We think of sanctions as an alternative to war. They are also a projection of power. States, corporations, and recently, individual citizens, are punished economically. The aim is to stop or curtail actions which are inimical to the interests or values of the sanctioning State or contrary to international law, or to both. In the…
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Pope Francis has sent a video message to young people registered for World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, on 1-6 August, and urges them to prepare themselves to encounter others and grow in hope. In his video message, the Pope praised the excitement the young Catholics must feel as they prepare to travel. “I can…
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After the initiation ceremony (Anfura-la) or the passage from adolescence to youth, the young Kunama sets out to find a girl to marry. This phase is also marked by some rites, such as that of engagement (Sussa-ma). Among the Kunama, young people are free to choose the girlfriend they want and girls are equally free…
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When the Kunama are asked: ‘Ayshila mekobino?’, they reply: ‘Ánnala’la makobinke’ (we believe in God). The word ‘Anna’ (God) comes from the word ‘Annena’ (in Kunama it means creator). The Kunama believe in Anna (God) who created the heavens and the earth. For them, God lives far away, up there in the universe, and no…
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A long time ago, Yhi, the goddess of the Sun, created the animals. She brought them to life by removing them from the icy depths of the earth. After that, she distributed them everywhere in the waters, on the surface of the earth or in the freedom of the heavens. But as time went by,…
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The life of the Kunama, from birth to old age – and even after death, is a tapestry of traditional rites and ceremonies handed down from the ancient fathers (ande) and scrupulously observed. The first of these rites is the celebration of the Isata Olà, (Gettng out), the purification of the mother after childbirth (dagosa)…
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An initiative of the Huruma Self-Help Group, it makes credit accessible to that segment of the population excluded from formal economic circuits. It all started in the Christian communities of Kariobangi, a suburb of Nairobi. In 1991 Verona Huruma Savings and Credit Cooperative (VH Sacco) was founded, an informal savings group made up of 15…
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When asked how a farmer’s daughter who became a Catholic nun ended up as one of Brazil’s most influential refugee advocates, Sister Rosita Milesi, 79,…
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Vusi was an honest man and a hard worker. He had cleared a large piece of moorland and turned it into a beautiful fertile field. He…
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On 24 November, the Solemnity of Christ the King, on the occasion of World Youth Day in the Particular Churches, in St. Peter's Basilica the traditional…
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