Back to blogging after almost two months, I should have left a note - something I have learn doing - but I wasn't sure how long I was going to be away from blogging. I've to admit that it took a lot effort to watch the news and not blog about it, so I'm relieved to be back. It was happy events that kept me away, mostly. My wedding was end of Jan 07, and I was in the process of moving to a new position at work which isn't yet finalised.
During the time I was away there were many events in the Middle (Iraq, Iran and Palestine) and in Africa (Somalia, Congo, Guinea, Darfur .. etc). I'd planned to write something about the major events in Africa in 2006, particularly in the place s were things were getting better, let us say the success stories. I wanted it to be detaild and ask some of my African friends to contribute but it just didn't happen. So let me say few words about some of the events in Africa.
Elections in Congo produced a government without - almost - any violence, now a prime minister has been appointed and a cabinet, one less conflict in Africa. There was the deal with the rebels in Uganda which will hopefully lead to a permanent peace in Northern Uganda and a chance for the Acholi people to return to their land.
Mauritania had the first round of elections which went very smooth. Next month a second round - which is more crucial - will be held and tensions are mounting. There are reports that Islamists were barred from contesting and many were jailed.
Somalia hangs in the balance, UIC were ousted and Somalia has a recognized government in the capital city Mogadishu. Now the TFG controls the whole south of the country and Puntland has declared that it's officially part of the government, which means most of the country is under the TFG's control. Further, the international community seems to be eager to find a lasting solution for Somalia, so pledges for aid and peacekeeping troops is finally coming through. However, the government's attempt to disarm Mogadishu went horribly wrong and there are frequent attacks on troops loyal to the government and their Ethiopian allies. Another worrying sign in the TFG is the fact that the government is made up of warlords and people with little or no experience in running a country.
I'll have to catch up and post some of the backlog I've.
2 comments:
Welcome back my blogger colleague and friend, Abdurahman. I was beginning to get a little worried with all the rapid changes going down over in Somalia. Congratulations on your mairrage in January and greetings to your new bride. I hope that she is at least as outspoken about world events and issues as you.
We are working on a little project re: history of Africans and black people in Europe in recognition of Black History Month 2007 (traditionally celebrated in the month of February in the U.S.A. & Canada, October in the U.K.). I could use some input from the "eastern point of view" on this subject, especially about prominent Africans from the period 1400-1800 (or earlier). Let me know what you've got that we may not have read or heard about in our "history lessons".
May Peace be upon you and your new family.
thanks friend for your warm welcome and your work on black history month. I couldn't recall many personalities from the "east" in that period (there are many but need to research). However, Ahmed Gurey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrihim_al-Ghazi) was an important figure. He was a symbol of Christian/Islamic wars, so I'm not sure if that's suitable for your project. Somalis, Oromo and Afar ethnic groups, all claim him to be one of them.
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