By Paul Ndiho
January 01/25/2011
Millions of Southern Sudanese have lived in northern Sudan for decades. Some had jobs, others were married and their children were born there. But it was never quite home. In days leading up to the referendum, tens of thousands started going back home to the South. The UNHCR estimates that more 180,000 southern Sudanese have returned. VOA’s Paul Ndiho caught up Dominik Bartsch, UNHCR’S program coordinator for Sudan and Chad, who says much of the area remains devastated and undeveloped. And that many of returnees will continue to depend on assistance to rebuild their lives.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
MALI POWER BLACKOUTS
BY PAUL NDIHO, WASHINGTON D.C
JANUARY 01, 25, 2011
Power blackouts, also known as “load shedding,” are one of Africa’s biggest challenges in the 21st century as the demand for energy is at all time high. Experts say more than 75% of African nations are facing serious electricity shortages. Paul Ndiho has more:
Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the fastest growing economies in the world. About one-seventh of the world's people live in Africa but the continent generates only 4% of global electricity. More than half of the total population in sub-Saharan Africans has no access to power. But in central Mali, that situation is about to change:
“It has changed a lot to have electricity. Before, I needed a generator and it was expensive to pay for its fuel. I use the electricity also in the daytime for the fridge.”
Maimouna Sacko owns this small restaurant in the city of Seribala in central Mali. Until recently, she served breakfast and lunch in the dark.
She now gets electricity from a nearby power station, thanks to a national energy project and the World Bank.
“It is not even comparable to before. Now I work at night and also in the daytime I can sell cold drinks so I am selling more now than before.”
But still, only 24 percent of Mali’s population has access to electricity. That rate is even lower in rural areas like Seribala.
The energy project is reversing that by paying local private companies to operate off-grid power stations, such as the one providing energy to Seribala.
“All development depends on electricity. We can’t progress in obscurity. The people were in obscurity before we came. Now the city is doing well.”
The Mali project funds almost 50 private companies to manage about 80 power stations across the country. The stations provide power to 650,000 people and hundreds of public places. Shop owner Amadou Drame.
“We are happy. Even if the bill is sometimes expensive, I do all I can to pay and if there is a problem, the company comes and fixes it immediately.”
Amadou says since getting electricity he does business until 2 o'clock in the morning, and is able to provide for his family. Amadou's success story could be repeated elsewhere on the continent - analysts say having reliable power could add more than 2 percent to the annual growth rate of the worst-hit African countries.
JANUARY 01, 25, 2011
Power blackouts, also known as “load shedding,” are one of Africa’s biggest challenges in the 21st century as the demand for energy is at all time high. Experts say more than 75% of African nations are facing serious electricity shortages. Paul Ndiho has more:
Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the fastest growing economies in the world. About one-seventh of the world's people live in Africa but the continent generates only 4% of global electricity. More than half of the total population in sub-Saharan Africans has no access to power. But in central Mali, that situation is about to change:
“It has changed a lot to have electricity. Before, I needed a generator and it was expensive to pay for its fuel. I use the electricity also in the daytime for the fridge.”
Maimouna Sacko owns this small restaurant in the city of Seribala in central Mali. Until recently, she served breakfast and lunch in the dark.
She now gets electricity from a nearby power station, thanks to a national energy project and the World Bank.
“It is not even comparable to before. Now I work at night and also in the daytime I can sell cold drinks so I am selling more now than before.”
But still, only 24 percent of Mali’s population has access to electricity. That rate is even lower in rural areas like Seribala.
The energy project is reversing that by paying local private companies to operate off-grid power stations, such as the one providing energy to Seribala.
“All development depends on electricity. We can’t progress in obscurity. The people were in obscurity before we came. Now the city is doing well.”
The Mali project funds almost 50 private companies to manage about 80 power stations across the country. The stations provide power to 650,000 people and hundreds of public places. Shop owner Amadou Drame.
“We are happy. Even if the bill is sometimes expensive, I do all I can to pay and if there is a problem, the company comes and fixes it immediately.”
Amadou says since getting electricity he does business until 2 o'clock in the morning, and is able to provide for his family. Amadou's success story could be repeated elsewhere on the continent - analysts say having reliable power could add more than 2 percent to the annual growth rate of the worst-hit African countries.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Illegal Mining in Eastern Congo
By Paul Ndiho
January 13, 2011
Following a ban on mining activities in a large part of eastern Congo, business in the surrounding areas is coming to a halt. Businessmen and officials fear the ban could damage other economic sectors.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining-driven economy has been crippled by the global economy's drop in demand for minerals. Income from mining and other exports make up more than 60 percent of state revenues. To put an end to illegal mining, last year the government banned all mining activities in Eastern Congo. Political analyst Yussa Bunzigiye Prosper says the mining ban has had a detrimental effect on working people:
“I think the government in Congo is running away from their responsibility. The primary duty of the government is to provide security for the people, irrespective of whatever activity. The Government cannot prevent people from trying to make a living or to have something to eat. And those people depend on any activity which have been used to, be it mining.”
Tin ore, or cassiterite, is in huge demand worldwide for its use in electronics. Congo's eastern Walikale district is home to most of the country's cassiterite, and where more than 300 rapes took place in a rebel attack in July and August. The rising insecurity prompted the government in September to ban mining in North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema provinces. But local business people say the ban is hurting them more than it is improving security.
''Since the president suspended cassiterite mining, we are not selling. The cassiterite miners used to come from the Goma bush and would bring cassiterite to be sold. After that, they would buy other materials for their own environment. Since this problem however, there is no circulation of money. We are not selling at all.''
An estimated 5 million people are believed to have been killed in the Congo since the start of civil war. The Congolese government and U.N. forces are still struggling to uproot various rebel groups active in the region.
Business people in Eastern Congo say that the mining ban only leads to smuggling of minerals, and hurts everyone:
“The consequences are serious. Soon, we wouldn't have worked for four months. Can you imagine what kind of an impact this will have? Go speak to the bankers, go speak to businesses, go speak to the aviation sector, go see the people that are in the petrol business, everything is moving at a very slow pace''
Yusser Prosper says that President Joseph Kabila’s decision to ban mining in the eastern DRC diverts attention from real problems:
"Are you suggesting that President Joseph Kabila is part of the corruption, part of the scam to steal away from his own people?
“You cannot say that the whole country has bee has been mismanaged as a result of the illegal mining. No, you go in other parts of the country which have nothing to do with illicit mining in Congo and you still see the same thing…You still see insecurity, You still see violence against women and those are the failures of the government, and the corruption. The corruption is the one, which is the foundation of all this wrong things which are happening in the Congo."
Congo's cassiteriate made up about 5 percent of world production this year. More than 50,000 people were affected after exports worth $10 ten million dollars came to a halt. Many mining companies have tons of ore sitting in warehouses or in the bush, waiting for the freeze to be lifted. And United Nations experts say that tin mines previously run by rebels have mostly been taken over by the army.
January 13, 2011
Following a ban on mining activities in a large part of eastern Congo, business in the surrounding areas is coming to a halt. Businessmen and officials fear the ban could damage other economic sectors.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining-driven economy has been crippled by the global economy's drop in demand for minerals. Income from mining and other exports make up more than 60 percent of state revenues. To put an end to illegal mining, last year the government banned all mining activities in Eastern Congo. Political analyst Yussa Bunzigiye Prosper says the mining ban has had a detrimental effect on working people:
“I think the government in Congo is running away from their responsibility. The primary duty of the government is to provide security for the people, irrespective of whatever activity. The Government cannot prevent people from trying to make a living or to have something to eat. And those people depend on any activity which have been used to, be it mining.”
Tin ore, or cassiterite, is in huge demand worldwide for its use in electronics. Congo's eastern Walikale district is home to most of the country's cassiterite, and where more than 300 rapes took place in a rebel attack in July and August. The rising insecurity prompted the government in September to ban mining in North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema provinces. But local business people say the ban is hurting them more than it is improving security.
''Since the president suspended cassiterite mining, we are not selling. The cassiterite miners used to come from the Goma bush and would bring cassiterite to be sold. After that, they would buy other materials for their own environment. Since this problem however, there is no circulation of money. We are not selling at all.''
An estimated 5 million people are believed to have been killed in the Congo since the start of civil war. The Congolese government and U.N. forces are still struggling to uproot various rebel groups active in the region.
Business people in Eastern Congo say that the mining ban only leads to smuggling of minerals, and hurts everyone:
“The consequences are serious. Soon, we wouldn't have worked for four months. Can you imagine what kind of an impact this will have? Go speak to the bankers, go speak to businesses, go speak to the aviation sector, go see the people that are in the petrol business, everything is moving at a very slow pace''
Yusser Prosper says that President Joseph Kabila’s decision to ban mining in the eastern DRC diverts attention from real problems:
"Are you suggesting that President Joseph Kabila is part of the corruption, part of the scam to steal away from his own people?
“You cannot say that the whole country has bee has been mismanaged as a result of the illegal mining. No, you go in other parts of the country which have nothing to do with illicit mining in Congo and you still see the same thing…You still see insecurity, You still see violence against women and those are the failures of the government, and the corruption. The corruption is the one, which is the foundation of all this wrong things which are happening in the Congo."
Congo's cassiteriate made up about 5 percent of world production this year. More than 50,000 people were affected after exports worth $10 ten million dollars came to a halt. Many mining companies have tons of ore sitting in warehouses or in the bush, waiting for the freeze to be lifted. And United Nations experts say that tin mines previously run by rebels have mostly been taken over by the army.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Photo Exhibit Shows Grim Face of War
By Amra Alirejsovic & Valer Gergely
Italian photojournalist Enrico Dagnino at his "War Zone" exhibit
Twenty-five years of war around the world are on display at a new exhibit in Washington, DC, called the "War Zone." It's a collection of still photographs by Italian photojournalist Enrico Dagnino - powerful images that shine a spotlight on the cruelty of war. Dagnino has covered all the recent conflicts in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. His pictures tell stories which echo the thoughts of other journalists who also were there. And they tell a tale of war and survival.
Born in Italy and based in Paris, photographer Enrico Dagnino has gone to the heart of conflicts around the world: Bosnia, Croatia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Kenya, Somalia. He has been arrested, beaten and threatened many times while covering wars. We reached him in Kenya, before his next assignment in Sudan.
"The moment I take the picture is like I am almost not there. It slowly starts coming later and growing inside you," he says.
Please be advised that some of the images are extremely graphic in nature and may not be suitable for all viewers.
The stories of war are also the stories of survival. One of the most cruel conflicts in recent history was the one in Chechnya in the mid-1990s, which unofficially claimed about 300,000 lives. Many people are still missing, including the husband of journalist Fatima Tlisova. Tlisova herself was arrested seven times, and even poisoned, because of her reporting.
"When you report from the war, you see human flesh everywhere," she says. "In the winter it is corpses half eaten by dogs on the streets, in the summer it is mostly the smell. It is penetrating your lungs."
More than 100,000 people were killed in the war in Bosnia between 1992-1995. 2.2 million people were displaced and over a million ended up as refugees. Sixteen-hundred children alone were killed during the siege of the capital, Sarajevo.
"One had to have enough strength and courage to go out in the street and not look around, because there was not a single day that I did not see a dead body around me," says Mladen Bosnjak, who covered the seige for Radio Sarajevo.
Enrico Dagnino was there too. He says the brutality of one Serbian paramilitary leader, Zeljko Raznatovic, was almost too much for him to handle.
"At the beginning of the Sarajevo siege I saw a soldier running on a bridge," he says. "That was the only moment when I was a little bit scared to press the shutter. But I did press it, and they arrested me, confiscated the film, beat me."
Dagnino says the images of war he most vividly remembers are from Bosnia - and from the wars he covered in Africa.
Fierce fighting in Democratic Republic of Congo in 2000 was the widest multi-national war in modern African history. Paul Ndiho was another journalist who took great personal risks there.
"I have never been in a situation where I had seen so many people killed in one night," he says. "People were massacred in large number, especially women and children. I saw several mass graves, people who were buried, fresh bodies being taken out of their houses."
French photographer Jean Louis Atlan is the owner of the Zone 2.8 gallery, which is hosting the “War Zone” exhibit. He also covered events in Afghanistan, Iran, Poland and the Middle East -- and covered the White House for 10 years as well.
"You do not see those pictures in magazines," he says. "You see them maybe once from time to time. The difficulty of taking a photograph is to try to get in one photograph the whole story."
Enrico Dagnino says his images can be seen as question marks for human behavior. He says that he does not trust humanity as he did before. Other journalists feel the same way. Fatima Tlisova says that “it can’t be true, but it is.” And Paul Nidho adds that he is haunted by the voices of conflicts he covered, and that he sometimes hears them in his dreams.
But Dagnino says he has no regrets. Given the option, he would do it all over.
"In my next life I will be a photojournalist again…. For sure…," he says.
Italian photojournalist Enrico Dagnino at his "War Zone" exhibit
Twenty-five years of war around the world are on display at a new exhibit in Washington, DC, called the "War Zone." It's a collection of still photographs by Italian photojournalist Enrico Dagnino - powerful images that shine a spotlight on the cruelty of war. Dagnino has covered all the recent conflicts in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. His pictures tell stories which echo the thoughts of other journalists who also were there. And they tell a tale of war and survival.
Born in Italy and based in Paris, photographer Enrico Dagnino has gone to the heart of conflicts around the world: Bosnia, Croatia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Kenya, Somalia. He has been arrested, beaten and threatened many times while covering wars. We reached him in Kenya, before his next assignment in Sudan.
"The moment I take the picture is like I am almost not there. It slowly starts coming later and growing inside you," he says.
Please be advised that some of the images are extremely graphic in nature and may not be suitable for all viewers.
The stories of war are also the stories of survival. One of the most cruel conflicts in recent history was the one in Chechnya in the mid-1990s, which unofficially claimed about 300,000 lives. Many people are still missing, including the husband of journalist Fatima Tlisova. Tlisova herself was arrested seven times, and even poisoned, because of her reporting.
"When you report from the war, you see human flesh everywhere," she says. "In the winter it is corpses half eaten by dogs on the streets, in the summer it is mostly the smell. It is penetrating your lungs."
More than 100,000 people were killed in the war in Bosnia between 1992-1995. 2.2 million people were displaced and over a million ended up as refugees. Sixteen-hundred children alone were killed during the siege of the capital, Sarajevo.
"One had to have enough strength and courage to go out in the street and not look around, because there was not a single day that I did not see a dead body around me," says Mladen Bosnjak, who covered the seige for Radio Sarajevo.
Enrico Dagnino was there too. He says the brutality of one Serbian paramilitary leader, Zeljko Raznatovic, was almost too much for him to handle.
"At the beginning of the Sarajevo siege I saw a soldier running on a bridge," he says. "That was the only moment when I was a little bit scared to press the shutter. But I did press it, and they arrested me, confiscated the film, beat me."
Dagnino says the images of war he most vividly remembers are from Bosnia - and from the wars he covered in Africa.
Fierce fighting in Democratic Republic of Congo in 2000 was the widest multi-national war in modern African history. Paul Ndiho was another journalist who took great personal risks there.
"I have never been in a situation where I had seen so many people killed in one night," he says. "People were massacred in large number, especially women and children. I saw several mass graves, people who were buried, fresh bodies being taken out of their houses."
French photographer Jean Louis Atlan is the owner of the Zone 2.8 gallery, which is hosting the “War Zone” exhibit. He also covered events in Afghanistan, Iran, Poland and the Middle East -- and covered the White House for 10 years as well.
"You do not see those pictures in magazines," he says. "You see them maybe once from time to time. The difficulty of taking a photograph is to try to get in one photograph the whole story."
Enrico Dagnino says his images can be seen as question marks for human behavior. He says that he does not trust humanity as he did before. Other journalists feel the same way. Fatima Tlisova says that “it can’t be true, but it is.” And Paul Nidho adds that he is haunted by the voices of conflicts he covered, and that he sometimes hears them in his dreams.
But Dagnino says he has no regrets. Given the option, he would do it all over.
"In my next life I will be a photojournalist again…. For sure…," he says.
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