Month: December 2023

Who/What did we Celebrate in Africa in 2023?

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments1 Comment

There was a lot to celebrate in Africa in 2023. Below are just a few in the sea of celebrations.

The different ministers of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso met to sign the agreement (Source: https://thenews-chronicle.com)

1. In January, Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, three West African countries , all of whom have recently undergone military takeovers amid rising public national anger against France, have agreed to a Bamako-Conakry -Ouagadougou axis, with enhanced cooperation on matters ranging from trade to the fight against insecurity. 

FESPACO 2023

2. The biennial African film festival, FESPACO, took place this year from 25 February to March 4. On March 4, the winner, Tunisian Youssef Chebbi won the Golden Stallion of Yennenga (Etalon d’or de Yennenga) for his film ‘Ashkal‘ which centres on the investigation into the killing of a caretaker on a construction site in Carthage on the outskirts of his hometown. This year, women directors were celebrated and took home the second and third prizes, with Burkinabe filmwriter Apolline Traore, who picked up the Silver Stallion of Yennenga for the film ‘Sira‘, while the Bronze Stallion was awarded to Kenya’s Angela Wamai for ‘Shimoni.‘ FESPACO 2023: Tunisian Film ‘Ashkal’ Wins the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, and Women Filmmakers are Recognized

Papal bull from Nicholas V (Source: © Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (Lisboa, Portugal) – Uhem-Mesut.com)

3. In March, the Vatican rejected the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ used to Justify Colonial Quest and Theft of Land. A Vatican statement said the papal bulls, or decrees, “did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous peoples” and “therefore [the Vatican] repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political ‘doctrine of discovery.’” This is the first official acknowledgment of the Catholic Church for his first place participation in the enslavement of people around the globe, and particularly of Africans. We had published here Dum Diversas or The Vatican’s Authorization of Slavery, which highlighted the major role played by the Vatican in the slave trade of Africans over the centuries.

Inauguration of the Place des Tirailleurs-Sénégalais with Tirailleurs aged over 90-years-old on 10 March 2023 (Source: Sylvie Koffi, RFI)

4. Nine Senegalese tirailleurs, men who served for France for its liberation during the wars, have now won the right to receive their pension while living in Senegal. These men, aged 85 to 96 years, have served in the French army during the wars of Indochina and Algeria, and were forced to live in France at least 6 months per year to get their retirement pension! Can you imagine serving for a country that does not even want to pay you a dime for your services (remember Thiaroye?)? As a result, most of them never returned home. This year, they were able to finally go home. At Last: Senegalese Tirailleurs now allowed to receive their pension while living in Senegal

Zambian flag
Zambian flag

5. Following months of talks, Zambia successfully agreed new repayment terms with its state creditors on up to $6.3bn (£5bn) debt, including over $4bn owed to China. … Although the details of the deal have not yet been released [as always, populations are kept in the dark, while their future is being signed over], it appears that Zambia will be granted an extended repayment time of over 20 years, including a three-year grace period with interest-only payments. In recent years, the economic debt of Zambia has been making the locals apprehensive; this is a positive step. Zambia breathes a Sigh of Relief after $6bn Debt Deal.

Anatoli Kirigwajjo (Source: 256businessnews.com)

6. Anatoli Kirigwajjo from Uganda, the founder and CEO of Yunga, a local digital security network that enhances neighbor-to-neighbor safety, was awarded “The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation” dedicated to developing African innovators, an award, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK. In a modern world where drums are no longer used to alert communities, it is imperative to find a solution that will be used to alert all neighbors within a community of some impending issue. His innovation is based on the ancestral drum tradition, and the “10,000 household model” – a traditional practice where people use drums to alert their community in case of an emergency. Ugandan Engineer takes Africa’s Top Innovation Award for His Safety Invention.

Faith Kipyegon (Source: WorldAthletics.org)

7.  Africans made us Proud at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. There were so many outstanding contributions, and amazing firsts. Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso who took home the gold medal in the men’s triple jump, thereby offering his country its first gold at the World Championships. Letsile Tebogo of Botswana made us proud by becoming the first African to win a silver medal at the World Championships ever in the men’s 100 m, and a bronze medal in the 200 m. Faith Kipyegon of Kenya delivered! There isn’t another athlete as consistently dominant over such a range as Kipyegon, and she was rightfully selected among the best African athlete of the year; at the world championships, she won gold medals in the women’s 1,500 m and 5,000 m in Budapest. Ladies Gudaf Tsegay, Letesenbet Gidey, and Ejgayehu Taye of Ethiopia dominated their events to give us a trio winning gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively in the women’s 10,000 m. Please check out the exhaustive list of winners.

Francis Ngannou knocking down Tyson Fury in the 3rd round (Source: Eurosport)

8. Francis Ngannou, professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer, of Cameroon made us proud in the “Battle of the Baddest” against the undefeated world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, which place on October 28, 2023, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ngannou was able to knock down Fury in the third round, taking the fight all the way to the scorecards, in which the judges awarded Fury the victory in a controversial split decision. To many, not just Africans, the real winner was Ngannou.

Map of Liptako-Gourma region (Source: aha-international.org)

9. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger signed a Mutual Defence Pact called the Liptako-Gourma Charter, to protect their countries, and fight effectively against terrorists which have been occupying the northern parts of their territories. The Liptako-Gourma Charter establishes the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which aims to “establish an architecture of collective defence and mutual assistance for the benefit of our populations“, Colonel and leader of Mali, Assimi Goïta wrote on X. These countries have shown that we, Africans, can take care of ourselves, without the need of puppet organizations such as ECOWAS.

Flag of Ethiopia

10. Ethiopian-American Scientist Gebisa Ejeta receives US National Medal of Science, the highest state honor attainable by scientists in the United States for his work on sorghum, and he has developed a sorghum hybrid that is resistant to drought and parasites. Thanks to the conflict in Ukraine, a lot of Africans are turning back to ancestral grains native to their lands and alternatives to wheat. How Africa Copes with the War in Ukraine : Alternatives to Wheat and How Africa Copes with The War in Ukraine: Alternatives to Wheat – Ancient Grains? We applaud Gebisa Ejeta for his contributions.

Ibrahim Traore, President of the Transition, raises the new plate renaming the boulevard after President Thomas Sankara (Source: LeFaso.net)

11. On the 36th anniversary of Thomas Sankara’s assassination, Burkina Faso renamed Boulevard in Honor of Thomas Sankara; the boulevard, one of the main streets of the capital Ouagadougou, was previously known as General Charles de Gaulle Boulevard. Thus, Burkina Faso has replaced the country’s former colonial ruler with its very own leader and inspiration to the nation, Thomas Sankara. We applaud Burkinabes for doing this, and hope to see many African countries follow in their tracks, as many streets and cities still wear the names of European men who wiped out entire peoples (Brazzaville, Port-Gentil, etc).

Woppa Diallo and Mame Bougouma Diene (Source: The Caine Prize/Guardian)

12. Senegalese couple, Mame Bougouma Diene and Woppa Diallo, has made history this week by winning the Caine Prize for African Writing [Senegalese Couple Makes History by Winning Literary Caine Prize for African Writing]. It is the first time in the history of the prize that it is awarded to a couple. Diallo is a lawyer and activist while French-Senegalese American Diene is a humanitarian and a short-story writer. There were also lots of African writers who published acclaimed work this year.

Map of Mali with its capital Bamako

13. Mali military forces succeeded in Kidal where France and Allies could not! The forces were able to liberate the city of Kidal from terrorist groups where France and its allies and the MINUSMA could not. They succeeded in a few days, where it took years for France and co. On November 14 2023, president Assimi Goïta of Mali announced the liberation of Kidal, stronghold of terrorist groups for the past few years. The news was so stunning that even the BBC who has been calling the Mali government, ‘the junta’ and all sorts of names, and always showing ugly pictures of Assimi Goïta, had to, begrudgingly write the article and for once showed him in a decent image :).

Flag of Cameroon

14. Two Cameroonian Women win the L’Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science. The two scientists are Sabine Adeline Fanta Yadang, a doctor of neuroscience, and Hadidjatou Daïrou, a doctor of cellular physiology, have won the prestigious L’Oréal-Unesco Young Talent Award for Women in Science for their work on the power of medicinal plants. Congratulations to those ladies.

Who/What did We Say Goodbye to in Africa, in 2023?

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments1 Comment
Map of Mali

We said goodbye to a lot of people and things in Africa in 2023. Below are 11 of them:

1. We said goodbye to MINUSMA, a UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, which was found to be complicit to the destabilization of the country. The organization had been in Mali for a decade, with no results except a clear collusion with the terrorists (funded by external forces) who have divided the country. On their way out, weeks before they were set to leave at the request of the Malian government, MINUSMA breached their agreements with the government for a safe handout, and left abruptly leaving all sorts of heavy artillery for the rebel groups to take over the city, but the Mali governmental forces were able to defeat the terrorists and free the city of Kidal, a rebel stronghold. Mali Forces Succeed in Kidal where France and Allies could not!

Flag of Burkina Faso

2. In February, France agreed to withdraw its troops from agreed to a request from Burkina Faso’s military leaders to withdraw all its troops from the country within a month. France to Withdraw Troops from Burkina Faso. There were other defense agreements signed in 2018; this is a rescinding on the 2018 agreements. It is the third African country from which France is forced to move out its troops: Central African Republic, Mali, and now Burkina Faso.

Map of Niger

3. On July 26, 2023, President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger was ousted by a military coup d’etat that saw the arrival of president Abdourahamane Tchiani at the helm of the country. France and the international community have been totally against the new government. This has let to a successive rupture of French relations in Niger, starting with a Niger – France Diplomatic Arm Wrestling, where the French ambassador refused to leave the country after the country told him to, which came to an end a few days ago with French troops leaving the country. Since the coup, Niger has been one of the fastest growing economies of the continent, now that the uranium revenues are actually entering the country’s coffers vs. France. All Eyes on Niger, Why is Niger so Poor and Why the Anti-French Sentiment?, Bye Bye to French Troops in Niger.

Flag of Gabon

4. On August 30, 2023, we all woke up to a military coup d’etat in Gabon by the army which ended 56 years of the Bongo dynasty by putting out Ali Bongo. We all thought we were getting someone new, but we got  General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who is a cousin of Bongo and used to be the bodyguard of Bongo’s father, the late President Omar Bongo. He was also head of the secret service in 2019 before becoming head of the republican guard. Unlike the coup in Niger, the coup in Gabon was applauded by France and the rest of the international community. Is the Wind of Change blowing in Gabon too?

Map of Morocco

5. In September, Never Before Seen Catastrophes hit Morocco and Libya Few Days apart: Morocco was hit by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake, the deadliest in the country in over a century, said to have claimed over 3,000 lives. Libya was hit by unbelievable floods a few days later on September 10; these floods, the deadliest ever on the continent, and said to have claimed between 5,000 – 10,000 lives, and displaced at least 30,000 people. Our hearts go out to our Moroccan and Libyan brothers and sisters. Africa stands with you. 

Ruben Um Nyobé
Ruben Um Nyobé

6. Marie Um Nyobe (born Marie Ngo Ndjock Yebga), the widow of one of Cameroon’s greatest opposition fighters and freedom fighters, the real Father of Cameroonian independence, Ruben Um Nyobé, passed away on the exact same day that her husband was murdered 65 years ago, on 13 September 1958, on the 65th Commemoration of Ruben Um Nyobe’s Murder. This came just as Cameroon and the Union des Populations du Cameroon (UPC) was commemorating the 65th year of his murder by the French forces in Cameroon.

Ama Ata Aidoo (Source: W4.org)

7. This year, we said goodbye to Ama Ata Aidoo, the first published female African dramatist with her play The Dilemma of a Ghost published in 1965. She was a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, who served in the government of Jerry Rawlings as Secretary for Education from 1982 to 1983. So Long to Ghanaian Writer Trailblazer Ama Ata Aidoo. She belongs to the generation of African women writers who dared to speak up loud and clear about African women issues at a time when it was not common. In a 2014 interview with Zeinab Badawi of BBC, she said “People sometimes question me, for instance, why are your women so strong? And I say, that is the only woman I know.”

Ni John Fru Ndi (Source: Bonaberi.com)

8. Ni John Fru Ndi, the major political opponent to the current president of Cameroon for almost 3 decades passed away this year. Affectionately called “The Chairman,” John Fru Ndi came up at the twilight of the National Conference in Cameroon with the creation of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) in 1990. Over the years, his party came to symbolize hope in a place where there had been no ‘real’ leadership change in over 30 years. His party was seen as the main opposition party to the government for over 2 decades. GoodBye to a Courageous Leader : Ni John Fru Ndi and Ushering the Multi-Party Era in Cameroon. He has left a major imprint in Cameroon’s politics.

9. At the beginning of this month, Mali and Niger ended Long-Standing Tax Treaties with France, putting an end to a 50 years old tax treaty that mostly benefited French companies in these African countries. This will help Mali and Niger to finally be able to tax these companies that make billions in their countries, to get the funds necessary to fund their own economies.

Poster of Sarafina

10. In mid-December, we were stunned by the passing of the South African singer Bulelwa Mkutukana, also known by her stage name as Zahara, a self-taught guitarist who gained recognition with her debut album, Loliwe, in 2011. She enchanted us all with Loliwe. The album was a commercial hit and won the Album of the Year at the South African Music Awards, and loved throughout Africa. Her style fell in the Afro-Soul register with her strong beautiful voice. So long blooming flower, we will keep singing to honor you.

11. Lastly, we said goodbye to Mbongeni Ngema, the South African composer and choreographer who gave us the musical Sarafina!, the movie which focused on the event of Soweto in 1976 and which became a world sensation. 16 June 1976: Soweto Uprising from Sarafina!, The Lord’s Prayer from Sarafina, Visiting the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum, Remembrance: 16 June 1976 Soweto Massacre. He passed away on December 27, 2023. President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote, “[Mbongeni Ngema]’s masterfully creative narration of our liberation struggle honoured the humanity of oppressed South Africans and exposed …”

Mali and Niger end Long-Standing Tax Treaties with France

On By Dr. Y.In Great MomentsLeave a comment
Map of Mali with its capital Bamako

At the beginning of the month, Mali and Niger jointly put an end to two long-standing tax treaties with France. We know that French companies in Mali or Niger (and in other of the zone Franc countries) do not pay taxes in the African countries, but rather back in France, even though the generated revenues come 100% from the host African country. Imagine the economic losses for these countries? In most of these countries, the French companies will extract, say in the case of mining, the resources, without as much as building a single road or hospital for the local populations. One can thus understand the logic behind Mali and Niger governments’ actions. Some news media (mostly western ones) claim that now Malians or Nigeriens leaving in France will be subject to double taxation… but how many billion-euros generating Malian or Nigerien companies are there in France? The answer is ZERO! There goes that pointless argument about a few (granted there are a few) Malian citizens in France having to pay taxes, while Orano (old Areva) makes billions in Niger without paying taxes to the Niger government! Such an unfair treaty really needed to go!!!

Excerpts below are from BNN.

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Map of Niger

In a significant shift in fiscal and diplomatic relations, Mali and Niger have taken a stand against France by revoking two long-standing tax cooperation treaties. Dating back to 1972, these agreements were initially crafted to circumvent double taxation, fostering mutual assistance in tax matters.

The decision, outlined in a joint statement from the governments of Mali and Niger, hinged on France’s ‘persistent hostile attitude’ towards both nations and the ‘unbalanced character’ of the agreements. These treaties, according to the statement, have led to substantial financial deficits for both West African countries.

This move signals a potential reconfiguration of the international tax landscape and geopolitical alignments in the region, particularly between these nations and France. The revocation of these treaties also depicts a wider discontent with France’s influence in West African affairs.

Niger’s junta has also scrapped two key military agreements with the European Union aimed at combating violence in Africa’s Sahel region. Moreover, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have withdrawn from the G5 anti-jihadist force, further intensifying the region’s security concerns.

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Reinstating an African Writer: The Case of Yambo Ouologuem

On By Dr. Y.In Great LiteratureLeave a comment
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr (Source: France 24)

At the end of 2021, we celebrated the win of Senegalese author Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, the first man from sub-Saharan Africa to win the prestigious literary Prix Goncourt, 100 years after René Maran who was the first person of African descent to win the prize for his controversial novel Batouala. Mbougar Sarr’s winning novel, La plus secrète mémoire des hommes (The Most Secret Memory of Men), tells the story of a young Senegalese writer living in Paris who stumbles by chance across a novel published in 1938 by a fictional African author named TC Elimane, nicknamed “the Black Rimbaud” by an ecstatic Paris media. The story, described as a reflection on the links between fiction and reality, follows the life of a cursed African writer echoing the real-life experience of the Malian writer Yambo Ouologuem who in 1968 was the first African winner of the prix Renaudot, but was later accused of plagiarism, and had to flee France back to his natal Mali, to live a reclusive life, and die in utter misery.

Malian writer Yambo Ouologuem in France in November 1968. Photograph: Yves Le Roux/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images/The Guardian

Now thanks to Mbougar Sarr’s work, the publishing house Penguin Modern Classics is re-publishing the Yambo Ouologuem’s book over 50 years after his work was pulled out and banned. Le devoir de violence (published in English as Bound to Violence) was first published in 1968 by Editions du Seuil. After winning the Prix Renaudot that very year, Ouologuem became a celebrity equated to the likes of Leopold Sedar Senghor. “Ouologuem’s novel is harshly critical of African nationalism, and in fact reserves its greatest hostility for the violence Africans committed against other Africans” (Richard Posner on Plagiarism, the case of Yambo Ouologuem). For many critics, Africans in particular, Ouologuem’s book is a validation of the twisted views of the West on Africa who exonerate themselves of the violence they committed on Africans throughout centuries.

Excerpts below are from the Guardian. You can also check out the blog created by Ouologuem’s daughter or Richard Posner on Plagiarism, the case of Yambo Ouologuem at Amardeep Singh, or The Tortured Legacy of Yambo Ouologuem.

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In 1968 the books pages of the French newspaper Le Monde excitedly praised an uncompromising new novel, Bound to Violence, going on to salute its author as one of “the rare intellectuals of international stature presented to the world by Black Africa”.

The newspaper’s words, written in tribute to the young Malian writer Yambo Ouologuem, sound condescending today. Back then, however, the intended compliment was genuine and many European critics soon agreed: the publication of Ouologuem’s strange novel really did mark the arrival of a major new talent.

But the literary world can be brutal, and particularly so for a young African novelist living in Paris who was attempting a fresh twist on conventional storytelling.

Fellow African writers began to express shock at Ouologuem’s harsh parody of his own culture. Three years later damaging accusations of plagiarism had also emerged, including a public skirmish with Graham Greene, which ended Ouologuem’s short career. He retreated into the life of a recluse, returned to Mali and died in 2017, having never published again.

Now, 50 years after this scandal, Penguin Classics is to bring out a new English edition of Bound to Violence in a bid to rehabilitate the gifted author and introduce him to new readers.

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Impossible de changer la nature des gens / Impossible to change people’s nature

On By Dr. Y.In Great Wisdom2 Comments
Des cochons / Pigs

Vous ne pouvez pas empêcher le cochon de se vautrer dans la boue (proverbe Yoruba – Nigeria).

You can’t stop a pig from wallowing in the mud (Yoruba proverb – Nigeria).

Two Cameroonian Women win the L’Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science

On By Dr. Y.In Great ScienceLeave a comment
Winners of the L’Oréal-UNESCO Young Talent Prize for Women in Science Hadidjatou Daïrou (L) and Sabine Adeline Fanta Yadang (R), pose for a photograph at the Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plant Studies in Yaounde on November 23, 2023 (Source: AFP / VOA)

Two Cameroonian women, Sabine Adeline Fanta Yadang, a doctor of neuroscience, and Hadidjatou Daïrou, a doctor of cellular physiology, have won the prestigious L’Oréal-Unesco Young Talent Award for Women in Science for their work on the power of medicinal plants. They were chosen among 30 scientists in sub-Saharan Africa to win the award on November 8 at a ceremony held in Botswana.

Their work focuses on the use of traditional medicinal plants in Cameroon for treating cardiovascular disease and alzheimer. Daïrou’s work centers around the use of kola nut (Garcinia Kola) to improve cardiovascular health, while Yadang’s focuses on tigernut milk which is extracted from a plant with centuries-old medicinal virtues to slow alzheimer. Both scientists work together in the laboratory of the Institute for Medical Research and the Study of Medicinal Plants (IMPM) in Yaoundé, the capital. They also hail from the rural north of Cameroon where education for women, and particularly a career in science is rare.

Excerpts below are from VOA.

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Map of Cameroon, with the capital Yaoundé

In Cameroon’s rural north, very few girls go on to enjoy careers in science. But Sabine Adeline Fanta Yadang, a neuroscience doctor, and Hadidjatou Dairou, PhD student of cellular physiology, have smashed through the glass ceiling.

They have been recognized for the quality of their research, along with 28 others from sub-Saharan Africa, by the L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Young Talents program.

UNESCO says the program supports “young women researchers around the world to pursue scientific careers at home or abroad.”

Both women were distinguished for their research into the potential of Cameroon’s traditional herbal medicines in the treatment of heart disease and Alzheimer’s.

Kola nut
Kola nut

They work in a laboratory at Yaounde’s Institute for Medical Research and Medicinal Plant Studies, IMPM.

… Dairou’s interest in herbal medicine goes back to her years as a pharmacology student at the public University of Ngaoundere, in the country’s north. “I’ve seen what a plant extract does to the human body and how that can help people I know,” she says. The UNESCO program picked out her research into the “potential of the indigenous Garcinia Kola plant for treatment of cardiovascular disease.”

Fanta Yadang … likes to be known as a Moundang, a community from Cameroon’s Far North region, where her grand-parents took herbal cures. “I wanted to become a doctor, but I didn’t get good enough marks. I wanted to help my fellow people so I became interested in medicinal plants,” she says.

… For Dairou, the bark of the bitter Garcinia Kola — a grain that looks like a nut eaten across Africa to ease all kinds of problems — may improve cardiovascular health.

“In particular atherosclerosis, one of the major causes of heart attacks,” she explained.

…

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Proverbe Lari sur les secrets / Lari Proverb on Secrets

On By Dr. Y.In Great WisdomLeave a comment

Il n’y a pas de cachette sur la surface de l’eau (Proverbe Lari – Republique du Congo).

There is no hiding place on the surface of water (Lari proverb – Congo Republic).

“Hopes for a Better World” by Dennis Brutus

On By Dr. Y.In Great Literature2 Comments
Dennis Brutus (Source: Sahistory.org.za)

I found this poem by the great South African writer, activist, educator, journalist, and poet, Dennis Brutus, “Hopes for a better world.” I found it quite appropriate in these times. Dennis Brutus is known as one of the most prolific South African writers. Born in then Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Brutus grew up in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) where he was classified as “coloured” under South African apartheid codes. He was an activist against the apartheid government of South Africa in the 1950s and 1960s, best known for his campaign to have South Africa banned from the Olympic Games due to its institutionalized segregation system of apartheid. He is among Africa’s greatest and most influential modern poets.

This poem, “Hopes for a better world” was written on a trip from Caracas, Venezuela, to Durban, South Africa. At the beginning of the poem, Brutus stated, “There are lively political struggles in our time, particularly in Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia.” The poem is really about the outlook one has on life, the wish for simple joys, and the hope that something good will come. It highlights simple needs: the joys that come from a smile, the appreciation of frankness, openness, and friendliness.

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Hope

“Hopes for a better world” by Dennis Brutus

Walking those ragged, pitted sidewalks

where walkers, shoppers surged

one had a sense of buoyant hope

surges of confidence, unleashed desire:

the broad-grinned ice cream vendor

frank gazed waitress swabbing spills:

all had a friendliness and trust:

it was good to walk those cordial streets

companioned by one striving to serve

Caracas to Durban, 2008-09, for p.b.