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Bolivia. The textiles of the Andes.

Friday, 1 October 2021 8:00

The textiles of the Andean Valley stand out not only for the technical complexity of the weaving process or for the beauty of their colours and figures, but also because their artistic symbolism reveals the socio-political, cultural, economic and spiritual worldview of the Andean people.

Once the wool is obtained from the sheep, alpaca, vicuña or other animals, it is washed in the nearest rivers to the communities; when it is clean, it is left to dry. When the wool is dry, lint and small dirt remains are removed by using sticks.
Then the wool is spun on a spinning wheel. The spun yarn is then wrapped in junis: balls of crossed and intertwined large loops. Once it is coloured, the yarn is left to dry and then it is twisted and spun again on a spinning wheel until the final fabric ball is obtained.

Natural ingredients for colouring the thread
According to ancient narrations, people once used natural elements to colour the wool threads. The brown colour was extracted from the corncob, which is the central core of an ear of corn. It is the part of the ear on which the kernels grow. The corncob was boiled in a container with plenty of water until it turned brown, then the juñis were immersed in the brown water to which salt and lemon were added in order to fix the colour and avoid dye bleeding.

Close up of an alpaca.

The maiz morado (purple corn) or kulli sara is an ancient variety of corn originating in the Andes of Peru. In order to obtain the purple colour the corn was left to soak in water, then it was boiled until the water turned purple.
Threads were immersed in it until they absorbed the colour.
The cochineal, which can be found in the prickles of tuna, was used to produce red tints. Cochineals were crushed until their juice was extracted and then it was boiled in a container.The colour green was obtained from Kimsa k’uchu, the Ch’akatea Kimsa k’uchu and ch’akatea, which are green plants.
The leaves of these plants were left to boil in water for an hour until the green colour was obtained.
Lemon and salt were added to the water to get a vivid colour and then threads were immersed into the green coloured liquid.
The Ajrawayu is a hard plant with many thorns. It was used to make the yellow colour.Several different fabrics are produced in the Andean Valleys: utensil fabrics are used to make items for everyday use such as: aguayos, the inkuñas, the phullus, the sacks, the chuspas, the wayaqas and others, while clothing fabrics are used to produce clothing items such as the aymilla, the rebozo, the ajzu, the calzuna, the chumpi, the jacket, the pantipata, the poncho, scarves and others.
In all fabrics ancient and modern figures are represented with different colour combinations.

Meaning of the figures in the fabrics
Andean artisan fabrics show different patterns and figures, and each figure has a particular meaning depending on the ayllu (political, social, economic, and administrative unit of the Andes) where they are made.
The chuwa pattern symbolizes a concave plate of common use, which is used to serve food. Another common motif in the Andean fabrics is the condor, a sacred animal to Andean peoples.
The condor is seen as the protector of the indigenous people and the messenger between Janaj Pacha and Kay Pacha (the divine world and the human world). Birds among Andean people are considered as messengers of a future event, the arrival or the death of a relative for instance, or of the arrival of rain, etc.

Other typical figures and motifs in the Andean fabrics are flowers, which symbolize love and friendship between two young people. Once, when young people fell in love, they romantically showed the loved one a flower as a symbol of their love. Sun is another motif. It symbolizes the light and source of energy for humans, plants and animals.
While ants in the textiles of the Andean Valleys, are the symbol of perseverance and bravery, they live in and work for the community like the Andean elderly used to do. Another typical figure of the Andean fabrics is the llama, the important transport animal living in the Andes Mountains, which provides people with wool, food, and a way to transport goods. Llamas’ foetuses were also used in ancient times as offerings for wilanchas (animal sacrifices).
Another common pattern in the textiles of the Andes are the leaves of the molle tree which symbolizes resistance.
The molle is an evergreen tree which has medical properties and which offers food and home to birds.

Meaning of the colours in the fabrics
Colours are also extremely meaningful in the Andean fabrics: the red aguayo symbolizes the blood spilled from the sacrifice of animals to Pachamama (the Andean earth-mother figure). Pachamama is the highest divinity of the Andean people since she is concerned with fertility, plenty, the feminine, generosity and ripening crops, besides providing protection. But red is also the festive colour, red aguayos, in fact, are used for special places and events such as uywañak ‘aku or to cover the table, during the ch’allaku (offering to the pachamama).
The red aguayo is also worn by the indigenous authorities, such as the tata jilamp, the tata segundo and the mama ralla and on the occasion of wedding ceremonies, since the red colour symbolizes the love between a newly married couple.

The aguayo in the green colour, which symbolizes hope and the blessing of nature, is mainly used for the ch’allaku ritual for the khuyuris on occasion of San Bartolomé and San Juan patron saints’ festivals.
The aguayo in the black colour, which symbolizes darkness, mystery, and death is generally used on the occasion of sad events. Traditionally it was known as the clothing of mourning for the loss of a loved one.
The Andean-Amazonian fabrics were and continue to be a sort of parchments that reflect the cultural and spiritual wisdoms of the Andean people through symbolism, yet another way of dialoguing
with the Pacha.

Jhonny Mancilla

A flourishing economy.

Friday, 1 October 2021 8:00

The discoveries of large deposits of oil and gas between 1970 and 1990 brought about considerable growth in the economy of Trinidad and Tobago which is now the most flourishing in the Caribbean.

Its GNP, in fact, even if it has been slowing down since 2009, is among the highest in the entire region, thanks to the large reserves of oil and gas, while the value of exports is greater than that of imports. There is therefore no doubt that the energy industry is the driving force behind the economy of the islands whose reserves are believed to be 0.716 billion barrels of oil, mostly in offshore deposits and 0.2899 trillion cubic metres in 2020 of natural gas. The export of energy resources is an important item of national GDP, making up around 22% of the annual income of the government.

Liquefied natural gas lng carrier ship with five tanks.

The petrochemical industry is also well developed especially in the production of ammonia and methanol that make Trinidad and Tobago the largest exporter of these products in the world. The first installation for the production of methane was built in 1985 and today there are seven of them with a total production of around 0.36 million tons. Also, very important in the petro-chemical industry is the production of urea of which the USA was a large importer in the eighties. The energy industry also has an important role and produces 99% of national electrical energy needs. Unquestionably, the development of the petroleum industry was also facilitated by strategic alliances with well-experienced international partners such as British Petroleum Trinidad & Tobago and the BHP Billiton, by means of which this country succeeded in the early 2000s to consolidate considerable energy potential while, in recent years, a start has been made to implement a plan to privatise the gas and oil industries.

Even though its economy still depends on energy resources and by-products, the country may boast an industrial economy that is certainly an anomaly for its neighbours, with its agricultural, tourism industries and services that guarantee a high level of employment.
The unemployment rate stands at 4.4% and is the lowest in the entire region and its services sector which is the largest provider of jobs, employing 63% of the national workforce. The country is also in possession of an important infrastructure network that has made Trinidad and Tobago attractive to foreign investments and also for the development of the tourist industry – in expansion especially on the island of Tobago. It is also an important financial centre. Internal transport is guaranteed by a dense road network of around 8,200 km, while overseas contact is assured by the maritime services (active in the ports of Port of Spain, Pointe-à-Pierre and Point Lisas on Trinidad, and Scarborough on Tobago) and air services using Piarco International Airport on Trinidad as the main hub. In order to modernise the infrastructural system, the government, together with the Caribbean Development Bank, has incentivised a system of public-private partnerships that serve to attract foreign investment for the modernisation of the airport, the building of a new hospital in the capital, a solar centre for energy and other sectors.

Port of Spain. Fresh vegetables and fruit displayed for sale on local market. Photo: photosvit/123RF.com

The agricultural sector, with a sound tradition going back to colonial times, is an important producer and exporter of cacao, citrus fruits, sugar, and coffee. However, it must be noted that, while the agricultural sector has for many years been the basis of the economy of the islands, there has been a steep decline in production in recent years substantially due to the development of other economic sectors that absorbed investment resources. The dimensions of the phenomenon are most easily understood by observing the reduction, measured in thousands of tons, relative to the production of coffee and sugar that took place in the eighties and nineties.
There has also been the development of the heavy iron and steel industry, its main market outlet being the United States, though a certain amount of iron and steel is destined for the internal market with its growing building industry. This industry also provides a stimulus for the cement industry whose production is absorbed internally by the real estate sector. A further well-developed sector is fertiliser production making Trinidad and Tobago one of the world’s major producers.
To facilitate trade, during the past fifteen years, many customs barriers have been eliminated by the signing of a number of free trade agreements with countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica, apart from those of the CARIFORUM and the EU, signed in 2008, which include Trinidad and Tobago as a member of the CARIFORUM. (F.R.)

Islamist danger.

Friday, 1 October 2021 8:00

As well as the high crime rate and the phenomenon of migration from Venezuela, during the past thirty years, Trinidad and Tobago has verified the extraordinary growth of Islamic radicalisation.

The phenomenon began to spread after the coup in the nineties, continuing up to the present day with the proliferation of various radical organisations that are a sort of mixture of religious organisations, criminal bands, and private militias. Of these, Jamaat al Muslimeen, JaM, which planned and led the coup in the nineties, is the best known and most active. The organisation was founded in the eighties by the Imam Yasin Abu Bakr with the aim of helping immigrants of African origin to rediscover their identity through conversion to Islam, held to be the original religion of all African-Caribbeans.

Yasin Abu Bakr, leader of Jamaat-al-Muslimeen

In order to finance its own religious and charitable works and the construction of mosques, useful means to achieving its declared goals and establishing branches in the territory, the JaM has set up a veritable criminal structure dedicated to drugs and arms trading and the exploitation of prostitution, robbery, extortion, and kidnapping. In 1993, with the help of the British preacher David Muhammad, it reached an accord with the NoI with the aim of spreading Islam, supporting the African community, collaborating in the development of social programmes, maintaining mosques, spiritually supporting detainees, and introducing Islam into the prisons.
Despite everything, the organisation has also enjoyed the support of some international sponsors among whom, according to investigations carried out in the United States, was Muammar Gaddafi, with the intention of creating a threat on the doorstep of his eternal rival the United States. Proof of this is the fact that, in 2007, the United States secret service foiled an attack on John F. Kennedy Airport in New York by a JaM cell. From then on, the US agents broadened their field of enquiry and discovered that the JaM, apart from its terrorist activities, was doing business with organised crime in the region and, in particular, with the Mexican and Venezuelan cartels and FARC in Colombia.
With the death of the Libyan leader, there was a rapid spread of Wahhabite groups on the islands, shown by a lot of strange comings and goings from Riyadh to Port of Spain and of Islamic State, indicated by the numerous departures. Proof of this is seen in the fact that, according to estimates, about 400 Trinidadians left the Islands to go and support the war conquests of Islamic State led by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.

An Isis propaganda image showing fighters from Trinidad and Tobago during military training in Syria.

Trinidad and Tobago thus became the largest source of recruits to Daesh in the Americas, even though the country has one of the lowest rates of combatants in the world. An anthropological enquiry conducted by Dylan Kerrigan shows that there are distinctive characteristics held in common by subjects who joined Islamic State. Foremost among these are: their age, from 16 to 25 years, having a criminal record, their economic situation and living in ghettos, as well as little or no education. Consequently, the conclusion reached by this anthropological research is that the large-scale departures were not determined exclusively by religious questions but most of all by the economic advantage recruits hoped to gain. In this regard, the undoubtedly important considerations of analyst Emanuel Pietrobon must be noted, in which he states: “It is certain that the findings of the anthropologist contain some truth, but to reduce the departures to a matter of money would lead to an over-simplification of the problem incapable of offering solutions”.

According to Pietrobon, economic gain explains the departures only in part since there are glaring examples that deny this thesis, above all the story of the boxer Tariq Abdul Haqq, an international celebrity who in 2013 decided to abandon the honours and privileges of his status, as well as his career in boxing, to go to Syria where he died among the ranks of Daesh. This is but one proof among many that the JaM is in line with Daesh and Islamic Jihad, even though Abu Bakr has denied several times that these relations exist, while the local authorities continue to ignore these alliances despite the supply of information from Washington and the terrible crimes committed during these years. If not brought under control, this situation could certainly create a huge problem for the social, economic, and political wellbeing of the country and even become a threat to the entire region.

Filippo Romeo

Conflict Minerals: Towards a Revision of a Failed Regulation.

Friday, 1 October 2021 8:00

Anyone who has visited a mining area in Africa must have been struck by the negative impact that the activities of extractive companies have on the land, as well as the lack of security around the mines, the health consequences and the displacement of populations.

At a glance, one recognises how mining activity changes the landscape; the traffic on the adjacent roads flooded with heavy trucks that destroy the roads; and there are comings and goings of people attracted by the crumbs that mining companies leave behind and mountains of mineral wastes. In addition, it is common to find crowds of people (including children) scavenging for scraps of minerals among the excavated rocks that are discarded for their low yield but which nevertheless provide them with means to of earning some money to live on.

These scavengers, as well as artisanal miners, find (irregular) mineral markets as a means of livelihood. And if these activities are carried out in conflict-affected and high-risk areas, the economic benefits of this mining activity often end up in the hands of armed groups.

In order to prevent the profits of buying and selling minerals ending up in the hands of rebel and armed groups, the European Union adopted the European Conflict Minerals Regulation that entered into force on January 1, 2017. The original spirit of this Regulation required mineral importing companies of the EU to trace minerals throughout the supply chain of their providers.

In addition, the European Directive would sanction companies that purchase minerals from business groups (smelters and refiners) that have bought these minerals from armed groups.

As with other legal provisions, the business lobby did not miss the opportunity to water down the content of the Conflict Mineral Regulation. First of all, the mining companies succeeded in making the Directive transitional.

The implementation of the Directive started as voluntary regulation in 2017 and entered into force as mandatory in January 2021. The implementation of the Conflict Mineral Regulation has not improved the situation in places where rebel groups control mining areas. Thus, in 2020, 44% of investigated companies were unable to make a final determination on conflict mineral origins.

The laxity of companies in their implementation of the Directive requires greater attention from the EU in the control of its multinationals and it is necessary to establish homogeneous measures to accompany the implementation of the Directive.

Secondly, the conflict minerals directive was insufficiently and unwillingly drafted by the EU. Its scope was reduced to certain minerals such as tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG) and excluded other minerals of equal relevance for new technologies such as cobalt and nickel.

In addition, in recent years the EU has developed new needs for rare metals that are necessary for the transformation of energy production through renewable energies, such as lithium, indium, lanthanum, yttrium and europium. For the revision of the Directive planned for 2023, the directive should include all rare minerals and metals essential for developing the transition to a green economy.

Thirdly, the business lobby of mineral importers influenced the process of creating the Directive to limit it to certain geographical areas and got the EU to draw up lists of “reliable” companies so that importing companies would deposit the civil liability of their imports with third parties’ companies (through external auditing) that would have to guarantee the traceability of minerals.

The lack of transparency on the part of the Member States in making public the lists of companies that must be subjected to the directive, and the fact that the companies exempt their responsibility in the audits carried out by third parties, make the directive doubly ineffective.

In this way, civil society has no access to the control of the mandatory reports that could indicate risks and cannot act in coordination with the competent authorities in each country to monitor the implementation
of the directive.

The Directive requires accompanying measures to enforce the ban on imports of minerals that finance armed groups in conflict-affected and high-risk areas. Member States do not agree on these measures to implement the Directive and offer varying and undemanding solutions in case of infringement of the Directive.

The revision of the Directive should include sanctioning mechanisms by Member States in order to ensure unity of coordinated action and to prevent states from reducing the effectiveness of the Directive.

The Directive allows Member States the possibility of choosing sanctioning measures in the event of company infringements. Thus, while most EU countries consider that companies importing minerals from conflict zones that do not comply with the Directive should be subjected to a financial penalty, countries such as Finland and France support the idea of banning imports from such companies for a certain period of time, ranging from one month to one year.

Other countries such as The Netherlands, Sweden or Czech Republic choose to make public the names of companies in breach of the Directive as a coercive measure to encourage companies
to comply with the law.

There is no unanimity on the part of the Member States to fine companies that infringe the Directive, and the countries that opt for a monetary sanction also disagree on the amount of the sanction, which ranges from the ridiculous amount of 726 Euros in Austria to 100,000 Euros in Luxembourg.
In some cases, these penalties can even be made conditional on the mining companies’ commitment to rectify their mistakes.

The variety of corrective measures for breaches of the Directive by member states and the lack of severity of sanctions for serious acts of financing armed groups highlight the EU’s lack of political control. The solidarity so often touted by the EU in its negotiations for the extension of the post-Cotonou agreement should start with something as basic as supporting African states in their fight against the terrorism of armed rebel groups and preventing any human rights violations.

The change from a voluntary to a mandatory directive is a positive factor in the fight against the impunity of large companies operating in Africa, but it is clearly insufficient. The transpositions of the directive by the member states do not even include penalties for companies that repeatedly import minerals from conflict zones without justifying their traceability. It is sufficient to justify that the imports have been carried out through qualified intermediaries (the so-called white list) in order to exempt any kind of civil liability.

José Luis Gutiérrez Aranda,
Trade Policy Officer,
Africa Europe Faith and Justice Network (AEFJN)

On defense of water and the right to live well.

Friday, 1 October 2021 8:00

On August 23, 2021, at the Tacagua’ camp of Challapata, Oruro (Bolivia), thanks to the support of the CASA Collective, about 150 members of the communities that make up the National Network of Women in Defense of Mother Earth gathered. The concern was the threat of mining companies in their attempt to explore in order to exploit their territories.

The purpose of this apthapi was to join forces in defense of collective rights, including the Right to Water, to self-determination and to live without contamination, by denying the mining companies access
to their territories.

Apthapi means bringing and it is an Andean communal practice where, without restrictions or hierarchies, food, ideas, feelings, knowledge, and decisions are shared. It is a tradition that is close to suma jakaña or suma qamaña, the good living. In the center – one of the many conflicts over land, water and other natural resources that lead to violations of human, social and economic rights of minorities and indigenous peoples – which casts shadows on the human quality of our common future.

On the other hand, it was also one of the many communities and civil society initiatives that opened the heart to hope even though tinged with patience knowing “that nothing is for tomorrow” when it comes to making a change in the exploitative mentality of multinational corporations.

However, this multiplication of initiatives in the defense of water, of territory, and of human rights against the abuse of multinationals, especially mining companies, also question the same advocacy: if they exist, what are the common basis of all these actions? Why are they not making significant progress? In the last analysis, why are there so many unsolved conflicts?

In Tacagua – along with the representatives of the communities, were the traditional authorities of the 7 ayllus of the marka Challapata, the Association of Users of the Irrigation System, the civil authorities of the Acallapu and Tolapujro Cepeda communities, the traditional authorities of Tapacari Condor, Apacheta and Collpaña and Ataraque, all respectively from the municipalities of Peñas and Caracollo. In other words, in Tacagua all the administrative and civil authorities were present, along with representatives of civil and traditional society.

It is worth mentioning that in the Quechua language, a certain space is an ayllu. Four ayllus form a marka which, therefore, is an association of ayllus. An ayllu is made up of about 500 inhabitants. In Tacagua, the apthapi began with a sharing of local products: quinoa, beans, potatoes, cheese, and yogurts produced in Challapata thanks to the
water from the Tacagua dam.

However, the reason for the encounter was the fear that the communities would soon be victims of exploitation by mining companies. These communities are agricultural, livestock and dairy producers, and are highly productive: therefore, they do not want to abandon their traditional vocation, which requires them to oppose the entry of mining companies into their territories.

Experience shows that mining entails multiple very negative environmental and social impacts and constitutes a threat above all to the sources of water that are so necessary for agro-dairy production.

During the apthapi, then, the community spoke out publicly against the entry of mining companies and denounced the complicity of AJAM (Mining Administrative Jurisdictional Authority in Spanish acronym) with the mining actors, undermining the right to Free and Informed Prior Consultation of the community.

AJAM is an entity with its own legal personality but is under the supervision of the Ministry of Mining and Metallurgy. It is in charge of the direction, administration, registration, control, and supervision of mining activity throughout the territory of the pluri-national State of Bolivia. This collusion of the State with private interests has already occurred in Challapata where more than 50 irregularities led the way to the request to annul the process. It turned out that the consultation that had been with indigenous representatives “bought” by the mining companies. This fact has provoked suspicions and resentments from all the indigenous communities against AJAM.

The Indigenous Peoples of Collpaña, Caracollo, Tapacari Condor Apacheta de Peñas and Challapata then demanded that the authorities respect the decisions of the apthapi of Tacagua because entire communities who had exercised their self-determination by decreeing “zero income to mining” in their territories were there.

The statement also requested that the rights of women be respected because they are the first to suffer from mining impacts, and that the discussion and approval of the Water for Life Framework Law should be resumed. This law wants to modify the mining law about the right of Indigenous Peoples giving them the right to use water in their territories. The apthapi was concluded with a symbolic gesture, the delivery of vases of water to seal the commitment to fight together in the defense of water, the right to self-determination, so that decisions are respected.

The apthapi of Tacagua calls into question the mining activity but also raises questions about the advocacy action. On the one hand, a country like Bolivia in pursuit of its development cannot stop taking advantage of the riches of the subsoil.
On the other hand, not respecting indigenous rights to self-determination in a country that by constitution declares itself as a Pluri-national State, is highly conflictive, as well as contradictory.

The question, then, is: Why is there such a lack of inclusion? Why is the complexity of the problems not accepted? Why are shared solutions that sincerely respect both the rights of indigenous communities and the interests of the national community not sought after?

Everywhere it is accepted that individual rights end where those of others begin. So why is this principle not applied to the confrontation between the rights of minorities, of groups of individuals, of communities or peoples, and how to do it? Where to place the meeting point and balance between individual rights when they confront the interests of the community, the rights of minorities, the rights of small or numerous indigenous or local communities against the rights of the broader national communities? And, to go further, the rights of each country versus those of the international community, that is, of the human community in its complex universality?

Jean Paul Pezzi

Afghanistan-Sahel: similarities and radical differences.

Friday, 1 October 2021 8:00

Two scenarios seem analogous. But if both are characterized by long years of involvement of foreign troops in countries with weak and unstable governments, the Jihadist groups active in the Sahel do not have the deep roots and experience of the Taliban. And the French will not completely abandon that territory.

The dramatic consequences of the withdrawal of the troops of Washington from Afghanistan are being followed by a mixture of trepidation and joy thousands of kilometres away in the African region of the Sahel where another foreign power, France, has shown its willingness to end its long drawn out counter-insurgency operation, at least in its present form.
In examining the points both conflicts have in common, it is immediately obvious that both are characterised by Islamic ideology and many long years of involvement by foreign troops in countries with weak and unstable governments.

It is also true that the Afghan scenario could repeat itself in a country like Mali affected by endemic corruption, strong political polarisation and the fragility of its armed forces. The idea is not so far-fetched which says that in the near future Mali may be dominated by Jihadists, like what was happening at the beginning of 2013 when, with all speed, the then French President François Hollande launched Operation Serval to provide providential military and logistic aid to the Malian armed forces.
It is equally undeniable that the Taleban movement emerged in September 1994, guided by the Mullah Mohammed Omar, in the middle of the civil war that started in 1992. After taking control of Kandahar, the students of the Koran rode the waves of their initial successes and, in a matter of two years, succeeded in conquering Kabul, after they had stormed Jalalabad and Herat.

An operator from SOF Task Force Takuba coordinates an airstrike with a French Mirage jet in the Sahel.

A more or less analogous view identifies the Somali extremists of al-Shabaab, initially affiliated to the Islamic courts that sprang up in the summer of 2006 to restore order and peace to the Horn of Africa, at the end of a devastating civil war that started in 1991. The Islamist group gained some popular legitimacy when the Ethiopian troops invaded their country in December 2006, under pressure from the transitional Somali Federal Government. Al-Shabaab took the leadership of the anti-Ethiopian muqawama (resistance) and, from early 2007 to the second half of 2010, took control of a large part of Somali territory.

The substantial differences
The differences between the two scenarios are now clearer since the myriad of Jihadist groups active in the Sahel do not have the deep roots and experience of the Taleban who, already in the second half of the nineties held power in Afghanistan. Furthermore, the violent extremism in the Sahel is not about the territory of a single state but large peripheral areas that for at least a decade have been the object of incessant decomposition and re-composition.

Islamic insurgents in Mali. (Reuters photo)

When comparing the two crisis areas, reference was made to the imminent end to the Barkhane military operation in the Sahel, which was announced on 10 June last by French President Emmanuel Macron, ignoring the fact that the Barkhane which, on the first of August 2014, integrated Serval into Mali and the Épervier into Chad, will not allow a total and definitive withdrawal as happened in Afghanistan.
The French contingent which now numbers 5,100 men deployed between Mali, Niger and Chad, ought to be reduced by 40%, diminishing the French involvement to around 2,500 units. At the same time, the 500 commandos of the special French forces of the Task Force Sabre will continue to hunt down terrorists affiliated to al-Qaida and the Islamic State. France will remain in charge of the new contingent of European Interforces, Takuba (in the local Tuareg language means ‘sword’), which on 2 April last, became operative with the participation of almost a dozen European countries including Estonia, Italy, Denmark and Norway.

Increase of 33% in Islamist violence in the Sahel
In Macron practice, rather than withdrawing from the Sahel, he is trying to create a strategy that can halt the Jihadist insurgency in the vast desert region which, since mid- 2016, has caused the most dramatic escalation of violence in Africa. Proof of this is the new report published by the Centre for Strategic Studies with its headquarters in Washington. In the last twelve months, it has recorded an increase of 33% in Islamist violence in the Sahel.
In this regard, there is another analogy with what is now happening in Afghanistan: the bloody attacks on civilians being carried out by ISIS-K, the Afghan flank of Islamic State active in the province of Khorasan, can only favour the Taliban.

In the same way, the brutal attacks and the raids on entire villages perpetrated by Islamic State in Great Sahara (Isgs) make the JNIM less extreme and more ‘moderate’ in the eyes of the local population.
The same is true for the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’Awati wal-Jihad (Jas), one of the two factions of Boko Haram, which until three months ago was led by the now defunct Abubakar Shekau, sadly noted for the civilian massacres inside mosques and crowded markets in the north-east of Nigeria.
This is a much more radical approach than that adopted by Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap), which caused a considerable loss in consensus and possible adherence to the Jas faction.
On the contrary, the ostensible attention of Iswap to the needs of the population in territories under its control has helped to reinforce its popularity. Even though the local communities are well aware that, though it concentrates its attacks on military targets, Iswap can inflict collateral damage on civilians as well.
In conclusion, there is another quite disturbing similarity that both crisis scenarios have in common. A similarity that derives from the patience and tenacity with which the Taliban continued to fight the Americans, knowing that, in the end, they would have prevailed over their enemy. It is that same patience and tenacity being demonstrated by the militant extremists active in the Sahel, who seem ready to wait and wear down the foreign forces convinced that, in the end, they will leave.

Mario Giro

A multi-ethnic country.

Friday, 1 October 2021 8:00

Due to its varied history, Trinidad and Tobago represents one of the most multiracial countries in the Americas.

The results of the 2011 census show the following ethnic composition: 35.4% of its inhabitants are of Indian descent, 34.2% are of African descent, and 22.8% are of mixed race while 7% are of other provenance, and 0.6% are white. In concrete terms, as shown by the census, the whole of the population is either Indian, African or of mixed race.
As to its religious profile, Catholicism was the religion practised during Spanish rule and maintained by the workers of French origin who moved to the islands. During the period of British rule, Protestantism and Anglicanism also made progress. The workers from India brought with them Hinduism and Islam, the latter being preferred by the Syrians and Lebanese who came to the islands while the Africans brought their own forms of cult. We may therefore note that Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam have the largest number of followers in the country and enjoy official recognition as the foundational pillars of Trinidadian national identity with their special days included in the holiday calendar. Nevertheless, there is also room for other religions.
Besides Anglican, Catholic, and Methodist churches and a Benedictine monastery, the Islamic mosques and Hindu temples, there are also other places of worship.

The 2011 census presents the following panorama: Catholics (21.6%), Hindus (18.2%), Pentecostals (12%), Anglicans (5.7%), Baptists (5.7%) and Muslims (5%). The three faiths have always been involved in political affairs and in society with the aim of guaranteeing interconfessional dialogue and reinforcing social cohesion.
As to its institutional profile, the separation of powers is guaranteed by means of a system of ‘checks and balances’. It includes a two-house system with 31 members in the senate (of which 16 are chosen by the Premier, 6 by the leader of the opposition and 9 by the President), while the House of Representatives has 41 deputies elected for five years. In its administration, the country is divided into 10 regions and 5 municipalities, while the island of Tobago enjoys its own autonomy.
The inhabitants number 1,341,465 of whom about 90% live on the island of Trinidad. It is also recorded that 50% of the total population live in rural areas while the other half are now established in the large cities like Port of Spain, San Fernando and Scarborough, the latter being the largest city on the island of Tobago.

The rate of urbanisation is very low at 9%, even though 2/5 of the population live in the urban area of the capital Port of Spain which, however, is considered more like a vast rural conglomerate than a real city, given the sort of dwellings that form the majority of the houses. Unlike Trinidad, the population of Tobago, from the point of view of ethnicity, is much more homogeneous since the people are mostly of African origin with their own language and culture. Some of the social problems that affect the country are organised crime and corruption. These two phenomena are closely connected and derive from the drugs trade for which Trinidad and Tobago represents an important logistical base for the routes between South and North America. Canada, the United States and Great Britain, supporting the local authorities, are together working to oppose this phenomenon. As well as drugs, local organised crime is also quite active in the trafficking of arms, wild animals, and even human beings. These criminal activities are facilitated by the porosity of maritime borders and the situation of crisis that has lasted for years in nearby Venezuela, influencing the dynamics of the islands. In the waters adjacent to the islands, there is also the problem of piracy claiming victims among the local fishermen, while the problem of micro-criminality is a scourge within the cities where there is a high level of homicides, kidnappings, theft, and robberies. This is an important critical issue both for the indigenous population and foreigners and, consequently, for the tourist sector.

Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Keith Rowley.

As to its political profile, the country has for years enjoyed a valid system of democratic representation that guarantees the alternation of power, though this clearly does not make the system immune to a high level of corruption involving not only political representatives but
also its administrators.
In August 2020, Keith Rowely was reconfirmed as leader of the country with his PNM party (People’s National Movement) winning 22 seats, defeating the UNC (United National Congress), the main opposition party which won a total of 19 seats. Doubtless, the question of security is one of the main challenges being tackled by the government, besides the pursuit of neo-liberal politics, already inaugurated during the previous five-year period and furthered by the privatisation of the oil industry and accords of liberal commerce agreed with the major regional and global actors. Regarding its regional cooperation, the country collaborates with its neighbours, contributing substantially to aid efforts during the hurricane season.
The country is also associated with CARICOM, a regional organisation. In 2019, the government and opposition had completely divergent views as to what stance to adopt regarding Maduro’s Venezuela: the government declared it did not wish to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries or, at the most, to act as a mediator within CARICOM, while the opposition allied itself with Guaidò. (F.R.)

Africa. The hippo and its passion for rivers.

Friday, 1 October 2021 8:00

It is one of the most iconic of the African land mammals. It lives in water but cannot swim. The hippopotamus implements strategies that enable it to stay afloat in all circumstances. Discovering its secrets.

Weighing up to and even more than 3 tons, the hippopotamus has serious flotation problems. The rhinoceros has the same problem but in the case of the hippopotamus, the inability to float is something of a paradox since it spends more than half its life in water.
There are but a few rivers and lakes in Africa that do not teem with hippos, one of the few mammals that may be considered amphibious.

Even though its skin is thick, it does not tolerate exposure to the sun. Since it is very permeable, the skin of the hippo leaves the animal dangerously open to dehydration. The pachyderm avoids this by staying in the water for almost the entire day. It is only when the sun has set that it leaves its comfortable environment and ventures onto land to graze and return to the water before the sun rises again.

Riverbed galloper
The hippopotamus carried out most of its physiological and social functions in water: there, the extremely territorial males actively show off their status and the other individuals manifest remarkable sociability, sharing a large number of restricted spaces with relative tolerance.
On land, instead, hippos carefully avoid any sort of social interaction, even with individuals belonging to the same herd.
In water they form couples and give birth; nevertheless, these large pachyderms are unable to swim.

The hippopotamus generally lives in the shallower parts of rivers, ponds, and lakes where the water level allows them to remain submerged and to come to the surface to breathe simply by raising themselves on their four legs. Even so, they are more comfortable where the water is rather deep. There, being unable to swim, the only means of locomotion available to the hippo is to ‘gallop’ on the bottom. It comes to the surface to breathe by thrusting itself upwards with its legs from the bottom and leaping to the surface. It was precisely its characteristic of galloping on the bottom that gave the animal its name, ‘hippopotamus’ which comes from the ancient Greek signifying ‘river horse’ (hippos = horse and potamos = river).
Nights are a time of much activity for the hippo and it travels great distances – even as much as 30 or 40 kilometres – to find the best pastures and fill itself with a quantity of fodder amounting to 2.5% of its body weight. It then returns to the water to rest, and sleep submerged.

An amphibious life
When it sleeps submerged, the animal is able to reduce its heartbeat to 25% of its normal rate, reducing the flow of blood to peripheral areas and concentrating the blood (carrying oxygen) in its vital organs. This process, called bradycardia, allows the hippo to remain submerged in a state of apnoea for as long as 5 minutes after which it automatically awakes and goes to the surface to breathe, usually with a noisy blowing of air from its nostrils.

The female hippopotamus may weigh as much as a ton and a half, making it one of the heaviest land mammals, together with the elephant (the female may weigh up to 3200 kg) and the rhinoceros (the female white rhino may weigh around 1600 kg and the black rhino male 1000 kg). However, if we compare the gestation periods of these giants, we see that there is a marked disparity between the hippopotamus ad other animals of the same size: while a female elephant has a gestation period of 22 to 24 months and a female rhinoceros 15 or sixteen months, according to its species, the hippopotamus has an unusually brief gestation period of around 8 months.
This short gestation period is one of the strategies employed by the hippopotamus to adapt to its amphibious life. A longer gestation with the consequent increase in the development of the foetus would increase the weight of the mother and compromise its already precarious ability to stay afloat. A reduced gestation, instead, allows the female hippopotamus to keep this further disadvantage within acceptable limits.

Africa’s most dangerous animal
Accidents between humans and hippos are numerous and often fatal. Among the records it holds is that of claiming more human victims per year than any other animal, including the great predators. Why is it so dangerous?The hippopotamus is a herbivorous artiodactyl that feeds exclusively on grass which it grazes like an enormous mower with its broad, strong lips.
Unlike most herbivores, however, it has a very particular set of teeth with lower incisors and highly developed canines (the lower canines may reach up to 50 cm), which are constantly kept sharp.

The enormous mouth may open as wide as 150 degrees and the jawbones have powerful muscles. The jaws are armed with powerful tusks that have no feeding purpose but serve exclusively to combat enemies, predators and rivals and are capable to cutting in two a crocodile or a fibreglass canoe.
The dominant male hippopotamus is extremely territorial in water; it tolerates other males only if they maintain a subordinate attitude and they do not hesitate to engage in violent fights with any who dare to challenge its hierarchical position. During these duels, they inflict deep wounds on each other with their sharp tusks, often leading to the death of one of the contenders.The females are especially protective towards their offspring and do not hesitate to attack to defend them from any perceived threat.It is well known that travelling on African waterways may expose one to the danger of becoming the object of the fury of these enormous mammals.

Hippopotamuses, moreover, are not confined to national parks or nature reserves but live in all sorts of environments where water and fodder are present. They are often found near villages and people often use the footpaths created by hippos to go to the rivers or move easily through the bush. This renders more probable accidental encounters with these animals. On land, the hippopotamus does not feel as comfortable as in water and this makes it particularly aggressive. A sudden encounter with a human blocking the road may cause the animal to become aggressive out of fear, or to trample the person with its three-ton body while attempting to return to the safety of the water.
A hippopotamus will never pretend to attack before doing so. Instead, it attacks with deadly intent, at speeds up to 45 kph, covering a distance of 20 metres in a second and a half or 10 metres in less than a second!

Gianni Bauce/Africa

Pope Francis. “To proclaim and share what we have seen”.

Friday, 1 October 2021 8:00

This year World Mission Sunday will be celebrated on 24 October. The theme the Holy Father has chosen this year is: ‘We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard’ (Acts 4:20).
A synthesis of his message.

In his message, Pope Francis says: “Once we experience the power of God’s love, we cannot help but proclaim and share what we have seen and heard.…Everything about Christ reminds us that he knows well our world and its need for redemption, and calls us to become actively engaged in this mission: ‘Go therefore to the highways and byways, and invite everyone you find’ (Mt 22:9).”

The Pope points out: “The history of evangelisation began with the Lord’s own passionate desire to call and enter into friendly dialogue with everyone… Experiencing the Lord’s friendship, watching him cure the sick, dine with sinners, feed the hungry, draw near to the outcast, touch the unclean, identify with the needy, propose the Beatitudes and teach in a new and authoritative way, left an indelible mark on them, awakening amazement, expansive joy and a profound sense of gratitude.”

The Holy Father said that “ With Jesus, we too have seen, heard and experienced that things can be different. Even now, he has inaugurated future times, reminding us of an often forgotten dimension of our humanity, namely, that ‘we were created for a fulfillment that can only be found in love’ (Fratelli Tutti, 68). A future that awakens a faith capable of inspiring new initiatives and shaping communities of men and women who, by learning to accept their own frailty and that of others, promote fraternity and social friendship (cf. ibid., 67).”

The Pope adds: “The ecclesial community reveals its splendour whenever it recalls with gratitude that the Lord loved us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:19). ‘The loving predilection of the Lord surprises us, and surprise by its very nature cannot be owned or imposed by us… Only in this way can the miracle of gratuitousness, the gratuitous gift of self, blossom. Nor can missionary fervour ever be obtained as a result of reasoning or calculation. To be “in a state of mission” is a reflection of gratitude’ (Message to the Pontifical Mission Societies/Missio, 21 May 2020).”

“Even so, things were not always easy. The first Christians began the life of faith amid hostility and hardship. Experiences of marginalisation and imprisonment combined with internal and external struggles that seemed to contradict and even negate what they had seen and heard. Yet, rather than a difficulty or an obstacle leading them to step back or close in on themselves, those experiences impelled them to turn problems, conflicts and difficulties into opportunities for mission. Limitations and obstacles became a privileged occasion for anointing everything and everyone with the Spirit of the Lord. Nothing and no one was to be excluded from the message of liberation.”

The pope said that: “The pandemic has brought to the fore and amplified the pain, the solitude, the poverty and the injustices experienced by so many people. It has unmasked our false sense of security and revealed the brokenness and polarization quietly growing in our midst…”

“There is a temptation to disguise and justify indifference and apathy in the name of healthy social distancing, there is urgent need for the mission of compassion, which can make that necessary distancing an opportunity for encounter, care and promotion. ‘What we have seen and heard’ (Acts 4:20), the mercy we have experienced, can thus become a point of reference and a source of credibility, enabling us to recover a shared passion for building ‘a community of belonging and solidarity worthy of our time, our energy and our resources’ (Fratelli Tutti, 36).”

“Like the Apostles and the first Christians, we too can say with complete conviction: ‘We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard’ (Acts 4:20). Everything we have received from the Lord is meant to be put to good use and freely shared with others. Just as the Apostles saw, heard and touched the saving power of Jesus (cf. 1 Jn 1:1-4), we too can daily touch the sorrowful and glorious flesh of Christ.”

“There we can find the courage to share with everyone we meet a destiny of hope, the sure knowledge that the Lord is ever at our side. As Christians, we cannot keep the Lord to ourselves: the Church’s evangelising mission finds outward fulfilment in the transformation of our world and in the care of creation.”

“The theme of this year’s World Mission Day – ‘We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard’ (Acts 4:20), is a summons to each of us to ‘own’ and to bring to others what we bear in our hearts… Our life of faith grows weak, loses its prophetic power and its ability to awaken amazement and gratitude when we become isolated and withdraw into little groups. By its very nature, the life of faith calls for a growing openness to embracing everyone, everywhere.”

Pope Francis concludes: “On World Mission Day, we recall with gratitude all those men and women who by their testimony of life help us to renew our baptismal commitment to be generous and joyful apostles of the Gospel… Contemplating their missionary witness, we are inspired to be courageous ourselves and to beg ‘the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest’ (Lk 10:2). We know that the call to mission is not a thing of the past, or a romantic leftover from earlier times.”

“Today too Jesus needs hearts capable of experiencing vocation as a true love story that urges them to go forth to the peripheries of our world as messengers and agents of compassion. He addresses this call to everyone, and in different ways.
We can think of the peripheries all around us, in the heart of our cities or our own families. Universal openness to love has a dimension that is not geographical but existential.”

“Always, but especially in these times of pandemic, it is important to grow in our daily ability to widen our circle, to reach out to others who, albeit physically close to us, are not immediately part of our ‘circle of interests’ (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 97). To be on mission is to be willing to think as Christ does, to believe with him that those around us are also my brothers and sisters. May his compassionate love touch our hearts and make us all true missionary disciples.”

Morocco. Creating secure spaces.

Wednesday, 1 September 2021 8:00

The Diocesan Delegation for Tangier Migrants is a church organisation that receives migrants in the north of Morocco. We paid them a visit.

The waters of the Atlantic Ocean encounter those of the Mediterranean off the coast of Tangier, the seventh-largest city in Morocco. We are travelling along a broad and quiet road accompanied by Sr. Immaculate Gala, a Carmelite of Charity of Vedruna and head of the Diocesan Delegation for Tangier Migrants (DDM).
Long before reaching the cathedral, we can see its white tower, smaller than the imposing minaret of the nearby mosque.
It was in this main church of the diocese of Tangier that the DDM took its first steps ten years ago on the initiative of the then bishop of the North African See Mons. Santiago Agrelo, to differentiate the aid given by the church to the local population through Caritas from the specific support given migrants. The DDM is still that secure space where the migrants are welcomed, listened to and can feel at home, as well as being a place where specific projects are carried out in response to the needs of the migrant population.

The DDM is open to all migrants without distinction. Those who wish to be accompanied spiritually are invited to speak with the priests of the seven parishes of the archdiocese.
” the services offered are not meant to substitute the rights guaranteed by the Moroccan state, whether as health or legal protection and we have close collaboration with the Moroccan organisations”, Sr. Immaculada tells us. In the four DDM centres – Tangier, Nador, Tetouan and Alhuceimas – and in Oujda, even though it is not yet part of the structure of the Delegation, tens of thousands of migrants have benefitted from its services, “But the strength of this initiative does not lie in its numbers but in the concrete persons and the human response given to their needs”, Sr. Immaculada adds.

The migrants who cross the north of Morocco form three categories according to their psychological state as they are about to make the crossing to Europe. The first is a state of anxiety in which one’s whole live is concentrated upon the crossing. These people are given humanitarian aid to meet their immediate needs. The second group consists of people who, without losing sight of their desire to cross the sea, approach it more peacefully. For these, the DDM develops accompaniment, education and training-projects. The third group is composed of people who have abandoned the idea of going to Europe and want to settle in Morocco. These are supported while they are becoming inserted in the world of work.

Tangier. Ongoing dialogue.
At the headquarters of the DDM in Tangier, we met the dozens of people who make up the staff of the centre. Each morning, the work of the day is planned and requests from migrants are analysed. After the first general meeting, other more specific meetings are held with the leaders of each area in which it is decided who is to receive help, how it is to be given and who is to follow up each case. This is important since money is never given to them directly. For example, migrants are taken to the pharmacy, for medical check-ups or to the supermarket, or the rent of their accommodation is paid. Says Eric Parfait Foufou Talla, a Congolese and member of the team: “This method of being close to the migrants, in continual dialogue with them to get to know them, has changed a lot during the pandemic. Shops and offices have been closed for months, the laundry and showers have been closed and contact with migrants has been taking place by telephone. However, essential services such as food aid have been kept going”.

Tetouan. “Women’s Space”
Early in the morning, together with Sr. Immaculada, we travel the 56 km from Tangier to Tetouan, close to the Spanish city of Ceuta where the DDM centre is under the responsibility of the Franciscan fraternity. The Costarican Brother who coordinates the service assures us that “The Church is the essential reference-point for the Moroccan population through Caritas. However – the Franciscan continues – there is a noticeable reduction of Sub-Saharan immigrants because the authorities are exercising greater control over illegal migration; there have been raids and undocumented migrants have been arrested. Security measures have also been significantly increased along the Ceuta fences and it is almost impossible to cross them”.

Last May, Ceuta has seen the arrival en masse of at least 8,000 people – including youths, women and children – in less than two days: Spain called out the army and has already sent back half of them. The crisis in Ceuta with less than 85,000 inhabitants is unprecedented. Never before has Spain had to cope with such a large number of migrants coming all at once into the territory after illegally crossing a border considered secure, especially on the Moroccan side.
In Tetouan there are plenty of rooms with a laundry and showers, Wi-Fi or recreational games where people can socialise, but they were closed during the pandemic and are only now tentatively starting to open and return to normal. In 2019, the DDM team launched the project ‘Women’s Space’, with workshops for sewing, painting and psychological counselling. “Some of these women became pregnant during the migratory journey in relationships that were not always wanted. By means of games, a massage workshop for children and other activities, we aimed to improve the emotional ties of the women with their children”, Brother Sergio informs us. The pandemic caused the project to be suspended but the Franciscan brother is determined to reactivate it. Besides welcoming, listening and giving humanitarian aid, the DDM in Tetouan collaborates with other organisations that accompany migrants who voluntarily agree to return to their own countries.

Nador. On the web
Following the coast road, we head for Nador, a city located close to the Spanish enclave of Melilla. We are welcomed to Nador by Fr Alvar Sánchez and he immediately invites us to visit the parish dedicated to St James the Greater, in the famous Spanish quarter of the city where the DDM centre is housed. Rarely has any parish space been so well used. Here we find the Baraka training centre, a sewing school for women, a hostel for migrants, meeting rooms and offices, together with a dining room for children and storerooms. Together with Fr Sánchez there are about 25 humanitarian and social workers who keep the many activities of the DDM going.

Fathers and sisters working with migrants in Nador

Here, the situation of the migrants is different from those in Tangier. It is a transit zone, close to the border and it is difficult to rent accommodation. A house was needed for convalescent migrants, women and children as well as a number of rooms where people could stay. However, most of the migrants live in the countryside or the ghettos around the city. A team was set up composed of immigrants who meet regularly to look into the needs of the migrant population; the DDM representatives also visit these places frequently.
Using the RefAid app, the Nador team has also developed a digital platform that collects data from more than 300 organizations in Spain and Morocco that offer help to migrants and can be contacted by mobile phone. The app is available in English, French, Arabic and Spanish. A further innovative project is the ‘West African Flyway’, started in 2018 in Guinea. In collaboration with other organisations present in the country, participated awareness sessions are promoted to inform and protect especially the youth, against the dangers of illegal immigration and protect them from trafficking networks. This project has been successfully implemented in Senegal.

Oujda. An oasis of reflection
The majority of illegal migrants enter Morocco across the Algerian border. In the Catholic parish of San Luis, there is an oasis of reflection and rest for them which was opened by Franciscan priest Antoine Exelmans. At present, an average of 100 immigrants pass through each month. Some make an emergency stop there, halting for a few nights before continuing on their way; others arrive sick or seriously wounded and these stay for longer. One wing of the building is reserved for a project with minors who are accompanied and are given basic training in the Moroccan centres.

Collaborating with Fr Exelmans are Sr María Ros Castello and Sr Montserrat Prats, from Spain, together with the French Sr Rachel Guillien, Consolata Sr Edwin Osaleh from Kenya, and some volunteers.
Sr. Montserrat Prats emphasises that “The purpose of the house is to create a peaceful space where immigrants can reflect on their plans for their future lives”, and Sr Maria Ros adds: “Some of them, after being here for a while, decide to return to their original countries, something that requires psychological preparation since they see this as a failure they have to face, they have to prepare their families. Others decide to get an education or a profession”.

Actions cannot miss ethics.

Wednesday, 1 September 2021 8:00

Advocacy is also defense when it acts to preserve the initial aims and values of modern discoveries.

According to legend, when Vladimir Lenin was asked how he planned to “hang all the capitalists” in the face of a rope shortage in the young Soviet Union, he replied “don’t worry comrade; the capitalists will sell us the rope.” Even Lenin was not cynical enough to think that democracies would sell out their freedom of speech. No one is rough enough to distrust the best modern finding and technologies to self-destruct by enslaving itself to the worst aims.

Uranium strength has become a destructive bomb; social networks spread fake news; pharmaceutical companies do not primarily intend serving public health but take advantage of people sicknesses. Pfizer achieves sales figures of 45 billion, Novartis 44 billion, Sanofi 37 billion, Merck 35 billion. The most common and in many ways every day very useful smart cellphone for every person is becoming a dictatorial tool.

Now it is Pegasus’s turn, a software intended to protect people from terrorism; it had become a spying terrorist tool. “A huge data leak suggesting authoritarian regimes were possibly using smartphone hacking software to target activists, politicians and journalists”, writes Katharine Viner, Editor in Chief of Guardian. And she goes on say, “The more we’ve learned about global surveillance, ever since the Guardian’s Snowden revelations in 2013, the more the world has become accustomed to the idea that governments, both democratic and otherwise, are keenly interested in using technology and the phones in our pockets to keep tabs on us.”

Her comment is already very disturbing, as she says, “NSO – the company producer – sells its software to 40 governments around the world (it does not say which ones), and says its purpose is to help them investigate terrorists and criminals. But a leaked list of tens of thousands of numbers, many belonging to people with no apparent connection to criminality, and forensic analysis carried out on some of their phones, suggests some governments are spying on pro-democracy activists, journalists investigating corruption, and political opponents.”

Moreover, she explains, “The phone hacking tool, Pegasus, can gather data, record video using a phone’s camera, activate the microphone covertly, and take screenshots and location information – all without the owner’s knowledge. A phone can be infected without its owner even clicking on an incoming call or message.”

However, more disturbing is the conclusion of her 23/07/2021 briefing. The title proclaims, “The Pegasus project: why investigations like this are at the heart of the Guardian’s mission,” and the conclusion calls, “yet for the Guardian, such investigations are at the heart of our mission. Because of our independence, we are able to investigate boldly,putting the truth ahead of the agenda of an owner, investors or shareholders […] so when important stories like this come along, everyone gets
to read them.”

You can perceive in her words a tune of satisfaction for having at hand such disturbing unethical behavior and a joy at finding them as a pride of her professional work. As an African Proverb says, “A roaring lion kills no game,” meaning, “You cannot achieve anything by mere talking about it.” Yes, denouncing illegal practices is good but not enough, even for newspapers and magazines a real advocacy would be building inside and around them a culture of ethics in action, because, as another African Proverb admonishes, “Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped.” Meaning, “Do not look at your or others’ mistakes; look at what causes you and everyone to make such mistakes,” that it the lack of ethics in public and private behavior that is becoming “normal” today.

Jean Paul Pezzi

Kazakhstan. “The Heart of the World”.

Wednesday, 1 September 2021 8:00

Right in the middle of Eurasia, in that mass of land known as ‘The Heart of the World’, we find Kazakhstan, impervious, legendary, and fascinating – the land of fiery bloody sunsets that bewitched the passage of many merchants en route to China by way of the silk road.

Its natural beauty, together with its varied landscapes, number Kazakhstan among the most seductive countries of Central Asia and make it the most flourishing country of the entire region.
The territory, so vast that it covers three different time zones, has an area of 370,373 Km2, sharing 1,500 Km of border with China to the east, with Russia to the west and north and with Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan to the south.
To the north, where it joins Siberia, the border is not well defined, while to the east it is watered by the Caspian Sea.
Although its political confines make Kazakhstan an Asian state, its geographical peculiarity makes it transcontinental since it lies astride two continents: ‘Geographical Europe’, whose border is marked by the Ural River, and Asia.

The marvels of its territory, its hostility, and the variety of forms it presents, are profoundly intertwined with the history, mythology, and culture of the Proto-Turkish and Proto-Mongol populations who, in the second millennium BC, began to settle in those places which, until then, were considered ‘no man’s land’, giving existence to the ‘Empires of the Steppes’. In 1919, the territory definitively became part of the Kazak Soviet Socialist Republic and an integral part of the future Soviet Union. This change was such that it led to a process of industrialisation, urbanisation and the sedentarisation of the Kazaks. The Soviet regime isolated the elite of traditional society and tried to introduce egalitarian and socialist principles which were completely at odds with the hierarchical and traditional principles followed until then.
Moscow immediately set about making the country into a laboratory for social, cultural, agricultural, industrial, and nuclear experimentation with an impact that turned out to be negative both in social and environmental terms. There were several motives for the Soviets deciding to move in this direction, one of which was the geographical position of the country far from the lines of confrontation with the West. Because of this they made Kazakhstan the main centre of war materiel and experimentation of the Soviet Union. Besides the strategic motivations, others were purely economic and dictated by the desire to promote the development of the mining industry and heavy industry close to coal and oil deposits and to place virgin lands under cultivation.

Kazakh Yurts. CCA/cea

The process of industrial development generated considerable migration flows which helped to implement that process of demographic metamorphosis, thus transforming the region into a social laboratory within which the ethnic cultural and religious cross-breeding would produce the new man, Homo Sovieticus.
These transformations underwent a process of intensification during the period of the war to increase the workforce in the factories. This brought about the transfer of many Slavic and German workers’ families from the Volga. These were forced towards the north and northeast of Kazakhstan for fear they would collaborate with the enemy.
Then it was the turn of the Tatars of Crimea, the Georgians (after the revolution, they had set up an independent state and had fought against the Red Army), and the Muslims from the region of the north of the Caucasus Mountains. The Koreans received similar treatment between 1945 and the death of Stalin.

The Virgin Lands campaign was designed to utilize new land for agricultural production was launched in 1954.

The campaign launched by Nikita Khrushchev for the cultivation of the ‘virgin lands’ led to a further wave of colonists. The proportions increased in the seventies with the arrival of Ukrainians and Russians, motivated by the incentives offered by the government of Moscow to promote the plan to bring heavy industry closer to the deposits of coal, gas, and oil of Central Asia. These migratory policies made Kazakhstan the only Soviet republic where the people of the nationality after whom the country was called were a minority in their own country.
As regards agricultural experimentation, in 1917, the government of Moscow had already implemented a campaign of incentives to promote the cultivation of cotton, offering nomads and peasants apparently advantageous conditions. The situation began to worsen in the sixties at the time when the Soviet leadership made self-sufficiency its goal, making Central Asia the major supplier of the entire Soviet Union. To this end, the dissolution of the grasslands for the cultivation of cereals and wheat went ahead.

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site was the anvil on which the Soviet Union forged its nuclear arsenal.

To increase the area under cultivation, mastodontic irrigation projects were carried out, changing the course of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers bringing water down from the eternal Himalayan glaciers and emptying into Lake Aral. Water drawn from the rivers to supply dams and irrigation canals excessively reduced their flow. This phenomenon, besides failing to sufficiently increase the waters of the lake caused, over a period of time, the drying of the river deltas, leaving behind stagnant wells and desert. The environmental impact of this project was sufficient to cause a 75% reduction in the surface area of the lake, the extinction of most of the ichthyofauna and serious harm to the ecosystem of the area that previously contained a high degree of biodiversity.
Kazakhstan was also the centre for the main nuclear experimentation laboratories of the Soviet Union, as well as the most important nuclear and missile firing ranges, for bombing exercises, for test-firing ballistic missiles and air defence systems. In addition, Kazakhstan houses the Baikonur space centre, a most important Soviet technological-military installation and, up to 1994, the base for launching all military, spy, and communications satellites. (F.R.)
Open photo. Credit © Can Stock Photo / Cobalt70

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