"Can we use the words compassion, humanity, dignity toward our fellow man and woman? They all become hollow." - Kofi Annan
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
100 Abandoned Houses
by Kevin Bauman
Daily life scene in Lamu, Kenya
Photo by Nerea
Living in Uganda, where homosexuality is a crime, Frank Mugisha advocated for LGBT rights and consequently lost his job, friends and family.
He speaks with host Michel Martin about his precarious life there, and what it means to earn the 2011 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award.
We are greater than our despair.
The negative aspects of humanity
Are not the most real and authentic;
The most authentic thing about us
Is our capacity to create, to overcome,
To endure, to transform, to love,
And to be greater than our suffering.
We are best defined by the mystery
That we are still here, and can still rise
Upwards, still create better civilisations,
That we can face our raw realities,
And that we will survive
The greater despair
That the greater future might bring.
“Mental Fight” by Ben Okri, 1999
An old man is carried by a volunteer after casting his vote at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Cairo Nov. 28.
Photo by Amr Abdallah/Reuters
Kenya’s Nubians strive for recognition
Ethnic Nubians have called Kenya home for generations.
But the minority group, which first migrated from the Nuba mountains of neighbouring Sudan in the 19th century and now live in one of Africa’s largest slums, say they face constant discrimination and injustice in Kenya.
The Nubians blame the Kenyan government for widespread land grabs and denying them access to national identities, which are required to obtain any job legally.
However, Otieno Kajwang, Kenya’s immigration minister, told Al Jazeera that a new law has been put in place to rectify the discrimination.
“It’s a frame of mind which treated them as foreigners and it has persisted until it is corrected by this law. It is a mistake that was made. It’s a right they have to land, they were there before everybody else,” he said.
Catherine Soi reports from Kibera province in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.
Infographic: Kenya Mobile Subscribers, Penetration & Internet
“The research team at the iHub put together some stats on mobile numbers in Kenya. A special nod to Leo Mutuku for gathering it all from so many sources, and to Patrick Munyi for creating this cool visualization of it. Check out the iHub blog post to read the rest.”
Seen via WhiteAfrican
