HILARIOUS MEME NIGER WINS SANCTIONS BATTLE

It’s a serious story, but this meme might make you chuckle. It’s about how Nigeria’s sanctions on Niger backfired, forcing Abuja into an embarrassing U-turn.

After the public-supported coup in Niamey, Nigeria cut off electricity to its neighbour, leaving thousands without power. It also imposed trade and diplomatic sanctions and froze Nigerien assets in external banks. Egged on by France, millions of dollars in aid were also withheld. The aim was to pressure Niger into reinstating ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

However, they got more than they bargained for when Niamey retaliated. Nigerian aircraft were banned from Niger airspace, forcing Nigerians to pay five times the normal price for an air ticket. The result: Nigeria couldn’t take the pain and lifted sanctions. A sweet win for the military leaders in Niamey, who also abandoned ECOWAS after it threatened to invade.

Continued….. Niger has now formed an Alliance of Sahel States with Burkina Faso and Mali.

'Be careful what you wish for' is a phrase that springs to mind. And the story’s sparked a bit of humour on social media, not least through this remix of the famous 'El Risitas' interview.

FYI, it’s based on a TV interview with Spanish comedian Juan Joya Borja, nicknamed El Risitas, back in 2007. He laughed uncontrollably all the way through. It’s a memorable scene that’s been put to good use since. Enjoy.

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U.S. FLAG DRENCHED IN BLACK PEOPLE'S BLOOD

Known for her courage and refusal to compromise, Fannie Lou Hamer helped found and became vice-chairperson of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in 1964. This predominantly Black party challenged the white-run Democratic Party. 

Hamer helped transition the Civil Rights Movement to the Black Power Movement in the United States, as she understood that Black people could not achieve liberation by integrating into inherently White supremacist institutions. 

Continued….. Hamer later joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), one of the earliest Black Power organisations in the United States. She then travelled to Guinea to meet with President Ahmed Sékou Touré on a SNCC delegation alongside Stokely Carmichael, who would later go by Kwame Ture. This trip would be pivotal in the movement’s turn from Black Power to Pan-Africanism.

In this 1968 clip from the documentary, ‘The Heritage of Slavery,’ Mama Hamer tells the truth about what the US flag represents: Blood, sweat, and tears of enslaved Africans and their descendants.

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ANTI-ZIONIST JEW: ZIONISM BENEFITS EUROPE & U.S.

In this @thepeoplesbubbiefilm clip, @jvpny member Esther Farmer reads from a piece she wrote published in a 2021 book she co-edited, ‘A Land With a People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zi*nism.’ She describes her father predicting Zi*nism’s settler-colonial project in the form of the state of Israel would backfire on all Jewish people.

For Africans, Israel has unfortunately played a detrimental role on the continent, arming groups and states, while an Israeli cyber-arms company, Pegasus, has allegedly spied on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. During apartheid, Israel supplied South Africa with weapons to combat freedom-fighting Africans. Israel even gave South Africa the information it needed to build nuclear bombs.

What do you think about Esther Farmer’s remarks and how they relate to Israel’s modern-day role in Africa? Let us know in the comments.

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WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN TV PRESENTER TELLS ZIMBABWEAN TO GO HOME

In this bizarre and heated interaction, Leanne Manas (@leannemanas), a white South African TV presenter, asked South African-based Zimbabwean political activist Rutendo Matinyarare (@matinyarare) why he does not want to 'go home.'

The exchange occurred on 19 December 2018 during a live TV programme (@SABCnewsonline) reflecting on the legacy of Zimbabwe's first post-independence leader, Robert Mugabe.

Matinyarare highlighted that, despite the challenges Western sanctions have caused, Zimbabwe was on the rise, owing to its immense natural resources. Manas responded to this by saying that if the country had such great resources, Matinyarare should leave South Africa and return to Zimbabwe, a line that right-wing xenophobes commonly use.

However, the Zimbabwean activist was equal to the task and quickly reminded the anchor that her ancestors had migrated from Europe to South Africa.

Continued…. Further, African Stream takes a Pan-Africanist perspective, which acknowledges that European colonisers created the borders of African states and that Matinyarare, as an African, has the right to live in any part of the continent.

Matinyarare, leader of the Zimbabwe Anti-Sanctions Movement, recently posted this video on his X (formerly Twitter) account, saying five years after this fiery interview, the US lifted two-decade-long sanctions. Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga had said last year that US and EU sanctions have cost the landlocked southern African country more than $150 billion. However, after removing the 2003 sanctions, the US imposed new restrictions on Zimbabwean officials and entities in March.

What do you make of this exchange? Let us know in the comments.

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WHY ARE WHITES ‘MZUNGU’ IN SWAHILI?

In East Africa, locals often refer to White visitors from Europe and the US as ‘mzungu’ - and it occasionally prompts concern among non-Swahili speakers that it could be derogatory.

But as our Ethiopian sister Weyni Tesfai here explains, the word is no slur. She says it originated in the 19th century, when European explorers landed on the continent. Among them was Scotsman David Livingstone, who was looking for the source of the river Nile. Locals on the island of Zanzibar wondered about this visitor, who seemed to be ‘spinning’ (Swahili ‘zunguka’), or wandering, around the area in search of something. Hence was formed 'mzungu' - meaning one who spins around or wanders. Since then, 'mzungu' has evolved to mean any White person.

Do you know any interesting African word etymologies? Please share in the comments.

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WHY?! QUEUES AT THE PUMP IN OIL-RICH NIGERIA

Cost of living-hit Nigerians have been facing petrol-price hikes amid widespread fuel shortages in the country, which have led to long queues at gas stations. And yet Nigeria’s got oodles of oil. An attempt by the Tinubu government to stimulate the private-sector oil market by cutting subsidies for state firms has failed, and promises to put the country’s refineries into action are sounding increasingly hollow. African Stream’s Nigeria correspondent Poloum David reports from Abuja.

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BRAZILIAN RAPPER: DON’T JUDGE THE FAVELA

Brazilian favelas sprawl across the country’s cities and towns. And right now, the image in your head is probably that of narcotics, drug dealers and criminality.

It’s a one-dimensional denoscription pushed by media and gives security forces a virtual blameless pretext to do as they please to residents in these communities. Heavy-handed policing and the excessive use of lethal force are the norm. In 2022, a total of 1,042 Black people were killed by police in Rio de Janeiro alone.

In this clip, Brazilian rapper Mano Brown gives a rare TV interview and goes toe-to-toe with journalists to explain the complexities of favela life. Why, he asks, are drug dealers called drug dealers and not vendors like someone who sells alcohol? Why do dealers get criminal records, while White owners of multinational alcoholic drinks companies get a free pass?

Continued…. He also turns the tables on reporters who stigmatise favela residents who do what they do to survive. Mano asks how journalists would act if their life suddenly changed and forced them into slum living?

He offers a masterclass on what the media so conveniently loves to ignore. Favelas are systematically oppressed, poor communities, subjected not only to police and special tactical unit violence but ferocious double standards in Brazil’s war on drugs.

This interview remains one of the classic public debates for the rap movement in Brazil. The current affairs talk-show Roda Viva (Living Circle) is a serious battle of ideas that's hosted world leaders including Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Luís Inácio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro. Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has also made their list. Mano offers a vital outlook that hardly gets airtime in the media.
Worth a watch.

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‘AFRICANS, BE A SOLUTION FOR YOUR SUFFERING!’

Africanness has been a currency, and while in decades past being African was cause for scorn, African culture moves the world today. However, our guest Chakabars argues that there has to be more to being African than just being ‘cool.’ This is in the context of the numerous problems afflicting Africans today. Participating in solution-making for African problems should be a chief attribute of Africanness (in addition to good music and excellent food etc.) He argues that the indifference shown by Africans towards African problems is what gives leeway to other Africans in service of anti-Blackness. Have a listen - it’s an excerpt from a longer, round-table discussion we’ve put on our YouTube channel - and let us know in the comments if he’s right.

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Today marks 46 years since apartheid South African troops attacked a refugee camp in southern Angola, killing hundreds of people, the majority being women and children. 

Since the 1978 massacre, 4 May in Namibia has been commemorated as Cassinga Day, named for the camp sheltering an estimated 11,000 to 12,000 Namibians who had crossed the border into Angola to escape fighting between apartheid forces and South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) freedom fighters. SWAPO had taken up arms to free Namibia from South African occupation.

The attack on the refugee camp, located about 240 kilometres north of the Angola-Namibia border, started just after 7 a.m., when fighter planes began bombardments. Shortly afterwards, estimates say almost 400 South African paratroopers descended on the camp under ‘Operation Reindeer.’

Continued…. Five hours later, South African troopers had left a trail of blood and destruction, having killed close to 800 Namibians and injured more than 1,000 people in one of the bloodiest days in the struggle against the apartheid regime.

As news of the massacre spread, the world reacted with horror. The South African apartheid regime claimed the Cassinga camp was a SWAPO military base housing trained fighters. However, the only fighters present provided security at the majority-civilian camp. Further, the United Nations and a media delegation that visited the camp shortly after the attack confirmed South Africa had killed refugees. 

For instance, Guardian News Service journalist Jane Bergerol’s report stated, ‘The camp has been almost totally destroyed. Three walls of the school remain standing. Inside is the rubble of home-made desks, English-language lesson books, exercises in Ovambo and English. Most of the children we saw were under 12 years old.’

We mourn the deaths of the Namibian refugees who fled an apartheid regime, and we salute SWAPO freedom fighters who eventually prevailed as part of the broader anti-apartheid movement.

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THE 'MOORS' WERE AFRICAN

From 711 AD to 718 AD, Umayyad commander Tariq Bin Ziyad led an African Muslim army to invade the Iberian peninsula in modern-day Spain and Portugal. This was the start of 700 years of Afro-Muslim rule in Europe.

This era gave Europe one of its greatest civilisations, known as the Andalus, introducing all kinds of knowledge in medicine, mathematics and more. This period pulled Europeans out of what is known as the Dark Ages and built the foundation to allow Europeans to kickstart European hegemony worldwide. European historians refer to the Berbers, Arabs, Africans and Black people of that era as 'Moors.'

In this clip, Professor James Small said Europeans emphasise the term Moor to whitewash the African and Muslim nature of this Iberian peninsular civilisation. He goes further to say Europeans enslaved the same Black people who shared their knowledge with Europe.

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AMA ATA AIDOO: THE POWER OF WORDS

Ama Ata Aidoo was a titan of African literature - crafting narratives that flow with the rhythms of the continent. With unflinching honesty, she shed light on the intersection of tradition and modernity, mixing in feminism and the fight against a colonial mentality. Her storytelling invited readers to explore themes of identity, gender and cultural heritage with depth and nuance. She was also a woman of action, entering politics as secretary of education in Ghana. Yet Aidoo’s heart always remained with writing. African Stream’s Wambura Mwai takes a look at her life and literary legacy. Have you read Aidoo’s books?

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COPS’ HIJAB REMOVAL SPARKS OUTRAGE

US police have been caught forcibly removing hijabs of students protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza. This clip appears to show an incident involving a Muslim woman at Arizona State University (ASU).
According to reports, three other women at the rally also had their headscarves removed by cops.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Arizona, described it as a ‘violation of the religious rights of peaceful protesters’ Some argue officers had to search the women, although why not allow a female officer to do it in private? It’s another example of heavy-handed policing at college protests that show no signs of letting up.

Continued…. Palestinians describe the nationwide demos as 'the student intifada,' drawing parallels with the rich Palestinian legacy of protest. Over the last two weeks, hundreds of students have been arrested at dozens of US universities after setting up tent encampments on campuses. They’re demanding colleges cut ties with Israeli-linked companies and investments.

Video Credit: @ShaykhSulaiman

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