Opinion & Analysis

May 4, 2012
A Melancholic Day: World Press Freedom in the Horn of AfricaBumps in the Road Ahead

A Melancholic Day: World Press Freedom in the Horn of AfricaBumps in the Road Ahead

On World Press Freedom day, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released its annual list of the best and worst countries as it relates to press freedom. The usual suspects, Eritrea and Equatorial Guinea, were singled out in a list of the 10 worst countries for censorship. Many other African countries received failing marks. Since, in most cases, national security... Read more »

April 20, 2012
Eritrean Culture on Trial: Assimilation Gone Awry

Eritrean Culture on Trial: Assimilation Gone Awry

As a former Missourian and an Eritrean immigrant, I was heartbroken when I came across the April 15th St. Louis Post Dispatch front page story detailing the statutory rape case against an Eritrean immigrant in St. Louis who impregnated a 12-year-old. As I scanned through the story, I spotted several ambiguous parts which begged for perspective.... Read more »

April 16, 2012
Mutiny Within a Blink of an Eye Or A Ticking Time Bomb?: Mali’s Coup

Mutiny Within a Blink of an Eye Or A Ticking Time Bomb?: Mali’s Coup

In the past two months, West Africa has witnessed an unprecedented security threat as several governments were caught in the grips of coups or attempted coups. As Guinea-Bissau soldiers arrest the nation’s Prime minister over a suspected coup, Mali’s new interim civilian president got sworn into office last Thursday, after a 27 days long coup that has puzzled... Read more »

April 3, 2012
Kony 2012, the Sequel: Get Your Snark Shooters Ready

Kony 2012, the Sequel: Get Your Snark Shooters Ready

I’m all for Africans solving their own problems. It has a nice ring to it. “African solutions to African problems.” But what does this self-reliance mean when it relates to violent, murderous lunatics such as Joseph Kony? Obviously, the fact that he has been operating in four different countries–the Central African Republic, Uganda, Democratic Republic... Read more »

March 28, 2012
Democracy in Africa: Not Always as Gloomy

Democracy in Africa: Not Always as Gloomy

Senegal’s New President Despite a notion that Africa continues to be the continent where autocratic regimes forcefully replace each other through bloody warfare, in the past two decades, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, there is a significant increase in the number of democratic countries in the continent. Sure, there are setbacks in... Read more »