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Somalia War Moves to the Airwaves

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MOGADISHU, 3 March 2010 (Somalilandpress) – Last year Somalia’s Radio Warsan was a pro-government station that vilified al-Qaida-linked insurgents. Today it is in the hands of the rebels as they battle the U.N.-backed government on the ground with guns and on the nation’s airwaves with pro-jihad messages.

As the propaganda war intensifies in the battered Horn of Africa nation, the government is using a newly modernized radio station to get its own message across to more Somalis, and the U.N. is financing a new radio station. When Somalis tune in to the government station in insurgent-controlled territory, they tend to do so in secret to avoid being punished by the al-Shabab rebels, who routinely execute suspected government collaborators.

Both the government and al-Shabab are tapping into a culture in which entire families across the sprawling, arid country huddle around radios for news and entertainment.

Radio Warsan’s director, Mohamed Moalin, says his station is open 15 hours per day and broadcasts Islamic lectures, Quran recitations and five news bulletins to convey one message: Islam is the solution.

The programs “are like the guns carried by our fighters,” Moalin said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from the southwestern Somali town of Baidoa.

“There is no neutrality in this world. We don’t believe in neutralism … Either you are with us, or against us,” said Moalin, who worked at another station before joining Radio Warsan.

Before the Islamists took over the station in November, they banned the airing of music or women’s voices. When the station ignored the orders, al-Shabab took over. Some of the station’s staff joined the militants while others fled.

Al-Shabab has taken most of southern Somalia and most of the capital. In the southern coastal town of Kismayo, al-Shabab runs a radio station called al-Andalus, the Arabic name given to lands that the Moors occupied in much of Spain for 700 years until the last of them were expelled in 1492. Mohamud Mohamed Qasim, an unemployed resident of Kismayo, is a fan.

“It teaches us our religion. Nothing is bigger than religion. I don’t give a hoot about anything else,” said Qasim. He added that he gets so stirred up by the station’s statements against neighboring Ethiopia, whose troops have fought al-Shabab, that he wants to fight Ethiopians.

Jennifer Cooke, Director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the propaganda tactics used by al-Shabab looks similar to those employed by al-Qaida and the Taliban.

“They are using the same mix of money, fear and protection blended with moral cause, which combined can be very powerful,” said Cooke. Money buys loyalty and helps the militants recruit young men, she said.

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Al-Shabab does not rely on radio alone. The Internet, a network of recruiters, and the promise of a regular income are part of its recruitment strategy, reaching out even to Somali communities in Minnesota and Sweden that have seen young men head to al-Shabab camps in Somalia.

Al-Shabab has shut down rival stations or banned people from listening to stations that depict them negatively or are deemed to be anti-Islamic. Last month, journalist Ali Yusuf Adan of Radio Somaliweyn was abducted by al-Shabab gunmen after he reported that militants had killed a man for being late to a prayer session.

In the city of Baidoa, al-Shabab recently closed the independent Juba Radio which had carried programming from the U.S. government’s Voice of America and the U.N.

For its part, the Somali government in October upgraded its Radio Mogadishu in the capital, changing antiquated equipment that had limited broadcast range. The station is now accessible worldwide via satellite or the Web.

Mohamed Guled Sheik, who lives in an area of the capital that’s controlled by al-Shabab, listens to Radio Mogadishu on headphones for safety reasons. He said he especially likes the news and a daily show that pokes fun at al-Shabab’s actions. Radio Mogadishu also broadcasts lectures by prominent Islamic scholars who praise modernism and dramas depicting radical Islamists as villains.

“I know I’m risking my life. But I need a different point of view,” said Sheik, a father of nine who runs an electronics shop at the city’s main Bakara Market. “Radio Mogadishu is not afraid of angering Islamists and exposing their mistakes. But all the other stations are.”

Joining the fray, the U.N. is providing $1.7 million for a new radio station — called Bar-kulan, which means “the meeting place” in Somali — which ran a test transmission on Monday, said David Smith, its director. Programs will include debates on Somali affairs, call-in shows hosted by an Islamic scholar, news, sports and music.

“It is an independent station. If there is a good news to report we will report it and if there is a bad news to report we will report it. Even if it is about al-Shabab or the government,” said Smith.

Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle told AP he is confident the government can counter al-Shabab’s efforts.

“I have high hopes that eventually we will defeat the anti-government propaganda,” said Gelle. He said the government media strategy is based on “disseminating the truth and speaking to the conscience of those with twisted ideologies.”

Source: AP

The Kenyan Syndrome

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HARGEISA, 3 March 2010 (Somalilandpress) – The following is a chapter from a book titled “Somaliland: The legacy of Non-Recognition” that Ahmed I. Hassan is currently writing. The daily indignities which Somalis suffer almost uniquely in Kenya have impelled him to preempt the book’s publication by offering this chapter for early release. It chronicles the untold misery the Kenyans inflict on the Somalis in their country on ordinary basis.

You Can download the Chapter Here: The Kenyan Syndrome

Candidate Is Stabbed to Death in Ethiopia

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Addis Ababa, 3 March 2010 (Somalilandpress) – An opposition candidate for Ethiopia’s Parliament was stabbed to death early Tuesday in what opposition leaders said was part of a widening campaign of repression ahead of May elections.

The candidate, Aregawi Gebre-Yohannes, was killed at a restaurant he owned near the town of Shire in the Tigray region by a group of six men who had shadowed his movements for the previous two days, said Gebru Asrat, a leader of the Arena party, a member of an alliance of opposition parties.

“They cut him, they stabbed him in the stomach, and he died,” Mr. Gebru said. “It’s becoming very difficult to run” a political campaign, he added.

Bereket Simon, the government’s communications minister, dismissed political motives for the attack and said the opposition was trying to tarnish the government’s image.

“In a row with a certain individual, the individual killed him,” Mr. Bereket said. “What they are trying to do is search for casualties and label them Arena. They are not into constructive engagement.”

A different opposition parliamentary candidate was beaten in Tigray on Sunday by members of the Ethiopian Army, and he was hospitalized, said Negasso Gidada, a former president of Ethiopia who has now joined the opposition. Like the man who was killed, the beating victim, Ayalew Beyene, had previously been arrested for attending opposition meetings or distributing campaign literature, he added.

“It is very bad news,” Mr. Negasso said. “My fear is such incidents may be intensifying.”

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Government security forces killed at least 193 demonstrators during unrest after the country’s 2005 federal elections, which the opposition said were rigged. Birtukan Mideksa, widely considered to be the country’s most charismatic opposition figure, remains in prison, serving a life sentence issued in the aftermath of the disputed elections. Both the ruling party and the opposition have accused each other of seeking to foment violence around this year’s vote.

In local elections in 2008, opposition parties won just 3 of 3.6 million seats — virtually none of the huge number of local and by-election seats being contested — after two of the major groups boycotted the elections, citing intimidation and harassment, according to the State Department’s human rights report on Ethiopia.

Mr. Bereket, the government minister, who is also a senior official in Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, said that the candidate beaten on Sunday had been pressuring a student who was not aligned with the ruling party to read opposition campaign literature and that the two had fought as a result.

Ethiopia’s opposition has sharply criticized the Obama administration for what it views as Washington’s failure to speak out on human rights abuses by Mr. Meles’s government, which has been an American ally in pursuing Islamic militants in Somalia.

“They are partners in development with the Ethiopian government, but I don’t think they are partners in freedom and democracy,” said Andualem Aragie, an official with Mr. Birtukan’s Unity for Democracy and Justice party, in a Jan. 29 news conference.

Source: New York Times

Somali Pirates' New Land Tactics Worry UN

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New land tactics being employed by Somali pirates may be a cause for concern, a UN spokesman told the BBC.

Peter Smerdon said three trucks and their drivers were being held in the pirate town of Eyl after delivering food aid last week in central Somalia.

He said they were hijacked on Thursday when travelling without an escort in the first incident of its kind.

Pirates have seized several ships carrying food aid and such boats are now brought in by naval escort.

War-torn Somalia has had no functioning government since 1991, allowing pirates to operate along the lawless coast, almost with impunity.

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Most of the country is in turmoil, with the interim government and African Union peacekeepers limited to a few key areas of the capital as they battle hardline Islamist militants who control much of the south.

Long-term impact?

The World Food Programme uses overland routes from northern ports for delivering aid to central areas of the country as roads from the capital, Mogadishu, are too dangerous.

Mr Smerdon said five other trucks were also attacked and were being held by “local communities”.

Most ships held off the pirate stronghold of Eyl are released after the payment of large ransoms.

But earlier AFP news agency quoted a pirate spokesman demanding the release of pirates jailed by the authorities in Somaliland, which is run independently from the rest of Somalia.

“We are concerned, but it’s too early to say whether it’s going to have an impact on our bringing food down from Berbera and Bossasso to central Somalia, which is the region greatest in need,” Mr Smerdon told the BBC.

Over the weekend the agency said Islamist al-Shabab militants were stopping convoys of food reaching people living in displacement camps outside Mogadishu.

In January, the WFP pulled out of large parts of southern Somalia because of militant threats.

Source: BBC

125 Years of The Berlin Conference

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“There is no single event in modern African history whose consequences have been as dire for the continent as the Berlin Conference of 1884-85,” reports New African. With 26 February, 2010 marking 125 years since ‘the end of this abominable conference’, New African presents “an in-depth look at the conference and its impacts on Africa and her people.”

Carving up Africa

It was the Berlin conference, [referred to as the Kongokonferenz in official German records] that led to, and formalized, the scramble and eventual carving up of Africa into blocks [for France, Germany, Portugal, King Leopold II of Belgium, Spain, and Italy] that were broken down to 53 countries.

“For three months, between 15 November 1884 and 26 February 1885, thirteen competing European powers and the USA met in Berlin, Germany to share Africa amongst themselves. No African was invited to the conference.” This conference was such a sacrilege that one African artist, Yinka Shonibare, MBE represents it as a gathering of full-size bodies of headless men, one for each of the

powers, seated round a big long ovoid table, haggling over the map of Africa–a continent they could not see, they knew little about, whose people they barely understood.

These powers were indeed headless–devoid of humanity, but full of hunger and thirst for commercial and economic gain–raw materials.

Ironically, Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck who hosted and presided over the conference had just until 14 years previously fought so hard to unite Germany.


The Berlin Act of 1885

New African highlights some clauses from the Berlin act which was to govern how these powers were to conduct their affairs in relation to the acquired territories. Above all the powers were to guarantee the other powers freedom to trade within their territories. That the p owers, through the act, bound themselves to “preserve the native tribes and expressly guarantee their freedom of conscience and

religious toleration is ridiculous indeed–history shows that this never was, so it can only surmise to say it was purely a diplomatic fa?ade. The powers could only keep the colonies if they actually possessed.

The spoils of the Berlin Conference

The Berlin conference was a haggling forum, shrouded in diplomatic mischief and chicanery, the end of which was the formalization, among competing European powers, the eventual partitioning of Africa–a process brought to a close in 1902.

Britain got present day: Egypt, Sudan, British Somaliland [part of present day Somalia], Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria Ghana, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia. Brain’s scheme was to acquire a “Cape-to-Cairo territory” and it almost succeeded.

France got present day: Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger, Chad, Benin [collectively these formed French West Africa] Gabon, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville [ collectively French Equatorial Africa], French Somaliland [preset day Djibouti] and Madagascar. Portugal got the area under present day Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. However, in 1890, five years after the Berlin conference, Britain threatened Portugal

with war if Portugal did not surrender Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe to her. Portugal gave in.

Germany got what are present day Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi Cameroon, Togo and Namibia. Germany lost all these after loosing the First World War. Italy got Italian Somaliland, and part of Ethiopia, while Spain got modern day Equatorial Guinea, and later Western Sahara. King Leopold II of Belgium got the area under modern day Democratic Republic of Congo. In the spirit of the Berlin Act, New African laments that “the colonial economies were not designed to develop these colonies, but to create wealth for the colonial powers.”

Beyond the Berlin Conference

Having come through the colonial era, where is the African society today, and where could we take it tomorrow? This is the point of reflection that New African, considers as it sums up the story on the Berlin conference. In the words of Ayi Kwei Armah, one of Africa’s renowned writers, New African examines Africa, its people, their attitudes and manner of proceeding in general; and the

emergence of an ever growing feeling among post independence generation of Africans that if “we are to wake up from its [the Berlin conference and subsequent events] spell and remake our society and continent, we ill have to retrieve our suppressed ability to conceive of our wholeness…our suppressed history, philosophy, culture, science and arts.”

It will “take practical political and social reforms”, but which are not possible without “a preparatory process of cultural rebirth”, itself only possible “when a significant number of our population have enough real information of our history, philosophy, and culture to understand our potential.”

A point of concern is that the African situation as it is now, in practically all aspects, is a ” breeder of

conflicts, famine, wars, and all sorts of instability,” that while it contains abundant natural and human resources, Africa lies at the bottom of the world.

New African proposes that to move forward, Africans will have to “conceive Africa as one continuous space, as opposed to the imprinted colonial mental geography that has Africans growing up “in administratively separated territories thinking of themselves as Kenyans, Ugandans…and so forth, but linked with Portugal [Britain, France, etc] in such a way that the first impulse they have when in need “would be to think of going [turning] to Lisbon [London, Paris…] and not to any place in Africa.

So “we are caught in the smaller frame of reference. That is the dilemma…”


Source: New African Review

K'naan So Ungrateful to His Hospitality in Somaliland

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HARGEISA, 2 March 2010 (Somalilandpress) – The Observer/Guardian newspaper is a quality Sunday broadsheet that is published in the UK, and had an article/interview with K’naan in its supplementary pages on its issue of 28th Feb 2010.

Among many other things, The artist has talked about pirates and politics, his life journey from Mogadishu, north America and the ups and downs with his music career as well as his recent trip to Somaliland.

He was asked if he had ever been back to Mogadishu since he fled there at the age of 14, and confessed that he never did, but instead went to the north part of the country namely Hargeisa…

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I was not surprised with the fact that he did not mention that Somaliland is an oasis of peace and tranquillity that is divorced from Somalia in every sense of the word, as I thought that he is not a supporter of Somaliland’s successes.

However, I was somewhat surprised and taken aback to his hostility to Somaliland and its people and even to the degree that he bluntly said that he did not feel save and was lucky to survive a planned car bombing. Furthermore, I couldn’t comprehend (neither will any Somaliland will do) why K’naan resorted in carrying a pistol around with him in Hargeisa?

In summary and in my understanding, he has been an ungrateful guest to a proud and honourable nation as well as failing to mention their unparallel success stories in an honest and more in depth ways.

Read the full interview here,

K’naan’s Interview

By: Yousif

Somaliland: An African Struggle for Nationhood and International Recognition

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Co-published with the Institute for Global Dialogue

Somaliland has been described as an ‘inspiring story of resilience and reconstruction, and a truly African Renaissance, that has many lessons to teach the rest of Africa and the international community’. This study seeks to identify some of those lessons, particularly those pertaining to Somaliland’s sustained efforts to create internal unity and gain regional and international recognition.

Based on extensive research in Somaliland, as well as a wealth of experience in the wider region, this book provides a vivid insight into this intriguing tale of reconciliation, reconstruction, religion, and recognition.

Author: Iqbal D Jhazbhay
SAIIA/IGD: 2009
ISBN: 978-1-920216-20-7
243 pages
Price: R185.00 (inc VAT)

BOOK LAUNCH: SOMALILAND – DETAILS

Book Launch: Somaliland Details:
Registration for this event is open from: 0000-00-00 – 0000-00-00
Category: SAIIA Events
Where: Unisa Main Campus – Pretoria
Date: Thursday 11 Mar 2010 – Thursday 11 Mar 2010
Time: 17:30 – 19:30

Event description:

The South African Institute of International Affairs and the Institute for Global Dialogue invites you to the launch of ‘Somaliland: An African Struggle for Nationhood and International Recognition’ by Prof. Iqbal D Jhazbhay.

Chair and introduction:

Prof. Rosemary Moeketsi (Dean of Unisa’s Human Sciences)

Speakers:

Minister Collins Chabane (Minister in the Presidency, South Africa)

Prof. Chris Landsberg (Head, Political Science Dept., University of Johannesburg)

Dr. Nomfundo Ngwenya (Head, SA Foreign Policy, SAIIA)

Dr. Siphamandla Zondi (Executive Director, IGD)

Thursday 11 March 2010 530pm for 6pm

Unisa Main Campus, Mucklenuek Ridge, Pretoria

Preller Street, Theo van Wijk Building, 2nd Floor

Senate Hall

RSVP: cassin@unisa.ac.za

Inquiries: Mrs Nasreen Cassim Tel:

012 429 6029 / 6307

‘This study contributes significantly to our understanding not only of Somaliland, but of the predicament of the Somali people as a whole … a major scholarly success.’
Professor Ali Mazrui, Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities, Binghamton University

‘The first substantial study covering both the domestic and international dimensions of Somaliland’s quest for nationhood and recognition … a timely and brilliant analysis.’
Professor Hussein M Adam, founding president of the Somali Studies International Association (SSIA)

Source: South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), 1st March 2010

AU Wants Somalia Declared No Fly Zone

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THE Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU) has asked the UN to impose a no-fly zone on Somalia and block sea ports through which foreign groups supply logistics to the insurgents.

Eritrea, in particular, has been accused of serving as a conduit for arms, logistics and foreign fighters to the Islamist group Al Shabaab in Somalia.

On December 23 last year, the UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Eritrea and vowed to slap financial and travel restrictions on its leaders for arming Al Shabaab.

The resolution, which was introduced by Uganda, passed by a vote of 13 to 1 in the 15-nation council, with Libya voting “no” and China abstaining.

At its meeting held in Addis Ababa on Thursday, the council hailed all the countries and institutions providing support to the AU peace keeping mission, especially Uganda and Burundi, calling on other member states to join.

Uganda and Burundi are the only countries that have contributed soldiers to the AU peace keeping force, known as AMISOM, but the 5,000 strong force falls short of the 8,000 soldiers required to secure the capital Mogadishu alone.

The AU council stressed that the deterioration of the situation in Somalia is proof of the increased internationalisation of the conflict.

It, therefore, called for the deployment of UN staff to help stabilise the situation and support the reconstruction of the country.

“The council noted that the current support remains below what is required on the ground and called for more mobilisation of the international community,” an AU release said over the weekend.

The group reiterated its support to the Somali government and asked for more support, including military, to enable the government neutralise the armed element and deliver basic services.

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In that respect, it welcomed the recent commissioning of eight battalions of the Somali security forces, who had been trained by AMISOM.

It also welcomed the completion of the induction course for the AMISOM police trainers from Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda who will in turn train the Somali police.

The council again condemned the acts of violence and terrorism by Islamist militant groups Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam “with the active support of foreign elements in defiance of the peace overtures of the government and the international community”.

It reiterated its call to all the Somali parties to join the peace process without any precondition and delay.

It also demanded that armed opposition groups ensure unrestricted access and assistance to needy civilians in areas under their control.

Meanwhile, World Food Programme has reported that Al Shabaab militants are stopping convoys of food reaching more than 360,000 displaced people.

Al Shabaab says World Food Programme is ruining local farming by forcing Somalis to rely on imports. But the UN says Somali farmers cannot supply enough food.

Source: The New Vision

SMS Uprising: Mobile Activism in Africa

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As a blogger using the web as an agent of social change, I find the growth of mobile phone use in Africa offers an opportunity to look at the innovative ways this emerging technology is being used by grassroots groups and small and micro NGOs across the continent. I was very pleased to be invited to edit this book by Fahamu as it provided a chance to explore this potential, looking at not only the positives but also the negatives in order to expose the underlying reality. SMS Uprising is significant for many reasons not least because it has been edited by an African woman activist. Often initiatives in Africa are studied by people who are quite distant from the continent or are academics who are remote from the grassroots of the subject under discussion. The book is also unique in giving an insight into how activists and social change advocates are addressing Africa’s many challenges from within, and how they are using mobile telephone technology to facilitate these changes. The examples are shared in such a way that they can be easily replicated – ‘pick this idea up and use it in your campaign!’ The intention is that the information contained within the book will lead to greater reflection about the real potential and limitations of mobile technology. The protests following the Iranian elections, the Mumbai bombings and the G20 summit in London, in which mobile phones played a central role in organising, mobilising, communicating and disseminating information across the world in real time, show the actual and potential power of citizens’ journalism in times of crisis. One single message sent by SMS to Twitter can spread throughout the world in minutes.

For a social justice activist, such research is important not only to understanding the overall technology landscape but also in providing a chance to contribute to a movement that acknowledges and tackles potential problems while interrogating its strengths. There is no doubt that mobile and internet technology is democratising social change in communities across Africa. We must, however, also recognise that technology has the capacity to concentrate power and therefore could be used to reinforce existing power relations.

The introduction of mobile phones in Africa transforms people’s ability to communicate. Unlike in the West, where there was already an existing network of communication through landlines, mobile phones in Africa provide communication where previously there was none. In 2007, it was estimated that there were 300 million mobile phone users – about 30 per cent[1] of the continent’s population.[2] Whilst mobile phone usage continues to grow exponentially[3] and in some countries has reached critical mass, a more discerning reading of the figures is necessary to obtain a picture of the reality. This kind of examination helps to explain why and how mobile phones have been used for social change in some instances and countries, and not in others. For example, the figures do not reveal the number of handsets per person nor, conversely, how many people are sharing one handset. People at upper-income levels particularly, tend to have two phones on different networks and, in some cases, even three or four.

There are also some huge discrepancies between regions and countries as well as within countries – such as between rural and urban populations. The report titled ‘Mobile telephony access and usage in Africa’ shows this clearly. For example, the 2008 subscriber rates for South Africa (87.08 per cent) are around three times that of Nigeria (27.28 per cent) and Kenya (30.48 per cent). Ethiopia is only 1.45 per cent and Rwanda 6.53 per cent.[4] What does seem to affect the diffusion of mobile phone use, as Nathan Eagle points out in Chapter 1, ‘Economics and power within the African telecommunication industry’, is whether or not the telecommunications industry is deregulated. So, for instance, in Uganda where there is much competition, prices are low, while Ethiopia, which remains highly regulated with no competition, has high calling costs.

Technology in itself does not lead to social change. For change to take place technology needs to be appropriate and rooted in local knowledge. People decide why and how a particular technology will be used and, depending on the political and socio-economic environment in which they live, adapt it accordingly. As we shall see from the case studies in this book, there are considerable local innovations and non-instrumental uses of the phone – using phones in ways not intended, that step outside their technological aspects and which attempt to bypass traditional power structures. Firoze Manji describes this process as ordinary people taking control of their destiny rather than technology driving the change:

‘Social change is actually driven not by technologies but by ordinary people being able to exert an authority over their own experience and, through common actions, developing the courage to determine their own destiny.'[5]

It is important in the context of this book to point out that the projects and innovations discussed within it do not follow a traditional development model, where technology tends to be shaped by the economic forces that created it. Instead, the social change model is driven by the forces of people’s local needs and is therefore more able to respond quickly and appropriately to specific events and political changes. This means that people at a grassroots level can think about what works for them and how can they use technology to foster social change and collective action.

What makes the mobile phone such a dynamic tool for supporting social change is its sheer range of actual and potential functionality, making it an extremely versatile technology. Erik Hersman, who authors the leading blog on high-tech mobile and web technology change in Africa (White African and the Africa Network: An Idea by Erik Hersman), coined the phrase, ‘If it works in Africa it will work anywhere’, referring to Africa’s many innovative ideas, projects and people.[6] Activists and campaign groups have also chosen to use mobile phones – SMS and video – for mobilising, advocacy, campaigning, social networking, citizens’ journalism and crowdsourcing.[7] Campaigns can be short or long term and planned in advance, but quite often they are spontaneously reacting to an event. For example:

– The International Center for Accelerated Development (ICAD) in Nigeria used mobile phones to bring people together for a rally during the Global AIDS Week of Action campaign, which began in April 2008. ICAD Nigeria also used SMS to mobilise supporters in the Plateau State elections in 2008[8] (see Chapter 4 of this book).
– In 2007 WOUGNET in Uganda used SMS as part of the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women campaign. 170 messages were sent out in 13 countries across four continents[9] (see Chapter 8).
– In Egypt, activists have used both SMS and the video cameras on their mobile phones to mobilise and expose police torture. One particularly harrowing video showed a 13-year-old boy, Mohammed Mamdouh Abdel Aziz, being tortured by the police. Using video and testimonies, activists have been able to document torture in Egypt thereby giving their claims real credibility.[10]

However SMS or the phone in general is not always the most effective or appropriate technology as Bukeni Waruzi’s paper (see Chapter 11) on using mobiles in the DRC shows – in a crisis writing an SMS takes time. It is far quicker to make a voice call. In another example, the UmNyango project (see Chapter 6) found that women preferred to report domestic violence face to face rather using a phone.

Varying examples must be seen in the context of local infrastructures which impact on usage but at the same time lead to technological and non-technological innovations to overcome constraints. In fact, mobile phones have led to a huge growth in the informal sector with entrepreneurs who support usage such as selling airtime, selling chargers, charging, recycling and repairing phones – nothing is left to waste.[11]

This book aims to provide an examination of the many inventive ways that activism and social change are taking place across Africa and how mobile phones have been co-opted as the primary tool to aid this process. My own research in compiling this book’s chapters leads me to consider a number of questions regarding the context of technology in Africa. For example, who is a user and who is an owner? To what extent are these projects and innovations breaking down traditional and capitalistic hierarchies? How have activists been able to use the technology to really affect change? Is access to a mobile phone and using it for social change more than just a drop in the ocean? Where people use technology to advance movement for change and to empower communities in putting forward information about human rights abuses, electoral abuses, empowering women, etc, are these changes actually sustainable? Given that women are largely responsible for development, particularly in rural areas, and how under-resourced women are, what kind of a resource does a mobile phone give them? From observing and talking to women in Nigeria, it is clear that the purchase of airtime was given a high priority but was also used with much caution. The main complaints were always the cost of airtime and poor reception. This led to people wanting to own more than one handset from different networks – another additional cost. On the other hand, as Christiana Charles-Iyoha points out in Chapter 9, the high level of poverty amongst women undermines women’s role in development and socio-economic transformation as they are excluded from owning a phone and their status often limits even the sharing of a phone within the family.

Another constraint that particularly impacts on women, due to their overwhelming poverty, is the poor electricity supply, which means that to be effective there is a need for two phones. Nonetheless, at least one report found that there was no difference in how men and women used mobile phones and in fact in some situations phones decreased the isolation of women and increased job creation for those selling airtime and other related products.[12]

It would be unethical to write about mobile phones in general, and particularly in an African context, without mentioning the mining of coltan, which is an essential element in the production of the phones. In a report in the UK daily newspaper the Independent, Johann Hari makes a direct link between the increase in deaths and the mining of coltan in the Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), naming Anglo-America, Standard Chartered Bank, De Beers and more than 100 others involved.13 We should therefore be mindful when we read of the huge growth in mobile phone usage on the continent of the major cost in lives and human rights abuses associated with the mining of coltan.

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The projects in this book are reliant on external funding and, in many cases, support from multinational service providers seeking profit. By funding mobile phone-based projects, these companies believe that users will want to add value for themselves by using the phone as a general means of communicating, thereby offsetting costs of the funding. But if pricing of airtime and handsets is too high, this may not happen or only in a limited way. Finally, we should approach the technology carefully, as there are pitfalls. For example, by ignoring traditional forms of communication and indigenous forms of organising, people, especially women, can end up being disempowered.

The contributors to this book have been chosen because they offer a comprehensive range of experiences drawn from across the continent. Every attempt has been made to include a variety of voices – activists, organisations, academics and technologists – which provides a range of perspectives in addressing the issues raised above.

Part I provides the political, economic and technological context. Contributors examine the political economy of the telecommunications industry and discuss the possibilities and constraints on future developments and how mobile phones are used. Nathan Eagle (see Chapter 1) offers an overview of the economics and politics of the African telecommunications industry. Not surprisingly, and despite the rapid decline in airtime costs, the mobile phone market in Africa reaps huge profits. China’s position in the market is considerable and in the case of Ethiopia they have taken over the whole telecoms equipment industry. One result has been high airtime costs as well as attacks on personal freedoms in the country. Eagle also discusses the privacy implications of monitoring the data produced by millions of mobile phones:

‘Beyond documentation of voice and text-message communication and location estimates based on cellular towers, occasionally mobile operators have additional data about their subscribers, including demographic information, socio-economic status…’

With mobile phones being used to transfer medical data including HIV/AIDS statistics and personal drug regimes, as well as human rights activists using phones for mobilisation and communicaxv Intr oducti on tion, the implications for data privacy, especially in repressive regimes, is worrying.

Christian Kreutz in Chapter 2 analyses future trends for mobile activism and social change in Africa and identifies four potential growth areas. However, he notes that there remain many technological and infrastructural challenges. These include the plethora of low cost phones with few features, which makes internet integration very much a thing of the future. Although airtime and hardware costs have reduced over the past five years, they still remain high enough to present obstacles to the majority of Africans. Kreutz introduces a range of mobile applications and discusses the realities of implementation given the many obstacles. He concludes that technology should only be used if it is appropriate and is the best option, rather than for its own sake.

Ken Banks is the founder of FrontlineSMS, which he describes as ‘a piece of free software which turns a laptop (or desktop) computer, a mobile phone and a cable into a two-way group messaging centre’.

The focus of Banks’s Chapter 3 ‘Social mobile: empowering the many or the few?’ is the need to develop mobile applications for grassroots NGOs and thereby avoid creating yet another North/South divide. This means using a development model focused on creating tools that are available to everyone. Mobile technology solutions should be simple, appropriate and affordable, rather than top–down and capital intensive. This approach creates huge technical, economic and cultural challenges to developers, but is not impossible if one chooses to work with local communities and focus on empowering them.

A book on mobile phones and activism would not be complete without a detailed example of at least one technology tool and a description of the processes behind its ideas and development. Part I concludes with Chapter 4 by Tanya Notley and Becky Faith from the Tactical Technology Collective. Tactical Tech was formed in 2003 with the aim of bringing together the ‘innovative activities’ of human rights advocates in marginalised communities and the open source software movement. Despite being ‘philosophically aligned’ there was little interaction between the two, and the challenge for Tactical Tech was to develop appropriate, open source technology through collaboration with frontline human rights advocates. The chapter discusses the development of one particular toolkit, the Mobiles in-a-box, which is a collection of tools, tactics and guides on how mobile phone technology can be used for campaigns and advocacy. The processes described are a useful model for organisations wishing to embark on a participatory development approach towards social change and activism, with or without the application of technology.

Part II, ‘Mobile democracy: SMS case studies’, consists of practical examples of social change and mobile activism across the continent. The examples vary considerably, from SMS campaigns for a specific purpose to a more generalised use of SMS for advocacy or election monitoring, as an information tool to empower civil society, as a means of social intervention or to monitor and document crises.

In 2004 Fahamu (‘an African activist organisation working for human rights and social justice’) launched a campaign to promote the ratification of the Protocol of the Rights of Women in Africa. In 2005, they then launched another campaign in support of the Global Call to Action against Poverty. The use of SMS in both these campaigns was a strategic choice for Fahamu, who recognised the huge growth in mobile phones (52–67 million at the time of both campaigns) and the potential SMS had for mobilising social justice campaigns.

Redante Asuncion-Reed (Chapter 5) looks at, analyses and assesses both Fahamu campaigns. How we measure and define success is an important issue in any campaign and there is a tendency to focus too strictly on numerical data. Asuncion-Reed makes the point that both campaigns were measured by their consequences and were driven by achieving goals rather than by the number of people who responded through the technology. He then attempts to answer the question as to whether the campaigns achieved their stated goals of mobilising ‘public pressure’ for the ratification of the Protocol on African Women’s Rights and to bring attention to the issue of global poverty.

Violence against women takes place across the world. However, in South Africa it has been aggravated by apartheid, which created a culture of aggression and brutality. The situation is further exacerbated by local patriarchies which discriminate against women in the areas of widowhood, land rights and inheritance laws. Despite constitutional protections in the post-apartheid South Africa, violence against women continues.

‘As most studies show, violence against women is a multi-linked variable connecting to, inter alia, patriarchal ‘configuration’ of our society, poverty, illiteracy and general economic exclusion of women, especially African women. Poverty and economic exclusion results in unequal gender relations between men and women which in most cases translate into vulnerability in various ways.'[14]

The UmNyango project (see Chapter 6) sought to address the twin issues of domestic violence and land exclusions. This was done by taking an integrated approach towards providing rural women in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) with timely and relevant information on human rights as well as access to a simple but effective reporting mechanism. UmNyango project manager, Anil Naidoo, examines the potential and limitations of SMS as a tool to empower rural women in KZN. Naidoo’s contribution highlights the point that although technology might be more efficient and present more timely information, it is not necessarily the most appropriate in all situations. This is particularly pertinent to women living under patriarchal systems where they are treated as ‘perpetual minors’. In the case of the women in the UmNyango project, they preferred face-to-face communication when discussing or reporting domestic violence. Other points raised in this chapter are the prohibitive costs attached to mobile phone use and the associated sustainability of funded projects.

The continued political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe has meant that the average Zimbabwean has very limited access to information – especially independent news media. Amanda Atwood explores the ways Kubatana has used mobile activism in a variety of campaigns, including during the 2008 Zimbabwean elections (Chapter 7). Kubatana has been at the forefront of developing innovative social and technological solutions to information scarcity and advocacy in repressive political environments. For example, Kubatana’s mobile activism is informed by the exchange of ideas and by fostering two-way communication with Zimbabweans from all walks of life. Another exciting innovation she mentions is the development of the Freedom Fone. One of its features is the capability to go beyond the 160 character limit of SMS. The phone also enables communities to create their own content based on demand as it marries radio-style programming with both mobiles and landline phones. The Freedom Fone is significant not only because of this feature, but also as it is a technology developed in Africa in a country that has been in crisis for the past nine years and where most resources are extremely limited. Another important element of the Freedom Fone is that the idea and development have been led by Kubatana’s technical director, Brenda Burrell.

WOUGNET (Women of Uganda Network) was started in 2000 and is one of the oldest NGOs working with women and ICT in Africa. WOUGNET’s approach to gender and technology is driven by gender inequalities in both urban and rural women’s status as well as in access to ICT, including mobile phones. The network participated in global and African SMS campaigns to raise awareness of violence against women in 2007 and 2008 (http://tinyurl.com/8kaubh), to provide timely agricultural information and to support online discussions on women’s rights and development. Berna Ngolobe, in Chapter 8, offers a gender dimension to the use of ICT including SMS as a way of improving capacity and generally empowering women. She raises issues of patriarchy which lead to women experiencing real disadvantage in education and economic security. Both of these factors impact on women’s access to mobile phones and therefore to participating in SMS-supported advocacy and campaign projects. Nonetheless, Uganda, which is also one of the countries involved in the Village Phone Initiative (http://tinyurl.com/qqd7ks), has taken a liberalised approach to telecommunications which has also led to increased access for women. This has resulted in a plethora of mobile service providers and one of the lowest call prices on the continent, thereby reducing some of the gender barriers that exist elsewhere in Africa.

In ‘Mobile telephony: closing the gap’ (Chapter 9), Christiana Charles-Iyoha, whilst recognising the pervasiveness of mobile phones and the innovative opportunities they have created, avoids the temptation to assert that we are moving towards a ‘digitopia’ particularly where women are concerned. Her chapter addresses gender imbalances, noting that women are largely excluded from accessing mobile phone technology and therefore from engaging actively in the development and social change process. She suggests a number of ways in which these inequalities can be addressed. By examining the factors that create obstacles she presents a number of practical ways of addressing imbalances.

Within 24 hours of the outbreak of the 2008/2009 post election violence in Kenya, Kenyan blogs were posting hour-by-hour reports. On 31 December, there was a complete shutdown of the mainstream media. Erik Hersman of ‘White African’ said:

‘The only way to get any up-to-date news for the past 24–48 hours has been through the blogosphere (like Kenyan Pundit, Thinkers Room, Mentalacrobatics), Skype and Kenyan-populated forums (like Mashada). The traditional media has been shut out and shut down for all intents and purposes.'[15]

Within days, the online community and blog aggregator, Mashada, had set up an SMS and voice hotline calling for people to send in local news and opinions on what was happening. This was followed by Ory Okolloh (Kenyan Pundit) who suggested using Google Earth to create a mashup16 of where the violence was taking place and called upon ‘any techies’ out there willing to help create a map of it. This was 3 January and by 9 January a group of Kenyan bloggers had put together a mashup and created Ushahidi, a site for people to send SMS or email reports of acts of violence directly. What the Ushahidi project shows is that if you build a strong community then it is easier to come together in a time of crisis and take action.

Why was the Kenyan blogosphere able to rally in such a positive and productive way in such a short time? What can we learn from their actions that will help others deal with local crisis? These are some of the questions, Juliana Rotich and Joshua Goldstein address in ‘Digitally networked technology’ (Chapter 10).

Bukeni Waruzi’s chapter provides an overview of the use of mobile phones for monitoring and reporting abuses of children’s rights. The Kalundu Child Soldier project used members of local communities including some former child soldiers to monitor and report acts of violence such as from rape, torture and forced marriage. The project is based in the Kivu region of eastern Congo, which is the centre of the violence in the country as militias, multinationals and governments all vie for control of the rich mineral resources such as coltan. It is ironic that the main mineral required to manufacture the mobile phones being used to report human rights abuses is the very mineral which is causing the conflict in the first place.

The contributors in this book come from a variety of occupational backgrounds, a fact that is reflected in the different writing styles and approaches to the usefulness of mobile technology as a tool for social change and advocacy in Africa. While they are all aware of the need to overcome infrastructural, economic and cultural obstacles, they also have a strong desire for social change and have the vision to see what could be possible and how best to achieve this. We are facing increasing amplification of social differentiation – the rich continue to get richer and the poor, poorer. In the face of this inequality mobile phone activism in Africa, as examined in this book, emerges as a powerful force for achieving social justice.

Mobile phones as tools for social change and advocacy are at a relatively early stage of development, but that are growing at an exponential rate, and it is quite possible that within two years the whole landscape will have changed. There are, of course, many other innovative projects and ideas which could have been included if space permitted. There is also the need for more research to fill the vacuum of information that exists such as from North Africa, Egypt and other non-English speaking countries. I am quite confident that there will be an academic exploration of some of the experiences discussed in the book. SMS Uprising is offered as the beginning, and showcases positive examples of what is possible and what can inspire people to use technology to support their actions.

Compiling this book has been a learning experience for me both as an editor and in terms of understanding how mobile telephony is being used in Africa. It has also been a privilege to work with Fahamu, who have been supportive and patient throughout.

By: Sokari Ekine

Source: Pambazuka Press

The International Community Is Al-Shabaab’s Best Ally In Somaliland

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HARGEISA, 1 March 2010 (Somalilandpress) – Since the international community often proclaims its opposition to terrorism in general, and al-Shabaab in particular, some readers may find the title of this editorial surprising, even counterintuitive. But we think the facts bear out our thesis. What are these facts? Well, it is true that the international community ritually makes statements against al-Shabaab and terrorism but their actual policies hurt Somaliland and help al-Shabaab.

How so? For one thing, the international community’s stance of not recognizing Somaliland has led to Somaliland’s diplomatic isolation and put Somaliland in a position where it has to fend for itself against terrorist activities without the benefit of the material and moral support that internationally recognized states receive to defend themselves from terrorism. Rather than helping Somaliland which is facing a serious terrorist threat, the international community has poured aid on Somaliland’s next door neighbor, Djibouti, which is using that aid to subvert and strangle Somaliland (the latest example of Djibouti’s anti-Somaliland activities is the article in the Saudi Arabian newspaper al-Riyadh, which has Djibouti’s fingerprints all over it, and which criticized the Saudi ministry of agriculture for importing livestock from Somaliland).

Second, the international community’s refusal to provide development aid to Somaliland has prevented Somaliland from accessing international grants and loans to re-build infrastructures such as roads and bridges. The international neglect validates the terrorist message that the international community in general, and Western countries in particular, want Muslims to live in miserable and intolerable conditions.

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Third, not only has the international community refused to extend development aid to Somaliland but even the efforts of Somalilanders to help themselves are being blocked by the international community. A salient example is the fact that Somaliland’s entrepreneurs are prevented from establishing a banking system in Somaliland because of the country’s unrecognized status which has led many businesses to locate their headquarters in other countries.

The international community has had two decades to correct its diplomatic, political, and economic abuse of Somaliland. Unfortunately, no such correction took place. Even the issue of piracy is being used by the international community to further isolate Somaliland and put it under Djibouti’s mercy. No wonder so many Somalilanders are fed up with the international community’s duplicity and double standards. This burgeoning and justified rage at the international community is making al-Shabaab’s message resonate with Somalilanders. The international community’s wrong-headed policies have already contributed to al-Shabaab’s control of most of the south. Similarly, the international community’s abusive policies toward Somaliland are increasing the appeal of al-Shabaab’s message in Somaliland. That’s what we meant when we said the international community is al-Shabaab’s best ally in Somaliland.


Source: The Somaliland Times