Out of Africa

Credit: RICHARD LEWIS/AP

Today Nelson Mandela turns 90.

Not only does this man represent a sense of pride, progress and change for South Africans, he represents it for Africans as a whole.

He represents the moral integrity Africans need from the leaders to move forward into a better tomorrow.

Even in the Diaspora, he represents an image that is large than life.

He’s won a Nobel Peace Prize. He’s been TIME’s Man of the Year. He was South Africa’s first black president. He’s a man who changed history.

BBC has a collection of his most famous quotes. My favorite:

“The value of our shared reward will and must be measured by the joyful peace which will triumph, because the common humanity that bonds both black and white into one human race, will have said to each one of us that we shall all live like the children of paradise…

“But there are still some within our country who wrongly believe they can make a contribution to the cause of justice and peace by clinging to the shibboleths [dogmas] that have been proved to spell nothing but disaster.

“It remains our hope that these, too, will be blessed with sufficient reason to realise that history will not be denied and that the new society cannot be created by reproducing the repugnant past, however refined or enticingly repackaged.”

Here’s an interview he gave to CNN, looking back on his life. There’s also a series of news coverage on his life and how this landmark birthday is being celebrated. His life already is, and forever will be, memorialized.

Happy 90th Birthday, Mr. Mandela!

Update: If you’re in the Chicago area, on Monday, July 21, the Jazz Philharmonic is hosting a free concert in honor of Mandela’s 90th birthday.

Right now I’m really interested in the history and culture of Liberia, since I’ve worked on some articles and am hoping to do some other work about Rainbow Town and the Shine Foundation in the future. While doing some random reading/research, I fell across this piece published in the New York Times Magazine. It’s an excerpt from journalist Helene Cooper’s book “The House at Sugar Hill,” which comes out in September.

The piece is compelling, and I’m eager to read the book in its entirety when it comes out. While it’s a memoir, it offers historical information about Liberians - both natives and descendants from former American slaves. I learned so much from the little printed in the NYT magazine.

 It also tells a personal story of choosing to return home after being absent for so long. Regardless of where she lived, Africa remained a part of Helene Cooper and “The House at Sugar Hill” recounts how she found it again.  

by Leila Noelliste

From the outside, parking garage attendant Kobina Azhir looks like an American-born Black man. But Azhir, a Ghanaian seaman who came to the city 22 years ago, is one of 23,000 African immigrants living in metropolitan Chicago.

On May 31, the United African Organization, a partnership of 20 African immigrant communities, held a summit at the DuSable Museum of African American History, to shed light on immigrants like Azhir. Alie Kabba, executive director of UAO, said that “public eduction” is necessary since African immigrants are often overlooked, or misunderstood.

“We realized a few years ago that the challenge for (African immigrants) is to end our invisibility and help to educate people about contemporary African issues in order to better understand the experience of African immigrants and refugees in Illinois,” said Kabba, who came to Chicago from Sierra Leone in 1991.

The second Chicago Summit on African Immigrants and Refugees attracted more than 200 African, Arab and Latino immigrants, as well as African American supporters. Issues that Africans face within their own countries, as well as in Illinois, were discussed in plenary sessions. Though the number of participants is higher than last year’s 160, the modest turn out is a reflection of Africans’ struggle to catch broad attention and support.

“Within the larger immigrant community, we tend to be overshadowed by the Latino community because they have the numbers. So when people think about immigrants, they think about Latinos, and not Africans,” Kabba said. According to 2000 U.S. Census data, there are approximately 582,000 Mexican immigrants living in metropolitan Chicago, compared to just 23,000 African immigrants.

Nigerians make up the majority of that count. European and Asian immigrants account for 366,000 and 321,000 respectively. Like most immigrants, Africans come to America to flee political instability, pursue education, or establish a better life.

They are the most educated immigrant group in metropolitan Chicago and nationally, Kabba said. According to 2000 U.S. Census data, 95.4 percent of African immigrants who had entered metropolitan Chicago in the past 10 years had a high school degree or more, compared to 39.1 percent of Latin American immigrants, 73.8 percent of European immigrants and 85.3 percent of Asian immigrants.

But when it comes to accessing language, housing, employment and medical services African immigrants still suffer “institutional neglect,” Kabba said. He added that this is particularly damaging since African immigrants face the dual challenge of being Black and foreign. “Resources are directed to the community with the largest numbers, which is Latin Americans… The francophone (those from French-speaking African countries) have a language barrier.

“When I hear about bilingual resources, I think, ‘The definition of bilingual has got to go beyond Spanish. It’s got to include those in other communities’,” Kabba said. Carol Adams, secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services, spoke at the summit and said that the state would take an “extra step to be inclusive” of African immigrants.

“When we talk about doing things for African American women, we are also including women who come from Africa,” Adams said. And the relationship between Africans and African Americans is critical, though plagued by miscommunication. The selection of DuSable for the summit was to represent the link between African Americans and African immigrants, who Kabba described as the “new African Americans.”

“Culture is a dynamic process,” said Kabba, and it’s a fact he has himself experienced. He had plans to move back to Sierra Leone after getting a degree in public policy from the University of Illinois, but a lengthy civil war in his homeland kept him here, where he is raising his 7-, 9-, and 12-yearold children.

“Being an African here is such a temporary identity. It’s a bridge to connect us to a more permanent space, and that permanent space is, naturally, within the African American community,” Kabba said. “When my kids grow up, they’re not going to think Sierra Leone. They’re going to think South Side, West Side, Chicago.”

(Source: The Chicago Defender)

I had meant to do this a while ago, but kept on putting it off. But as our class is coming to an end, I wanted to take the time to mention the blogs of some of my classmates who have featured Africa in one form or the other in their blogs.

• James Edwards - The Violence Project: With an entire blog about violence in Chicago, it’s kind of hard to feature news pertaining to Africa. But James did it in this post about Francis Oduro, a Ghanaian international student who was shot to death. Along with the Violence Project, my prayers go out to the Oduro family.
• Holly Fox - Familienpolitik: A new family law in Mali that would give illegitimate children inheritance rights is the subject of this post. Islamic groups are against this change and Holly provides an interesting comparison to the meaning of marriage and a marriage certificate in Mali versus the United States.
• Christa Hillstrom - Human Goods: In an earlier post I had linked to Christa’s blog about slavery in Mauritania. A more recent post looks at a former slave in Niger who is suing the government for not enforcing anti-slavery laws. In a country were human rights groups estimate about 43,000 people are still living in slavery, this is just the kind of accountability African countries need to be held to.
• Erin Halasz - Wikileads: Erin’s blog follows the online conversation about Wikileaks and the myriad ways in which its uncensorable, untraceable documents appear in public discourse. If you don’t know what Wikileaks is, basically it’s a site that leaks a whole lot of info, but is primarily user-generated like Wikipedia and stuff (Erin, or anyone else who knows, correct me if I’m wrong!). Some of the confidential documents received anonymously includes corruption in Kenya and other “shoddy standards of human rights” in sub-Saharan Africa. One of Erin’s particular posts highlights a recent posting on Wikileads of an invoice for Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Defense, charging the country for a shipment of Chinese rockets, bombs and rounds of mortar.

I hope you take the time to check out their blogs, and while these are the only posts about Africa, each is very interesting and sophisticated. To see more blogs from my class, check out our class Web site.

Ever wondered what the difference between an H1 visa and F1 visa was? Or who qualifies for a green card versus non-immigrant status?

Well, Business Week offers a pretty concise Immigration Glossary to put everything in perspective.

Most of my friends are (or were) on the F-1 Visa, which is given to all international students. However, there is also the J-1 Visa, which is also given to students — but generally for a short educational or cultural exchange (e.g. researchers, exchange students, dancers, and performers).

There’s the highly coveted H-1B Visa (which has me wondering what a H-1A Visa is), which a non-U.S. citizen who will be temporarily employed in a specialty occupation. From this type of visa, many immigrants move on to obtain a Green Card, which makes you into a permanent resident. Before that?  You may be given Adjustment of Status (AoS)  or  Advance Parole (AP), which are part of the last steps to becoming a permanent resident. 

Then there are visas B-1, B-2, E-1, E-2, H-4, L-1 … oh the list goes on. While all this is fascinating, all I can say is I’m glad I’m a U.S. citizen.

Here’s to understanding immigration’s alphabet soup!

This story is the first part of a two-part series on NPR about polygamy.

In many African countries, polygamy is a way of life. And not only if you’re Muslim (as the NPR piece seems to say). Polygamy is a sign of wealth and of status. Many African chiefs (an honor given out somewhat freely nowadays; I’d liken them to the American socialite or something) take on two or three extra wives as his wealth increases or as he moves up in honor.

Even if this story focuses on polygamy in African Muslims, it points out many of the issues polygamy has for the many wives of the men who practice it. And what happens when these men move to America, or other parts of the world where polygamy is illegal?

Listen in and find out.

One of the first stories I wrote for the Medill News Service was about the Darfur crisis in northern Sudan. The crisis is a continuation of two civil wars Sudan has already gone through. It’s almost been like non-stop violence and fighting has gone on in this country. And although the perpetrators and aggressors have changed faces, more or less over time, the victims remain the same - millions of children displaced, families split up and separated, the general collateral damage of war.

During the second civil war in Sudan, the collateral damage bared the face of thousands of boys who became known as The Lost Boys of Sudan. Unlike the whimsical Lost Boys in the pages of ‘Peter Pan,’ very little about their lives is envious or wonderfully exciting. (this New York Times story is amazing, really compelling).

Here’s a recording of Mabouc Mabouc, a Lost Boy who resides in Chicago and acts as a social worker for the Pan African Association and a spokesperson for the Darfur crisis. He tells an abbreviated version of his story - from being seperated from his family, walking across multiple countries, living in refugee camps and eventually making it to the United States.

His story is sad, but as Mabouc points out: He is one of the lucky ones.

Audio

So this blog isn’t newsworthy in the sense that it’s something immediate and super important.

BUT … this blog is about an amazing family that has a great foundation that helps people in Liberia. Some of their projects include:

1. Rainbow Town - sustaining and maintaining this orphanage for 86 war orphans in Gbargna, Liberia.

2. EKIA - Enhancing Knowledge of Illiterate Adults is an adult literacy program, which will teach 500 Liberians how to read and write.

3. Britt Academy - They recently finished construction of this school and continue to support the operation of the school which includes the provision of teacher salaries and school materials.

4. Medical Missions - They organize short-term medical teams from the U.S. will travel to rural areas of Liberia to provide free medical care.

I did two stories about this family when I worked for The Norman Transcript, primarily about their son Adam and an award he won ($10,000!!!). Right now the Selmon Mom, Kathryn, is as finalist for Tyson’s Gold Medal Mom (please vote for her! She really deserved a gold medal!).

Anyway, I decided to write a blog to sort of showcase their organization, Shine Foundation. Africa needs more organizations like this.

Special Guest: Shannon Selmon from Grace Fellowship on Vimeo.

In an earlier post, I wrote about Nigerians being killed and harassed in South Africa. Well, the violence against African immigrants in South Africa has been increasing. While the government is attempting to quell this issue, quite a few people have died and continued to be displaced.

One South African compares the country to America and it’s illegal immigration debates. She writes:

South Africa has been considered an inspiration to those fighting for freedom and equality through its grassroots movements for racial equality, voting reform and the unique way it has dealt with its violent past. In our appreciation of how far it has come, we seem to have forgotten that the struggles of the democratic South Africa are far from over.

Leading up to this, statements have been made bringing this growing xenophobia to the light and urging South Africans to flee from it. There had also been a call to naturalize the millions of illegal immigrants living in the country, many listed as refugees and receiving asylum.

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to meet Somalian author Nuruddin Farah. I had spoken to him Monday with plans to interview him for a possible profile piece I wanted to write. He sounded willing enough, and had promised to call me when he arrived in Evanston. He didn’t. And I forgot it was Tuesday and had to rush from downtown Chicago to Evanston within an hour to make it to the event. Anyway … here’s a recap of my encounter with him:

I felt my face turn red and my eyes begin to sting with unbidden tears. I had just walked up to Nuruddin Farah, book in hand, nervous smile on my face, excited to introduce myself. Only to hear these words come from his mouth: “Don’t you know it’s unethical to film someone without their permission?”Taken aback, I immediately begin to defend myself. “Well, I was the one who spoke to you yesterday on the phone –“

“You didn’t say you’d be filming,” he interrupted, his tone harsh. I imagine this is the same voice he uses to chastise his unruly grandchildren, if he were to have any. I felt like I had just been sent to the corner.

Again I tried to explain.

“Well, I had asked her if it were okay,” I said, pointing to the community relations person of the bookstore. I was hoping her authority would save me from his wrath – I could be off punishment. Instead, almost like an older sister evading punishment herself, the lady shifts all blame on me.

She didn’t give me permission. She said it was okay only if he was okay with it. She was under the impression he gave me permission earlier.

She was new to the store, and was unsure of the legal implications of what I had done

But what had I done? It was a public event in a public store. And it was for a news story, not commercial use. And I at least had the courtesy to clear it with a store official first. As far as my meager, but still existent, professional and ethical training had taught me … I had done what I was supposed to do.

I tried to explain again. But both continued interrupting and talking over me. I was at fault. No excuses mattered. Miscommunication led to miscommunication.

“You can use the footage,” he eventually says. “And you can start your story with how I told you off.”

I thanked him and walked away. But I couldn’t help fuming – partially embarrassed, partially upset, partially just plain mad – as I thought about it all.

They had no clue how my day was before this. They didn’t know I had spent over three hours covering closing arguments of a court case. They didn’t know I thought he was speaking tomorrow and not today.

They didn’t know in thinking that, I had given my camera to someone else to use. And while I was able to procure another, they didn’t know the battery was dead, and there was no tape. They didn’t know I caught the first train I could and practically ran to the store under the weight of my laptop bag, huge purse, camera bag and camera stand.

They didn’t know how tired I was, how far I was willing to go to get this opportunity.

An opportunity I had lost. Because he thought I was unethical.

I could hear them still talking about me as I packed up. Farah continued to talk about my “unethical-ness.” The lady continued to throw me under the bus, in order to save herself. I could feel my face getting hotter, the tears getting stronger.

Eventually I made my way back to the pair, who had thankfully moved on to talking about other things.

“I won’t use the footage,” I said. “I wasn’t trying to confuse anyone or cause any misunderstanding. Or look like I was trying to mislead you.”

“No, no. Use it,” he said. “It’s alright. Just know for the future.” His voice was softer now, but still bearing the slight coldness from his voice of steel. He again states why he found it unethical and then drops the bombshell that made me feel even worse:

“I had come thirty minutes early so you could interview me. But you weren’t here.” His tone wasn’t exactly accusatory, but it wasn’t forgiving either.

Thirty minutes early? Thirty minutes early!?!? I could have gotten such a great interview in that amount of time!

I wasn’t sure who to be mad at more. Him, for not calling me back as he promised. Or myself, for not calling him when I hadn’t heard back from him. But again, I thought I had another day … and I had just spent the day at court. I wouldn’t have been there thirty minutes early, even if I had known. I guess it was meant to be.

I nodded, and said my goodbyes. My heart was as heavy as all the bags I carried with me.

The footage was now tainted, as far as I was concerned. Even with his permission, his reaction and the lady’s lack of support drained it of any value it had to me. It wasn’t going to be any good without the personal interview anyway.

While my experience with Farah was less than pleasant, he was a good speaker and a lot of others enjoyed the chance to meet and talk to him. Here’s another attendant’s take on it.  He goes into a lot more detail about what Farah had to say and how the event went.