Stories about Togo from May, 2006
Togo: World Cup threats
Just Thots by a Naijaman comments on the progress or non progress of Togo in the coming World Cup…“Togolese national team players have threatened not to lace their boots for their country unless they are paid the fantastic sum of $200,000 each as appearance fee, $40,000 per win and $20,000...
Togo: Books by Blogger's Friends
Kangni Alem directs us (Fr) to novels recently released by his friends Sara Vidal, Amba Till and Adelaide Fassinou on topics such as love and the border between Benin and Togo.
Senegal: Immigration as colonization
“No Sarkozy! Immigration does not come from a vacuum,” says (Fr) Semett in a post on French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy's immigration policies. “With centuries of merciless exploitation of subsaharan countries and a continuous transfer of their riches to the North, it is logical that the disinherited masses from Africa...
Togo: National Treasures in German Hands?
Blogger Kangni Alem contends that (Fr) “no national treasures (…) were taken from Togo by the Germans” but rather that “what colonization generally speaking stole from the Togolese is their soul.” Nevertheless, he plans to tour German museums this summer to test his theory and cautions “do not count on...
Francophone Africa: Bloggers On Colonialism's Enduring Influence
In recent weeks, several Francophone African bloggers have grappled with their countries’ colonial legacies and the power history has to shape the present and the future. For them, independence is an illusion and in ways both psychological and material, Africa remains a colony of the old empires. All stress the...
African Diaspora: Victory for Sarkozy's Immigration Law
” [French Interior Minister] Sarkozy's immigration law [CESEDA] passed in the French National Assembly! ” says (Fr) Aimafrica . “For a country like Mali, this could be the beginning of an economic catastrophy. France … after having looted our riches and our people, wants business as usual. She no longer...
Senegal: Tiff with France over “Chosen Immigration”
Commenting on a recent tiff between French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade over France's new policy of “choosing its immigration,” Forum Realisance says (Fr): “Wade is dead on because it is evident that France wants its pick of the best of African elites and takes for...
Chad: What is France doing there?
Generation Consciente, Une Autre Afrique asks (Fr) “What is France doing in Chad? In Africa?” and answers: “The day before yesterday, they waved the communist threat to explain France's presence in Africa. Yesterday Anglo-American jolts justified the need to stay. Today Islamist regimes peak their heads in and explain our...
Africa: Clandestine Emigration
Seckasysteme would like to see (Fr) “a summit of West African heads of state so that clandestine emigration can be uprooted and so as to find a durable solution to the problem.” “Hundreds have died since the beginning of the year for having simply tried to escape misery,” continues the...
Africa: List of French Institutions Specialized in the Continent
Generation Consciente, Une Autre Afrique posts (Fr) a list of French universities, centers, laboratories and other French institutions that specialize in the study of Africa.
France & Francophonia Commemorate Slavery Amidst Curriculum Controversy
Image courtesy of oliviermr2 A Day of Remembrance France commemorated slavery for the first time on May 10, reports Haiti's Alterpresse: Le président francais qualifie d’infamie, la traite négrière et invite les Français à « regarder tout notre passé en face », « sans concession ». Abdou Diouf, Secrétaire général...
Francophonia: Remembering Bob Marley
“May 11, 1981 – May 11, 2006: It's been 25 years since Bob Marley left us”, says (Fr) Martiniquan blog Bondamanjak. France-based Forum Realisance posts lyrics to Redemption Song and commemorates the Jamaican legend (Fr): “I had the incredible fortune of meeting him in Brussels in a private club; I...
African Diaspora: Hard times for Africans in France and Belgium
Several francophone blogs have tackled African immigrants’ latest tribulations in France and Belgium. Choosing Immigrants Le Pangolin criticizes French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy’s latest round of immigration policies. The blogger sees Sarkozy’s approach as a diversion from the real social issues raised by protestors of the CPE [Youth Employment Law]....
