Here at Enough, we often swap emails with interesting articles and feature stories that we come across in our favorite publications and on our favorite websites. We wanted to share some of these stories with you as part of our effort to keep you up to date on what you need to know in the world of anti-genocide and crimes against humanity work.
Check out this thought-provoking piece by Bill Easterly about a very cute child who grew up to sue the NGO who used his unauthorized photo on a fundraising brochure. Read this one to the end…
Though southern Sudan will likely emerge as the world’s newest country next year, work to prepare for one of the world’s most underdeveloped regions to set off on its own have been severely hampered by bureaucratic hurdles. “[F]ive years after the peace deal was struck [setting up the South for possible independence], donors have provided only $524m, and the region left shattered by 22 years of war and neglect is believed to be the poorest in the world – for the most part without schools, roads, a health service or safe drinking water,” reports the Guardian’s John Vidal from the southern capital of Juba.
Congo’s eastern region suffers from many tragic things, but Colombian researchers are now positing that the guinea pig, beloved pet of American schoolchildren, could hold the key to tackling one of Congo’s ills.
AlJazeera’s Inside Story ran a special feature on Somalia, amid reports that the fragile Transitional Federal Government is on the verge of launching a major offensive against the al-Qaeda-aligned al-Shabaab insurgents and other extremists groups. Responding to the reports, professor Ahmed Samatar from Macalester College said, “The current regime under [President] Sharif doesn’t’ have the capacity to even win around Mogadishu, let alone around the rest of the country, so I think that it’s a great deal of bravado.” Another guest on the show, Muhdin Mohammed Ali of the U.K.-based Center for Somali Policy, agreed. “The transitional government doesn’t have too many options,” he said. It’s a spirited discussion that gets into theories about the origins of Somalia’s two decades of virtual anarchy.
If you plan to spend any time on African minibuses in the coming months, prep for the experience by checking out this new World Cup-inspired song by Senegalese-American R&B star Akon – Oh Africa. It’s bound to be a fixture on soundtracks blaring from taxis and matatus this summer. (Hat tip: Africa Is A Country)