FEATURES

Editors of the news agency IRIN* sketch out the gloomy-looking horizon in five African countries in the new year. Congo unravels You know the situation is bad when people start fleeing their homes, and it doesn’t get much worse than the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Here, violence in its eastern provinces has triggered the world’s worst displacement crisis – …

Thousands of Zimbabweans from all walks of life celebrated the inauguration of the country’s new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, a man in whom many are placing their hopes for the future. Can he live up to the expectations of his countrymen and women? After a tumultuous two weeks of political brinkmanship, Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in on 24 November as Zimbabwe’s …

Since October 2016, protests and strikes related to sectoral demands have escalated into a crisis over the economic and political marginalisation of Cameroon’s Anglophone minority. The crisis reached a new low at the weekend of 30 September-1 October when at least 17 people were shot dead by security forces and 50 wounded, according to Amnesty International. Mbom Sixtus, freelance journalist …

One of the recipients of the MoneyGram-sponsored “Afrika! Community Award 2017” is an organization that promotes Pan-Africanism from the German city of Munich but with a global reach. Femi Awoniyi writes on how a Diaspora initiative is making a positive impact on the worldwide community of people of African descent. Four organisations emerged winners of the maiden edition of the …

In the second and concluding  part of his report on Ghanaians in Germany, journalist, translator and community activist Sam Atsu Nove* writes on the changes in the patterns of Ghanaian migration in the past 40 years and the contribution of the Diaspora to Germany’s and their home  country’s development. ———————————– The economic crisis of the 1970s and 1980s in Ghana …

 Sharon Dodua Otoo*, Berlin-based mother, activist and author, writes to the Black community in Germany on the experiences of children of African heritage in schools and why they need the understanding and support of their parents. A Letter to the Village Dear Elders, You may already know that I am legally required to send my sons to school because we …

One of the recipients of the MoneyGram-sponsored “Afrika! Community Award 2017” is an organization that carries out diabetes enlightenment campaign in Africa. Femi Awoniyi writes on how a Diaspora initiative is making a positive impact in the continent. There are hundreds of African organisations in Germany working in different fields to make an impact not only on their community in …

In a remarkable, if coincidental, series of events across Kenya last weekend, nine people were beheaded by suspected al-Shabab militants, the internal security minister suddenly died, the main opposition leader was hospitalised with food poisoning, and the president appeared to accuse the judiciary of trying to delay general elections scheduled to take place in less than a month. The events …

    Indigenous Christians in the Muslim-dominated northern region of Nigeria are a besieged people. They’re being systematically driven off their ancestral land by violence. “Every week, there are more massacres, but nobody seems to mind – not even their own government,” writes Douglas Murray, Associate Director of the British think tank, the Henry Jackson Society. Murray who visited the …

The staff of the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Niger and Libya have documented shocking events on North African migrant routes, which they have described as ‘slave markets’ tormenting hundreds of young African men bound for Libya. Operations Officers with IOM’s office in Niger, reported on the rescue of a Senegalese migrant (referred to as SC to protect his …

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is trying to stop poor German men from selling paternity so that children born of foreign mothers can gain citizenship. But the Constitutional Court has some objections, reports Ben Knight. Men often claim paternity over children that are not their own for various reasons. There are six months left of Angela Merkel’s third administration, and it …

"Adults can't change much, their mind is already made up, even if I try to speak to that person. But with young people, you can really talk to them and make it clear: We are all the same. The children are our future."

The United Kingdom decided to end its European Union membership at the referendum of 23 June. Actual exit will not commence until the British government invokes Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. British Prime Minister Theresa May has indicated this will not be rushed and will not happen this year. Our contributing editor and London-based legal scholar Sylvester …

Tom Skye, a frequent visitor to Côte d’Ivoire and the author of a travel book on the country, writes on the evolution of Ivorian music, tracing the roots of its modern expression to its very distant past. Music is everywhere in Côte d’Ivoire. It’s played and performed on buses, trains, beaches and football pitches, and in bars, restaurants, workplaces and …

Stakeholders take stock of Equal Opportunity in Germany, ten years after the anti-discrimination law went into effect The General Act on Equal Treatment (Allgemeine Gleichbehandlungsgesetz or AGG), enacted for the purpose of preventing or stopping discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin, gender, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in Germany, went into force in August …

Investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, whose trademark is his anonymity, has become famous all over the world for his unconventional way of unearthing corruption. His recent exposé video recordings, revealing corruption in Ghana’s judiciary, has been watched by millions across the world. Reporting from Accra, Francis Sackitey writes on how the sensational scandal can affect foreign investment in a country …

Literally translated, Boa Vista, the easternmost island of Cape Verde, means “beautiful view” and it lives up to its name, surprising visitors with stunning views. But there is so much more to Boa Vista than spectacular landscapes and observation points, as our Associate publisher Bugs Steffen discovered when he went to explore.  I was asked how I came up with …

The Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (Initiative of Black People in Germany or ISD Bund e.V.) marked the 30th anniversary of its founding early this year. The ISD is the first and the most important group formed by the African diaspora in this country since 1945 for the promotion of its interests. Although Blacks have not attained the level of …

Since 1992, the University for Development Studies in Ghana institution has been helping the rural poor of northern Ghana. Its range of projects is remarkable: from setting up and running agribusinesses to recycling plastics, from building dams to spreading literacy, from preserving water resources to educating parents about the value of keeping their children in school. Our contributing editor Tom …

The restoration of democracy with regular elections in the 1990s held the promise of resolving the explosive issue of power succession blamed for the conflicts that devilled post-independent Africa. After independence in the 1960s, most of the ruling parties abolished multiparty democracy and instituted one-party states. The argument for the change was the promotion of stability, as the acrimonious contest …