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Emmanuel's Story--A Journey from Burundi to Atlanta
Meet Emmanuel, a refugee from Burundi who's now resettled in Atlanta thanks to help of Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services of Atlanta (RRISA).
Video filmed and edited by Dan Goldgeier, with help from Laura Dobson and Rachele Meaders.
See other videos at www.dangoldgeier.com Meet Emmanuel, a refugee from Burundi who's now resettled in Atlanta thanks to help of Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Servi... more -
Albinos in Burundi flee killings
Albinos in Burundi have been taking refuge after three of them were killed by gangs apparently seeking to sell body parts in neighbouring Tanzania.
Four albinos were moved to a provincial centre on Thursday in Ruyigi, Burundi, where police were protecting them, the BBC's Prime Ndikumagenge reports.
Authorities have arrested six people in connection with the murder of an albino teenage girl in August.
The attacks follow the killing of 26 Tanzanian albinos in less than a year.
A BBC correspondent's investigation there revealed that witchdoctors were behind the killings.
They sought albino body parts for potions that they claimed could make people rich.
Two of the albinos killed in Burundi - a man and a teenage girl - were reportedly found dead with their legs and arms missing.
Police said the tip of the girl's tongue was also removed.
Neighbours of another teenage albino girl killed in Ruyigi in August chased away her attackers, six of whom were later apprehended as they came to retrieve her body parts.
They are said to have told police that they were planning to sell the body parts in Tanzania.
Our correspondent says that albinos in Burundi - estimated to number around 200 - are now living in fear for their lives. Albinos in Burundi have been taking refuge after three of them were killed by gangs apparently seeking to sell body parts in neighbour... more -
10 Worst Embassy Attacks
On Sept. 17, militants launched the worst attack on a U.S. embassy in a decade, killing 17 people with car bombs, machine gun fire and grenades. It's not the first time an embassy has been used to send a message to (or blackmail) a representative country and sadly, it probably won't be the last. The top ten worst embassy attacks ever spanning over different nations includes Japan, China, United Kingdom, and America.
-Attack Details at Link-- On Sept. 17, militants launched the worst attack on a U.S. embassy in a decade, killing 17 people with car bombs, machine gun fire and... more -
In an African market, pennies are not peanuts - World Blog - msnbc.com
None of the shopkeepers had change for a dollar, and I marveled, not for the first time, at how the gap between rich and poor plays out in real life.
I wanted to buy a tiny bag of peanuts while waiting for a ferry to cross a pretty bay on Lake Victoria in Tanzania.
Nagona, the woman selling the peanuts, didn't have change; so she went from stall to stall, waving the 1,000 Tanzanian shilling note, which is actually worth about 88 cents. But nobody could break it. This vendor had 60 cents worth of money, that one had 80 cents, but nobody had the resources to break the 1,000 shilling note.
And all the while they smiled and laughed and joked with each other. I asked how business was and they said good. They sold peanuts, small cartons of milk, warm, sweet, fizzy drinks, dry biscuits labeled "energy bars" and, of course, cigarettes.
One cigarette at a time, that is. None of the shopkeepers had change for a dollar, and I marveled, not for the first time, at how the gap between rich and poor plays ou... more -
20 girls faint during Tanzania school exam
TABORA, Tanzania, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- School officials in Tabora, Tanzania, said 20 girls experienced a mass fainting spell after finishing their first of three papers for an exam.
Midemo Paul Makungu, Tabora's educational officer, said the girls were among more than 140 students taking the national exam at Ali Hassan Mwinyi School, the BBC reported Thursday.
Makungu said some of the girls were unconscious for up to 40 minutes.
"There was chaos, crying, screaming, running after that first paper," he said.
The educational officer said special arrangements were made to allow the girls to finish their exams once they had recovered.
"They eventually finished at 11 p.m.," he said.
Makungu said mass fainting spells are not unusual for schools in the area, he said several instances have been reported in the past month.
"Normally this happens in girls' secondary schools. It is very common here," Makungu said. TABORA, Tanzania, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- School officials in Tabora, Tanzania, said 20 girls experienced a mass fainting spell after finish... more -
Mass fainting in Tanzanian exam
Junior school pupils in Tanzania experienced a mass fainting fit while taking their final year exams, an educational official has told the BBC. The 20 girls at Ali Hassan Mwinyi School in Tabora started fainting after finishing their first paper. "I'm not a specialist but I imagine this was a case of mass hysteria that does happen in some of the schools," Midemo Paul Makungu said. He said it only affected the girls, some of whom took 40 minutes to revive.
"There was chaos, crying, screaming, running after that first paper," Mr Makungu, Tabora's educational officer, told the BBC News website. More than 140 Standard Seven pupils were taking the national exam at the school in the north of the country. He said special arrangements were made so that those who had fainted could finish the other two papers they had that day.
"They eventually finished at 11pm," he said. It is not the first such incident at the school - over the last month there have been several mass fainting fits amongst the girl pupils. "Normally this happens in girls' secondary schools. It is very common here," Mr Makungu said. Junior school pupils in Tanzania experienced a mass fainting fit while taking their final year exams, an educational official has told... more -
BURUNDI: Land remains key challenge in reintegration of returnees
Although he looks frail, Cossan Ntabwigwa, in his late 60s, is a determined man. He recently returned from Tanzania, where he had been a refugee since 1972, and is seeking to resettle on a piece of land he left years ago.
Despite finding someone else occupying the land, Ntabwigwa is determined to reclaim it, and he says sharing it with the current occupant is out of the question.
"I left two other brothers there [in Tanzania] who are married and with children and who must also get a share of this land," he said.
When he repatriated from Gatumba settlement in Tanzania at the beginning of August, Ntabwigwa, who heads a 10-member family, spent three days at the commune headquarters in Nyanzalac, Makamba province, waiting to go home.
Like most Burundians, Ntabwigwa's strong attachment to land means he is unwilling to share his piece of land with the current occupant, whom he considers an outsider since he is not a family member.
Also in Nyanzalac, Alexis Anthony Kifumu, his wife and six children, have been squatting at an elementary school for two weeks. He returned to Burundi to find part of his land occupied by the school while a businessman had used another portion to put up a pub and a shop.
Local administrative officials advised Kifumu to use the remaining 30 metres to build himself a house.
"I have started making bricks, I think it will take me 14 days to get them ready and if I build a house, I will try to work and live as best as I can while waiting for my case to be settled," he said.
Sharing land
Although Kifumu calmly accepted the situation, in line with his Christian faith, he seemed disillusioned.
"I am surprised to find that I am not even authorised to use a classroom while waiting to build my house; when there is a disaster, people seek shelter in schools yet they have no pity for us," Kifumu said.
In March, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, launched a repatriation operation for up to 46,000 "old caseload" refugees from the Tanzanian old settlements of Katumba, Mishamo and Ulyankulu.
According to a UNHCR factsheet for July, 11,020 of the returnees in 2008, estimated at 59,877, are refugees from the 1972 caseload.
While returnees who fled the country in 1993 find it slightly easier to resettle, the case is not the same for the 1972 caseload, as exemplified by the cases of Ntabwigwa and Kifumu, for whom disputes over land ownership can at times take long to resolve.
Indeed, the complex problem of land remains a major challenge to the reintegration of returnees. Not only do many, if not all returnees have a land-dispute related story to tell, but land has become a scarce commodity.
Bernard Ntagumuka, an advisor of the administrator at the commune of Nyanzalac, said the number of returnees who have resettled was insignificant compared to the number of returnees who find their land occupied by others, "either legally or illegally".
"Others [returnees] find that the government used them [their land] for social infrastructure; take the urban centre of Nyanzalac for instance, it was built on people's land," Ntagumuka said.
Ownership hitches
In other instances, returnees find their land has been resold and divided to the extent that reclaiming it becomes difficult since it has passed from one owner to another. In some cases, refugees returned home, sold their land and went back to Tanzania.
When civil war broke out in Burundi 1972, thousands of Burundians fled to neighbouring countries, leaving their property behind and their lands vacant. In many regions of Burundi, especially the southern provinces of Bururi and Makamba, the then government encouraged people from other regions to occupy the land.
Nestor Niyonkuru, an information officer for the Commission on Land and Other Properties, said: "Logic would dictate that the new occupant vacates the land and return it to the owner, but it is not as simple as it seems.
*continues* Although he looks frail, Cossan Ntabwigwa, in his late 60s, is a determined man. He recently returned from Tanzania, where he had been... more -
US Embassy attacks commemorated (10 years)
Kenya and Tanzania are preparing to mark the 10th anniversary of deadly bomb attacks on their US embassies.
Ceremonies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam will remember victims of the co-ordinated attacks, which killed more than 200 and injured at least 4,000. The commemorations are due to start at 1000 local time (0800 BST), about the time that the bombs exploded.
In Kenya, a manhunt is currently under way for a member of al-Qaeda still wanted in connection with the attacks. It is believed Fazul Abdullah Mohammed evaded a police raid at the weekend in the coastal town of Malindi, where he was staying with friends.
Twin commemorations are being held in Nairobi - one at the US embassy and the other at a memorial park in the city, which Prime Minister Raila Odinga is expected to attend.
Read more... Kenya and Tanzania are preparing to mark the 10th anniversary of deadly bomb attacks on their US embassies. ... more -
Jails are full of mental patients
By Mbena Mwanatongoni
A forensic psychiatrist is making a worrying revelation: About one-third of inmates in Tanzanian jails are mentally ill! The situation worsens because there is no policy to treat these prisoners who badly need psychiatric attention!
Renown Dr. Augustine Godman charges in an exclusive interview:
``A policy to allow psychiatrists get into jails in a bid to treat mentally sick inmates will drastically reduce crimes in the country although it might sound difficult to believe this.``
Dr. Godman suggests a number of solutions to redress the appalling situation.These include an intensive investment in training psychiatrists which he says is currently conspicuously absent, Government acknowledgement of the prominence of those professionals and availability of resources.
The middle-aged psychiatrist has spent most of his time in study in an area that he calls his preserve and which he says is highly stigmatised.
``Many people look down upon any mentally deranged persons, although I cannot dismiss that there are few sympathetic ones,`` he says.
He adds: ``These few sympathetic ones should be cause for putting emphasis on training of professionals in this particular area of study.``
Saying he is the only forensic psychiatrist in Tanzania, he is presently engaged in private practice after leaving public service for what he says stemmed from poor pay and non-recognition.
However, he does not apportion blame, save for the absence of a policy to train specialists in that vital area of study, citing the US which is heavily investing in it despite estimates that only about 20 per cent of its population are affected by mental disorders.
``If a country boasting of many psychiatrists has a fifth of its population suffering from mental illnesses, what about ours with a much higher infection rate but without specialists ?
This is a serious issue that needs to be looked into with all the necessary keenness and attention,`` he proposes.
Adds the consultant psychiatrist-cum-addiction expert: ``Do you know that it is a wrong approach to uproot bhang crops from farms?
Has it ever crossed your mind that these growers never smoke it but only cultivate it to make money?
It is a kind of a cash crop to them and the most appropriate answer is to give them an alternative means of making money.
The same goes for `gongo` illicit brew. The brewers do not drink it. To them it is a money-spinner.``
He concedes, though, that it will take a long time to have things moving in a direction that aims at controlling mental illnesses in the country considering the little importance attached to it.
The ministry of Health and Social Welfare during this financial year will through Mirembe Special Hospital for the sick offer improved treatment and investigation to the mental patients referred there from different hospitals in the country.
Health Minister Professor David Mwakyusa told Parliament when tabling his ministry`s estimates that the hospital will also improve its services to drug addicts and alcoholics through public awareness campaigns as well as capacity facilitation to regional hospitals for early identification of drug victims.
He said Isanga Institute too will improve its services for the mentally sick who have committed criminal offences who upon recovery would be discharged.
He said Regional Social Welfare Officers would be involved to assist in tailoring a procedure that will eventually allow these people to be integrated back into society.
Dr. Godman says the annual prevalence of mental disorders in children and adolescents is not well documented due to the absence of specialists for the stigmatised illness. By Mbena Mwanatongoni ... more -
Tanzania's albinos in fear
Twenty-five people with albinism have been murdered in Tanzania since March, a BBC investigation has found.
Albinos are targeted for body parts that are used in witchcraft, and killings continue despite government efforts to stamp out the grisly practice. Twenty-five people with albinism have been murdered in Tanzania since March, a BBC investigation has found. ... more -
Victims of a witch hunt
Discrimination against albinos is a serious problem throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, but in Tanzania it has taken a sickening twist: at least 19 albinos, including children, have been killed or mutilated in the past year. They are victims of what local officials say is a growing criminal trade in albino body parts.
Officials say witch doctors are marketing albino skin, bones and hair as ingredients in potions that promise to make people rich. As the threats have increased, the government has acted to protect its albino population – a beleaguered group whose members are often shunned as outcasts and die of skin cancer before they reach 30.
The police are drawing up a list of the country's albinos to protect them. Officers are escorting albino children to school. Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete even sponsored an albino woman for a seat in parliament to show "we are with them in this," says Salvator Rweyemamu, a government spokesman. Discrimination against albinos is a serious problem throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, but in Tanzania it has taken a sickening twist: at ... more -
Living in fear: Tanzania's albinos
Twenty-five people with albinism have been murdered in Tanzania since March, a BBC investigation has found. Albinos are targeted for body parts that are used in witchcraft, and killings continue despite government efforts to stamp out the grisly practice, the BBC's Karen Allen says. Once, albinos used to seek shelter from the sun. Now they have gone into hiding simply to survive, after a series of killings linked to witchcraft. In Tanzania, 25 albinos have been killed in the past year. The latest victim was a seven-month-old baby. He was mutilated on the orders of a witchdoctor peddling the belief that potions made from an albino's legs, hair, hands, and blood can make a person rich.
Sorcery and the occult maintain a strong foothold in this part of the world, especially in the remote rural areas around the fishing and mining regions of Mwanza, on the shores of Lake Victoria. Nobody seems to know why the killings are happening now, but Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete is now putting pressure on the police to identify where albinos live and offer them protection. This is not an easy task when BBC investigations suggest that some police are being "bought off" in order to look away when such appalling crimes are committed.
Read more... Twenty-five people with albinism have been murdered in Tanzania since March, a BBC investigation has found. Albinos are targeted for ... more -
The plight of the wildebeest - CNN.com
The migration of more than a million wildebeest between Kenya and Tanzania is one of the wonders of the natural world. Tourists from around the globe have flocked to Kenya to witness the herds streaming across the savanna and over the Mara River.
But now this annual migration is under threat from poachers. "When the animals come into Kenya there is this big influx of poachers," says Brian Heath, CEO of the Mara Conservancy that manages animal protection in the border regions of the park.
"Unless we control it we are in danger of the number of animals being poached not being able to sustain the population."
The conservation NGO depends on tourists to finance their anti-poaching operations. A portion of each tourist's entrance fee goes to their operations. They have had plenty of funding in normal years, but this is not a normal year in Kenya.
The political violence stemming from Kenya's disputed election caused visitors to cancel their trips or look elsewhere for their vacation. And though the country has been peaceful for months, the tourists have stayed away.
As a result, the Mara Conservancy is running at a massive shortfall and has had to scale back on anti-poaching efforts. The low numbers of tourists hurts the economy in Kenya, but it also puts the wildlife at risk. VideoWatch how poaching is threatening the wildlife of the Masai Mara »
"If we cannot run our operations as normal, then we fear that poachers may invade the park, kill the animals and then at the end of the day we do not have animals. They will destroy the Mara," says Joseph Kimojino, one of the head rangers.
It sounds alarmist, but the facts back him up. Every herd requires a critical mass to survive and to move. Experts believe that between 40,000 and 100,000 wildebeest are poached a year. If the poaching increases to a certain level, it could spell disaster.
"If the numbers of animals in the migration were to reduce below a certain number then that migration may not be sustained into Kenya," Heath warns. "And that would have a huge and devastating effect on Kenya's tourism." VideoWatch astonishing footage of migrating wildebeest »
The rangers are after an elusive foe. The majority of the poachers come from Tanzania. They sneak over the fenceless border and hunt animals for bush meat. VideoWatch David McKenzie's behind the scenes report on shooting this story » The migration of more than a million wildebeest between Kenya and Tanzania is one of the wonders of the natural world. Tourists from a... more -
Cheza Salama! Gioca Sicuro!
Chezasalama.com è la più importante campagna di prevenzione contro l'HIV che corre sul Web.
No, non siamo in Italia nè tantomeno in un paese del mondo Occidentale.
Siamo in Tanzania, uno dei paesi dell'Africa subsahariana con il più alto tasso di HIV, una vera e propria piaga sociale per il paese che da anni si mobilita per prevenire l'AIDS.
E in questi ultimi anni il nuovo motore innovativo e capillare per l'informazione e la prevenzione in grado di raggiungere gli angoli più remoti del paese è Internet. Chezasalama.com è la più importante campagna di prevenzione contro l'HIV che corre sul Web. ... more -
Salt Lake docs take breast-cancer screening to Africa
It is unknown how many women in Tanzania have breast cancer.
That's because some of them may be dying of the disease and don't know it.
While many women in the United States regularly get mammograms -- with the hope of catching breast cancer early -- Tanzanian women get the low-dose X-rays only after they've been diagnosed or have suspicious lumps.
A Salt Lake City doctor who is headed to the east African country this week hopes to change that.
Brett Parkinson, imaging director of breast-care services at Intermountain Medical Center's breast-care center, will travel to Dar es Salaam later this week. He and Dianne Kane, nursing director for oncology services, will help start Tanzania's first breast cancer screening program.
Right now, there is only one functional mammography machine in the entire country, Parkinson said. Breast cancer is the third most common cancer among women there, accounting for 9.3 percent of all cancer seen at the Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Dar es Salaam, according to the Medical Women Association of Tanzania.
About 80 percent of those cases are diagnosed when the cancer is in an advanced stage and not curable. In such cases, the only treatment available in Tanzania is complete removal of the breast -- an option many women decline.
"We hope to take the many opportunities we have in the U.S. and share them with our colleagues and with the women of Tanzania -- that's the reason we're going," Parkinson said.
The Salt Lake City team's first goal is to improve screening. By the end of the summer, he said, there will be 10 mammography machines up and running in Tanzania -- plus five ultrasound machines, donated by companies Hologic Inc. and Alliance Imaging.
Donations of film, cassettes and other items have also been sent to Tanzania, coordinated by Salt Lake City-based Globus International Relief.
During Parkinson and Kane's 10-day trip, they'll teach doctors and technologists how to read mammograms, operate the machines and set up practices for follow-up care. One group of seven Tanzanian doctors has a head start: they visited Salt Lake City in June for about a week's worth of training on how to read mammograms.
"We tried to show them a spectrum of what they might see there," he said.
Parkinson and Kane, officers of the East African Breast Care Project, will make subsequent trips to teach surgeons different techniques -- such as a lumpectomy -- for removing cancer while sparing women's breasts.
The project began about two years ago, after Southern California trial lawyer James Parkinson -- Parkinson's brother -- read about a 39-year-old Tanzanian woman's losing battle with the disease. James Parkinson is now co-chairman with Mississippi businessman and attorney Wil Colom.
With 10 mammography machines, Parkinson said, about 250 women could be screened a day -- just a fraction of those women who need one. But it's a start, he said.
"Our goal is to not only establish a screening program in Tanzania, but if the need arises -- and we're asked to do more -- we'd be happy to take this to other nations in Africa," he said. "We're so fortunate in the U.S. to have these resources, it's incumbent upon us in the United States to share." It is unknown how many women in Tanzania have breast cancer. ... more -
Albinos hunted for their body parts
"Discrimination against albinos is a serious problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but recently in Tanzania it has taken a wicked twist: At least 19 albinos, including children, have been killed and mutilated in the past year, victims of what Tanzanian officials say is a growing criminal trade in albino body parts..." "Discrimination against albinos is a serious problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but recently in Tanzania it has taken a wicke... more
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Music Video--Kuze/Kibago Anglican Church Choir, Tanzania
The music Vipepeo qua Amani (Butterflies of Amani), the short documentary posted on my page, was provided by an amazing choir from a village a the foot of the Easter Usambara Mountains in Tanzania. Here is one of their songs in its entirety. The song is about taking care not to start fires in the forest. Many of the choirs songs have a conservation theme. The music Vipepeo qua Amani (Butterflies of Amani), the short documentary posted on my page, was provided by an amazing choir from a v... more
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Vipepeo qua Amani (Butterflies of Amani)
This short documentary tells the story of the Amani Butterfly Project in the Eastern Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. The forests there are world famous among ecologists for their high biodiversity, but they are threatened by human impacts. Local residents have begun farming butterflies as a way to provide much needed income while also providing an incentive for maintaining the high biodiversity of the forest. This short documentary tells the story of the Amani Butterfly Project in the Eastern Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. The forests ther... more
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AFRICA ON THE ROAD: VAGABONDING ACCROSS AFRICA
Fabio Miggiano, an Italian young Traveller and his "Africa on the road", an amazing trip accross all Africa, from Tanger to Cape Town; totally by public transport.
AFRICA ON THE ROAD IN PILLS:
30.000 KM on the road
166 days in Africa
17 Countries Crossed
1 Person (crazy one!)
Ps=do you think is enough!? ;)
For more info: http://www.africaontheroad.it
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Fabio Miggiano, un giovane viaggiatore italiano ci racconta il suo "Africa on the road", un viaggio d'altri tempi attraverso tutta l'Africa, dal Marocco al Sudafrica con l'ausilio dei mezzi pubblici.
AFRICA ON THE ROAD IN PILLOLE:
30.000 Km percorsi
166 giorni in terra d'Africa
17 Paesi Attraversati
1 sola persona (matta!) ;)
Ps=pensi sia abbastanza!? ;)
Per maggiori info: http://www.africaontheroad.it Fabio Miggiano, an Italian young Traveller and his "Africa on the road", an amazing trip accross all Africa, from Tanger to ... more -
Mifugo ni mali
It's about the Maasai daily life told by the chief of the village without an external voice: "Mifugo ni mali" (Herd is richness).The story, the culture, the rituals, the catholich christmas mixed with the tradition, the daily life of the Maasai Paracuyo.
We have been passed around two weeks in the Maasai village and we left the characters to narrate their own documentary. Fortunatly the period has been rich of events and rituals like christmas and the birth of a child.
Director: Alessandra Argenti, Franco Consales It's about the Maasai daily life told by the chief of the village without an external voice: "Mifugo ni mali" (Herd is ... more
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Tanzania
