Guest post by Volker Seitz on a supposedly taboo subject
Climate change and armed conflicts are generally believed to be the main factors behind the hunger problem in Africa. In contrast, the author argues that the main cause of the problem is population growth. More here.
Guest post by Volker Seitz, former ambassador to Africa
Christmas time is the time for donations for the needy of this world. People also like to solicit charitable gifts for the poor in Africa. However, many projects are not suitable for eradicating poverty, says the commentator. But some are. So who can you donate to? More here.
Guest post by the Native American & Human Rights Action Group
December 10: International Human Rights Day. In Oslo, the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo receives the Nobel Peace Prize. The survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki cooperate with indigenous victims of atomic bomb tests. More here.
Twenty years ago, Ghofrane Haddaoui was cruelly murdered in Marseille.
Stoning to death: an archaic punishment only in Iran and Afghanistan? It is the year 2004: a 23-year-old woman is beaten and pelted with stones in the middle of Europe, in France, so that she dies in agony. How could this happen? More here.
A book review about a taboo subject. Guest post by Volker Seitz
The film “The Abused Servants of God” (2019) and Pope Francis’ admission that the abuse of nuns exists have sensitized societies in Europe. In Africa there was silence. In her pioneering work, nun Mary Lembo describes the exploitation of young nuns by Catholic priests. More here.
The Second World War began 85 years ago. And the “sitting war” in Alsace.
The war began on September 1, 1939 – in the East. Strasbourg was evacuated on the same day. 400,000 people had to leave Alsace and Lorraine. Ghost towns, cats and dogs were left behind. More here.
August 23: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
Even before Europe’s colonial rulers divided up Africa, Africans hunted Africans and sold them to Muslim slave traders who exported them to the Arabian Peninsula or further. While the Europeans ruthlessly exploited their colonies, they also abolished human trafficking within Africa. More here.
Studio talk: International understanding through travel
For 75 years, the peace organization Servas International has been bringing people together all over the world. Regional Coordinator Heinz Miebach of Servas Germany explains who can take part and how. Idea and preparation by me.
Guest post by Volker Seitz
On July 1, 2024, Hungary took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is a thorn in the side of many member states, partly because of his restrictive migration policy. Hungary is providing valuable aid to African countries, says the author. More here.
July 27: 30th anniversary of Kevin Carter’s death
His photo from Sudan went around the world in March 1993: a child, emaciated to the skeleton, crouches in the sand while a vulture lurks behind him. Kevin Carter received the Pulitzer Prize for this work. Two months later, the South African committed suicide in Johannesburg. More here.
