L’éléphant grandit, même si cela ne plaît pas aux hommes (proverbe Vai /Mande – Liberia, Sierra Leone). – Le bien triomphe toujours.
The elephant grows up, even if it does not please men (Vai /Mende proverb – Liberia, Sierra Leone). Good always triumphs.
As AI tools become ubiquitous, many African countries are taking advantage to improve their education, economy, and much more. One such country is Mali where AI tools have been used to teach school children in the local languages. In parenthesis, this is happening while some African countries like Nigeria are moving away from teaching local languages in the curriculum; this is quite sad. Here, we are raising our hats to educators in Mali who are using AI to teach kids how to learn and write in local languages that they already speak at home with friends and family. The Education ministry is using the services of RobotsMali which has produced more than a hundred stories in Bambara, the most widely spoken local language.
Excerpts below are from Africanews. Enjoy!
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Since Mali adopted a new constitution in 2023, the country has 13 official languages. Although French is no longer part of that list, the language of the former coloniser is still present everywhere, including in classrooms.
Malian authorities hope artificial intelligence can change that by helping students learn to read and write in local languages they already speak with friends and family.
To achieve this goal, the Education ministry has called on RobotsMali. This AI company has produced more than a hundred stories in Bambara, the most widely spoken language in the country, for students to read in schools.
“It helps me speak better with my friends. All of this is good,” said 13-year-old pupil Clarisse Yasségué Togo. “At school, we only speak French.”
AI programmes like ChatGPT and Leonardo are used to write, translate and illustrate the stories.
“Since the stories are also illustrated, it teaches [students] to make the connections between words and their meaning very quickly,” said RobotsMali Mamadou Dembele.
The organisation hopes to provide a solution to the lack of books in Malian languages.
… “Bambara is our language. We should prioritise it,” said 17-year-old student Fatoumata Sacko.
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Même si l’éléphant est devenu maigre, il n’osera jamais passer un pont de lianes (Proverbe Toma et Mande – Guinée, Sierra Leone, Libéria).
Even if the elephant has become thin, it will never dare to cross a bridge of vines (Toma and Mende proverb – Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia).
Imagine being able to recover money from multinationals? Imagine putting the well-being of your people so much at the forefront that you are not afraid of uncovering or exposing corruption or injustice, and of taking on major world multinationals! This is what the Malian government has just done, and as a result has uncovered a billion dollar in arrears! Remember how Pascal Lissouba, the former president of the Republic of Congo, admitted that the Congolese government had no idea how much oil Elf (now Total Energies) was pumping out of its soil, and that they were at the mercy of whatever the company wanted to pay them, which was pennies; when he tried to renegotiate contracts or find better partners, he was deposed by Denis Sassou Nguesso, the Western puppet. Remember Jean Bedel Bokassa of the Central African Republic who admitted that he had no visibility on the amount of diamonds or uranium that French and Swiss companies were extracting from his country. Now, imagine being in your sovereign state, i.e. no Western puppet at your helm, the well-being of your people at the forefront?
Mali (and the other countries of the AES) has been working tirelessly on nationalizing their resources, and renegotiating correctly contracts with multinationals that are extracting their resources. Thus, such an exercise is fruitful in the sense that now, they can audit accounts, and compensate or fight for better compensation for their people better. Today, it was announced that Mali has recovered over a billion dollar in arrears from mining companies! Isn’t this a beautiful Christmas /end of year present? This also makes us pray further for the safety of such governments who place the restoration of their people’s dignity and well-being at the forefront of their efforts. Now, more than ever, they will be the target of the foreign corporations and bandits! Now, more than ever, they need each of us to stand in solidarity with them!
Excerpts below are from Africanews.
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Mali has recovered more than a billion dollars in arrears from mining companies after a sweeping audit, its finance minister, Alousséni Sanou, said on Tuesday.
It’s one of the country’s biggest ever clawbacks from its lucrative mining sector.
The military-led government launched an audit of the sector in early 2023 and uncovered massive shortfalls for the state. That paved the way for a new mining code that raises royalties, boosts the state’s ownership in mining companies and scraps stability clauses.
A recovery commission was set up after an audit flagged financial irregularities and shortfalls for the state estimated at between half a billion and a billion dollars.
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We take a minute today to salute the African fraternity displayed by our brothers of the Alliance des Etats du Sahel (AES – Alliance of Sahel States). It is no secret that islamic terrorists funded by ‘we know who’, have blockaded the distribution of fuel in the capital of Mali, Bamako, for the past 2 months. The jihadists have imposed blockades, multiplied attacks on fuel convoys, and disrupted transported routes, which has almost paralyzed the city.
The sister country of Niger sent a convoy of trucks to Mali carrying fuel across 1,400 km amid the ongoing regional insecurity. It took 21 days for the convoy of 82 petrol tankers to arrive in Bamako from Niamey. The convoy arrived on 25 November. This example of fraternity among African nations is a warm balm to the heart.
Since the creation of the AES, a confederation formed by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the governments have presented an alliance to deepen their security, defence, and economy, amidst the barricade of open sanctions and hidden attacks that have come from the West and its puppet organization that is the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Excerpts below are from APA News.
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A large convoy of 82 hydrocarbon tankers from Niamey successfully arrived in Bamako on November 22, completing a major delivery that signals Niger’s official support for Mali.
This operation takes place amid persistent supply tensions in Mali and underscores the evolving regional solidarity within the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
The fuel shipment, a donation initiated by Nigerien President Abdourahamane Tiani, reached the Malian capital after navigating the sensitive Niamey-Bamako axis—a crucial corridor challenged by insecurity in certain border areas. The Malian government officially received the 82 tankers, handing them over to the Minister of Industry and Trade.
The delivery is critically important given Mali’s heavy reliance on imports to meet its energy needs. The country’s daily fuel requirements are estimated at approximately 40,000 barrels of hydrocarbons (equating to about 6.3 to 6.5 million liters per day). This massive consumption, driven by road transport and growing electricity demands coupled with a lack of national refining infrastructure, makes the nation highly vulnerable to external disruptions and embargoes. Malian authorities confirm that this shipment will help to temporarily stabilize the domestic market.
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On ne prête pas la porte de sa maison au voisin, quand le léopard est aux alentours (Proverbe Burundais – Burundi). – On cherche quand même à se protéger d’abord soi-même.
You do not lend your door to the neighbor, when the leopard is nearby (Burundi proverb – Burundi). – We try to protect ourselves first.
This is a recurring issue, but this time, African countries, are uniting to challenge the status quo, and ask for justice and reparation for victims of colonialism. They met in Algiers, the capital of Algeria this past week to pass a resolution to recognize the colonial era hurts. The choice of Algeria as a summit holder is no coincidence, as French forces committed some of the worst atrocities in the country during the colonial era, including nuclear tests which decimated entire villages; Algerians fought a bloody war which lasted 8 years between 1954 to 1962 to win independence. The death toll is estimated at over 1.5 million Algerians who lost their lives due to the barbary of France.
As stated before, African countries need to become stronger for their voices to be heard, and one way for this to happen is to present a strong united front.
Excerpts below are from The Guardian.
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African leaders are pushing to have colonial-era crimes recognised, criminalised and addressed through reparations.
At a conference in the Algerian capital, Algiers, diplomats and leaders convened to advance an African Union resolution passed at a meeting earlier this year calling for justice and reparations for victims of colonialism.
Algerian foreign minister Ahmed Attaf said Algeria’s experience under French rule highlighted the need to seek compensation and reclaim stolen property.
A legal framework, he added, would ensure restitution is seen as “neither a gift nor a favour”.
“Africa is entitled to demand the official and explicit recognition of the crimes committed against its peoples during the colonial period, an indispensable first step toward addressing the consequences of that era, for which African countries and peoples continue to pay a heavy price in terms of exclusion, marginalisation and backwardness,” Attaf said.
… [At] the African Union’s February summit, … leaders discussed a proposal to develop a unified position on reparations and formally define colonisation as a crime against humanity [about time!].
The economic cost of colonialism in Africa is believed to be staggering, with some estimates in the trillions. European powers extracted natural resources often through brutal methods, amassing vast profits from gold, rubber, diamonds and other minerals, while leaving local populations impoverished.
… Earlier in November, … Caribbean governments have also been calling for recognition of the lasting legacy of colonialism and enslavement, and for reparative justice from former colonisers, including a full formal apology and forms of financial reparations.
One of Reggae’s greatest known artists, Jimmy Cliff, passed away yesterday. The author of Many Rivers to Cross, I can see Clearly Now, or The Harder They Come, or Vietnam, and many more, has joined the ancestors… they must be all singing today. My favorite of Cliff’s songs has always been “I can See Clearly Now”, for it is a deep message of hope and renewal; it was the cover of the 1993 movie Cool Runnings soundrack.
Jimmy Cliff was born James Chambers in 1944 in St James parish in Jamaica in a family of nine children; he was the eighth child. In terms of music, he was self-taught, started singing at age 6 in the church choir, later started writing his own songs, and wrote his first song, I Need a Fiancée, on a guitar made with bamboo. By the age of 14, he moved to Kingston, the capital, and took the surname Cliff to express the heights he intended on reaching. In 1965, he moved to London, where it took a while for his music to take off, until his 1969 single Wonderful World, Beautiful People, and then the politically charged Vietnam, which Bob Dylan called “the best protest song ever written.” In 1986, he told Reggae archivist Roger Steffens, “The essence of my music is struggle. What gives it the icing is the hope of love.”
Over the years, Cliff has collaborated with some of the greatest artists of this earth, from Bob Marley, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Elton John, UB40, Kool & the Gang, Elvis Costello, Wyclef Jean, and countless others. He is the only other Jamaican, after Bob Marley, to have been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Throughout his career, Cliff expressed his deep love for Africa which he described as his ancestral home, and his music inspired generations of musicians in Africa and beyond. His themes of liberation, struggle, and hope mirrored African struggles against colonialism and apartheid. He also always valued African culture singing on stage and showcasing African clothing with style.
Below are the lyrics of my favorite, I can see clearly now
I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day
It’s gonna be a bright (bright)
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Oh, yes, I can make it now the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I’ve been praying for
It’s gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day
(Ooh) Look all around, there’s nothing but blue skies
Look straight ahead, there’s nothing but blue skies
Les oreilles grandissent, mais jamais plus haut que la tête (Proverbe Dogon – Mali).
The ears grow, but never higher than the head (Dogon proverb – Mali).
The Timbuktu’s Manuscripts are Returning Home to their rightful owners, after over 10 years away. It is so beautiful that the families who own these multi-centennial parts of African history get to have them back as it is not only part of their heritage, but ours also, and we are thankful for them to have protected throughout the centuries.
At the Ahmed Baba Institute in Bamako, people have been actively working on digitalizing all the manuscripts for humanity’s sake. These challenge the eurocentric views that “Africans have not entered enough in history” as the former French president Sarkozy said, even though many scholars from around the world used to travel to Timbuktu to find the best teachers. Through these manuscripts, we discover brilliant scholars, doctors, lawmakers, astronomers, mathematicians, geologists, and much more. After all, Timbuktu, was one of the world’s first and oldest university.
Excerpts below are from Africanews, and check out the Google Arts & Culture (Timbuktu Manuscripts now Available Online, The Lost Libraries of Timbuktu).
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… Among the manuscripts are medical texts, legal rulings, letters, astronomical notes and chronicles of West African empires.
In some pages, scholars debate whether smoking tobacco was moral or forbidden.
In others, officials urge reducing dowries so poorer men could marry.
Marginal notes record earthquakes and local events long forgotten elsewhere.
Sane Chirfi Alpha is the founding member of SAVAMA DCI, which is a local nonprofit organisation dedicated to the safeguarding, preservation, and promotion of the ancient Timbuktu manuscripts. He says the collection reveals a depth of scholarship that challenges assumptions about the region’s past.
“According to old documents, there were doctors here in Timbuktu who performed surgery to treat cataracts. The same manuscript also says that a doctor from Timbuktu saved the French throne. The crown prince was sick, and French doctors could not cure him. It was the doctor from Timbuktu who cured him.”
… One important tradition still documented in many manuscripts is the chain of teaching, where scholars recorded who taught whom through generations.
Dr Mohamed Diagayaté, general director of the Ahmed Baba Institute says: “When a student finishes studying with a scholar, that scholar gives him a certificate saying he has taught him a subject, which the student has mastered. The certificate also says that the student learned it from a certain scholar, and that this scholar learned it from another scholar, going right back to the person who wrote the original document.”
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African Heritage 