Issue # 469
INSIDE
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Darrel German named TCF regional president for Minnesota
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A F R IC A N
C OM MU N I T Y
N E W S PAP E R
US State Department honors Three Africans for courage
Vaccine inequity posing risk to global economic recovery, UN says
How to celebrate Eid al-Fitr safely during the pandemic
Zahra Mohamed Ahmad, Julienne Lusenge and Maximilienne Ngo Mbe are recipients of this year’s US State Department’s International Women of Courage Award whose ceremony was held virtually this year due to the ongoing pandemic. Photos: US State Department
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Tony Allen’s “There Is No End” out now
By Cynthia Simba Mshale When Maximilienne Ngo Mbe was in her final year of high school in Cameroon, the principal discarded learning materials in a blatant act of sabotaging students’ readiness to succeed in their final exams. It was in the early ‘90s, during an election year, and – as young people often do – Mbe and her fellow students were opposed to their principal’s preferred candidate, President Paul Biya. If the principal’s action was supposed to intimidate students, it failed. Instead, it ignited a student movement of opposition. “We got together to discuss what we could do, what action we could take to make it stop,” Mbe said. “On a Monday morning, we organized.” Mbe continued her activism after high school. In 1991, she decided that she was going to become a human rights defender. She has fearlessly continued her advocacy work for three decades fighting for democracy, workers’ rights, as well as children’s and women’s rights. Her efforts to advance human rights go beyondthe borders of Cameroon. Over the years, she has created partnerships with various organizations that have negotiated ceasefires and sought
lasting resolution to armed conflicts in the African continent. Since 2010, Mbe has led the Network of Human Rights Defenders of Central Africa, an organization that unites and supports advocates from the region. Mbe is one of this year’s recipients of the International Women of Courage Award, given annually by the U.S. Department of State to honor female activists from around the world. Recipients are women who have demonstrated exceptional courage, and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality, and women’s empowerment – actions that often come with great sacrifice and risk to them and their families. This year’s awards were hosted virtually due to the pandemic with special remarks delivered by the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden. The honorees came from 14 different countries, including three from the African continent. Mbe from Cameroon, Julienne Lusenge from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Zahra Mohamed Ahmad from Somalia, were the three African women honored. Mbe knows all too well the risk women who try to speak up against injustices take. In addition to her life being under continued threat, her children have not been exempted. For example, they were targeted after she openly questioned the government’s use of violence in Courage on Pg. 8