Latest posts by Alice Backer
Third World Women Have a Ways to Go
For Women's Day, India-based Haitian Blogger Pascale Doresca compares [Fr] the lot of women in the third world to that in the first world and concludes: “Developed countries are far in advance of developing ones if one takes into account that having a daughter in many parts of India is...
Morocco: Comedian Back Home to Perform
EspaceMaroc writes [Fr]: “Comedian Gad El Maleh is coming home to present his one man show I am the Other, his latest comedic creation featuring very original sketches. He will be in Casablanca on Marh 12 and 13 and then in Rabat on March 17. The comedian was named one...
Senegal: Public Transportation Fare Hike
Blog Politique du Sénégal [Fr] doesn't understand why some are unhappy with the doubling or tripling of public transportation costs during the Magal, an annual event of the Mouride moslem sect. “Personally, I find logical and normal that the drivers increase the fares as mush as they can. We are...
Haiti: Make Women's Day Matter
After reminiscing disillusioned early engagements with Haitian feminist groups and an instance where she was not allowed to commission her son's birth certificate without her husband's authorization, Nancy Chapoteau of Notedor.com concludes (Fr): “When will there be concrete and just actions in our country in women's favor? … Haitian women,...
Francophone Bloggers on Oscars and Césars
Hostess Valérie Lemercier performs a Guadeloupean zouk hit from the 80's at the Césars awards. Blogger reactions to the recent film award ceremonies in France and America are quite varied. Congolese Alain Mabanckou is happy with the attention Africa is getting in Hollywood. In particular, he is pleased with the...
Haiti: Goat on a Plane
New Haiti-based Haitian blogger (and published author) Nancy Chapoteau of Notedor.com writes about her strange encounter with a strange plane fellow on a flight from Cap Haitian to Port-au-Prince [Fr]: “My son's reaction [to the billy-goat] was as funny as could be: ‘Was the goat wearing his seatbelt?’ Instead, the...
Haiti, Dom. Rep.: Gaga = Rara?
Collectif Haiti de Provence wonders whether the Dominican “Gaga” tradition is not derived from the Haitian post carnival musical gatherings called “Rara” [Fr]: “Haitian tourists visiting the other side of the border can tell without a doubt that gaga is practiced and cultivated where Haitians and their descendants reside i.e....
Guinea: Another Lansana Enters the Scene
Says Senegalese blogger Alex Seck, (Fr): “The situation in [Guinea] has started normalizing since the nomination of Lansana Kouyaté as Prime Minister on Feb. 26. Kouyaté who was one of five people proposed by unionists and civil society arrived in Conakry [on the 27th] from Abidjan where he was [an...
Senegal: Some Wade Pluses
Blog Politique du Sénégal has had (Fr) a hard time understanding Wade's victory in last week's presidential election but concedes: “Wade is not completely undeserving. The infrastucture he has built, the many secondary schools were necessary. His regime has built more infrastructure in 7 years than his predecessors in 20.”
Senegal: Wade Official Winner
Blog Politique du Sénégal posts the definitive presidential election results which reflect Wade's win with 55.72% of the vote, and Idrissa Seck as the runner-up with 15.52% . Ousmane Tanor Dieng is third and Moustapha Niasse is 4th. The results are further itemized by city.
Senegal: Candidate's Vote for Himself Not Counted
Blog Politique du Sénégal quotes candidate Moudou Dia's declaration that at the voting center where he, his wife and two friends voted for him, he officially received no votes. The blog humorously adds (Fr): “To take 3 to 4 votes from a man who barely got .13% of the vote...
Morocco: International Magic Festival
EspaceMaroc announces (Fr) the 4th International Magic Festival to take place in Marrakech mid-March and adds :”Having become one of the most marking events of the city, the festival seeks to promote magician arts by offering a popular attraction, democratizing magic shows by offering them to the public… [and] by...
Guadeloupe: FIrst Cinema and A/V Technology Conference
InternetRapide.com writes (Fr): “The Sytek Gwadloup Company, in partnership with the Guadeloupean Region and ANPE Art, Culture et Spectacles are initiating the First Cinema and A/V Technology conference on March 1st and 2nd, 2007.” The conference seeks to present the latest A/V technologies to A/V professionals and to provide them...
Burundi: Where No means Yes
Expat blogger BeneBurundi is learning about local culture (Fr): “Communicating with people from Burundi is all about subtlety and interpretation; for example if you're proposed to and you decline with a ‘no’, it is highly possible that what will be heard will be ‘yes, maybe one day if you insist’....
Senegal: Youssou N'Dour Cinematic Debut
California-based Congolese blogger Alain Mabanckou has nothing but praise for Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour's big screen debut in Amazing Grace (Fr):”to see the few clips featuring Youssou N'dour, I think we'll need to to follow him closely. His future is bright if he chooses to concentrate exclusively in this direction...
Morocco: Vintage Larache Postcard
MarocAntan, a blog dedicated to “documents and souvenirs of past Morocco” posts (Fr) an old postcard depicting an aerial view of Larache.
Martinique & Guadeloupe's Music Opened French César Awards
Martinique-based Internetrapide.com was happy to see the music of Martinique and Guadeloupe featured on the French equivalent of American Oscars(Fr): “The mistress of ceremony of the 2007 edition of the César Awards kicked off the show … by singing a boisterous zouk song, true invitation to celebration and travel.” He...
Senegal: Thumbs Down for the Minister of Justice
Semett alleges that (Fr): “The justice minister … has unjustly broken into the voting center at Ndatté Yalla, in Saint Louis, while votes were being counted and his men have spread chaos in this republican space. They have pushed around the center's managing team and this, in front of police...
Senegal: Voting Process Report Card
Semett ‘s voting process report card (Fr): “The Presidential election took place peacefully and with a participation rate estimated at 70% by the vote's organizers. The electoral body went from 2 to 5 million. More than 2,000 observers were deployed. Generally, the voting process has been positively evaluated and Senegalese...
Haiti: Who Was Louis-Jean Beaugé?
Haiti d'Outre-Mer shares some delightful folk anecdotes about legendary Jérémie native Louis-Jean Beaugé and his descendants. The mythic figure's name has become a Haitian Creole expression to designate people who are fierce. The blog explains that (Fr): “Louis-Jean Beaugé was an officer in the Jérémie garrison in the beginning of...
Tunisia, France: How To Wash the Dirty Laundry At Home
Mouwaten Tounsi deplores (Fr) that ex-Tunisian diplomat Khaled Ben Saïd is being judged in France for torture. He would have liked Ben Saïd judged in Tunisia. He proposes a reconciliation-based justice. The process would focus on indemnification of torture victims by the government rather than on prosecution of officials who...
