AFRIKAN SCIENTIST
“African Scientist, where are you? The works are here for you to do.” – Dennis Brown. [This was our signing on tune during our radio days.]
~ SOCIETY OF AFRICAN EARTH SCIENTISTS (SAES) - ‘EARTH AND LAND IN AFRICAN THOUGHT AND PRACTICE’
A Lecture summary by Chukwunyere Kamalu.
• The lecture began by recognising the Earth as a feminine, divine power of nature in African culture.
• The ancestors are the owners of the Earth / land; whilst the living are the custodians, responsible for maintaining the land and soil for the survival of future generations
• The African view of the human community as extending beyond the living to the ancestors and unborn implies an ecological collective responsibility.
• The ancestors and the earth are symbols of moral authority. E.g. for the Gikuyu, the greatest oath one can swear is that upon the Earth.
• Kinship with the land shown by respect to trees. For example, the Asante drummer asking the forgiveness of the tree from which his musical instrument was created. Also the practice that has survived in the Diaspora (Barbados, Grenada, etc.) and is widespread in Africa among Igbo, Zulu, etc., is that of planting the newborn child’s umbilical cord in the soil with the seed of a fruit tree. Person and tree grow together as the symbolic link with the land is maintained.
• Traditionally the earth was propitiated for offenses against it. Drought, famine, were seem as resulting from offense against the earth. In today’s reality it is simply the upsetting of the ecological balance and in this vein, modern operations like “fracking” (hydraulic fracturing), for instance, that are known to cause earth quakes and earth tremors are offensive against the earth. Despite this danger, which must surely upset any balance in the earth’s seismic activity, greedy energy companies wish to continue using fracking to extract shale gas. This may bear on the preponderance of earthquakes we are seeing in recent times.
• The global economic system has to be in harmony with the earth to be sustainable. Capitalism has spurred on the over-exploitation of earth’s resources particularly in Africa. We live from the earth. Without the earth we would die. We cannot take more from the earth than it is able to give.
• Traditional agricultural practices reveal a wealth of indigenous knowledge on various methods of soil cultivation and soil and water conservation, sometimes yielding as much as 30% more food than modern methods (International Fund for Agriculture, “Soil and water Conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa”, Rome, 1992).
• The colonial era was characterised by the alienation of Africans from their land. Kenya was a potent example where colonial land policy clashed with African systems of shifting cultivation (i.e. allow land previously cultivated to lie fallow or take a break from cultivation for 5-15 years to regenerate whilst cultivating adjacent land). Colonial authorities confiscated land lying fallow on argument that the land was not being cultivated and therefore not in use. Africans turned from working for themselves on their own land to working for the European settler on confiscated lands. Hut and poll taxes were imposed to force Africans off the land onto the waged labour market. In 2012 the situation is repeated with land grabs in a neo-colonial situation. In Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf gave over one third of her country’s territory (220, 000 hectares to foreign investors. Of the 203 million hectares in world wide land deals 2000-2010, two-thirds have been in Africa. And of the 60 million hectares given to foreign investors in land deals in 2008-2009, also two thirds is in Africa. The deals are made with promises of boreholes for clean water, jobs, schools, etc. One is yet to hear of one instance where these promises were delivered.
• Oakland Institute has researched into the potentially devastating effect of land grabbing on Africa’s water resources. If the 40 million hectares acquired by investors in 2008-9 were irrigated this would use as much water as was used for agricultural purposes in all of sub-Saharan Africa in 2005.
• A league table of land grabs as a percentage of national territory indicates the alarming quantity of African land being given over to the control of foreign investors: DR Congo 48.8%; Mozambique 21.2%; Uganda 14.6%; Zambia 8.8%; Ethiopia 8.2%; Madagascar 6.7%; Malawi 6.2%; Mali 6.1%; Senegal 5.1%; Tanzania 5%; Sudan 2.3%; Nigeria 1%; Ghana 0.6%
• The lecture closed with an introduction to the aims and objects of the Society of African Scientists. The society was initially setup to be a learned society for African earth scientists, with membership open to the interested public. The society’s aims are based on basic African needs and hence exists to promote African self sufficiency in
o Clean water, food and sustainable energy provision
o Land soil and water conservation
o Management and monitoring of the effects of climatic change
by means of the exchange and sharing of knowledge and skills among African scientists and the completion of projects on African soil towards achieving the above aims
• The recent news has been raising awareness of the vast resources of groundwater on the African continent. The SAES prioritises the African exploitation of groundwater for the benefit of African people for the following reasons
o Groundwater is the cheapest most accessible source for the majority of Africans
o Groundwater resources are resistant to drought
o Groundwater can be found generally close to the point of demand
o Groundwater is generally of excellent natural quality and requires no treatment
o Technology to extract groundwater is often amenable to community operation and management
• The work of Wangari Maathai (1940 – 2011) is of great inspiration to the society.
o Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement (GBM), funded by United Nations Voluntary Fund for Women
o GBM combated desertification, deforestation, water crises and rural hunger
o Rural women were paid a small stipend for tree planting and their sons and husbands were paid to keep planting records
o GBM planted 30 million trees in Kenya
o This was a significant achievement. Tree planting is an important environmental conservation measure: tree roots bind the soil together and make it more resistant to soil erosion by rainfall and runoff and their canopy protects the soil from direct rainfall erosion; tree roots also help increase the storage of groundwater; trees are a sink for green house gases and produce more moisture in the atmosphere countering drought and land degradation in general.
REVIEW: SOCIETY AFRICAN EARTH SCIENTISTS (SAES)
By Yeno Thorli.
The inauguration of the Society of African Earth Scientists (SAES) took place on Thurs 26 Apr at the Africa Centre in London. SAES’s acting chair Dr Chukwunyere Kamalu gave its first lecture on ‘Earth and Land in African Thought and Practice’. He highlighted the role of the earth and land in Afrikan society and culture, including the role of the ancestors as the owners of the land and the living as the custodians, who must preserve the land and soil for future generations.
There were hidden gems in the talk that were teased out further as a vigorous and challenging Q&A session unfolded. Dr Kamalu was grateful for the passionate contributions and feedback from the discussion, and assured participants of his determination for SAES to act including consideration of: SAES position on land tenure in its mission statement; Purchase of land in Afrika for SAES sustainable development including the planting of trees (and vegetation) to conserve the local environment and groundwater supply. [This suggestion was made against a depressing background of statistics given by Dr Kamalu on the growing threat of land grabbing on the continent to Afrikan development efforts.]
Some participants felt the language and construction of the ideas was a bit ‘retro’ in parts and that Dr Kamalu spoke of Afrika in abstraction and almost in romantic-speak. Afrika comprises 56 countries so the use of generalities flagged up many questions. Dr Kamalu stated the Society is a work in progress and contributions are welcomed. The initial aims of the Society of African Earth Scientists are: promotion of African self sufficiency in clean water, food and sustainable energy provision; and the promotion of land, soil and water conservation; and monitoring and writing about the effects of climatic change on the continent.
These are to be fulfilled through: the promotion of skills sharing and ideas among African scientists on the continent and in the Diaspora; workshops and seminars on a land, soil and water conservation and renewable energy technologies; sustainable development projects in specific African countries and develop templates for its reproductions throughout the continent; Provide independent timely authoritative research papers towards influencing policy formulation in African states; on land, soil, water conservation and renewable technologies.
Ideas for future SAES events include workshops on soil & water conservation and the under-utilisation of renewable energy technologies in Afrika.
For further info and membership of SAES Tel: 0781 551 4408. E-mail: c.kamalu@tiscali.co.uk, or join the Facebook group on https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/saescientists/>
~ BIOLOGICAL GENOCIDE
Highlighting Afrika’s desperate need for scientists and researchers we received the following reports from StGiNU regarding the current outbreak of the nodding disease in northern Uganda.
- Greetings to you brothers and sisters.
We have been hearing about nodding disease in Uganda and like ebola or other outbreaks that occurred in the past, something is happening that we cannot rule out foul play.
We have closely followed the events listed below:-
1) In 2005 up to 2006 the mob including security officers caught individuals pouring substance in the water reservoirs in several Northern Ugandan camps. Some of these individuals were beaten up by the mob, some confessed that, many of them were sent from the central government to pour chemical substance in the drinking water. This information is still available to date. Then we hear several disease outbreaks in the region e.g. hepatitis c, nodding disease etc.
2) In 2008 to 2009 American military soldiers vaccinated cattle, pigs, goats, sheep etc in Northern Uganda. Not very long after this, we saw reports that several cattle from the region died “mysteriously”.
3) According to Uganda’s WHO report of 2005, many people in the Northern region were immunised or vaccinated during the time the people lived in the camps. We must find out who vaccinated them, what were they vaccinated against? And what was inside the vaccine?
4) A lot of people have reported that during the NGOs distribution of food, many of them received either cooking oil which caused them to develop ulcers, etc. They received NGO food which caused them to develop various diseases to date. World Vision has been accused of distributing rotten foods to the people living in the camps.
5) Another thing that occurred in the region is the opening of water Bore Holes in several places that now have nodding disease out breaks. Many of these bore hales were open by NGOs. One of us has seen the water from some bore holes, the water comes out unfiltered and dirty. However, people still drink the water.
We need to find out the following:-
i) The children suffering from nodding disease, did they all receive vaccination at some point?
ii) Were their parents vaccinated?
iii) What food are they eating?
iv) What disease causing organisms are identified in the bore hole water across the region?
New cases of nodding disease being reported meaning that the source of the disease is live and active. We need to locate the source, but in the meantime we must get the message to the people that:-
They should boil their drinking water, perhaps it is better to get fresh water from a running well and boil it.
There are medical people from India who are seeking to give assistance in this nodding disease but they say that they have received no response what so ever from the authority in Uganda or the legislators.
Below are sources of information mentioned above. You may circulate this e-mail everywhere.
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADP078.pdf
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1397850/-/avft6qz/-/index.html
http://stginu.blogspot.co.uk/2005/07/world-vision-distributing-rotten-food.html
http://www.who.int/hac/crises/uga/sitreps/Ugandamortsurvey.pdf
Kind regards
From StGiNU
~ FOLLOW UP
Action.
If we have to blame any organizations for so many disease outbreaks, nodding disease etc in Northern Uganda today, then we have to blame the UN, UNICEF, WHO, NGOs, American military Vetcp and Ugandan government. This is because:-
At least two million pregnant and child bearing women plus children were given UN vaccines so called against tetanus from 2002 to 2009 in Uganda when it is clear that several doctors have advised against tetanus vaccines; to date, they maintain that the vaccine is dangerous. http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/tetanus.htm
The side effects of tetanus vaccines include nerve damage, seizures, brain damage, allergic reactions, coma etc; these are the symptoms we are seeing from “nodding disease” sufferers. It is a disease that has a combination of vaccine side effects. http://www.livestrong.com/article/211755-what-are-the-dangers-of-a-tetanus-shot/
It is without a doubt that the recipients of vaccines in Northern Uganda or other parts of Africa are not told the possible side effects they may have if they get vaccinated. Often the side effects are downplayed by “Health Officials”. These “Health Officials” may inoculate themselves with a placebo of the vaccines (i.e. not the real vaccines) so as to convince the recipients that the vaccines are safe. Keeping the dangers of vaccine side effects away from the recipients is against medical ethics. People are supped to be given opportunity to make well informed decisions.
The intention of the tetanus vaccine was to get the “poison vaccine” transmitted to children as well as to the unborn child through the mother. So the child is born with the disease condition that we now see. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_59210.html
Barely one year had passed i.e. after 2009, disease outbreaks such as polio, hepatitis C or E, and more cholera cases were reported in many parts if not all areas where the vaccination occurred. http://regionalnews.safefoodinternational.org/page/Africa%3A+Food%2FWaterborne+Illness+Outbreaks+2010
The symptoms are very much similar to the side effects which occur after vaccination http://www.whale.to/b/genocide_vax_q.html#3._Polio_vaccination_a_killer:_
In 2010, UNICEF declares further that they were vaccinating the population again from 2010 to 2011, this time two million children in Uganda, “vaccinated against polio”. And guess what, Save the Children is part of this. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=36802&Cr=polio&Cr1
They also did “vaccination against measles” although this program had started from 2001; they targeted children from 6 months up to 15 years. UNICEF gets very hypocritical here calling Ugandan government to cease hostilities during the period of vaccination. This means they know that the war in the northern region was mainly precipitated by the Ugandan government. http://reliefweb.int/node/135692
As said, the campaign for “measles vaccination” had began from 2001 http://www.unicef.org/newsline/01pr84.htm
The side effects from measles vaccines are numerous; these include severe afflictions to the digestive system, nerves system, immune system etc. http://www.thinktwice.com/measles.htm
In addition, American military vaccinated livestock in the North of Uganda from 2008 to 2009. And why should this “vaccination” be carried out particularly by American soldiers? What was the plan behind this move? The soldiers told the local people that the livestock can pass diseases to humans. So what would be the outcome of eating and coming into close contact with a “vaccinated” livestock? The sooner we know these answers the better. http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADP078.pdf
Now this UNICEF together with WHO and Co are giving millions of African children “oral polio vaccine” but you read below about oral polio vaccine. Oral polio vaccine causes paralysis etc, the drug was banned in America 10 years ago so why do these UNICEF and Co administer the vaccine to millions of children across Africa?
Some of us are already aware that Bill Gates, World Bank, UN etc are working with vaccines to lower the world’s population, meaning they are killing a large proportion of people through vaccines. http://vanshardware.com/2010/02/bill-gates-we-can-lower-the-worlds-population-with-vaccines/
Should we keep quiet and not shout aloud?
Our actions count
i) Many of us should write to these organizations especially UN, UNICEF, WHO, NGOs, American military Vetcp and Ugandan government, blaming them for the nodding disease and for other disease outbreaks in Northern Uganda plus parts of Africa. We should post this everywhere, on Youtube, and other places.
ii) We should (a lot of us are already doing this) inform our own community locally and not leave it to governments to inform them, that dubious vaccines are on UN & government plans. We cannot trust vaccines. In Nigeria when the UN and Co came with their crap; they reported that thousands of Nigerian children did not come for vaccination. That is good news because the local people were informed about the dangers of the poisonous vaccines beforehand. http://allafrica.com/stories/201205031224.html
iii) Our people and medical officials who are vaccinating children from the day they are born must watch this site before putting children through several shots of dangerous vaccine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWe8_Gg8fjE&feature=related
Other sources are below.
1. AIDS from vaccines:
See: Hepatitis B vaccine & AIDS
See: Polio vaccines & AIDS
2. Oral polio vaccine contra-indicated for immune deficient or HIV people according to CDC and package inserts:
“OPV must never be given to patients who are immunodeficient including persons known to be HIV infected.”---POLIOVIRUS VACCINE LIVE ORAL TRIVALENT Connaught (package Insert)
“When I looked at the contra-indications it stated that inactivated polio vaccine and not oral polio vaccine should be used in situations where families had HIV - where there was a history of HIV in the family. And when I got this information I was really shocked because since 1984 Uganda has had a very difficult HIV and AIDS problem. In fact it says that if a child is inadvertently given the oral polio vaccine, that that child should be quarantined for four to seven weeks because oral polio vaccine is “live” and they keep shedding it between that period, and they could contaminate other people...It (CDC) says that persons who have congenitally acquired immune deficiency disease -e.g. combined immune deficiency, blah, blah - should not be given oral polio vaccine because of their substantially increased risk for vaccine associated disease. Now, they continue: they say “inactivated polio vaccine and not oral polio vaccine should be used to vaccinate immunodeficient persons and their household contacts.” ...I rang the Centers for Disease Control and they have a line of experts that you can ask different questions. And I said ‘I am living in America and I want to go to Uganda, and my children have not received oral polio vaccination. And they said ‘No, they can’t receive oral polio vaccination in this country.’ I said ‘Why not?’ and they said ‘Well, you can get polio from oral polio vaccination.’ ...So I said ‘What if I have a history of HIV and I receive oral polio?’ They said ‘That would be really pretty dangerous. It could be a death sentence.’ Kihura Nkuba (Nov 2002)
See: Kihura Nkuba
3. Polio vaccination a killer:
“I was told by this preacher that when the government introduced the National Immunization Days in 1997, most of the children after vaccination started dying. The preacher told me that they had so much death that his cassock, that he wears to go and conduct the burial ceremony, got old. He said “I buried the children and my cassock got old.” In the same room there was one mother who had four children, and she hid one and took three other children for vaccination, and three children died and that one survived. Now when I went to do my presentation and I asked most of the people who were there - about two, three thousand people - each person had the same story. ...At the main hospital in Mbarara during that month of 1977 more than 600 children had died following polio vaccination. 600 children! So even some of the timid medical practitioners who were initially afraid to come out, started coming out giving information and saying ‘Oh, we knew this oral polio vaccine was trouble because as soon as the child receives it, they get a temperature and their health goes downhill and there is nothing that you could do.’“ - Kihura Nkuba (Nov 2002)
Regards
StGiNU
FORTHCOMING NUBIART PROFILES
NUBIART: Focus on arts, business, education, health, political developments and the media.
MAY PROMOS
~ ‘BEN ZABO’ - BEN ZABO [Glitterhouse Records / Shellshock. Released - 11 June 2012] This is the first full-release by this Malian group named after their bandleader, Ben Zabo, who lovingly admits to having listened to ‘too much Afrobeat’!!! In 2007, whilst trying to establish himself as a guitarist, singer and songwriter he started working as an assistant sound engineer at Studio Bogolan in Bamako where he met Peter Weber, owner of German-based Glitterhouse Records, and the producer Chris Eckman who agreed to produce and distribute the first album to be released by a Malian of Bo descent.
The name ‘Ben Zabo’ means ‘son of Bo and Bambara’ in Bomu etymology, evoking his belonging to the double cultural identity Bambara and Bo. Ben Zabo’s songs are mostly written in Bomu, his mother tongue from the Bwa miocro-nation. Bwatun (Bwa country) straddles the border between Mali and Burkina Faso. Ben Zabo developed a fusion of Bwa rhythms and melodies with influences fromAfrobeat, funk, reggae, blues, rock and jazz.
At a time when Mali is prominent in the news for all the wrong reasons with coups, counter-coups, insurgencies and drought the songs concern themes such as brotherly love, peace, justice, tolerance, solidarity, work and good governance. These are sustainable human development factors, which remain the only guarantee of integrity and social cohesion. Ben Zabo strongly denounce greed, hypocrisy, discrimination and demagoguery.
~ ’GUZO’ - SAMUEL YIRGA [Real World Records. Released - 9 July 2012]
“You give your gifts away for shiny plastic things” - ‘African Diaspora’
This is the first solo album from Ethiopian piano virtuoso Samuel Yirga who although still in his 20s only started learning the piano when he was 16. ‘Guzo’, which means ‘journey’ in Amharic, was recorded in Addis Ababa and in the Real World Studios in Britain, and is a powerful mix Ethio-jazz, soul and funk, Latin, and western classical music.
‘Abet Abet’ is a traditional love song which features the raw and melodic notes of the Ethiopian one-stringed fiddle, the messenqo. ‘Tiwista’, another well-known Ethiopian song means ‘nostalgia’. Of ‘Ferma Ena Wereket’ / ‘We don’t need paper to love each other’. Samuel says, “Everyone can sing about love but the way you describe it is what’s important.”
‘Nou Se Soleil’ / ‘I am the Black Gold of the Sun’ features guest vocalists from The Creole Choir of Cuba, Nicolette and Mel Gara and is a re-working of a 1970s psychedelic soul classic. ‘Dance With the Legend’ is a solo piano piece, inspired by Ethiopia’s great singer Tilahun Gessese. ‘The Blues of Wollo’ is based on a famous Ethiopian song called ‘Ambassel’, with vocals from Genet Masresha. ‘African Diaspora’, with vocals by Nicolette, questions why Afrikan countries are allowing a continuing brain and skills drain of much needed talent.
Videos/ Audio:
Guzo - The story behind the album (EPK): http://youtu.be/-hvlPd15ypw
‘Guzo’ sampler on SoundCloud (3 full length tracks: “Abet Abet (Punt Mix)”, “I am the Black Gold of the Sun” & “The Blues of Wollo (Dessye Mix)”)
http://soundcloud.com/realworldrecords/sets/samuel-yirga-guzo-album-sampler
“Ambassel in Box Revisited” (live):
http://www.realworldrecords.com/videos/ambassel-in-box-revisited-live
http://youtu.be/hyI7IWtb-NI
Improvisation (Audience of One): http://vimeo.com/11804510
Live in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall: http://youtu.be/SfjuU5h2CSA
NUBIART LIBRARY – MAY MEDIA
We will only review books we have read and DVDs we have seen and that are available at reasonable prices online or in shops or libraries. However, given the nature and current state of Afrikan publishing and production there may be books and films on this list that are worth the extra effort to track down.
~ ‘MANGROVE NINE’. Dir: Franco Rosso. [New Beacon Books. ISBN: 9781873201275]. ‘Mangrove Nine’ tells the story of conflict between the police and the Afrikan community in Notting Hill at the start of the 1970s. The central incident of the Mangrove affair took place when a deputation of 150 Afrikans protested against long-term police harassment of the popular Mangrove Restaurant in Ladbroke Grove. The protest policed by 500 police led to 29 charges and nine arrests - Barbara Beese, Rupert Boyce, Frank Critchlow, Rhodan Gordon, Darcus Howe, Anthony Innis, Althea Lecointe Jones, Rothwell Kentish, and Godfrey Millett. The charges ranged from making an affray, incitement to riot, assaulting a policeman, to having an offensive weapon. 22 of the charges against the nine were dismissed including all the serious ones. Only seven minor counts were found proven. The high profile trial at the Old Bailey lasted for two months finishing in December 1971 with five of the defendants being completely acquitted. The case made legal history when it delivered the first judicial acknowledgement of ‘evidence of racial hatred’ in the Metropolitan police force. The Mangrove Nine film contains interviews with the defendants recorded before the final verdicts were delivered at the trial, as well as contemporary comments from Ian Macdonald and others. Watching this film at the cinema recently in a time of police corruption, shootings, racism, harassment, incompetence, prejudice, paranoia and failure to investigate deaths and crime scenes properly shows how little has changed in four decades. Contact: George Padmore Institute and New Beacon Books, 76 Stroud Green Road, London, N4 3EN. Tel: 020 7272 8915 / 4889. E-mail: info @ georgepadmoreinstitute.org or newbeaconbooks @ btconnect.com Web: http://www: georgepadmoreinstitute.org or http://www.newbeaconbooks.co.uk
~ ‘ADDING VALUE IN AFRICA: SOME REFLECTIONS FROM THE GRANDSON OF A GHANAIAN COCOA FARMER’. Drawing on his unique experience as an MP, a peer, a Labour Minister and the grandson of a Ghanaian coco farmer, Lord Boateng will explore how aid to Afrika can be used to empower producers instead of fostering dependency. On Thurs 10 May at 6.30-8pm at Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2. Adm: Free. Tel: 020 7955 6043. E-mail: events@lse.ac.uk Web: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/publicEvents/events/2012/05/20120510t1830vSZT.aspx and http://www.blackherbals.com/walter_rodney.pdf
~ LIFE STORIES CAFÉ – TRUE STORYTELLING. Poet and author Dorothea Smartt hosts at our regular true storytelling event. Book your spot, join the fun, and experience what true storytelling feels, looks and sounds like. Storytellers: Marcus Reeves, Malika Booker, Zena Edwards, Kadija (George) Sesay, Patrick McIntosh. On Fri 11 May at 7pm at Woolfson & Tay, 12 Bermondsey Square, London, SE1 3UN. Adm: £5. Tel: 020 7407 9316. Web: http://www.woolfsonandtay.com/life-stories-cafe.html
~ FIND YOUR VOICE presents ‘The Story of Lovers Rock’ screening and discussion on Sun 13 May 6.30pm at West Green Learning Centre, Langham Road, London, N15 3RB. Tel: 07882 403 781.
~ GRACE NDIRITU
- ‘African Photography, For Whose Eyes? Constructing And Deconstructing Identities’ Artists include: Philip Kwame Apagya (Ghana), Yto Barrada (Morocco), Nabil Boutros (Egypt), Samuel Fosso (Camaroon), David Goldblatt (South Africa), Seydou Keïta (Mali), Boubacar Touré Mandémory (Senegal), Zwelethu Mthethwa (South Africa), Grace Ndiritu (Kenya), Obie Oberholzer (South Africa), Berni Searle (South Africa), Malick Sidibé (Mali), Djibril Sy (Senegal), Guy Tillim (South Africa), and Iké Udé, (Nigeria). Until 13 May at Mandeville Gallery, Nott Memorial, Union College, 807 Union St., Schenectady, NY 12308. Web: http://www.union.edu/Resources/Campus/mandeville/exhibits/upcoming/African%20Photography/index.php
- ‘Cotton Global Threads’. Seven contemporary artists working in a range of disciplines: Yinka Shonibare, MBE; Lubaina Himid; Anne Wilson; Malian artists Abdoulaye Konaté and Aboubakar Fofana; Grace Ndiritu; and Liz Rideal’s work illuminates the exterior of the building throughout the hours of darkness. Exhibition runs until 13 May at Whitworth Art Gallery, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6ER. Web: http://cottonglobalthreads.com/
~ PANDORA’S BOX. Telling the tale of a family spanning three generations and two continents meeting in Lagos for the first time in over 30 years. But the joy of reunion also unleashes long-suppressed truths. ‘ Pandora’s Box’ reveals the heartbreak behind the difficult choices some parents must make – and the price their children pay. From 9-26 May at 7.30pm (Mat 3pm) at Arcola Tent, 2 Ashwin Street, Dalston, London, E8 3DL. Adm: £14 / £10 concs. Opening Week discount: 9, 10, 11, 12 May – all tickets £10 / £ 7 concs. Mid week specials: Pay what you can Tuesdays (tickets in person from 6pm).
~ THE ACE CONFERENCE. The event aims to: celebrate Afrikan entrepreneurship and career achievement; inspiring & motivating others including young people; note the commercial value of the ‘Black Pound’ and where it is being spent; and provide solutions to accelerate economic progress with business options & methods. A unique array of Entrepreneurs will be speaking at the conference about how they achieved, and what odds they had to overcome. Special Guest from America will be Dr Jawanza Kunjufu, who is the author of the book ‘Black Economics’. He himself has built up a multi-million pound business in America, and has written over 30 books. Other Speakers include, Lee Jasper. Mac Attram, Ope Bankole, Jak Beula, Diana Powell and Khami Alexander. There will also be a mini-exhibition of businesses and a fashion show. On Sat 12th May at 10am-6pm at The Dominion Centre, 9 The Broadway, High Road, Wood Green, London, N22 6DS. Adm: £28 / £12 (11-17 year olds). Contact: Dawn Grant – Tel: 020 8252 0192 or 07908 097 351 or Pat Livingston – 07985 364 398. E-mail: info@blackeconomics.co.uk Web: www.blackeconomics.co.uk
~ ‘THE HISTORY OF BLACK THEATRE IN BRITAIN: FROM MARGINS TO MAINSTREAM’. The story of Black Theatre in Britain is the latest documentary film produced by the Octavia Foundation and Nu Century Arts. This superb film explores the history and heritage of Black theatre in Britain, examines the different interpretations of ‘Black British Theatre’ as a label and genre and catalogues the incredible contribution of actors, producers and playwrights to the UK theatre tradition. Featuring previously unseen footage of seminal plays, fascinating interviews with theatre heavyweights, ‘Margins to Mainstream’ tells the story of a dynamic art. Interviews with: Courttia Newland, Javone Prince, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Pat Cumper, Director of Talawa Arts. From Ira Aldridge playing Othello in Covent Garden in the 1830s, to Bashy playing Markus the Sadist in a ‘rap opera’ in 2010; the richness of this story is in its diversity. The film will receive its London premiere at the Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square on Fri 11 May.
- Discussion on Sun 13 May at 3-5pm Pimlico Academy, Lupus Street, London, SW1. Adm: £6.
~ BHW PRESENTS: ‘AVATAR THE MOVIE BREAKDOWN’ with Andrew Muhammad ‘The Investigator’. Since 1994 Andrew has been conducting Hidden Truth Tours to Kemet (Egypt), Tunisia, Ireland and Spain. He has also designed the ‘Hidden Truth Movie Breakdown’. This delivery is based on the Chinese proverb that a picture paints a thousand words. The movie industry has perfected the art of using signs and symbols to convey many hidden truths to unsuspecting audiences. This type of communication was first invented in Egypt and was used throughout their society. Many Hollywood blockbuster films / cartoons such as ‘The Matrix’ and ‘Lion King’ contain secrets that will amaze the viewers. ‘Avatar’ is one of the biggest movies of all time but the Afrikan history throughout the film is in your face yet invisible unless you know what to look for. On Fri 18 May at 7-9pm at Pimlico Academy, Lupus Street, London, SW1. Adm: £7. Web: www.theinvestigator.org.uk www.blackhistorywalks.co.uk
~ AJAMU AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY. On 19 May at Chestnuts Community Centre, Chestnuts Park, 280 St Ann’s Road, Tottenham, London N15 5BN. Tel: 07852 937 981. E-mail: ajamumembership@hotmail.com Follow #TeamAJAMU: @AJAMUnity www.twitter.com/AJAMUnity
~ EXHIBITION: ‘YOUNG MEETS OLD’. A collaborative exhibition that presents the work of practicing artist Ken McCalla and recent art graduate Kemi Murphy. The artwork reflects and celebrates the significance of family and the importance of inter-generational relationships. From 15-26 May at 11am - 6pm at Sprout Arts, 74 Moyser Road, Furzedown, London, SW16 6SQ.
~ AFRICAN ODYSSEYS: ‘THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR’ + ‘INFILTRATING HOLLYWOOD: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR’. The once banned cult action film in which CIA operative Dan Freeman returns to Chicago and prepares his brothers for revolution. This biting satire and razor-edged provocation in response to the urgency of its times features a score from Herbie Hancock. The screening will be followed by a discussion. On Sat 26 May 2pm at BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London, SE1 8XT. Adm: £5. Box Office: 020 7928 3232. E-mail: morethanxy@gmail.com Web: http://www.blackhistorystudies.com/our-services/african-odysseys/
~ TIATA FAHODZI & ROYAL COURT PRESENT ‘BELONG’. A satirical new play by Bola Agbaje set in a political London and Nigeria. Until 26 May at Royal Court Theatre, 50-51 Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AS. Adm: £20 / £15 / £10. Tel: 020 7565 5000. Web: www.royalcourttheatre.com |
~ PACM AFRICA LIBERATION DAY: ‘SAVE OUR YOUTHS, SAVE AFRICA’. Invited speakers: Julius Malema, former ANC Youth leader; Bro Amon Rashidi; Bro Cecil Gutzmore; Sis Sarudzayi Barnes; Hon Anna Magowa, District Commissioner of Tabora, Tanzania; Bro Makola Libango, APSP; Sis Afryea Adofo, lawyer; and Bro Chukwu Eneka Ouagadou-Quamina, Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement. On Sun Jun 3 - Mon Jun 4 at Greenspring Training, Raleigh Industrial Estate, 196 Camp Lane, Handsworth, Birmingham, B21 8JA. Adm: £9 (one day) / £13 (two days) / U-16s – Free. Tel: Birmingham - 0121 557 2747 / 07940 709 311. Nottingham - 07952 369 112. London – 020 8801 0205. Manchester – 07577 057 960. E-mail: ald.birmingham2012@hotmail.com
~ BRITISH BLACK MUSIC MONTH (BBMM2012) LAUNCH. ‘British Black Music: How Far Have We Come?’ BMM / BMC founder Kwaku precedes the ‘British Black Music: How Far Have We Come?’ debate with a presentation that takes into account BMC’s 10th anniversary, and this year’s sub-themes: ‘Jamaica & Trinidad @ 50’, ‘Marcus Garvey @ 100’, and ‘Samuel Coleridge-Taylor @ 100’.
On Thurs May 31 at 6-8.30pm in central London. E-mail: editor@britishblackmusic.com.
~ THE BRUNEI GALLERY present ‘Disappearing Heritage of Sudan 1820 - 1956: A photographic and filmic research exhibition’. An exhibition of materials created by Frederique Cifuentes and from Durham University’s Sudan Archive. Many of the country’s old buildings have fallen victim to wider economic development or lack of a preservation campaign. This study will show different aspects and forms of the rich colonial architectural heritage in Sudan before it vanishes completely. This is an illustrated history of a unique cultural landscape.
And ‘The Fabric of Fieldwork’ by Wessieling and Susan Ossman. Exhibition of paintings, sculpture and installations inspired by ethnographic research in East Asia and North Africa. Using art both as a recording device and a way of creating a field of exploration Wessieling and Ossman investigate issues of visibility, femininity and women’s work, including their own field weaving as artists and ethnographers.
Both exhibitions run until 23 June on Tues-Sat at 10.30am-5pm at Brunei Gallery, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG. Adm: Free. Tel: 020 7898 4046. E-mail: gallery@soas.ac.uk Web: www.soas.ac.uk/gallery
~ SHANTI-CHI PRESENTS THE SESA WO SUBAN AFRAKAN STORYTELLING FESTIVAL. Workshop leaders also include Chi Creation Storytellers, Nkechiukwu Afrakan centerd Education, Kesensa, Chukwu, Amasade Shepnekhi, Kay Smith, Galatic Clyde, Neters A Ma’at, Afrakan Professor, Kapeni Melesse, Verona Spence, Dalian Adafo, Griot Chinyere, Sista Mena, Usifu Jalloh, Michelle Campbell, Ras Kweku, Black Heartman, Aunty Jedidah, Jaavier Solicopa, Eli Anderson, Ayo Ajala. On Midday Fri 22 June to 4pm Sun 24 June at Moat Mount, Barnett Way, Mill Hill, London, NW7 5AL. Adm: £120 / 8-16 yrs - £60 / under-7’s – free. Ticket prices include all rituals, storytelling performances, workshops, communal fires, camping area, showers, toilets and inspired visions. Healthy foods, Afrakan crafts, Energy healing & Massage available for purchase.
~ ‘JOURNEYS AND KINSHIP’ EXHIBITION. Is the face not currency enough? This display of face casts responds to the irony that members of the African Diaspora must pay to visit sites from which their ancestors were transported into enslavement. ‘Journeys and Kinship’ explores further the themes of the London, Sugar & Slavery gallery at the Museum of London Docklands through a project between the visual artist Jean Joseph and a group of young Londoners working together with Calypsonian, Alexander D Great, and Yvonne Wilson from Equi-Vison. Until 4 Nov 2012 at Museum of London, Docklands 1 Warehouse, West India Quay, London, E14 4AL. Tel: 020 7001 9844. Adm: Free. Web: http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Docklands/Whats-on/Exhibitions-Displays/JourneysandKinship.htm
Contact: Kubara Zamani, Afrikan Quest International, PO Box 35165, London, SE5 8WU. Tel: 07811 494 969. E-mail: afrikanquest@hotmail.com Web: www.southwark.tv/quest/aqhome.asp
External Links
African Quest International
“African Scientist, where are you? The works are here for you to do.” – Dennis Brown. [This was our signing on tune during our radio days.]
~ SOCIETY OF AFRICAN EARTH SCIENTISTS (SAES) - ‘EARTH AND LAND IN AFRICAN THOUGHT AND PRACTICE’
A Lecture summary by Chukwunyere Kamalu.
• The lecture began by recognising the Earth as a feminine, divine power of nature in African culture.
• The ancestors are the owners of the Earth / land; whilst the living are the custodians, responsible for maintaining the land and soil for the survival of future generations
• The African view of the human community as extending beyond the living to the ancestors and unborn implies an ecological collective responsibility.
• The ancestors and the earth are symbols of moral authority. E.g. for the Gikuyu, the greatest oath one can swear is that upon the Earth.
• Kinship with the land shown by respect to trees. For example, the Asante drummer asking the forgiveness of the tree from which his musical instrument was created. Also the practice that has survived in the Diaspora (Barbados, Grenada, etc.) and is widespread in Africa among Igbo, Zulu, etc., is that of planting the newborn child’s umbilical cord in the soil with the seed of a fruit tree. Person and tree grow together as the symbolic link with the land is maintained.
• Traditionally the earth was propitiated for offenses against it. Drought, famine, were seem as resulting from offense against the earth. In today’s reality it is simply the upsetting of the ecological balance and in this vein, modern operations like “fracking” (hydraulic fracturing), for instance, that are known to cause earth quakes and earth tremors are offensive against the earth. Despite this danger, which must surely upset any balance in the earth’s seismic activity, greedy energy companies wish to continue using fracking to extract shale gas. This may bear on the preponderance of earthquakes we are seeing in recent times.
• The global economic system has to be in harmony with the earth to be sustainable. Capitalism has spurred on the over-exploitation of earth’s resources particularly in Africa. We live from the earth. Without the earth we would die. We cannot take more from the earth than it is able to give.
• Traditional agricultural practices reveal a wealth of indigenous knowledge on various methods of soil cultivation and soil and water conservation, sometimes yielding as much as 30% more food than modern methods (International Fund for Agriculture, “Soil and water Conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa”, Rome, 1992).
• The colonial era was characterised by the alienation of Africans from their land. Kenya was a potent example where colonial land policy clashed with African systems of shifting cultivation (i.e. allow land previously cultivated to lie fallow or take a break from cultivation for 5-15 years to regenerate whilst cultivating adjacent land). Colonial authorities confiscated land lying fallow on argument that the land was not being cultivated and therefore not in use. Africans turned from working for themselves on their own land to working for the European settler on confiscated lands. Hut and poll taxes were imposed to force Africans off the land onto the waged labour market. In 2012 the situation is repeated with land grabs in a neo-colonial situation. In Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf gave over one third of her country’s territory (220, 000 hectares to foreign investors. Of the 203 million hectares in world wide land deals 2000-2010, two-thirds have been in Africa. And of the 60 million hectares given to foreign investors in land deals in 2008-2009, also two thirds is in Africa. The deals are made with promises of boreholes for clean water, jobs, schools, etc. One is yet to hear of one instance where these promises were delivered.
• Oakland Institute has researched into the potentially devastating effect of land grabbing on Africa’s water resources. If the 40 million hectares acquired by investors in 2008-9 were irrigated this would use as much water as was used for agricultural purposes in all of sub-Saharan Africa in 2005.
• A league table of land grabs as a percentage of national territory indicates the alarming quantity of African land being given over to the control of foreign investors: DR Congo 48.8%; Mozambique 21.2%; Uganda 14.6%; Zambia 8.8%; Ethiopia 8.2%; Madagascar 6.7%; Malawi 6.2%; Mali 6.1%; Senegal 5.1%; Tanzania 5%; Sudan 2.3%; Nigeria 1%; Ghana 0.6%
• The lecture closed with an introduction to the aims and objects of the Society of African Scientists. The society was initially setup to be a learned society for African earth scientists, with membership open to the interested public. The society’s aims are based on basic African needs and hence exists to promote African self sufficiency in
o Clean water, food and sustainable energy provision
o Land soil and water conservation
o Management and monitoring of the effects of climatic change
by means of the exchange and sharing of knowledge and skills among African scientists and the completion of projects on African soil towards achieving the above aims
• The recent news has been raising awareness of the vast resources of groundwater on the African continent. The SAES prioritises the African exploitation of groundwater for the benefit of African people for the following reasons
o Groundwater is the cheapest most accessible source for the majority of Africans
o Groundwater resources are resistant to drought
o Groundwater can be found generally close to the point of demand
o Groundwater is generally of excellent natural quality and requires no treatment
o Technology to extract groundwater is often amenable to community operation and management
• The work of Wangari Maathai (1940 – 2011) is of great inspiration to the society.
o Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement (GBM), funded by United Nations Voluntary Fund for Women
o GBM combated desertification, deforestation, water crises and rural hunger
o Rural women were paid a small stipend for tree planting and their sons and husbands were paid to keep planting records
o GBM planted 30 million trees in Kenya
o This was a significant achievement. Tree planting is an important environmental conservation measure: tree roots bind the soil together and make it more resistant to soil erosion by rainfall and runoff and their canopy protects the soil from direct rainfall erosion; tree roots also help increase the storage of groundwater; trees are a sink for green house gases and produce more moisture in the atmosphere countering drought and land degradation in general.
REVIEW: SOCIETY AFRICAN EARTH SCIENTISTS (SAES)
By Yeno Thorli.
The inauguration of the Society of African Earth Scientists (SAES) took place on Thurs 26 Apr at the Africa Centre in London. SAES’s acting chair Dr Chukwunyere Kamalu gave its first lecture on ‘Earth and Land in African Thought and Practice’. He highlighted the role of the earth and land in Afrikan society and culture, including the role of the ancestors as the owners of the land and the living as the custodians, who must preserve the land and soil for future generations.
There were hidden gems in the talk that were teased out further as a vigorous and challenging Q&A session unfolded. Dr Kamalu was grateful for the passionate contributions and feedback from the discussion, and assured participants of his determination for SAES to act including consideration of: SAES position on land tenure in its mission statement; Purchase of land in Afrika for SAES sustainable development including the planting of trees (and vegetation) to conserve the local environment and groundwater supply. [This suggestion was made against a depressing background of statistics given by Dr Kamalu on the growing threat of land grabbing on the continent to Afrikan development efforts.]
Some participants felt the language and construction of the ideas was a bit ‘retro’ in parts and that Dr Kamalu spoke of Afrika in abstraction and almost in romantic-speak. Afrika comprises 56 countries so the use of generalities flagged up many questions. Dr Kamalu stated the Society is a work in progress and contributions are welcomed. The initial aims of the Society of African Earth Scientists are: promotion of African self sufficiency in clean water, food and sustainable energy provision; and the promotion of land, soil and water conservation; and monitoring and writing about the effects of climatic change on the continent.
These are to be fulfilled through: the promotion of skills sharing and ideas among African scientists on the continent and in the Diaspora; workshops and seminars on a land, soil and water conservation and renewable energy technologies; sustainable development projects in specific African countries and develop templates for its reproductions throughout the continent; Provide independent timely authoritative research papers towards influencing policy formulation in African states; on land, soil, water conservation and renewable technologies.
Ideas for future SAES events include workshops on soil & water conservation and the under-utilisation of renewable energy technologies in Afrika.
For further info and membership of SAES Tel: 0781 551 4408. E-mail: c.kamalu@tiscali.co.uk, or join the Facebook group on https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/saescientists/>
~ BIOLOGICAL GENOCIDE
Highlighting Afrika’s desperate need for scientists and researchers we received the following reports from StGiNU regarding the current outbreak of the nodding disease in northern Uganda.
- Greetings to you brothers and sisters.
We have been hearing about nodding disease in Uganda and like ebola or other outbreaks that occurred in the past, something is happening that we cannot rule out foul play.
We have closely followed the events listed below:-
1) In 2005 up to 2006 the mob including security officers caught individuals pouring substance in the water reservoirs in several Northern Ugandan camps. Some of these individuals were beaten up by the mob, some confessed that, many of them were sent from the central government to pour chemical substance in the drinking water. This information is still available to date. Then we hear several disease outbreaks in the region e.g. hepatitis c, nodding disease etc.
2) In 2008 to 2009 American military soldiers vaccinated cattle, pigs, goats, sheep etc in Northern Uganda. Not very long after this, we saw reports that several cattle from the region died “mysteriously”.
3) According to Uganda’s WHO report of 2005, many people in the Northern region were immunised or vaccinated during the time the people lived in the camps. We must find out who vaccinated them, what were they vaccinated against? And what was inside the vaccine?
4) A lot of people have reported that during the NGOs distribution of food, many of them received either cooking oil which caused them to develop ulcers, etc. They received NGO food which caused them to develop various diseases to date. World Vision has been accused of distributing rotten foods to the people living in the camps.
5) Another thing that occurred in the region is the opening of water Bore Holes in several places that now have nodding disease out breaks. Many of these bore hales were open by NGOs. One of us has seen the water from some bore holes, the water comes out unfiltered and dirty. However, people still drink the water.
We need to find out the following:-
i) The children suffering from nodding disease, did they all receive vaccination at some point?
ii) Were their parents vaccinated?
iii) What food are they eating?
iv) What disease causing organisms are identified in the bore hole water across the region?
New cases of nodding disease being reported meaning that the source of the disease is live and active. We need to locate the source, but in the meantime we must get the message to the people that:-
They should boil their drinking water, perhaps it is better to get fresh water from a running well and boil it.
There are medical people from India who are seeking to give assistance in this nodding disease but they say that they have received no response what so ever from the authority in Uganda or the legislators.
Below are sources of information mentioned above. You may circulate this e-mail everywhere.
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADP078.pdf
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1397850/-/avft6qz/-/index.html
http://stginu.blogspot.co.uk/2005/07/world-vision-distributing-rotten-food.html
http://www.who.int/hac/crises/uga/sitreps/Ugandamortsurvey.pdf
Kind regards
From StGiNU
~ FOLLOW UP
Action.
If we have to blame any organizations for so many disease outbreaks, nodding disease etc in Northern Uganda today, then we have to blame the UN, UNICEF, WHO, NGOs, American military Vetcp and Ugandan government. This is because:-
At least two million pregnant and child bearing women plus children were given UN vaccines so called against tetanus from 2002 to 2009 in Uganda when it is clear that several doctors have advised against tetanus vaccines; to date, they maintain that the vaccine is dangerous. http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/tetanus.htm
The side effects of tetanus vaccines include nerve damage, seizures, brain damage, allergic reactions, coma etc; these are the symptoms we are seeing from “nodding disease” sufferers. It is a disease that has a combination of vaccine side effects. http://www.livestrong.com/article/211755-what-are-the-dangers-of-a-tetanus-shot/
It is without a doubt that the recipients of vaccines in Northern Uganda or other parts of Africa are not told the possible side effects they may have if they get vaccinated. Often the side effects are downplayed by “Health Officials”. These “Health Officials” may inoculate themselves with a placebo of the vaccines (i.e. not the real vaccines) so as to convince the recipients that the vaccines are safe. Keeping the dangers of vaccine side effects away from the recipients is against medical ethics. People are supped to be given opportunity to make well informed decisions.
The intention of the tetanus vaccine was to get the “poison vaccine” transmitted to children as well as to the unborn child through the mother. So the child is born with the disease condition that we now see. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_59210.html
Barely one year had passed i.e. after 2009, disease outbreaks such as polio, hepatitis C or E, and more cholera cases were reported in many parts if not all areas where the vaccination occurred. http://regionalnews.safefoodinternational.org/page/Africa%3A+Food%2FWaterborne+Illness+Outbreaks+2010
The symptoms are very much similar to the side effects which occur after vaccination http://www.whale.to/b/genocide_vax_q.html#3._Polio_vaccination_a_killer:_
In 2010, UNICEF declares further that they were vaccinating the population again from 2010 to 2011, this time two million children in Uganda, “vaccinated against polio”. And guess what, Save the Children is part of this. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=36802&Cr=polio&Cr1
They also did “vaccination against measles” although this program had started from 2001; they targeted children from 6 months up to 15 years. UNICEF gets very hypocritical here calling Ugandan government to cease hostilities during the period of vaccination. This means they know that the war in the northern region was mainly precipitated by the Ugandan government. http://reliefweb.int/node/135692
As said, the campaign for “measles vaccination” had began from 2001 http://www.unicef.org/newsline/01pr84.htm
The side effects from measles vaccines are numerous; these include severe afflictions to the digestive system, nerves system, immune system etc. http://www.thinktwice.com/measles.htm
In addition, American military vaccinated livestock in the North of Uganda from 2008 to 2009. And why should this “vaccination” be carried out particularly by American soldiers? What was the plan behind this move? The soldiers told the local people that the livestock can pass diseases to humans. So what would be the outcome of eating and coming into close contact with a “vaccinated” livestock? The sooner we know these answers the better. http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADP078.pdf
Now this UNICEF together with WHO and Co are giving millions of African children “oral polio vaccine” but you read below about oral polio vaccine. Oral polio vaccine causes paralysis etc, the drug was banned in America 10 years ago so why do these UNICEF and Co administer the vaccine to millions of children across Africa?
Some of us are already aware that Bill Gates, World Bank, UN etc are working with vaccines to lower the world’s population, meaning they are killing a large proportion of people through vaccines. http://vanshardware.com/2010/02/bill-gates-we-can-lower-the-worlds-population-with-vaccines/
Should we keep quiet and not shout aloud?
Our actions count
i) Many of us should write to these organizations especially UN, UNICEF, WHO, NGOs, American military Vetcp and Ugandan government, blaming them for the nodding disease and for other disease outbreaks in Northern Uganda plus parts of Africa. We should post this everywhere, on Youtube, and other places.
ii) We should (a lot of us are already doing this) inform our own community locally and not leave it to governments to inform them, that dubious vaccines are on UN & government plans. We cannot trust vaccines. In Nigeria when the UN and Co came with their crap; they reported that thousands of Nigerian children did not come for vaccination. That is good news because the local people were informed about the dangers of the poisonous vaccines beforehand. http://allafrica.com/stories/201205031224.html
iii) Our people and medical officials who are vaccinating children from the day they are born must watch this site before putting children through several shots of dangerous vaccine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWe8_Gg8fjE&feature=related
Other sources are below.
1. AIDS from vaccines:
See: Hepatitis B vaccine & AIDS
See: Polio vaccines & AIDS
2. Oral polio vaccine contra-indicated for immune deficient or HIV people according to CDC and package inserts:
“OPV must never be given to patients who are immunodeficient including persons known to be HIV infected.”---POLIOVIRUS VACCINE LIVE ORAL TRIVALENT Connaught (package Insert)
“When I looked at the contra-indications it stated that inactivated polio vaccine and not oral polio vaccine should be used in situations where families had HIV - where there was a history of HIV in the family. And when I got this information I was really shocked because since 1984 Uganda has had a very difficult HIV and AIDS problem. In fact it says that if a child is inadvertently given the oral polio vaccine, that that child should be quarantined for four to seven weeks because oral polio vaccine is “live” and they keep shedding it between that period, and they could contaminate other people...It (CDC) says that persons who have congenitally acquired immune deficiency disease -e.g. combined immune deficiency, blah, blah - should not be given oral polio vaccine because of their substantially increased risk for vaccine associated disease. Now, they continue: they say “inactivated polio vaccine and not oral polio vaccine should be used to vaccinate immunodeficient persons and their household contacts.” ...I rang the Centers for Disease Control and they have a line of experts that you can ask different questions. And I said ‘I am living in America and I want to go to Uganda, and my children have not received oral polio vaccination. And they said ‘No, they can’t receive oral polio vaccination in this country.’ I said ‘Why not?’ and they said ‘Well, you can get polio from oral polio vaccination.’ ...So I said ‘What if I have a history of HIV and I receive oral polio?’ They said ‘That would be really pretty dangerous. It could be a death sentence.’ Kihura Nkuba (Nov 2002)
See: Kihura Nkuba
3. Polio vaccination a killer:
“I was told by this preacher that when the government introduced the National Immunization Days in 1997, most of the children after vaccination started dying. The preacher told me that they had so much death that his cassock, that he wears to go and conduct the burial ceremony, got old. He said “I buried the children and my cassock got old.” In the same room there was one mother who had four children, and she hid one and took three other children for vaccination, and three children died and that one survived. Now when I went to do my presentation and I asked most of the people who were there - about two, three thousand people - each person had the same story. ...At the main hospital in Mbarara during that month of 1977 more than 600 children had died following polio vaccination. 600 children! So even some of the timid medical practitioners who were initially afraid to come out, started coming out giving information and saying ‘Oh, we knew this oral polio vaccine was trouble because as soon as the child receives it, they get a temperature and their health goes downhill and there is nothing that you could do.’“ - Kihura Nkuba (Nov 2002)
Regards
StGiNU
FORTHCOMING NUBIART PROFILES
NUBIART: Focus on arts, business, education, health, political developments and the media.
MAY PROMOS
~ ‘BEN ZABO’ - BEN ZABO [Glitterhouse Records / Shellshock. Released - 11 June 2012] This is the first full-release by this Malian group named after their bandleader, Ben Zabo, who lovingly admits to having listened to ‘too much Afrobeat’!!! In 2007, whilst trying to establish himself as a guitarist, singer and songwriter he started working as an assistant sound engineer at Studio Bogolan in Bamako where he met Peter Weber, owner of German-based Glitterhouse Records, and the producer Chris Eckman who agreed to produce and distribute the first album to be released by a Malian of Bo descent.
The name ‘Ben Zabo’ means ‘son of Bo and Bambara’ in Bomu etymology, evoking his belonging to the double cultural identity Bambara and Bo. Ben Zabo’s songs are mostly written in Bomu, his mother tongue from the Bwa miocro-nation. Bwatun (Bwa country) straddles the border between Mali and Burkina Faso. Ben Zabo developed a fusion of Bwa rhythms and melodies with influences fromAfrobeat, funk, reggae, blues, rock and jazz.
At a time when Mali is prominent in the news for all the wrong reasons with coups, counter-coups, insurgencies and drought the songs concern themes such as brotherly love, peace, justice, tolerance, solidarity, work and good governance. These are sustainable human development factors, which remain the only guarantee of integrity and social cohesion. Ben Zabo strongly denounce greed, hypocrisy, discrimination and demagoguery.
~ ’GUZO’ - SAMUEL YIRGA [Real World Records. Released - 9 July 2012]
“You give your gifts away for shiny plastic things” - ‘African Diaspora’
This is the first solo album from Ethiopian piano virtuoso Samuel Yirga who although still in his 20s only started learning the piano when he was 16. ‘Guzo’, which means ‘journey’ in Amharic, was recorded in Addis Ababa and in the Real World Studios in Britain, and is a powerful mix Ethio-jazz, soul and funk, Latin, and western classical music.
‘Abet Abet’ is a traditional love song which features the raw and melodic notes of the Ethiopian one-stringed fiddle, the messenqo. ‘Tiwista’, another well-known Ethiopian song means ‘nostalgia’. Of ‘Ferma Ena Wereket’ / ‘We don’t need paper to love each other’. Samuel says, “Everyone can sing about love but the way you describe it is what’s important.”
‘Nou Se Soleil’ / ‘I am the Black Gold of the Sun’ features guest vocalists from The Creole Choir of Cuba, Nicolette and Mel Gara and is a re-working of a 1970s psychedelic soul classic. ‘Dance With the Legend’ is a solo piano piece, inspired by Ethiopia’s great singer Tilahun Gessese. ‘The Blues of Wollo’ is based on a famous Ethiopian song called ‘Ambassel’, with vocals from Genet Masresha. ‘African Diaspora’, with vocals by Nicolette, questions why Afrikan countries are allowing a continuing brain and skills drain of much needed talent.
Videos/ Audio:
Guzo - The story behind the album (EPK): http://youtu.be/-hvlPd15ypw
‘Guzo’ sampler on SoundCloud (3 full length tracks: “Abet Abet (Punt Mix)”, “I am the Black Gold of the Sun” & “The Blues of Wollo (Dessye Mix)”)
http://soundcloud.com/realworldrecords/sets/samuel-yirga-guzo-album-sampler
“Ambassel in Box Revisited” (live):
http://www.realworldrecords.com/videos/ambassel-in-box-revisited-live
http://youtu.be/hyI7IWtb-NI
Improvisation (Audience of One): http://vimeo.com/11804510
Live in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall: http://youtu.be/SfjuU5h2CSA
NUBIART LIBRARY – MAY MEDIA
We will only review books we have read and DVDs we have seen and that are available at reasonable prices online or in shops or libraries. However, given the nature and current state of Afrikan publishing and production there may be books and films on this list that are worth the extra effort to track down.
~ ‘MANGROVE NINE’. Dir: Franco Rosso. [New Beacon Books. ISBN: 9781873201275]. ‘Mangrove Nine’ tells the story of conflict between the police and the Afrikan community in Notting Hill at the start of the 1970s. The central incident of the Mangrove affair took place when a deputation of 150 Afrikans protested against long-term police harassment of the popular Mangrove Restaurant in Ladbroke Grove. The protest policed by 500 police led to 29 charges and nine arrests - Barbara Beese, Rupert Boyce, Frank Critchlow, Rhodan Gordon, Darcus Howe, Anthony Innis, Althea Lecointe Jones, Rothwell Kentish, and Godfrey Millett. The charges ranged from making an affray, incitement to riot, assaulting a policeman, to having an offensive weapon. 22 of the charges against the nine were dismissed including all the serious ones. Only seven minor counts were found proven. The high profile trial at the Old Bailey lasted for two months finishing in December 1971 with five of the defendants being completely acquitted. The case made legal history when it delivered the first judicial acknowledgement of ‘evidence of racial hatred’ in the Metropolitan police force. The Mangrove Nine film contains interviews with the defendants recorded before the final verdicts were delivered at the trial, as well as contemporary comments from Ian Macdonald and others. Watching this film at the cinema recently in a time of police corruption, shootings, racism, harassment, incompetence, prejudice, paranoia and failure to investigate deaths and crime scenes properly shows how little has changed in four decades. Contact: George Padmore Institute and New Beacon Books, 76 Stroud Green Road, London, N4 3EN. Tel: 020 7272 8915 / 4889. E-mail: info @ georgepadmoreinstitute.org or newbeaconbooks @ btconnect.com Web: http://www: georgepadmoreinstitute.org or http://www.newbeaconbooks.co.uk
African Quest International
NUBIART DIARY
~ ‘ADDING VALUE IN AFRICA: SOME REFLECTIONS FROM THE GRANDSON OF A GHANAIAN COCOA FARMER’. Drawing on his unique experience as an MP, a peer, a Labour Minister and the grandson of a Ghanaian coco farmer, Lord Boateng will explore how aid to Afrika can be used to empower producers instead of fostering dependency. On Thurs 10 May at 6.30-8pm at Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2. Adm: Free. Tel: 020 7955 6043. E-mail: events@lse.ac.uk Web: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/publicEvents/events/2012/05/20120510t1830vSZT.aspx and http://www.blackherbals.com/walter_rodney.pdf~ LIFE STORIES CAFÉ – TRUE STORYTELLING. Poet and author Dorothea Smartt hosts at our regular true storytelling event. Book your spot, join the fun, and experience what true storytelling feels, looks and sounds like. Storytellers: Marcus Reeves, Malika Booker, Zena Edwards, Kadija (George) Sesay, Patrick McIntosh. On Fri 11 May at 7pm at Woolfson & Tay, 12 Bermondsey Square, London, SE1 3UN. Adm: £5. Tel: 020 7407 9316. Web: http://www.woolfsonandtay.com/life-stories-cafe.html
~ FIND YOUR VOICE presents ‘The Story of Lovers Rock’ screening and discussion on Sun 13 May 6.30pm at West Green Learning Centre, Langham Road, London, N15 3RB. Tel: 07882 403 781.
~ GRACE NDIRITU
- ‘African Photography, For Whose Eyes? Constructing And Deconstructing Identities’ Artists include: Philip Kwame Apagya (Ghana), Yto Barrada (Morocco), Nabil Boutros (Egypt), Samuel Fosso (Camaroon), David Goldblatt (South Africa), Seydou Keïta (Mali), Boubacar Touré Mandémory (Senegal), Zwelethu Mthethwa (South Africa), Grace Ndiritu (Kenya), Obie Oberholzer (South Africa), Berni Searle (South Africa), Malick Sidibé (Mali), Djibril Sy (Senegal), Guy Tillim (South Africa), and Iké Udé, (Nigeria). Until 13 May at Mandeville Gallery, Nott Memorial, Union College, 807 Union St., Schenectady, NY 12308. Web: http://www.union.edu/Resources/Campus/mandeville/exhibits/upcoming/African%20Photography/index.php
- ‘Cotton Global Threads’. Seven contemporary artists working in a range of disciplines: Yinka Shonibare, MBE; Lubaina Himid; Anne Wilson; Malian artists Abdoulaye Konaté and Aboubakar Fofana; Grace Ndiritu; and Liz Rideal’s work illuminates the exterior of the building throughout the hours of darkness. Exhibition runs until 13 May at Whitworth Art Gallery, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6ER. Web: http://cottonglobalthreads.com/
~ PANDORA’S BOX. Telling the tale of a family spanning three generations and two continents meeting in Lagos for the first time in over 30 years. But the joy of reunion also unleashes long-suppressed truths. ‘ Pandora’s Box’ reveals the heartbreak behind the difficult choices some parents must make – and the price their children pay. From 9-26 May at 7.30pm (Mat 3pm) at Arcola Tent, 2 Ashwin Street, Dalston, London, E8 3DL. Adm: £14 / £10 concs. Opening Week discount: 9, 10, 11, 12 May – all tickets £10 / £ 7 concs. Mid week specials: Pay what you can Tuesdays (tickets in person from 6pm).
~ THE ACE CONFERENCE. The event aims to: celebrate Afrikan entrepreneurship and career achievement; inspiring & motivating others including young people; note the commercial value of the ‘Black Pound’ and where it is being spent; and provide solutions to accelerate economic progress with business options & methods. A unique array of Entrepreneurs will be speaking at the conference about how they achieved, and what odds they had to overcome. Special Guest from America will be Dr Jawanza Kunjufu, who is the author of the book ‘Black Economics’. He himself has built up a multi-million pound business in America, and has written over 30 books. Other Speakers include, Lee Jasper. Mac Attram, Ope Bankole, Jak Beula, Diana Powell and Khami Alexander. There will also be a mini-exhibition of businesses and a fashion show. On Sat 12th May at 10am-6pm at The Dominion Centre, 9 The Broadway, High Road, Wood Green, London, N22 6DS. Adm: £28 / £12 (11-17 year olds). Contact: Dawn Grant – Tel: 020 8252 0192 or 07908 097 351 or Pat Livingston – 07985 364 398. E-mail: info@blackeconomics.co.uk Web: www.blackeconomics.co.uk
~ ‘THE HISTORY OF BLACK THEATRE IN BRITAIN: FROM MARGINS TO MAINSTREAM’. The story of Black Theatre in Britain is the latest documentary film produced by the Octavia Foundation and Nu Century Arts. This superb film explores the history and heritage of Black theatre in Britain, examines the different interpretations of ‘Black British Theatre’ as a label and genre and catalogues the incredible contribution of actors, producers and playwrights to the UK theatre tradition. Featuring previously unseen footage of seminal plays, fascinating interviews with theatre heavyweights, ‘Margins to Mainstream’ tells the story of a dynamic art. Interviews with: Courttia Newland, Javone Prince, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Pat Cumper, Director of Talawa Arts. From Ira Aldridge playing Othello in Covent Garden in the 1830s, to Bashy playing Markus the Sadist in a ‘rap opera’ in 2010; the richness of this story is in its diversity. The film will receive its London premiere at the Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square on Fri 11 May.
- Discussion on Sun 13 May at 3-5pm Pimlico Academy, Lupus Street, London, SW1. Adm: £6.
~ BHW PRESENTS: ‘AVATAR THE MOVIE BREAKDOWN’ with Andrew Muhammad ‘The Investigator’. Since 1994 Andrew has been conducting Hidden Truth Tours to Kemet (Egypt), Tunisia, Ireland and Spain. He has also designed the ‘Hidden Truth Movie Breakdown’. This delivery is based on the Chinese proverb that a picture paints a thousand words. The movie industry has perfected the art of using signs and symbols to convey many hidden truths to unsuspecting audiences. This type of communication was first invented in Egypt and was used throughout their society. Many Hollywood blockbuster films / cartoons such as ‘The Matrix’ and ‘Lion King’ contain secrets that will amaze the viewers. ‘Avatar’ is one of the biggest movies of all time but the Afrikan history throughout the film is in your face yet invisible unless you know what to look for. On Fri 18 May at 7-9pm at Pimlico Academy, Lupus Street, London, SW1. Adm: £7. Web: www.theinvestigator.org.uk www.blackhistorywalks.co.uk
~ AJAMU AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY. On 19 May at Chestnuts Community Centre, Chestnuts Park, 280 St Ann’s Road, Tottenham, London N15 5BN. Tel: 07852 937 981. E-mail: ajamumembership@hotmail.com Follow #TeamAJAMU: @AJAMUnity www.twitter.com/AJAMUnity
~ EXHIBITION: ‘YOUNG MEETS OLD’. A collaborative exhibition that presents the work of practicing artist Ken McCalla and recent art graduate Kemi Murphy. The artwork reflects and celebrates the significance of family and the importance of inter-generational relationships. From 15-26 May at 11am - 6pm at Sprout Arts, 74 Moyser Road, Furzedown, London, SW16 6SQ.
~ AFRICAN ODYSSEYS: ‘THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR’ + ‘INFILTRATING HOLLYWOOD: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR’. The once banned cult action film in which CIA operative Dan Freeman returns to Chicago and prepares his brothers for revolution. This biting satire and razor-edged provocation in response to the urgency of its times features a score from Herbie Hancock. The screening will be followed by a discussion. On Sat 26 May 2pm at BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London, SE1 8XT. Adm: £5. Box Office: 020 7928 3232. E-mail: morethanxy@gmail.com Web: http://www.blackhistorystudies.com/our-services/african-odysseys/
~ TIATA FAHODZI & ROYAL COURT PRESENT ‘BELONG’. A satirical new play by Bola Agbaje set in a political London and Nigeria. Until 26 May at Royal Court Theatre, 50-51 Sloane Square, London, SW1W 8AS. Adm: £20 / £15 / £10. Tel: 020 7565 5000. Web: www.royalcourttheatre.com |
~ PACM AFRICA LIBERATION DAY: ‘SAVE OUR YOUTHS, SAVE AFRICA’. Invited speakers: Julius Malema, former ANC Youth leader; Bro Amon Rashidi; Bro Cecil Gutzmore; Sis Sarudzayi Barnes; Hon Anna Magowa, District Commissioner of Tabora, Tanzania; Bro Makola Libango, APSP; Sis Afryea Adofo, lawyer; and Bro Chukwu Eneka Ouagadou-Quamina, Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement. On Sun Jun 3 - Mon Jun 4 at Greenspring Training, Raleigh Industrial Estate, 196 Camp Lane, Handsworth, Birmingham, B21 8JA. Adm: £9 (one day) / £13 (two days) / U-16s – Free. Tel: Birmingham - 0121 557 2747 / 07940 709 311. Nottingham - 07952 369 112. London – 020 8801 0205. Manchester – 07577 057 960. E-mail: ald.birmingham2012@hotmail.com
~ BRITISH BLACK MUSIC MONTH (BBMM2012) LAUNCH. ‘British Black Music: How Far Have We Come?’ BMM / BMC founder Kwaku precedes the ‘British Black Music: How Far Have We Come?’ debate with a presentation that takes into account BMC’s 10th anniversary, and this year’s sub-themes: ‘Jamaica & Trinidad @ 50’, ‘Marcus Garvey @ 100’, and ‘Samuel Coleridge-Taylor @ 100’.
On Thurs May 31 at 6-8.30pm in central London. E-mail: editor@britishblackmusic.com.
~ THE BRUNEI GALLERY present ‘Disappearing Heritage of Sudan 1820 - 1956: A photographic and filmic research exhibition’. An exhibition of materials created by Frederique Cifuentes and from Durham University’s Sudan Archive. Many of the country’s old buildings have fallen victim to wider economic development or lack of a preservation campaign. This study will show different aspects and forms of the rich colonial architectural heritage in Sudan before it vanishes completely. This is an illustrated history of a unique cultural landscape.
And ‘The Fabric of Fieldwork’ by Wessieling and Susan Ossman. Exhibition of paintings, sculpture and installations inspired by ethnographic research in East Asia and North Africa. Using art both as a recording device and a way of creating a field of exploration Wessieling and Ossman investigate issues of visibility, femininity and women’s work, including their own field weaving as artists and ethnographers.
Both exhibitions run until 23 June on Tues-Sat at 10.30am-5pm at Brunei Gallery, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG. Adm: Free. Tel: 020 7898 4046. E-mail: gallery@soas.ac.uk Web: www.soas.ac.uk/gallery
~ SHANTI-CHI PRESENTS THE SESA WO SUBAN AFRAKAN STORYTELLING FESTIVAL. Workshop leaders also include Chi Creation Storytellers, Nkechiukwu Afrakan centerd Education, Kesensa, Chukwu, Amasade Shepnekhi, Kay Smith, Galatic Clyde, Neters A Ma’at, Afrakan Professor, Kapeni Melesse, Verona Spence, Dalian Adafo, Griot Chinyere, Sista Mena, Usifu Jalloh, Michelle Campbell, Ras Kweku, Black Heartman, Aunty Jedidah, Jaavier Solicopa, Eli Anderson, Ayo Ajala. On Midday Fri 22 June to 4pm Sun 24 June at Moat Mount, Barnett Way, Mill Hill, London, NW7 5AL. Adm: £120 / 8-16 yrs - £60 / under-7’s – free. Ticket prices include all rituals, storytelling performances, workshops, communal fires, camping area, showers, toilets and inspired visions. Healthy foods, Afrakan crafts, Energy healing & Massage available for purchase.
~ ‘JOURNEYS AND KINSHIP’ EXHIBITION. Is the face not currency enough? This display of face casts responds to the irony that members of the African Diaspora must pay to visit sites from which their ancestors were transported into enslavement. ‘Journeys and Kinship’ explores further the themes of the London, Sugar & Slavery gallery at the Museum of London Docklands through a project between the visual artist Jean Joseph and a group of young Londoners working together with Calypsonian, Alexander D Great, and Yvonne Wilson from Equi-Vison. Until 4 Nov 2012 at Museum of London, Docklands 1 Warehouse, West India Quay, London, E14 4AL. Tel: 020 7001 9844. Adm: Free. Web: http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Docklands/Whats-on/Exhibitions-Displays/JourneysandKinship.htm
Contact: Kubara Zamani, Afrikan Quest International, PO Box 35165, London, SE5 8WU. Tel: 07811 494 969. E-mail: afrikanquest@hotmail.com Web: www.southwark.tv/quest/aqhome.asp
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