Monthly Archives: November 2023

Ethiopia’s economic growth benefits from its diverse agriculture. However, due to conflict from war and drought, there’s been weak business and trade, including poor environmental access. The war in Tigray that lasted two years caused significant devastation to Ethiopia’s political, social, and economic state. Climate change and lack of fighting against environmental difficulties hindered the agricultural trade.  Ethiopia has an estimated 6.4% growth in 2021/22. “However, it also remains one of the poorest, with a per capita gross national income of $1,020.” During COVID-19, the GDP slowed and since then, there’s been a slight incline in the economy.

The reform plan to improve Ethiopia’s economy includes addressing food insecurity, high transportation costs, limited financial and telecommunications services, and land tenure insecurity. “USAID commits to creating jobs and increasing access to healthy diets, to ensure people can become more financially independent and provide a better standard of living for their families.” This agenda promotes welfare and overall support for the civilians, in order to encourage economic growth. Another aspect is focusing on agricultural trade along the border of Ethiopia and Djibouti. Alleviating congestion in the areas, increasing sanitation, and coordination between authorities will increase trade.

In today’s blog post, we pause the conversation on genocide and lack of human rights in the DRC and teach the readers about Mount Nyiragongo. The mountain is an active stratovolcano, meaning, “a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and strata”’ (Stratavolcano). Another example of a stratovolcano is Mt. Rainier in Washington State, USA. In 1977, an eruption occurred which killed 50 local villagers. 

The most “famous” was in 2002, “Warnings had been given and 400,000 people were evacuated from the city across the Rwandan border into neighboring Gisenyi during the eruption. Lava covered the northern end of the runway at Goma International Airport, leaving the southern two-thirds usable, and reached Lake Kivu” (Mount_Nyiragongo). There were 245 deaths due to this eruption. 

This mountain, or volcano, is known as one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes as well as being Africa’s most active volcanoes. Nyiragongo has one of the most dangerous lava flows due to the near perfect liquefaction of the lava. 

One of the most distinctive features of Nyiragongo is its persistent lava lake within its summit crater. This is one of the very few lava lakes in the world! 

The volcano is situated within the Virunga National Park, which is Africa’s oldest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park is known for its diverse flora and fauna, including the critically endangered mountain gorillas. UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization which has 1,199 World Heritage Sites worldwide. 

In conclusion, while the draw in of Mount Nyiragongo is undeniable, its perilous nature makes it a destination best admired from a distance. Whether through the lens of a documentary or the pages of a book, exploring the wonders and dangers of this volcanic giant can be a thrilling experience. However, venturing too close may be a risk not worth taking.

During July this year, protests across Kenya broke out. The protests consisted of two distinct movements: the resumption of Kenya’s leading opposition party, Azimio’s, street protests and upheaval surrounding the Kenyan government’s proposed tax hikes. 

After last year’s August election, the Azimio party’s former presidential candidate, Ralia Odinga, has been claiming that the election was rigged against him and current President William Ruto should not be president. Since March of 2023, Odinga’s supporters have been protesting in the streets of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, but protests were suspended in May for talks with the government. Protests were scheduled to continue on July 19, 2023 when talks with the Kenyan government failed to reach peace. Protests erupted in Nairobi, and became even larger when Kenyans opposing the government’s proposed tax hikes joined and sparked other large protests across the country. 

This unfortunately ended up in Kenyan police using extreme violence in an attempt to stop the protests and prevent more from joining. Police reportedly used tear gas and other acts of extreme violence on protesters, resulting in at least 20 protestors being killed during July of 2023. 

Since July, more of these cases of excessive police violence in Kenya have surfaced. Around 500 cases of police killings have surfaced since 2019, with many of these cases going unreported. One example of this would be back in January of 2022, when around 37 bodies were discovered in the River Yala in western Kenya. Most of the bodies bore deep cuts all over them and severed fingers, with a few having been suffocated with bags. The case was still ongoing by the end of 2022, but the main suspects were killed on their way to court. 

This issue of extreme police violence and corruption of power in Kenya is a very serious problem. The country has recently been undergoing much change, with police responding very harshly to mostly peaceful protests, and facing very little repercussions or push for taking responsibility in the aftermath, since they hold so much power. 

Ethiopia has endured several civil wars;  the Tigray conflict being the most recent war that continued for two years. The weapons and explosive remnants of the war caused civilians to suffer from restricted healthcare facilities, movement, schools, homes, and fertile land. “Thousands of people have been displaced, essential infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged, and weapon contamination has reached very concerning levels in some areas.”  The everyday lives of Ethiopians have been disrupted due to the conflict with the Tigray region, however, the process of rebuilding and aid has been supported and focused on.

Overall, the humanitarian process has been improving due to the ICRC’s (International Committee of the Red Cross) efforts. More routes throughout Ethiopia have been opened, allowing better access for civilians to reach difficult areas and receive aid. Opportunities for people to flee from the country or accept refugees have heightened as well. Authorities are focusing on a peace agreement, which attempts to find solutions for peace and reparations, along with accountability and truth. In order to deal with internal displacement, the Ethiopian government has prioritized life-saving humanitarian action. “In 2021, Ethiopia ratified the Kampala Convention and initiated steps to work towards a comprehensive framework to guide responses to internal displacement.”

On a specific note, sexual violence has been another human rights issue the Ethiopian government faces. Several solutions have been put in place to put in place to protect the citizens. In Tigray, Amhara, and Oromia regions, one-stop centers are established to assist victims of sexual violence. They include medications, dignity kids, and food. The health staff there is trained in the clinical management of rape. There are safe houses throughout these regions to provide support for survivors. Along with institutions, police officers and other legal figures are trained. “More than 430 police officers, investigators, and prosecutors have participated in dedicated trainings on the investigations of sexual violence and international humanitarian law.”

The ICRC in Ethiopia.

These steps of rebuilding the nation start with supporting the people. ICRC hopes to see a steady increase in humanitarian aid as its efforts continue to expand throughout the country of Ethiopia.

The Democratic Republic of Congo unfortunately endured genocide for many years and continues to face such challenges today. “Since 1996, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC; Congo) has been embroiled in violence that has killed as many as 6 million people” (1). The DRC is constantly in turmoil through human rights, political debates, and outside groups and terrorists attacking. With a history of violence, the DRC is considered dangerous to visit or travel to due to “civil unrest and crime” (2). Civilians of East and South Africa tend to stay away from the DRC to stay safe and prevent the influx of outsiders. The violence in DRC is related to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda where inflexible militant Hutus, known as the Interhamwe, slaughtered ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus. Genocide is defined as “the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group to destroy that nation or group,” a tragic occurrence repeatedly witnessed in this country.

Equally horrifying is that of the above 6 million people who perished, over half were children under the age of 5 due to famine and disease. Diseases run rampant through the desert and jungles due to dirty water and people living in extremely close quarters. As well as killing, the DRC has some of the most prevalent levels of rape and sexual violence in the world. “As of 2023, DRC is home to an estimated 5.7 million internally displaced people urgently needing more than 2 billion dollars in medical and other aid. Nearly one million Congolese nationals have sought refuge in various African states”.

In summary, civilians of the DRC are actively advocating for peace and human rights, yet they continue to bear the consequences of genocide.

As a part of Kenya’s Vision 2030 plan, the country has been simultaneously building their economy and pushing towards sustainable efforts through ecotourism. Ecotourism is a term that refers to the push (and trend) to move towards sustainable travel and traveling to natural areas. This is meant to generate revenue for the country/region, as well as for the local communities through hotels, resorts, stores, etc. 

Kenya has many conservatories (basically National Parks) for the purpose of protecting the wildlife there, and to produce profit through visiting tourists. Many of these conservatories have resorts and private camps around and in them, most of which are very expensive and luxurious. These resorts, although a little elitist, do generate enough money to fund the conservatories and the local communities. 

Ecotourism is often viewed as something completely beneficial, but it does have consequences. The idea does push for more sustainable travel, but traveling in general does produce problems with air pollution as a result of the increased amounts of air, water, and car traffic coming into the area. With the increasing amounts of tourists visiting Kenya since the early 2000’s, this type of pollution could become a huge problem if the country is not prepared to combat it. 

I will say, however, Kenya does have one of the strictest plastic bans in the world, with the introduction of an incredibly restrictive ban on single-use plastic bags to clean up the country’s cities and protect their conservatories. Then, in 2020, an additional ban on any single-use plastic products in any conservation area, resulting in many of the surrounding areas and resorts going completely plastic free. 

Kenya has made such a huge effort towards being more sustainable, even though they are not the wealthiest or more developed country. Their efforts tell us, especially us Americans, that we need to do better to help protect and preserve the planet. We have far more funds and resources, and therefore absolutely no excuse. We all share this planet, regardless of what country we share allegiance to. Besides, without the Earth, it wouldn’t evenexist at all.

In 2008, Kenya introduced their Vision 2030 plan, which aims to“transform Kenya into a ‘newly-industrializing, middle income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens in a clean and secure environment.’” The plan consists of three pillars: economic, social, and political.

Achievement in the economic pillar would consist of growth in six sectors: Tourism, Agriculture & Livestock, Wholesale & Retail, Trade, Manufacturing, Financial Services, Business Process Offshoring, and IT-Enabled Services; which combined, would raise the country’s GDP growth rate 10% over a number of years. 

The social pillar aims to improve the overall quality of life for all Kenyans by achieving development in eight social sectors: Education & Training, Health, Water & Sanitation, Environment, Housing & Urbanization, Gender, Youth, and Sports & Culture. These sectors also include developments in disability accessibility and special provisions for previously marginalized communities. 

Lastly, the political pillar aims to create a better democratic and more equal political system for the Kenyan people. This was originally meant to be achieved through the introduction of a new constitution, which was put in place in 2010 by Kenya’s President Kibaki. The new constitution put in place a better system of checks and balances, as well as more protections for all citizens, especially those of minority and previously marginalized groups.

So far, Vision 2030 has aided Kenya in the growth of its GDP and modernizing the country’s infrastructure and facilities. Progress continues to be made and it is still unclear if all of Kenya’s goals will be able to be achieved by 2030, but they have made much progress thus far that has served the Kenyan people well.

In anthropologist Wade Davis’ TED Talk, he discusses the importance of preserving endangered cultures. He stresses that losing cultures leads to loss of language and entire ways of thinking, which is detrimental to biodiversity and diversity amongst the human race. Davis also begs the audience to consider each culture acting as a singular puzzle piece in our world: losing puzzle pieces creates gaps in our puzzle.

When considering Davis’ belief that indigenous cultures teach the rest of the world how to keep harmony in our environment, the concept of losing language, creativity, knowledge, and wisdom is destructive to our globe. I agree with his beliefs and consider the Drokpas of Ladakh, India (Around the World Consultancy), an indigenous group whose population is dwindling yearly. When researching their group, I learned they do not marry outside the community and tend to wife-swap, which I found incredibly fascinating.

In the Dominican Republic of Congo, which began as a colony of Belgium, they have been struggling to find independence and have created colonization efforts. They have many small indigenous groups, including the Mbuti, Baka, and Batwa. “They live in nomadic and semi-nomadic groups throughout the country’s provinces. Indigenous Peoples’ lives are closely linked to the forest and its resources: they practice hunting, gathering, and fishing and treat their illnesses using their pharmacopeia and medicinal plants. The forest lies at the heart of their culture and living environment” (IWGIA). They continue to try and fight for their independence, yet also live a solo lifestyle.

On the other hand, “In terms of species diversity, the DRC is the most biologically diverse country in Africa and one of the most important biodiversity centers in the world, encompassing more than half of Africa’s tropical forest [2]. Globally, the country ranks fifth for animal and plant diversity” (Biodiversity in the DRC). With the variance in cultures and animal and plant diversity, there is a beautiful future, with hopes for the future.

Ethiopia has diverse and rich land throughout the country, however, humans are interfering with the environment’s natural course and the government is trying to take action. We see this happening in Goba, Ethiopia. UNESCO plans to relocate 20,000 people living in Bale Mountains National Park to promote environmental growth. Nevertheless, another moral dilemma arises about the displacement of people and villages. The village is known as Rita, a lush forest that has been used for farming for many decades. In various interviews of the residents, they mention how they are not refugees and have been legally recognized. Rita Village benefits the community economically and socially, including their culture. “’Our spirit is connected to nature; I can’t stay a day out of this place.’” Some individuals are being compensated for the relocation plan with money, but that doesn’t alleviate their minds about leaving their homes.

While the relocation causes stress and inconvenience for the villagers, the national park is critically important for many species that are currently endangered. Expansion and encroachment reduce natural resources and water, including an increase in invasive species. The balance between maintaining community and biodiversity is a challenge; it seems as if both outcomes result in a negative for either. The villagers of Rita believe that the environment provides for them and they provide for the environment, like any other symbiotic relationship. The relocation plan hasn’t started for the Rita villagers and park officials mention that resettlement will take a few years. 

Hello viewers, readers, and consumers of media on countries in East and Southern Africa. We will do a deep dive into the history, current events, and news to continue educating our viewers! We have all enjoyed learning more about our countries hope this can extend to our readers.