourism as a development tool, prioritising foreign investment over local empowerment. These policies liberalised economies to attract international capital, leading to foreign-dominated tourism sectors with minimal local ownership or control. 

On land ownership, the rise of Western conservancies has resulted in the displacement of people under the guise of protecting wildlife. This conveniently leaves out the fact that the only reason wildlife exists in the first place is thanks to custodianship by the same communities.

Video credit: @planbacktoafrica (IG)

Sources

https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/stealth-game-community-conservancies-devastate-northern-kenya

https://afripoli.org/consuming-africa-the-impact-of-tourism-on-local-african-economies