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Christmas edition decemBeR 16-31 2012

Vol 001 Nº25

FRee

ALAn sHAtteR

By Ukachukwu Okorie & Uche Azukaoma Osakwe

continued on page 4

MAKInG tHe pOOR A CHRIstMAs pROJeCt The great Roman sage Cicero once said, “Men resemble gods in nothing so much as in doing good More on page 5 ...

ALCOHOL use: tHe GOOD, tHe BAD AnD tHe uGLY

AntI RACIst CORneR (ARn)

COMMeRCIALIsM AnnOunCes tHe DeAtH OFCHRIstMAs

DIWALI InDIAn AnD nepALese RestAuRAnt

Alcohol is one of the most widely used and abused mood-altering substances in our society....

The Live Register, a new weekly topical discussion show airing Tuesday...

Since the eighteenth century, artists especially so...

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AFRICAWORLD decemBER 16-31 2012

opinion

The return of the native

Editorial

THETOYOSI SHITABBEY MURDER TRIAL

By Ukachukwu Okorie

The acquittal of Michael Barry, 26, of Pigeon House Road, Ringsend, Dublin 4, who was accused over the murder of Toyosi Shittabey in April 2010, has raised a cloud of fear in the African community in Ireland. Toyosi, who was 15 and originally from Nigeria, died after being stabbed in Tyrrelstown, Dublin 15. His case is one too many assaults on immigrants, particularly Africans, in Ireland.

The significance of this judicial outcome is that of fear within our community and the loss of hope in the Irish justice system. It is hard to accept that someone who was involved in the stabbing of a teenager to death walks out unpunished. It is really difficult to take.

Related cases with racial undertones have previously been treated with leniency and the audacity of people to commit assault has grown - especially in this era of economic gloom. Issues abound on racial abuse in work places, on the streets and even from landlords without concrete efforts to tackle it. How many more need to die before it is seriously looked into?

Toyosi’s murder was not a one-off and it brought unity among all in an effort to stop a hydra-headed monster rearing its head. The acquittal by Justice Judge Barry White, who directed there was no incriminating evidence to suggest Mr Barry knew his brother Paul was carrying a knife when he drove him to the scene where the teenager was stabbed, is worrying, to the parents of the slain deceased and the wider immigrant community - especially Africans who are at the top of the victim chart.

The authorities should review the case and begin to take measures to protect Africans who fall victim, on a daily basis, to growing racial assaults - especially now that the economy seems to be a prominent catalyst.

Happy Christmas and may the joy of this special season renew the love inherent in mankind.

Come in.

Uka

DESMOND TUTU Retired Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu rose to global fame during the last decade of Apartheid in South Africa. A Nobel Peace Laureate, he is one of the greatest living moral icons of our time who was a key player in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. He was also the first black South African Archbishop of Cape Town and primate of the Anglican Church.

He was born on 7 October 1931 to Zacheriah and Aletta Zililo Tutu in Klerksdorp, Transvaal. The only son of a teacher who earlier wanted to be a physician was first drawn to the cassock due to a white priest’s show of humility to his mum. “I was standing in the street with my mother when a white man in a priest’s clothing walked past. As he passed us, he took off his hat to my mother. I couldn’t believe my eyes – a white man who greeted a black working class woman in school!”, he said.

Desmond Tutu was educated at Johannesburg Bantu High School before proceeding to become a trained teacher at Pretoria Bantu Normal College. In 1954, he graduated from the University of South Africa. He was ordained a priest in 1960 after studying Theology and a brief stint as a teacher. Between 1962-66, he undertook further studies in theology in England leading to a Masters of Theology.

He later taught theology in South Africa on his return and embarked on another journey to England, spending three years as the assistant director of a theological institute in London. Archbishop Tutu was

appointed Dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg in 1975, the first black to be appointed to that position. In 1976, he was appointed Bishop of Lesotho, and in 1978 became the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches.

As leader of the South African Council, Archbishop Tutu formulated his objective for the rainbow country as ‘a democratic and just society without racial divisions’, and set forward the following points as minimum demands: - The cessation of forced deportation from South Africa to the so-called “homelands”; - The abolition of South Africa’s passport laws; - A common system of education;

AfricaWorld & Millenium Development Goals

The Editorial team at AfricaWorld would like to point out that it is aware of the Millennium Development Goals

Editor Ukachukwu Okorie

Graphic Design Mirco Mascarin

Chief Reporter Paul Kelly

Photography Darek Gutowski Giorgia Pistoia

Published by Uyokanjo Media Services Ltd. 46 Parnel Square West

3rd Floor +353 87 637 3210 Dublin 1, Dublin City

Republic of Ireland Skype: africaworld1 E-mail: africaworldnews@gmail.com

Sub-Editor Roisin Morris

“History, like beauty, depends largely on the beholder, so when you read that, for example, David Livingstone discovered the Victoria Falls, you might be forgiven for thinking that there was nobody around the Falls until Livingstone arrived on the scene.”

- Equal civil rights for all.

He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 after helping in struggles to end apartheid, having started in the 1976 Soweto Riots against the government’s use of Afrikaans as a compulsory medium of instruction in black schools. Tutu was instrumental in the economic boycott of South Africa by the latter’s primary investors, the United States and United Kingdom.

At the fall of South Africa’s colour bar regime, Archbishop Tutu headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He retired as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1996 and was made emeritus Archbishop of Cape Town. He belongs to many International groups and has risen to the role of a Global Elder Statesman.

and seeks to synergise its work in accordance with those aims wherever possible. Those goals are to improve

issues of Education, Health, HIV/AIDS, Gender Equality, Environmental Sustainability and Global Partnerships.

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deceMBER 16-31 2012 AFRICAWORLD

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NEWs

AKIDWA ENGAGES MEN ON GENDER BASED VIOLENCE Akina Dada wa Afrika (AkiAwA), the ethnic minority-led national network of African and migrant women living in Ireland, has organised a 16 day roundtable event with men. The parley, which was a follow-up of a previous one held at European Union House, was organised at the National Women’s Council of Ireland office on Parnell Square east.

AkiAwA’s roundtable parley with men brought lots of opinions and issues to light. The frank discussion dwelt on matters affecting husband and wife relationships, especially violence against the latter. Both sides had witnesses and victims in their debates.

Issues on FGM, religion in Ireland, sexual violence, interventions and intrapersonal relationships were debated. The parley, which was started by the moderator, Egide Dhala, made preliminary submissions and called for greater participation from men.

Resolutions included: • Most victims of gender-based violence are women, and it was acknowledged that men can also be victims.

• The media should be challenged on the issue of gender-based violence (GBV).

• People need not hide behind culture as no culture tolerates male abuse.

• The issue of GBV needs to be looked from the immigrant perspective.

• At the grassroots level, men need to be invited and be well informed about GBV and its effects.

• Pastors and Imams should be consulted too.

• Trafficking is a form of violence against women.

• Women should be sensitized to the issue.

• The role of family values should be emphasised in resolving conflict between couples.

• The issue of marriages of convenience was discovered as a source of violence.

The parley will continue in a different forum until a wider audience of men and their opinion is sought on eradicating genderbased violence.

Moderator - Egide Dhala stresses a point

Nobuhle Ncube record points

At the roundtable AKIDWA CEO - Salome Mbugua

Ian Calagy and other Panelists share point of interest

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AFRICAWORLD decemBeR 16-31 2012

nEWS (coNtiNUed FRom PaGe 1) Alan Shatter was born to a Jewish family 61 years ago. He was four years old when his parents moved to Grannagh Park in Rathfarnham and he has been living in Ballinteer for the past 17 years.

He began his educational career as a pupil at Rathgar National School and proceeded to High School in the same area. He studied Law at Trinity College, Dublin and also attended the Europa Instituut of the University of Amsterdam, where he studied European Law, Politics and Economics.

He started his career as a lawyer having qualified as a solicitor in 1976. He partnered with Brian Gallagher to form a successful practice. Alan became Director of the Crumlin Free Legal Advice (FLAC) and subsequently became Chairman. His rise continued as he became the Chairman of Campaign for Deprived Children, CARE and later became President of the Irish Council against Blood Sports.

He also ventured into academic writing when he published his first book in 1977, entitled “Family Law in the Republic of Ireland”. The work became a cornerstone for lawyers and judges for adjudicating issues in family law. This was not to be a one-off as he published a second book, considered in many circles as “satirical”, entitled “Family Planning Irish Style”. He followed it up with another bestseller novel called “Laura”. Alan had firmly proved his name in print in the mind of people.

Like the Igbo adage, the bird was perched on the Iroko tree.

Alan’s career in politics can be considered very successful. He joined one of the main political parties, Fine Gael. He was elected Teachta Dála (TD) to Dáil Éireann representing the Dublin South Constituency from 1981 until 2002 and was subsequently reelected in 2011. In this year, Fine Gael won the majority of seats in the Dáil but, short of the majority number of seats required to form a government, the party entered into an alliance with the Labour Party to form the Government. It was based on this arrangement that Alan Joseph Shatter emerged as a Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence in March 2011.

Love him or hate him, Alan has became a central figure on the political chessboard of Irish politics, taking hard decisions on difficult and controversial issues – often, like the proverbial maxim, “where angels fear to tread”. Some of those decisions include the issue of policing and the infrastructure of Garda stations, which he claims is unwieldy and cannot be sustained during the present economic paralysis in Ireland. He considers that the service needs to save costs and to deploy more front-line Garda men and women to the field rather than sitting in an office. As Minister

for Justice and Equality, he is committed to ensuring that An Garda Síochána use all of its resources in the fight against crime in the most efficient and effective way possible. “Nobody should be under the illusion that a single Garda sitting at a desk in a small Garda station for three hours in the morning, no matter how committed

or competent, is the best approach to tackling crime.” He argues that “we must free up Gardaí so that they are available for frontline operational purposes”.

His arguments did not go down well with Irish police officers, however, who, through their Union - the Garda Representative Association (GRA) - accused the Minister of disguising closure as “consolidation”

JOe MOORe COLuMn tHe stRuGGLe AGAInst DepORtAtIOn Nasc, the cork based immigrant support centre, recently published a report entitled “Stop the Silence: a Snapshot of Racism in cork.” the report was based on a survey of both immigrants and irish people and revealed startling results. 55% of those surveyed believed that racism is an issue in cork. that rose to 62.3% when only african people were asked the same question. immigrants from africa were also more likely to be the victims of racist attacks. 45% of respondents experienced discrimination in their lives, especially in the areas of employment and housing. When it comes to reporting racist incidents, 82.8% of those surveyed did not report the incident. i will return to this issue later in the article. this is a very important report

that gives the lie to the popular view that racism does not exist in ireland. although the report is specific to cork, i would guess that similar results would be produced in every other part of the country. the main areas covered were when looking for work, at work, when looking for accommodation, by health care personnel, by social services, by school personnel, when entering a shop, at a cafe, restaurant or bar and when trying to open a bank account or get a loan. as a member of the cork anti Racism Network, i have made representations on behalf of people who have suffered racial discrimination in all of the above areas. three incidents in particular stand out in my mind. all involved african women. in the first case the cork city Registry office refused to register the birth of a child born to a Somalian woman. the view of the official involved was that maybe the child did not belong to

that particular woman. it eventually took some months to have the child registered. the second case involved a Nigerian woman getting a provisional driving licence from cork county council. i accompanied her to the office. She had successfully completed her theory test and also had copies of every document listed on the information sheet, although not all of them were required. the woman at the counter looked through all the documentation and put aside her Nigerian birth cert and her GNiB identity card. these were taken to a superior official, who studied them for some minutes and then returned to the counter and said that he could not be 100% sure of the woman’s identity and so could not give her a licence. the third incident took place in the offices of the Family law court in cork. a Nigerian woman had a maintenance order granted against her former partner. the man refused to pay her. She had visited the Family law court office

and withdrawal of Gardaí from rural communities as “rationalisation.”

To some critics, it will harm rural areas and demoralise the morale of hardworking Gardaí.

The main bone of contention was the Minister’s decision to close one hundred police stations across the country, bringing the number of Garda stations in Ireland to 564. The stations that will face closure include Kill O’ Grange in Dun Laoghaire with 28 officers and Stepaside with 34. He also mentioned other stations to come under the hammer ten stations in Galway, nine in Kerry, eight in Clare, six in Limerick and five in Donegal and Leitrim. He added that seven stations in Dublin and Cork will reduce their opening hours.

On citizenship, Alan Shatter was radical in his approach and departed from his predecessors as he took a bold step to reform his new department. He approached it with dispatch and zeal as the huge backlog of citizenship applications that had piled up under the Fianna Fáil government received attention. He bemoaned a situation where a person qualified to be an Irish citizen has to wait for an average of 25 months as unacceptable. He said that under his administration, nobody that applied for Irish citizenship should wait for more than 6 months. on a number of occasions but got no satisfaction there. She asked me to accompany her as she felt that having an irish person with her might ensure that she was listened to. No sooner did i begin to ask some questions when a supervisor approached and said that i had no right to be in the office and both of us were asked to leave. the Nasc report confirms that incidents such as these are regular occurrences in ireland. Good and all as the report is, there is however one glaring omission. Nowhere is the racist nature of the irish state mentioned. there is no mention of the direct provision system or the deportation policy. Nasc has a track record in condemning direct provision, so it’s a pity that this manifestation of racism is missing for the report. Readers of africaWorld will be well aware of the horrors of this system with people confined in prison like accommodation, denied the right to work and given €19.10 per week to survive on. of course deportation is the one area where all immigrant support groups are silent. this is state racism in its most brutal form. less than a week before the launch of

Whatever the achievements of Alan Shatter - confronting equity, justice and fairness to those who merit it, or cutting costs on projects - the issue confronting asylum seekers in Ireland remains the most challenging. The €19 paid to each person is too little and cannot address the high cost of living in Ireland. The processing of asylum seeker applications also needs to be much more efficient.

For the African community, his involvement in their important issues mattered. Adaku Okafor explains that his decisions on reform of the citizenship process are a positive development for the immigrant community. “It takes 6 months compared with the Fianna Fáil government”, she said. Ian Callagy agreed that Alan Shatter TD has sped up the process. However, he also pointed out the situation of asylum seekers; “he is not doing enough for Asylum seekers. He is in a difficult position, he has lots to do as minister and he can do more.”

Gee Bee said “it was wonderful. This will benefit the country in the long run, his action in the naturalisation process will make us contribute to the success of the Irish nation.” The asylum system came up again as Ahmed Sardop, a Sudanese doctor and asylum seeker, said his efforts were not enough while Chief Aderire Eyo thought that the Minister made Africans believe they have hope and life. “He made African children to vote and be voted for.”

the report, a tanzanian woman and her two children were awakened from their sleep at 1am in the morning by GNiB officers. this family lived in the drishane castle accommodation centre in millstreet, co. cork. the GNiB were there to deport the whole family. the husband was not at home that night, but his wife and children were still deported. another family torn apart by a state that holds the family in high regard. incidents such as these are not covered in the report. as was mentioned earlier 82.8% of those surveyed did not report the racism and discrimination they experienced. is this really surprising. Why would people report such incidents to the very people who take men, women and children from their beds in the early hours of the morning, give them 20-30 minutes to pack some items of hand luggage, drive them to a special holding unit of dublin airport from where they are put on a Frontex flight and deported.

Unless the racism of the irish state is both named and challenged, then immigrants, especially africans will continue to experience racism in their daily lives.

deceMBER 16-31 2012 AFRICAWORLD

column

5

MAKING THE POOR A CHRISTMAS PROJECT

By Fr. Vincent E z e o m a Arisukwu The great Roman sage Cicero once said, “M en resemble gods in nothing so much as in doing good to their fellow creatures”. Doing good to one’s fellow creatures brings to the fore Christ’s condemnation of classism in society. Thus, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?”(Matt. 5: 46-47). The mentality in the contemporary world is that birds of the same feather are fundamentally meant to have their gatherings together. The rich associate only with their rich counterparts while the poor identify their type and stick dangerously with them. Prisoners know and move only with their fellow prisoners, gardeners associate with fellow gardeners, widows associate only with their types; politicians wine and dine only with those who can offer them something politically and so on.

Karl Marx’s notion of class still plays itself out to the extent that ideas as well as material possessions are shared according to an individual’s grade or status of belongingness.

For a trader to associate with a politician, he must catapult himself to the political cadre and that involves great risks, else such association becomes both inconceivable and elusive.

Unfortunately, this affects the granting of favours in society as things are shared according to the class to which individuals belong and with the ulterior motive of receiving pay-backs in the course of time.

Everyone is once again looking enthusiastically to celebrate another Christmas, though in

varying styles. One common element is that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ the Saviour, Emmanuel, God with us. It is the celebration of a Presence. Scripture says, “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). It is fundamentally the celebration of God’s presence among his people, the presence of love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8), and of the fullness of life (cf. Jn 10:10). It is a presence that is practical and which challenges believers to an active participation in the love of God. Christ’s mandate was: “It is by your love for one another that everyone will recognize you as my disciples” (Jn 13:35). It is also a presence that dismisses geocentricism and selfishness, hatred and insensitivity. When the rich young man came to Christ with the question, “Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?” Christ guided him from the level of mere knowledge and routine recitation of the commandments to the level of practical commitment to the course of salvation thus: “Go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor…”. Scripture says the young man went away sad when he heard those words because he was a man of great wealth (cf. Mtt 19:16-22). Perhaps the man went away sad not necessarily because he was rich but possibly because of the difficulty of sharing his wealth with those who do not belong to his class. He went away sad because for him, a gesture towards the poor was not to be a worthwhile investment. The fear of lack of concomitant reward from those poor and the danger of remaining anonymous since presumably the poor could not make him popular made him go away sad. The rich man went away but the poor

remained and continued to be a major concern for Christ.

When Christ defined his mission, he dedicated the greatest part of his budget to the poor: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord” (Lk 4:18). After these declarations, He told those listening to Him: “This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening” (Lk 4:2122). It is a text about the salvation of mankind that is fulfilled in Christ himself who is the Presence of freedom, truth, justice, humility, love, care for the poor, and total abundance for his people. This is the meaning of Christmas.

Ironically, about 70% of the world’s population today, especially Africa, belongs to the class of the poor; the unemployed, the homeless, the unreasonably employed, those who cannot pay their hospital bills, those who cannot train their children in qualitative education, those who cannot buy clothes to wear and even those who may not be sure of something to eat on a daily basis. Some in prison will only hear that the 2012 Christmas has come again, some in the motherless homes may not even understand the meaning of Christmas, even the beggars in the street do not know the meaning of shopping for the yuletide. Some widows have children helplessly watching with no hope of having food to eat. But there are some who have acquired virtually everything to make their living cozy and the only question they ask is, “anything remaining?”

“Anything remaining” simply means they are not sure whether there is anything they do not have

and so they ask only to confirm. In that case, Christmas may mean different things to different classes of people – those who have nothing and no reason to celebrate, and on the other hand, those who have secured every material needed to make the celebration an enviable one.

Even though it is good to feed the poor by way of charity at Christmas and not as a mere display of affluence, it is more important to touch life in a transformative and enduring way.

When Christ commanded the rich man to go and sell everything he has and give the money to the poor, he was undoubtedly advocating for an egalitarian society where there will be no imbalance among human beings, where at least the tears of the poor would be wiped off. In that sense, Christmas goes beyond mere distribution of rice and clothing to putting a smile on the faces of others. It is not only a season but an opportunity to discover our brothers and sisters who are at the verge of frustration. It is an opportunity to help others realize and appreciate the essence of meaningful existence. It is an opportunity to restore the dignity of human life. It is an opportunity to prove sincerely that God is with us. It is an opportunity to make all humanity see and feel the salvation of God. At Christmas therefore, the poor among us and around us should be remembered. At Christmas, meaningful questions concerning the welfare of the poor should be raised. Not only that the poor should be remembered at Christmas; rather, it should offer Christians the opportunity of devising some permanent solution to the problem of poverty in communities; they should make

Christmas a project for the poor.

The project of Christmas should be a project of freedom, a project of liberation and of empowerment of the less privileged. When Christ told his disciples, “Give them something to eat”, he did not necessarily mean something to eat at Christmas only but something to sustain them, because according to Fulton Sheen, “Only on the principle of giving can the inequalities of the human race be adjusted, can the strong help the weak, and social Peace reign among men” (Sheen, F., Way to Happiness, p. 114).

Christmas should thus remind us of the image of God which each and every one of us carries. And since this image is sometimes diminished in some people as a result of poverty, then the project of Christmas becomes a project of restoration of the distorted dignity of the human person. It should be a project of discovering the means of sustenance for those who can work but have no work, of those who should be free but are not free, of those deserving justice, but are denied of it. It should be a project of making life meaningfully available to all around us. We can only celebrate well if we realize that the project of Christmas is Christmas itself. That is the meaning of the name EMMANUEL - God is with us. God can only be with us if we make him available to those around us without discrimination, if the poor feel Him as much as the rich; if the blind, the deaf, the crippled, the dumb as much as those who see, hear, walk and talk. “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers that you do unto me” (Mtt. 25: 40). That is the greatest Christmas gift.

Happy Christmas!

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AFRICAWORLD decemBeR 16-31 2012

coLUMn/nEWS

TECH_PILOt >>>>>>>> with Uchenna Onyenagubo

Call home for next to nothing

The era of purchasing phone cards is gradually becoming history.

Phone cards became the saving grace during the monopolized Eircom period about 10 years ago.

Making calls to Nigeria, for example, would cost as high as €2/min and the cyber cafes were in business.

Most of us will recall the “Century” Call Card with only 12 minutes at £5, then an improvement with “Heart to Heart” with 24 mins at £5.

In 2001, when the Euro currency was introduced into Ireland, many call cards flooded the market with more minutes — some as high as 200mins at €5 each.

Until the deregulation of the telecommunication sector in Ireland in 1998, making international calls to home countries was almost impossible.

The Telecom Ireland that followed after deregulation committed to attracting foreign investment and since then, we have experienced a massive revolution in the telecommunications sector, let alone the influence of the Internet.

Today, we can rely on many network providers offering a wide range of services ranging from voice to data,

that is talk and Internet. We should not forget the stepping in of Eircell (now Vodafone) and Digifone (trading as O2), which instigated the competition experienced now. The chain continued with Meteor joining in and the Euphony Company that introduced cheaper calling services and dial-up Internet at very affordable monthly charges.

Euphony not only provided services, they engaged many individuals in self-income ventures, otherwise referred to as network marketing.

The improvements became more visible when Vodafone introduced the monthly €20 service to allow free calls and texts to other Vodafone networks. This particular product heated up the competition, compelling the likes of Meteor, O2 and the other major players to review call rates. Vodafone extended the gesture to some African countries like Nigeria, allowing calls to mobile lines at 30 cents and 12 cents to landlines. It got even better with the deal of €30/month that gave a whopping package of 100 minutes to Nigerian mobiles and sustained the existing free calls to any Vodafone network, including data services. Tesco networks (operating through O2) also joined the league with 1 cent to Nigeria landlines and about 12 cents to mobiles. For most immigrants living in Ireland, telecoms have gotten better, cheaper, and more effective, all credit to the Irish government’s deregulation policies.

Moving across different counties and communities with large immigrant populations, it is evident that happy days are here as regards telecoms. Recently, it got better with

Lycamobile and 48 Months etc, offering cutting-edge services at very affordable rates. Even Europeans from the Eastern block have testified to the fact that Lycamobile Ireland is a step in the right direction. Talking with a few Polish people in Galway, they revealed that calling Lycamobile Ireland to Lycamobile Poland is absolutely free: “we encourage family members at home in Poland to subscribe to Lycamobile in order to talk for as long as possible all for free”. The same services are available in other EU countries with Lycamobile.

089 numbers are the new sensation as far as Nigerians are concerned. It is difficult to now differentiate what network these numbers are assigned to since Tesco, Lycamobile, and 48 Months all have 089 subscriber numbers. According to research, these companies are powered by O2, even in the United Kingdom (UK) because once you roam into the city of London for example with these providers, it automatically switches to O2 UK. Lycamobile seems to be most preferred network provider with a clear leading offer.

How do I cut down on my International calls?

Gathered from a survey I just concluded, it is obvious that we can make life better if we are well informed. Read on to find out.

Here are few options for you: Making calls from your mobile phone: The preferred choice is Lycamobile, which offers calls to Nigerian mobiles at 7c/min and with a €10 online top-up, you receive €10

extra. Their services are so advisable for your national calls to other networks.

Internet options: Download FREECALL on your PC/MAC and topup to make international calls at very affordable rates, plus free calls to all landlines in Europe, America & Canada. Freecall.com accumulates these free calls whenever you top-up and there can be up to 365 days of free calls.

How to download Freecall on your PC: Type www.freecall.com into your Internet browser and on the home page, click on download and follow the process to complete. Launch the application by double clicking on the Freecall icon from your desktop or wherever it was downloaded and follow the instructions to set it up.

The setup will activate your dial pad and test your computer speakers and microphone. Login will be required so be prepared to create a user account. Freecall will verify the user by texting a security code to the primary telephone number you have provided during setup, for security reasons I presume. To embrace smartphone technology, Freecall has launched a free app that will enable you make the same calls via your smartphone. The app is called “MobileVoip” and functions with Wi-Fi smart phones. For example, calls to Nigerian mobiles are 7c/min and 6c/min for landlines but it is free to call landlines in Europe, America & Canada.

mobile systems vary between manufacturers; the most used are Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS, Nokia’s Symbian, Samsung’s Bada, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone.

Applications installed on smartphones are abbreviated as APPS and represent the major pivot of the phone. In order to satisfy the urge for networking around the globe, some software companies developed what could be considered communications apps. These apps are very handy and mostly free to install. The widely recognized ones include Viber, Whatsapp, Skype, Tango, and Kiki, just to mention a few. In addition to offering voice calls, some of the very common ones also provide video calls to enable live chats with families and friends.

The introduction of these apps has drastically changed the way we communicate and is much more cost effective too. Many network providers will offer data and mobile web with their services, which support these apps.

In the next edition, I will explore more and make sure the best options are suggested to our readers, don’t miss it…

Happy Holidays.

COMMUNICATION APP Smartphones are built with mobile operating systems that allow computing capabilities. These

WOMAn COMMIts suICIDe In uK Due tO LOneLIness

An inquest on 5 December heard how a glamorous 28-year-old businesswoman killed herself because she struggled to cope with living alone in Britain, with her family dispersed across the world, Sales manager Sharon Bukokhe, of Levenshulme, Manchester, was a high achiever, working for a family planning charity but felt lonely because relatives, including her husband, lived abroad.

Mrs Bukokhe, who was originally from Kenya, used her laptop to research ways to commit suicide.

She applied full make up and painted her nails then suffocated herself at her flat in April.

A diary found after her death said: ‘I think that any life is as valid as the next, such that an ending of 25 is as good as 88. I have no real regrets or fears any more, I just feel

decisive and justified.’

Mrs Bukokhe, who appeared to friends to be ‘the happiest person in the world’, settled in the UK in 2002 and graduated in design and engineering at Nottingham Trent University, the inquest heard.

She was later appointed sales manager of a charity helping with family planning issues involving third world countries. But Mrs Bukokhe was deeply affected by her family living in other countries. Her husband lived in South Africa so he could complete a Master’s Degree whilst her mother lived in Richmond, Virginia, in the US, and her sister lived in Canada.

Her only relative in Britain was her brother who lived 250 miles away in Gillingham, Kent and as a result of her feelings of loneliness she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

decemBeR 16-31 2012 AFRICAWORLD

7

HEALtH

AFRICAWORLD HeALtH In Association With Manorfield Foundation

ALCOHOL use: tHe GOOD, tHe BAD AnD tHe uGLY in family life and problems with the law.

BY DR. pROspeR OBIOHA

alcohol is one of the most widely used and abused mood-altering substances in our society. it may be the world’s oldest known drug, and has been used in religious ceremonies, in medical treatment and for recreational purposes. alcohol works by acting on nerve cells within the brain interfering with communication between the nerve cells and all the other cells in the body. the recommended level of alcohol consumption is 21 units per week for men and 14 units per week for women.

Up to 40 units per week for men is considered hazardous drinking, while up to 28 units per week for women is considered hazardous drinking. drinking at hazardous levels increases your risk of physical, mental and social problems. about 1/3 of men and 1 in 10 women drink above the recommended levels. men drink three times as much as women. 30% of the working population drink above the recommended level.

Risk of alcohol abuse is higher in those who manufacture or sell alcohol (such as barmen), migrant workers, commercial travellers, entertainers, journalists and doctors. the heaviest drinking occurs in the late teens and early 20s. a person with a drink problem experiences physical, psychological, social and occupational problems due to excessive drinking. alcohol addiction may lead to disruption

Research suggests that continuous drinking or drinking to drunkenness and repeatedly subjecting the brain to the effects of large doses of alcohol could damage brain cells. drinking to drunkenness increases the risk of ending up in a&e, getting involved in a fight, not getting home safely and being robbed or sexually assaulted. almost half of unplanned sexual encounters are under the influence of alcohol. intoxication often leads to not knowing your sexual partner or not using any form of contraception more than half the cases of Sexually transmitted diseases are transmitted between sexual partners who are drunk. chronic drinking can, in time, cause impotence in men, withering away of the testicles, enlargement of the breasts and loss of hair on the body. other physical complications from chronic alcohol use include broken veins, red palms, premature ageing, dry skin, blood shot eyes, drinker’s nose, and weight gain. alcohol misuse can also result in death, mainly following from cancer, heart failure, strokes, accidental injury and suicide. alcohol use in pregnancy increases the risk of foetal alcohol syndrome in babies, leading to facial abnormalities, problems of the central nervous system and a risk of low birth weight and a low iQ. it’s best to avoid alcohol consumption until after pregnancy and breast feeding.

Psychological problems such as mood swings (outbursts of anger, crying or laughing), periods of depression, increased irritability, rage and anger can occur from excessive and chronic alcohol use. drinking in excess worsens

symptoms in people with severe and enduring mental health problems. alcohol affects everyone in the drinker’s circle including family, friends, co-workers and anyone who comes in close contact with the drinker. one third of all domestic violence is linked to alcohol abuse. alcohol abuse can also lead to poor personal appearance/hygiene, and deteriorating dress habits. over 70% of fatal road traffic accidents involve alcohol. over a hundred drivers are arrested each week while driving under the influence of alcohol in ireland.

Violence and alcohol seem to go hand in hand. Statistics indicate that half of all violent crimes are alcohol related. it’s important to note that alcohol is involved in more than 75% of cases of sexual assaults. Being under the influence is never an excuse to force sex on an unwilling partner. if the victim of assault is too drunk to give informed consent, it is still rape and still a crime. again if the rapist is too drunk to know what he is doing, it is still rape and still a crime. the notion that alcohol reduces stress is only a temporary fix, as studies have shown that alcohol actually increases the stress response by stimulating the same hormones that the body produces when under stress. Stress is strongly linked to alcohol abuse and binge drinking. alcohol is not entirely an evil to be avoided. drinking in moderation is an enjoyable activity as it makes us become more relaxed, loosen up and feel less inhibited. George Bernard Shaw wrote “alcohol is the anaesthesia by which we endure the operation of life”.

Recent studies have shown that modeRate amounts may have a beneficial effect on the coronary system for men over 40 and post menopausal women, for whom the risk factors for heart disease and strokes are higher. Several studies have shown that for middle-aged and older adults, very moderate drinking can confer health benefits such as lowering the risk of dementia, alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes. moderate drinkers have a lower risk of all causes of death than heavy drinkers. However it is not recommended that anyone starts drinking for health reasons. alcohol is widely regarded around the world as a very effective formula for loosening sexual inhibitions and enhancing romantic and sexual feelings. But this positive effect of alcohol is only present at low doses, perhaps one or two units. do you drink at most social occasions? do you feel you need to drink to have a good time? do you feel you have more courage when you drink? do you keep a bottle in your car or close by you in case you need it?

W h e n things go wrong, do you have a drink to help you cope? do you sometimes forget things t h a t happened while you w e r e drinking?

if you answer yes to any of these questions, you should be alert.

While you may not have a drink problem, you may be at risk of developing one should your habits increase or continue. if you answer yes to more than 2 or 3 of the following questions, there is a strong possibility that you may have a serious problem with alcohol. do you lose time from work due to your drinking? is drinking making your home life unhappy? do you feel remorseful after drinking?

Have you had financial difficulties as a result of drinking? do you turn to inferior companions and environments when drinking? does drinking make you careless of your family’s welfare?

Has your ambition decreased since drinking? do you want a drink first thing in the morning? do you drink to escape from worries or troubles?

Have you ever ended up in hospital on account of your drinking?

ZIMBABWeAn GIve BIRtH tO BABY WItHOut pRIvAte pARts A woman recently gave birth to a baby without anal and genital openings, resulting in the child not defecating or urinating. The baby’s mother said her child also had a swollen stomach.

“I had a normal birth and my baby weighed three kilogrammes. Nurses noticed the child had no private parts and advised me not to breastfeed her, as she could not

relieve herself. The baby had to be fed through a drip,” she said.

The mother said the baby that was born on December 2 in Chivhu and was later transferred to Harare Central Hospital where she underwent an operation. “My child is now relying on tubes to relieve herself and she can now feed normally,” she said.

She said doctors informed her that the child also had a missing kidney and a blocked bladder. The baby had slightly developed female genitalia, she said. “I am glad that my child is receiving treatment for free. If it was a private hospital, I would not afford the bills,” she said.

Harare Central Hospital surgeon Dr Taurai Zimunhu said the baby’s problem was common, although it

was more serious in her situation.

“This condition is classified under malformation disorders and this happens during the development of the child in the womb. The condition is called anorectal malformation which causes disorder in the development of the anal canal, rectum and sometimes the genital system,” he said.

Dr Zimunhu said there had been

cases where babies were born without the anal canal, but in this case the genital urinary canal was also affected. “This is a severe case, which requires emergency attention,” he said. He added that the hospital had to take emergency measures by operating on the baby so that she could pass out urine and stools. “The baby will have to undergo a corrective operation for the reconstruction of normal anal

8

AFRICAWORLD decemBER 16-31 2012

news

Recession turning girls to prostitution Alarm has been raised by the Botswana Ireland Community on the increasing rise in prostitution in Ireland. Leaders of the community, who paid a visit to the AfricaWorld office, revealed that an informal survey shows vulnerable girls are taking to the vice trade as a means of survival. Worried about the trend African girls are taking, particularly those from Botswana who they allege are lured to Ireland on the pretence of securing admission, jobs and accommodation, they vowed to begin a campaign to end it.

An AfricaWorld source discovered, on enquiries, that girls from southern parts of the continent are often extorted fees ranging between â‚Ź5,000 to â‚Ź10,000 by agencies. Their modus operandi are promising a package which includea admission, accommodation and a good job.

However, after securing admission and arranging their flight into Ireland, they are left to wander in the turbulent Irish economy, which they find it difficult to survive in.

decemBeR 16-31 2012 AFRICAWORLD

nEWS/coLUMn

9

HeARt OF tHe MAtteR: scrooge Mobiles by max Uspensky As Xmas draws nearer, the offspring start hinting at their mobile upgrade requirements. Phone mad and crazy – plain and simple – in three generations’ time no doubt, mobiles will be part of the generic makeup, growing and appearing from underneath sweaty palms ever eager for action.

God bless the little snots. Xmas is near. The requisite pleading and bleating part of the ‘spirit’. “Oh your fifth mobile upgrade this year dear?

No problem. As long as you shut the f*** up for the rest of Xmas? Deal or no deal?”

Responsibly minded parents of such ferally minded consumer cadets might recognise the fetish (Chambers Twentieth Century dictionary provides the following definition: fetish, n. an object believed to procure for its owner the services of a spirit lodged within it: something regarded with irrational reverence) mobilus phoneus for its enslaving properties and the irrational reverence accorded it (the average mobilus phoneus adherent looks at their fetish some 150 times per day!) Could Xmas be a fetish too?!

That’s bad enough. But the cryptoid, mobilus phoneus holds a dirty little

secret or two in its manufacture.

Fellow investigative hack, Peter Bradshaw reports, speaking of mobile phone manufacturers: “They all require the mineral coltan for electronic components, much of which is mined in a lawless eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose gangsters, warlords and rogue army units “tax” every aspect of this grisly industry.

Coltan mining and mobile-phone use has effectively financed murder, intimidation and mass rape as a way of life.”

configuration of the atom, [Ar]4s23d6) Call me Chukwu.

Cue the Swedish scientist Anders Ekeberg, catalysing away in his Svenska laboratorium back in 1802.

At some point, he manages to isolate a rare, hard, blue-gray lustrous transition metal, tantalum (for the more science minded AfricaWorld readers – those of the empirical rather than rationalist mould – the electronic structure of transition metal atoms can be written as [] ns2(n-1)dm, where the inner d orbital has more energy than the valence-shell s orbital. In divalent and trivalent ions of the transition metals, the situation is reversed such that the s electrons have higher energy. Consequently, an ion such as Fe2+ has no s electrons: it has the electronic configuration [Ar]3d6 as compared with the

Ten years ago, 80% of the world’s Coltan was sourced from Australia.

Today, in a dramatic shift, 80% of Coltan is now sourced in the Congo.

Competition for its exploitation lies at the heart of the conflict in the region, bringing misery, death and disease to millions.

MALI 2013

by max Uspensky

Mali remains in a state of crisis.

2013’s agenda seems to be focused upon a reconquest of the north. This agenda has three parts: a) Mali’s internal politics; b) The Economic Community Of West African States’ involvement both in Mali and with the African Union (AU); and c) AU and f o r e i g n involvement (principally UN, US, and EU).

As regards f o r e i g n involvement, Algeria and Mauritania are key players too.

Neighbouring Algeria because it has the largest military in the region

(127,000) could provide key supply routes for intervening forces (also potentially cutting those for rebels); Mauritania because of the proliferation of jihadist and salafist groups within the country.

Often used as a substitute for platinum, tantalum’s main use is as a capacitor in mobile phones, computers and other electronic components. Occurring in the minerals columbite and tantalite, the two often found together, the generic term Coltan (actually a portmanteau where a combination of two or more words or morphemes are employed into one word) is the common word used.

Danish filmmaker, Frank Piasecki Poulsen, reveals the issue of conflict minerals in telecommunications in his most recent work, Blood in the Mobile. The associated website, www.bloodinthemobile.org states, “We love our cell phones and the selection between different models has never been bigger. But the production of phones has a dark, bloody side. The main part of minerals used to produce cell

phones are coming from the mines in the eastern DRC. The Western World is buying these so-called conflict minerals and thereby finances a civil war that, according to human rights organisations, has been the bloodiest conflict since WW2: during the last 15 years the conflict has cost the lives of more than 5 million people and 300,000 women have been raped. The war will continue as long as armed groups can finance their warfare by selling minerals. If you ask the phone companies where their suppliers get minerals from, none of them can guarantee that they aren’t buying conflict minerals from the Congo.”

situation. We are all human beings.”

Scrooge is a mobile phone upgrade this Xmas – consider the ghosts of mobile phone production, past present and into the foreseeable future. Stop the rot and the grot – Fairtrade in coffee, so why not in mobile phones and computers? Oh and if they ask for an XBox 360 too – insert 2nd DVD firmly into the anal cavity.

A Chukwu Christmas to the Congo and to one and all.

It truly astounds and staggers the imagination how under-represented this whole issue is. Thus when those ‘gimme, gimme, gimme’ gits bleat for their latest fetish, insert a copy of Frank Poulsen Piasecki’s DVD firmly in their gobs and send them on the next flight to Goma to dig their own coltan. As one of the chief narrators states in the documentary, “We must feel revolted by this

CuLtuRe In tHe COnGO by max Uspensky 2012 proved to be a fine year for African cinema in general. Not least among the impressive repertoire was Kinshasa Kids – an existentialist take and tale of shegue street kids surviving and creating music on the streets of the DRC’s capital.

Upcoming for 2013, in July, is Aime Cesaire’s A Season in the Congo.

Revealing the events surrounding Patrice L u m u m b a ’ s assassination in three acts, the play is scheduled to be shown at London’s The Young Vic. Award winning Igbo actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is set to take on the lead role.

10 AFRICAWORLD decemBER 16-31 2012

news

JAY Z & NAS INSPIRED ME - Popdogg

Q - Can you tell us a bit of your background?

A - I am an award-winning AfroHip-Hop/RnB/Rap artist, originally from Malawi.

Q - When did your talent first manifest itself?

A - I would say in early 2001, but I always enjoyed writing songs, poems, acting, and modelling before then. My first album was “Spit Real” released in 2008 under my own label, Malawian Ninjaz Records.

Q - What kind of music are you into?

A - I listen to all kinds of music, it depends on my mood. I particularly enjoy Afro Hip-hop and RnB. Q - Where have you performed?

A - I have performed in many venues in Ireland, almost in every hotel -

mostly big African events such Miss South Africa Ireland and Miss Africa Ireland. Also in Waterford, Belfast, Zambia and South Africa. I have also performed to raise money for UNICEF, Agape Orphanage Care Centre in Lilongwe and Phalombe’s Likulezi HIV/AIDS Project.

Q - What are your achievements so far?

Ireland. I also started working on my second album called “Enter The Ninja”, with hit singles and videos released for “Be My Lady” ft Kyriah Dee and “Am A Champ”. I was also nominated Best Male Artist and Best Rap Artist and the video for “Be My Lady” nominated for the Best Video, Best Collaboration and Best Director at the Ireland African Music Awards 2012.

A - In 2011, I participated in Spin103.8fm’s Rap Superstar competition and was among the 3 finalists selected in the competition.

My song, “Get Loose”, taken from “Gunpowder Mixtape” released in the same year reached second position, with over 20,000 votes. In the same year, I won 2 music awards: Best Male Artist and Best Song Collaboration at the Ireland African Music Awards. In 2012, I was named “The Big Deal” by Xclusive International Magazine because of my immense talent and creativity which has been making waves in

I also won the African Leadership/ Power-list Award this year, an award designed for the recognition of excellent performance of individuals and organizations that have contributed immensely to the advancement of the developmental sector in Ireland & the African continent. Lately, I have released another hit Single called “Tchopa Ndi Manganje” The song is about the traditional dances from where I am from; Mulanje, Malawi. I think people know the Azonto and Gangnam Style dances - its about time I showed my traditional dances

to the world - Tchopa Ndi Manganje.

Q - What are your plans in 2013?

A - In 2013, I plan to release my forthcoming album “Enter The Ninja” and also to make a tour in Africa.

Q - Do you think young African artistes are breaking through on the international stage?

A - Yes they are, we have seen the likes of D,Banj, Psqure and K’naan, but mind you it didn’t happen overnight. These people already made their names back home in Africa before they got noticed. It took a lot of sweat, hard-work and persistence to get where they are.

Q - Who inspired you?

A - My biggest inspirations are Nas and Jay-Z, Lately Slaughterhouse and Kendrick Lamar but there are many others too.

Q - Why are you popular among the female fans?

A - Am I? I never really noticed that.

Well, I appreciate their continuous support, and I will do more songs dedicated to them. Apart from “Be My Lady”, I have another song on the way especially for the ladies called “Priceless”. Be on the lookout!!!

Q - What is your message for your fans?

A - To my fans, and all the people that believe in me, you are my steps to success, the reason I shine on stage and do what I love the most.

I will always remain humble and appreciate your support. “Enter The Ninja” album is on the way, something to look forward to in 2013.

decemBeR 16-31 2012 AFRICAWORLD 11

FAMiLY cornEr

P

s m e o kwu Okorie

By Ukachu

pOWeR

is it the love of many? or married by a few? divorced by the over jealous engulfs when lines flame taste like wine intoxicate like vodka Spurs like the dry gin Renders alcoholics stupid men and women cluster But a few have the swagger and the people did a clapper For the reign that got the power.

tHe GLAsnevIn BeLLY

O’COnneLL

dual and historical Jolts from the liffey caresses Panel’s tommy mat with indelible marks of foot Sitting on the confluence place Smiles at the Post and his struggles You take the new and old Standing tall and proud in his eyes oh o’connell! Kindest art thou!

How hast thou changed? in the course of the struggle that the olden dead might not know thee again.

Wisdom Bits

their game not men’s You give a monthly knock Ushering in the age the name of their game Nature’s trade mark to be running is to be Not to be is to expect a woman’s travail Necessary cleansing they say often awwwh! it brings But it’s all a bloody woman.

Connect with

A bird do not go through a particular route in flying into the forest.

Meaning - There are different ways to success in life.

The grasshopper that is killed by a bird is deaf Meaning - Lack of common sense is dangerous.

Caution is needed in licking a hot soup.

Meaning - Calculation is necessary in time of trouble.

Vigilant is not cowardice.

Meaning - Caution is virtue.

While we are worried that the first son is not married due to lack of money, pregnant women keep giving birth to male children.

Meaning - Lack of knowledge breed trouble.

If life is weed, an enemy will uproot it.

Meaning - Nature is bigger than man.

FOLKtALe TALES FROM UMUGUMA HIppOpOtAMus AnD tHe RIveR BIRDs once Upon a time! in the land of animals, there was an epidemic that spread like wild fire. the epidemic was caused by carnivorous animals that ate flesh and abandoned the rest to decay.

Worms then fed on the decayed flesh to develop their life circle and this system of reproduction caused the virus to spread further and faster. the epidemic soon threatened all animals, especially the bigger ones that ate flesh. the animal medical council met urgently and came out with a solution called “operation cleaning exercise” in an attempt to stop the virus from making animals extinct. the operation involved smaller animals going through the mouths of bigger animals and picking up the worms and decayed particles. the ideology was to prevent the virus from ravaging the inner chambers of the bigger animals’ body systems. the ruling did not please smaller animals such as the Squirrel and Grass cutter who felt that they were forced to risk their lives to save others.

Unfortunately it was a decree and they had to oblige to it. So they decided to use the opportunity to retaliate on bigger animals such as cats, lions, tigers and Wolves who continually bullied them, and had devoured some of their kin during the Great Famine. the plan by the smaller animals however failed when the first group that started the operation was caught, killed and eaten by the big animals. the animal medical council sat for a second time and appealed

a sea of heads lying beneath the earth eaten by the moth of life Seen only by the bits of flesh daily my eyes feast through the rails of that place a Golgotha on the throat of eireann dead lay the mighty of the land in the midst of the lowly a sea of tombs in the south lay cynthia in the north come a sight Rust of old bricks Yelling for epitaph oh Glasnevin! the glutton for souls You devoured a million Yet you hunger more on the belly of your Southside Without thirsting for a drink.

BLOODY WOMAn

AfricaWorld on

ReCIpe COLuMn

MeAt pIe AnD sAusAGe ROLL.

By Ukachukwu Okorie

to the bigger animals to stop killing the smaller ones but this again was futile. in response, the rest of the smaller animals formulated a second plan and it was to spread more of the virus. they agreed to continue in operation cleaning exercise, but this time they were pushing the worms further into the throats of the bigger animals and coming out of their mouths as fast as they could; before the bigger animals moved their jaws to grind them. as the epidemic raged on and some of the bigger animals continued to devour the smaller animals, the Hippopotamus was one of the few bigger animals that did not prey on the smaller ones. as an alternative, the Big one, as it was fondly called, consulted the Birds on the River Banks for a solution to the pandemic.

the River Birds sent a few of their kin as sacrificial lambs to continue with operation cleaning exercise. the new plan by the River Birds and the Hippopotamus was successful and most of the animals survived the epidemic. this act of benevolence shown by the River Birds created an unprecedented bond between the Hippopotamus and the River Birds who became close friends after that. it also describes why the Hippopotamus are hardly seen without the River Birds- still known to be sticking around to fight off worms and ants that threaten the Hippopotamus. the story also explains a widely used adage by african elders that:“it is not love, but the quest for cleanliness that makes the Hippopotamus to open its mouth wide for the River Bird to peck at.”

by Nkiru edokobi

Ingredient 250g flour a pinch of salt 1/2 nutmeg 100g butter 1 egg white for glazing lean mincemeat Some baby potatoes (diced) chopped carrot onion (chopped) Raw sausage

MIXING meat Pie: Pour the flour in a bowl and add butter, then mix it together. try as much as to avoid lump, add the salt and nutmeg before mixing again. add a little water and mix to make dough, put into the fridge for 1hour to set. make the filling by frying the onion; add the carrot and potatoes into it until cooked. add salt to taste, bring out dough and knead on a flat surface, then add some flour to avoid sticking. cut into required shape and add your mincemeat mixture.

Rub a little bit of water with your finger to allow the pie stick together, press it down with your fork, then use the egg to glaze the back.

For sausage roll: Roll out the dough in rectangular and mix raw sausages till slightly lighter.

Put on the cut out pastry dough and roll up brush with egg then bake until pastry turns golden brown. You can serve in a party or as a starter.

12 AFRICAWORLD decemBeR 16-31 2012

nEWS

MAn IMItAtes FRIenD's nIGeRIAn OIL tYCOOn Is vOICe tO sLeep WItH HIs WORLD’s RICHest BLACK WOMAn GIRLFRIenD a man allegedly raped his friend’s lover after sneaking into her blankets in the middle of the night after imitating his friend’s voice and usual jokes. that was after his friend whom he had offered for accommodation together with his girlfriend at his place of residence visited the toilet. circumstances are that the alleged rapist, name withheld to protect the victim, on 27 october proceeded to Jokes and Saddle night spot with the complainant and her boyfriend. it is reported that after a short stint at the drinking spot they left for another one in the city centre.

When they arrived, it is reported that the alleged sexual predator remained seated in the car and later followed the pair into the bar instructing them that they should go home. it is alleged the trio proceeded to the man’s place of residence in a location in dublin where upon arrival he offered the pair his spare bedroom. around midnight, the complainant is reported to have woken up saying she was afraid of the darkness and sleeping alone

and in the process her boyfriend also woke up to visit the toilet. it seems the now accused who was in his bedroom following proceedings in the spare bedroom rushed to the spare bedroom after realising that his friend had visited the toilet. it is reported that when the man opened the door, the complainant thought it was her boyfriend and the former immediately joined her in bed holding her hands While imitating his friend’s voice and jokes.

A new report says Nigerian oil tycoon and fashion designer Folorunsho Alakija takes the top spot, with an estimated net worth of $3.3 billion. African financial magazine Ventures Africa ran the numbers and put Alakija $500 million richer than the American media mogul, who Forbes estimated is worth $2.7 billion.

Alakija is the founder and owner of Nigerian oil company Famfa Oil. The company pumps out nearly 200,000 barrels of oil per day

through its partnership with an offshore oil field.

After analyzing Alakija’s business holdings, Douglas Imaralu, online editor of Ventures Africa said, “At this point, we have no doubt that she is indeed, richer than Oprah.”

Ventures Africa’s report contradicts Alakija’s Forbes listing in Africa’s 40 Richest that estimated her net worth to be $600 million.

Alakija started her career working as a secretary at the International Merchant Bank of Nigeria. She then traveled to England to study fashion design. On her return to Nigeria, she founded Supreme Stitches, which produced clothing for upscale clientele. Then, in 1993, without any prior experience in the oil business, she was awarded an oil prospecting license, allowing her company to explore for oil in one of Nigeria’s most prolific oil blocks.

the victim thinking that it was her boyfriend, told the sexual poacher that she was tired but the later had none of it as he was reportedly kissing her whispering saying, “everything will be alright dear.” it is further alleged that he allegedly raped her once and returned to his bedroom without the friend realising after he must have spent a considerable amount of time in the toilet. Wonders as they say shall never end. So, folks beware of wolf is sheep’s clothing.

WOMAn suFFeRInG FROM MuLtIpLe ORGAsMs COMMIts suICIDe A woman who suffered from a debilitating condition where she had constant, uncontrollable orgasms has committed suicide after years of battling her affliction.

Gretchen Molannen, 39, was found dead in her home in Spring Hill, Florida, over the weekend from an apparent suicide.

explained that she began feeling the sensation when she was 23, describing that it was like a switch she couldn’t turn off.

She had suffered from persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) for more than a decade-and-a-half.

The condition means the afflicted are physically but not psychologically aroused and can often only find relief after masturbating for hours upon end.

One of the only forms of relief came from masturbating for hours on end, something that Ms Molannen, a Lutheran, found as a point of shame.

Though she had aspirations of working as a translator as she is fluent in French, German and Spanish, her condition meant that she had to take odd jobs, because she had to deal with the physical demands of PGAD.

It is unclear how or when the 39-year-old died. The Hernando County Sheriff’s office responded to a suicide call on Saturday night and two of her friends confirmed it.

The Tampa Bay Times had done a profile on Ms Molannen only a week before, speaking to her about her debilitating disorder.

‘I had such a different life before this thing, this beast, took over,’ she said in November. Ms Molannen

‘I used to love life. But this has destroyed it. This isn’t living. What’s the point? I think about suicide all the time,’ she said.

But, having to relieve herself almost constantly, she stopped working in 1999 and started spending most of the time in her bedroom with her vibrator.

‘I was terrified,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t get unaroused. I didn’t know what to do.’

Her distress over the condition made her attempt suicide three

times in the past year.

‘I know that God wants more out of my life than having me testing out suicide methods, constantly crying and abusing myself,’ she said.

She tragically revealed to the paper she had been molested for years by a neighbor, who said she was being punished for being bad. She wondered if that had anything to do with it?

She had a boyfriend, who emailed the Times after her original story was published, saying the article ‘won’t help her now’ because she had killed herself.

They had sex around four times a year, the Times said, because it caused Ms Molannen hours of agony afterward. She agreed to it in a bid for physical intimacy.

Unable to hold down any full-time employment. Ms Molannen said she tried to file for disability twice, and was twice denied.

Because of this, the boyfriend had paid her taxes so she could keep her parents’ house.

Her worst day, she said, was when she had 50 uncontrolled orgasms in a row.

‘It made me think I was going to die,’ she told the newspaper. ‘That was the worst day.’

Describing the first time she felt it, Ms Molannen said she thought it was just a hormonal change women went through that they didn’t talk about, so she suffered in silence for ten years.

‘I noticed something wasn’t right any more but thought maybe I’ll grow out of it. So I waited and waited - its been almost 16 years and I’m still waiting.’

Describing the orgasms she experiences, she said: ‘All the feelings that people have when they are aroused, they’re there. The genital congestion, throbbing pulsating, heart pounding, it’s all there but the difference is tremendous anxiety - anxiety which is devastating and traumatizing.

‘I try to tell myself it’s not real and just ignore it. Sometimes I can resist

it and sometimes I just can’t.’

Breaking down in tears she told the Times: ‘I had no idea other people were going through this I wish I could have told my mom, and even my dad about it. I wish I could have told my parents’ friends I wasn’t in my room wasting my life away.’

The paper found her after she posted an ad on Craigslist seeking help at the beginning of the year. She wanted someone to give her a free MRI scan so she could prove her condition to a judge.

Tragically, after the story was published - and after she had committed suicide - a number of people reached out to the paper to offer their help.

According to the Journal of Sex and Marriage Therapy, any number of events or medications can trigger the disorder, including going off a nt i d e p re s s a nt s , starting menopause, and even a bad fall.

It is unclear how many women suffer from the disease, but experts estimate it to be in the thousands.

decemBeR 16-31 2012 AFRICAWORLD 13

priDE oF AFricA

pRIDe OF AFRICA Chelsea Adeola Omotosho

chelsea was born in nigeria and studies law in Dunboyn college of Further Education. chelsea came 3rd runner-up in Miss Africa and contested for Miss Ethnic. She loves keeping fit for health purpose and reading novels. “i am studying law to become a Barrister and empower the youths. i want to inspire my people”, she told AfricaWorld

Ideato union Ireland celebrate 2012 Xmas party

By Bruno Obialo Igwe - Secretary, Ideato Union Ireland Ideato Union Ireland is a non-profit social cultural organisation formed in May 2011, to unite Ideato indigenes in the Republic of Ireland. Ideato union members comprise Ideato indigenes from Ideato North and South Local Government Areas in Imo State, Nigeria. The union aims to promote awareness of Ideato culture and traditions, as well as provide support, help and advice to Ideato indigenes both at home and in the diaspora. The union plans to embark on programmes aimed at assisting the less privileged at home, including plans to carry out a medical examination and awareness mission in all the autonomous communities in Ideato, and a scholarship scheme, among others. Membership is open to all Ideato indigenes in Ireland.

The Ideato Union celebrated its 2012 end of year party on 9 December 2012 at St. Andrew’s Community centre in Rialto, Dublin 8. The event brought many Ideato indigenes in Ireland together as well as Ideato friends, in-laws, leaders of other associations in Ireland, and the editor of AfricaWorld Newspaper, Dublin, Mr Ukachukwu Okorie. In his opening speech, the chairperson of the occasion, Mr Batho Ohanya, thanked all in attendance for making time to attend the celebration and reiterated the mission of the union - to teach members’ children Igbo language and culture. The chairman of Ideato Union Ireland, Mr Val Obidegwu, said in his address that the union is growing stronger every year; he was immensely grateful to the women’s group in particular for their efforts, commitment and contributions towards the success of the event and the association in general.

The highlights of the occasion included a raffle draw; the winner went home with a 20kg bag of rice; the second and third winners received an electric boiler and a box of chocolates respectively. The draw for the Ideato union welfare programme also took place during the occasion; four members emerged as the first batch of members that will receive a certain amount of money, which they will use to assist the less-privileged in their various communities back home. The welfare programme is to take place twice every year.

The leader of the Igbo Union Dublin, Mazi Kelechi Onwumere, who attended with his entourage thanked Ideato Union for their continued support and partnership with Igbo Union and wished Ideato Union members a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

The Chairman of the Nsukka District Association Ireland, Mazi Toms Emeka Ugwu, also thanked Ideato Union for their friendship and support of both Igbo Union and Nsuka association. Ideato in-laws who spoke at the occasion included Ozue Albert Okolo (Albertec) and Mazi Okechukwu Onwere, who expressed immense pleasure at their relationship with the Ideato people. Mrs Chinwe Obasi, whose mother is from Ideato, attended the event and expressed delight at how Ideato indigenes in Ireland are united in brotherly love.

There were performances by children in attendance, which included Irish dancing by seven-year-old Nmesoma Okanume and six year-old Chinaza Alisigwe, a dancing competition, and an Igbo language quiz. One of Ireland’s most popular DJs, DJ Mepis, entertained the audience with a sensational variety of music. The event, which lasted until midnight, was a huge success, and hitch-free. Long live Ideato Union Ireland.

14 AFRICAWORLD decemBER 16-31 2012

column

dimkpa

GOODBYE NIGERIA: CIA’S PREDICTION ON NIGERIA’S DISINTEGRATION BY 2015. REAL OR IMAGINED?

By Mazi Uche Azukaoma Osakwe

The quintessential colossus and cerebral demi-god of literature, Chinua Achebe, in his recent book There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra succinctly asserts that “…a man does not know where the rain began to beat him, cannot say where he dried his body”. In this case, the rain that beat Nigeria began fifty-two years ago when the colonial power, the British, handed the reigns of power to the Nigerians.

Since then until the present, Nigeria has been on the precipice of free fall.

In 2006, the USA’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) predicted that Nigeria would no longer be one entity come 2015. It was a grave prediction. Some Nigerians dismissed the prediction as the handiwork of mischief-makers, branding the CIA as mischievous and the predic tion as gobbledygook. Titled “Mapping the Global Future”, it hinges on the premise that Nigeria will disintegrate in 2015 along tribal and sectarian lines .The same projection was made by the late iron-fisted dictator Col. Muammar Gaddafi in March 2010 when he called for the splitting of the country into two. He was moved by the recurring slaughter in Jos, the capital of Plateau State, where men, women and children are killed like chickens. Life in Jos, once pride of the nation as a peaceful city and renowned as tin city, is fast dissolving into a war zone and a killing machine. It is reminiscent of Hobbes’ maxim: “brutish, short and nasty”. And to think, some Nigerians called Gaddafi brainless and a madman.

The CIA is regarded as one of the best intelligence apparatchiks in the world. They have men and women trained in espionage and in modern, sophisticated technologies. Their reports should therefore be taken seriously and not be airbrushed. But what baffles me is that up until today, instead of the Nigerian government taking the issues raised in the CIA’s report

and analysis seriously for the good and advancement of the country, the politicians are trading insults as usual and branding the CIA as roguish. Who in this case is mischievous? The CIA or Nigeria’s politicians? Nigeria’s politicians of course, who have failed to learn from history. In Nigeria, commenting or writing about civil war is anathema. Civil discussions and sovereign conference as a way forward are seen by the government and the oligarchy as a precipice to disaster and anybody behind the movements is branded by the government as dangerous.

The CIA’s prediction is coming home to roost with dire consequences. The Nigerian state has not known peace since independence. In 1966, the late Isaac Adaka Boro declared secession for Nigeria. In 1967, the Nigeria/Biafra civil war ensued and the Eastern Region attempted secession in collective pogroms against the Igbo. Then came Islamic fundamentalists operating in the North called the Boko Haram. Their murderous campaign to expel socalled infidels in the North has led to thousands of innocent children, men and women of Igbo stock being maimed and killed in a senseless orgy of religious violence.

In the South-East and SouthWest, it is vicious armed robbery, kidnapping and ritual killing. In the South, all the evils are combined: extreme militancy, kidnapping, rape, armed robbery, ritual killing, bunkering and sabotage. In short, Nigeria is a country hanging on a tin rope; anything might happen.

Rather than addressing the problem, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, is, as usual, like Louis Wash on the X-Factor, saying much but doing nothing.

To be frank, it is becoming boring to many Nigerians to read issues pertaining to Nigeria. For me, commenting/writing about Nigeria draws tears from my eyes.

Sometimes I wonder whether Nigeria is the Biblical Esau who was denied his inheritance at the hand of Jacob. On the one hand, I thought the problem may be in the name Nigeria coined by Flora, girlfriend and later wife to the Governor-General, Lord Lugard.

Had Flora not romantically tricked Lord Lugard into amalgamating Southern and Northern Nigeria into one entity, this mess would not have occurred or Ndi-Igbo or Yoruba would have been competing with India and Japan.

Instead, Nigeria still is where she

has been since independence; unable to provide for herself, where pipe-borne water, electricity, good roads etc are a pipe dream; a country were people sleep with one eye open and one eye closed; a country where nobody asks you how you made your money; a country where ill-gotten wealth is cherished and praised, and criminals celebrate openly of their stolen money and riches. This is Nigeria, welcome on board.

Nigeria is constructed of different autonomous groups. Diverse languages, cultures; values and religion were erroneously married as husband and wife for the sole purpose of commerce and profitability for the colonial power, the British, not for the advancement and development of the groups that make up Nigeria. As some commentators have called it, it is a “marriage of inconvenience” - not the Biblical marriage of “One flesh, One Soul,”“for better, for worse,” or till “death do us part”. The reverse is the case as the indices of what constitutes a marriage no longer apply and it’s unworkable. Candidly, many Nigerians will prefer the option, “to your tent oh Israel” than “for better, for worse”. Even in modern marriages, the “Ben Johnson” option is common and in vogue, a prescription Akidwa, a Dublin based NGO, prefers. In one of Akidwa’s enlightenment and empower ment programs, encouragement is given to women to opt-out of battered marriages or relationships. Let us be sincere, who would prefer to stick to battering, nagging and a loveless relationship? Nobody!

That’s modernity. My argument is that since it’s now in flavour not to stick with cancerous and cantankerous relationships, what is stopping Nigerians?

How long will we continue to patch the cracked walls?

Nigeria’s image both at home and abroad is nothing to write home about.

Nigerians, whether legal or illegal, are treated as nobody by their host countries and even deported in chains back to Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos or Nnamdi Azikiwe International

Airport, Abuja without goose pimples, yet our government turns the other way round. I pitied the former Nigerian Information Minister, Prof Dora Akunyili, for wasting her saliva and energy preaching the “sermon on the mount” on the need to “rebrand” Nigeria and Nigerians. She meant well for Nigeria. I think Dora Akunyili should have directed the rebranding to Nigerian politicians - especially the members of the National Assembly, Governors and state Assemblies, Local Government Chairmen and Councillors, the Presidency, Ministers and their retinue of special advisers etc. - not the masses who toil day and night looking for food to feed their families.

Again, the problem with our socalled elite is that they don’t tell themselves the gospel truth. The question is, who needs rebranding, the masses or the politicians? The answers are very simple, the politicians and their collaborators need rebranding and repentance.

Frankly, the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, will be wondering why the hell she resigned her mouth-watering World Bank job to take up the poison chalice job of Minister of Finance in Nigeria. She brought honesty, accountability and credibility to the government but the vultures in Nigerian government do not want these things; rather, they will employ

anything outside the books to frustrate her out of office as they did to Prof Bath Nnaji. The vultures are fighting her because she refused to mortgage her conscience over the “fuel subsidy”, which many are making billions of dollars from at the expense of the people, thereby holding Nigerians hostage.

Tufia! The cabers have no shame; they collaborated with good-fornothing Nigerian police to kidnap her 82-year-old mother, Kamene Okonjo, as a punishment since she is against business as usual and for her revolutionary stand for transparenc y and good governance.

As 2013 draws nearer, Nigerians will be looking over their shoulders wondering what has happened to the dreams of our heroes past Azikiwe, Bello, Awolowo, Okapara, Tafawa Belewa and others. These guys had a dream of a prosperous and united Nigeria but that dream is about to be extinguished or has already been extinguished. If President Goodluck Jonathan’s policy on the state of the nation continues, and his inability to put out Boko Haram and arrest the insecurity of life and property that has befallen this once great country called Nigeria, maybe Achebe’s caption “There Was A Country” will become reality and the CIA’s prediction will become the norm, not the exception. Happy Christmas!

decemBeR 16-31 2012 AFRICAWORLD 15

nEWS

ANTI RACIST CORNER

(ARN)

By Alessandro Zagato & Ismay Dunne The Live Register, a new weekly topical discussion show airing Tuesday nights at 9:30pm on DCTV, in collaboration with Anti Deportation Ireland (ADI) has issued its last episode of the season discussing the asylum process in Ireland and ADI’s campaign calling to an end to deportations.

The documentary discusses Direct Provision (DP) under which asylumseekers are housed in shared accommodation centres around the country where they receive bed and board in addition to a weekly allowance of 19.10 Euro. It was introduced in Ireland in 2000 as a policy response to a sudden upsurge in refugee applications to the state.

Since 2009, asylum seekers have been excluded from receiving any social welfare benefits including Child Benefit and they are not allowed to work during the

application process. This process can last for several years. One of the interviewees, for example, has been waiting 7 years and lived in around five accommodation centres.

This excellent documentary addresses the main contradictions and shortcomings shaping the asylum seeking experience in Ireland through the voices of asylum seekers and ADI activists. Their frustration and anger with the system is palpable in the dialogue where many describe their disbelief and disgust at the ways in which Ireland, a European country and advocate of Human Rights, justifies the ill-treatment of their fellow human beings.

“DP is worse than being in prison.

At least there you know that if you have been sentenced 5 years, after that time you will be free. Within DP you don’t know, it could be two years, three years, ten years…”

“It seems that speaking out gets you

tHe LIve ReGIsteR, A neW sHORt DOCuMentARY On tHe AsYLuM pROCess AnD tHe AntI-DepORtAtIOn CAMpAIGn In IReLAnD

in trouble with the system itself” Folong argues, “If you ask questions you are moved to another centre” which explains why the many asylum seekers remain silent. Living conditions are degrading. “Animals are better treated than asylum seekers” argues one of the interviewees. Many families are housed in one room, which impedes normal family life and in some cases, more than one family share the same room. This is something that deeply affects people’s intimate life and their right to privacy. They are treated as beneath the accommodation centre personnel who decide what the residents eat, when they eat, where they will stay, who they will share the room with and other personal details.

Life in direct provision can create dangerous forms of dependency and affect people’s future in many negative ways. The time you spend in this limbo gives you few possibilities to, for example, train

and improve your skills. Moreover, the fact that you are not allowed to work for many years can condemn you to future unemployment. “How can you be productive after 10 years of unemployment?”. According to asylum seekers, DP also affects them from a mental health point of view.

The indefinite waiting time and sense of uncertainty felt by asylum seekers can have negative psychological repercussions leading, in some cases, to depression and suicidal tendencies.

Notably, the majority of DP centres are run by private companies. Of the sixty accommodation centres in Ireland, only seven are state-owned.

Between 2003 and 2009, the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) paid the contractors an average of 83 million Euro a year.

The documentary also explores the deportation procedure, where the state is not transparent and often provides incomplete information.

They note that deportation has also been particularly neglected by academic research, the mass media and political activism due to this lack of information. We are referring to the deportation procedure, where people whose residency application is rejected or whose permanency in the country is denied or deemed illegal are forcibly boarded into flights taking them back to their countries of origin. In December 2010, the government was forced to bring back 35 asylum seekers that were being deported after their Frontex flight had engine trouble in Athens. Deportees described substantial mistreatment and abuse from the police officers in charge.

The recently launched Anti Deportation Ireland has started to openly oppose deportation - an issue neglected my most of the groups (activists, NGOs) campaigning for asylum seekers.

ADI hopes to build a network of people living in hostels around the country, through which they can represent themselves and turn an individual issue into a national one.

ADI is led by people who are facing deportation and living in direct provision.

“Our children will be the future of Ireland” and that Ireland is “building something that in the next 20-30 years will come back to haunt them”.

These are the most poignant lines of this documentary, especially when taking into consideration the recent Childrens’ Referendum, the controversies over Magdalene Laundries and clerical child abuse.

One hopes that this film will strike a chord with people around Ireland where at the very least they feel incentivised and empowered to stand up against the disgraceful treatment of their fellow human beings. The documentary is available at http://vimeo.com/55542725.

16 AFRICAWORLD decemBER 16-31 2012

news

A CHAT WITH VICTOR ESSIET OF THE MANDATORS FAME

We heard you are now based in the US. Why?

I have always looked at myself as a global citizen. Having a base in the US and my home of Nigeria is important in the expansion of my career.

You had hits in the 90s with songs like “Rat Race” and “Apartheid”.

Are you still singing chart-topping Reggae hits?

Yes. I am recording singles that will be revolutionary to release in the New Year. My last album, “One Love One World”, was produced by the legendary Jamaican Reggae duo of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare. I have also won various international awards including the Best New Entertainer at the annual International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA).

What is the future of Reggae in Africa and the world over?

In the words of Bob Marley, he said “Reggae will grow bigger and bigger until it finds its people. It is the vehicle that conveys the message - one love, justice, equality amongst humanity”. So as long as there are everyday people who are confronted by the corrupt Babylon system, Reggae is the light. When the people continue to see the light, the only option for them is to stand up for their rights. The future of Reggae is bigger than any other music known to mankind.

Reggae is always known for its defence of the defenceless, is this still the same?

Yes, of course What happened to the Mandators (couple)?

The name Mandators continues to live on. My late wife Peggy passed away many years ago now and I have continued to perform under the name “The Mandators” as part of a living tribute to her.

Majek Fashek is re-launching his career after a lull due to substance abuse etc. What is your view?

Majek started out as a member of my band in the beginning. The road of life is tough and anyone can slip in to difficult personal challenges. I continue to support him as friend and brother. He is a talented musician and I will always be there for him. I am happy he is coming back and in this time, Nigera, Reggae and the masses need artists like us.

Are you in contact with your contemporaries like Ras Kimono etc?

Yes, We keep in touch and I saw him recently in Lagos.

Have you been doing gigs and where?

Yes - we are planning a world tour for 2013 also.

How can your fans link with you?

My Facebook page www.Facebook.com/VictorEssiet and my website www.

VictorEssietBlog.com. Plus Twitter, Tumblr, Reverb Nation, and Sound Cloud.

What is your advice to upcoming Reggae artists?

They should understand that Reggae is an instrument of change. They must also know that talent is not a privilege. Its a gift and must be used for the benefit of mankind Do you have any final word for Reggae fans?

We the Reggae singers are the messengers, and the fans, wherever they may be, are part of making those changes in the messages brought before them. I deeply appreciate the support of the people that have stood with us through the years and kept the faith in what we are doing.

deceMBER 16-31 2012 AFRICAWORLD 17

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dd’s cubicle

COMMERCIALISM ANNOUNCES THE DEATH OF CHRISTMAS

By Dunstan Ukaga Since the eighteenth century, artists - especially socalled avantgarde artists have played a conflicting role in the understanding and meaning of Christmas. Part of the reason for their complex position, argues Raphael Sassower and Louis Cicotello, is the survival of the culture of idolatry in the modern age.

Throughout the last century in Europe and North America, the popular celebration of Christmas has increasingly become an amalgam of Christian and nonChristian traditions. The lack of clarity about the celebration’s p u r p o s e h a s re m a i n e d, accentuating a new factor: the commercialization of Christmas.

More than just a mixture of diverse traditions, Christmas is now big business. While the Christian calendar calls for a solemn four or five-week preparation to celebrate the birth of Christ, the “Christmas economy” overshadows even Halloween, with Thanksgiving Day in the US serving as little more than a prelude to the greatest shopping weekend of the year.

I visited Taipei a few years ago and was alarmed at how the whole city was decorated with Christmas trees, Santa Clause regalia and Christmas photos.

As I went to the industrial town of Hsinchu in the north of Taiwan, the town was ready for Christmas as if Jesus Christ was coming to Taiwan in real life. Among all the Buddhist shops and ordinary shops owned by the natives, Christmas paraphernalia could be seen to my utmost joy and chagrin. I stumbled upon a young girl who spoke English and asked if she was a Christian: she said no. I asked why Taiwanese are so fond of Christmas and she told me they just want to sell their goods and not because they love Jesus Christ and Christmas. I asked an elderly man why he decorated his shop with Christmas trees and the baby Jesus: he told me he does not know what it means. He saw others decorating their shops and he did same and since then the whole area changed and attracted customers.

Many Taiwanese are not Christians and do not go to church but they love Christmas due to the cash it brings and the beauty therein. This is commercialism.

Suffice it to say that commercialism is destroying the essence of Christmas and taking away its purity, meaning and significance.

Commercialism is defined as the practices, methods or trading, buying or selling securities or

commodities. As in the case of Taiwan, from Hong Kong to Japan, Singapore to South Korea even to the West and now in the US, the essence of Christmas is almost gone and people are living their lives without recognising that the reason for Christmas is Jesus Christ who died for us.

Christmas in History.

Despite the fact that the Gospel of Luke links the date of Jesus’ birth to a census in Palestine decreed

by Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1), nothing is known of the time of year of his birth. The first evidence of speculation about the date is in the third century when Clement of Alexandria suggested May 20.

The earliest mention of observance on December 25 is in the Philocalian Calendar, representing Roman practice in the year 336. At about the same time, the Eastern church began to observe the Nativity on January 6, the feast of Epiphany. By the middle of the fifth century, however, most Eastern churches had adopted December 25. As with other Christian holy days, the date of Christmas appears to have been set to provide an alternative to one or more popular pagan festivals.

December 25 was originally the date of the feast to the sun god, Mithras. The cult of Mithras had spread from Persia into the Roman world in the first century, and by the third century was Christianity’s main rival. December 25 also came at the end of the feast of Saturnalia, an ancient Roman festival commemorating the golden age of Saturn. Both of these festivals may well have been related to even earlier festivals marking the winter solstice.

Although Christmas was intended as an alternative to pagan festivals, the practices of those festivals were often simply incorporated into the Christian celebration. As Christianity spread through central and northern Europe, the accretions from local religions continued. As early as the fifth century, a small minority of Christian leaders expressed alarm at the growing pagan character of Christmas, a cause for concern that continued through the Middle Ages.

Christmas celebrations were not only enlarged by absorbing elements from local religions but from other Christian traditions as well, for example, St. Nicholas. The association of Christmas with St. Nicholas came about in the Middle Ages, especially in northern Europe. Little is known about his history except that he was Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor in the fourth century. Of the many stories about this saint, one of the most popular tells about his generosity in giving gifts anonymously to the poor. He became the patron saint of

numerous countries, cities and groups, and especially of children.

The death of Christmas started with the great reformation. During the Reformation of the 16th century, many reformers wanted Christmas dropped as a Christian celebration. In their view, not only was there no biblical sanction for Christmas, but its popular practices still looked too much like the old Saturnalia festivals. In their general resistance to things Catholic, they also wanted St. Nicholas banished. For a few years in 17th-century England, the Puritan-dominated parliament outlawed the feast of Christmas.

At the same time, Puritans in Massachusetts passed similar legislation. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the widespread antipathy to Christmas as a holy day especially by Puritans, Q u a k e r s, B a p t i s t s, and Presbyterians had important consequences, consequences which those religious groups could not have imagined.

Resistance to attaching religious significance to Christmas encouraged its growth as a secular holiday. For example, St. Nicholas was replaced by a more secular figure known as Christmas Man, Father Christmas, and Papa Noël.

The Dutch, reluctant to give up St. Nicholas, brought Sinterklass (St.

Nicholas) with them when they came to America and honoured him on December 6. In the 17th century, when the Dutch lost control of New Amsterdam to the English, Sinterklass was gradually Anglicized into Santa Claus and acquired many of the accoutrements of Christmas Man; the workshop at the North Pole and the sleigh with reindeer. By the 19th century, when the formerly resistant Protestant groups began to celebrate Christmas, it was not only a religious holy day but a well-established secular holiday as well.

Are we not right in stating that commercialism has killed Christmas? But we can change and go back to the purity and meaning of Christmas if we wish to? Linda Mintle states three ways to avoid the commercialization of Christmas: ‘’Advertisers see your children as consumers who will persuade you to buy their products. So they target kids to do just what many do - hound parents for specific toys. One thing parents can do is minimize the amount of exposure kids have to advertisements change the television channel, click off ads on the Internet and record television shows and use videos in order to avoid ads

altogether.”

“The second strategy is to regularly talk to your kids about the real meaning of the holidays.

Christmas is about the birth of Jesus and giving to others because of the gift we were given from God. Support those talks with real life activities that involve giving to others, e.g., preparing and taking food baskets to the poor, serving in a soup kitchen or mission, buying and wrapping gifts for the needy, singing at a nursing home, making cookies for neighbors, etc.”

“Third, read the Christmas story, do the Advent candles, attend special church plays and musicals.

Draw children’s attention to the reason we celebrate. Develop traditions and rituals like going carolling. Direct your children’s attention away from the commercialization of the seasons and back to what is important’.’

The commercialization of Christmas did not occur in a social vacuum. It is part of our society in which consumption for its own sake regardless of need is legitimated and encouraged.

Without reluctance, consumerism exploits religious beliefs and deep emotions to persuade people to buy and buy or sell - even on Christmas day.

18 AFRICAWORLD decemBeR 16-31 2012

nEWS

Why Diwali Indian and nepalese Restaurant is the place to eat in Dublin Are you hungry for a continental dish, cooked by chefs who know their onions and served in the most comfortable environment by staff ready to pamper you? Take the next available flight to Dublin, or walk if you are in the capital of Ireland, to Diwali Indian and Nepalese Restaurant. It is situated in the heart of the great city of Dublin, just beside Temple Bar (tourist hub), in Unit 1, Castle House, South Great Georges Street, Dublin 2.

This prime eatery offers a state-ofthe-art menu to its teeming customers and curious tourists to the great city. During special seasons like Christmas, there are special menus for those who enjoy intercontinental variety. With its Nepalese Chefs, Diwali creates traditional meals as well as enabling a taste that is difficult to rival.

Meeting the Manager, Head and Tandoori Chef, Nabaraj Koirala (RAJ), Resham Gurung and Prakash Bomjan, the preparation of special dishes was explained. Among the special Christmas and festive meals on offer are Ledobedo curry, Himalayan curry, Tikka masala, and mixed sizzler which starts at €15.50.

Diwali is known for the quality of

its food and high level of service to customers. “We have 5 to 6 starters, more than 10 main meals plus tea and coffee for €24.99. All these with a 5 star service from an amazing staff”, Nabaraj informed AfricaWorld.

Why does Diwali differ from others?

“Our food is basically Himalayan spices specially prepared at home”, the manager answered. Some of these curries are the best around the world. Stephen Vincent, a daily customer, corroborated the fact that Diwali is the best in quality and service. “Here, if you tell them what you want, the Chef makes it exactly the same way as all food is specially made”. Another customer, Mark and his father were on their Tikka Masala as AfricaWorld asked about their love for Diwali.

The Manager enjoined all who want the best in intercontinental dishes to head straight for Diwali for regular, popular and custom-made meals. “We have all kind of dishes that the customer would demand even at affordable prices.” For home service, check out www.diwali.ie or diwali@live.ie or telephone 014750091. Diwali is simply a taste of the best in intercontinental dishes.

Cuts BReeD RACIsM - AntI RACIsM netWORK the anti Racism Network (aRN) ireland has lambasted the Fine Gael and labour-controlled irish Government for its fiscal policies. in a symposium at the cassidy Hotel on Upper o’connell Street on 13 december, the Network cried out against the trend of Government tactics towards the immigrant community as a means of solving the myriad of issues bedevilling the irish economy. the discussion, which touched on a variety of issues from cuts - which, according to participants, breed racism - to the asylum system, especially the‘direct Provision Policy’ and the blame game whereby immigrants are made scapegoats. the aRN warned of the impact of the deportation policy, especially on morality and social consequences, and advised the government to cease creating a hierarchy of immigrants in ireland. other issues discussed included

making money out of the suffering of asylum seekers, instilling fear, and placing asylum seekers in crowded accommodation while there are thousands of properties lying empty. they pointed out that the current asylum process breeds prostitution, dependence, a depreciation in mental health and depression. the aRN gathering also called on the government to stop nurturing an atmosphere that is encouraging the emergence of slogans like ‘irish jobs for irish workers’, warning that it is a plot to divide. they enjoined the public to support their campaign in order to stop inhuman policies like the deportation of people and dehumanising people through other means. the anti Racism Network is an independent non-hierarchical political organisation run by a host of dedicated volunteers, whose aim is to fight against contemporary racism in all its forms, whether individual, institutional or state directed.

deceMBER 16-31 2012 AFRICAWORLD 19

sport

Champions League

Round-Up 11/12 BY colum maher

Wanyama, rose above his marker to head past Valdes from a high Charlie Mulgrew corner. ‘The Hoops’ had to sustain heavy pressure from the Catalans who saw chance after chance go begging. However, thanks to the heroics of Fraser Forster in the Celtic goal, and just a little help from the cross bar, the Glaswegians were able to hang on.

With the group stages of the UEFA Champions League drawing to a close, it’s been a big month for some of the top teams in Europe. While some teams have not lived up to preseason expectations, others have taken the bull by the horns and elevated themselves to the forefront of this year’s instalment of the competition. We now take a look back at the teams who have impressed over the last month and a half.

We start at Stamford Bridge on 7 November, where last years champions, Chelsea, took on reigning Ukrainian champions FC Shakhtar Donetsk. In what would prove to be a highly entertaining encounter,‘The Miners’ drew level twice with the London ‘Blues’, before being dealt a sucker punch deep into injury time

by Nigerian international, Victor Moses.

The match itself was a back and forth affair with Spanish international, Fernando Torres, opening the scoring in the sixth minute with more than just a bit of luck on his side. Andriy Pyatov managed to botch his clearance following a somewhat panicked back pass, which was charged down by Torres, blasting the ball into the open net. Chelsea’s lead lasted all of 3 minutes as Fernandinho charged down the left flank before cutting the ball back for Willian who sneaked the ball past Petr Cech to make it 1-1.

Shakhtar’s goalkeeper was to blame again in the 40th minute as Chelsea regained the lead through

summer signing, Oscar. Pyatov came out his box to head clear Juan Mata’s pass to Ivanovic; however, the ball arrived at the feet of Oscar who showed great control on his chest before unleashing a fierce volley over Pyatov and into the empty goal from 40 yards out to give Chelsea a 2-1 lead going into the break.

‘The Moles’ drew level with just 2 minutes of the second half played, with Willian playing a part in both the build-up and the goal. Chelsea were badly exposed on the left yet again as Willian played the ball to Darijo Srna, before racing into the box to receive the Croatian’s cross and side footing the ball past Cech. It was not to be for the Ukrainians, however, as Victor Moses nodded home a powerful header in the 94th minute from a Juan Mata corner.

Although there was much celebrating in London following the win, the biggest celebrations of the night were undoubtedly to be had in Glasgow as Celtic recorded an historic victory over European giants Barcelona at Parkhead. The four-time winners of the competition fell behind in the 21st minute as K e nya n , Vi c to r

There were scenes of pandemonium in the crowd in the 83rd minute as Champions League debutant, Tony Watt, doubled Celtic’s lead. Xavi Hernandez misjudged the bounce of a long clearance which allowed Watt to race through and slide the ball past Valdes to make it 2-0 to the home side. Lionel Messi pulled a goal back for‘The Blaugrana’ a minute into injury time, pouncing on a loose ball in the box after Forster spilled the ball following an outstanding save. It would prove to be too little-too late, however, as Celtic recorded a historic win in front of their own fans.

Meanwhile, Romanian Champions CFR Cluj took on Turkish champions Galatasaray at the Stadionul Dr. Constantin Radulescu, a game that

would see Burak Yilmaz score a hattrick to propel the ‘Yellow-Reds’ into second place in Group H. With 18 minutes played, Burak scored a superb header as he managed to get on the end of Hamit Altintop’s cross, making it 1-0 to the visitors - a lead they would hold until the 53rd minute.

The introduction of Sasa Bjelanovic at half time seemed to invigorate‘The Railwaymen’ and with just 8 minutes of the second half played, the Romanians drew level through Senegalese international Modou Sougou. The Senegal hitman made the most of Rafael Bastos’s sublime cross, hammering the ball past Muslera and off the post into the back of the net.

The celebrations lasted just 8 minutes though and Cluj only had themselves to blame for falling behind yet again as Ivo Pinto was dispossessed by Burak, who played a clever 1-2 with Hamit before finishing with a low shot past Mario Felgueiras. The two men combined again with just over a quarter of an hour to play to put the game to bed.

Hamit played another superb ball into

Burak who made no mistake as he finished past Felgueiras for his and Galatasaray’s third of the night, giving the visitors a 3-1 victory.

This year’s instalment of the UEFA Champions League has seen some shock results with both BATE Borisov and Galatasaray picking up unlikely wins against Bayern Munich and Manchester United respectively.

However, few would have guessed that Greek champions Olympiacos would have been able to overpower Arsenal when the two teams met at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on the 4 December.

‘The Gunners’ took the lead in the 38th minute - completely against the run of play - as Tomas Rosicky sidefooted Ivorian Gervinho’s cross past Carroll in ‘The Legend’ goal to make it 1-0 to the visitors. However Szczesny could do little about Maniatis’ close range header in the 64th minute for a deserved Olympiacos equaliser.

Things would get worse for Arsene Wenger’s men just 8 minutes later as substitute Kostas Mitroglou pounced with an exquisite curling shot from the edge of the area to give the Greeks a 2-1 win.

20 AFRICAWORLD decemBeR 16-31 2012

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