Barça ou Barzakh (Barcelone ou la mort, Barcelona or Death) is Idrissa Guiro’s first film and an eye-opener that shows the link between the massive overfishing by the EU fishing fleets in Senegal (and West Africa) and migration to Europe. The strength of this documentary is particularly in the fact that it shows what is behind the faceless figures of immigrants you read from the news; practically everyone for instance in Thiaroye-sur-Mer, where fishing used to be the main source of income, has a brother, father, uncle, or friend who risked their lives in hope of a future for himself and his extended family. Some of them manage to make it to Europe but many die on this trip, and yet new candidates keep trying despite the risks involved, in lack of better alternatives.

Keep an eye on this excellent documentary and go and see it if the opportunity arises!

Here is a short clip from Barça ou Barzakh in You Tube (in French)

More information on the impact of overfishing

Have you ever heard of donkey mobile library? If not, have a look at this inspiring clip from Awassa, Ethiopia, featuring Yohannes Gebregeorgis’ fantastic initiatives that help children in Ethiopia to have access to books also outside school. Gebregeorgis first opened  a children’s library at his own home and has now gone mobile in rural areas. This idea is worth disseminating widely! 

donkeys bearing gifts clip

This link will take you to the website of A 24 Media, a recently launched online delivery site for material from African journalists, broadcasters and NGO’s. Now you have the opportunity to have access to news material without international crews covering local stories. Indeed a very welcomed African perspective on issues affecting the continent!

The Ndiagamar School Project in Dakar would like to encourage companies and individuals to donate computers and computer equipment so that voluntary-based schools in Senegal can put them to work for a while longer.

Donating computer equipment to the Ndiagamar School Project is a safe way to discard used equipment when you upgrade your computer. Before taken into use in schools, we will send your computer to a refurbisher, who will ensure that the equipment works well and runs legal copies of software, and that any e-waste is disposed of properly. If you can, include the keyboard, mouse, printer, modem, packaged software, or any other accessories you use with the computer. Schools can almost always put them to good use.

If you donate to a non-profit organization, you are eligible for a tax deduction. Business donors can deduct the un-depreciated value of the computer, and individuals can deduct the current market value of a computer. We can provide a tax receipt upon request.

Please forward this information to companies and individuals that may consider upgrading their computer equipment and are looking for possibilities of donating in the following locations: Brussels, Paris, London, or Dakar. If you would like to donate or find out more about this project, please contact us via info@ndiagamar.org or visit our web site.

Avoid e-waste – reuse!

The qnawa are the descendants of the black African slaves that were brought into the Maghreb from the 17th century onwards. They venerate the memory of Bilal Ibn Rabah, an Abyssinian Christian slave that was freed and who became the Prophet’s muezzin and one of his most loyal companions. Bilal is said to have been the first person who recited the adhan, the call for prayer, in public.

I have been a fan of gnawa music for a long, long time and have just found a new album that I would like to recommend to anyone reading this blog. It is called Gnawa Home Songs, a collective recording that has been made in a homy atmosphere in Tamesloht. This is a first-ever gathering of some great Moroccan voices, such as Hamid Kasri, Amida & Hassan Boussou, Abdelkebir Merchane, Abdelkebir Amlil and Zef Zaf, who also sings in Bambara. This is simply a fantastic album to all those who can easily forget yourselves into the incantatory blues of the gnawa.

It would be great to attend a gnawa festival, or even better, a lila, which is a complex and intimate and fairly ecstatic combination of music and dance practised by the brotherhood. As I will soon have the opportunity to visit Marrakesh again, at least I will buy myself a couple of pairs of qaraqib, those neat metal castanets used to produce that profound trance-like beat to the qnawa music.

I heard about Eyeluta & Kirkos first time in Axum, where I saw these personages depicted in a pocket-size icon. I was told that they belong to the famous gallery of historical characters often present in Ethiopian orthodox iconography, because according to their story they were once saved from furnace by the archangel Gabriel. Their story rings a familiar bell from the Old Testament, in which the King Nebuchadnezzar throws Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into a burning furnace because they refuse to worship a golden statue made by the king. They too are miraculously saved from the fire by an angel. These convergences are simply fascinating! I am only wondering whether the Ethiopian version of Eyeluta & Kirkos can actually be found in Kebra Nagast, The Book of the Glory of Kings, which tells the history of the Solomonic dynasties. For a long time this book has been on my reading list… In Kebra Nagast you can update your knowledge on the famous encounter between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, which eventually leads to their son Menyelek’s smuggling the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. It appears that Solomon was quite a charmer:

“And she marvelled in her heart, and was utterly astonished in her mind, and she recognized in her understanding, and perceived very clearly with her eyes how admirable he was; and she wondered exceedingly because of what she saw and heard with him—how perfect he was in composure, and wise in understanding, and pleasant in graciousness, and commanding in stature. And she observed the subtlety of his voice, and the discreet utterances of his lips, and that he gave his commands with dignity, and that his replies were made quietly and with the fear of God. All these things she saw, and she was astonished at the abundance of his wisdom, and there was nothing whatsoever wanting in his word and speech, but everything that he spoke was perfect.”

Chapter 25: How the Queen came to Solomon the King. The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek (I) or, The KEBRA NAGAST (translated by E. A. Wallis Budge), London, 1932

  The Ndiagamar School in Dakar, Senegal is on a summer break right now and the schoolboys and schoolgirls are on a well-earned holiday. Yet the school building is bustling with life as the construction of new lavatories and renovation works are under way. Have a look at our latest photo album on the school’s website and while you are at it, spread the word about our work!

The Ndiagamar School is running entirely on a voluntary basis and help is needed. You can help in many ways: by donating money or schooling materials, by joining our cause in Facebook and inviting all your friends to come along, or by getting involved with some of our ongoing or upcoming projects. You are also warmly welcome to visit  the school in Dakar!

I have just seen a short film called Moving Windmills and wanted to share it with you. It is an extremely inspirational story of a young Malawian William Kamkwmamba, who was forced to drop out of school for lack of money. But he did not discourage: when he saw a picture of a windmill in a textbook he decided to build one to power his family’s home. The film is now distributed online both via The Pangea Day Event, which has a big selection of other interesting films available too, and via William Kamkwamba’s Malawi Windmill Blog.

Moving Windmills at the Pangea Day Event web site
William Kamkwamba’s Malawi Windmill Blog

For quite a long time now I have been trying to get hold of the following novel by Mamadou Samb:

De pulpe et d’orange: Autobiographie d’une prostituée dans une ville ouest-africaine
(Enda-Editions, 1990)

It appears to be too hard even for Amazon.fr to find it. I placed an order months ago and they keep coming back with a mail saying that they are still looking for it. If you happen to have a copy of this book or know where I could find it, please come forward and help the reader in distress!