BELGIAN MUSEUM DECORATED WITH SEVERED HANDS

Antwerp’s ‘Museum aan de Stroom’ was hailed as an impressive bit of architecture when it was opened in 2011. But when you take a closer look, its ugly side becomes apparent: it’s decorated in hands - amputated ones. Which is grim enough, but is likely to make anyone even slightly acquainted with Belgium’s colonial past recoil in horror.

Belgium’s King Leopold II and his colonial forces maimed countless enslaved Congolese during their brutal reign of terror in the country - by chopping off hands as punishment for failing to meet quotas. Rape, torture, kidnapping and murder were also rampant in Leopold’s colony. It’s estimated his regime was responsible for an astonishing 10-million Congolese deaths.

Continued….Defender’s of the museum’s sinister design point out that the city of Antwerp has an old legend associated with it - of a giant who used to cut passing boatmen’s hands off if they failed to pay a toll. And it’s this 15th century parable that the hands on the building’s exterior are apparently a reference to. Be that as it may, it smacks of a complete lack of sensitivity and atonement.

Whatever the architect thought he was channeling, the building can throw and shock unprepared visitors. Among them, @amhur75 - who recently posted this video he filmed when in Antwerp.

Have a watch and let us know what you think should happen to the building

GHANA PRES: NO MORE EXCUSES!

A while back, Africa was rarely mentioned in a positive light. Things have changed today, whether economically, whereas the world incresasingly understands it relies on African resources or, culturally, with African films, music and textiles among its exports. Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, in this clip from last year's U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, calls for concrete actions to aid the development of our motherland.

Appropriately deploying Africa's natural and human resources may make the difference between a poverty-stricken continent and one treated with the respect and dignity it deserves. Take the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example.

Continued….Despite holding $24 trillion in minerals underground, producing more than 60 per cent of the world's cobalt, and being home to more than 102 million people, the DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world. Meanwhile, multinational companies, such as Apple and Tesla, reap billions of dollars annually from Congolese resources. On the other hand, France has enjoyed access to Niger's uranium for almost five decades, but the Sahelian state has remained one of the poorest countries in the world.

To summarise Akufo-Addo’s message, the time for words has passed, and the time for action is now. Have a watch, and let us know what you think.

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SOMALI SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINIANS

Somalis have been among the most vocal African supporters of Palestinians since October 7th. Their solidarity with the plight of Gazans (and West Bankers) has been forged in similar personal experiences of oppression - including attacks by an external power. Another parallel is Somalia’s internal refugee crisis. Here’s a look at what connects these two peoples in their quest for liberation.

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FROM OPPRESSED TO OPPRESSOR

The pages of human history are littered with the blood of the victims of the oppression and wars that came about as some groups tried to establish dominance over others. From the crusader wars, through the slavery days up to the genocides and mass killings of the 20th century, there have always been groups and individuals who have had no qualms about spilling blood to achieve their economic and political goals.

There is no shortage of harrowing stories and genocidal villains, but the most disturbing trend has been how some of the victims of these brutal crimes, or their descendants, would later also turn into villains who meted out violence on new victims. African Stream’s William Sakawa outlines some of the most striking cases.

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‘THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE WILL INDEED BE VICTORIOUS’

We should connect the Palestinian liberation struggle to other liberation struggles around the world, said activist and scholar Angela Davis many years ago at the closing session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, held in Brussels, Belgium. We agree.

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WHY BOYCOTTING ISRAEL IS IMPORTANT

Boycotts are back. They worked helping to undermine the apartheid regime in South Africa. And now activists the world over - enraged by Tel Aviv’s merciless killing-spree in Gaza - have the likes of McDonald’s, Starbucks and Disney in their sights. African Stream’s Ahmed Ghoneim explains why.

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DID THE QUEEN HELP AFRICA DEVELOP?

The blood, sweat, and tears of Africans are what gave the continent its independence from colonialism. That is community organizer Sefu Sanni’s perspective on who is responsible for the freedom Africans enjoy today. After the queen’s death, history revisionists painted Africa’s independence as coming from a benevolent monarch instead of decades of armed struggle against colonial occupation that made colonialism an unsustainable enterprise.

They also heaped praise on the British for ending slavery, conveniently leaving out the role Africans in Haiti played when they brought Napoleon’s military to its knees on the island.

Continued….Of note also is that Britain was a pioneer of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the descendants of slave traders still reap the benefits of their ancestors’ heinous acts. As recently as 2015, these slave trading families received compensation for the loss of their slaves. How many Africans who served under the dehumanizing conditions can say the same?

Sefu Sanni’s words are also a warning for the present. Neocolonialism remains deeply entrenched in Africa today, with key factors of production like land in the hands of a few, including British multinationals. With the recent influx of flowery language, including the non-apology from King Charles’ visit, it is a good time to remember oppression cedes nothing without a struggle.

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GUTTER TO GLORY OSIMHEN’S STORY

African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen, is grabbing headlines again. European clubs, including Arsenal and Chelsea, are once more queuing up to sign the Nigerian superstar who helped Napoli win the Serie A league noscript last season.

It’s an incredible turnaround for the striker who was sweeping the streets of Lagos not that long ago. We went back to his home city to see where the amazing fairy tale began, and how his story inspires the young and old in his former neighbourhood.

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HOW EU FUNDS MIGRANT ‘DEATH CAMPS’ IN AFRICA

The EU is funding militias across Africa to do its dirty work and keep migrants away from its shores. This has led to the torture and painful death of Africans at home. Europe’s also been happy to work with war criminals to get its way in Africa, as well as use extortion tactics on African nations. Here’s a quick recap.

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IS UGANDA’S ANTI-LGBTQ A FOREIGN IMPORT?

With Ghana’s parliament announcing its intent to pass an anti-gay bill by Christmas, the role of Western interests in this new wave of homophobia sweeping across Africa comes into question. Thus, we revisit this opinion piece we did about religious-sponsored homophobia, not homosexuality, being a Western export to Africa. Even today, groups such as Family Watch International have been fingered as lobbying for legislation criminalizing homosexuality from Uganda, Kenya and Ghana.

Supporters of Uganda’s tough anti-gay law said that the LGBTQ movement is a corrupting, non-African influence imposed by the West. But could the same actually be said for homophobia? Could it be a colonial import to the continent - with negative African attitudes towards homosexuals shaped and fostered by European teachings? And could modern-day Western influences be radicalising these attitudes?

Please leave your thoughts below.

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TEACH BELGIAN KIDS THE TRUTH ABOUT CONGO

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s speech on how Belgian schools not only fail to teach about what really happened in Congo during the colonial era, but erase the brutality and the crimes of the Belgian forces.

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NO JUSTICE FOR AFRICANS IN FLINT

After millions of dollars have been spent since the first criminal investigations into the Flint water crisis were launched seven years ago in the US state of Michigan, all of the cases were closed 2 November. This means no one is being held criminally responsible for what happened to the predominantly African people who live in the city of Flint. That includes 115 deaths, as well as cognitive and growth delays in children. The court decision follows the Michigan Supreme Court’s rejection of efforts to revive charges against former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

African Stream’s Salifu Mack shows us that what is happening in Flint is a microcosm of African people’s struggle for water rights around the world.

Let us know what you think.

FANCY A BANANA BEER?

Let’s make banana beer. Africans were using locally available crops to brew beer long before Europeans introduced their own techniques, but East Africans stand out in this respect. Their traditional beer is made with bananas. We travelled to Rwanda to find out how urwagwa - a local blend of crushed bananas - is made.

WEST FUNDS CENTRAL AFRICAN REBELS

The Central African Republic (CAR) is part of a growing wave of former French colonies that have recently expelled French troops.

According to a CAR-based radio station, Lengo Songo, the United States and France have been funding armed group Union for Peace (UPC), which has been reported as destabilising the country. The radio station says the CAR government arrested a UPC member, ‘Ben Afra,’ who is alleged to have been in contact with a French intelligence agent, Stéphane Granier. The Frenchman was charged with funding and coordinating UPC activities, Lengo Songo reports.

The Central African Republic is one of the most resource-rich countries in the world, producing diamonds, oil, gold and uranium. AZO Mining, a trade publication, says the following resources have yet to be obtained in the CAR, due to unavailable production infrastructure: Quartz, copper, iron ore, uranium, kyanite, lignite, graphite, ilmenite, manganese, monazite, rutile, salt and tin.