Stories about French from April, 2008
Haiti, Congo, and the politics of hunger
Two francophone bloggers respond to the crisis over rising food prices, but rather than blame their proximate cause–subsidies for biofuels in rich countries–they criticize the politics and the politicians who left their countries this vulnerable to begin with. They write that the riots of these last few weeks and the riots to come, like the crisis itself, are symptomatic of deeper problems that cannot be solved by the simple magic of foreign aid.
Remembering Aimé Césaire
Aimé Césaire - Martinican poet, politician and consummate West Indian - passed away today at the age of 94. It is not often that politics and poetry go together, but when they do, the West Indies is as fertile an environment as any for the two to coexist. Césaire seamlessly blended his love for language, ideas and writing into his political life, which spanned almost 60 years.
Uruguay: 365 versions of La Cumparsita
Three hundred and sixty five versions of one of the most famous tangoes in the world, La Cumparsita, will be played in Independence Plaza in Montevideo, which is the site...
Maghreb netizens respond to 8 year-old Yemeni girl's petition for divorce
Tunisian blogger Stupeur!! Un nouveu depart!! (Stupor!! A New Beginning!!) responds to a Yemen Times article about an 8 year-old girl who is trying to file for divorce from a 30 year-old man she says her father forced her to marry.
Tunisia: Al Radeyef Protests – When Bloggers Give a Voice to the Voiceless
With little to no coverage of the plight of thousands of people at the rich Phosphorous mines of Gafsa, Redyef and Oum el Arayess on mainstream media, Tunisian bloggers and activists are turning to the Internet to tell the world their story.
D.R. of Congo: Fifth fatal crash in under a year, food prices the real disaster
News agencies are reporting that 75 were killed when a cargo plane crashed in Goma shortly after takeoff on Tuesday. Du Cabiau à Kinshasa reflects on how a plane crash can bring attention to the DRC, generally ignored by Western media, even though it's reeling from one of the greatest human disasters in a century. But Cabiau thinks the skyrocketing food prices, although less photogenic, are the real disaster in the making.
Morocco: Hands off my Muezzin!
Robin des Blogs received over a dozen comments on his post about a minister in the Moroccan government who has asked muezzins in mosques adjoining tourist areas not to do...
Sea turtle conservation in Republic of Congo
Congopages writes about local efforts to protect endangered sea turtles [Fr].
Mugabe criticized because he endangered White interests
In a commentary at Babilown (Fr), Eloi Goutchili compares Robert Mugabe and Paul Biya, president of Cameroon for over 25 years, concluding that only real difference between them is the...
Zizou from Djerba translates the Dalai Lama in Seattle
zizou from Djerba has volunteered to do live Arabic translation of the Dalai Lama's “compassion conference” in Seattle this week.
Madagascar: Too much emphasis on the environment ?
Madagascar is arguably most renowned for its unique biodiversity. However, the focus on the environment is sometimes resented by Malagasies who think it diverts attention away from the hardships of the Malagasy people.
Prison Break, Moroccan Style
On Tuesday morning, 9 inmates and suspected terrorists escaped from a Moroccan jail. Moroccan bloggers used every pun and reference from the American television show, Prison Break, to describe their shock and disbelief.
Russia: Politics Update
Sean's Russia Blog posts an update on the recent political developments in Russia.
Tunisian Journalist Covers Elections in Zimbabwe
Bassam Bounenni, a Tunisian journalist who blogs at Wherever I Roam, That's My Home, describes covering the elections in Zimbabwe for Al Jazeera [Fr]: “We have been stopped repeatedly and...
Morocco: An Interview with Mohamed Ali Lagouader, Author
From Mohammédia, Morocco, aspiring author Mohamed Ali Lagouader has discovered the art of transcending borders and reaching out to an international audience through publishing his novels and poetry online. Jillian York catches up with Lagouader and speaks to him about his writing, reading and dreams in this interview.
