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Monthly Archives: January 2024

Kinshasa-Brazzaville: Separated Twins.

The Congo River flows between Kinshasa and Brazzaville. The distance between the two capitals is so small that they seem like a single city. With a common history, they have not grown at the same rate. At the end of the 19th century, the European powers divided the African continent between them. The Congo region…

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South Korea. Pots, Rice and ‘the Have-Nots’ of Seoul.

Left a very poor country after the end of the Second World War, South Korea is today at the forefront on a technological, economic, and social level. However, it exists in a world marked by profound contradictions in which young and old remain on the margins, as Father Vincenzo Bordo says from the capital. “Here…

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Chima Williams. To hold transnational corporations accountable.

In the aftermath of disastrous oil spills in Nigeria, environmental lawyer Chima Williams worked with two communities to hold Royal Dutch Shell accountable for the resultant widespread environmental damage. On January 29, 2021, the Court of Appeal of the Hague ruled that not only was Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary responsible for the oil spills,…

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Africa. Political forecast 2024.

The ongoing jihadist expansion in the Sahel region and attempts to stop it, the aftermath of the general elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the projected decline of the ANC in the South African polls, are the main trends expected for this year. In 2024, the main concern in West Africa will be whether…

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Chad. Koupor. Mission of Hope.

In a remote corner of Chad, three missionaries of the Immaculate Conception give a simple Christian testimony. Walking alongside people. Hilda, Shephali, and Irene are three Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception present in Koupor, in the south-west of Chad, on the border with Cameroon, where they arrived in February 2019. In the past, there…

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Nicaragua. El Güegüense. A People’s Resistance.

A Nicaraguan mask play that defies the arrogance of the powerful with style and creativity. An extraordinary portrait of non-violent resistance. It is an essential part of Nicaraguan culture.  The January wind cuts a path through the peaceful town of Diriamba, 45Km from the capital Managua. Diriamba owes its name to Cacique Diriangen, the legendary…

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A Bridge in 2028?

“Ebale ya Congo ezali lopango te, ezali nzela” (The Congo River is not a barrier, it is a road), sang the famous Congolese musician Joseph Kabasele. Today this statement must be taken with a pinch of salt. People have strong cultural and linguistic ties, but access to capital is no longer automatic. Over time, the…

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The face of the two cities.

Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is experiencing a demographic explosion due to a still high birth rate and migratory flows encouraged by rural poverty and the insecurity of war zones. Today, Kinshasa has 17.07 million inhabitants. It is currently the third most populous city in…

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Leadership in African Culture. Between Fear and Respect.

African traditional political leaders cover both the temporal and the religious spheres. They represent the exigencies of the ancestors before the community of the living and the exigencies of the same community before the ancestors. This double responsibility before the people and before the ancestors confer on them both authority and power. The Congolese philosopher…

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Advocacy

Sister Rosita. Four Decades of Refugee Advocacy.

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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Baobab

Kalulu and the Great Spirit of the Forest.

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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Youth & Mission

Towards World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul with the courage…

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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