AfricaWorld Newspaper 1-15 July 2014

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... the newspaper of the Africans in Ireland

JUL 01 - 15 2014

VOL 001 Nยบ60

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KIDS TALENT COMPETITION

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AfricaWorld Newspaper Director, Dr. Prosper Obioha is the new leader of Igbo Union Ireland

ISRAELI SOLDIERS BREAK THE SILENCE P 10

...Page 12. By Cristina Casabon

FREE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE

A PIONEER SUPPORTING THE RIGHTS OF GIRLS

AFROBEAT FRIDAY

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THE NNAMDI MBACHU SURPRISE BIRTHDAY P 12

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NEWS

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AFRICAWORLD

EDITORIAL AFRICA AND THE WORLD CUP

AfricaWorld Newspaper Director

Dr. Prosper Obioha

As the 2014 Brazil World Cup gets to the

is the new leader of Igbo Union Ireland

final stage, African representatives are all out. None of the five countries: Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria went past the second round.

There had been whispers about their quality and form coming into the tournament. However, against all expectations, they performed well.

Algeria was exceptional against Germany in their second round exit.

Germany was matched in all departments, if not outmatched except that they had no top goal poacher.

Honestly, in assessing the teams, some shone brightly, others were engrossed in payment and bonus rows. But the fact remain that Africa disappointed at the big stage again. The question keep re-echoing on the possibility of Africa winning the World Cup. Off-the-pitch negative attributes marred a smooth tournament for the continent as issues on bonuses, discipline and relationship with football authorities created hurdles. While Brazil 2014 draw to a close, African soccer authorities need sober reflection on how to win the next world cup.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Come in,

Uka

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fricaWorld learnt that there is a new leadership in Igbo union Dublin, can you enlighten us?

of the last administration which kids. We have been involved achieved a lot in the last two with the immigrant council on years. integration.

What have the Igbo union Where do your Caretaker achieved for the people in Committee stand on the The tenure of the current Igbo Ireland? rancour between Igbo union u n i o n and Ohaneze? executives has ended.

Well I don’t think We have a we have an issue n e w with Ohaneze.

Caretaker The only problem Committee is based on in charge of tradition whereby Igbo Union the way they affairs of approach our which I am custom here is not t h e the right way.

Chairman. I Generally, there a m can be disagreements coordinating things with the over issues, and that is what it assistance of Barr. Chike The Igbo union have done a lot is all about between Igbo union Aniekwena and Mr. Alex to uplift our people. We were and Ohaneze. Personally, I do Alino. Our job is to steer the able to organize Igbo not have have any issue with Igbo union into the next phase Convention which is the first Ohaneze Ireland. I attend their of our marchto relevance. We of its kind in Europe. Until we functions if it suits me, and are going to organize elections did it, you only hear of such in members are our brothers and for the next executives which the United States and Canada. sisters. comes up on the 20th of July. We started Igbo classes for our We are continuing the works

BURUNDI

Expressing deep concern about growing restrictions on freedom of expression in Burundi, a senior United Nations rights official today called on the authorities there to ensure that human rights are fully protected ahead of next year’s presidential elections.

CHAD Several co-operation and partnership agreements were signed between Tunisia and Chad thin month at the opening of the Tunisian-Chadian economic forum held with the theme: “For a Dynamic and Fair Partnership.”

CONGO

AfricaWorld is the newspaper of African immigrants in Ireland.

We cover all frontiers of the world starting from Dublin, where publish Africa’s most interesting issues related to politics, economy , environment, human rights, culture, social trends, science...

Germain Katanga and prosecution will not appeal: Former Congolese militia leader Germain Katanga said Wednesday he would not appeal his 12-year prison sentence imposed by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for complicity in destruction of a village in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo in February 2003.

DJIBOUTI

Ethiopia and Djibouti are preparing a mutual strategic plan in a bid to build economic integration, Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti, Suleiman Dedefo said.

EDITOR IN CHIEF UKACHUKWU OKORIE

DIRECTOR ABDUL YUSUF

DIRECTOR Dr. PROSPER OBIOHA

EGYPT

The United States has released about $575 million of the suspended funds to Egypt over the past month, Reuters reported an unnamed State Department official as saying. The United States froze some of the $1.3 billion in annual military aid to Egypt following the military’s ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi last year, which was prompted by mass protests against his rule.

GHANA

AFRICAWORLD & MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS Editor Ukachukwu Okorie

Director Abdul Yusuf

Graphic Design Cristina Casabon

Secretary Koketso Mohotloane

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

synergise its work in accordance with those aims wherever possible. Those goals are to improve issues of Education,

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Health, HIV/AIDS, Gender Equalit y, Environmental Sustainability and Global Partnerships.

Published by Nguma Worldwide Ltd. 46 Parnel Square West 3rd Floor Dublin 1, Dublin City Republic of Ireland

ACEP Organises Workshop On Combating Corruption in the Oil and Gas Sector in Ghana. The objective of the workshop was to support capacity development in anti-corruption agencies and empower them to identify and check abuses in the oil and gas industry. It was also in response to the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan which recommends capacity development in state agencies responsible for checking corruption.

AFRICAWORLD TV DIRECTOR/ SECRETARY KOKETSO MOHOTLOANE

VIDEO EDITOR YONGMIN KIM

+353 87 637 3210 +353 1 873 0123

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EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CRISTINA CASABON

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INTERNATIONAL

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A total of 24 communities in the Bongo District of the Upper East region of Ghana are being hooked onto the national electricity grid under the rural electrification project. Ten benefited under Phase I while an additional 14 have been rolled onto the Phase II.

KENYA

Victims of the violence that hit Kenya more than six years ago have criticised a specialised department of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for not yet providing them with any assistance.

MADAGASCAR As anticipated, the US government has reinstated preferential trade status for Madagascar on its 54th independence day anniversary, providing hope for the country’s embattled economy.

MOZAMBIQUE Mozambican civil society organisations praised President Armando Guebuza for exercising his veto against bills passed by the Assembly of the

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Republic which would have increased the pension rights and other privileges of former parliamentary deputies and former heads of state.

NIGERIA The United States said on Friday it had decreased its surveillance flights in the search for more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Islamist militants in Nigeria, but added that the overall effort was unchanged due to more flights by other countries.

RWANDA

Women Refugees in Kigeme and Gihembe camps who were previously labelled as victims, vulnerable or displaced have been able to take the initiative to improve protection and the wellbeing of their communities.

By Joe Moore

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he free movement of people within the EU, is a principle shared by 22 out of the 28 Member States. The exceptions being the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Croatia, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania, who are not part of the Schengen Agreement. I will return to the position of these countries later in the article.

Schengen is a village located in Southern Luxembourg, close to the borders of both France and Germany.

Because of its location, Schengen was chosen as the venue of a meeting held by representatives of the foreign ministries of France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg on 14th June 1985. The purpose of the agreement was to establish a borderless zone in the heart of Europe. This meant the “gradual abolition of checks at the common border and the replacement of passport controls with simple visual surveillance of private vehicles crossing the common border at reduced speed”.

The Schengen Agreement was ratified at he same place five years later in the 1990 Schengen Convention and came into force in 1995. By that time Spain, Portugal and Italy had become part of the Schengen area. As mentioned earlier not all EU countries are part of Schengen and neither are all Schengen countries members of the EU. Norway, Iceland and Switzerland are Schengen members. Hence the EU reaction to the result of the Swiss referendum.

Croatia, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania are legally obliged to become part of the free travel area and will do so in the near future.

SENEGAL

This is not the case with either the UK or Ireland. The British ruling class have always seen themselves as being separate from continental Europe and particularly since the end of World War II they regard themselves as being closer to Washington than to Berlin. Ireland’s reasons are that it shares a common land border with the UK and is also obliged under the 1921 Treaty to mirror Britain’s immigration laws.

The reason for the free travel area was to facilitate the single market and to ensure that labour would always be readily available. However

although all EU citizens were allowed to travel, they were not all treated equally throughout the EU. For example, citizens from the 10 accession states of May 2004 were allowed to travel to the existing states but had to live in one of those states for at least 2 years before they qualified for welfare payments.

Citizens from Bulgaria and Romania could travel to other EU countries but they could not work there. This all seems very good and progressive but it is restricted to EU citizens. It is a totally different story for people from outside the EU. The quid pro quo for Schengen was a tightening of the EU’s external borders. Frontex is the EU agency for external border control. It was established in 2005 and has its headquarters in Warsaw, Poland. Its purpose is to prevent

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people from Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe entering the EU. Frontex has helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, naval vessels and an advanced satellite system to track ships. The agency works closely with all EU immigration agencies and is an integral part of the highly militarised border system commonly referred to as Fortress Europe. The other role of Frontex is the deportation of non EU citizens who are denied the right to live in Europe.

Since humankind first evolved on planet Earth we have always migrated Since humankind first evolved on planet Earth we have always migrated. It is now accepted that human beings first evolved in the Rift Valley of Eastern Africa. From there, our ancestors moved out- wards to colonize all the world’s land masses with the exception of Antarctica. For the vast majority of our time on earth there were no restrictions to migration. The 19th century saw the movements of millions of people, from Eastern Europe west- wards to Western Europe, to the US and Canada, and from the Asian sub-continent to the islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, to the East Coast of Africa and even as far as the Caribbean.

Border controls and the use of passports and visas are relatively recent developments. Nation states as we know them today have only been in existence for little more than 200 years. In Europe it was really only after the French Revolution of 1789 that nation states began to

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INTERNATIONAL

FREE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE GUINEA

AFRICAWORLD

A liberal land regime in Senegal over the decade has favoured large-scale acquisitions of arable land by both foreign and local investors. Dramatic changes in ownership have coincided with serious food shortages in the sub-region, a global financial crisis and a growing emphasis on the promotion of bio-fuel

SOUTH SUDAN

South Sudanese rebels aligned with former vice-president Riek Machar have reacted to the ranking of the country as the world’s “most fragile” state, saying they were not surprised by the “unfortunate” outcome.

SOMALIA

China said Monday it will reopen its embassy in Somalia 23 years after evacuating its diplomats as the East African nation plunged into civil war. The decision came after Somalia established its first government and parliament in 21 years, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. He said Beijing would send a delegation to Somalia on Tuesday.

UGANDA

No amount of tinkering with the law by the NRM regime can engender free, fair and credible elections in Uganda.

It will take fundamental political reforms that re-structure the state; thereby, making it possible to have independent state institutions and systems that can manage political processes credibly.

ZIMBABWE

ZIFA has undertaken to publish its audited financial accounts for 2011, 2012 and 2013 which will be presented to the assembly at the end of July.

evolve. In Africa however, the story was quite different. The current borders of today’s states were drawn up at the Conference of Berlin 18841885. The conference was attended by all the Europe- an imperial nations as well as the US. The purpose of the meeting was the division of the African continent between the attending powers.

Nobody represented Africa in Berlin.

Immigration and border controls have life and death consequences for tens of thousands of people Border controls were seriously implemented after World War 1 primarily to prevent the spread of the October 1917 revolution from Russia. These controls continued to tighten through the 20th century and have now become today’s Fortress Europe. Immigration and border controls have life and death consequences for tens of thousands of people. In early October 2013 a boat carrying asylum seekers from Eritrea and Somalia sank within sight of the Italian island of Lampedusa, resulting in the deaths of over 350 men, women and children. All the EU leaders expressed their shock at the tragedy and their sympathies to the families of the deceased. Leading politicians and the establishment media put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the traffickers who overloaded such an unseaworthy craft. Yes people traffickers are unscrupulous, who demand the highest possible payments and often subsequently abandon those who rely on them to get them to Europe.

During the slave trade it is estimated that 100s of 1,000s of Africans drowned in the Atlantic Ocean, during the so-called Middle Passage. Today the Mediterranean Sea is the graveyard of thousands of Africans. During the lifetime of the Berlin Wall 1961-1989, 125 peo- ple lost their lives trying to cross from East-West. From 1988

until December, 2012, it was estimated that over 15,500 Africans drowned in the Med- iterranean.

The names and details of the 125 who died crossing the Berlin Wall were reported in all media outlets.

The European mass media has no interest in the Africans dead, neither have the politicians.

Racism is continually changing.

There are newer forms of racism widespread throughout the EU. The most notable being Islamophobia, Xenoracism and Anti-Roma racism.

What is happening today to African inmigrants is a continuation of the treatment of Africans from the days of slavery, to colonisation and onto today’s drowning’s in the Mediterranean. And what becomes of those who breach Fortress Europe and seek asylum. Conditions vary in each country. But the reality in all cases is more suffering for Africans. Let me report briefly on the situation in Ireland, the country I am most familiar with.

In Ireland, there are a number of custom-built Centres, which is more like open prisons People who claim asylum in Ireland are put into a system called Direct Provision. This system consists of 35 centres, scattered throughout the country. The majority of these Centres are for- mer hotels, guest houses and boarding schools, etc.

There are a number of custom-built Centres, which is more like open prisons. And the remain- der consist of a caravan park and a former holiday camp. Some are located in cities and large towns; others are in isolated rural areas, adjacent to villages. Most asylum seekers in Ireland are Africans and majority of whom are denied the right to work and access to third level education.

Asylum seekers are expected to survive on €19.10 per week, a pay- ment that has not been increased since it was first

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introduced in 2000 They are not allowed to cook in most of these so-called Centres.

They are however, given three square meals daily and have no choice of meal. In short, they have no control over the meal they are given or how it was cooked. For example, Mus- lims are often given food cooked in oil that was previously used to fry bacon.

Asylum seekers are expected to survive on €19.10 per week, a payment that has not been increased since it was first introduced in 2000.

Some of asylum seekers could spend close to 8-10 years in the asylum process before decision could be reached. Decisions solely rest with the Minister of Justice, Equality and Law Reform discretion and if an asylum seekers failed to prove their case on the basis that they sought asylum, they face deporta- tion. This is where Frontex Agency enters the picture again.

The majority of the flights used for deporting asylum seekers from Ireland are usually organized by this agency. Men, women and children are pulled from their beds in pre-dawn raids. Sometimes whole families are taken without notifying their legal representatives.

Other times families are separated, just as in the days of slavery. Each adult is accompanied by an immigration official on the flight.

This official even accompanies them when they use the toilet.

This is how African people are treated by the EU. The oppression that began with the slave trade and continued through colonial era still exists today. Grave concern was expressed throughout the EU after the outcome of the Swiss Referendum that will result in limiting the number of EU citizens entering Switzerland but unfortunately nobody expresses concern for the African people who die trying to enter the EU. It is about time to put an end to immigration

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DEC 01 - 15 2013

PEOPLE

BETTY MAKONI

A PIONEER SUPPORTING THE RIGHTS OF GIRLS

By Nena Duchez

M

y personal career is unusual. I just started from a very low position in society. I used to be cleaning hostels, then I became a vender, selling fruit on the street. Then I became a temporal English teacher and after that I moved on to the university where I acquired two degrees, a Bachelor of Arts General Degree majoring in English, Linguistics and Shona, and later a Post Graduate BA in Theatre Arts. I majored in Theatre Arts Management and Directing as well as script writing but I didn’t do those activities for a long time because I chose to follow my passion, and my passion is that of being a girl child rights activist and motivate girls to spearhead their own liberation.

I started with a small project, building the Girl Child Network in Zimbabwe, after listening to the horrifying experiences of ten of her female students, and since then, the network spread to another

countries like Tanzania, Uganda, to lead communities and improve Sierra Leone, America… and now the situation of African women it is a huge network called Girl around the world. You can see that Child Network Worldwide. I also my role is advocating, encouraging became a writer to document my women to create more innovative personal experience at this state, projects on the ground. I work and I focused on protecting the through social media and people rights of girls. Marketing is contact me because we are like a something that is natural for me. big home. I actually do a lot of I came from the royal Internet advocacy I CHOSE TO family of Makoni, and to governments and FOLLOW MY the women of this family global leaders, had leader positions in PASSION, AND MY using my influence Zimbabwe. I played this PASSION IS THAT OFto improve the role very well and I situation of women BEING A GIRL represented our and girls trough the traditions, to reconcile CHILD RIGHTS world. I am a mother the past with the present and also a wife. I and the future, to have a leadership enjoy being a family women with role that could represent my children and being a mother everybody. and a wife as well as a lover is also part of my life.

I officially look after the rights of the children around the world, and We motivate a great number of it is the pride of my life to work women to publish their histories, with governments that are to make impact in the world. Some advocating to stop violence of the programs of our organisation against women in countries with are supported by women with instability. In the Congo I actually brilliant ideas on issues about had to stand up and speak to the domestic violence, genital G8. In UK we create networks for mutilation, empowerment of the women, we empower each other African woman, ect. African and we are developing programs women are very creative, but we

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PEOPLE

also need some help, in terms of financing our projects. Many potential women leaders are supported by us and we want to support more individual women to do whatever they want to do.

There is a necessity of supporting women in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, or DRC, and we have lost a lot of women as a result of violence in these places.

Women are almost 52% of the population in Africa, but there is a patriarchal society and we are not represented, so the majority of presidents, leaders and authorities in Africa are men.

Those are issues of concern. We have to talk about female genital mutilation as well. This is a big issue today, it’s a harmful cultural practise in Africa but also in Occidental countries.

BETTY MAKONI IS THE FOUNDER OF GIRL CHILD NETWORK. SINCE 1998, THIS EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME THAT SHE PIONEERED IN ZIMBABWE HAS HELPED UP TO 350,000 GIRLS ACROSS SIX COUNTRIES. THE GIRL CHILD NETWORK IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING 4,000 CHILD SEX OFFENDERS BEHIND BARS – INCLUDING A POPULAR HARARE CHURCH MINISTER, REVEREND OBADIAH MSINDO. THIS ORGANISATION HAS BEEN COPIED BY OTHER AFRICAN AND WORLDWIDE ORGANISATIONS. MAKONI LIVES IN ENGLAND AND IS MARRIED, WITH THREE CHILDREN.

I think we have managed to create some good movements and we want women to take part in the society. This is a new generation of women who realised they can be confident and have clear visions of where they want to go. Women are increasingly supporting each other in XXI Century around the world and I can say those things are being improved and societies are becoming more equal. We do have more African women educated and we have to appreciate the achievements of African women around the world. We are taking advantage in education and leadership.

African women are very honest.

They are determined and hardworking. Look the amount of work they have done and they are resilient. I just also want to say that African women are very generous, but they have to learn also to be given.

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AFROBEAT FRIDAY @ THE VOODOO

DEC 01 - 15 2013

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AFRICAWORLD

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PHOTO EXHIBITION

DEC 01 - 15 2013

PHOTO EXHIBITION

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Photo Exhibition, Israeli soldiers break the silence, open at the Gallery of Photography

Israeli Soldiers Break the Silence You patrol the main road in Hebron, scared to death, wearing a bulletproof vest, a gear-vest, a helmet, and the rifle. And you just look in every direction so they don’t surprise you… And next to you, on the road, at the scariest place on earth, the kids of Abraham Avinu ]Jewish neighbourhood] are playing.

By Cristina Casabon

Y

ehuda Shaul is a former Israeli soldier who served in Hebron, the second largest Palestinian city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. After admitting to himself that he was a perpetrator and not simply an innocent man following orders, he decided to organise an exhibition to show the brutality of the Israeli occupation. In June 2004 he founded ‘Breaking the Silence’, an organisation whose 350 members are all former Israeli combat soldiers. They have collected 750 testimonials from former soldiers on their service in the occupied territories.

During my time in Dublin, I had the opportunity to visit his Photo Exhibition, opened at the Gallery of Photography, in Temple Bar. Looking these pictures and reading testimonies by other combat soldiers who served all over the territories, I realized at that being a soldier in Israel is something worst than I had originally though.

As Shay Davidovich, a former IDF soldier explains in Breaking the Silence website, “We have been exerting our military control over the Palestinians for 47 years now yet we have not stopped for a second to ask ourselves what that control actually looks like – what IDF soldiers are sent to do in our name and what moral price we pay for their actions.”

I think your judgement gets a little impaired when everyday… when your enemy is an Arab or somebody else who in your eyes… like, you don’t look at him as a person standing in front of you, but as the enemy, and this is the world for him: enemy. he is not a dog, not some animal, you don’t think of him as inferior, he simply doesn’t count. Period.

Personally, I had to confront myself. I found myself in situations I couldn’t handle. i constantly had to test the level of my morality, how low I can get, because once it becomes routine, you can no longer control it. It’s your daily routine, and you just get orders, and you obey the,, like a robot can’t explain it.

From these testimonies visitors can appreciate how this scenes of violence and horror are perceived by the Israeli Defence Forces. Some of them accepts responsibility for what they had done during the military service, while others are proud of themselves.

Israel has maintained military control over the occupied territories for 47 years. It means that for almost five decades now, Israel has been engaged in the systematic military control of millions of Palestinians, imposing their rules and their arbitrary violence: arrests, random humiliating punishments, use of civilians as human shields, numerous checkpoints and barriers between and inside Palestinian villages and cities, curfews, beatings, attack dogs….

The great thing about Hebron, the thing that gets you more than anything else, is the total indifference it instills in you. It’s hard to describe the kind of enormous sea of indifference you’re swimming in while you’re there. It’s possible to explain a litre, through little anecdotes, bout it’s not enough to make it really clear.

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We arrested someone, and took him to the base. There was no one there to admit him because the guy in charge was absent, so everyone just fell asleep there in the sin. And the detainee is sitting in the sun, under guard. No one cared if he has what he needs. And as I was resting there, I heard 2 guys from my unit, asking him: “hey, how do you say “bee” in Arabic? And he replied. So I opened my eyes and looked, and then I realised that they were throwing bees into his shirt. Just having fun while…

I didn’t say anything, something I regret to this day. It was more important for me not to confront them than to tell them it’s wrong.

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DEC 01 - 15 2013

EVENTS

MULTICULTURAL COMPETITION

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Our Kids Got Talent!

The maiden edition of the Kids Variety Talent competition organized by ‘the Variety Show Group in Association with AfricaWorld News, was held on 21st June in Mulhuddart Community Centre.

The kids proved themselves in different categories; they were very talented in dancing, singing, playing instruments and more. They showed their abilities and they did their best. Aarti Isha Saravanan- 9 years old, was the first winner; Rhona Tembo won the 2nd price and Katlyn Winston came 3rd.

Kids Variety Talent is a competition that salutes the best in performing arts The performances were as varied as and was organised by Tina Nwachukwu. the kids themselves. The top three winners received fabulous prices The Judges were Labour Party ranging from photo cameras, beauty Councillor Mary McCamley of boxes and tickets for a concert. Other Mulhuddart area, Cristina Casabon, children received trophies relating to Editorial Assistant at AfricaWorld different categories won. For instance, Newspaper, and Dj Spaqz, the most Best Photogenic, Best Dressed or Best diverse Disc Jockey in Ireland. They Dancer won prized gifts. Boys and girls had to decide the winner out of three entered all talent categories except Miss that emerged from the ten favourite Best Hair Style reserved for girls. talented kids.

Rhona Tembo

Aarti Isha Saravanan

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Other contestants showed beautiful performances and were included in the top ten winners.The participants in this year’s contest came with their parents, friends and relatives. At the end, all kids got medals for their involvement and outstanding participation.

Tina Nwachukwu, the organiser of the event, insisted that “everybody has a talent,” and sharing that skill “inspires other kids around the world to use their talents for the greater good of the society.”

You can see their videos and more photos on our Facebook: Africaworld TV & Africaworld Photos

Katlyn Winston

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PEOPLE

THE NNAMDI MBACHU SURPRISE BIRTHDAY BASH

Immediate past deputy leader of the Igbo Union Dublin, Lolo Nkechi Mbachu held a surprise birthday party for husband Nnamdi last Friday. The birthday witnessed crème de la crème of the African community in Dublin, including visiting Nigeria’s rising music star - Kcee Limpopo. See and like on Facebook: Africaworld Photos & Africaworld TV

AFRICAWORLD 15

MUST READ

MUST READ SECTION There Was a Country by Chinua aChebe ThereWas a Country is the memoir of Chinua Achebe’s personal experiences and reflections on the Biafran War (1967-1970), known around the world for its impact on the Biafrans, who were starved to death by the Nigerian Government. This atrocities are the darkest chapter of Nigeria’s history; the conflict left a million people dead, towns completely destroyed and a generation stripped of its innocence.

There was a country relates to the atrocities when Chinua Achebe, a world-renowned novelist, served his Biafran homeland as a roving cultural ambassador, witnessing the war’s full horror first-hand. The book is a distillation of vivid observation and considered research and reflection, and its author is now the most widely read African author in the world.

Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor From a breathtaking new voice, a novel about a splintered family in Kenya—a story of power and deceit, unrequited love, survival and sacrifice. Odidi Oganda, running for his life, is gunned down in the streets of Nairobi. His grief-stricken sister, Ajany, just returned from Brazil, and their father bring his body back to their crumbling home in the Kenyan drylands, seeking some comfort and peace. But the murder has stirred memories long left untouched and unleashed a series of unexpected events.

In scenes stretching from the violent upheaval of contemporary Kenya back through a shocking political assassination in 1969 and the Mau Mau uprisings against British colonial rule in the 1950s, we come to learn the secrets held by this parched landscape, buried deep within the shared past of the family and of a conflicted nation. Here is a spellbinding novel about a brother and sister who have lost their way; about how myths come to pass, history is written, and war stains us forever.

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