Society

Germany's colonial reign ended with World War I, but left traces in some countries amongst them Cameroon. The German government sent artist Andréas Lang to Cameroon recently to explore this painful part of Germany's history - and his own family's.

The studio of the Berlin-based photo and video artist Andréas Lang is currently located in an unusual place - under the roof of Germany's Federal Foreign Office. The ministry regularly awards artistic grants and sponsored Andréas Lang's trip to Cameroon to study German colonial history.

For Lang, it was a trip back into his own family's history, as his great-grandfather had once served as a soldier in Germany's colonial military.

Cameroon was once the fourth largest colony in Germany's colonial empire. Germany's rule lasted for three decades and ended with its loss in World War I.

The genocide against the Herero and Nama peoples in present-day Namibia, which was also a German-run colony, is considered the worst crime committed during that era. But also in Cameroon, unrest was violently suppressed.

Andréas Lang told DW about his experience in Cameroon and how he worked through it in his art. 

DW: Mr. Lang, you visited Cameroon twice, and you also visited the border between Cameroon and DR Congo. Did you come across traces of German colonial history?

Andréas Lang: Yes, there is still quite a lot there. When you start looking, you come across quite a few relics and ruins. You can find entire colonial cemeteries that are now serving as vegetable gardens in backyards. Or a safe that was forgotten in the jungle, surrounded by legends about where the key could have ended up.

German colonial history is also present among the people - in their songs and in women's dresses, which I filmed during a World Women's Day parade in the capital Yaoundé.

I also met an old man who could still tell me stories about colonial times. He told me about friendships - but also about whippings. This man came from the village of Banana, which the German colonial powers had named.

How have you worked through your experience in your art?

I came across a historic photograph taken by my great-grandfather. I was able to find the place where he had taken it. It's now very overgrown. To me, it's important to visit these locations in person, where different levels have become interwoven, my inner images, my projections onto that place, as well as its present reality here and now. I'm particularly interested in images that reflect this kind of layering and interaction between the various layers.

However, I don't consciously look for that - it happens coincidentally. The image was already there; the image and I simply had to find each other.

How do the Cameroonians see Germany nowadays?

Strangely enough, people seem to view German colonialism in a positive light. But that probably has to do with the fact it's a long time ago and the horrible memories have faded. People point out that a bridge once built by the Germans is still standing and still functioning, and that the Germans built up their country. But I think that this was all part of imperialism, and that the Germans were no less cruel than other colonial powers.

That's why it is important nowadays, that we don't view these events from a European, paternalistic perspective, but at eye level with the people. And we should ask ourselves where colonial structures exist nowadays, and where political decisions are made above the heads of the people.

Andréas Lang presents his works in the exhibition "Cameroon and Congo - In Search of Traces and Phantom Geography," which runs from September 16, 2016, to February 26, 2017, in the German Historical Museum in Berlin.

Details

Rita Akana

22.Aug.2016

Hits: 3112

Write comment (0 Comments)

A media watchdog says Nigeria's military must stop threatening a journalist because he refuses to turn informer. A civil society worker linked to the reporter tells of a brush with the military at a local barracks.

The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says the Nigerian military has told freelance journalist Ahmad Salkida he could face terrorism charges for refusing to provide information about the militant group Boko Haram.

The CPJ has called on the Nigerian military to "cease threatening" Saldkida.

The Nigerian army announced last Monday that it wanted to question three suspects, including a journalist, for allegedly concealing information about the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls.

The announcement came shortly after the release of a new video purportedly showing some of the more than 200 girls who were seized by Boko Haram in Chibok, northeastern Nigeria, in April 2014.

Army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman said Salkida had been in contact with Boko Haram, as had civil society activists Ahmed Bolari and Aisha Wakil, AFP news agency reported. 

The three "have links with Boko Haram terrorists" and "must therefore come forward and tell us where the group is keeping the Chibok girls," Usman said.

Usman invoked the 2011 Terrorism Prevention Act under which "Nigerians could be punished for failure to disclose information about terrorists or terrorists' activities."

CPJ West Africa Representative Peter Nkanga said journalists must sometimes rely on the trust of dangerous people. "Coercing them to become informers risks putting all journalists under suspicion and in danger," he said.

'They took my phone'

Bolari told DW he had been to his local barracks where he had met some senior military officers who were known to him personally. After asking them why he was on the wanted list, the officers told him it was a mistake and he should report back to them the next day, Bolari said.

Bolari said he went back the next day, publishing everything that was happening to him via social media. "They took my phone and told me if I am holding the phone, it will continue to increase tension." Bolari said the officers then explained that they had invited him so he could be "part of solving the problem", telling him that they did not suspect him of anything.

Bolari said he was released on the condition that he would make himself available to them whenever they were looking for him. The military believed that he was an ambassador in solving the Boko Haram issue, he told DW.

Aisha Wakil, whom Nigeria's Premium Times described on its website as "a lawyer and negotiator for the Boko Haram sect" was allowed to go home on Wednesday without charges after questioning.

Salkida wrote on his personal blog on August 15 that he would accept the military's invitation [for questioning]. He told CPJ he believed the military were trying to punish him for his persistent reporting on Boko Haram since 2006. He has lived in the United Arab Emirates since 2013.

Salkida also said he feared for life and that anonymous callers had threatened him about his articles and posts to social media websites and his contacts with Boko Haram.

Salkida posted Boko Haram's latest video on Sunday (14.08,2016), AP reported. His response the following day to being declared a wanted man was "my status as a Nigerian journalist who has reported extensively, painstakingly and consistently on the Boko Haram menace is an open book."

Boko Haram, which seeks to impose strict Islamic law in northern Nigeria, has been blamed for some 20,000 deaths and displacing more than 2.6 million people since 2009.

DW

Details

Rita Akana

22.Aug.2016

Hits: 3092

Write comment (0 Comments)

The city maintains its position at the lowest rungs of the Global Liveability index.

Several other global reports had also said that Lagos, with a population of over 22 million, would in the next few years become the 4th mega city in the world, with a population of over 30 million.

The city is placed 138th out of the 140 cities ranked in the latest liveability survey, just above war-ravaged Tripoli and Damascus.

Lagos scored highest in culture and environment, followed by infrastructure. It scored lowest in stability.

The top five best countries to live in, remain unchanged from last year and they include Melbourne in Australia; Vienna in Austria; and Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary all in Canada.

CCTV

Details

Rita Akana

20.Aug.2016

Hits: 3707

Write comment (0 Comments)

One person was shot dead in Mali's capital on Wednesday and others were wounded as police opened fire to disperse a protest over the arrest of a talk show host who is a critic of the government, three Malian rights groups said in a statement.

Police also fired tear gas to disperse the fans of Mohamed Youssouf Bathily, who was arrested Monday and is due to be brought before a tribunal charged with an outrage against public decency, witnesses said.

Bathily, who is known as Ras Bath, presents a show called Cards on the Table on Maliba FM radio, in which he often attacks policies of the government of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.

Fresh protests are expected Thursday, witnesses said.

"Our organizations condemn the excessive use of lethal arms to maintain order and call on the authorities to identify and punish those responsible," said a statement from three rights groups, including the Malian Association of Human Rights.

The protest also reflected public discontent in Mali over corruption, unemployment, the cost of living and insecurity linked to separatist violence in the north of the country and attacks by Islamist militants.

VOA

Details

Rita Akana

18.Aug.2016

Hits: 2890

Write comment (0 Comments)

The International Leadership Conference organized by the Universal Peace Federation was in reaction to the present-day challenges facing the world. Hon. Awudu Mbaya Cyprian who led Cameroon delegation to Ouagadougou upon returning back to Cameroon has declared that there is a pressing need to empower leaders of the world to meet the growing challenges such as peace, security, . Hon. Awudu Mbaya who doubles as Questor at the National Assembly cum President of Pan African Parliamentarians Network on Climate Change said during the conference of August 8-10, 2016 brought together leaders from 28 African countries to reflect on the theme: Addressing the Critical Challenges of our Time: The Role of Governments, Civil Society and Faith-Based. Participants included current parliamentarians, along with religious leaders, women leaders, civil society leaders and media.

He continued that the Conferenceis part of a series of Regional ILCs that are an outgrowth of an ILC that was convened in Korea on February 12-16, 2016, involving more than 800 participants from around the world, and including approximately 150 current parliamentarians from 40 nations.

Besides, participants at the Burkina Faso Conference focused on the search for innovative solutions to some of the critical issues on the local, national, regional and global levels, from climate change to the rise of extremist ideologies, humanitarian disasters, and conflict as well as strategies to strengthen marriages and build strong families for peace and sustainable development.

Hon. Awudu Mbaya said that one of the innovations was the creation of an International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace, which will serve as a platform for parliamentarians to bring their experience and wisdom to bear in the search for solutions to our world’s critical problems. Hon. Awudu Mbaya it should be noted was charged to present the final Declaration of the African Regional Chapter of Parliamentarians for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Worthy to note that The Universal Peace Federation was founded by Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon with vision rooted in universal spiritual and moral principles that apply to all areas of human endeavor, including the family, society, government, religion, business, academia, media, arts, and sports.

dongamantungeye

Details

Rita Akana

18.Aug.2016

Hits: 3295

Write comment (0 Comments)

Over the weekend, photos of a Nigerian bride seemingly making a run for her life went viral on social media, leaving a lot of questions unanswered about where she was running to and why.

Lindaikeji.com reports that the bride in Eket, Akwa Ibom state, was actually running away from her wedding because she discovered her husband-to-be had lied to her about who he really was.

According to the report, the bride was made to believe the groom was an employee of Chevron. His Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Badoo accounts said he was a staff of the multinational oil and gas company but the bride later found out that this was false.

She therefore decided to abandon the wedding that morning by making a run for her life.

However, a few people believed to be involved in the marriage caught up to her and tried to convince her to go ahead with the wedding.

Details

Rita Akana

16.Aug.2016

Hits: 3395

Write comment (0 Comments)