NIGERIEN KIDS BURN MACRON VAMPIRE EFFIGY

Video has emerged of children in Niamey setting fire to a cardboard cut-out of French president Emmanuel Macron depicted as a vampire.

Anti-French sentiment is high in Niger, which underwent a coup last summer. Coup leaders, with popular backing, have expelled French troops stationed in the country - and have also just ended a military agreement with the US.

The general anti-imperialist mood of the nation has clearly rubbed off even on its younger citizens. Let’s hope the country’s new direction means they’ll be able to grow up free of neocolonial exploitation and the resentment such treatment naturally breeds.

Do you think their futures burn brighter now?

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SOUTH AFRICA REMEMBERS SHARPEVILLE MASSACRE

The 21st of March reminds South Africans how far they have come as a nation. On this date in 1960, apartheid security forces killed 69 unarmed Black protesters in Sharpeville township in Vereeniging. The victims had taken to the streets to demonstrate against laws that required Black people to have a permit to travel around the country.

The Pan-African Congress party, which had organised the protest, was banned shortly after. So was the African National Congress which was the country's leading anti-apartheid movement.

The atrocity sparked an international outcry, drawing global attention to the brutality of the apartheid system. It also prompted the UN to declare 21st March the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

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WESTERN DOUBLE-STANDARDS AT UN

African Stream looks at South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor's comments in September 2022 regarding the West deciding when to pay attention to African voices.

Pandor argued the Russian military operation in Ukraine sparked questions about UN Security Council members' veto powers, while the UN General Assembly's resolutions are not legally binding.

Not only has the West granted Israel political cover, it has also provided military and economic aid as Israel continues a campaign that has killed nearly 32,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since 7 October.

Continued…..The United States has vetoed multiple calls for a ceasefire at the UN, and it has sent $573 million of publicly funded weapons to Israel. Meanwhile, the Washington Post recently reported 100 US arms sales to Israel did not require congressional approval because the individual sale amounts were lower than the $25 million and $100 million thresholds for various types of equipment. The US House of Representatives and Senate are mulling $32 billion in additional aid on top of the $3.8 billion annually given to Israel.

While the US is the biggest aid provider to Israel, the European Union has also funded the state. For example, in January, Germany pledged 10,000 tank shells to Israel.

Compare the West's position on Israel to the wide range of punitive measures imposed against Russia in early 2022. As always, we'd love to hear from you.

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BURKINABÉ SOLDIERS: SERVING DANCE MOVES AND SERVING THE NATION

‘Neo-colonialism and terrorism are linked phenomena. Terrorism is only one manifestation of neo-colonialism.’ Those are the words of Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré during a televised address on 31 August.

Every day, people across Africa’s Sahel region put their lives on the line to defend their countries from terrorism that spiked after the 2011 NATO-led ouster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Armed insurgents subsequently flooded the arid zone south of the Sahara Desert.

Enjoy this video of Burkinabé soldiers finding joy in the struggle.

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MANOLO DE LOS SANTOS: ‘LET CUBA LIVE’ 🇨🇺

Cubans recently started protests in the island’s eastern provinces over scarcity of supplies. These highly publicised protests have regularly occurred since 2021.

While US conservative politicians and social groups blame Cuba’s communist leadership for the lack of food, medicines, fuel and other supplies, others point to the US blockade. It began in 1960, a year after the Cuban Revolution, in response to Cuba nationalising US-owned oil refineries on the island. The blockade started by preventing US products from being exported to Cuba. Food and medicines were not prohibited, however.

It was expanded over the next few decades, eventually punishing foreign countries and companies that provide financial subsidies or loans or attempt to trade with Cuba. The blockade now cuts access to food, medicines and prohibits sales of vital medical equipment and machine parts.

Continued…..The United States has stated it intends to ‘bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government.’ An alternative to conventional warfare, sanctions are designed to destabilise a nation by weakening its economic infrastructure and causing financial hardship for ordinary people.

US-based group Sanctions Kill says US sanctions target one-third of humanity and mainly impact Africa, including the following states: Burundi, the Central African Republic, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

In this video, @PeoplesForumNYC founder @manolo_realengo says people in the United States reject US sanctions.

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WHO’S WHO OF SENEGAL’S ELECTIONS

Senegal’s elections are just days away on 24 March, when 19 candidates will go head to head.

It has been a long path to the final voting date. Popular candidate Ousmane Sonko, who sparked a mass uprising from 2019 onwards, is ineligible to run due to a suspended prison sentence.

However, hope is not lost for Senegal’s progressives. Sonko’s political coalition, Patriotes Africains du Sénégal pour le Travail, l’Ethique et la Fraternité (PASTEF or Senegal for Work, Ethics and Brotherhood in English) has endorsed Bassirou Diomaye Faye. One of the 44-year-old’s campaign promises includes developing a sovereign currency to cut economic ties with France.

Meanwhile, the ruling Alliance for the Republic Party of President Macky Sall has endorsed Amadou Ba. The opposition has criticised the 62-year-old for being too close with France, especially after he took a trip to Paris to meet with officials.

Who do you think Senegal’s next president will be? Let us know in the comments.

RWANDA ADMITS ROLE IN DRC EXPLOITATION

Well, there’s nothing like hearing it from the horse’s mouth. Watch Rwandan President Paul Kagame tacitly admit his country’s role in the illegal exploitation of resources from neighbouring war-torn DRC.

He doesn’t hide the fact that stolen minerals are funnelled through Rwanda before being sold on international markets. According to him, his country is doing nothing wrong, unlike those that are doing the buying, such as Israel, the UAE, Russia and Belgium.

Meanwhile, the UN has called on Rwanda to stop supporting M23 rebels in Eastern DRC amid massacres and the forced displacement of thousands of people from mineral-rich land. Often, that land is then illegally mined and the extracted metals are sold to multinationals via Rwanda. For the record, Kagame denies supporting M23. Maybe, one day, he’ll tacitly admit that, too.

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WHY HAITI IS A THREAT TO THE U.S.

Why does the US keep meddling in Haiti? Given the disastrous results of its interventions up to now, it’s almost as if it wants the island nation to fail. So-called UN peacekeeping missions have led to cholera, child abuse and civilian deaths, while Washington seems incapable of letting Haitians chose their own leaders.

In this clip, Brian Concannon, the executive director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, argues that a strong Haiti poses a direct threat to US interests. The fear is that the spirit of freedom that led the island’s slaves to break their chains in 1804 is still strong and could spread. Little wonder, then, Washington has had a hand in removing Haitian leaders it doesn’t like: they might start demanding reparations at the UN and giving other oppressed nations ideas!

Continued……The US, lacking all credibility in Haiti, has now roped Kenya into fronting its next intervention to ‘restore order’ on the island, where gun violence (involving US-made guns!) has spiralled out of control. The envisioned deployment of Kenyan police - now in doubt after the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry (widely seen as a Western puppet installed after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021) - would be illegal under both Kenyan and Haitian law, but Washington stumped up $300 million for the mission all the same.

Do you believe the mighty USA really fears tiny Haiti? Your insights are always appreciated.

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WHY ARE UK’S E. AFRICAN-INDIAN MPS RIGHT WING?

What do British PM Rishi Sunak and ex-home secretaries Suella Braverman and Priti Patel all have in common? Not only are all three intensely anti-immigrant in their policies, they are all Indians of East African descent. African Stream’s Ahmed Kaballo breaks down how their politics - and disdain for fellow minorities - could be linked to their class origins.

Have a watch, and please share your thoughts.

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ACTIVISTS REJECT HAITI INTERVENTION

There are good reasons why another US-backed intervention in Haiti must not happen. While Western powers and media push for another armed mission, activists from the Americas told us it will fail, like all the ones before it. Instead of bringing peace, it’s feared it will cause more deaths and deepen the island’s political crisis. We hear from several groups, including the Black Alliance for Peace.

Armed gangs have taken control of Haiti’s capital after the recent resignation of President Ariel Henry. It’s a critical situation, but history shows foreign interventions make things worse, not better.

How should the crisis be resolved?

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Revolutionary Guyanese writer and activist Walter Rodney was born on this day in 1942. We remember the guerrilla intellectual, who left a lasting legacy on academia and the struggle for social justice.

Rodney's intellectual journey began at university in Jamaica, where he rejected the path of a technocrat and instead focused his curiosity on Africa during its period of independence.

He earned is PhD from London’s School of Oriental and African Studies aged 24. His research challenged established historical narratives on Europe’s role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and exposed the detrimental effects of European colonialism on Africa's development.

Rodney's determination to make a difference took him to Tanzania‘s Dar Es Salaam University, where, in the late ‘60s, he taught and left his mark on a generation of historians living under the leadership of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.

Continued…..Returning to Jamaica, he embraced the struggles of the marginalised and connected with students and the working poor through his teachings and community engagement. His ability to bridge the gap between intellectuals and the masses was met with government surveillance and eventual expulsion from Jamaica. This sparked widespread riots and cemented his radical legacy.

Throughout his life, Rodney remained dedicated to the cause of social justice, forging alliances with intellectuals, including Rastafarian leaders and Black-power activists. Notably, his impact extended to figures such as Ralph Gonsalves, who now serves as the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

After his expulsion from Jamaica, Rodney returned to Tanzania, where he played a key role in the Dar Es Salaam school of intellectual inquiry. There, he completed his magnum opus, "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa," which continues to provoke passionate debates among historians and Pan-Africanists today.

Tragically, his life was cut short when he was killed by a car bomb in 1980, leaving behind a legacy of courage, intellectual astuteness, and a commitment to social transformation. 30,000 showed up to send him off at his funeral, illustrating how dearly he was held by the people.

Walter Rodney's story serves as a testament to the power of ideas, the pursuit of justice, and the impact one individual can have on society. His legacy remains alive, inspiring current and future generations to challenge oppressive systems and strive for a more equitable world.

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: ‘KILLING CHILDREN IS JUSTIFIED’

On this day two years ago, the 64th US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, died aged 84. Her legacy in Africa and the Middle East is grim.

Between 1993 and 1997, she was the US envoy to the UN. In that capacity, she obstructed UN efforts to take action over the genocide being perpetrated in Rwanda, thereby allowing the massacres to go on for longer, resulting in the deaths of over 800,000 Rwandans.

She was State Secretary from 1997-2001 - overlapping with UN sanctions on Iraq, pushed for mainly by the US and the UK, under which an estimated half a million children lost their lives.

The astonishing callousness of US foreign policy comes out crystal clear in this 1997 clip of Albright - in which she is asked whether the huge cost in children’s lives was worth it. Her response is worth bearing in mind when we think of the child death toll in the US-funded war in Gaza right now. Can you guess her answer?

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EXCLUSIVE: AFRICAN STREAM TALKS GADDAFI WITH EX-SPOX

Muammar Gaddafi’s often mentioned along with the likes of Kwame Nkruhmah, Julius Nyerere, Patrice Lumumba and Thomas Sankara. All are leaders who spared no effort realising the liberation of Africa from foreign domination. African Stream recently had the chance to interview Gaddafi’s former spokesman and communication’s minister, Moussa Ibrahim. In this snippet, he sheds light on just how much Libya’s leader achieved in a short period of time after the revolution. He kicked out foreign military, ensured oil profits stayed in Libya, and used the wealth thereby acquired to fund vital infrastructure. It’s all very reminiscent of what’s starting to happen in the Sahel at the moment. Let us know your thoughts on this. If you want to hear more insights from Moussa Ibrahim, we’ll be posting more clips of our interview here - and the full interview on YouTube soon.

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LUPITA NYONG’O: ‘I PREDATE RACE!’

Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong’o was in for a surprise when she met in April 2023 with Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., on his PBS programme, ‘Finding Your Roots.’ He could trace her ancestral DNA to a group of women who lived in Africa 100,000 to 200,000 years ago, long before humans ventured out of the continent in search of resources. Gates said those women existed when all humans were Black. To that news, Nyong’o replied, ‘I predate race.’

Lead study author Rebecca Cann said she and her colleagues first theorised ‘Mitochondrial Eve’ in 1980. She called the choice to use Eve ‘a playful misnomer’ because it referred to the first woman mentioned in the Bible. They said the study didn’t imply that Mitochondrial Eve was responsible for all human origins, as many women existed before and at the same time this theoretical figure lived. Instead, this Eve is the most recent female ancestor to whom all modern humans can trace their genealogy.

Continued…..Genetic testing has become popular over the past two decades among many Black people in the United States, as we have only been able to trace our people’s roots to names listed on the manifests of trading ships that carried our kidnapped and chained ancestors from West and Central Africa.

Companies began offering consumer genetic testing in the early 2000s in the United States. Europe is another major hub for testing, while companies are looking at Asia and the Pacific Islands as potential sources of revenue and genetic material.

However, the fine print for some companies indicates they reserve the right to use DNA results in other ways. That has raised privacy concerns, especially given multiple people in the United States have landed in jail after their relatives’ DNA—not theirs—implicated them in crimes.

Have you taken a DNA test? Kindly share what you learned.

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