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Monthly Archives: December 2024

Plants & Herbs. Harpagophytum procumbens. A desert plant with medicinal properties.

It belongs to the Pedaliaceae plant family and is commonly called Devil’s claw, grapple plant, or wood spider. It is a rare, highly valuable plant that is only widely spread in the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, especially in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Harpagophytum procumbens is a perennial ground herb that…

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Ecuador. A state of emergency.

Successive governments have failed to improve the political and economic conditions of Afro-Ecuadorians. Drug-related crime is making their conditions even worse. Afro-Ecuadorians represent approximately 7-10% of Ecuador’s total population. This means that there are between 1.2 and 1.75 million Afro-descendants in a country of approximately 17.5 million people. Most of this population is concentrated in…

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Cambodia. The water of the Mekong and the monsoons.

Contact with nature is omnipresent in the culture and the local population. The country still has a predominantly rural identity, although development and its consequences are changing the direct relationship with nature. Cultural notes. In the cities of Cambodia and, in particular, in the capital Phnom Penh, which is becoming a true modern megalopolis, the…

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Israel and Africa. Cyber diplomacy.

Israel is one of the world leaders in the production and export of digital surveillance technologies. To develop them, it can count on the only such laboratory in the world: the Palestinian territories occupied and militarized for decades. The famous spyware Pegasus by the company NSO Group, for example, allows its users to collect and…

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Afro-descendants. For a second decade.

According to United Nations (UN) data, approximately 134 million people of African descent live in the Americas and many millions more on other continents. Whether descendants of victims of slavery, more recent migrants or descendants of migrants, they are among the poorest and most marginalized communities in the world and have high mortality rates. To…

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World Declaration on People of African Descent.

The UN is currently working on a draft “World Declaration on People of African Descent”, with the effective participation of Member States and civil society organizations. The document, entirely dedicated to the collective rights of the African diaspora, will be the first international legal instrument to promote the preservation of their identities, ancestral territories, cultures…

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Celebrating African youth.

“Young Africans are playing an active role in bringing social change in the continent. They are contributing daily to the benefit of their communities and nations across Africa.” Africa boasts the world’s youngest population with more than sixty percent of its children aged below 25. It is estimated that by 2030, young Africans are expected…

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Myanmar. Paul Sein Twa. Preserving Ancestral Territory.

“What we would like to achieve when we talk about peace. Peace means self-determination. Peace means biological conservation. Peace means revitalization of our culture and Indigenous knowledge: our way of life.”  Environmental activist Paul Sein Twa explains to us. Paul Sein Twa, a Karen environmental activist and executive director of the Karen Environmental and Social…

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The Philippines. The Cardinal’s Challenges.

Monsignor Pablo Virgilio David, of the diocese of Kalookan, on the outskirts of Manila and president of the Episcopal Conference of the Philippines will be created a cardinal on December 7. A recognition of his tireless commitment to the poorest and most oppressed. His pastoral and charitable commitment led him to take a stand against…

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Mexico. The Land and the People. A Common Destiny.

Peasant communities of indigenous origin see the land not as a commodity to be consumed and exploited. But a living being integrated into their history and their identity. This is how the earth takes on a face with which to establish a relationship as a living being, as a neighbour, an ally and a witness…

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The Vietnamese paradox.

The middle class grows, but inequality increases. Galloping corruption, total party control over the people, an ambiguous relationship with China. Bamboo diplomacy. Vietnam’s first impression is of spectacular economic development: modern districts of high-rise residential buildings, vast shopping malls, heavy urban traffic where cars now compete with myriads of motorcycles and where the bicycles of…

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Algeria. The economy. A state of dependence.

It is the fourth largest economy on the continent but it is too closely tied to the fluctuations of the gas and oil markets. It remains a fragile structure compared to population growth. The new front with Morocco is called a gas pipeline. The economy of the largest African country occupies fourth place on the…

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Advocacy

Myanmar. Paul Sein Twa. Preserving Ancestral Territory.

“What we would like to achieve when we talk about peace. Peace means self-determination. Peace means biological conservation. Peace means revitalization of our culture and…

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Baobab

Inca. The Island of the Sun.

At that time Viracocha, the creator God, looked down upon the earth. He saw it was bare, shrouded in impenetrable darkness, for daylight did not yet…

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Youth & Mission

Celebrating African youth.

“Young Africans are playing an active role in bringing social change in the continent. They are contributing daily to the benefit of their communities and nations…

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