Dossier articles from the past 3 months
The Latin American cartels, from Bolivians to Mexicans. The Italian ‘Ndrangheta. The ‘friendships’ with African entrepreneurs and politicians. Diffusion and complicity in an expanding market. It was May 2021 when in an Interpol operation, with the collaboration of 41 African and Middle Eastern countries, narcotics were discovered, especially cocaine and cannabis, worth 100 million euros,…
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Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda are the main transit countries for heroin. West Africa, that of cocaine. Morocco is the kingdom of cannabis. The African continent has experienced significant increases in drug trafficking in recent years. The reason, in addition to the growing worldwide demand, lies in the ever-increasing fragility of the majority of…
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Within an expanding market, the role of Africa is also becoming increasingly important. Not only as a place of transit but also for consumption. Cocaine in West Africa, cannabis in the North, heroin in the East, methamphetamine almost everywhere. A phenomenon that local institutions are not yet able to control. According to the latest report…
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After decades of harsh prohibition, several African states have opted for policies that tend to liberalize or decriminalize the use of narcotic substances, especially those considered light. Drug use is on the rise across the continent, with even greater increases expected for years to come. According to data from the World Health Organization, cannabis continues…
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The Kunama ethnic group resides mainly in the Gash-Barka region of Eritrea, between the Gash and Setit rivers, in the western and north-western regions of Tigray and in small areas of Sudan. There are an estimated 260,000 Kunama, most of whom live in Eritrea. They represent about 2% of the Eritrean population. The history of…
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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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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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The political instability seen before, the ethnic tensions both in the country and in the region, the collapse of the institutions in some of the neighbouring countries (first Mali then Burkina Faso) and other factors created the conditions for an increase of the terrorist risk in Ivory Coast Jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda or…
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A leading country in West Africa, Ivory Coast has weaknesses that could not only block economic development but also lead to turmoil. The consequences of two civil wars fought in the past decades are still felt and the leadership, who is responsible for these wars, has not yet implemented measures that could avoid the troubles…
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The wounds caused by the two civil wars are still open since they have not yet been healed. The politicians, the soldiers and the militias that committed crimes against the population for the most part have not been put on trial. And there has not been a sort of Truth and Reconciliation Commission, like the…
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The prolonged phase of unrest reduced the influence of Ivory Coast on the international scene. During the Houphouet-Boigny era the Ivorian president was a powerbroker in the region. He was considered a pillar of Francafrique, the network created by France to control her former colonies in Africa and therefore to play a prominent role on…
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“We want to create a federation of international journalistic organisations that collaborate in this effort, starting from the global South,” says Filipino journalist and 2022…
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Once upon a time, there was a leopard. He had a huge walnut tree that was full of nuts. Stingy as he was, however, he forbade…
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Three young Comboni missionaries from three continents share their vocation stories and missionary experiences. Fr Victor Cunanan Parungao from the Philippines reflects on 15 years of…
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