Headlines

Two years after the abduction of 276 girls from their school in Chibok by Boko Haram, 219 of them are still missing. The loss has left the parents traumatized.

"Father, we thank you for counting us amongst the living. We thank you for bringing us to Chibok without any problem." These are the prayers of the group of people gathered together on the outskirts of the north Nigerian village of Chibok. They mark the start of a historic and sad event. For the first time in two years, nearly all the parents of the 219 girls have returned to the scene of the kidnappings.

On the night of the 14th to the 15th of April, 2014, heavily armed Boko Haram gunmen stormed school's dormitories. Most of the girls who were abducted that night were aged between 16 to 18 years. Two years later, there is still no trace of 219 kidnapped victims.

Saraya Stover was one of the girls they took. Her mother Monica doubts that she is still alive. "When I heard about the abduction, I lost hope," she said. Her voice sounds tired. Her eyes are dry and empty. "I cannot imagine seeing my daughter again," she says.

An old photograph

Monica Stover takes a small faded photo out of her handbag. One can barely make out the facial features of a teenage girl with a white headdress - her daughter Saraya. It's one of the only photos she still has.

It is, however, not only the loss of her daughter, but also the government's inaction, that has made her life so unbearable. "No one has talked to us. We only hear stories in the news. But for us parents who live in Chibok, there is nothing," she says.

More than emotional support

The Murtala Muhammad Foundation is one of the few organizations that continues to support the parents. They organized this meeting in Chibok. The foundation is named after General Murtala Muhammed, the military leader who ruled Nigeria from 1975 until his assassination in 1976. The organization is run by his daughter Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode and works to promote good governance and better education for girls.

Muhammed-Oyebode has supported the Chibok parents since the Boko Haram kidnappings two years ago. She meets some of them regularly in Lagos and Abuja, but the gathering in Chibok was difficult to organize. The government only gave its approval at the last moment.

For the journey to Chibok the group needed a military escort. Every trip to the region is a reminder of just how fast people can disappear in northern Nigeria.

As the parents assemble in Chibok, Muhammed-Oyebode is deeply moved. She embraces one of the mothers and later several women walk up to her to thank her for her efforts. Yet Muhammed-Oyebode wants to give more than just emotional support. "We are going to work hard to see how we can continue to put pressure [on the government]," she told DW. Additionally she hopes to work on re-opening the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok. "Rebuilding this school is an important symbol," she adds.

No protection for Chibok

She turns around and looks at the school. The roof is missing only the walls are standing. This is where the kidnappings took place. But there have been many similar incidents. Over the past few years, Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of girls, boys and women. If the government finds and frees any victims, it is largely a matter of luck.

According to Yakubu Nkeki, the representative of the parents' group, the attack on Chibok was no coincidence. He says the authorities had ordered the closure of schools in Borno State for security reasons. Two weeks later, they were reopened, but there was no extra security in place. "These girls they were here and there was not a single security guard. They were living and learning here without any security," he says. At the time, he adds, only 15 soldiers were stationed in Chibok itself. The girls were easy prey for a terrorist attack.

Back to everyday life

For Muhammed-Oyebode it's time to leave Chibok. The drive back to Yola, the capital of the neighboring Adamawa State, takes six hours if there are no delays.

Monica Stover puts her photo back in her handbag. For her, the end of the commemoration means going back to everyday life, where she has to deal with her sorrow alone. “"A commemoration like this doesn't mean much to us," she says shrugging her shoulders. "Such ceremonies don't bring back our daughters. That's what we really want."

DW

Details

Elangwe Pauline

14.Apr.2016

Hits: 1796

Write comment (0 Comments)

Amsterdam's Schiphol was partially evacuated late Tuesday following a bomb scare. One man was arrested but no explosives were found.

Heavily armed police wearing ski masks closed off part of Amsterdam's main airport late Tuesday night and one man was arrested after a report of what police described as a "suspicious situation."

Explosive experts were deployed to check the man's luggage, but no bomb was found. The unidentified man remains in custody and is being questioned, police said.

Scores of passengers were stuck at the airport and unable to reach their cars. The airport said flights were unaffected and transportation to and from the airport was still running.

The Netherlands has been on high alert since the Islamist terrorist attacks in Brussels last month, with Dutch counter-terrorism officials boosting security at national airports and tightening controls on the southern border with Belgium.

(DW)

 

Details

Elangwe Pauline

13.Apr.2016

Hits: 1886

Write comment (0 Comments)

Cameroon’s fearless opposition leader, Kah Walla, says the rapid response of women’s organizations was crucial in securing her release from detention after protesting the regime of President Paul Biya

Cameroon’s opposition leader and internationally renowned human rights activist, Kah Walla, has vowed to continue peacefully protesting government repression, following her release from police detention on Friday — an outcome she attributes to grassroots support and a vocal, globally resonant social media campaign that demanded her liberation.

The President of the Cameroon People’s Party, a member of the Vital Voices global women leaders’ network, and a speaker at the Women in the World Summit in 2012, was arrested last Friday morning along with 11 other activists, in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde.

The group was taken in ostensibly for wearing black, and asking supporters to do the same and post pictures online as a demonstration against the regime of President Paul Biya. The 83-year-old has been head of state for 34 years and, despite widespread opposition, is maneuvering for another run for president of the Central African nation.

One of the longest-serving “Big Men” of African politics, and one of the world’s oldest heads of state, Biya is only outstripped by notorious autocrats like Robert Mugabe for years in office. Accused of paying himself an exorbitant salary(359m  CFA francs) in a nation where almost 40 percent live in poverty, presiding over structural corruption and persecuting his political opponents like Titus Edzoa, Biya stubbornly refuses to release his grip on power. Named one of the world’s top 20 worst dictators by the NGO Allgov.com, the president is seen as ill-equipped to deal with the rising threat of terrorism from Boko Haram, who killed 25 in the northern Cameroon town of Bodo in a January suicide bombing.

In an interview with Women in the World, Walla said the government had accused the opposition of “rebellion, inciting insurrection and inciting revolt” because they wanted to distribute pamphlets asking Cameroonians to “‪#‎WearBlackThis Friday and to Pray for the future of Cameroon!”

(NYT)

Details

Elangwe Pauline

13.Apr.2016

Hits: 2582

Write comment (0 Comments)

 Three French peacekeeping soldiers died after their armoured car ran over a landmine in Mali, the French presidency said Wednesday.

One soldier was killed immediately in the blast on Tuesday and President Francois Hollande learned "with great sadness" that two more soldiers had died in the west African country, a statement said.

AFP

Details

Elangwe Pauline

13.Apr.2016

Hits: 1779

Write comment (0 Comments)

The Paris bank accounts of Camair Co, Cameroonian public airline, have been seized by the French justice, to facilitate the collection of a debt of FCfa 600 million on behalf of the company West Engine Acquisition LLC, Intégration, a newspaper published in Cameroon, revealed on 11 April 2016.

According to the same source, two accounts opened by Camair Co at Société Générale, seized on 25 February and 2 March 2016, only held about FCfa 45 million. The amounts claimed by West Engine Acquisition LLC represent the rental fees of a Pratt and Witney engine to Camair Co.

This engine was installed in the Boeing 767 of the company labelled “Le Dja”, which enables Camair Co to operate on international routes, including France. The lease, now the object of a legal dispute between the two partners, was agreed in 2014 for a duration of 7 years, with a fee of USD 74,000 per month, approximately FCfa

BIC

Details

Elangwe Pauline

13.Apr.2016

Hits: 2048

Write comment (0 Comments)

President of the Central African Republic, Faustin Touadera, has appointed both political allies and former rivals to a new government as the country struggles to return to normalcy after years of sectarian bloodshed.

The new Prime Minister Simplice Sarandji is the president's former campaign manager: Three ministers are former candidates from the first round of the presidential elections. Another six held posts under former president Francois Bozize and further three are from the minority Muslim community.

All in all, this new cabinet has twenty three members. Paul Melly, Associate Fellow with the African Program at Chatham House in the UK has been speaking to DW's Mark Caldwell.

DW: Can this new cabinet drive the reconciliation process forward?

Paul Melly: I think it probably can. The composition of the cabinet is pretty much what one would expect actually for a country using the CAR's electoral system. That is to say a two-round system of election where in the first ballot you get people who don't have much prospect of being elected president, running as candidate anyway to win a few percent of the vote and then, as it were, begging for a role in the eventual government that is formed by the actual winner.

The other key point is that there are three Muslim ministers in the government. This is very important because Mr. Touadera enjoyed quite a lot of support from people who had supported the Anti-Balaka Christian militia or at least been a bit sympathetic towards them during the conflict of the last two years.

And Mr. Touadera sent out a message of reconciliation that it was very important and was actually reflected in the composition of the government and he's also made public gesture in this regard. He recently visited the mosque in Bangui again in a gesture to reach out to the Muslim community and show that they too, although a minority, very much have their place in the new CAR.

But none of threes ministers are drawn from the Christian or the Muslim militia, are they?

That's really because the Christian and Muslim militia movements weren't really a reflection of political factions. The Seleka Muslim rebels were basically formed by a group of warlords who recruited both among discontented people in the Muslim community of northern CAR but also mercenaries fighters from neighboring countries, such as the Darfur region of Sudan or Chad.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Balaka, although recruited mainly from Central Africans, was very much a militia movement, an armed movement, pushed up from elements of the community but not reflecting political leadership. The political class in the CAR was very largely disconnected from the conflict of the last two years.

Now that in some ways made it harder to bring peace because there were no political leaders who could really speak for the armed groups, no political leaders, who could, as it were, call on the men of guns to halt violence and join the peaceful process.

But the advantage, the positive aspect of that, is that most of the political class were clean of blame for the awful violence of the last two years and were in a position to be brought into government and work together.

What changes can Central Africans expect to see in their lives in the weeks and months ahead as a result of the appointment of this new government?

Well I think there are really two things. The first is that if the peace process is sustained, its crucial next test would be the disarmament, demobilization of militia fighters of both sides and their reintegration into either government security forces of one kind or another or into civilian life.

If that's sustained then we can look forward to government slowly rebuilding public services and public administrations and that in a sense would be the dual test.

We are waiting to see which minister or which two or three ministers would really have to take the lead on the DDR process: Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration into civilian lives of the militia fighters.

It could well be Jean Cedric Bokassa, who is the son of a former president of the CAR, and who is the new public security minister. If he can succeed in rebuilding peace and stability at a practical level, that is to say, getting young men who have guns and are disillusioned and somewhat footloose and in some cases living from banditry or racketeering norminally in the name of militias, if he can get those people back into civilian life then that is going to create easier conditions for the rest of the government to move forward with rebuilding basic public services. So that's going to be quite a practical administrative test for lots of these ministers.

DW

Details

Elangwe Pauline

13.Apr.2016

Hits: 2089

Write comment (0 Comments)