USAID IS NOT A HUMANITARIAN ORG

The Trump administration shutting down the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has reignited scrutiny of the agency’s mandate, which critics argue extends beyond humanitarian aid to covert operations advancing US geopolitical interests. 

USAID worked against Venezuela’s revolutionary leader, Hugo Chavez (1954-2013), orchestrated the 2014 Ukraine coup d’état, and, in 2009, launched a ‘Cuban Twitter’ called ‘ZunZeneo’ to spark political dissent amongst Cuba’s youth.

In Africa, USAID’s legacy is similarly controversial. During the Cold War, the agency’s programmes aligned with US efforts to counter Soviet influence, such as backing corrupt dictatorial administrations like Zaire’s (now DRC) Mobutu Sese Seko (1930-97), whose brutal rule the US tolerated because of his anti-communist stance.

Video credit: @5149jamesli (X)

Continued…….. Sources
USAID Venezuela
https://the307.substack.com/p/how-the-ned-and-usaid-are-tools-of

USAID Ukraine
https://the307.substack.com/p/how-the-ned-and-usaid-are-tools-of

USAID Cuba
https://the307.substack.com/p/how-the-ned-and-usaid-are-tools-of

USAID Congo
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/3/what-is-usaid-and-how-central-is-it-to-us-foreign-policy

ANALYSING CLAIMS AROUND M23

M23 has made some key gains in recent weeks, seizing control of the eastern Congolese city of Goma. Despite unilaterally declaring a ceasefire on 4 February, the rebel group went on to violate this by capturing the town of Nyabibwe - apparently with its sights set on Bukavu, another regional capital in DRC’s east.

While the militia claims its mission is to defend the marginalised Tutsi community, its actions strongly suggest other motives are play - as its trail of atrocities, focus on lucrative mines and all-but-undeniable assistance from neighbouring Rwanda attest.

Our man William Sakawa digs deeper.

Continued……Sources:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/congo-ceasefire-m23-nyabibwe-1.7451523

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/4/rwandan-backed-m23-rebels-declare-ceasefire-in-drc

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-63899461

https://www.msn.com/en-us/war-and-conflicts/military/un-says-the-death-toll-in-fighting-in-the-eastern-congo-city-of-goma-is-at-least-900/ar-AA1ylgli

https://cic.nyu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/The-Resurgence-of-the-M23-EN.pdf
https://www.hrw.org/report/2005/06/01/curse-gold

https://archive.ph/HA8kK
https://www.hrw.org/report/2005/06/01/curse-gold

https://www.africa-confidential.com/article/id/14013/Tshisekedi-calls-out-Kagame-on-the-M23-militia

https://docs.un.org/en/s/2024/432

LET’S TALK ABOUT LINGUISTIC IMPERIALISM

Linguistic imperialism is the process whereby dominant powers impose their language on those they colonise, suppressing indigenous languages and thus marginalising their speakers and sustaining power inequalities.

Indigenous languages in colonial Africa were frowned upon, while colonial languages were made mandatory. In Anglophone Africa, policies were all written in English; media and broadcasting used English; and there were many systemic policies forbidding the use of indigenous languages.

For example, students in many Kenyan schools were punished for using any other languages, with most of these punishments involving shaming tactics such as the wearing of bones from dead animals as chains around the neck. This also happened to the indigenous people who were forced to speak Arabic and change their names in places like Sudan.

Continued……. This warped the consciousness of individuals, leading to a loss of appreciation for indigenous languages and cultures - and promoted the adoption of the coloniser’s worldview, values, systems and structures.

UNESCO’s 1953 report, The Use of Vernacular Languages in Education, indicated that around 40% of the global population received education in an unfamiliar language. Africa, which is home to nearly 30% of the world’s languages, still uses the colonisers’ languages as national languages.

Consequently, the education and values instilled remain those of the colonisers. Many languages are at risk of extinction, with only a few speakers left. The loss of these languages is equivalent to the loss of African heritage and culture.

Sources:

https://books.google.co.ke/books/about/The_Use_of_Vernacular_Languages_in_Educa.html?id=rKH1nAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10032042/

https://repo.pacuniversity.ac.ke/items/55d065ce-2b5d-4b16-9b81-93ff9ba4d218

https://publishingperspectives.com/2017/04/ngugi-wa-thiongo-on-translation/

A Post-Colonial Perspective on African Education Systems by Getahun Yacob Abraham

English and American Linguistic Hegemony: A Case Study of the Educational Testing Service by Yeonhee Yoo and Gon Namkung

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-024-02821-z

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379561854_Linguistic_Imperialism_as_a_Tool_in_Cultural_Hegemony_Language_Decline_and_Revitalization_of_Indigenous_Communities_in_Canada

BELGIUM ORDERED TO PAY FOR CONGO CHILD KIDNAPPINGS

In a landmark decision, Belgium’s court of appeal recently declared that the systematic kidnapping of mixed-race children from their African mothers in the Belgian-controlled territories of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi amounted to crimes against humanity. This pivotal case was filed by five women, now in their 70s, who were forcibly taken from their Congolese mothers between 1948 and 1953. The ruling is not just a victory for the plaintiffs, it is a rare acknowledgement of Belgium’s colonial crimes - and also sets a precedent for recognising other injustices, as well as reinforces the growing demand for reparations.

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/02/belgium-found-guilty-of-crimes-against-humanity-in-colonial-congo

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/12/court-ruling-crimes-against-humanity-belgium-colonial-africa-hailed-turning-point

DID INDIANS DO INDEPENDENCE BETTER?

Did Indians deal with their colonial past better than Africans? Thau-Thau Haramanuba, the leader of South Africa’s Rastafari United Front, seems to think so. He claims we’re still stuck trying to conform to British ideals and culture, whereas the Indians just kept what served them - the technology. Is he right? Do we, for example, obsess too much about ‘perfect’ spoken English as a marker of intelligence? Do we try to imitate European culture too much? Like why are African judges in 2025 still wearing those silly wigs? Why do we think looking smart is wearing a suit made by Italians? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

MIKE BENZ: HOW U.S. DEFEATS CHINA IN AFRICA

How far is the United States willing to go to block African collaboration with China? 

In this video clip, former US State Department official Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber on X) revealed a destabilisation training initially published by the US 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), a military contingent specialising in ‘irregular warfare’ using an ‘indigenous approach.’ The document, noscriptd, ‘A Vision for 2021 and Beyond,’ uses an example of a made-up West African country that they call ‘Naruvu’ to demonstrate how the US military, US State Department, intelligence forces, and US Agency for International Development (USAID) could collaborate to sabotage an African state that is cooperating ‘too much’ with China.

Continued……. Many have been confused by the Trump administration’s recent decision to shut down USAID, an agency that has claimed to advance US foreign-policy interests and ‘open markets’ for US companies. US Senator Chris Murphy recently admitted on CNN, ‘USAID chases China all over the world, making sure China doesn’t monopolise contracts for critical minerals and port infrastructure all around the world.’

Video credit: @MrWinMarshall (X)

Sources:

https://www.moore.army.mil/infantry/magazine/issues/2021/Summer/pdf/7_Thielenhaus_txt.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20241209133304

https://www.soc.mil/USASFC/Documents/1sfc-vision-2021-beyond.pdf

https://x.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1886505754959454303

NO LET-UP IN CONGO’S HORROR: LEOPOLD II TO M23

The recent surge in violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has resulted in the eastern city of Goma falling under the control of Rwanda- and Uganda-backed M23 rebels.

The three-decade-long conflict - largely over natural resources - has thrown the Congo into one of the worst humanitarian crises in Africa.

However, as Maurice Carney, co-founder and executive director of Friends of Congo, points out, the roots of the Congo’s oppression and plunder stretch back much further. From the brutal reign of King Leopold II of Belgium to subsequent dictatorships, the DRC has been trapped in a spiral of relentless turmoil.

Video credit: Friends of Congo

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

SHOWDOWN: NIGERIA’S DANGOTE VS GLOBAL OIL GIANTS

There is a straight line from colonial exploitation to modern-day neocolonialism. Most African countries don’t process their raw materials. Instead, value is added abroad, and finished products are reimported, benefiting foreign companies.

When Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, announced that Nigeria would be moving up the value chain and that he would be building a 20-billion dollar, 650,000-barrels-a-day refinery that would meet domestic needs and export to the rest of Africa, ending the country’s age-old reliance on global oil giants, local importers and state regulators - who for decades have lived comfortably in those giants’ pockets - lost it.

Continued……. Efforts to sabotage the project, the largest single-train refinery in the world, which began operations in January of 2023, got underway. The Dangote refinery, which represents a threat to the West’s lucrative refinery-products market share, has been struggling to acquire enough feedstock of Nigerian crude. Some of Europe’s largest refineries, including Shell and TotalEnergies, have for decades had a stranglehold on Nigeria’s oil industry. They essentially refused to sell crude to the Dangote refinery, insisting on a $6 premium above market price - forcing it to source crude from Brazil and the United States at a higher price.

However, the tides are shifting. A new OPEC report reveals that the Dangote refinery has begun impacting European refiners, whose margins are being squeezed. The refinery has surpassed the capacity of Europe’s largest facilities, reducing Nigeria’s dependence on petroleum-product imports from Europe. According to OPEC, gasoline production in Nigeria is freeing up significant volumes in international markets, requiring Europe to find new buyers and adjust trade flows. Experts warn that the Dangote refinery could end the $17-billion-per-year gasoline trade from Europe to Africa, dealing a major blow to European refiners.

African Stream’s Erick Gavala takes a deep dive into this high-stakes showdown. Your reactions in the comments are appreciated.

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

ASSATA SHAKUR ON IMPERIALISM

The liberation of Black people will not come out of an individualistic pursuit of capitalist success - as embodied by figures such as Rockefeller or DuPont. That path only perpetuates systemic exploitation and inequality. As exiled political activist Assata Shakur puts it in this clip, the same system that subjugated the people of Vietnam and Black people in America cannot bring about our freedom. Liberation will arise out of socialism.

She highlights the importance of international solidarity, as the systems of oppression are themselves international. A break from capitalism will facilitate a world centred on human dignity, ecological sustainability and collective welfare.

Have a watch and please share your thoughts.

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

BURKINA FASO’S PEOPLE ARE ITS BIGGEST RESOURCE

In 1983, in what was then known as Upper Volta—now Burkina Faso—a revolutionary 33-year-old military captain known as Thomas Sankara (1949-87) rose to power through a popular coup d’état that shaped the trajectory of the country for years to come. Sankara’s radical leadership inspired millions worldwide in just four years as president. Many Africans see him as the gold standard for an African leader. 

In this clip, Milton Allimadi, journalist, author, and co-founder of US-based newspaper Black Star News, explained why Sankara still commands respect decades later.

For example, Thomas Sankara’s literacy campaign increased the literacy rate from 13 per cent in 1983 to 73 per cent in 1987. Plus, his government planted over 10 million trees and built roads and railways.

Continued…….. Furthermore, he recruited women into government and reduced public servant salaries and government expenditure on luxuries. His anti-corruption campaign was so firm that he rode a bicycle to work and, upon his death, Sankara only had $350 in his bank account.

French-backed assassins k*lling Sankara helped revert Burkina Faso to a neo-colonial state under Sankara’s comrade-turned-enemy, President Blaise Compaoré. A 2014 popular uprising forced him to step down, and nearly a decade of instability followed.

However, since 30 September 2022, the state in Africa’s arid Sahel region appears to be back on the tracks Sankara set it upon under the leadership of Ibrahim Traoré, who came to power in a people-backed coup d’état. Severing military cooperation ties with France and opposing Western aid from the IMF and World Bank have placed the country on the path of liberation and self-sufficiency.

Sankara had asserted that ‘he who feeds you controls you,’ a philosophy shared by Congo’s revolutionary leader, Patrice Lumumba (1925-61), who declared that meaningful political independence must be ‘accompanied by rapid economic and social development.’ Unfortunately, the Congo veered off Lumumba’s charted course following his brutal assassination by Belgian-, UK- and US-backed Congolese forces.

Sources:

https://www.thomassankara.net/facts-about-thomas-sankara-in-burkina-faso/?lang=en

https://www.thenation.com/article/world/thomas-sankara-trial/

https://hoodcommunist.org/2023/03/02/the-homeland-or-death-accomplishments-of-the-traore-government-in-burkina-faso/

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2014/10/31/burkina-faso-ghost-of-africas-che-guevara

https://africacenter.org/spotlight/understanding-burkina-faso-latest-coup/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/23/timeline-burkina-faso-unrest

https://africacenter.org/spotlight/understanding-burkina-faso-latest-coup

https://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/lumumba/1960/08/31.htm