Continued........He showered praise on the Sahel’s trio of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger for their people-driven overthrow of neocolonialism. For instance, following the overthrow of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum on 26 July 2023, thousands of people took to the streets to demand the exit of French troops and diplomatic personnel, even besieging French installations.

Meanwhile, South Africa's 29 May elections resulted in a unity government that merged the African National Congress (ANC) with the Democratic Alliance (DA), a party representing the interests of apartheid-era ‘old money.' 

Over in the Sahel, on 6 July, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger established the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) confederation, an anti-imperialist bloc sharing economic, defence and foreign policies, with an eye on creating a federation and eventually uniting Africa. 

Do you agree with M'membe's assessment?

Video credit: Pan African Television (@panafricantv on X)

Sources:

https://www.voanews.com/a/sahel-military-chiefs-form-confederation-cement-exit-from-west-africa-bloc-/7687790.html

https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/07/02/meet-the-victors-in-africas-coup-belt

https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Revolution

https://issafrica.org/iss-today/five-worrying-signs-of-africa-s-poor-election-quality

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/violence-african-elections

https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/sahel-niger/worrying-new-phase-sahel-crisis

https://www.dw.com/en/west-african-ecowas-bloc-weaker-as-three-sahel-nations-quit/a-68115980

https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/9/3/photos-huge-protests-in-niger-call-for-french-forces-to-leave

NIGER: SOME COUPS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS

It’s important to distinguish different types of coup. So argues Booker Omole from the Communist-Marxist Party of Kenya. This is him speaking at a recent conference in Niger noscriptd “In Solidarity with the Peoples of the Sahel." The event took stock of - and stressed the need to defend - the achievements of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger since their revolutionary, anti-neo-colonialist coups. Omole says these reflect true people power and mustn’t be confused with the seizures-of-power backed by neo-imperialists such as the US - which aids and abets coups in far away places only to the extent that it serves its own interests, whatever the cost to the people affected.

Video credit: @Pan African Television

'WE ARE BLACK FIRST!'

'We can't let where the boat dropped us off define who we are,' Laz Alonso (@lazofficial) powerfully reminded us on the Hollywood Unlocked (@hollywoodunlockedUL) entertainment news platform. 

The actor, known for roles including in the film 'Fast and Furious' (2009), referred to how the European Slave Trade sold kidnapped Africans in various parts of the Americas. Yet, modern Black people identify more with the countries they now find themselves in rather than recognising our shared African heritage. This mindset is crucial because, in the eyes of the oppressors, we're African first. 

Let us know what you think in the comments.

Video credit: @hollywoodunlockedUL (X)

Continued.......Sources:

1. https://time.com/6213368/afro-latino-history/

2. https://hispanicwealthproject.org/features/celebrating-afro-latinos-cultural-richness

3. https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/legacy-slavery-caribbean-and-journey-towards-justice#:~:text=Some%2040%20per%20cent%20of,principal%20market%20for%20enslaved%20labour.

4. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/05/02/about-6-million-u-s-adults-identify-as-afro-latino/

5. https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/26/us/black-latinos-afro-latinos-experience/index.html

6. https://www.kqed.org/news/11905454/we-are-black-we-just-speak-spanish-why-some-afro-latinos-want-more-visibility-during-black-history-month

SEX OR STARVATION: SUDANESE WOMEN
ABUSED BY AID WORKERS

Sudanese women escaping the war in Sudan are finding themselves at the mercy of those expected to protect them: aid workers.

Refugees in a Chadian camp are reporting cases of abuse and exploitation, alleging that humanitarian personnel are forcing them to have sex - withholding food, shelter and security if they refuse.

Although aid organisations have banned (even consensual) sex between workers and beneficiaries, such cases have been reported for decades. Yet, save for repetitive statements of condemnation, there seem to be no consequences for those who abuse their position of power.

Sources

https://apnews.com/article/chad-sudan-war-refugees-sexual-exploitation-49b3d344da3573d4abe06bb7c3be965e

https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/2022/09/22/exclusive-alleged-sex-abuse-aid-workers-unchecked-years-un-run-south-sudan-camp

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2022/9/22/sex-abuse-allegations-against-aid-workers-in-south-sudan-un-camp

BURKINA FASO: OUT WITH COLONIAL LEGAL ATTIRE

Burkina Faso can do fashion revolutions as well as ideological ones!

Black gowns and white wigs - the traditional attire of the country’s court magistrates and clerks since colonial times - are out. Legal-sector officials will now wear a locally-sourced and produced garment, made from the traditional Faso Dan Fani fabric.

Not only will this support the economy, it’s another example of Africans reshaping their institutions in accordance with their roots. Another win for the Sahel country!

Video credit: @RTB (YouTube)

Sources:

https://www.africanews.com/2022/10/06/ibrahim-traore-appointed-president-of-burkina-faso//

https://journaldufaso.com/les-magistrats-du-burkina-faso-adoptent-le-faso-dan-fani-une-revolution-dans-le-monde-judiciaire/

https://www.uni-kassel.de/forschung/files/Global_Partnership_Network/2023_MasterarbeitFionaFaye.pdf

Continued......Sources

https://www.judiciary.uk/about-the-judiciary/history-of-the-judiciary-in-england-and-wales/history

https://www.liberationschool.org/sankara-revolution-not-a-replica/

https://journaldufaso.com/les-magistrats-du-burkina-faso-adoptent-le-faso-dan-fani-une-revolution-dans-le-monde-judiciaire/#google_vignette

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zxc2vj6#zhk6g2p

'NO SUCH THING AS A PALESTINIAN' - U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL

In these viral clips, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee’s pro-Israel positions are on display. 

Over the years, the evangelical preacher and former Arkansas governor has endorsed the ongoing Israel's ongoing illegal expansion and occupation of Palestinian lands. Huckabee has also rejected the two-state solution while supporting Israel's plan to annex the West Bank. The 69-year-old Republican Party member has advocated for the relocation of Palestinians from their indigenous lands, saying enough land is available elsewhere to re-settle them. In fact, members of the Zi*nist movement—with Zi*nism being a political ideology that uses Judaism for imperialist purposes—had considered establishing Israel in East Africa before shifting their attention to Palestine.

Continued......It seems Trump, who branded himself an anti-war candidate, may expand on President Joe Biden’s catastrophic West Asia policy that has enabled Israel to k*ll at least 186,000 in Gaza as of early July, according to the Lancet medical journal, and more than 3,500 in Lebanon.

Have a watch, and please share your thoughts.

Credit: @CNN

Before you blow off some steam, remember venting your anger might feel good at the time but it’s not very productive in the long run. As this Nigerian proverb nicely puts it, rage won’t feed you.

Momodou Taal, a 30-year-old PhD student at Cornell University in the United States, will neither be disenrolled from the institution nor deported from the country after the British national of Gambian origin won an appeal in October that reversed the university’s decision to expel him. 

Cornell suspended Taal in September for taking part in shutting down a career fair featuring weapons manufacturers, L3Harris and Boeing, which arm Israel. 

Taal, who is Muslim and participates in pro-Palestine activities, is banned from accessing campus premises and is not allowed to teach a course on Blackness and the racialisation process. However, he is allowed to complete his dissertation. Had Cornell expelled Taal, he would have lost his student visa and immediately been deported from the US.