Looking Beyond Nigeria’s President’s Health

Agaptus Anaele is a graduate student at Ohio University and a Nigerian


The cry over the absence of Nigeria’s President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from office is not waning. The endorsement of his Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan, by the Legislative Assemblies is unable to calm the furor stirred by the failure of Yar’dua to transmit power to Jonathan before his medical trip to Saudi Arabia on November 23, 2009. The frenzy assumed a crescendo with the alleged dichotomy among the Federal Executive Council members loyal to Yar’Adua and supporters of Jonathan. The situation is shrouded in arguments and counter arguments, altercations, intrigues, and permutations as politicians jostle for supremacy. This is not the best of times in Nigeria’s political history, and certainly does not help its global image. The crux of the matter is that Nigeria’s ailing president Umar Musa Yar’Adua failed to transmit power to his vice before his medical trip to Saudi Arabia. By his act, Yar’Ardua has allegedly violated provisions of section 145 of the Nigerian constitution.



Nigerians expected the Federal Executive Council, and the National Assembly to declare President Yar’Adua unfit in accordance with Section 144(1) of the Nigerian constitution, which stipulates that the President or his deputy shall cease to hold office if two-thirds majority of the members of the executive council declared that the President or Vice-President was incapable of discharging his functions . The declaration is followed by a medical examination, which will be made available to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the incapacitated officer’s removal. This process is being hampered by the cloak of secrecy around the president’s health status.


The controversy generated by Nigeria’s political situation is understandable given the demands of public office, and Nigeria’s prominence in Africa.The state of health of every individual should be a private affair, but not when it concerns a president of a country like Nigeria with 150 million people. Nigerians deserve to know, more so since his absence is over heating the political system.
The trend in Nigeria is somewhat disturbing given that the imbroglio might distract leadership from tackling the challenges facing the country. While, I share in this genuine concern, I also recognize that this is a trend in the democratic developmental process.


It may seem like the macabre dance, one-step forward and two steps backwards, but I believe it is a learning process. Political and constitutional developments in Nigeria are best understood within a three- dimensional perspective which assumes that every democratic nation passes through three main phases of development, the early years or the classical phase; the later years or neo-classi- cal or human relations phase; and, the years of maturity and full development. It assumes also that political and constitutional experience and developments, though connected in several ways, are distinct and so can be isolated. What is happening in Nigeria is an epoch-making development stage.


In spite of its chequered experience, Nigeria has made considerable progress in political and constitutional development since independence in 1960. Some aspects of these developments are worth highlighting. Nigeria has experimented with five constitutions, the 1960, 1963, 1979, 1989 and 1999 constitutions. The 1999 Constitution gave birth to the present Fourth Republic, though with problems for which it faces that require amendment.


Some of the lessons learned by Nigerians during these exercises are enduring. The lessons have been taught and learned that no constitution is perfect; that ineffective constitutions can be amended or completely altered that constitution making, whether under a military or civilian regime, calls for adequate consultations and experimentation. Any constitution hurriedly drawn up and not tried stands the risk of failure when subjected to the pressure of political, legal, economic and social forces.


Also worth mentioning is that hitherto, the Nigerian media was gagged, but the trend has changed. Numerous media organizations have emerged in Nigeria and the number continues to increase. This indicates that freedom of speech has improved. Recently, Nigerian newspapers were awash with the imprisonment of influential individuals, detention, and prosecution of past governors. Similarly, there are many landmark judgments where opposition camps dethroned incumbent governors who stole electoral mandates. Again, this symbolizes restoration of hope in the judicial system. Nigeria’s anticorruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, are both household names in Nigeria. We need to stop seeing only the negative sides in African governments and begin to focus on solutions. As Africans, every criticism we receive should propel us to a realization that there is an urgent need to do more.


The decadence and the many years of military rule, which was characterized by infrastructural decay, may not be turned around in ten years. It is important to recognize that there has been some stability in the effort which started in 1999, when Nigeria regained democratic governance. There are still problems, but the intensity and the scope differ. The world over, there are challenges. These challenges, as long as the human race remains, will task the minds, the skills, and the intellect of leaders across the world.


I am optimistic that Nigeria will actualize its huge potentials, a safe home for all those who choose to make it home, a country that will retain its pre-eminent position in the sub-region, in the continent, and globally. Like many democracies that have undergone stages of development, Nigeria is undergoing ‘democratic metamorphosis.’ I am very optimistic that it will overcome these challenges. Long live Nigeria.!!!

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Leave Zuma Alone: South African Media and Jacob Zuma

By: Tiny Nontulo - Nontulo is a graduate of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and an active member of the African National Congress Youth League in South Africa

The media is a monitoring tool for the public in a democratic state. People rely on it to keep up with the functioning of the government in particular. Therefore it is important that we have an objective, unbiased and fair media that we can trust and hold accountable. However our media in SA is contrary to that.

Any sane person, who has been closely following SA political reports as they unraveled pre-elections, will agree with me that media in SA does not have much influence on ordinary South Africans. If they had, ANC would not have won elections with such a huge margin, because of the role played by the media and opposition parties to discredit Jacob Zuma. People still voted him into office regardless of the negative media portrayal about him .

The survey that was recently conducted right after the Love child scandal (by TNS Research survey) clearly showed that i that many ordinary citizens separate their approval of Mr. Zuma as president from his private life.

The President remains the highest man within the country, therefore the public will have certain expectations in terms of how he conducts his life. The media must not only portray the President in a bad manner , rather it should look at how his action could inspire many men who have not been taking responsibility of their children. It remains our responsibility, as the citizens of the country, to report in a manner that builds our country in order to start changing attitudes of many South Africans in creating a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.

Central to this is the infringement of rights of the President towards his privacy, which is a constitutional duty of every South African to respect privacy. Our debate with the President should be based on the question of service delivery and how we can better the lives of the poor. I for one find it commendable that he had the courage to apologize for his actions. This could be interpreted as a sign that a politician in RSA finally cares about what the people say and feel regardless of his opinion about the matter.

Before we ride a high horse and become self appointed judges let us pause for a moment. Zuma is a reflection of men in our society. He represents 70% of married men in SA; remember the women with him are older intelligent women who have chosen to be with him.

The media is wasting so much energy on the latter issue. Do people have such pathetic lives to be so moralistic and so involved in what happens in Zuma’s life (or his bedroom to be precise). Everyday Zuma worries about what is best for South Africa, not the petty stuff published by the biased media. We all must concentrate on what he promised the people of South Africa and leave his private life alone.

Leave Zuma alone. The manner in which this issue was handled was totally wrong. We can not deny the fact that this man is our leader, we ought to treat him with respect and dignity. Publicizing his private sex life like this is totally out of order! Service, not sex should be what concerns South Africans.

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Haiti - OUR Responsibility

By Jason Brayda


It is easy to be a critic of development these days. No matter what you write you would be joining a host of other authors who have become so disillusioned with development and relief aid. With so much being said and discussed concerning this, one must start to wonder why things don’t seem to be changing. Perhaps it’s too soon. I doubt it. I’m not prescribing any answers here either, I do hope however, to share a harsh and heart breaking reality that ought to spur us all on to some kind of action.

I used to play a computer game called, “SimCity”, (I think it was one of the first computer games, after Oregon Trail, ever – at least as I remember it…). It was a development game in which you had to build a functioning city. You raised money through taxes and if people were happy, had electricity, had roads, had infrastructure; you would make more money and would be able to develop further until you populated the entire land. The interesting thing with this game though was an option that you had at the beginning to choose whether or not you’d allow disasters to happen. The game was an introduction for me and probably for many others, to our capitalist development system. We were able to be in control. But it was a game, if something went wrong and we didn’t like it we could restart or go back to a saved game. It may seem like this is as far from reality as one could possibly get but the more I think about it the fewer differences I am able to see.

Disasters happen and we cannot rewind time to change that, sadly. However, like in the game, if something goes wrong the best thing to usually do is start again: clean slate, new page, new game. Or so it seems. How terribly misguided we are!

Look at history and see what has followed nearly every disaster, natural or man made. We can go back really far! But lets take a few examples beginning in the 90’s. Rwanda. Genocide. The international community did nothing as nearly 1 million people were systematically killed. A “clean slate”. In moved the big businesses to create a new capitalism. Last year the World Bank hailed Rwanda as the #1 business reformer. English, the language of business, is beginning to replace French. Even Bill Clinton (admittedly feeling guilty about his inaction) and his foundation used Rwanda as a guinea pig for health care reform, (again big business). Sri Lanka. 2004, Tsunami. “In a cruel twist of fate, nature has presented Sri Lanka with a unique opportunity, and out of this great tragedy will come a world class tourism destination.”- Sri Lankan government. Hundreds of thousands of fisherman lost their land and their chance to rebuild their lives as large resorts pushed them out of the way. Big business once again, and quickly, capitalized on disaster. New Orleans. 2005, Hurricane Katrina. Following the devastation of the hurricane as people waited on lines for relief food, guarded by the National Guard, local politicians, business people, and the US government moved on what they saw as a clean slate, a new opportunity. A New Orleans developer said, “We finally cleaned up public housing. We couldn’t do it, but God did.” Even the school system was revamped. Public schools were abandoned almost entirely for privately run charter schools; it became, like Rwanda, a guinea pig for a new capitalist based school system.

Following severe drought in the late eighties and early nineties, Somalia was a hot spot for international aid. Relief food poured into the country, yet people still starved. An Ethiopian businesswoman has said, “famine happens not because of lack of food but because of lack of access.” In Somalia relief food was controlled by the government and clan leaders. Starving people had no access when they most needed it. Those that controlled the relief food (aid) controlled how development happened. Like the days of colonialism, as European powers invaded Africa one of the first things they did was control food production by putting it under lock and key and making people now work for them in order to get the food they needed to survive.

In George Orwell’s incredible book, 1984, as Winston is under going electro-shock therapy he is told, “We shall crush you down to the point from which there is no coming back… We shall squeeze you empty and then we shall fill you with ourselves.” Compare this to disasters. Compare this to aid. As people now turn our eyes toward the devastation that followed the earthquake in Haiti let us consider these things and what is happening. Most of us are aware of the mass amounts of aid being raised to help Haitians. We must ask ourselves who is getting this aid and who is controlling it? And most importantly what are we doing about it?

A very close friend of mine is a reporter and is currently in Haiti doing all he can and trying to tell a story of a silenced nation. He recently wrote about the absolute devastation of Port-au-Prince. Commenting on the presence of the US military “safe guarding” relief food. He also commented on one English phrase he heard every where he went, “I am hungry.” (if you’re interested in some of these articles they can be found at www.worldnextdoor.org).

All of this seems entirely overwhelming and incredibly heart-breaking, there is no easy direction to go. The harsh history of humanitarian relief and development is a sad one, but one which hopefully we can be learning from. Rather than remaining immobile, ignorant and uncaring, we must do something. We are all responsible for what we know. And though we all have different passions, gifts, and talents we must reserve a place for Haiti. For too long Haiti has been suppressed and discriminated against. This disaster appears to have broken a nation. Let us mourn and remember. Let us never forget what is going on. And as Haiti is bound to fade from the media let it never fade from our conscience. We must remember, we must pray, we must do all we can and the best we can to encourage our brothers and sisters in Haiti. There may be overwhelming problems, even unsolvable ones, but we must not lose hope. Haiti must not become another wholesale international privatization enterprise or laboratory for some western project. Haiti will rise as grassroots organizations, its public sector and the people are empowered. Let this be our wake up call. Let this also be our wake up call that the way our capitalist system has approached aid must begin to change. And that it must begin with us.

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AVATAR: Noble Savages meet the White Messiah in Colonial Struggle

By Catherine Cutcher and Siphokazi Magadla


The science-fiction epic Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all time. Since its release in December, box office sales have reached $2 billion. Avatar has been awarded two Golden Globes for best dramatic motion picture and best director. At the upcoming Academy Awards, the movie is expected to receive more Oscars than Director James Cameron’s other film, Titanic.

The film’s success raises several questions. If Cameron is indeed the self-proclaimed “King of the World,” why should we even bother critiquing Avatar since the rest of the world seems to be bowing at his royal feet? As one commentator sarcastically commented, “Recession? What recession?” – how can a film gross such huge profits in our so-called difficult times?

In this article, we argue that Cameron may be a genius for making a film with a message for everybody - from technological geeks, environmentalists, multinational corporations, to pan-theists – but the movie relies upon an extremely problematic plot. Avatar is based on a narrative framing the protagonist, Jake Sully, as the “White Messiah” savior of the exotic “Noble Savages” who are the Na’vi. This plot is not only inaccurate, but it reveals the age-old debate of whether colonialism was positive or negative for formerly colonized societies. As Avatar suggests, the exploitation of indigenous communities was not so bad, especially because some of the colonizers - after contributing to the destruction of their subjects - actually fell in love with their subjects and presumably, love conquered all!

Nevertheless, critics are raving over this film. The filmmakers spent over $300 million on special effects and to develop the language of the Na’vi alien culture. Science fiction fans are shocked and awed by the computer-generated imagery (CGI) and 3-D effects. Environmentalists celebrate the preservation message of the film. Critics of the U.S. military-industrial complex view the film as a statement against corporate greed and violence. Pan-theists enjoy the natural beauty of Pandora and the spirituality of its indigenous Na’vi culture.

Despite its resounding success, the film has also raised the ire of a diversity of special interest groups, including human rights activists, feminists, social and political conservatives, the Chinese government, and the Vatican. For postcolonial scholars and indigenous peoples, Avatar’s plot is highly racist, disturbing, and offensive.

As postcolonial scholars, we must deconstruct these condescending myths of the “Noble Savage” and the “White Messiah.” Avatar’s colonialist fantasy replays common themes found throughout U.S. media, including films like Dances with Wolves, The Last of the Mohicans, The Last Samurai, Pocahontas, and Fern Gully. The story goes: a White man travels to a different culture, learns their customs, falls in love with a local woman, becomes disgruntled with his own culture, and goes AWOL. He then becomes the most awesome warrior in his new culture, and saves them from the greed and violence of his own people. Despite his betrayal, he is forgiven and accepted to join the clan as an honorary member or a new chief.

A major problem with this plot is that it is only the Jake Sullys and Tom Cruises who have this option of moving in and out of cultures as they please – their own and that which they choose to master. We have yet to see films of Black people or other non-Whites having the option of surrendering their cultures for those of whom they have come to love. It is only White actors who are able to do this. Certainly, few imagine that the Na’vi, or at least Jake Sully’s girlfriend, would be able to cleanse herself of her Na’viness and join Jake’s culture. However, he not only has the privilege of becoming Na’vi, he also stands a chance of being her chief after contributing to the murder of her father.

Furthermore, indigenous groups - despite their better use of the environment as compared to Western industrial economies - should not be romanticized as worshipers of nature as we see in Avatar. This is certainly not true; it does not represent the complexity of these communities. The images of the Na’vi praying and dancing away their pain does not help in the smallest way. Surely, if colonized people could dance their way to revamping their destroyed and poor communities, they could have done that already. This exoticism of cultures is not only condescending but also underestimates the brutality of war and colonialism.

The myth of the White Messiah liberating Noble Savages is dangerous. These stories reveal some of the basest anxieties of White people living in contemporary society. The guilt of racism, slavery, and colonialism weigh heavily on the shoulders and minds of Europeans. Fears are building about survival and sustainability on a dying planet. Indigenous peoples must beware of looking to the colonizers for help with liberation. Betrayal is written in the blood, sweat, and tears of history’s victims.

In Africa and the rest of the “two-thirds world,” this story should bother us. Colonialism and slavery worked to dehumanize, divide, and conquer African peoples from each other and our land. Noble Savage myths were created to justify imperialism by explorers, missionaries, and anthropologists. These racist narratives depict non-Western cultures as less than human – as aliens or animals to be admired, tamed, and controlled. These stories are not just for entertainment. Social and political policies are profoundly shaped by stories that continue to be told about Africa in the West.

This is precisely the reason why the world should not be amused or tolerate plots found in films like Avatar. The legacy of colonialism should not be the stuff of romance because very little of it is romantic! There are plenty of stories that need to be told about the plight of hegemony that need not subject some to a position of inferiority whilst easing the anxieties of others.

Avatar raises a number of important questions: Can indigenous people – or aliens – ever speak for themselves on the silver screen? Why must a benevolent White person always serve as a bridge for American audiences to understand other cultures? Why can’t we see a story about the Na’vi defending themselves from the invasion of the humans? Or better yet, through nonviolent resistance?

When will Hollywood stop making alien fantasy films like Avatar, and instead invest their resources, energy, and attention to end suffering right here on Planet Earth? If they are serious about their message Avatar’s creators should donate a portion of their $2 billion profit to organizations working for change. They do not have to look to alien moons for inspiration. They could invest in the sovereignty of indigenous peoples through organizations like Cultural Survival, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the American Indian Movement, or the Assembly of First Nations. They could donate to environmental groups working to end mountaintop removal in West Virginia, or toxic waste dumping on U.S. Indian reservations, or logging in our national forests, or oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Some of their massive proceeds could be given to the Red Cross, Oxfam, or Doctors Without Borders to assist earthquake survivors in Haiti, or refugees in Iraq and Afghanistan, or besieged Palestinians in Gaza, or genocide survivors in Darfur, or rape victims in the Congo.

Forget about Pandora. S.O.S. from Planet Earth!

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Port-au-Prince calling: Fulbright scholar gives first-hand perspective on homeland’s tragedy

By Erica Butcher

More than a week after the earthquake, “people are still alive under the rubble, especially in the poorest areas,” Ohio University alumnus Frednel Isma said in a phone conversation from Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Thursday.

“It is so frustrating! We cannot do anything! When the rubble is as tall as I am standing and you hear people still calling out. They’re alive and we cannot do anything. We don’t have the equipment to lift the stones off of them,” Isma said in a sober tone.

He explained Haitians’ frustrations escalated as they noticed search and rescue teams in wealthy areas, “where they may be one or two people in need of rescue” rather than in areas “where hundreds of poor people are alive calling out for help.”

Talking about the rescue operation, Isma said, “Maybe they don’t have maps or information about where to search, but something has to be done.”

He is pressuring relief and aid agencies to go to places outside of Port-au-Prince also badly affected by the quake. “There are places where it is really bad. People are still alive and there’s nobody there to help them,” Isma said.

Isma returned to Haiti last August after earning a master’s degree at Ohio University in International Development Studies, as a Fulbright scholar, but his studies and previous work experiences with aid agencies never prepared him for what he is witnessing now.

“It is so scary! Last night I slept outside. The home where I was living was destroyed. There are not even any latrines. It’s unbelievable! So many people are fleeing and looking for anywhere they can find shelter. The earth was shaking again this morning. People are scared. They are panicked!”

Isma was not in Port-au-Prince at the time of the initial earthquake on Tuesday, Jan. 12. He was traveling in Southern Haiti, in an area not as greatly impacted by the quake. Instead of staying in a safer region, he returned to the city to search for relatives and friends.

Isma reported that the president of Haiti, Rene Preval, waited until Wednesday, Jan. 20 to make his first address to the nation, more than a week after the earthquake. According to Isma, until Wednesday, the president had only addressed the foreign press and not the Haitian people directly.

With tension in his voice, he said, “The government is totally absent. I am so pissed to see that no one is in charge from Tuesday! Nobody was helping from the government. The president admitted yesterday that the government is down. Instead of responding with their means, even though limited, they (government officials) fled. And they have not done anything. Even the mayors of cities are no where to be seen.”

He urged the president of Haiti to “Say Something! Talk to the people!”

Isma, who is voluntarily leading the efforts of a Haitian nonprofit organization, spends his days in meetings trying to organize aid distribution, and distributing water, energy bars and face masks. He said that there is a desperate need for face masks because of the suffocating smells of decomposing bodies everywhere.

“I have seen things you can’t imagine. . . I just don’t know.”

Haitians struggling to survive themselves are grappling with feelings of helplessness because they lack rescue equipment and cannot provide adequate medical care to the injured or suitable burials for those who lost their lives in this catastrophic event. For Haiti, Isma is urgently calling up on the world to continue to respond as thousands fight to survive.

For more information on this article contact Ebutcher10@gmail.com

Author’s Note: During the “Rally for Haiti” event that took place on Sunday, Jan. 24, in Athens, OH, U.S.A., Isma via phone explained that his organization, COSPED, Collectif de Specialistes en Population et Developpement, is trying to get aid to areas that have yet to receive assistance. Isma was one of the founding members of COSPED when the organization was established in 2006, before he began his studies at Ohio University. In Dec. 2009, he was elected Deputy Coordinator. Isma is working voluntarily and not receiving a salary for this position. The organization was originally established to address population issues, such as HIV/AIDS and reproductive health. After the earthquake, COSPED shifted its focus to relief because of the gravity of the event. The organization does not currently have a website, but is working to develop one with the assistance of volunteers in the U.S. The organization has minimal overhead expenses, only those related to communication, transportation and the basics needs of its Haitian staff, food, etc. If you would like to make a donation to Isma’s organization please contact the author.

Frednel Isma: Isma earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Université Adventiste d.Haïti. He also earned a post-graduate degree in Population and Development from Université d.Etat d.Haiti via Faculté des Sciences Humaines (Human Sciences Faculty). He has 11 years of experience working in different institutions and fields. He spent 5 years working as an accountant and from 2005 to 2007 worked as a project manager and logistics assistant in United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Haiti. He also taught accounting and accounting software in Université Adventisted in Haiti as well as courses in demography in INHSAC before his arrival at Ohio University as a Fulbright Scholar in 2007. His thesis, titled, “Trends, Composition, and Demographic Structure of Haitian Employment: Census and Policy Analysis from 1971 to 2003,” analyzes Haiti’s development policies and economic constraints and their impact on employment and is available online through Google Scholar.

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Media and Democracy in Mali

by Idrissa Fane. Idrissa Fane is Fulbright Scholar from Mali, he is a second year Master student in Communication and Development.

Tell me how free your media is and I will tell you how flourishing your democracy is. If this assertion still holds true, the Republic of Mali, known as Mali, can brag about its democracy established in 1992 following a civil unrest that led to a coup d’état and the restoration of a civilian government. Sandwiched between countries where democracy seems far removed, Mali is nonetheless cited as the one of the most democratized and liberalized states in Sub-Saharan Africa. Over the last 18 years, the democratic process has continued to be sustained. The country has experienced relatively free and fair elections in the midst of increased political pluralism and decentralization.

Concurrently, there has been media liberalization during the same period. State controlled media have gone public. Private print and broadcast media have tremendously expanded in both number and in access. Mali has more than 200 radio stations, over 42 newspapers and periodicals, and two televisions stations. Foreign media outlets have increased, although they are limited to the capital Bamako and are only accessed through local media, and foreign satellite and cable. Access to the Internet is open. A broad range of views and opinions, including those critical of the government, are permitted. Ownership is varied, ranging from professionals with an economic agenda to opponents with a political agenda to obscure people who pull the string in the dark for various reasons.

This proliferation of private media has contributed to political freedom, human rights, and freedom of speech. It has also contributed to better information, increased knowledge and participation. To a larger extent, the media have taken an active role in the consolidation of the democracy by educating citizens about their civil and political rights and responsibilities and by informing, advocating, mobilizing, and socializing them into democratic norms and ideals. The media have become the voice of the voiceless and have provided citizens with a podium to express their views and participate in the democratic process. From domestic to foreign issues, the media have been monitoring the government and holding it accountable to its people, by exposing its misdeeds and denouncing policies contrary to public interest. As late as December of 2009, the media required transparency over the use of the funds obtained from the privatization of Mali's telecommunication company (SOTELMA). Soon after the earthquake in Haiti, the media asked the government to cast a spotlight on the fate of Malians working in peacekeeping in Haiti.

Since 1992, the professional working environment of the typical Malian journalist has been improved. New infrastructures were built for the promotion of journalists and measures have been taken to improve their living conditions. Mali’s constitution protects the right to free speech and press. Despite a few instances when journalists were detained for libel, in general the government observes the laws and rarely invokes slander. A recent piece of legislation guarantees reduced penalties to convicted journalists.


State owned media have also made tremendous effort to gain citizens’ trust by allowing coverage of opposition parties’ political activities. The government has set up a Committee of Equal Access to guarantee access to State controlled to all political parties during election campaigns. Parties’ airtime is determined by the number of their candidates. Parties with more candidates have longer airtime. Such measure aims at strengthening democracy by establishing political equality and fairness among the parties.

Mali’s unique media environment could be attributed to two major factors. Firstly, the historic role played by the media in the establishment of democracy. While a combination of international pressure, student demonstrations, and trade union strikes, contributed in paving the way for the Malian democracy, the print media played the most significant role. Long before student protests and unions strikes, Les Echos and l’Aurore, the only newspapers at that time, defied the military regime. Both newspapers have been at the forefront of the revolution and through their courage they have inspired the civil society. Secondly, the presence of media associations and advocacy groups which play the role of police within the media in order to prevent abuse to and from the media.

However, the Malian media faces real challenges: The first is inadequate qualification of journalists. Few Malian journalists have received the training necessary to carry out their duties professionally. Most came to the profession unprepared and unaware of basic ethical issues. The daily ethical problems in Mali include: bias, partisanship, lack of objectivity, misinformation and corruption. But while the lack of adequate training may be a contributing factor, journalists’ poor living conditions contribute significantly to ethical issues. In fact, Most of them work for a very little or no salary at all, especially in the broadcast media. Therefore, they have become an easy prey for corruption and partisanship.

Since 2002, another challenge surfaced: the rapprochement between the President and opposition parties following the appointment of their members as government Ministers. This has quieted opposition parties and reduced political debates. While this might bring stability to the country, this single party mood could weaken the mechanisms of checks and balances, especially in the absence of strong civil society and legislative and judicial institutions. It could weaken the media which have become de facto the sole defender of democracy.

While Mali is still a fledgling democracy because of institutional and structural weaknesses, weak political parties, and the absence of a professional media with international standards, hope remains for the strengthening of democracy. Hope remains since tolerance, justice, compromise, trust, sharing, and mutual respect that have characterized Malians for centuries are norms compatible with democratic citizenship. Hope remains with visionary and humble leaders like Mali’s former President, Alpha Omar Konare and current Head of State, Amadou Toumani Toure, who have preferred to make history instead of clinging to power by changing the constitution. The leadership example that they have set must become the rule, not the exception.

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Devastation in Haiti Felt Locally

By Erica Butcher


January 20, 2009---The devastating 7.0 earthquake that crushed Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince, and caused extensive destruction in areas in the southern and northeastern part of the country affected one-third of Haiti’s population of 9.7 million people. As the death toll continues to rise, some sources estimate 100,000 to 150,000 lives have already been lost.


Frustration continues to mount among those most affected by the earthquake as aid from around the world is slow to reach the most devastated areas, where orphaned children are heard crying out for their parents. On the ground, Haitian and international media agencies are relaying mounting concerns as people go day after day without adequate medical care, food, shelter, water and burial.


Medics and reporters are expressing the agonizing frustration of witnessing thousands of preventable deaths. Relief after persons are pulled from the rubble is turning into grief with the realization the injured may only be waiting to die in makeshift clinics that lack the basic medical supplies needed to save their lives.


As images and stories of millions of homeless people sleeping in the streets travel across borders, many in the U.S. have had to wait for days and will possibly have to wait for months to learn if their loved ones survived. Thousands of Haitians and non-Haitians simply disappeared with no record of their death.


Outside of larger cities, small towns, like Athens are also home to Haitians, who are experiencing hardship from afar. Members of the Athens community, such as Haitian graduate student Valessa St. Pierre, feel some sense of relief when they are informed family members survived, yet they must wait to hear about the welfare of countless others.


“What is mostly hurtful to me on top of the people being killed is the feeling of the loss of the country—something that is bothering a lot of Haitian people—to see an already overwhelmed country—it is painful to watch and painful to bear. —St. Pierre said.


Haitians in the U.S. describe the shock they feel as they try to contact relatives and comprehend the enormity of the loss. While some discuss what can be accomplished in rebuilding a nation once subjected to colonialism, unfair taxes, embargos and debts that have left it ill-prepared for such a disaster, it is difficult to imagine how those who survived are coping with post-traumatic stresses.


“With Haiti being my country—to see it in ruins—it breaks my heart—knowing that the people of this country started many revolutions and that my ancestors worked so hard for Haiti’s freedom and now to have to overcome this—it is hard to put into words what I feel” —St. Pierre, said.


Much attention has been placed on the outpouring of aid from around the world—a bleak glimmer of hope more lives will be saved. Many Haitians are managing the moment-to-moment struggles of surviving new dangers, yet they find the strength to help in recovery efforts. Despite their lack of resources, Haitians are the real heroes—sharing what little they have, risking their lives to rescue neighbors and strangers, transporting the injured and handling decomposing corpses with their bare hands.


Haitian and Fulbright scholar, Frednel Isma, returned to Port-au-Prince after earning an M.A. in International Affairs at Ohio University last August. Fortunately, he was traveling in a region of Haiti not as badly devastated by the earthquake on January 12. Instead of retreating to the countryside, he returned to Port-au-Prince only two days later to search for relatives and friends. On Monday, January 18, he posted a message on a social-networking website in response to numerous persons’ efforts to contact him.


“I am alive, Thank God . . . . The situation is chaotic and I cannot describe what Haiti is experiencing now. Although I am sleeping without a roof over my head . . . I am one of the fortunate ones who made it for now . . . Thanks for your prayers” —wrote Isma.


Bose Maposa, an OU graduate student from Botswana, is gradually hearing news about the 40 or more Haitian friends she studied with in Cuba.


“Last week, I found out that two passed away, Kerton and Clemonte. It was just shocking. It is painful when you know that people are dying, but when I learned that someone I knew passed away it is a devastating feeling” —Maposa said.


So far, Maposa has learned seven of her ex-schoolmates are alive.


“I have started to contact people I went to school with to see what to see what we can do in terms of long-term assistance. I’ve seen it happen where a death occurs and people help right after, but then the family is left to deal with rebuilding their lives. I want to make sure that their families get all the help they can get, and not only them, but all Haitians,” Maposa said.


As Haitians and the world mobilize resources, there are immediate needs and long-term concerns. In looking ahead, more will be accomplished if the citizens of the world continue to rally.


Locally, Ohio University students are organizing a fundraising concert, “Rally for Haiti,” taking place on Sunday, January 24 at 6:30 p.m. in Baker Center Ballroom. The event will include performances by students from around the world, a poem reading by Bose Maposa and a speech by Haitian native Valessa St. Pierre. The event is open to the public and all proceeds will go to support relief efforts. For more information, contact Erica Butcher eb549701@ohio.edu

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