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Archive for July 3rd, 2011

The self-perceptions of Black people are being covertly negatively shaped by white elites.

Posted by African Press International on July 3, 2011

  •  By F. Jones, USA

   “Reality is merely an illusion, although a very persistent one.”
                                                            – Albert Einstein
The perceptions of black people are being covertly negatively shaped by White elites to ensure the continuance of white dominance and control. It is a very sophisticated racist system that is much less public and obvious than the overt methods used in the past–yet it is unprecedentedly more harmfully proficient. With a strong prevailing history of slavery in the United States, racism has always been an issue. This engrained societal problem of racism has always necessitated that America’s white elites develop and implement racist systems to defend and maintain their positions of white dominance. As seen where of which after the abolition of slavery different forms of segregation were implemented including Jim Crow laws and the later American political structures which invited extreme segregation within many cities across the nation. However as overt and obvious racial discrimination became morally unacceptable and illegal it became necessary to  develop more sophisticated less apparent covert methods.
 
Because the past, blatant methods used for ensuring the continuance of White dominance from the reconstruction period through the 1960′s had become morally and socially unacceptable this required that America’s White elites develop a more sophisticated and stealthy method—a design better suited for changing times.
Today Black people are unknowingly the victims of a very sophisticated covert racist program. This new method is far more sophisticated than the overtly racist methods used in the past. Its methods includes both the ability to create a national climate that is insensitive to the plight of African Americans and produce psychological feelings among African Americans that makes them more compliance to white dominance.
 The U.S. media’s racially devaluing depictions and distorted portrayal of Black America that amplifies the negative to the point that it distorts reality is a deliberately designed racist ideological subversion program. This subversion program disseminates false deplorably racially devaluing statistics and propaganda about America’s Black population as a means of defending and maintaining America’s position of white dominance. Today what are often deemed as being credible news sources are often totally made up stories made to push an agenda or meet a governmental objective.
 This present system uses the national media’s proven ability to mass manipulate and socially engineer society through the usage mass media propaganda techniques. Its constant deplorably negative depictions of African Americans- that subjects them to seeing only the fraudulent worst in themselves- is designed to corrupts their sense of racial black unity and cohesion, mold the character of self-hatred, engender self-doubt, self-loathing, and distrust among their group; and insinuate that Blacks admire, respect, and trust only Whites. It also drills the message that Blacks are powerless, of lesser moral, and intelligence and that they need whites to govern over their lives. Its unrelenting daily assault on the Black psyche is designed to adversely manipulate and shape the minds and collective consciousness of America’s Black population. The main motto of this mass manipulation program is to divide and conquer and it works by affecting the unconscious  mind through deception.
Furthermore it totally detaches African Americans from their sense of power and reality. And it also facilitates a national setting that is insensitive to their plight and that fosters a consensual national setting of where in which they are more easily mistreated, exploited and ultimately suppressed.
When most people hear the term of psychological manipulation they usually think in terms of the classic “conspiracy theory” that refers to overt mind control such as mind altering drugs with carefully hypnotic programming. However, the real and true dangers are the well proven methods of affecting the unconscious mind by using deception, and psychological manipulation. It is neither magical nor mystical, but a process of manipulation that works by affecting the unconscious mind through deception. It uses the psychology of deceit to adversely affect the recipient group in terms of their behavior.
 Here is a simplified example of how this is being implemented against African Americans. Let us, for example, imagine that a crew of people was aboard their own massive ship and that this ship was being followed by another neighboring ship that was constantly broadcasting derogatory messages to the first group. Such messages as that their ship was lesser, smaller, not seaworthy, perhaps slowly sinking or that their crew was incompetent and was planning a mutiny. With time, the group receiving the negative messages, being unable to refute or to confirm these derogatory messages of their deficiencies will grow weary and paranoid of the negative messages and will eventually comes to accept these negative assessments of themselves. The perception created by the taunting now unconsciously influences how the taunted group perceives themselves, subsequently causing them to become distrustful of themselves, doubting themselves, hating themselves and,  eventually, fighting among themselves. The taunted group may even become so besieged by deep feelings of inadequacy that they may even jump into the sea and attempt to swim towards the taunting ship now believing it to be superior to their own ship even if their own ship was in fact better. The basis of this concept of mind manipulation is that the human being’s most critical aspect is the mind and it works by affecting the mind through deception. The ultimate goal of this method of psychological manipulation is to divide and conquer and it works by affecting the unconscious mind through deception.
In regards to African Americans this mortifying psychosocial treatment is precisely what is being deliberately done through an immense campaign of false derogatory misinformation and false negative media reports and statistics [that are totally comprised by white sources] that intentionally subjects them to seeing only the fraudulently worst in themselves. 
Here is how it works: Fraudulent derogatory stories about African Americans are secretly created by U.S. governmental agencies and then leaked to its collaborators in the news media, which either knowingly or unknowingly carry the stories as their own. These false information about African Americans are then disseminated unrelentingly everywhere; it is deliberately perpetuated through news releases in magazine articles, radio, television, press releases, documentaries, and false census reports. However, the weapon is not in how the message is carried, but is instead within the messages that it carries and how these messages perpetuate and frame the myth of Whites’ racial, moral, and ethical superiority over its Black population. This falsehood detrimentally affects the Black population at large. The ultimate goal of this governmental psychosocial treatment of African Americans is to destroy the Black unity and cohesion that was historically the  cornerstone of civil rights gains and that was a crucial factor of the survival of African Americans through more than four hundred years of white racial oppression.

 
Logic dictates that given that unity and cohesion among African Americans was responsible for the demise of White America’s previous blatant system of institutionalized racism, then destroying this unity would be an essential objective of this psychological manipulation program. Changing times made it necessary for the U.S. government to change its racist methods to a much more subtle and socially acceptable manner, then clearly, the sophisticated method of psychological warfare met such a need. It was the logical choice, perfect for the changing times. Unlike the blatantly brutal forms of racism used in the past, which Blacks were able to identify easily and therefore unify and form counter strategies, this modern method of racism covertly works from a psychological perspective– thus providing the U.S. government a more socially acceptable means of protecting its White racial hierarchy given that it is not as easily recognized.

 
This method of covert racism is much less public and obvious form of racism or overt racism. It is hidden in the fabric of society, covertly suppressing the individuals being discriminated against. Covert racially biased decisions are often disguised or rationalized with an explanation that society is more willing to accept. These racial biases cause a variety of problems that work to empower the suppressors while diminishing the rights and powers of the oppressed. Covert racism often works subliminally, and often much of the discrimination is being done subconsciously. See Chester Pierce, “Offensive Mechanisms” in Floyd B. Barbour (Editor), The Black Seventies (Boston, Mass: Porter Sargent Publisher, 1970).

 
All African Americans have experienced the burden of this covert system of applied psychological conditioning, some more severely than others have. It is experienced every time that an African American read a newspaper, watch the evening news, listen to a radio report, enter a classroom and read its racially biased textbooks. Most Black people are unaware that they are the systematic victims of this massive covert racist scheme however it is directly attributed to the intensification of internalized self-hatred, profound disunity, and present confused outlook now prevalent in Black America.

 
No group can be preconditioned to see only the worst in themselves and not exhibit some degree of negative psychological impact. To the detriment of many African Americans, this psychosocial program has been an extremely effective. It has successfully conditioned many African Americans to accept the dominance of Whites and white institutions over their lives by misleading them to believe that they are themselves, their own worst enemies. This creates feelings of internalized black self-contempt that pulverizes Black unity and halts Black upward mobility.
And while many African Americans have successfully navigated through this psychologically mortifying mine field and have gone on to lead successful, productive lives, for far too many this immense devaluation can seem inescapable. And tragically, over time, many begin to accept subconsciously and painfully the negative portrayals of themselves. Many also become discouraged by the acceptance that their society is also preconditioned to see the worst in them and that, therefore, if they were ever to gain acceptance, if it is to be won at all, that success would be hard won. This in turn manifests negative internalized psychological pain and distress within many African Americans that can take many forms. In fact, this mortifying governmental psychosocial treatment of African Americans may be the most aggravating, if not core, factor of the national phenomenon of self-contempt; loss of unity, cohesion and racial pride; and often fragile psyches of many African Americans today. It is in fact so fundamentally detrimental to the Black human condition and psyche that it may even affect the extent to which many African Americans realize their full human potential. This massive psychosocial program is at the root of both the profound feelings of internalized self-contempt now afflicting so many Black Americans and is at the heart of internalized feelings of superiority that many whites possess.

This mass manipulation program also fosters a national climate that is insensitive to the plight of Black America.  It does so by engendering a shift of victimization that changes the root problem of racism in America to be due to Black’s behavior rather than White’s proclivity for racism. This produces increasingly prejudiced distorted perceptions and acrimonious beliefs about African Americans that makes the nation and the entire world insensitive to their plight, tranquilizes efforts on their behalf, lessens pressure for social change on their behalf and makes any serious criticism of White racism almost impossible today.

 
It also creates a false justification for the legal system’s mistreatment of African Americans. Wherein they are disproportionately incarcerated, given stiffer sentences, and are more likely than other racial groups to be treated brutally, beaten, and fired upon by police officers while they are unarmed. These injustices now goes ignored because the perception has become that it’s all now justified. When contempt of Blacks is made to appear to be justifiable, it is the most fiercest and effective type of racism because its witnesses, bystanders, and even world audiences will sit by idly allowing African Americans to be brutally mistreated disproportionately incarcerated under the belief that it is justified.] It also affects attitudes that when enacted through governmental policies, laws, and other legislation actions, serve to ensure that African Americans will not advance. Its effects are manifested in ideas, education, governmental policies,
 economic stratification, social segregation, housing markets, hiring and promotion practices, psychological issues, and minority access to a variety of social services and opportunity. Moreover, some studies have shown that this shift of victimization now reflects increasingly acrimonious beliefs and prejudiced perceptions about and against African Americans that are arguably stronger today than they were after emancipation.

This concept of the U.S government using psychological warfare through the national media as a weapon to influence and control its Black population is not at all ridiculous. The objective of the United States government has always been to maintain and defend its position of White dominance against its Black population [This secret tradition continues even with now having its first Black President], and clearly this method of covert mass psychological warfare meets this need—It was perfect for changing time because it covertly allows white governments to control and manipulate its Black population to maintain its White dominance. Furthermore, the U.S. Government has an extensive history of using the national media to psychologically manipulate and influence public opinion. It is indeed a very common governmental practice.

 
Today what are often deemed as being credible news sources are often totally made up stories made to push an agenda or meet a governmental objective. Many journalists working for public relations firms are now hired by a U.S. government department to produce fake news reports. The media is manipulated in all manners through professional public relations (PR) firms, and covert and overt to promote certain political policies, ideologies and governmental objectives. These false reports are being presented as factual news by journalists, and are rebroadcast by news stations without revealing the segment is from a PR firm hired by the government, thus giving it the appearance of genuine news. As a means of meeting its unrelenting objective of maintaining its white racial dominance and control, the U.S. government now secretly disseminates racially devaluing fake news reports and fraudulent misinformation through the national and local media regarding its
 Black population.

Furthermore, throughout western history cultures that creates and maintains empires have done so by manipulating the people that they are trying to conquer. They go out of their way to make sure that the people that they’re attempting to conquer is perpetually misled and manipulated. Therefore the conquered group’s perception of reality is not their own. It is shrewdly imposed upon them without them even knowing it.

 
Fake deplorable news reports about African Americans are being deliberately disseminated unrelentingly everywhere through news releases in magazine articles, radio, television, press releases, documentaries, and false census reports perpetuating and framing the myth of Whites’ racial, moral, and ethical superiority over its Black population. It is time that more African Americans wake up to this reality and ongoing tradition.

 
This is not an attempt to advocate anti-white racism, but is instead the indisputable truth. This unethical yet very sophisticated method of control through the usage of mass psychological manipulation is the crowning achievement of Dr. Edward Bernays, a mass manipulation expert that was hired by several U.S. presidents. Dr. Bernays was also a prestigious founding member of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relation; an organization that specializes in mass manipulation and brain washing. He said in his book Propaganda, that; “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in a democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country” “…If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without them knowing it.” The current public relations industry is a direct outgrowth of Bernays’ work and his is also still currently used by the United States government.

 
The media’s immense ability to manipulation the masses should never be under estimated nor is it ever overstated. A few news reports about a fake swine flu outbreak can convince millions of people not to attend work tomorrow and to even pull their children out of schools. Mass manipulation through the media is a very powerfully effective tool.

 
The psychological manipulation of African Americans has been so successfully accomplished that it is very difficult to reverse. You see, part of the conditioning is almost like Stockholm syndrome. The victimized group begins to love their oppressor and come to feel that the oppressor is justified in its mistreatment of their group. The victims begin to feel that they deserve their endured mistreatment, and will even resent what is being disclosed here within this article.

 
Although the formal covert Counterintelligence Program deployed by the FBI directed against African-Americans during the period of 1956-1971 was discontinued, this far more sophisticated method was secretly implemented against America’s entire Black population. And it continues even now.

End

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Kenya: The Vee Pee is best described as a jackal (fox) that discretely follows a he-goat at a safe distance

Posted by African Press International on July 3, 2011

By Mohan Mathew

The Vee Pee is best described as a jackal (fox) that discretely follows a he-goat at a safe distance concentrating on the pouch swinging left and right. He hopes it will fall any time so that he will have a good meal without sweating for it.

Raila is credited for sacrifices, including agreeing to accept only the head and tail of the game that he single-handedly hunted and delivered to Kibaki who was bedridden, that needs volumes to document. While he was standing naked in knee-deep Nyayo torture chambers, Kalonzo was warm in a suit with Moi in the state house and competed with Kamotho for the post of court poet in the Moi regime.

To say the least, Kalonzo was a gate -crasher at the party but pushed and pulled and showed the more deserved to get his present seat on the high table. He is on the same pedestal with Kenyatta, Moi, Kibaki, Michuki, and a host of other Kenyatta-Moi-Kibaki henchmen in the conservancy and nurturing of impunity in this country.

Kalonzo divested himself of any moral and personal convictions once he sat on the Vee Pee’s chair and replaced them with those of the devilish vested interests surrounding Kibaki. Even Saitoti fared better than him!

I don’t know where Mr. Rapondi did his Political Science course. Let’s say he ‘read’ Political Science in some university but failed to become a political scientist, because scientists do not present material that can’t stand the scrutiny of history.

If Mr.Rapondi thinks selfless service, democratic credentials and a will to forge ahead of competitors are not attributes befitting a future president, let him look for one among Mbuvi, Kuttuny, S.Rutto, Waitutu and co. of the rabble rouser types.

End:

BY API Editorial: The writer of the above article is reacting to the article below:

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Kenya 2012 general elections: Two aspirants for political seats Mr. Owino Ranginya from Nyanza and Mr. Malino Lesiamito from Samburu.

Posted by African Press International on July 3, 2011

By Korir, Chief editor (API)

The New Constitution of Kenya has opened many opportunities for many Kenyans, both young and old. Those interested in Politics can now choose to contest for seats as national representatives or county representatives.
In the coming general elections next year, Kenyans will have the opportunity to elect representatives to the Senate and National Parliament (National politics) and in the county politics, the Governor, Deputy Governor and county parliament representatives. Many opportunities created by the new constitution.
 
This has caused young Kenyans to join both national and county politics. Two Kenyans in Oslo are ready to try their luck in Kenyan politics, come 2012 general elections. One of them Peter Owino Ranginya is in the final stages in his preparation for the onslaught, while John Malino Lesiamito from Samburu county is contemplating to contest for a seat, and will make known his decision at the end of September this year. Both men live in Norway at the moment, but say they are geared to capture political seats in Kenya.
 
Peter Owino Ranginya - 2012 Political aspirant in Kenya

Peter Owino Ranginya - 2012 Political aspirant in Kenya

Mr Peter Owino Ranginya who failed to capture a seat to become Ugenya Member of Parliament in Kenya’s 2007 general elections, has told API that he now knows what to do to avoid past mistakes that denied him victory.

Mr Ranginya will be trying his luck for the second time. The first time he tried to capture a seat, things did not go well for him. This time around, he is doing all he can to acquaint himself with important requirements demanded by the voters and because of the New Constitution creating many political positions both in the National Politics and County politics, Owino Ranginya will most definitely capture a seat. He has, however, not come out clearly when it comes to which seat he wants to capture. He continues to keep all the cards close to his chest. Reliable sources tell API that he is doing so in order not to cause discomfort for politicians of the day such as the Minister of Lands Mr James Orengo and others who hail from the area. However, this tactic will not last long because next year is election year and those who want seats have to ensure that the voters know what they want sooner rather than later.

The New Constitution demands that the elections are held the second Tuesday in August next year. Some Members of the present day Parliament would like to have elections in December 2012, arguing that the old constitution gives them the right to serve the country in their elected positions past august 2012..

While in Norway, Owino Ranginya has been engaged in development projects back home in Kenya in collaboration with his friends in Norway. This is an effort to strengthen his base before the election time. He tells API that he has done ground work and hopes to capture a seat at the National or County level depending on the chess-game to be played when those who declare interest come up with choices of the seats they want to contest.

Mr John Malino Lesiamito, 2012 Political aspirant in Kenya

Mr John Malino Lesiamito, 2012 Political aspirant in Kenya

John Malino Lesiamito’s hopes to become a full-time politician in Kenya after 2012 General Elections requires more ground work.

When it comes to John Malino Lesiamito from Samburu County, the road may still be a long one. He is still in the early stages having only indicated his interest to contest for a seat. So far he has not made specific moves to declare his candidacy publicly to the Samburu people. When API asked him for comment, Malino Lesiamito indicated that he was in a process of gauging the situation in the area and that he was definitely going for a seat, but could not identify which seat he is eying as yet. He tells API that he will declare his candidacy in the very near future. API is of the opinion that Mr Malino Lesiamito may be eying for a seat in the County Government. 

In Oslo - Norway: 2012 Kenya Political aspirants Mr Peter Owino Ranginya from Ugenya-Nyanza and John Malino Lesiamito from Samburu County discussing strategy for next year's general elections

In Oslo - Norway: 2012 Kenya Political aspirants Mr Peter Owino Ranginya from Ugenya-Nyanza and John Malino Lesiamito from Samburu County discussing strategy for next year's general elections

Both men, Owino Ranginya and Malino Lesiamito are convinced that the New Constitution is a very good opening for the young people. They say the time has come for the younger generation to lead the country.

API wanted to know why the two men think the younger generation should take over leadership. The two are of the opinion that the older generation have done their part and should now give way to young vibrant leaders.

Ranginya and Lesiamito told API that “it is important for Kenya to have young leaders to spearhead development in a modern way. The older generation should not stick on to power for too long as they have done. That is not healthy for the country in the long.”

End.

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Mr Kalulu, a Kenyan found dead in his flat in Norway, complained 3 weeks ago that he was afraid for his life.

Posted by African Press International on July 3, 2011

By Korir, Chief editor (API)

Oslo, Norway: A very sad happening has hit the Kenyan community. Kalulu’s sadden death under unclear circumstances! There are questions to be asked. What time did he die? In whose company was he before he met his death? Who discovered his body and in what state was it?

Kalulu was a very outgoing person, but after he returned from a long holiday in Kenya, he retreated and kept to himself. Those who were close to him were, in most cases, unable to reach him as his phone could go unanswered for many days. And whenever he had a chance to talk to those close to him, he always stressed the fact that he feared for his life because of events that took place while in Kenya on holiday. While narrating the events that took place, one could see a man in great fear, one who seemed to know his death was coming. In one occasion Kalulu was telling his friends that he wished he could change the way the events took place in Kenya because he wanted to continue living.

It now seems the events he knew of has cut his life short, quicker than he anticipated, before he could get the chance to do anything about it.

The late Kalulu Mytinda Kinyu was born in Kenya in 1967. Before his death, he lived in Rykkinn area in Bærum Municipality, the outskirts of the Norwegian capital, Oslo City. He has lived in Norway for many years and was already a holder of a Norwegian passport having been granted citizenship.

A few months ago, Kalulu was on a long visit to Kenya and on coming back, he has not worked much. Three weeks ago, Kalulu complained that he had unsolved issues back home, and that he was very afraid for his life.

The police has told API that Kalulu’s body was found in his flat in Rykkinn. The police is expected to release more information surrounding his death soon when they have conclusive results in their investigation in their effort to establish the cause of his death.

Many who knew him will agree with me that the late Kalulu was a cheerful man, one who loved his job and liked to mingle with friends whenever he was not at work.

Kalulu was a man who enjoyed having a cold drink with his close friends when free from his busy work schedule.

Those who knew him will not forget his laughter whenever he heard Kenyan music played when he was out with friends to enjoy weekend outing.

When alive, his flat was open to visitors and he loved to entertain them without questions asked.

The decision on where his body will be buried will be taken soon when everything surrounding his death has seen the light. The late Kalulu has a number of relatives living in Norway, relatives who are expected to consult with those in Kenya on whether to transport the body home or bury him in Norway.

Many immigrant families who live in Norway have of late started burying their loved ones in the country, instead of taking the body to their country of origin as was the case some years back. This has to do with logistics and in some cases those who die have established life in Norway and have their own children who are citizens in the country. So they choose to bury the bodies here, instead of transporting far away, in order to enable their loved ones left behind to be visiting and taking care of their grave.

May Kalulu’s soul rest blessed in peace and warmest condolences to his family who have lost their dear son in circumstances yet to be made clear.

End

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Shagarab refugee camp is home to thousands of Eritrean refugees

Posted by African Press International on July 3, 2011

ERITREA-SUDAN: Refugees battling for a better life

Shagarab refugee camp is home to thousands of Eritrean refugees

KHARTOUM/KASSALA, 1 July 2011 (IRIN) – The first official Eritrean refugees arrived in Sudan in 1968; today, an estimated 1,600 cross the border every month to seek refuge in Shagarab, a large camp in the east of Sudan.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that northern Sudan has more than 100,000 Eritrean refugees but in 43 years, the profile of the refugees has changed.

“The new arrivals are generally young and well educated; they come from the highlands and have no cultural or ethnic ties with local populations,” said Mohamed Ahmed Elaghbash, Sudan’s Commissioner for Refugees. “Most of them take Sudan as a transit country. They stay here for some time until they get the opportunity to move northwards. Sometimes, they try to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa in order to reach Europe.”

In contrast, those who arrived in 1968, escaping the Eritrean war of independence (from 1961 to 1991), made a life in Sudan and some even managed to obtain Sudanese documents.

Of the Eritrean refugees in Sudan, about 40,000 live with the local community and belong to the same ethnic group. The Rashaida and Beja, for example, are found on both sides of the border.

New arrivals

However, the situation for newer Eritrean refugees is different.

Gideon Tesfazion told IRIN he fled his country in 2008 and spent a year in the camp before obtaining his refugee papers.

An opponent of the Eritrean administration, Tesfazion now lives in Khartoum and has worked a string of poorly paid jobs.

“As a refugee, a lot of jobs are forbidden to us, even in the international organizations based in Khartoum; we can only work in small private companies as a painter or a cleaner,” he said.

With the independence of Southern Sudan on 9 July, the Khartoum government is implementing a new citizenship law and Eritrean refugees fear the authorities will be stricter about their rights. They also fear the population will be tougher on them.

“After July, the situation will be worse and worse for Eritreans,” he said. “We look like them, we act like them. However, Sudanese are scared of us. Then, because we are refugees, some people in the administration ask us for money with no true reason.”

Tesfazion sees the effects of this discrimination on the new Eritrean refugees.

“We see them coming to Khartoum with no legal status; they are moving all the time in town from one friend’s house to another,” he said. “They are trying to cross the border quickly to reach Europe but you need at least US$5,000 for that.”


Photo: Maram Mazen/IRIN
Eritrean refugees at Shagarab camp. About about 40,000 Eritreans live with local Sudanese communities

Smuggling risk

In the 12 camps that flank the border of Eritrea and Sudan, UNHCR has set up workshops to warn the public about using smugglers.

“We explain to them that it is very dangerous, that they can die during the journey,” Boray Assadig, one of the lawyers for refugees in Shagarab camp, said. “For example, the boat can drown in the Mediterranean Sea. But it is not easy to convince them because it is almost impossible for them to get authorization to leave the camp for Khartoum and more difficult to leave the country.”

In partnership with the Sudanese Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR registers each new arrival using the refugee status determination protocol. Registration is supposed to make it easier for them to get refugee documents.

Many Eritrean men, for example, are soldiers fleeing military service, which, though officially limited to 18 months, can extend indefinitely. So the investigators question them on their unit and the weapons they carried to verify their identity.

Integration

During her visit to Shagarab on 20 June for the International Day of Refugees, Janet Lim, the operational assistant to the High Commissioner, focused on the integration of refugees into the local population, the only effective lever, in her opinion, to reduce the phenomenon of people smuggling and allow refugees a better life.

Lim also promised that UNHCR and various international organizations would install water pumps and distribute food to the local population on the condition that they allow new refugees to work and integrate into their communities.

Between toiling in the midst of local communities or moving to Khartoum to risk the perilous journey East, Mokonen Teolebrhomes, 60, does not know what to do any more.

A political dissident, Teolebrhomes fled his country for the first time for Shagarab in 1981. Thanks to sisters in Japan, he was able to live in exile in Asia for more than 20 years. In 1995, his homesickness led him back to Eritrea.

“When I was back in Eritrea, I was still registered as a political activist,” he said. So, I fled again two months ago. And here I am back in Shagarab. I can’t go to Japan again because my step-brother was my sponsor the first time. Now, he’s retired. He can’t sponsor me any more. I don’t know what to do. In Japan, it was paradise, here it is hell.”

mg/jb/js/mw source www.irinnews.org

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Progress towards fixing Zimbabwe’s water infrastructure

Posted by African Press International on July 3, 2011

ZIMBABWE: Making the water safer

Photo: IRIN
Progress towards fixing Zimbabwe’s water infrastructure

HARARE, 1 July 2011 (IRIN) – A combined effort by donor agencies, foreign governments, local organizations and the Zimbabwean government is slowly improving the water infrastructure while reducing the chances that cholera will return.

The UN Children’s agency (UNICEF) agreed to supply water treatment chemicals until the end of June 2011 but this has been extended until March 2012, by which time it is hoped that the local government authorities will be able to purchase their own water treatment chemicals.

“Thus far, water treatment chemicals worth over US$10 million have been procured, including over 25,000 tonnes of aluminium sulphate, 700 tonnes of chlorine and 230 tonnes of high test hypochlorite,” UNICEF said in response to written questions from IRIN.

A cholera epidemic began in August 2008 and lasted for a year before it was officially declared at an end in July 2009, during which time it caused the deaths of more than 4,000 people and infected nearly 100,000 others.

The outbreak was attributed to dilapidated and broken sanitation and water infrastructure. Since then, there have been isolated outbreaks of the waterborne bacterial disease, which infects the gastrointestinal system, causing vomiting and diarrhoea. The resulting acute dehydration can kill within 24 hours if left untreated.

Supplying water treatment chemicals will ensure the continued provision of safe water to 20 urban councils and over 100 rural growth points, UNICEF said.

“We are grateful to UNICEF, who positively responded to our request for the extension and gradual withdrawal of the chemicals supply scheme,” Water Resources and Development minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo told IRIN. “This provides our local authorities an opportunity to start planning for the procurement of the chemicals, using their own funds.”

''The treatment works continued to struggle to produce enough water to meet the city’s [Bulawayo] water demands''

The Federal Republic of Germany, through its development arm, German International Cooperation, is carrying out a US$12 million infrastructural rehabilitation at four urban centres: Gweru, the third largest city; Kariba on the northern border with Zambia; Norton, 40km south of the capital, Harare; and Kadoma, about 130km south of Harare.

“The two major components of the project provide, on the one hand, assistance to the municipalities with the procurement of key inputs and equipment for water supply, sanitation and solid waste collection,” the German embassy said in a statement. “The second component consists of support to the municipalities regarding the improvement of procedures and management in the areas of finance, accounting, billing and revenue collection.”

The funding will also help rehabilitate water supply and sanitation infrastructure such as treatment plants and pumping stations. Health and environmental activists have warned that the continued discharge of sewage and industrial waste into water systems will create environmental and health disasters in the near future.

Raw sewage discharge

Raw sewage and industrial waste is still being discharged into Lake Chivero, Harare’s main source of water, and an US$18 million rehabilitation of its two main sewerage treatment plants is underway.

However, Bulawayo, the country’s second largest city, has failed to attract the US$1 million funding it needs to repair water infrastructure at one of its large dams, Ncema, and rehabilitate water treatment plants.

“The treatment works continued to struggle to produce enough water to meet the city’s water demands,” the minutes of a recent council meeting noted. “For example, Ncema waterworks can only produce 39,000 cubic metres per day, against a design capacity of 81,000 cubic metres per day.”

Poor rainfall in recent years has added to pressures on water supply and some businesses have relocated to other parts of the country.
 
“We are working well in partnership with the donor community, but treasury has provided us with money to build new dams or to improve water supply,” water resources minister Nkomo told IRIN.

“We are almost done with building a 40km water pipeline from Mtshabezi Dam, which will improve water supply in Bulawayo. Construction has already started on the construction of Kunzvi Dam [near Harare], which we hope will improve water supply.”

dd/go/he source www.irinnews.org

Posted in AA > News and News analysis | Leave a Comment »

An epidemic of Chikungunya, a mosquito-borne viral disease spreads

Posted by African Press International on July 3, 2011

CONGO: Chikungunya spreads to Pool region

Photo: ReliefWeb
 

BRAZZAVILLE, 1 July 2011 (IRIN) – An epidemic of Chikungunya, a mosquito-borne viral disease, which began in early June in Congo’s capital Brazzaville, has spread to the neighbouring Pool region, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Between 1 and 23 June, there were 7,014 cases in Brazzaville and 460 in Pool, but no deaths, according to WHO. In Pool, which endured a series of civil wars between 1998 and 2003, damaging the local health infrastructure, only the towns of Goma Tse Tse and Kinkala, the regional capital, are affected.

In Brazzaville, the disease is concentrated in southern districts, including Makélékélé and Bacongo.

The disease’s symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash, and are similar to those of dengue fever. There is no known cure; treatment consists of relieving the symptoms.

“Today we find that Chikungunya is a problem for the city,” Alexis Elira Dokekias, director-general of health, told IRIN. “There are patients who complain of Chikungunya symptoms, but do not show up in hospitals. These are hard to track… What is encouraging is the fact that we have not seen any deaths. Patients who show up are treated properly because the drugs are available.”

Health Ministry specialists have identified the aegypti and albopictus mosquito species as being responsible for the outbreak. Chikungunya was first confirmed after an analysis of samples by the Franceville laboratory in Gabon.

To counter the disease, the authorities are urging people to clean up possible breeding sites such as old containers, tyres or empty cans.

The spraying of insecticides to kill the mosquitoes would begin “next week”, said Dokekias.

lmm/cb/mw source www.irinnews.org

Posted in AA > News and News analysis | Leave a Comment »

 
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