A Rebuttal to Friedman: There is no “lid on Africa” also addressing his misconception on Migration!

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “taking the lid off” as: “to cause something bad that was previously kept secret to be known by the public” (Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press). A writer like Thomas L. Friedman in the New York times should know this perfectly well, as he used this term in his column ‘ Opinion Can I Ruin Your Dinner Party?’ published on the 7^th August 2018. This is the reason for why I writing this. Because of two paragraphs that needs to be addressed, I will first let his words speak, before showing what the EU says about the matter. As a European, the American writer doesn’t make sense.

The key part was:

“Toppling Qaddafi without building a new order may go down as the single dumbest action the NATO alliance ever took. It took the lid off Africa, leading to some 600,000 asylum seekers and illegal migrants flocking to Italy’s shores in recent years, with 300,000 staying there and the rest filtering into other E.U. countries. This has created wrangles within the bloc over who should absorb how many migrants and has spawned nationalist-populist backlashes in almost every E.U. country” (Thomas L. Friedman – ‘Opinion Can I Ruin Your Dinner Party?’ 07.08.2018 link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/opinion/can-i-ruin-your-dinner-party.html).

I don’t know in which world Friedman is residing, but the words of the EU, Zelesa and MPC are clearly not opening any jars of uncertainty. Yes, there been a growing amount of illegal and non-asylum seekers through the United Nations or Bilateral Organizations, which they have come from War-Zones as in the past. As the EU Member States takes their quota of refugees and asylum-seekers as a global task of helping people in need, as that cannot happen where they are or they are living in temporary shelters awaiting hopefully a helpful nation to become their guardian. However, no else is saying it is NATO fault or even the fall Qaddafi, which is the reason for crossing across the Mediterranean sea. There is more porous borders as well as the conflict in the Sahel Region that has continued. These are all reasons for the transport of refugees from the rest of the Sub-Saharan Africa. However, there was never a lid to be taken of the continent.

The EU Science Hub states:

“Between 2008 and 2016, the total annual number of African migrants remained stable. However, legal immigration was declining in this period, while the number of irregular arrivals and asylum claims of Africans increased. Irregular arrivals of Africans via the Mediterranean started to decline again in 2017.In Europe, the majority of African immigrants come from North Africa, with most people making the move to reunite with family members already settled in a European country” (EU Science Hub – ‘New perspectives on African migration’ 01.07.2018 link: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/news/new-perspectives-african-migration).

EU Project opened more nations for Immigration:

“Clearly, African immigration to Europe was marked by increasing diversification both in the number of countries sending and receiving the immigrants. Particularly remarkable was the emergence of the southern European countries, principally Italy, Portugal, and Spain, themselves longstanding emigration countries, as immigration countries. This was as much a product of the improving economic fortunes in these countries and their integration into the prosperity and political sphere of Western Europe as it was of mounting immigration pressures on their borders to the east and the south. Enclosed in a new European transnational space, new identities of ethnicity and citizenship began to emerge that entailed creating both symbolic and material borders to keep away or distinguish the immigrants. The Europeanization of these countries and the rebordering of the Mediterranean that it implied required the separation and stigmatization ofimmigrants from the global South (Suarez-Navaz, 1997; Royo, 2005)” (Paul Tiyambe Zeleza – ‘Africa ‘s Contemporary Global Migrations: Patterns, Perils, and Possibilities’ P: 39, June 2010).

Migration Profile – Libya:

“Despite Libya being, first and foremost, a country of immigration, the deterioration of immigrants’ conditions in the country has also made it an important country for transit migration and particularly for the many migrants trying to reach Malta and the Italian Isle of Lampedusa As to emigration patterns, Libya has never recorded significant outward migration flows. However, during the 2011 unrest, there was an upsurge of Libyan nationals fleeing the country. According, though, to the authorities in neighbouring countries, the great majority are believed to already have returned to Libya” (…) “To conclude, two considerations can be made about the impact of the Libyan crisis on international migration movements. On the one hand, Sub Saharan nationals were without any doubt the people most at risk, both in Libya and at the borders (where repatriation activities led to an impasse). On the other hand, the capacity of neighbouring African countries to manage the crisis in terms of the reception of migrants was remarkable. (IOM, 2012)” (Migration Policy Center – ‘MPC – MIGRATION PROFILE Libya, June 2013).

As we can really see, is that what Friedman is saying is wrong. The African Migration to Europe has lasted long. That is not new and has usually followed to the previous Colonizers of the ones migrating. However, with the change of he European Union, has changed that pattern, but not opened up something. The Libyan Crisis and fall of Qaddafi have had is effect. However, the results by the EU and the IOM are stating not as bad as previously stated. Also that the “illegal” are rising, but less of the direct asylum-seekers, meaning their means and ways has changed, but the end-game are more of the same. They are still fleeing from crisis and wars in Sub-Saharan Africa, but they doing so by the shores of Northern Africa crossing into EU Countries.

So, the taking the lid off by invading and deposing Qaddafi seems like far-fetched. That is a lie, also a relic of the past, as Friedman sounds like they opened a box with a box-opener. This was simply done with getting rid of one dictator. He seems like that is the reason for the whole transit in Libya, not the whole conflict within the continent and neither the true nature of it all. As people are doing whatever they can to get shelter and hope for the future, because the International Community isn’t reacting or caring about the oppression in their nations. They are forgotten and know they will not get help, as the Western Powers are boasting these leaders who oppress and then people want to flee from these shores.

No lid was taken, it was never a lid there to begin with? Are there a lid that was opened so that United States could have space for all the slaves in the past? Or is there a lid taken of the brain of Trump? We all, the rest of the world really want to know.

Enough of this nonsense. Peace.

Amuru Land Grab – Apaa Village Evictions: A long process of failure from the state!

That the Northern Uganda have been in deep end of the stick in many eyes is evident, by how lax the state has been to take care of their needs and their rights. That can now be proven by the forceful evictions from land in Apaa Village in Amuru District/Adjumani District. Where the previously have been attempts to make a giant farm for an investor called Bruce Martin and also become sugar cane plantations and factory for Kakira Sugar Factory owned by the Madhvani Group, this goes all the way back to 2006. Therefore, the plans to evict these people has been slow process from the state.

Now in 2018, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) have evicted dozens upon dozens of the local residents from their lands. As the purge on the village and the area continues, this has been in the making, but the ones losing their lands get nothing, but lose their homes and their livelihoods at the same time. The government authorities have torched the houses and left nothing behind, as they are continuing to evict people. Their lives are no meaningless, as they have to flee their land and are living on the United Nations Compound in Gulu, while awaiting their future, as the state, UWA and the Uganda People’s Defence Force have been evicting them over the last two months. Surely, the hurt is felt and real.

Who can wonder if the state is finalizing the agreement with Madhvani Group to deliver his second sugar factory and also sugar plantation in the area or they are making a game drive from Bruce Martin. However, this is still grabbing the land without any forewarning and also taking their livelihoods without any compensation for the hurt.

The District Land Board and Area Land Board cannot been informed or care to inform the people, as the army and UWA have been busy evicting people with force. They are just pawns on the chess-set, and the authorities in Kampala let it happen. The leadership from afar are accepting it and have gazetted the land and taken the land. Therefore, the people who has settled in Apaa have to flee or be evicted from the land, without any justice or law helping them out. No compensation and nothing left for them.

This sort of play has to stop; I am sure the State House is fully aware and let it happen, as they are getting their cut of the transaction of the land for whatever purposes it has. Its been planned for years, but doesn’t make it better, when they could have had solutions back-in-the-day as the government knew this would come. They were already in talks with both Kakira and with Martin. They knew perfectly well, what was up. There is even a third scenario where the land is sold to someone else named Linton Brimblecombe.

Clearly someone forgot the memo and left it stranded. They just evicting people in the favour of one lucky bastard who capture all lands, without paying the needed ones who was actually living their and done so for generations. This is a violation of the trust between the citizens and the government. Because someone accepted the trade of the land people where living on and had rights too.

The Apaa village and Apaa community deserves better, all of the Acholi deserves better. They are being misused and taken for granted by the government. They are just pawns on the chess-set. No value, the first one in the battle-line to take out so the ones of value can be put into play. That is how it looks from the outside.

This have been planned for decades and now it happens.

Amuru Land Grab: What is ours, is OURS; What is their’s, is OURS; and Whatever is your’s, is still OURS. Peace.

A spiteful chant: Where did humanity go?

Where did humanity go in our time? When did we cease to care about other people’s struggle and their causes? When did that cease to matter? Because in our time, the rich and wealthy are securing more and more resources, while the poor is having no ways to get out of it. The states are closing their borders, stricter rules for refugees and asylum-seekers. While in dictatorships, the harassments and the internally displaced numbers are rising. The rich countries are investing in warfare, but not taking charge for the fleeing refugees from the crisis. They are trying to pay the states in regions and close the borders in migration routes. There is no heart, just cash-money. The heart has left, and the ignorance is rising.

The deaths of civil wars, the displacements of draconian laws and of dictators doesn’t matter. The lack of dialogue and of political freedoms, that doesn’t matter either. The lack of compassion and of political will change is also okay. As long as the troubles from afar doesn’t touch us. However, we will seal of the borders and make sure the innocent victims of internal disputes and skirmishes hopefully can cross the border to the closest country and not seek refugees in Europe or in the United States. Because, we cannot mange to show some humanity and heart.

The blood in your veins should boil, but for most. We don’t give a damn, they don’t give a fig. If their villages are burned to the ground by the military. If the Police is detaining people without any justification. If the state is securing the demise and death on fake imports. All of that doesn’t matter, as long as it doesn’t happen where we are.

This is the despicable. This is the reality. Our time, our reality, what our representatives put forward and make sure to build big invisible walls and mechanisms to close borders. To make it less achievable and costly to cross. Even more dangerous, as the perils of death and destruction at home isn’t better. But to leave can also cost your life, either by crook or by the book. Secondly, there will be nobody to even care to look.

This should be disgusting. Knowing that people are dying fleeing civil-wars and dictatorship, than when they are entering our safe havens; there is no one caring for their ills and troubles. They will just shrug it off like dirt on their shoulders and move on. There is lack of solidarity and heart. I hope in my time, that the Republic’s and Nation’s that close their borders never start warfare with themselves. As the ones who saw what we did. Might also give us no helping hand. They might say, we saw what your parents did to us. Why should we save the kids to such despicable people? Why do you deserve safe haven, when you couldn’t help our kind in need?

That is what I worry about, because we never know when the tide change, when society start to deteriorate or self-destruct. That is within us and we never know. We could be next, right now it is our brothers from afar, next time it could our closest neighbor or even ourselves. Than, they will remember our cold hearts and lack of compassion in the times of need. Peace.

Only ignorant smucks are proposing a “Libyan Model” concerning transition of Power!

There are these gentlemen of the world, who are just modeling the world under a paradigm as long as you get rid of dictators and totalitarian leaders. Everything will be fine and dandy, they think killing a leader and suddenly his reign will fall. They think that the idea of going in with military and militias are the solution to cross over to a democratic models. However, this sort of activity is only risky and usually opens up a can of worms, that no-one can predict, as the civil service and the power-vacuum created isn’t filled. While the militias, the weapons and the new war-lords can create new conflict and pro-longed civil wars to get their party to control the new government. Therefore, when people like John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, Mike Pence and Donald J. Trump are saying they want a Libyan model. They are not considering the implications.

They are saying it is fine to support militias to kill a leader, to destroy his political and military party, to destroy the nation building project around that person and try to force someone else through a military solution. That is a proxy war with support and help from allies. This meaning NATO and other bombing from air, while militias are supported with arms and ammunition. That is all to conquer and take down a dictator. Instead of trying to get a peaceful takeover with a transitional period and also dialogue, that takes time and build trust between all stakeholders. They are anticipating that the final nail in the coffin and the killings of a leader is the key moment, that will create a brave new world.

In October 2012, the Human Rights Watch published a report called ‘Death of a Dictator – Bloody Vengeance in Sirte’ which stated: “Video clips filmed by mobile phone cameras at the time of Gaddafi’s capture and posted on social media sites offer visual evidence for at least one such execution. In one video clip showing Gaddafi in the custody of militia fighters at the drainage pipes just moment after his capture, a dazed but alive young man with his right leg in a cast can be seen sitting down on the ground behind Muammar Gaddafi and his captors, appearing virtually unharmed, with his hands raised in a gesture of surrender. As the phone camera pans away from the young man and focuses on Gaddafi and his captors, several short bursts of machine gun fire can be heard in the background. In a second video clip apparently filmed just moments later, a group of men captured from the convoy are filmed on the main road above the culvert with the drainage pipes being brutally beaten by militiamen, and the phone camera then pans down to show the same young man with the cast on his leg lying lifelessly among the bodies of several dead Gaddafi loyalists, with blood still flowing from his wounds. While the actual moment of his killing was not caught on camera, the two video clips taken together strongly suggest that he was shot dead by militia fighters in the moments immediately after his capture, as there do not appear to be any exchanges of gunfire taking place at the time the videos were recorded. A Human Rights Watch inspection of his body the day after the killing found that he had been shot in the chest and the upper right leg” (Human Rights Watch, P: 30-31, 2012).

So, when this is the ending of someone who ruled Libya for decades on end and had total control. When you say you want this model, that must mean you want militias to come in and get rid of his body in a demeaning way. What else can it mean? Because the Libyan model is supporting militias to get rid of Gaddafi, but not having support or plans of succession. Neither what sort of government and legitimate ruler there was supposed to come after. The reports from Libya ever since is chaos and continued fighting, a pro-longed civil war that has lasted for 7 years from 2011 to 2018. That was supported by Western Allies and has ended in countless tragedies.

Therefore, I am amazed when the likes of the Trump Administration proposes a ‘Libyan model’, do they want to promote civil wars and destruction of nations, just so they can have a puppet and they can control the resources? Is that the norm and values of the United States?

Because, it is seemingly as long as there is no peaceful transition and no sort of temporary impasse for all stakeholders within a conflict. There will be more blood shed and less of evolution to a peaceful and legitimate government. It has been changes from dictators without bloodshed, when the dictators has stepped down and gotten ‘untouchable’ and put in exile. While the state could have figure out new maneuvers within a transitional time, so that the parties and stakeholders could get their slice of the newfound peace. Not just figure out ways to eat and control, but actually fill the vacuum left after the fall. But that is all a pipe-dream as the super-powers want to bomb places to oblivion, kill the leader and loot the nations, while leaving the people dry and hoping that the empty pockets and plates doesn’t retaliate towards the puppets installed. It is like we never learn and that our leaders never want to learn. Peace.

Readout of the Secretary-General’s meeting with H.E. Mr. Hassan Ali Khayre, Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia (25.09.2017)

The Secretary-General reaffirmed the United Nations’ full support in the humanitarian, security and the human rights areas.

NEW YORK, United States of America, September 25, 2017 – The Secretary-General met with H.E. Mr. Hassan Ali Khayre, Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia.

The Secretary-General commended Somalia for the progress made in advancing state-building. The Secretary-General and the Prime Minister also discussed efforts related to security sector reform and revenue generation.

The Secretary-General reaffirmed the United Nations’ full support in the humanitarian, security and the human rights areas, as well as in the implementation of Somalia’s development plans. The Secretary-General also reiterated support to AMISOM and to the creation of Somali institutions.

Somalia: South West State of Somalia Position in the rift within the Gulf States (17.09.2017)

The World needs Rambo right now!

John Rambo: “[alternate line from Director’s Cut] You’re not going anywhere. And there isn’t one of us that doesn’t want to be someplace else. But this is what we do, who we are. Live for nothing, or die for something. Your call” (John Ramo, 2008).

The world is spinning in circle and things are continuing sometimes without any change. But the situations are still uncertain. There are fleeing civilians from the Democratic Republic of Congo, continues civil-war inside South Sudan, oppression in Burundi and Rwanda. Grand issues in regions of Somalia as AMISOM fiercely goes after Al-Shabaab. The continued civil-war infused with control from Saudi Arabia and United States in Yemen. The war inside Syria with the fleeing refugees from there. The international complications this all assess. The massive amounts of people who are inflicted in this conflicts.

This is also the issues created by and their national alliances, like Syria are also in hot-bed with Russia, United States, Turkey and Iran. The same can be said with the international implications to the stalemate between Qatar and the rest of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). That the Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and so on are all blocking, so many nations has cut their diplomatic ties with Qatar.

With all the conflicts and bigger diplomatic spats, the world needs Rambo’s. Especially considering that the deaths where it doesn’t counts is showed when it comes to mud-slides in Sierra Leone. The importance of Hurricane Harry, which is credible storm in Texas, but the world should have cared of the 500 deaths in Western Africa.

That the world is significant fragile is with the President Trump and the nuclear codes, the vicious attacks of both representatives and international leaders like Merkel and President Kim Jung-Un. The threats between North Korea and United States are clearly flaring up the tensions in South-East Asia, as the rockets keep shooting-up and testing.

Therefore, with this we need Rambo, someone to come in with confidence. Rambo needs to come into the problems and sort them out. So that the diplomatic disputes gets sorted out, as his spring fears into the ones who are in the same room. If Rambo came with his weapons and his rhetoric, maybe Trump wouldn’t such and ass. Maybe Putin would try out other tricks, than actually using methods of deception. As so many other world leaders would seek peace instead of wars and refugees. Rambo could come in and make a change.

The nice talk of Bono, the ethical codes of United Nations has not worked. The non-peaceful atmosphere is steady in too many places, to many deaths should be examined and not die without any consideration. Rambo could have helped, made sure the council and the world forums would actually not talk, but act. The crisis in South Sudan, DRC, Burundi, Syria, Yemen, Middle East and so on.

The world needs Rambo, the world needs a hero who can actually give a damn, not just make the world a place for multi-national companies who rob the resources and would not care for kids working for militias, so the world can cobalt for the smart-phones production. Rambo needs to come and make change, he might not be perfect. But something has to change. Someone has step-in, Rambo needs to come and significantly change in the world. Times change, but Rambo might sort it out!

“Murdock: Rambo, you can feel totally safe because we have the most advanced weapons in the world available to us.

Rambo: I’ve always believed that the mind is the best weapon.

Murdock: Times change.

Rambo: For some people” (Rambo: First Blood Part II, 1985).

Opinion: EU Envoy Schmidt are speaking like an NRM apologist similar to Ofwono Opondo over Besigye’s 2016 Election defiance!

I feel sorry for European Union Envoy Kristian Schmidt who are now sounding like a National Resistance Movement (NRM) apologist, instead of an independent spirit and understanding of the short-falls of the NRM Regime. He seems to been misunderstanding what happen during the General Election 2016. Surely, he wants the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and Dr. Kizza Besigye, to say it just water under bridge and let it go. Since the Supreme Court followed the orders of the 31 Years and counting President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. First introduce some of the beautiful words of Ofwono Opondo, before the Kristian Schmidt’s foolish interview with Daily Monitor, before enlightening fellow European of his ignorance or forgetting the blatant impunity towards Besigye and FDC in and around the General Election 2016. Since he has forgotten while drinking Nile Brew in the Embassy and going on Safaries with his dignitaries. Surely, Schmidt must feel good about himself!

““In this election, Besigye gained 1.5 million votes compared to two million votes he got in 2011 while Museveni’s gain was a paltry 500,000. To the NRM strategists, this is the most shocking, indeed worrying trend, and having located the cause as being our messaging, strategy, campaign style, internal laxity, occasioned fraud and widespread bickering. We shall not blame anybody else except ourselves. Actually, to be frank, we were almost swept away by our collective failure to robustly respond to the Opposition demagoguery on issues of youth unemployment, despair among the urban population, poor and yet expensive public service delivery and bad public relations, especially to distribution of soft campaign cash that often got stolen along the way among other issues. This, to the Besigye camp, should give hope that with better strategic organisation, not only falsehoods, they can in the future topple NRM through the ballot instead of being bad losers” (…) ““The claims of rigging, especially at the last minute through alleged intimidation of candidates’ agents, ballot stuffing, falsification or alteration of results on tally and declaration sheets and at announcements are perturbing and incredibly unbelievable. These could pass as truth if the peddlers could at least adduce some verifiable evidence from eyewitnesses and documents in their possession that differ from those of the EC, which ought to be available from the multiple sources, including the media that observed these elections” (Opondo, 2016).

So when a NRM spokesperson and Uganda Media Centre director had to come in defense of his master. In the aftermath and with the current illegitimate government. Who has no problems in misusing the government funds and had no problem rigging the election in their favor. As the FDC had massive scores of leaders behind bars, had people with Declarations Forms from Polling Stations at Gun-Point, had their Headquarter barricaded and sealed off, Besigye was under house-arrest and the story goes on. Not an adventure, but a true theft a nation. Still Schmidt says this to the FDC and former Presidential Candidate:

“He added: “That is of course an issue that is dividing but I think it would have been good to come together and discuss. It has not happened and election reforms seem to be not going forward.” (…) “The law of Uganda is what it is: the conditions of petitions are what they are, and for a petition to be successful you have to do a lot of homework. Under your Constitution I believe you have little time, 10 days. I know one of the recommendations of the Supreme Court is to extend that time which I believe makes sense.” (…) “ He said “I think if Dr Besigye was convinced before elections that he would not be happy with the outcomes and the process, he should have been the one to petition. He should have prepared for that but he decided before that he was not going to and under the rule of law.” (Musisi, 2017).

EU Envoy to Uganda Kristian Schmidt, I know you visited him while on undetermined house-arrest. Since the Police Force had been stationed in Kasangati, Wakiso for so long days before the election and until May 2016. When he was able to escape and have his own swearing-in ceremony, before air-lifted to Moroto, where the state charged him with Treason charges. Which he still carries today, he is an arch-criminal and seen as an enemy of the state. Than after all of this, you talk about rule of law, justice and courts. Like Dr. Kizza Besigye haven’t had his time in court, haven’t been detained on more occasions than ordinary thief, even more than average murderers in the Republic.

So, the FDC was unable to counter with a petition, Amama Mbabazi was the only one able to fill in a form or petition. Because FDC has done so after General Election 2011. So it is like the EU Envoy for Uganda Schmidt is not in concern anymore of all the breaches that happen to Besigye. Like the whole House-Arrest period, the whole part of the general assault on the rule of law considering the elections and polls. The self sufficient pre-ticket ballots and Badru Kiggundu’s own special math-class. The statistics and the vicious attempt of forging the whole election in favor of President Museveni.

It like he wants the one on Treason Charges since May 2016, since the coup d’etat in February 20^th 2016, when the Electoral Commission announced the result. That as the whole NRM and state organization was behind the whole ordeal. Even the European Election Observation Mission and the Commonwealth Election Observation Mission was explaining the massive flaws of the General Election. Still, the EU Envoy want Besigye just to let it go.

Let’s take his first reasoning, since it is shows his true passion, the Danish dignitary: “Now if this was in any other democracy, like in some European countries, it would be unacceptable that the Opposition party does not then recognise the winner of the elections” (Musisi, 2017). If this was an election in Europe, all of these ploys of the NRM wouldn’t have happen. Not normally, that the army is used to intimidate, that local leaders are paid-off with new cars, that ballot are pre-ticket ballots and all powers to be to silence the FDC. Together with the obvious rigging and mismatch of acts in favor of Museveni. If this would not have happen in a European elections and EU Envoy to Uganda knows this. That why it is remarkable that he says about Besigye.

Besigye knows better and the Ugandan people knows so. They are not fools, even if Schmidt is sounding like Ofwono Opondo and has taken lectures from Andrew Mwenda. He surely has hanged in the same bars in Kampala as these two. To sound so blatant ignorant and so forgetful. Peace.

Reference:

Opondo, Ofwono – ‘The media shouldn’t parrot Opposition false claims’ (28.03.2016) link: http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/Media-parrot-Opposition-false-claims/-/689364/3135890/-/2m2g7v/-/index.html

Musisi, Fredric – ‘Besigye refusal to recognise government not helpful – EU envoy’ (09.07.2017) link: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Besigye-refusal-recognise-government-not-helpful-EU-envoy/688334-4006606-er8gyr/index.html

IGAD Executive Secretary Calls for Restraint at Djibouti-Eritrea Border (19.06.2017)

Ethiopia calls for Restaint on the ‘border conflict between Djibouti-Eritrea’ (18.06.2017)