Boko Haram Today
John Campbell wrote a thoughtful piece about Boko Haram’s continued destructive presence in northern Nigeria. Though President Buhari has said repeatedly that the group is “effectively defeated,” they are anything but!
He cites a recent New York Times article about Boko Haram. He says that the article is important in the information it provides. “The greater significance of the story, however, is its placement: the story starts on the front page above the fold. This is where the Times tends to publish what it regards as its most significant stories.”
I can’t remember reading it, though I certainly would have if I’d seen it. Maybe that day was too full of other events. Did you?
Girls in a camp in Bama, an entrenched city regularly attacked by Boko Haram, play games and learn about the dangers of land mines. Credit Laura Boushnak for The New York Times
The subheading of the NYTimes article is certainly discouraging: “After a decade of devastating war with Boko Haram extremists, they are now better armed than ever and have more sophisticated drones than the demoralized Nigerian military.”
Boko Haram has split into at least two groups, according to the Times. They control several parts of the northeastern state of Nigeria near Lake Chad. The damage inflicted is horrific for the people affected; many thousands have fled their homes and are in poorly maintained camps.
Aid workers are not able to keep up.
The Nigerian government spends $80 million every quarter, but the results of the money are not evident in the military response to Boko Haram. Soldiers are poorly equipped and have little medical attention. Recently the army has set up “super-camps” within or near refugee settlements. But they don’t seem to be making people safer. The photo from The New Times article is in a super-camp.
About one hundred of the well-known kidnapped Chibok girls are still missing.
Campbell concludes by saying, “It may appear then, that Boko Haram has reemerged; for the people of the Lake Chad Basin, in fact, they never really went away.”
African Music in America
Afrobeat is gaining fans in the US, according to my hairdresser Tamala. She asked if I watched Revolt TV. I had never heard of it, much less watched it! She enlightened me, and said that a Nigerian singer was recently featured. She couldn’t remember the name at first, but then said Davido. He’s on this video!
And I told her about TraceNaija, which she immediately followed in her Instagram account. She said she likes the music that reminds her of Fela!
Colorful Clothing of Afrcan Women
Lovely clothes on these African dolls. But African women are unlikely to wear their hair in these styles.
For the Meriden Y’s Men on Tuesday I need more pictures of African women’s clothing! I’ve been searching the web, including Etsy, Amazon, Pinterest, and many other websites that pop up when I enter the search terms African women’s clothing or similar words.
I even ordered one dress for myself. The one I really wanted has to ship from China! So it wouldn’t come until late October, if then. But then again, maybe I should order it; I could take it to Nigeria. We just booked possible flight dates for Christmas travel.
Of course in Nigeria it’s easy to find a tailor or seamstress to make an outfit. I should do that this time! Last year I ran out of time. But we plan to stay until mid-January. The tailors are less busy after Christmas and New Years.
The clothes I found – dresses, skirts, jumpsuits, and lots of long skirts and tops are lovely. But they are all modern! I know there are traditional outfits women wore that were also colorful, but so far I haven’t found any pictures. I’ll have to look in a few books. Maybe I’ll have a book with pictures on the table where I’m selling my own books, as part of a display.
These African dolls are outselling Barbie in Nigeria, I read.
The display used to contain four lovely dolls in Nigerian dress. They have become shabby after repeated showings. The headties, an important element in Nigerian women’s clothing, are all falling off. I’ve tried glue and needle and thread but haven’t been able made them respectable again.
When searching for the clothing, I found dolls. I was excited at first, but then found the four styles are stereotypical “native” women and were not something I would want to show.
Then I found dolls I wanted to order. But the website wouldn’t accept my phone number. I gave up after repeated tries! Maybe I’ll try again when I have more patience! Or order as a guest, but I couldn’t find that option. I love all the great technology, but there are moments . . .
I did try again and hit the jackpot, but they are not dolls I can order now. “Ghanaian -British Afrobeats artiste, Fuse ODG, has launched a black doll line for young African girls in Ghana and Africa in support of Ghana’s 2019 Year of Return campaign.”
The website says they went on sale in Ghana right before Christmas last year. They’re coming to America next year, they say, which is this year! Maybe by Christmas?
What frustrates you with technology?
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