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PEOPLES DAILY, friday, september 4, 2015
International
Ugandan bodies flown home after Somalia al-Shabab attack
Middle East wars deprive 13m children of education UN
T
he UN has said that conflicts in the Middle East are depriving more than 13 million children of an education. The UN children’s fund, Unicef, says in a new report that the hopes of a generation across the Middle East and North Africa are being shattered. It says that in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya, almost 9,000 schools are not able to be used for education. Unicef also documented scores of attacks on schools and teachers across the region. Peter Salama, regional director for Unicef in the Middle East and North Africa, said: “The destructive impact of conflict is being felt by children right across the region. “It’s not just the physical damage being done to schools, but the despair felt by a generation of schoolchildren who see their hopes and futures shattered.” The 13.7 million who are out of education represents about 40% of the school-age children in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Sudan and the UN fears that figure could top 50% in the coming months. Unicef says that, in 2014, there were 214 attacks on schools in Syria, Iraq, Libya, the Palestinian territories, Sudan and Yemen. One in four schools in Syria have shut since March 2011, affecting more than two million children, it says. Unicef’s Education Under Fire report added that “the killing, abduction and arbitrary arrest of students, teachers and education personnel have become commonplace” in the region. Thousands of teachers have abandoned their posts in fear and children are often forced to work illegally to help their families.
The attack was the most fatal against Ugandan troops in Somalia
The bodies of 10 Ugandan soldiers killed in Somalia by militant Islamist group al-Shabab have been flown back home. Th e a t t a c k w a s a “ g a m e
changer”, and al-Shabab should expect an “appropriate response”, said an army spokesman. Twelve Ugandan soldiers were killed in Tuesday’s raid on
an African Union (AU) base in southern Somalia. Al-Shabab said it had killed 50 AU troops. Ugandan troops are part of a 22,000-strong AU force battling
the militants. In the Ugandan army’s first comment on the raid, army spokesman Lt Col Paddy Ankunda said in atweet: “We will not relent in our efforts to help in the pacification of Somalia despite the attack.” He did not give details of the other two Ugandan soldiers who were killed. Other reports put the number of soldiers killed at the Janale base, 90km (55 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, at between 20 and 50. Residents said the attack started with a suicide car bombing at the base’s gate, followed by sustained gunfire which lasted more than an hour. Despite losing most of its key strongholds in south and central Somalia, al-Shabab continues to carry out attacks on the government and African Union troops across the country. The militants also stage frequent suicide attacks in Mogadishu.
South Africa’s Johannesburg tops Africa millionaires list
S
outh Africa has the highest number of dollar millionaires in Africa, according to a new report. According to a report by AfrAsia Bank and New World Wealth, Johannesburg alone, known as the “city of gold”, is home to 23,400 millionaires. South Africa has 30% of the total. Egypt’s Cairo comes second with 10,200, with Nigeria’s Lagos third with 9,100. The study defines millionaires as people with net assets worth at least $1m (£650,000). It estimates there are close to 163,000 millionaires living in Africa, with a combined wealth of $670bn
(£440bn). The number of millionaires is rising fastest in Ghana’s capital, Accra, the report said, even though at the moment, with 2,300, it does not make the top five. After Lagos, comes Cape Town with 8,900 and Nairobi with 6,200. It may come as a surprise to many that Johannesburg has more than twice the number of dollar millionaires as Lagos, the economic hub of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and its number one economy. However, Nigeria became Africa’s largest economy only recently, whereas South Africa has been at the helm for as long as I can remember and remains the most industrialised
economy in Africa. Being a citizen of the “city of gold”, as Johannesburg is known in local languages, I can see the money every day. South Africa’s current economic problems has not prevented the emergence of new black industrialists. Economist Owen Nkomo and founder of Inkunzi Investments, told me that old money from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange companies, which is largely still in white hands 21 years after the end of apartheid, has been wisely reinvested. But he also points to the government’s Black Economic Empowerment scheme, aimed at
redressing the imbalances of white minority rule, as a key driver of the growing number of black millionaires. I have seen for myself in places like Soweto when the new black bourgeoisie flaunt their wealth on Vilakazi Street, where Nelson Mandela once lived, over the weekend. But I have also seen the vast properties in Cape Town owned by white families. All of this must not delude us, so we forget the plight of the poor majority. South Africa with all its wealth still faces huge problems of unemployment, inequality and poverty. And that should give all of us sleepless nights as we celebrate Africa’s wealth growth.
DR Congo bans film on doctor who saves rape victims
M
ukwege was awarded the Sakharov prize for helping thousands of gang rape victims [Screengrab from ‘The Man Who Mends Women’] The Democratic Republic of Congo has banned a film about Congolese surgeon Denis Mukwege, who has treated thousands of women raped during conflict, the government said. Belgian film-maker Thierry Michel’s movie, “The Man Who Mends Women,” follows Mukwege’s efforts to repair the physical and psychological injuries of the victims of sexual violence by armed forces and militia groups in eastern DRC. “I have decided not to approve this film,” Lambert Mende, the DRC’s media minister, told the AFP news agency in Kinshasa, confirming a claim by Michel.
“There is a clear intent to harm and sully the image of our army and no country in the world could tolerate it. That is why we have banned the showing of the film here.” In May 2014, Mukwege, 59, was awarded the Sakharov prize, considered one of Europe’s most prestigious human rights prizes, for helping thousands of gang rape victims. It is reported that since 1999, Mukwege has saved the lives of more than 40,000 women, many of whom suffered brutal sexual assault, including gang rape by soldiers and militias. Michel said he had previously been told by Congolese authorities that the film would be approved. He said it was “unfathomable” that Kinshasa had banned it despite the fact that it had been widely shown around
the world for six months. The film follows the activity of gynaecologist Mukwege in the Panzi Hospital he founded in 1999. He has run the facility in the South Kivu city of Bukavu while operating on several rape victims each day. Sexual violence is endemic to conflict zones, but the DRC has been described as one of the worst places on Earth for women. A United Nations representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict has dubbed the DRC the “rape capital of the world”. In 2011, a report claimed that around 48 women were raped every hour in the country. Militia often use rape to terrorise the local population, though members of the army are also known to have undertaken regular waves of mass
sexual assault. In November 2012, Congolese soldiers went on a 10-day rampage in the town ofMinova in south Kivu. It is estimated that around 1,000 women, children and men were raped during those 10 days.
Mukwege was awarded the Sakharov prize for helping thousands of gang rape victims [Screengrab from ‘The Man Who Mends Women’]