Africa Is a Country

If Africa really is a country …

If Africa really is a country …

By
Sean Jacobs

One of our readers took our title literally.

Photo Credit: Matthieu Paley.

From a reader: ‘… If Africa really is “a country” for many Americans, then that country is somewhere few outside the military have even heard of … Djibouti: AFRICOM (much of it apparently run out of a rural base here in Britain), drones-ville, the only Japanese military base in the world outside Japan, the EU’s anti-pirates clogging up the port, luxury swimming pools and bars. Throw in the Chinese Navy, mix with the still-smoldering fag-ends of the French empire, all sorts of private military outfits now cashing-in on the anti-pirate boat-protection (insurance) racket, some significant slices of both Somali and Dubai capital, add the entirety of Ethiopia’s imports thundering the place … stir at 40o celsius …’

Further Reading

Not only kafala

Domestic workers in the Gulf typically face a double bind: as a foreign worker, you are governed by kafala laws, while as a female, you are governed by the male guardianship system.

Edson in Accra

It happened in 1969. But just how did he world’s greatest, richest and most sought-after footballer at the time, end up in Ghana?

The dreamer

As Africa’s first filmmakers made their unique steps in Africanizing cinema, few were as bold as Djibril Diop Mambéty who employed cinema to service his dreams.