Latest posts by Alice Backer from November, 2006
Senegal: Baaba Maal in Upcoming UK Festival
Seckasysteme writes (Fr): “Baaba Maal will be the star guest of the upcoming World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) festival, scheduled from 7/27 to 7/29 in Britain.”
DRC: Opposition Reaction to Early Runoff Speculation
UDPS Liege, the Belgium-based blog of opposition party UDPS posted a press relase in reaction to early speculation that Joseph Kabila (a.k.a Hyppolite Kanambe) may have won the October runoff election in the DRC. Le comité directeur de la Dynamique UDPS Liège s’est réuni en session extraordinaire ce samedi 11...
Martinique: Commemorating a Coming Out
On November 8, Le Blog de [Moi] remembered (Fr) a past lesbian affair and the heartbreak that prompted her to abruptly come out to her mother exactly seven years prior.
Madagascar: List of Local Bloggers
L'Odyssee de Tattum posts (Fr) a list of Madagascar-based bloggers. She also announces an upcoming collective blog Malagasy Miray, which plans to amplify voices of locals without their own blogs.
Congo, France: Prix Renaudot Awarded to Alain Mabanckou
Sanaga Peregrinations announces (Fr) that the prestigious literary Renaudot Prize was awarded to Congolese novelist Alain Mabanckou for his novel Memoires de Porc-Epic [Porcupine Memories]. Explains the blog: “Fine storyteller, Mabanckou takes the voice of a porcupine who confides in his friend the baobab and tells him of his life...
Niger, France: Debt Relief Activist Arrested and Released
On Thursday, Le Pangolin posted that (Fr) Claude Quemar, Secretary of CADTM France [Committee for the Cancellation of Third World Debt] was arrested in Niger presumably for participating in the Niger Social Forum. Today the blog announces that the activist was released last night but with “obligation to leave Niger...
Haiti: UNDP Human Development Index
Tout Haiti Blog points to (Fr) a Haitian news article on UNDP's latest human development country rankings stating: “The group of countries with weak human development only contains two non-African countries: Yemen and Haiti.”
DRC: BanaCongo Rejects Official Election Results
Looking ahead to the publication of election results, UDPS Liege publishes a BanaCongo declaration stating (Fr): “Pressure group BanaCongo asks the Congolese people to remain vigilent and ready to vigorously protest the election results that the Western media are generally publishing to put the people to sleep.”
Madagascar: Public Health and Corruption
TZ=Indian/Antananarivo writes (Fr): “Health is apparently one of the sectors most affected by corruption in Madagascar … Things may be getting better but there is still a long way to go…”
Madagascar: Franco-Malagasy Solidarity
Harinjaka is happy that a local French NGO is flying Francia, a local girl in need of specialized surgery, to France for the operation but thinks (Fr): “the best way to help Madagascar is to give Malagasies the means to develop their own thinking and methods, rather than offering them...
La Reunion: Controversial President
La Reunion is an overseas department of France situated in the Indian Ocean. Of the department's President, Nassimah Dindar, blogger Pierrot Dupuy writes that (Fr): “she is capable of cynicism and has a propensity for sitting on rules and laws.” He then relates anecdotes that illustrate his point.
Africa: Regional Integration and Airlines
Sanaga Peregrinations builds on Ethan Zuckerman's recent post on African regional integration and asks (Fr): “In the same vein, does each country need its own airline? Why do exports from African countries to other African countries only represent 10% of the continent's total exports? Ethan proposes arguments in favor of...
Indian Ocean: Bloggers Feel Connected to the World Through Global Voices
‘Bloggers of relatively remote countries in the Indian Ocean such as Madagascar and La Reunion have noticed recent GV articles on their blogospheres and expressed enthusiasm about GV's work and about the spotlight on their countries. ‘Proof that We Can Make a Difference’ France-based Malagasy blogger Harinjaka noticed Global Voices’...
Martinique: What's Wrong With Hair?
Displeased that more and more women are turning to complete eyebrow removal, Le Blog de [Moi] asks(Fr): “Do modern societies have a problem with body hair?” She then notes the ever increasing popularity of body hair removal dating back to the 1990's.
Reunion: Moslems and Music
Zarabes.info, the blog of the moslem community in La Reunion, rounds up (Fr) various recent articles about moslems and music and asks: “What is the real relationship between Reunion moslems and music? What will happen during Sharukh Khan's next concert?”
Senegal: If Africa Had Not Been Colonized
Chroniques de Ndoumbelane dislikes (Fr) the question “If Africa had not been colonized, would it now be developed?“. Instead the blogger prefers to think of an alternative history where “the west would have encountered other civilizations without destroying them.”
Madagascar: Development through Onion?
Since onion is such a staple of Malagasy cuisine, Aiky at Madagascar Croissance would like to see (Fr) more exploitation of the food for exports.