Sean Jacobs's Blog, page 248
August 10, 2018
Taking a Mallett to a SuperSport
Image via Ashwin��Willemse Facebook.
It has become a��cause celebre.��On May��19,��2018,��SuperSport��rugby commentator and former Springbok rugby player,��Ashwin��Willemse, ���walked off the set during the studio live broadcast. He said on-air before he walked off that he felt undermined by his fellow analysts [Naas Botha and Nick��Mallett] and audibly complained that they had patronized him.���
Advocate Vincent��Maleka, appointed by Webber��Wentzel��Attorneys, who were themselves commissioned by SuperSport, was asked to review the incident. Two months later��Maleka��concluded��in his report:
There is no incident of a personal��nature[,] such as unresolved grudges, resentment or annoyance that I established as a possible or reasonable explanation for the incident of 19 May 2018��� From a professional perspective I have established that all analysts and anchor are highly��knowledgeable��in the sport of rugby��� I have also established that they treat their contractual obligations seriously and present��� inputs consistent with the ethical norms of decency and respect.
Standing in stark contrast to this conclusion, the report does reveal that on����October��6,��2016, Mallet wrote to an executive producer at SuperSport, saying:
I really enjoy working with ���Bobs��� and��Xola��[Ntshinga] and Scott. They are a real pleasure.��Xola��asks very good questions and Bobs knows enough about rugby to produce interesting clips for discussion. Unlike with the complex Ashwin, there are no agendas. It would be great if Ashwin could be moved to the morning show where we don���t have to work together. I think he talks garbage��� I am happy to work with��Breyton��[Paulse], Shimmy or Bobs instead as, unlike with Ashwin, I respect their hard work and rugby opinions.
Breyton��Paulse��must have been surprised by this endorsement by��Mallett. As Andy Colquhoun reveals in the book��Nick & I,��Mallett��had not believed in��Paulse���s��rugby abilities��when��Paulse��played for the Springboks.��According to Colquhoun,��Mallett��believed that��Paulse���s��defensive frailties were not outweighed by his:
undoubted but still fragile attacking abilities. In fact in 1999 was the second time��Mallett��had been forced to pick��Breyton. The first had been��in 1996��� In the dressing room��Mallett��said to everyone: ‘in my opinion you are getting picked too fast.’
As Colquhoun wryly comments,�����It may not have been his best piece of man management��but��Breyton��did go on to score a fine try in that��match.�����Time and again�����Mallett��resolved he would use Deon��Kayser���a more reliable all-round player��to fill the Springboks�����quota berth.�����For��Mallett, Deon and��Breyton��were the obligatory quota players out on the wing.
Is it puzzling how��Maleka��reached a conclusion that there were no�����unresolved grudges, resentment or annoyance�����given the contents of��Mallett���s��letter? Yes, Mallet did not have the courage to declare his disdain of his colleague to��Willemse���s��face. But it would propose a sublime level of hypocrisy to suggest that Mallet never betrayed in his ���banter��� what��Willemse��picked up: an abiding underlying contempt.
It says in the Good Book that he who seeks shall find. But he who seeks in the wrong places shall surely find the wrong answers. Adv Maleka��was never going to find an AWB tattoo on Mallet���s forehead. Nor was he going to find Mallet comparing blacks to monkeys. The whole report went wrong in failing to grapple with stuff a lot more subtle than that and was not helped by a woefully inexpert rendition of what covert or subtle�� racism��is experienced��to be.��Adv��Maleka��found no splint in Supersport���s eye because the true injury was caused by a poke. The kind of poking many Willemses��have endured over the years: a snide offensiveness peculiar��to��the Malletts��of the world.
How does this poking work. It works through the adoption of a superior attitude. It may come across as simple arrogance but it���s more than just that. A merely arrogant man praises himself; a poker must pull others down too. On page 39 of the report, it is revealed that��Mallett�����corrected Mr��Willemse���s��use of English.��� Mallett���s��defense is that this is�����not unusual as he adopts the same stance in respect of fellow commentators across the color-line��� It is a personality trait which he developed from his father, who was an educationalist, and was reinforced when he too became an English teacher.�����What��Mallett��does not reveal is that he taught for six months as a stand-in teacher in 1983 and when he did apply for a permanent post at Bishops he was turned down.
Maleka��goes on:
Mr Botha accepts that here and there Mr��Mallett��would correct or assist him with the use of the English language. He found nothing untoward��about this. On the strength of this, I do not regard the conduct of Mr��Mallett��as a sign of covert or subtle racism.
The reasoning is astounding. Because Botha thinks��Mallett���s��behavior is acceptable, this means that it is okay? And surely��Mallett��must know how this didactic personality trait, if it is one, comes across: as patronizing and undermining? Does he not care enough to suppress the urge to show everyone how Queenly his English is?
And why is��Mallett���s��use of English the one that is acceptable? What gives him the right to decide? English is a wonderfully elastic language and billions of us across the world keep reinventing it and playing with it. In fact, the term��World��Englishes��is now employed to refer to localized or indigenized varieties of English across the globe.
On page 25 of the report, we come to the immediacy of the incident that sparked��Willemse���s��walk off. It reveals that Botha and��Mallett�����felt concerned that Mr��Willemse��was not afforded time to express his view on the Lions/Brumbies match before the game commenced���before the resumption he (Botha) said to Mr��Willemse:�����Okay��Ashwin, it���s all yours,�����and then laughed.���
Nobody had told��Willemse��that the normal order of things had been changed. Caught unawares, he took��Mallett��and Botha���s insistence that he be given time to talk as patronizing. Can we delink��Willemse���s��intuition from the now proven fact that at least one of the colleagues thought that his views were nonsense.
The ���expert��� witness on racism Professor Adam Habib���s intervention takes us nowhere. It is de-linked from context, is expressed in generalities and does not purport to offer evidence. What is important about��Willemse���s��outburst is not so much the allegation of racism but the objection he raised to being patronized. This undermining may well have a dose of racism within it but it is overlaid by something harder to discern but just as objectionable: a��toffishness.
Maleka��leaned too heavily on Habib���s intervention to reach exculpatory conclusions. Instead of turning to experts in racism, the Advocate would have been better served to trace the histories of the contending parties. What would have quickly emerged is that��Mallett��has a history of rude, arrogant behavior that is covered by or perhaps even produced by the bluster of Oxfordesque privilege.
Edward Griffiths in his book,��The Captains��(2001), reveals that while��Mallett��was Springbok coach it was a roller-coaster ride for the captain Gary��Teichmann��as��Mallett��was determined that Bobby��Skinstad��would be his go-to man. Even when��Skinstad��was seriously injured in a car accident��Mallett��stuck to his guns while simultaneously not communicating with��Teichmann.
Griffiths goes on to comment:
The split was becoming muddled and unpleasant. The captain had asked what��was the problem, and the coach had incongruously replied by declaring his plans for a player who had been injured for three months. There was no logic, no clear communication,��no��decency.
While��Mallett��might have seen��Paulse��as a quota player,��Mallett��was not exactly the paragon of merit selection. As Andy Colquhoun reveals:
When it came to selection��Mallett, by instinct probably, leant toward selecting English-speaking players ��� there was a subconscious bias in my opinion �����Mallett��thought ��� that English speakers were more adaptable, more adaptable, more adventurous and confident ��� Maybe there was a chip on his shoulder���
While��Mallett��was quick to berate all and sundry,��Colquhoun reveals that with his����������armor-plated��self-assurance he was pretty much protected from any kind of criticism. It���s all wrapped up in a kind of colonial outlook on life���.���
In tracking the diverging biographies of��Mallett��and��Willemse��one gets to see what privilege looks like. Reading��The��Ashwin��Willemse��Story��by Peter Bills and��Heindrich��Wyngaard��is a heart-rending journey.��Willemse��grows up in��poverty,��lives as a street kind, there are moments of��gangsterism, an absent father, random violence. There is one haunting, arresting moment that��Willemse��recalls. In his home town of Caledon,��Willemse��attended��Swartberg��High. Across the railway line stood Overberg High. In 1998 Overberg crossed the railway line to play rugby. As��Willemse��remembers:
They arrived in their smart blazers and their freshly laundered kit. They came expecting their usual victory ��� One of Overberg���s star players was Emile Valentine, a former schoolmate of ours���I called it ���Emile���s little upgrade in life���. By choosing some of the best kids from the coloured schools nearby, Overberg and other former Model C schools all but guaranteed their supremacy on the sports field���
Willemse��and the rest of the��Swartberg��team had other ideas:
Emile Valentine was the first to feel the power of our pent-up emotion. All over��the��rough, scrubby field were little mole hills. I hit Emile so hard��in an early tackle it sent him into one of the mole hills���the tackles that day had a clear meaning. History would somehow be made���the final whistle blew. We had won���It was the greatest day of my life as a rugby player at our school.
The next year, 1999,��Willemse���s��final year at school, Overberg asked him for an interview:�����Those of us in the poorer part looked across the valley and��saw the gleaming white buildings of Overberg. I had done it myself many times. It was an oasis in the desert. A promised land������
With some trepidation��Willemse��set off for the interview:�����I put into words one important concern.�����I don���t have clothes to come here or money to buy them.��������Willemse��was told�����Oh, we have an Old Boys section of the school���They donate old clothes they don���t want anymore.���
Willemse��turned them down. He did receive a gift from��Breyton��Paulse��in his final year:
���a whole tog bag filled with training gear, a tracksuit and boots arrived. The boots were too small for my feet. Not that it stopped me from wearing them. First, I crammed wet newspapers into the boots, asked a friend with smaller feet to wear them in and, later, forced my own feet into them. I paid with painful blisters.
Reflect on��Mallett���s��life trajectory:��Peterhouse��(the Rhodesian Michaelhouse), St Andrews (Grahamstown), University of Cape Town and Oxford University. Compare it to��Willemse���s��shack shared with innumerable uncles, tasked with cleaning the pee-pot every morning and��Mallett���s��at Bishops where father Anthony was principal;�����grand accommodation, flourishing school and splendid view of the��mountains.�����None of this is to berate Mallet for the fortune of his circumstances. It is to show that the somewhat boorish way his privilege permits him to move through the world, is keenly felt by others around him.
The difference in their upbringings��is important for another reason. In his world��Mallett��could safely sneer at those he considered his inferior behind their backs. Cutting whispers to the boss don���t count, nor do daggers in the back. In the Anglo-Saxon mould, you have to catch someone directly disrespecting you before making a scene.��Willemse��has a different code. Where he comes from, when you get a sense that someone is looking at you funny, you confront it head on. And Mallet��was��looking at��Willemse��skeef��all these years.
I don���t know what Ashwin is going to tell the Equality Court. Maybe there are overt instances of racism to emerge. But everyone who has been at the receiving��end of the lesser sort knows: the scorn and scoffing may be oh-so-subtle and coded, but those who fancy themselves your betters give themselves away eventually. Let us remember what��Willemse���s��on air accusation was. He felt undermined and patronised. Adv.��Maleka��should have known that there was something in the SuperSport air that Ashwin picked up?
In the report��we get a bizarre indictment of SuperSport and the poverty of��Maleka���s��understanding��of what constitutes patronizing behavior and racism:
I was informed that SuperSport took the view that Black analysts should be preferred to operate the touch-screen because of its sophistication and in order to undermine the publicly held view that they do not have the technical skill-set or craft to operate sophisticated equipment��� That is a legitimate consideration which should be encouraged.
There is a ���publicly held view��� that Black people ���do not have the technical skill-set to operate sophisticated equipment���? And so, we must ensure the Black presenters reveal that they are computer-literate? The mind truly boggles. First, this kind of reverse social engineering works to entrench stereotypes, certainly on set. Imagine if Black presenters knew that they were specifically assigned computer duties so that SuperSport could prove that Blacks could use touch-screens, after all. It���s insulting. And prove to whom?�� In reality it has the opposite effect in that white analysts (proper) at the desk are seen to give orders to the black help (at the screen) in providing the true talking points on games. Which change-management firm gave them this disastrous advice?
Maleka���s��resounding conclusion is that touch-screen operators should be racially rotated! Nothing here about the racial mind-set at SuperSport, even obsession with race, that they were deliberately placing analysts in different racial groups in different places on set.��Maleka���s��recommendation is to move the deckchairs.
While this was unfolding��four��SuperSport��rugby commentators ���Messrs.��Nkumane,��Ntshinga,��Ntunja��and Bobo��� in a lawyer���s letter dated��May��28��2018 made allegations that�����certain roles are allocated along racial lines�����and�����white contractors are paid more than black contractors, who are often expected to do more work.����� The letter also makes allegations ���that there exists a�����black-list��of members of the rugby fraternity whom our clients are not permitted to contact, interview or quote. These experts are predominantly black���.�����The��letter��goes��on to hold�����that there is a culture of victimization, public humiliation, abusive language, intimidation and other inappropriate behavior by some senior employees��� Our client���s fear the repercussions of their collective actions, as��they have been previously threatened that their contracts would be summarily terminated or not renewed.”
In this context one appreciates why��Willemse���s��view of the review process was that��it��functioned�����to administer a balm [of some sort] to injuries inflicted upon Mr��Willemse���s��rights to dignity and not to be discriminated against based on the color of his skin.�����It is really SuperSport that should be in the dock.
Willemse��takes his case to the Equality Court. I, for one, cannot wait to see Naas Botha being cross-examined and��Mallett��vainly��trying to correct his English.��Will��SuperSport��screen it live and will a Black person be at the touch-screen?
Black skin, white ally
Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul at the 6th Anniversary of Founding of Communist China in Beijing. Image credit Liu Dong'ao via Wikimedia Commons.
Few European intellectuals concerned themselves with the dissolution of the imperial projects across the Global South in the mid-20th��century; even fewer advocated outright for the independence of European-held African and Asian colonies. Jean-Paul Sartre was perhaps the most influential member of this latter group��and began writing on anticolonial resistance in the late 1940s. Several years after the outbreak of the Algerian War of Independence in 1954, he became a vocal proponent of the Front de��Lib��ration��Nationale��(FLN), the Algerian nationalist group that waged armed struggle for��liberation. Sartre famously condemned the French military���s widespread, systemic use of torture on FLN members and Algerian civilians,��and��backed unconditional independence for the colony. After Algeria���s victory in 1962, Sartre remained steadfast in his anticolonial activism: he would write on topics such as the Cuban Revolution,��US intervention in Vietnam��and unjust French immigration policies.
I���ve long been fascinated by his relationship with��psychiatrist and FLN revolutionary Frantz Fanon. Despite Sartre���s fervent support for the anticolonial cause, there are moments captured in interactions with Fanon that illuminate an amusing disconnect: to me, they���re reminiscent of the archetypal, all-too-enthusiastic white supporter who can never��quite��get it right. A short overview of their relationship��is��worth examining, both to humanize these intellectuals and demonstrate the ubiquity and timelessness of the�����Misguided Ally.���
We begin in 1948: Sartre authors ���Black Orpheus,��� an essay on the��N��gritude��movement and its role in the global struggle for decolonization and freedom.��N��gritude��was a Francophone cultural movement aimed at reconciling, redefining, and reclaiming black identity in a colonial world.��It originated in Paris, and primarily featured writers and artists from West Africa and the Caribbean.
Sartre imagines��N��gritude��as an empowering force for the colonized African, a necessary vehicle to ���[draw] himself erect and proudly [proclaim] himself a black man, face to face with white men,��� in preparation for a coming universal revolution. Several currents of��N��gritude��existed, and in this essay, Sartre engages with L��opold Senghor, who praised African existence and epistemology as essentially more in line with the rhythms of nature. The result reads comically peculiar: at one point, he refers to the black peasant as ���the great male of the earth, the world���s sperm,��� whose purpose is ���to till, to plant, to eat��� to make love with nature.��� At another instance, he asserts full-on African essentialism when he describes the ���essence of blackness in the well of [the black man���s] heart.���
Still, ���Black Orpheus��� is an important intervention in Africana philosophy, and more broadly, non-western thought: according to Robert Young, Sartre ���recognized the complexity of African epistemological roots,��� and his engagement with��N��gritude��affirmed his belief that ���the pursuit of political liberation had been accompanied by the��development of new forms of knowledge, a counter-modernity set against that of the West.��� And furthermore, in context of��N��gritude��poetry (especially Senghor���s work), these sentiments are not as jarring as they may appear to a contemporary audience.
Yet��the essay drew criticism from Fanon, who challenged Sartre���s analysis of��N��gritude��in his first book,��Black Skin, White Masks.
The essentialist current of��N��gritude, and Sartre���s embrace of it, proved to be easy fodder for Fanon���in short, reinforced the dangerous colonial binaries that kept Africans subjugated and because it left these ideological structures intact, could not provide a path to liberation. But the more egregious offense was Sartre���s treatment of��N��gritude: to reduce it to a mere instrumental step in the revolutionary process���a ���temper tantrum,��� according to��Reiland��Rabaka���represents a fundamental misunderstanding of Black agency. To collapse this formulation of Black identity, however misguided and ineffectual it may be, into a colorblind universalism is to, in the words of Lewis Gordon, facilitate ���the death of blackness through eventual absorption into the light of whiteness.��� In this universalism, Fanon explains a phenomenological oversight in ���Black Orpheus,��� writing that Sartre ���forgets that the black man suffers in this body quite differently from the white man. Fanon���s relationship with��N��gritude��was complicated, perhaps even contradictory in some moments. In instances such as these, he appeared somewhat protective of it but,��by and large, he remained critical of the movement throughout his career, as he believed the passive recognition of an essential��Africanity��would not free colonized subjects. Liberation would only be achieved through revolutionary action.
This criticism of Sartre is not to understate his contributions to Fanon���s thought: Sartre played a significant role in Fanon���s diagnosis of colonial racism, as he drew heavily on��Sartre���s account of the anti-Semite and the Jew in his presentation of the colonizer and the colonized. In fact, Fanon greatly admired Sartre, and finally had the opportunity to meet him and Simone de Beauvoir in 1960. Reports of their meeting, which took place in Rome, depict an amusing scene. David Macey sketches it out: ���Fanon also had some difficulty in accepting the lifestyle of Sartre and Beauvoir, whose passionate discussions of the Cuban and Algerian revolutions did not interrupt their round of visits to��favorite��caf��s and restaurants. Taking Fanon to a trattoria on the Via��Appia��proved to be a mistake. He had absolutely no interest in Europe���s past or in Roman ruins, and literally could not understand what they were doing there.��� Still, Fanon relished the time they spent together, stating that he would ���give 20,000 francs to be able to talk to Sartre from morning to night for a fortnight.���
Sartre provided a preface for Fanon���s magnum opus,��Wretched of the Earth, which was published shortly before Fanon would succumb to leukemia in December of 1961.��Wretched��drew devotees across Africa, Asia, and South America across the 1960s-1970s: its release, together with the FLN���s victory in Algeria and Fanon���s untimely death, exalted the West Indian psychiatrist to the pantheon of Third World luminaries. Stuart Hall observed that the book was the ���Bible for decolonization,��� and the myth of Fanon and his revolutionary work��proliferates in the present day.
Sartre���s preface, however, continues to haunt the legacy of Fanon���s thought. While it brought great attention to��Wretched, it distorted and exaggerated the role of violence in Fanon���s project. Hannah Arendt, who served as a major interlocutor of Fanon���s thought to the American academy, targets��Wretched��in her 1970 treatise,��On Violence.��Homi��Bhaba��writes on Arendt���s relationship with Fanon, and Sartre���s preface: ���Hannah Arendt’s assault on [Wretched of the Earth] in the late sixties was an attempt at staunching the wildfire it spread across university campuses, while she readily acknowledged that it was really Sartre’s preface that glorified violence beyond Fanon’s words or wishes. Sartre fanned the flames ���We have certainly sown the wind; they are the whirlwind. Sons of violence, at every instant they draw their humanity from it.������
Even today, Fanon���s corpus, consisting of thousands of pages written on a vast range of subjects (including psychiatry, politics, sociology, theater��and literary analysis), is frequently collapsed into his now infamous prescription of revolutionary violence. This cannot be disassociated with Sartre���s contribution to��Wretched: in a sense, Sartre delivered Fanon to the��western world, and in doing so, colored Fanon���s intervention as exclusively a provocative meditation on violence.
There���s no doubt that Sartre aided the fight for decolonization, going far beyond his peers in advocating on behalf of the colonized, subjugated��and wretched of the earth: V. Y.��Mudimbe��goes as far as to call Sartre an ���African Philosopher��� for all his contributions to the struggle. In a time when non-white thinkers required an endorsement from a gatekeeper��in order to��be taken seriously (has that time truly passed?), Sartre���s preface lent Fanon���s oeuvre credibility and enabled its dissemination across the��western world.
What does��allyship��look like today?��In��its popular usage in left-activist circles,��it primarily��comprises��the��performative, self-congratulatory, curated, and largely commodified��gestures��of actors who ostensibly hope to��uplift��marginalized communities. With��allyship��comes a certain social currency, which at��a given moment,��may happen��to be in vogue��(consider the infamous ���safety pin�����as a prototypical example of��allyship��in this sense)���its usage��in such circles��usually engenders some degree of��repulsion.
Typically, those who would self-identify as��allies��to racial justice would push for more��diverse representation on corporate boards, in lieu of any meaningful restructuring of Black political economy. They would��protest the construction of a border wall with Mexico, while turning a blind eye to��the��unlawful detention of immigrants��that has been carried out for decades. They protest the over-policing of Black communities, but don���t challenge the very premises of a carceral system that cages millions��of people��every day.
In his preface of��Wretched,��Sartre��writes,�����Stuffed with wealth, Europe granted humanity���de jure���to all its inhabitants: for us,��a man means an accomplice,��for we have���all���profited from colonial exploitation.�����Proper��allyship��necessitates the��recognition and ownership��of��these inconvenient��realities. Then,��it requires a��commitment��to a course of action beyond the milquetoast, and past the conciliatory:��it must seek��the annihilation of these structures.
For��all of��his shortcomings��and bumbling mishaps, Sartre��indisputably��claimed��this��colonial��truth, and��remained��genuinely committed to upending the power structures that��oppressed, pillaged��and plundered��peoples��across the Global South���his relationship with Fanon��provides��a fascinating case study of the contours of��allyship��and,��furthermore,��a model to��salvage��allyship��from its present, denigrated condition.
August 9, 2018
The US and France backs Cameroon’s reign of terror
US military training BIR in Cameroon in 2013. Image credit Air Force Master Sgt. Larry W. Carpenter Jr. via Wikimedia Commons.
In mid-July 2018��a short video of an ad hoc execution in northern Cameroon of two young women and their children���one��clasping the mother���s hand, the other wrapped securely on the mother���s back���circulated on social media sites. Armed��soldiers in military fatigues escorted the two women and their children to their roadside death, taunting and striking them as they stumbled along. ���Lift up your calabash so that we can see your face. You, B[oko] H[aram], you are going to die.��� As they blindfolded the women and made them kneel, one soldier said softly, ���Little one,��this hurts, but you know what your parents did.��� Stepping back, the soldiers took aim and fired��29��shots into the backs of their four victims. The bodies fell lifeless and silent. ���This one is still living,��� stated one of the soldiers before shooting more rounds into the limp body of the little girl.
Following the video���s circulation on Facebook and Twitter,��Amnesty International issued a press release authenticating it. Cameroon���s officialdom, with its singular focus on maintaining power since��1982, quickly refuted Amnesty���s report, calling the video a ���fake.��� But using a crowdsourcing approach and Google Earth mapping, a frame by frame analysis revealed the��Mandara��Mountains region of northern Cameroon to be the location of the crime��and estimated that it likely took place around December 2014. The perpetrators are now reported to have been arrested although it is not known where they are held or what, if any, disciplinary sanctions they will face. A Commission of Enquiry���in Cameroon, the phrase a euphemism for an official cover-up���is apparently forming.
The video from northern Cameroon provides shocking visual evidence of Cameroonian security forces��� abuse and torture of civilian populations in the Lake Chad basin region where Boko Haram operates. It forces viewers to bear witness to the everyday crimes committed with impunity by state forces in the name of fighting terrorism. Several days after authenticating the viral video,��Amnesty International released a report��revealing that the��Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) of Cameroon, with the assistance of the US military, routinely commits war crimes, including torture, has converted a primary school in��Fotokol��into a military base, making schoolchildren a military target, and has established unofficial detention sites for those alleged���with little or no evidence���to follow Boko Haram.
State actors throughout the Lake Chad basin��where Boko Haram recruits���Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger���have nourished the portrayal of the movement as an international jihadist terrorist��in nature,��akin to al-Qaeda,��as a way to benefit from international anti-terrorism assistance���spearheaded by the United States��and��by France���that shores up their tenuous hold on power. Under the cover of an��anti-terror law passed in December 2014, the��Biya��regime has unleashed the brutal exactions of BIR���assisted by��300��US troops on the ground, as well��as technical, material, logistical, and financial support. But Cameroon���s internationally recognized statehood must not prevent us from asking whether BIR represents the greater threat to the region���s civilian populations.
Boko Haram employs a three-pronged recruitment strategy in the Lake Chad region. The first, predominantly religious, is emphasized in the movement���s name��Jama���atu��Ahlis��Sunna��Lidda���awati��Wal-Jihad, which means people engaged in the propagation of the Prophet���s teachings and��jihad. The religious message put the movement on the radar of the so-called global war on terror only after Boko Haram, founded in Maiduguri, Nigeria in 2003, turned to violence in 2009��in retaliation��against the Nigerian police for assassinating the movement���s leader,��Muhamed��Yusuf. The second is framed in regional terms and harkens back to the precolonial intellectual and political greatness of the Sahelian empire of��Kanem-Borno��and its 19th��century��jihadic��renaissance in the Sokoto Caliphate. The third register, and arguably the most important for understanding Boko Haram���s ability to draw followers, appeals to people, including non-Muslim indigenous populations of the arid, mountainous terrain along the Nigeria-Cameroon border, whom the state���whether colonial or postcolonial���has ignored or dispossessed for generations. To young people in this category, whether Muslim or not, the message of recruitment that is most successful is Boko Haram���s promise to supplant the minimalist, failing or simply absent services of the��Cameroonian state with alternative forms of community organization. As a simple yet persistent example, in the distribution of mopeds to young unmarried men, Boko Haram plants a hope of livelihood���and therefore marriage, starting a family, building a life, becoming someone���where none existed before.
To be very clear, we are not apologists for Boko Haram, a destabilizing movement that threatens security, has caused deaths and kidnappings in the tens of thousands. There is no doubt that Boko Haram spreads terror throughout the Lake Chad Basin. However, we urge that Boko Haram���s radicalization, resistance, and ability to recruit both Muslim and non-Muslim adherents can only be understood when the atrocities it commits are juxtaposed with those committed by state forces in the region.
Researchers estimate that since then casualties have climbed to 33,000 in the northern Nigerian region alone. Half of these deaths are attributed to state security forces. In Cameroon, thousands of civilians suspected or accused���without evidence���of conniving with Boko Haram, are arrested and detained in inhuman and deadly conditions. The arrests have at times targeted entire groups���villages or settlements���rather than individuals. For example,��in��Kossa��in February 2015,��32��men were arrested after rumors spread that the village was supplying food to Boko Haram.
The slaughter of civilians by soldiers in uniform certainly generates resentment among��local residents��of the dry and mountainous border regions long forgotten by the states now dispatching armed troops with nothing to offer besides bullets. Is it��really surprising��that many have become increasingly attuned to Boko Haram���s message and join the movement as��a way to resist and protect themselves from state forces,��who seem to have free reign to terrorize, torture, kill and loot with impunity? Just days before the shocking video���s release, James Fahy, of the US Army Reserves, wrote��a piece for��Task and Purpose��insisting that the US advise and assist missions such as the one in Cameroon, can��strengthen ���a military that is used to abuse a local population,��� and thereby ���lay the groundwork for more violence that further destabilizes the country.���
A local and long historical perspective is essential to discerning the persistent resonance of Boko Haram and how it operates differently from other terrorist movements that have seized international headlines. A key objective of the��Boko Haram, Islamic Protest and National Security research network��of which we are a part is to bring historically and politically contextualized understandings of religion and ideology to bear on public policies promoting political stability and social justice throughout the Lake Chad Basin and beyond.
As important, for local historical perspective, is the comparison of BIR operations in the Boko Haram affected northern regions with BIR tactics in the��western anglophone��region of Cameroon where a secessionist movement has erupted into violence. Reports on��state forces��� operations in the anglophone western provinces, long reported in the anglophone Cameroonian press and digitally curated for over a decade by��Dibussi��Tande, have recently surfaced in international media. In anglophone Cameroon, BIR troops allegedly set fire to homes and neighborhoods, routinely torture as a mode of interrogation and summarily execute suspected supporters of��Ambazonia, the breakaway nation that, on��October��1, 2017��symbolically declared its independence from the Republic of Cameroon��after more than��20��years of seeking political and legal strategies to counter its progressive marginalization since decolonization.
Perhaps in the eyes of some their respective adherents,��Ambazonia���s��struggle for economic, political and linguistic autonomy has little in common with Boko Haram��more than 1,000km��away. Yet in the eyes of the Cameroonian state, they are equivalent. Both have resulted in state security force���s unbridled collective punishment of entire communities, displacing populations��from the north��and from��the southwest��on an increasing scale.
Days after viewers worldwide watched Cameroon���s BIR soldiers summarily execute a baby, a child and their mothers, Paul��Biya, now the second longest serving president in the entire world,��tweeted his intent to run for reelection��in October 2018. Before the announcement,��Biya��set his house in order. In early July, the Cameroonian president��announced the cancellation of the concurrent legislative and municipal elections. During an official visit to Nigeria in early July, Emmanuel Macron publicly declared France���s intent to support the cohesion and stability of the [Cameroonian] state and offered ���all my support to the government so that it can��stabilize the situation��� in a ���clear national context.���
With his hold on power shored up by��US financial and military support since the��US Africa��Leaders��Summit of 2014, the ongoing promise of France���s support, a contract for the exploitation of natural gas via the Anglophone port city of Limbe recently negotiated with the��British-based company New Age, and a co-opted opposition declaring themselves ���All together with Paul��Biya, comprehensive insurance for Cameroon, the reassuring man of certainty,�����Biya��can indeed rest assured of his eternal hold on power, perhaps fulfilling his 2004 promise to govern Cameroon,��even posthumously, for at least��20��more years. In the aftermath of the last presidential elections, critical theorist Achille��Mbembe��commented that, having perfected the formula of transforming power into power,��Paul��Biya��could govern from the grave. But how much state-sanctioned terror will it take to make��Biya���s��international allies���and particularly the US AFRICOM task force now undeniably strengthening a Cameroonian military that is used to abuse a local population���question��the legitimacy of��Biya���s��now 36-year-old state? When will the state itself be internationally recognized as Cameroon���s primary source of destabilization?
The US and France backed reign of terror in Cameroon
US military training BIR in Cameroon in 2013. Image credit Air Force Master Sgt. Larry W. Carpenter Jr. via Wikimedia Commons.
In mid-July 2018��a short video of an ad hoc execution in northern Cameroon of two young women and their children���one��clasping the mother���s hand, the other wrapped securely on the mother���s back���circulated on social media sites. Armed��soldiers in military fatigues escorted the two women and their children to their roadside death, taunting and striking them as they stumbled along. ���Lift up your calabash so that we can see your face. You, B[oko] H[aram], you are going to die.��� As they blindfolded the women and made them kneel, one soldier said softly, ���Little one,��this hurts, but you know what your parents did.��� Stepping back, the soldiers took aim and fired��29��shots into the backs of their four victims. The bodies fell lifeless and silent. ���This one is still living,��� stated one of the soldiers before shooting more rounds into the limp body of the little girl.
Following the video���s circulation on Facebook and Twitter,��Amnesty International issued a press release authenticating it. Cameroon���s officialdom, with its singular focus on maintaining power since��1982, quickly refuted Amnesty���s report, calling the video a ���fake.��� But using a crowdsourcing approach and Google Earth mapping, a frame by frame analysis revealed the��Mandara��Mountains region of northern Cameroon to be the location of the crime��and estimated that it likely took place around December 2014. The perpetrators are now reported to have been arrested although it is not known where they are held or what, if any, disciplinary sanctions they will face. A Commission of Enquiry���in Cameroon, the phrase a euphemism for an official cover-up���is apparently forming.
The video from northern Cameroon provides shocking visual evidence of Cameroonian security forces��� abuse and torture of civilian populations in the Lake Chad basin region where Boko Haram operates. It forces viewers to bear witness to the everyday crimes committed with impunity by state forces in the name of fighting terrorism. Several days after authenticating the viral video,��Amnesty International released a report��revealing that the��Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) of Cameroon, with the assistance of the US military, routinely commits war crimes, including torture, has converted a primary school in��Fotokol��into a military base, making schoolchildren a military target, and has established unofficial detention sites for those alleged���with little or no evidence���to follow Boko Haram.
State actors throughout the Lake Chad basin��where Boko Haram recruits���Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger���have nourished the portrayal of the movement as an international jihadist terrorist��in nature,��akin to al-Qaeda,��as a way to benefit from international anti-terrorism assistance���spearheaded by the United States��and��by France���that shores up their tenuous hold on power. Under the cover of an��anti-terror law passed in December 2014, the��Biya��regime has unleashed the brutal exactions of BIR���assisted by��300��US troops on the ground, as well��as technical, material, logistical, and financial support. But Cameroon���s internationally recognized statehood must not prevent us from asking whether BIR represents the greater threat to the region���s civilian populations.
Boko Haram employs a three-pronged recruitment strategy in the Lake Chad region. The first, predominantly religious, is emphasized in the movement���s name��Jama���atu��Ahlis��Sunna��Lidda���awati��Wal-Jihad, which means people engaged in the propagation of the Prophet���s teachings and��jihad. The religious message put the movement on the radar of the so-called global war on terror only after Boko Haram, founded in Maiduguri, Nigeria in 2003, turned to violence in 2009��in retaliation��against the Nigerian police for assassinating the movement���s leader,��Muhamed��Yusuf. The second is framed in regional terms and harkens back to the precolonial intellectual and political greatness of the Sahelian empire of��Kanem-Borno��and its 19th��century��jihadic��renaissance in the Sokoto Caliphate. The third register, and arguably the most important for understanding Boko Haram���s ability to draw followers, appeals to people, including non-Muslim indigenous populations of the arid, mountainous terrain along the Nigeria-Cameroon border, whom the state���whether colonial or postcolonial���has ignored or dispossessed for generations. To young people in this category, whether Muslim or not, the message of recruitment that is most successful is Boko Haram���s promise to supplant the minimalist, failing or simply absent services of the��Cameroonian state with alternative forms of community organization. As a simple yet persistent example, in the distribution of mopeds to young unmarried men, Boko Haram plants a hope of livelihood���and therefore marriage, starting a family, building a life, becoming someone���where none existed before.
To be very clear, we are not apologists for Boko Haram, a destabilizing movement that threatens security, has caused deaths and kidnappings in the tens of thousands. There is no doubt that Boko Haram spreads terror throughout the Lake Chad Basin. However, we urge that Boko Haram���s radicalization, resistance, and ability to recruit both Muslim and non-Muslim adherents can only be understood when the atrocities it commits are juxtaposed with those committed by state forces in the region.
Researchers estimate that since then casualties have climbed to 33,000 in the northern Nigerian region alone. Half of these deaths are attributed to state security forces. In Cameroon, thousands of civilians suspected or accused���without evidence���of conniving with Boko Haram, are arrested and detained in inhuman and deadly conditions. The arrests have at times targeted entire groups���villages or settlements���rather than individuals. For example,��in��Kossa��in February 2015,��32��men were arrested after rumors spread that the village was supplying food to Boko Haram.
The slaughter of civilians by soldiers in uniform certainly generates resentment among��local residents��of the dry and mountainous border regions long forgotten by the states now dispatching armed troops with nothing to offer besides bullets. Is it��really surprising��that many have become increasingly attuned to Boko Haram���s message and join the movement as��a way to resist and protect themselves from state forces,��who seem to have free reign to terrorize, torture, kill and loot with impunity? Just days before the shocking video���s release, James Fahy, of the US Army Reserves, wrote��a piece for��Task and Purpose��insisting that the US advise and assist missions such as the one in Cameroon, can��strengthen ���a military that is used to abuse a local population,��� and thereby ���lay the groundwork for more violence that further destabilizes the country.���
A local and long historical perspective is essential to discerning the persistent resonance of Boko Haram and how it operates differently from other terrorist movements that have seized international headlines. A key objective of the��Boko Haram, Islamic Protest and National Security research network��of which we are a part is to bring historically and politically contextualized understandings of religion and ideology to bear on public policies promoting political stability and social justice throughout the Lake Chad Basin and beyond.
As important, for local historical perspective, is the comparison of BIR operations in the Boko Haram affected northern regions with BIR tactics in the��western anglophone��region of Cameroon where a secessionist movement has erupted into violence. Reports on��state forces��� operations in the anglophone western provinces, long reported in the anglophone Cameroonian press and digitally curated for over a decade by��Dibussi��Tande, have recently surfaced in international media. In anglophone Cameroon, BIR troops allegedly set fire to homes and neighborhoods, routinely torture as a mode of interrogation and summarily execute suspected supporters of��Ambazonia, the breakaway nation that, on��October��1, 2017��symbolically declared its independence from the Republic of Cameroon��after more than��20��years of seeking political and legal strategies to counter its progressive marginalization since decolonization.
Perhaps in the eyes of some their respective adherents,��Ambazonia���s��struggle for economic, political and linguistic autonomy has little in common with Boko Haram��more than 1,000km��away. Yet in the eyes of the Cameroonian state, they are equivalent. Both have resulted in state security force���s unbridled collective punishment of entire communities, displacing populations��from the north��and from��the southwest��on an increasing scale.
Days after viewers worldwide watched Cameroon���s BIR soldiers summarily execute a baby, a child and their mothers, Paul��Biya, now the second longest serving president in the entire world,��tweeted his intent to run for reelection��in October 2018. Before the announcement,��Biya��set his house in order. In early July, the Cameroonian president��announced the cancellation of the concurrent legislative and municipal elections. During an official visit to Nigeria in early July, Emmanuel Macron publicly declared France���s intent to support the cohesion and stability of the [Cameroonian] state and offered ���all my support to the government so that it can��stabilize the situation��� in a ���clear national context.���
With his hold on power shored up by��US financial and military support since the��US Africa��Leaders��Summit of 2014, the ongoing promise of France���s support, a contract for the exploitation of natural gas via the Anglophone port city of Limbe recently negotiated with the��British-based company New Age, and a co-opted opposition declaring themselves ���All together with Paul��Biya, comprehensive insurance for Cameroon, the reassuring man of certainty,�����Biya��can indeed rest assured of his eternal hold on power, perhaps fulfilling his 2004 promise to govern Cameroon,��even posthumously, for at least��20��more years. In the aftermath of the last presidential elections, critical theorist Achille��Mbembe��commented that, having perfected the formula of transforming power into power,��Paul��Biya��could govern from the grave. But how much state-sanctioned terror will it take to make��Biya���s��international allies���and particularly the US AFRICOM task force now undeniably strengthening a Cameroonian military that is used to abuse a local population���question��the legitimacy of��Biya���s��now 36-year-old state? When will the state itself be internationally recognized as Cameroon���s primary source of destabilization?
August 8, 2018
Archiving Addis Ababa
This photo was taken in the 1950���s. Genet and Mulugeta (in the middle) dance at their wedding as Konjit Fanta and her brother Tesfaye (on the right) dance along. Image via Vintage Addis.
Photography��in Ethiopia��was��used as a tool first by��Emperor��Menelik��(reign:1889-1913).��Photos at the time showed��Ethiopians in triumphant poses, after the defeat of the Italians in��1896.��Photography being much more common during the��reign��of��Menelik���s��successor,��Haile Selassie (reign: 1930-1974), the focus was more on��the symbolic power of institutions.��Vintage Addis Ababa��(founded July 2017)��is a crowd-sourced visual archive that gathers old photos from��the��private collections��of��Ethiopians, mostly��living��in the��Ethiopian��capital Addis Ababa, but also��in the diaspora.��Most of the photos date between the 1940s and 1980s.��Each day they share one��photo on their website.��The website���s��aim is to preserve these fragile historical resources by telling the stories of everyday people from Addis Ababa���s history.
The project was inspired by��Dutch photographer��Andrea��Stultiens, particularly his work��preserving and publishing��Ugandan��photo archives.��Founded in July 2017, Vintage Addis��already��has an online following of more than 45,000 on Facebook��and has received��favorable coverage in media outside Ethiopia. A Kickstarter campaign was just completed to realize the printing of a photo book.
The founders of Vintage Addis Ababa are��Philipp��Sch��tz,��Wongel��Abebe��and��Nafkot��Gebeyehu. All three��live in Addis Ababa, where they met.��Sch��tz��studied at the School of Design in Zurich and moved to Ethiopia��six��years ago. Since then he has been working as a publisher, graphic designer and photographer.��Abebe��graduated from the Addis Ababa University School of Journalism and Communications in 2016. She currently works in communications and on various initiatives around youth empowerment. The��Youth Mag and��Young African��Think���rs��are two of the projects she has in engaged in.��Gebeyehu, also a graduate��of��Addis Ababa University School of Journalism and Communications, currently works in communications and��public relations. She is a co-founder and host of the weekly radio show��The Schmoo Show��on EBC radio in Addis Ababa.
Martha van der��Wolf spoke to the Vintage Addis Ababa collective:
Marthe Van der Wolf
Vintage Addis sheds light on the life of ordinary people who are usually overlooked in history books. How do the stories of���this archive relate to a younger generation?
Wongel Abebe
Most of��the photos we receive are very relatable. They show that people, for instance during Emperor��Selassie���s time��or during the��Derg��(the��military��dictatorship��1974–1991),��despite unfortunate circumstances, also chased their dreams, enjoyed each other���s company, fell in love, traveled and documented their lives in the process.��When discussing the��Derg��period in high school, it never really occurred to me that people were still leading normal lives��during that time;��because��all we would hear about are��the tragic stories of the time, we often forget that��normal��life still went on regardless.���
During the Emperor���s time, I would say that the main lesson��I learned��is about the unique Ethiopian identity and our pride in it.��It shows us there was a time��when Ethiopians didn���t want to leave their country for good,��as we often see now. Back then, people would study abroad and actually come back.
Mr Dereje submitted this photo. The meticulously retouched photograph shows a beautiful bride with her handsome groom. It is not clear when and where the young couple got married. Image via Vintage Addis.Marthe Van der Wolf
Where were most of the photos taken? And by who?
Wongel Abebe
Most of the photos we���ve received are studio portraits. From this, we���ve concluded that not many people, especially before the 1970���s, owned their own cameras. Unfortunately, a lot of the photos we���ve collected don���t have much information on them. The photos usually lack a name of the photographer or date. The photos that do have information on the back, usually have stamps of professional photo studios. Besides the studio portraits, many of the received photos are wedding pictures, mostly from the 1970���s.
Philipp Sch��tz
Quite often we hear people say things like ���Damn, they had fun like that in the 1970s?��� Or they comment on the elegance and fashion of the day. I think generally young people in many parts of the world feel a sense of nostalgia and envy by looking at how much class, confidence and fashion sense previous generations had. That���s why we keep digging in the past to find inspiration across all art forms.
Marthe Van der Wolf
Vintage Addis wants to show that lives of everyday people are worth remembering. What is the role of this archive when it comes to the question of identity?
Nafkot Gebeyehu
Vintage Addis Ababa is about bridging the generational gap in Ethiopia. It is about connecting today���s youth with the roots of their identity. By exploring the life of previous generations, we���re discovering our roots, our culture and ways of living. These are the things I believe make up one���s culture. Although times have changed, we see that some things stay constant. We can see this in the social cues, norms and values people hold. We can learn a lot about who we are now as a society by looking back at the past. While ���big events��� in history books are important, it doesn���t tell us how people experienced everyday life. With Vintage Addis Ababa we can provide a balance. Not by romanticizing or denying the past but by acknowledging that every generation had its high and low moments. Through the photos that we collect, we see a different perspective into the same history and learn different lessons. The story of��Aynalem and Genet��is a great example of this. They got married during the height of what became known as Red Terror in 1978, during General Mengisto���s dictatorship. Prior to that, Genet was in prison and Aynalem wasn���t allowed to visit her. Through their story, we see that love and relationships gave people strength to live on through very tough times. We learn how virtues like patience and commitment enable people to persist through hardships.
This photo was taken in the 1950���s. Genet and Mulugeta (in the middle) dance at their wedding as Konjit Fanta and her brother Tesfaye (on the right) dance along. Image via Vintage Addis.Wongel Abebe
Identity is very much related to the values people hold. For example, the Ethiopian identity is often said to be very communal and a lot of value is placed on people, on relationships. We see this back in our archive. One story is from Ato Yemane Gebre Amanuel. We have a photo that he took in his home during a celebration he threw for a friend after reconciling him with his wife. The Ethiopian identity is often said to be very communal, where people first and foremost care about people. Although we see the communal value decreasing in the city these days, it is an important value we ought to hold on to as Ethiopians���to value relationships.
Marthe Van der Wolf
What is the state of archiving in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa?
Wongel Abebe
Preservation of historical resources doesn���t seem to be a priority for the institutions we worked with so far. Many of the photos and antique objects we find are often damaged. There���s not much awareness about the importance of archiving or much know-how either. We���ve gone to the historical buildings in Addis Ababa, such as the two oldest hotels Taitu Hotel and Ras Hotel. We left heartbroken when they told us that they have no old photos in their storage. We found an amazing archive of photos at Addis Ababa University���s Yared School of Music and at the Hager Fikir Theatre. Unfortunately, there hasn���t been an attempt yet to digitize the photos. From these experiences, we can see that preservation isn���t really a priority for many institutions in Addis Ababa.We also see that preservation isn���t a priority because many “historical” buildings in our capital are being demolished.
Philipp Sch��tz
For example, we decided to scan the archives of two cultural institutions, a theatre and a music school. We were surprised to find we were the first ones to ever scan these important images, but also noticed how poorly they were kept. Working on this has been a good reminder that structuring and keeping visual content is important for future generations. Sadly, it has also made us wonder how many images got lost and damaged over the years.
Marthe Van der Wolf
Vintage Addis has collected thousands of photos so far, from the 1940s to the 1980s. Who contributes photos and how can other people contribute?
Wongel Abebe
We started with our families, close family friends and relatives, approaching them to contribute photos. Then we started going around old neighborhoods in Addis Ababa asking the elderly to share their photos with us. Some photos were collected from contacts, others we gathered at our pop-up exhibitions. We also collected photos from several institutions, hotels and photo studios. But the majority of our collection comes from our open calls on social media. Many people call us and come over to the office to drop off photos of themselves, their families and friends. If they live abroad, we have a scanning guide that we send them so they can scan accordingly and share with us. We are still open to receiving photos. If anyone is interested they can send us their contacts on our social media platforms or get in touch via email; send to submit@vintageaddis.com.
This photo was taken in 1976; Selewendem Kassahun holds his father���s gun on his second birthday. He almost shot himself when he accidentally fired the weapon. Ever since, this day is celebrated as the day he escaped death instead of the day he was born since then. Image via Vintage Addis.Marthe Van der Wolf
Were most of the photos taken by Ethiopians themselves of by foreign photographers who were visiting or working in Ethiopia?
Wongel Abebe
Local photographers, both professional and amateur, took the majority of the photos in our collection. We have photos taken by individuals who owned cameras but also many taken in photo studios.
Philipp Sch��tz
Foreign photographers have taken most of�� the photos that appear in books about the country. While such photos can have documentary value, they often lack intimacy. Vintage Addis Ababa is able to tell stories that are intimate and different because it collects photos from personal archive.
Marthe Van der Wolf
What are some of the challenges of archiving the photos?
Nafkot Gebeyehu
Building trust is the biggest challenge. Since these photos are very sentimental to their owners, getting them to trust us was challenging. We don���t just ask them to share the physical photo, but also the story or memory behind it and we then share it with a wider audience. Another challenge is the follow-ups. Sometimes people promise to provide us with photos but then disappear on us. We often have to balance between reminding them and stalking them. It gets tough at times if we run out of content to share because we are 100% dependent on people.
Marthe Van der Wolf
Vintage Addis Ababa receives funding from non-African partners such as the European Union, Alliance EthioFrancaise and the Embassy of Switzerland. What about support closer to home and from the diaspora?
Philipp Sch��tz
Our funding partners are non-African, but they are based in Addis Ababa and therefore understand the importance of our initiative. Approaching businesses has not been easy. We find that what we need to return would provide too much distraction from building the archive. We just completed a Kickstarter campaign where we have been able to get some support from Ethiopians in the diaspora and also adoptive parents.
Marthe Van der Wolf
Does the archive highlight leisure activities, such as sports?
Philipp Sch��tz
Our archive is restricted to what kind of photos people had made of themselves, took, and which they kept. Sports photography, street photography, nightlife, and generally more variety is something I would like to see more. But the photos are a reflection or summary of photographs that are found by people in Addis Ababa.
Archiving Addis
Mekonnen Teshome and Almaz Gobeze���s wedding in the 1970���s. Image via Vintage Addis.
Photography��in Ethiopia��was��used as a tool first by��Emperor��Menelik��(reign:1889-1913).��Photos at the time showed��Ethiopians in triumphant poses, after the defeat of the Italians in��1896.��Photography being much more common during the��reign��of��Menelik���s��successor,��Haile Selassie (reign: 1930-1974), the focus was more on��the symbolic power of institutions.��Vintage Addis Ababa��(founded July 2017)��is a crowd-sourced visual archive that gathers old photos from��the��private collections��of��Ethiopians, mostly��living��in the��Ethiopian��capital Addis Ababa, but also��in the diaspora.��Most of the photos date between the 1940s and 1980s.��Each day they share one��photo on their website.��The website���s��aim is to preserve these fragile historical resources by telling the stories of everyday people from Addis Ababa���s history.
The project was inspired by��Dutch photographer��Andrea��Stultiens, particularly his work��preserving and publishing��Ugandan��photo archives.��Founded in July 2017, Vintage Addis��already��has an online following of more than 45,000 on Facebook��and has received��favorable coverage in media outside Ethiopia. A Kickstarter campaign was just completed to realize the printing of a photo book.
The founders of Vintage Addis Ababa are��Philipp��Sch��tz,��Wongel��Abebe��and��Nafkot��Gebeyehu. All three��live in Addis Ababa, where they met.��Sch��tz��studied at the School of Design in Zurich and moved to Ethiopia��six��years ago. Since then he has been working as a publisher, graphic designer and photographer.��Abebe��graduated from the Addis Ababa University School of Journalism and Communications in 2016. She currently works in communications and on various initiatives around youth empowerment. The��Youth Mag and��Young African��Think���rs��are two of the projects she has in engaged in.��Gebeyehu, also a graduate��of��Addis Ababa University School of Journalism and Communications, currently works in communications and��public relations. She is a co-founder and host of the weekly radio show��The Schmoo Show��on EBC radio in Addis Ababa.
Martha van der��Wolf spoke to the Vintage Addis Ababa collective:
Marthe Van der Wolf
Vintage Addis sheds light on the life of ordinary people who are usually overlooked in history books. How do the stories of���this archive relate to a younger generation?
Wongel Abebe
Most of��the photos we receive are very relatable. They show that people, for instance during Emperor��Selassie���s time��or during the��Derg��(the��military��dictatorship��1974–1991),��despite unfortunate circumstances, also chased their dreams, enjoyed each other���s company, fell in love, traveled and documented their lives in the process.��When discussing the��Derg��period in high school, it never really occurred to me that people were still leading normal lives��during that time;��because��all we would hear about are��the tragic stories of the time, we often forget that��normal��life still went on regardless.���
During the Emperor���s time, I would say that the main lesson��I learned��is about the unique Ethiopian identity and our pride in it.��It shows us there was a time��when Ethiopians didn���t want to leave their country for good,��as we often see now. Back then, people would study abroad and actually come back.
Marthe Van der Wolf
Where were most of the photos taken? And by who?
Wongel Abebe
Most of the photos we���ve received are studio portraits. From this, we���ve concluded that not many people, especially before the 1970���s, owned their own cameras. Unfortunately, a lot of the photos we���ve collected don���t have much information on them. The photos usually lack a name of the photographer or date. The photos that do have information on the back, usually have stamps of professional photo studios. Besides the studio portraits, many of the received photos are wedding pictures, mostly from the 1970���s.
Philipp Sch��tz
Quite often we hear people say things like ���Damn, they had fun like that in the 1970s?��� Or they comment on the elegance and fashion of the day. I think generally young people in many parts of the world feel a sense of nostalgia and envy by looking at how much class, confidence and fashion sense previous generations had. That���s why we keep digging in the past to find inspiration across all art forms.
Marthe Van der Wolf
Vintage Addis wants to show that lives of everyday people are worth remembering. What is the role of this archive when it comes to the question of identity?
Nafkot Gebeyehu
Vintage Addis Ababa is about bridging the generational gap in Ethiopia. It is about connecting today���s youth with the roots of their identity. By exploring the life of previous generations, we���re discovering our roots, our culture and ways of living. These are the things I believe make up one���s culture. Although times have changed, we see that some things stay constant. We can see this in the social cues, norms and values people hold. We can learn a lot about who we are now as a society by looking back at the past. While ���big events��� in history books are important, it doesn���t tell us how people experienced everyday life. With Vintage Addis Ababa we can provide a balance. Not by romanticizing or denying the past but by acknowledging that every generation had its high and low moments. Through the photos that we collect, we see a different perspective into the same history and learn different lessons. The story of��Aynalem and Genet��is a great example of this. They got married during the height of what became known as Red Terror in 1978, during General Mengisto���s dictatorship. Prior to that, Genet was in prison and Aynalem wasn���t allowed to visit her. Through their story, we see that love and relationships gave people strength to live on through very tough times. We learn how virtues like patience and commitment enable people to persist through hardships.
Wongel Abebe
Identity is very much related to the values people hold. For example, the Ethiopian identity is often said to be very communal and a lot of value is placed on people, on relationships. We see this back in our archive. One story is from Ato Yemane Gebre Amanuel. We have a photo that he took in his home during a celebration he threw for a friend after reconciling him with his wife. The Ethiopian identity is often said to be very communal, where people first and foremost care about people. Although we see the communal value decreasing in the city these days, it is an important value we ought to hold on to as Ethiopians���to value relationships.
Marthe Van der Wolf
What is the state of archiving in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa?
Wongel Abebe
Preservation of historical resources doesn���t seem to be a priority for the institutions we worked with so far. Many of the photos and antique objects we find are often damaged. There���s not much awareness about the importance of archiving or much know-how either. We���ve gone to the historical buildings in Addis Ababa, such as the two oldest hotels Taitu Hotel and Ras Hotel. We left heartbroken when they told us that they have no old photos in their storage. We found an amazing archive of photos at Addis Ababa University���s Yared School of Music and at the Hager Fikir Theatre. Unfortunately, there hasn���t been an attempt yet to digitize the photos. From these experiences, we can see that preservation isn���t really a priority for many institutions in Addis Ababa.We also see that preservation isn���t a priority because many “historical” buildings in our capital are being demolished.
Philipp Sch��tz
For example, we decided to scan the archives of two cultural institutions, a theatre and a music school. We were surprised to find we were the first ones to ever scan these important images, but also noticed how poorly they were kept. Working on this has been a good reminder that structuring and keeping visual content is important for future generations. Sadly, it has also made us wonder how many images got lost and damaged over the years.
Marthe Van der Wolf
Vintage Addis has collected thousands of photos so far, from the 1940s to the 1980s. Who contributes photos and how can other people contribute?
Wongel Abebe
We started with our families, close family friends and relatives, approaching them to contribute photos. Then we started going around old neighborhoods in Addis Ababa asking the elderly to share their photos with us. Some photos were collected from contacts, others we gathered at our pop-up exhibitions. We also collected photos from several institutions, hotels and photo studios. But the majority of our collection comes from our open calls on social media. Many people call us and come over to the office to drop off photos of themselves, their families and friends. If they live abroad, we have a scanning guide that we send them so they can scan accordingly and share with us. We are still open to receiving photos. If anyone is interested they can send us their contacts on our social media platforms or get in touch via email; send to submit@vintageaddis.com.
Marthe Van der Wolf
Were most of the photos taken by Ethiopians themselves of by foreign photographers who were visiting or working in Ethiopia?
Wongel Abebe
Local photographers, both professional and amateur, took the majority of the photos in our collection. We have photos taken by individuals who owned cameras but also many taken in photo studios.
Philipp Sch��tz
Foreign photographers have taken most of�� the photos that appear in books about the country. While such photos can have documentary value, they often lack intimacy. Vintage Addis Ababa is able to tell stories that are intimate and different because it collects photos from personal archive.
Marthe Van der Wolf
What are some of the challenges of archiving the photos?
Nafkot Gebeyehu
Building trust is the biggest challenge. Since these photos are very sentimental to their owners, getting them to trust us was challenging. We don���t just ask them to share the physical photo, but also the story or memory behind it and we then share it with a wider audience. Another challenge is the follow-ups. Sometimes people promise to provide us with photos but then disappear on us. We often have to balance between reminding them and stalking them. It gets tough at times if we run out of content to share because we are 100% dependent on people.
Marthe Van der Wolf
Vintage Addis Ababa receives funding from non-African partners such as the European Union, Alliance EthioFrancaise and the Embassy of Switzerland. What about support closer to home and from the diaspora?
Philipp Sch��tz
Our funding partners are non-African, but they are based in Addis Ababa and therefore understand the importance of our initiative. Approaching businesses has not been easy. We find that what we need to return would provide too much distraction from building the archive. We just completed a Kickstarter campaign where we have been able to get some support from Ethiopians in the diaspora and also adoptive parents.
Marthe Van der Wolf
Does the archive highlight leisure activities, such as sports?
Philipp Sch��tz
Our archive is restricted to what kind of photos people had made of themselves, took, and which they kept. Sports photography, street photography, nightlife, and generally more variety is something I would like to see more. But the photos are a reflection or summary of photographs that are found by people in Addis Ababa.
August 7, 2018
Why governance will go from bad to worse in Zimbabwe
President Ramaphosa of South Africa and Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe at the 10th BRICS summit in 2018. Image credit the Government of South Africa via Flickr.
���We have removed Mugabe but not Mugabe-ism.���
���Nelson��Chamisa,��Leader:��MDC��Alliance
Nine��months ago, I penned a��commentary piece��on the uncertain future of transitional justice��in Zimbabwe��following the so-called ���bloodless coup��� that removed��from power��president Robert Mugabe��after 37 years��and installed as interim president��Emmerson��Mnangagwa.��Mnangagwa��claimed ���the beginning of a new and unfolding democracy,��� inviting many to speculate about��whether governance in Zimbabwe would improve.��There was��some��optimism, both in��Zimbabwe��and��abroad. However,��it��proved mostly��misguided��and��premature, given regime elites��� aversion to transitional justice.��In countries like Zimbabwe,��failing to account for the past��and��guarantee��non-repetition of abuses��makes��democratization��exceedingly unlikely.��And,��Mnangagwa���s��and��his��collaborators�����actions��over the past��nine��months��suggest as much.
Transitional justice can be broadly defined as justice adapted to societies in transition from profound and sustained political violence.��Accounting for political violence, and establishing a historical record from which political actors cannot deviate, has��tremendous consequences for national politics,��such as which political parties perform well, whether violence recurs, and to what degree human rights are respected and the rule of law is maintained.��Transitional justice��has four main pillars���truth, justice, reparations��and institutional reforms���which collectively help create a foundation for��democracy, human rights��and the rule of law.
In��my��previous��article, I��identified��perhaps the most consequential��failed attempt��at��transitional justice��in��Zimbabwe in��the mid-1980s��and��that��forewarns��that there��will��not be substantial improvements to governance��without some degree of accountability��for��violence ordered and executed by Mugabe,��Mnangagwa��and company.��In 1983, a��truth commission��was established to account for��Gukurahundi, a repressive campaign which resulted in the killing of an estimated 20,000 people in Ndebele-majority Matabeleland.��Mnangagwa��claims he was not directly involved,��despite being��minister��of��state��security��and head of Zimbabwe���s Central��Intelligence Organization��(CIO)��at the time, and despite��himself��promising to kill the so-called ���dissidents��� and destroy their organizational infrastructure��(The Chronicle, April 5, 1983). These contradictory narratives are made possible in part because the truth��commission���s report was never released.��Contradictory��narratives��obstruct a��public acknowledgement of harm,��reparations for victims��� families, criminal accountability��for perpetrators,��and��institutional reforms���the last of which��may��be most consequential for Zimbabwe��at this point in its history.
Institutional reforms��can help advance democracy��following��authoritarian government.��Three kinds of reforms are especially important: legal reforms, personnel reforms��and electoral reforms.��Legal reforms��may��include��changes to��a country���s Constitution,��such as��reshaping��and constraining��the powers, privileges��and immunities��of the executive.��Personnel reforms��can involve removing from office persons who have directed, participated, or been complicit in human rights��violations��and other��abuses.��Electoral��reforms��may involve��installing term limits,��creating an independent electoral commission��and using monitors.��However,��none of these reforms are likely to be delivered because they��would��threaten those currently in power.
First, in terms of the law, the Zimbabwean Constitution provides for��presidential immunity��from civil and criminal proceedings, which the military honored for both the former president and��first lady.��Mnangagwa��is counting on��immunity from prosecution��should��he��ever find himself in the Mugabe���s��position.��Second, with��respect to personnel, there is a long and established record of regime insiders enjoying��both de jure and��de facto��amnesty, a practice that��is being applied��to��coup leaders��and��which��bolsters��the dominance of��ZANU-PF��and the��power��of the military.��Third, regarding��elections,��domestic and international audiences��have come to expect sham elections that are swiftly followed by acts of violence,��and intimidation��of��opposition��leaders��and��their��supporters.��The��July 30��elections��were��no exception.
Despite the presence of��international��election observers��and a captive global audience,��the first post-Mugabe elections��failed��to be��credible, free��and fair, and do not reflect the��general��will of the people.��Though��Mnangagwa��has been��declared��the winner, the MDC Alliance opposition party��claims��foul-play and that��its candidate,��Nelson��Chamisa,��is the real winner.��Disturbingly, the elections have been��marred by violence��directed at leaders, members, and supporters of the MDC Alliance. Scenes of��tear gas, live ammunition, and bloody corpses��in the streets of Harare hearken back to��previous episodes��of political violence designed to maintain regime and party power.��Activist groups��have documented��arrests,��abductions and beatings, as well as��harassment, including��raids onto private property.��With��many in the opposition��now��forced into hiding, politicians��and commentators warn that��repression has��gone���and will��continue to��go���from bad to worse��under��Mnangagwa, making prospects for democracy, human rights��and��the rule of law��dimmer��than ever.
The events of the past year, and especially the last week, reveal that��the��Mnangagwa��administration will extend, if not intensify,��kleptocracy, corruption��and repression��as practiced during the Mugabe administration.��A��lack of truth, justice, reparations��and��especially��institutional reforms typified the Mugabe regime, made possible��the rise of��Mnangagwa,��and��will continue to strengthen his and collaborators��� grip on power.
August 6, 2018
A tribute to Ron Dellums, radical
Ron Dellums. Image credit Thomas Hawk via Flickr.
The American congressman,��Ronald��Vernie��(Ron) Dellums,��who represented Oakland, California in the US Congress��(1971-1998),��has passed. As loving��tributes��pour in, many��praise��his long-standing commitment to��and leadership��in��the��global��struggle against��Apartheid.��Others��highlight his decades-long activism on behalf of civil rights and as a leader��of��the Congressional Black Caucus. Today, people might look at Dellums, with his coifed afro, and wonder where black��leaders��like��him��are��now.��But to��truly��understand Dellums��� radicalism,��one must appreciate��his��family���s commitment to both��unions��and racial equality.
Crucially, his father,��Vernie,��was an Oakland longshoreman and��proud member of Local 10, the��San Francisco��Bay Area branch��of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU).��The��ILWU��was��perhaps the��country���s��most powerful��left-wing union.��The West Coast dockworkers were led��by��Harry Bridges,��an Australian immigrant,��hated by conservatives and Cold War liberals because of his commitment to working-class power, unionism, racial equality��and socialism.
His uncle, C.L. Dellums, was the most important black unionist, indeed��the��most influential civil rights leader, in California in the��mid 1900s.��He led the West Coast��locals��of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. This union��was��co-founded by A. Philip Randolph, probably the most important black unionist in American history. It was Randolph���s idea to ���March on Washington��� at which Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his most famous speech.��That��1963 rally, don���t forget,��was�����for jobs and freedom.���
In a country like the United States,��founded��upon��and still committed to racial capitalism, one always must��fight��two monsters:��racism and capitalism. Indeed, the monstrous Hydra has many heads��including��sexism, homophobia, xenophobia��and imperialism, as well.��Dellums understood these matters because he was raised by a longshoreman and railroad porter, each of whom belonged to powerful, anti-racist unions.
When elected to Congress in 1970,��Dellums became��its most radical member. (It is worth noting that, today,��Representative��Barbara Lee,��who followed Dellums��as US representative for Oakland-Berkeley, likely��holds��that title��now.) He immediately joined the newly formed Congressional Black Caucus, which advocates��for African-American issues in Congress. Shortly thereafter,��he co-sponsored a bill��(with John Conyers of Detroit)��to sanction South Africa for its heinous treatment of its black majority; the racist system known as��Apartheid���fascist as well as white supremacist���increasingly��drew��the attention of the world for its odiousness.
In his��autobiography,��Lying Down with the Lions: A Public Life from the Streets of Oakland to the Halls of Power,��Dellums��wrote that it was radical black workers from the Polaroid Corporation��who��helped convince him to��fight��Apartheid. They hated that Polaroid cameras were used by the��Apartheid regime��in the production of the��notorious pass books that tightly restricted black freedom of movement.
In the��1970s,��black and white left��radicals in his father���s union, ILWU Local 10, formed the first rank-and-file anti-Apartheid committee��of��any US union.��The Southern African Liberation Support Committee organized Local 10 and other ILWU members,��starting in 1976, shortly after the Soweto uprising galvanized the struggle inside South Africa and worldwide.��This committee was led by the African-American communist Leo Robinson,��with key support from an anti-imperialist New Left white��man, Larry Wright.
In October 1984, the��Southern African Liberation Support Committee, along with support from a Trotskyist caucus,��gained��the unanimous support of Local 10 members to boycott��Apartheid cargo. The following month, just weeks after President Ronald Reagan���s landslide re-election, longshoremen refused to touch the South African cargo that��had arrived aboard��a��Dutch ship.��For the next eleven days, thousands of Bay Area residents, including Angela Davis, rallied in��solidarity with the dockworkers at San Francisco Pier 80.
The same week, in Washington, DC,��Dellums��became��one of the first protesters arrested for sitting-in at the South African embassy.��His��arrest was part of the strategy of the newly-created Free South Africa Movement.��Dellums understood that organizing demanded��foot soldiers as well as policy proposals��and��he engaged in both.��He marched (and got arrested) for challenging��Apartheid in South Africa and South African-controlled Southwest Africa (now Namibia). He also built��a coalition in Congress that��passed a bill��to��sanction��South Africa��and divest from it, meaning that the United States would not engage in trade until��Apartheid ended.
Of course, Reagan vetoed the bill. However, in a stunning rebuke, a bipartisan group��overrode Reagan���s veto.��United��States��sanctions, along with similar efforts in countries worldwide,��gave support for��the United Democratic Front, the��social movement��inside South Africa. In 1990, Nelson Mandela was freed from prison after 27 years, as were other political prisoners, and��many organizations, including the African National Congress, were unbanned.
In 1990,��Dellums��flew to Lusaka, Zambia to meet Mandela and other��ANC��leaders. That was when he achieved��the��dream of many in��the��African diaspora,��particularly��his mother. He also��visited South��Africa.��That same year, Mandela��first visited��the United States��on��a ten-day tour to cities that had��participated��in the black freedom struggle.��His last stop was Oakland, where��he spoke to 60,000 adoring people.��Dellums��hosted the rally.��When��Mandela��came��to the stage, 10%��of his speech was devoted to thanking the longshoremen for their��efforts. Dellums, the son of a��Local 10 member, must have��nodded knowingly.
Dellums was a black radical alright. But he also was��a��socialist,��though he had mellowed over the years.��He always understood���and centered���the struggle of working people, especially the African-American, Asian-American, and Latino members of his district in Oakland and Berkeley.
Ron Dellums��fought the good fight. He appreciated��the struggle against racism is permanently joined with those against sexism, militarism, and capitalism. He was intersectional before intersectionality was a thing.��Presente!
August 2, 2018
The Nigerian way
Screen shot from Kasala.
There is no doubt for any viewer who sees��Kasala��that the debut by Nigeria���s��Ema��Edosio��is��one hundred percent Nigerian fare. It reeks in the film’s dialogue���a mash of colloquialisms��and local dialects���in the vividness of the actors’��eyes as they throw lines at each other,��and in a few things to be explored further��on in this piece.��Unwittingly, the film��doubles as a quasi-documentary on the Nigerian condition. The plot which is easy enough, follows��titular character TJ, who “borrows” his��guardian’s��car, with the intention of having a few hours of fun and returning��it before the man returns. Sadly, or rather comically many things go awry.��To think that the entire film plot could be resolved in a matter of minutes, had TJ and his three friends��happened upon a small��amount of money is the film���s true plug to the pain and irony that many Nigerians can tap into, and to a larger extent��anyone who has ever felt any kind of poverty.
The film is held by a good ensemble. TJ and his trio make a convincing case for friendship.��They fight, they rally when the times��are��hard,��they��take digs at each other and interact with absolute honesty.��The performances could be described as��a��thesis in the��Nollywood��tendency to overact.��The actor��Gregory��Ojefua��calls it ���not as much overacting as a basic expressive Nigerian way.��� Nigerians are naturally��performative��people, which is why so much��drama��seeps into the acting culture.��However,��there is a difference between skilled overacting, and just��overacting (see Jennifer Lewis��in almost anything��and/or��Tiffany��Haddish��in Girls Trip). In��Kasala, for the most part, the��vividness��of the performances is in perfect complement with the film���s visual tone.
Kasala��is shot in a Lagos familiar to photographers and documentary makers, but��often��missing from��many of the recent Nigerian theatre releases. In the bid to ���tell our stories��� and achieve global footing, there is a tendency��in��many��Nollywood��releases to package the country in a manner only mildly befitting of many Nigerians realities���a��Nigeria of fancy apartments and constant electricity and almost zero traffic,��which��is a fraction of Nigeria, but ultimately misrepresentative of��how the larger��population lives.��Kasala��is shot��not as exotic poverty porn,��but as integrated into the lives of the characters. The result is a visual spectacle which truly utilizes the artistic merits:��the shanties the characters duck through, the open markets, the refuse��dumps, the roadside food service, the��plastic, the betting points, the colors and madness of it all,��provide��excellent visual play.
Of��note are the ways the story revolves��as much around the central characters as the environment they find themselves in. The plot flexes just enough to give the supporting characters their own identities beyond adding to the��protagonists’��journeys.��Two stories run parallel. While TJ and his friends seek to undo the��damage��they have caused to��Brother��Taju���s��car,��the latter��embarks on his own series of errands for the day. It is a convincing portrait with all the right notes of hilarity and sadness, as one watches him evade creditors, and chase debtors with the��equal��amounts��of skill and frustration. There is a memorable scene of him riding on a motorcycle threatening obscene hilarities in pitch-perfect��Nigerinisms��if the driver will not stop to let him answer the call of nature. Of note��also��is a��spectacular cameo from��Gbenga��Afolayan��playing a shameless debtor.
The movie premiered in Paris at the��Nollywood��film festival and has been selected for screening at more international film festivals.��Sadly, the distribution challenges confronting the Nigerian film industry ensure that many of the people this film was made for will not see it.��We should spare a few thoughts for the Nigerians existing in a no less crazy��reality��who may never��afford the cinema tickets or the cable subscription to��enjoy it.
August 1, 2018
Time traveling with Manu Dibango
Image credit Emmanuel Dautant via Wikimedia Commons.
Manu��Dibango��will never die. I have seen it in those eyes of his that sparkle like a��meteor.��But��also know this because I heard it in the opening verse of ���Pata��Piya,��� the first track on his 1985 album,��Electric Africa. He did not outright say it, but if you listen with the kind of superstitious zeal I approach his music with, you���ll hear it too:��the voice underneath���s Manu���s voice.��Look closely when he smiles, and you notice the glint on the curves of his lips that says ���I���ll live forever.���
His appears to be a smile of someone aware of both the meaningfulness and meaninglessness of this existence.
While birth records claim Manu was born on the��12th��day of the��12th��month��in��the��33rd��year of the twentieth century, I am convinced Manu made his apparition many centuries earlier.
Apparently, one day in 1985 he teleported himself to the second half of the second decade of the��21st��century. The Africa he encountered pulsated with a youth-driven energy not unlike the kind that he witnessed gripping��the continent in the post-independence era.
As he trekked from Nigeria���s��Yabacon��Valley to Kenya���s Silicon Savannah by way of Cameroon���s Silicon Mountain, he noticed that the future��was powered by algorithms, codes and digital networks rather than by liberators and illusionists spinning nationalists and political visions on podiums.��The world of podcasts, gifs and memes possessed him.
Astonished, the hairless maestro��then��time-travelled two centuries back to the shores of the��Wouri��and��Sanaga��rivers where he sang and danced in the doorways of shrines. Possessed by spirits of both the past and future, he returned to 1985 with music to alert us of the coming age.
Whether or not we listened doesn���t seem to matter now that it is settled that those stories about Manu being born an only child were just meant to distract us from the fact that no one actually knows when he first appeared.��For all we know, Manu like Sun-Ra could be from a place in the cosmos our language is still not quite sophisticated to name.
What the likes of��Herbie��Hancock, Bill��Laswell��and his fellow��bandmates��at ���African Jazz��� might not have known is that before Manu���s funk phase in the��1970s, centuries earlier he was a flute player in the court of His Royal Highness��Lukeni��lua��Nimi���s��of��Kongo; he played��kora��during Mansa Musa���s birth, and was seen singing in the choir of the Anglican Church where��Fela��Kuti��was baptized.
If Manu thought he could continue to conceal his true��identity in plain view as he successfully did in the prior century, he was not only dead wrong, he seemed to underestimate the science that sustains his agelessness.��While��this oversight hints at his humanity, in my view, it is yet another reminder that even immortals like him are not infallible.
As��long as��Manu has��been active, he has��provided evidence that his is a life not unlike other earthlings. After all, not many African recording artists can claim entry to the billboard top 40 by way of a Brooklyn West Indian record store.��How likely��was��it that the record,��Soul��Makossa��would��find itself in the hands of influential Greenwich Village figure David Mancuso? Who could have imagined this track��would��land��on��Frankie Crocker���s radar���at the time one of New York City���s most celebrated DJs on its most popular Black radio station?
Soul��Makossa,��which was original released as the B-side for a record meant to celebrate Cameroon���s hosting of the 1972 African Nations Cup, would gate-crash the disco wave, ride it into the��1980s��when Manu transformed himself again into the voice that likely nudged Quincy and Michael to add that coda at the end of ���wanna��be��startin�����somethin���.���
Manu��was��telling us he��ain���t��goin�����nowhere. Listen closely to��Electric Africa, you���ll recognize the voice.
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