So in my economic development seminar, we talk about a lot of things. One of the things we discussed last week was the effect of the financial crisis on African countries. Many of us agreed it might end up doing more harm to African countries and essentially worsen their already…
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” These words by William Shakespeare meant little to me as I sat on the plane on my way to the United States in September 2005. But a good two and a half years later,…
Okay, so I have been back on the continent (by the continent I mean Africa) for about 2 weeks, and I have finally been re inducted into the genetic makeup. And by ‘re-inducted into the genetic makeup I don’t mean that there was an official welcoming ceremony where I was…
“If today, as we speak, I see a boat going, I would be among the volunteers, let alone tomorrow,” said Malick Sall, a young electrician in his mid-twenties. “If most of us are trying to leave this country, it’s because we have no opportunities here,” he said, blaming the “government…
Democracy in Africa is kin to a newly hatched egg that needs to be protected and kept warm in order to ensure its full development. The slightest disturbance and that egg could fall, break and literally shatter into a thousand pieces. The mother hen might not be too happy about…
Imagine a plot of land, dry and wasted. In the distance, a woman and her two children sort through the ground, looking for remnants of what used to be their farmland. Nearby, construction is underway for a cigarette factory. Even before the factory is completed, the devastating effects this ‘investment’…