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IBRAHIM TRAORÉ’S MESSAGE TO BURKINA FASO’S CHILDREN
On 23 August, President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso delivered a simple message to children: Work hard and love your country.
Burkina Faso is a state in Africa’s Sahel region, where shrubs dot the arid landscape. After a successful military coup d’état that ousted a Western-aligned leader in 2022, it has been working to increase productivity, development and national sovereignty. And everybody has a role to play.
Children may not be able to do the work of adults, but Traoré pushes back by encouraging them to help their parents.
Outsiders may be shocked to see children able to navigate farmlands or forestlands with a machete at hand. However, for many people like Traoré, raised within Burkinabé culture, children have household responsibilities and obligations known in the West as ‘chores.’
On 23 August, President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso delivered a simple message to children: Work hard and love your country.
Burkina Faso is a state in Africa’s Sahel region, where shrubs dot the arid landscape. After a successful military coup d’état that ousted a Western-aligned leader in 2022, it has been working to increase productivity, development and national sovereignty. And everybody has a role to play.
Children may not be able to do the work of adults, but Traoré pushes back by encouraging them to help their parents.
Outsiders may be shocked to see children able to navigate farmlands or forestlands with a machete at hand. However, for many people like Traoré, raised within Burkinabé culture, children have household responsibilities and obligations known in the West as ‘chores.’
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Continued……They are also taught important skills that are necessary to thrive in their societies, such as cooking, farming and basic commerce. Education in pre-colonial Africa was hands-on and based on experiential learning. Traditional African education was not built around a classroom and a chalkboard, but rather upon farming tools, cooking utensils, and other equipment. Many would also learn to read and write through the study of religious texts.
In contemporary Western society, children live atomised lives, separated from the ‘adult world,’ with restrictions on where children can go and what they can do. However, in much of Africa, children are tied around their mother’s torso from the moment they are born, travelling everywhere on a daily basis and developing maturity, self-confidence, and social skills at a young age.
Video credit: @rtburkina (IG and X) @rtbgroup (TikTok)
In contemporary Western society, children live atomised lives, separated from the ‘adult world,’ with restrictions on where children can go and what they can do. However, in much of Africa, children are tied around their mother’s torso from the moment they are born, travelling everywhere on a daily basis and developing maturity, self-confidence, and social skills at a young age.
Video credit: @rtburkina (IG and X) @rtbgroup (TikTok)
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LAUGH OR CRY? HOW CORRUPTION WORKS
In this skit, Kenyan content creator @crazy_kennar uses humour to highlight a serious issue affecting his country: rampant corruption.
It’s plagued the country ever since independence.
Kenya’s first president (from 1964-1978) Jomo Kenyatta got the ball rolling - allegedly securing one sixth of European-settler land for himself and his family at knock-down prices, according to a Truth and Reconciliation Commission report. This land had been set aside for settling Africans who had none of their own or who had suffered at the hands of colonisers. His close political allies and his successor, Daniel Arap Moi, also benefitted from this kind of land grabbing.
Under Moi (1978-2002), there was the infamous Goldenberg scandal - a fraud involving gold exports that cost the country a whopping $600 million.
In this skit, Kenyan content creator @crazy_kennar uses humour to highlight a serious issue affecting his country: rampant corruption.
It’s plagued the country ever since independence.
Kenya’s first president (from 1964-1978) Jomo Kenyatta got the ball rolling - allegedly securing one sixth of European-settler land for himself and his family at knock-down prices, according to a Truth and Reconciliation Commission report. This land had been set aside for settling Africans who had none of their own or who had suffered at the hands of colonisers. His close political allies and his successor, Daniel Arap Moi, also benefitted from this kind of land grabbing.
Under Moi (1978-2002), there was the infamous Goldenberg scandal - a fraud involving gold exports that cost the country a whopping $600 million.
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Continued……Under the watch of President Mwai Kibaki’s administration (2003-2013) occurred the Anglo-Leasing scandal, where government contracts for a new passport-printing system were awarded to phantom companies. Millions went missing.
The corruption scandals kept coming when it was Uhuru Kenyatta’s turn to lead (2013-2022): over $7 million earmarked for youth-empowerment projects were embezzled; a Eurobond worth $2 billion went largely unaccounted for - with allegations the lion’s share was funnelled into private accounts; much of the money for the construction of two dams was misappropriated - with high-ranking government officials implicated; and there was the so-called ‘Covid millionaires’ scandal, which saw funds meant for the procurement of PPE find its way into government officials’ pockets.
And today William Ruto looks like he is doing his best to keep the tradition alive. His ‘hustler fund’ was meant to provide financial support to small businesses in Kenya but became mired in allegations of irregularities relating to pay-outs.
With such an atrocious track record, sometimes it’s better to laugh than to cry.
The corruption scandals kept coming when it was Uhuru Kenyatta’s turn to lead (2013-2022): over $7 million earmarked for youth-empowerment projects were embezzled; a Eurobond worth $2 billion went largely unaccounted for - with allegations the lion’s share was funnelled into private accounts; much of the money for the construction of two dams was misappropriated - with high-ranking government officials implicated; and there was the so-called ‘Covid millionaires’ scandal, which saw funds meant for the procurement of PPE find its way into government officials’ pockets.
And today William Ruto looks like he is doing his best to keep the tradition alive. His ‘hustler fund’ was meant to provide financial support to small businesses in Kenya but became mired in allegations of irregularities relating to pay-outs.
With such an atrocious track record, sometimes it’s better to laugh than to cry.
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RACIST REPUBLICANS INSULT HAITIANS
The Republican Party in the United States has earned a reputation for insulting and disparaging Black people and immigrants.
This time, their targets are Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. Things spiralled out of control when Republican vice-president candidate J.D. Vance popularised a rumour that the Haitian community in the Ohio city are stealing and eating pets, such as cats, as well as wild ducks. This claim is baseless and rooted in racist stereotypes designed to make Haitian people seem uncivilised. The rumour spread like wildfire among other Republicans and supporters of controversial Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The Republican Party in the United States has earned a reputation for insulting and disparaging Black people and immigrants.
This time, their targets are Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. Things spiralled out of control when Republican vice-president candidate J.D. Vance popularised a rumour that the Haitian community in the Ohio city are stealing and eating pets, such as cats, as well as wild ducks. This claim is baseless and rooted in racist stereotypes designed to make Haitian people seem uncivilised. The rumour spread like wildfire among other Republicans and supporters of controversial Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
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Continued……This is not the first time Republicans have been racist toward Haitians. Trump famously referred to Haiti as a sh*thole country in 2018.
Even worse, Republican and Democratic politicians have made life in Haiti worse through an interventionist foreign policy that has consistently backed leaders never chosen by the Haitian people. Last time Trump was in office, he ended the Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, putting nearly 58,700 migrants at risk for deportation.
Even worse, Republican and Democratic politicians have made life in Haiti worse through an interventionist foreign policy that has consistently backed leaders never chosen by the Haitian people. Last time Trump was in office, he ended the Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, putting nearly 58,700 migrants at risk for deportation.
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Today, we remember the almost 3,000 people k*lled in the United States through t*rrorism 23 years ago, on 11 September 2001, and the millions k*lled worldwide in the years that have followed.
After the attacks on US targets, US President George W. Bush declared a global ‘War on T*rror.’ Unfortunately for Africans, countries that had no issues with t*rrorism in 2001—such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Somalia, and Mozambique—have seen a surge in armed violence over the past 23 years that we can trace to decades of US and NATO intervention and exacerbated after 2007 after the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) formed.
For example, t*rrorist activities have ravaged Africa’s arid Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert since NATO’s 2011 invasion of Libya, spurning violent rebels to k*ll former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
After the attacks on US targets, US President George W. Bush declared a global ‘War on T*rror.’ Unfortunately for Africans, countries that had no issues with t*rrorism in 2001—such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Somalia, and Mozambique—have seen a surge in armed violence over the past 23 years that we can trace to decades of US and NATO intervention and exacerbated after 2007 after the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) formed.
For example, t*rrorist activities have ravaged Africa’s arid Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert since NATO’s 2011 invasion of Libya, spurning violent rebels to k*ll former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
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Continued….. Then Sahel-region t*rrorists accessed the fallen Libyan government’s weapons stash and distributed them in Mali, seizing control of large swaths of land in the country’s north. This activity has spilt into its neighbours, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Similarly, the US-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006 led to the rise of the violent t*rrorist group Al-Shabaab, once the radical youth wing of an organisation known as the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which governed the East African country following the 1991 civil war. The ICU had no Al-Qaeda affiliations and was not belligerent. Nevertheless, the US meddled in Somalia’s governance. When the US crushed the ICU, Al-Shabaab elements were all that remained. From there on, the t*rrorism threat that the US claimed to combat was in place.
Similarly, the US-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006 led to the rise of the violent t*rrorist group Al-Shabaab, once the radical youth wing of an organisation known as the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which governed the East African country following the 1991 civil war. The ICU had no Al-Qaeda affiliations and was not belligerent. Nevertheless, the US meddled in Somalia’s governance. When the US crushed the ICU, Al-Shabaab elements were all that remained. From there on, the t*rrorism threat that the US claimed to combat was in place.
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However, one country offers a glimmer of possibility. On 16 March, Niger became the first country in the history of Africa to break ties with AFRICOM, choosing instead to form a confederation with neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali for a shared defence, economic and foreign policy. Could this signify a new way forward for Africa?
What is your take? Has the so-called war on terror helped to fight terrorism or made the terrorist threat worse?
What is your take? Has the so-called war on terror helped to fight terrorism or made the terrorist threat worse?
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TAXI TRAORÉ! THE WHEELS OF REVOLUTION?
The revolutions in the Sahel have captured the imaginations of Africans across the continent - including artists who decorate Kenya’s beloved ‘matatu’ taxi minibuses, which are like art galleries on wheels. Their exteriors are typically bedecked with colourful graffiti-style designs and cartoons, as well as portraits of cult musicians and actors. But a new face has been spotted on Nairobi matatus: that of Burkina Faso’s anti-imperialist leader, Ibrahim Traoré.
Like the people of Burkina Faso, Kenyans have been standing up for their rights and fighting back against exploitation by imperialist foreign actors.
The revolutions in the Sahel have captured the imaginations of Africans across the continent - including artists who decorate Kenya’s beloved ‘matatu’ taxi minibuses, which are like art galleries on wheels. Their exteriors are typically bedecked with colourful graffiti-style designs and cartoons, as well as portraits of cult musicians and actors. But a new face has been spotted on Nairobi matatus: that of Burkina Faso’s anti-imperialist leader, Ibrahim Traoré.
Like the people of Burkina Faso, Kenyans have been standing up for their rights and fighting back against exploitation by imperialist foreign actors.
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Continued….. This was most evident in the recent mass protests that swept Kenya in opposition to IMF-pushed tax hikes. These were mainly attended by young people, undeterred by the harsh police crackdown which proved fatal to dozens. Burkina’s youth are also instrumental in the change their country is undergoing, with Traoré - at 36 - one of the world’s youngest leaders.
So the question for Kenyans is: will it just be their matatus’ wheels that will be experiencing a ‘revolution’?
Video credit: @Abraza Africana
So the question for Kenyans is: will it just be their matatus’ wheels that will be experiencing a ‘revolution’?
Video credit: @Abraza Africana
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THE OTHER 9/11
Fifty-one years ago on this day, 11 September 1973, the United States helped right-wing forces overthrow democratically elected and popular Chilean President Salvador Allende (1908-73). The ousting ushered in a fascist dictatorship and mass privatisation of public services, birthing neoliberalism, where the state was shrunk to the bare minimum and profit-driven businesses took over public services.
Allende ran on a progressive platform, promising, for example, to nationalise the US-dominated copper industry. After Allende's 1970 election, US President Richard Nixon (1913-94) ordered the CIA to make the Chilean economy 'scream,' creating a conducive environment for a coup d'état. The CIA spent millions of dollars supporting worker strikes and propaganda against Allende, with one publication, El Mercurio, receiving at least $1.5 million. US officials also backed economic measures and monetary aid cuts to squeeze Allende's government into an 'invisible blockade.'
Fifty-one years ago on this day, 11 September 1973, the United States helped right-wing forces overthrow democratically elected and popular Chilean President Salvador Allende (1908-73). The ousting ushered in a fascist dictatorship and mass privatisation of public services, birthing neoliberalism, where the state was shrunk to the bare minimum and profit-driven businesses took over public services.
Allende ran on a progressive platform, promising, for example, to nationalise the US-dominated copper industry. After Allende's 1970 election, US President Richard Nixon (1913-94) ordered the CIA to make the Chilean economy 'scream,' creating a conducive environment for a coup d'état. The CIA spent millions of dollars supporting worker strikes and propaganda against Allende, with one publication, El Mercurio, receiving at least $1.5 million. US officials also backed economic measures and monetary aid cuts to squeeze Allende's government into an 'invisible blockade.'
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Continued….. The Chilean military launched the coup by bombing the presidential palace. After giving a final address to his people, Allende committed su*cide.
The ensuing military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1915-2006) committed countless human rights violations, k*lling and torturing tens of thousands. Testimonies of helicopter mechanics revealed that the military dropped the corpses of about 400 people out of aeroplanes into the Pacific Ocean. Historians estimate the military tortured 20,000 to 40,000 people inside a stadium before k*lling some.
Overall, during Pinochet's 17-year reign, more than 3,000 people would be disappeared or k*lled, and about 38,000 would become political prisoners thought to have been tortured.
According to Peter Kornbluh, director of the US-based nonprofit Chile Documentation Project at the National Security Archive, the dictatorship received US backing. In 1976, then-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (1923-2023) told Pinochet, 'You did a great service to the West in overthrowing Allende. We want to support you, not hurt you.'
The ensuing military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1915-2006) committed countless human rights violations, k*lling and torturing tens of thousands. Testimonies of helicopter mechanics revealed that the military dropped the corpses of about 400 people out of aeroplanes into the Pacific Ocean. Historians estimate the military tortured 20,000 to 40,000 people inside a stadium before k*lling some.
Overall, during Pinochet's 17-year reign, more than 3,000 people would be disappeared or k*lled, and about 38,000 would become political prisoners thought to have been tortured.
According to Peter Kornbluh, director of the US-based nonprofit Chile Documentation Project at the National Security Archive, the dictatorship received US backing. In 1976, then-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (1923-2023) told Pinochet, 'You did a great service to the West in overthrowing Allende. We want to support you, not hurt you.'
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ADANI EYES JKIA
A controversial deal seeking to grant an Indian multinational control over Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Kenya’s biggest, has triggered a strike by workers at the hub. The plan, which only came to light thanks to a whistleblower, would see Adani Holdings operate the airport for 30 years - and invest $1.85 billion into renovating it and building a new runway and terminal.
Critics say a foreign takeover poses a national security threat, owing to the importance of the airport in regional aviation.
A controversial deal seeking to grant an Indian multinational control over Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Kenya’s biggest, has triggered a strike by workers at the hub. The plan, which only came to light thanks to a whistleblower, would see Adani Holdings operate the airport for 30 years - and invest $1.85 billion into renovating it and building a new runway and terminal.
Critics say a foreign takeover poses a national security threat, owing to the importance of the airport in regional aviation.
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Continued….. The striking airport staff are mostly worried about potential job losses and poorer working conditions. This issue has already been raised with Kenya’s High Court - which ordered a temporary halt to the lease deal.
Some also claim Kenya could afford to upgrade the strategic asset itself if it did more to root out government corruption, which according to a 2020 report by ganintegrity, high corruption levels in Kenya penetrate every sector of the economy.
What are your thoughts? Should Kenyans accept their main airport being under the control of a foreign multinational for three decades or should the strikes intensify?
Some also claim Kenya could afford to upgrade the strategic asset itself if it did more to root out government corruption, which according to a 2020 report by ganintegrity, high corruption levels in Kenya penetrate every sector of the economy.
What are your thoughts? Should Kenyans accept their main airport being under the control of a foreign multinational for three decades or should the strikes intensify?
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BODYCAM CAPTURES NFL STAR ARREST
Police have released body-cam footage of the moment American football star Tyreek Hill was arrested just hours before his opening match of the season. It shows the Miami Dolphins player being pulled over, grabbed from his car, slammed to the ground and handcuffed.
Officers stopped him after suspecting he was speeding and yelled at him to keep his window down, something he didn’t do in a timely fashion according to the officers. That’s when the altercation started near the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Sunday.
Two of Mr Hill’s teammates, Calais Campbell and Jonnu Smith, stopped nearby when they saw what was happening. Mr Campbell says he was then handcuffed when he tried to intervene.
Police have released body-cam footage of the moment American football star Tyreek Hill was arrested just hours before his opening match of the season. It shows the Miami Dolphins player being pulled over, grabbed from his car, slammed to the ground and handcuffed.
Officers stopped him after suspecting he was speeding and yelled at him to keep his window down, something he didn’t do in a timely fashion according to the officers. That’s when the altercation started near the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Sunday.
Two of Mr Hill’s teammates, Calais Campbell and Jonnu Smith, stopped nearby when they saw what was happening. Mr Campbell says he was then handcuffed when he tried to intervene.
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Continued……. US media report the incident finished with one officer recognising Hill and more police officers turning up, along with the head of the Miami Dolphins security. Mr Hill is then seen shaking hands with police before walking away.
He went on to score a touchdown in the Dolphins’ 20-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, and celebrated by pretending to be in handcuffs.
After the game, Mr Hill said he hadn’t wound down his window because he didn’t want to be recognised by fans walking past. He also said: ‘I don’t want to bring race into it…What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what that guy or guys would have done.’
Hill’s lawyers have now called for the officers involved to be fired for ‘aggressive and violent’ conduct. One officer has been placed on administrative duty over the incident while the Miami-Dade force investigates what happened.
Meanwhile, it’s reported Mr Hill’s been cited for careless driving and failing to wear a seatbelt.
The shocking arrest sparked anger on social media, with some asking if it was because he was Black?
According to US civil rights group NAACP, police are five times more likely to stop a Black person without just cause, than a white person.
Video credits Miami-Dade Police Department
He went on to score a touchdown in the Dolphins’ 20-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, and celebrated by pretending to be in handcuffs.
After the game, Mr Hill said he hadn’t wound down his window because he didn’t want to be recognised by fans walking past. He also said: ‘I don’t want to bring race into it…What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what that guy or guys would have done.’
Hill’s lawyers have now called for the officers involved to be fired for ‘aggressive and violent’ conduct. One officer has been placed on administrative duty over the incident while the Miami-Dade force investigates what happened.
Meanwhile, it’s reported Mr Hill’s been cited for careless driving and failing to wear a seatbelt.
The shocking arrest sparked anger on social media, with some asking if it was because he was Black?
According to US civil rights group NAACP, police are five times more likely to stop a Black person without just cause, than a white person.
Video credits Miami-Dade Police Department
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