My internship coincided with two events that were of wider significance for refugees. South Africa held Local Government Elections on the 18^th of May 2011 and the outcome will have important consequences for service delivery as well as xenophobia faced by many refugees. Although the elections were very interesting to follow it is a second event, which passed by much more quietly, I have decided to raise in this blog post: the closure of the only Home Affairs office (or Refugee Centre) in Johannesburg in June 2011.

I first read about the Johannesburg Refugee Centre while I was still in Edinburgh in an article by Loren Landau in the Journal of Refugee Studies. It highlighted some of the issues asylum-seekers are facing in Johannesburg, such as long queues and abuse by security guards and police while waiting to apply. Many controversies appeared to be surrounding the Centre, causing a number of closures and re-locations. The article also noted that the Centre would be moved to Crown Mines, an area just outside the city centre, in the future.

When starting my internship, I found out that the Home Affairs office in Crown Mines was one of the places where the Refugee Health and Rights unit worked and distributed IEC materials. I was happy to find out that despite past difficulties, the office now seemed to have a stable location. The unit was based in the Home Affairs office twice a week, and in my second week I got to go along with them. After a quick crash-course in what to say and do, I headed out with the others, armed with pamphlets about HIV/AIDS, gender equality and refugee rights, as well as condoms. Although we arrived early in the morning, there was already a long cue outside the building. After passing through the metal detectors at the entrance, we entered two large rooms, filled with hundreds of people of all ages, most of them being from DRC, Somalia or Zimbabwe. Even though the multitude of people slightly overwhelmed me, my colleagues stated that it was a quiet day. It took us a long time to hand out the IEC material, and many people were keen to talk and ask questions. Overall, it was interesting to gain some insight into what is often the first service refugees approach, although the dire situation facing most of them was difficult to comprehend.

My initial relief that the Crown Mines were a stable location soon turned out premature. A week after my first visit a Johannesburg court ordered the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to shut down the Refugee Centre. Complaints had been made by surrounding businesses, claiming that the many asylum-seekers travelling to the office had become a nuisance, and hindering their work. The DHA received much critique for not standing up for the rights of refugees, as well as for not making alternative plans for a re-location. However, despite criticism, the office closed on the 1^st of June. All asylum-seekers now had to travel to the nearest Refugee Centre, located 70km away in Pretoria.

The decision came as a shock not only to the staff at Sonke, but also to several other organizations working with refugees, as well as to the refugees themselves. A round-trip to Pretoria is costly, and additionally implies the loss of at least one working-day. Furthermore, when refugee centres have been moved in the past this often resulted in the loss of files, making it even more difficult for refugees to apply for renewals of permits. It soon emerged that the Home Affairs officials in Pretoria were unable to cope with the additional number of refugees. Some people were forced to wait up to three days for their turn and had to sleep rough outside the office.

The Refugee Centre is a service that is of utmost importance to refugees, as it is required in order to gain access to other services. Furthermore, failure to obtain asylum seeker status can lead to arrest and deportation. This is clearly a very problematic issue, and although new Home Affairs offices are being planned, these are all going to be placed along South Africa’s borders with neighbouring countries. In contrast, Johannesburg – the city with the highest number of asylum-seekers in South Africa, the country with the highest rate of asylum-seekers in the world – now no longer has a Refugee Centre. In light of widespread xenophobia and the other challenges refugees are already facing, I will closely follow the progress of the Home Affairs office in Pretoria, and whether any alternative measures will be taken in order to improve the situation of refugees in Johannesburg.

Charlotte Steffansson, MSc Africa and International Development

Lake Albert, Uganda with Tullow drilling site - Photo by Wolfgang Zeller

Why is the debate important for Uganda?
The accused Ministers are among the most powerful within the ruling NRM party and belong to an inner core of President Museveni’s regime through marriage and historical connections. An attack on them hits very close to the President who has also dismissed the documents as forgeries. Museveni has been criticised for putting an elite force commanded by his son, Col. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, in charge of security at the oil wells. A private security firm, Saracen, which is owned by his younger brother, Gen. Caleb Akandwanaho, is also involved in providing security to the oil companies. It does not matter to the average Ugandan that these documents could be forgeries and that the existence of the bank accounts is unverified. The suspicion has been planted and confirmed by the fact that some of the Ministers named have been cited for corrupt behaviour before. Matters are made worse by the fact that the President’s patronage has protected some of these same Ministers from investigation in the past.
The Attorney General Peter Nyombi claims it is the oil companies that insisted on the confidentiality of PSAs. Tullow Oil has threatened legal action against anyone discussing its involvement in the bribery allegations outside Parliament. As the main player in Uganda’s oil exploration, Tullow Oil would be setting a dangerous precedent in limiting discussions regarding its dealings with the country’s elected representatives on behalf of its citizens. Mineral extraction companies and the oil industry in particular have a reputation for secrecy that should not be allowed to stand if the fight against corruption is to have any benefit in developing countries. Considering the amount of local public support for the MPs’ actions, it is clear that Ugandans want answers now.

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
Ugandan MPs have demanded that the government joins the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) framework. This move is a nod to the importance of transparency in minimising the effects of the so-called ‘resource curse’ seen in many African countries. Secrecy in both government and company dealings enables corrupt behaviour to flourish. EITI and the Publish What You Pay campaign are part of a growing movement that demands that mineral extraction companies disclose all payments made to governments for individual projects. The idea is that this information would empower citizens to demand better services from government and improve the financial transparency of companies often alleged to be the partners in crimes of corruption committed by government officials. Critics argue that EITI and other voluntary ‘self-policing’ schemes are likely to reproduce the dominant view in western countries of ‘corrupt African governments’ and have yet to prove if they can deliver in reducing the corruption, secrecy and tax avoidance practices common in the extractive industry itself. Nevertheless, they have undeniably opened a new space for public debate on these issues in developing countries like Uganda.

Suzane Karambasaizi Muhereza

Charcoal saleswoman in Ragengni Market. A 1kg can sells for 30 Ksh (0.23 GBP)

In the developing world, the day-to-day activities of a rural woman quite often begin before dawn. She wakes early, cooks for her family, minds children or prepares them for school, collects water and firewood, cooks additional meals if there is food, and works the land. A long list transpiring into a very long day. Most of these activities generate little or no income.

In May to June 2011, I completed seven weeks of field research in Western Kenya with very generous funding from Policy Innovation Systems for Clean Energy Security (PISCES). My primary research area was in Nyanza Province in West, East, Central and South Uyoma. A region largely populated by the Luo people with fairly fertile soil and a solid agricultural and forestry base, situated around Lake Victoria. The core research aimed at unpacking issues of gender equity or lack thereof in charcoal production and its value chain. Charcoal, a biomass or fuel derived from plant organic matter, is a commonly used energy source in peri-urban and urban areas. It recently achieved formal market status in Kenya. However, the charcoal value chain exists in a somewhat unstable environment, creating unequal distribution of resources for women and men with men generally holding much more power. It is predominantly a man’s business.

I witnessed firsthand the substantial need for both women’s empowerment as well as increased access to energy. Women are not only the primary agricultural labourers in rural Sub-Saharan Africa, they are often energy fuel collectors and providers as well. They must be considered as relevant as men to energy access and attainment to achieve improved livelihoods. While bearing in mind that gender encompasses both women and men, in most interviews with women, there was an overwhelming response that resources derived from charcoal production, despite the amount of labour put into it by both genders, are heavily controlled by men.

The empowerment of women as the key to reducing or ending poverty is arguably one of the most important aspects of the development agenda. This vital ingredient for successful poverty reduction has yet to be achieved, however. Steps are being made in the right direction with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and a myriad of other development organisations formally recognising the need for programmes that aim towards empowering women in their everyday lives. To date, initiatives have represented the seemingly mundane to the innovative and intriguing. However, programming has yet to achieve any form of substantial gender equity in the developing world and certainly in Africa. I was able to witness this firsthand in Kenya, where international aid programmes have influenced the constitutional aspects of gender inclusion, but so far produced little tangible results on the ground.

Women are often tasked with collecting one of the most basic forms of energy – firewood. In arid land where there is little forest cover and vegetation, an entire day can be spent searching for and collecting firewood. This perpetual task, although necessary for sustaining a family, takes away from child rearing and income generating activities. In Nyanza, very rarely is there an equal division of tasks between a man and woman due to a woman’s reduced status in society. Although I conducted most of my field research in areas with easy access to firewood, control over energy fuel sources, the household and consequently the broader social sphere was highly imbalanced and in favour of men.

With improved energy access, women’s lives become less task laden, allowing for more time and more rest. Improved access to energy affords youth more time to complete schoolwork in non-daylight hours. It reduces the labour that many children endure, like their mothers, in fuel collection. Improved access can effectively target two marginalised groups that often remain trapped in the poverty cycle – women and children. Furthermore, when women are able to participate equally in charcoal production and the value chain and derive resources from their participation, they can effectively generate income, which they have the potential to control. One small-scale charcoal seller interviewed in the Manyuanda Village Market told me her income had clearly increased since she started her business. But when I enquired further, she revealed that her husband controls most of the profit made.

Energy access creates the foundation for women to achieve all components of the UN’s definition of women’s empowerment. With energy, women are able to make decisions regarding income and household duties allowing them access to greater opportunities and resources, which naturally increases self-worth.

Charcoal sold in Madiany Market in Nyanza Province, Kenya.

The kind of access and control, which improved energy affords women enables them to contribute to social change. They are able to work collectively to achieve goals through a combination of resources that go beyond the economic realm. A support system can be developed through community efforts creating greater social cohesion in largely fragmented societies.

Energy provision is an important arena for creating gender equity between women and men. Through my interviews with different actors along the charcoal value chain, I was able to come to this conclusion. If women’s access to resources improves their livelihoods and empowers them to become more active in society, an environment for greater gender equity is fostered. Empowered individuals in society, both women and men, build civil society organisations and local community groups that help society grow, transform and most importantly, develop. During my research, I held focus group discussions with mixed-gender community-based organisations who work together to improve their own livelihoods as well as the community, through charcoal production and agricultural activities. A secure livelihood means more than basic resources being met. It means being able to express oneself in an open society and achieve the same goals as other members of that society. To reach this goal is to set firmly upon the path of improved livelihoods and ending poverty.

Alannah Delahunty, MSc Africa and International Development

The project that I was involved in was, ‘Improving Survivor’s of Gender-Based Violence Access to Justice and Mobilising Men and Boys in the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence and HIV within Limpopo’. In January of this year (2011), Sonke partnered with the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme (TVEP), which is situated within a beautiful rural town in Limpopo (Northern Province) in South Africa), Thohoyandou. The ‘Access to Justice’ programme is found within TVEP, whereby it assists victims of sexual violence in reporting their case, provides them with medical examination, medication and counselling, all of which take place within the trauma centres which are found throughout Thohoyandou. A Support Officer monitors each victim and the management team ensure that the victim is adequately prepared for the trial. Furthermore the partnership seeks to incorporate men and boys in the struggle for gender equality within the work of TVEP, which is of particular significance given TVEP is predominantly a women’s rights based organisation. I was lucky enough to take a trip to Thohoyandou with the project coordinator, Justice…yes, Justice from Sonke Gender Justice, working on the Access to Justice programme…I could go on!

It was great to visit the TVEP office and understand a little more about the work that they do. Whilst the ‘Access to Justice’ project aims to help survivors of gender-based violence convict their perpetrators and getting the justice they deserve, my time at the TVEP office gave me an insight into the obstacles that women face in accessing this justice. Many of the problems essentially lie with the police failing to gather sufficient evidence for the trial. For example, the police do not engage with sniffer dogs after the case of sexual violence has been reported. With many perpetrators escaping on foot, there have been calls for the police to use sniffer dogs that are trained in tracking semen. But for some unknown reason, these dogs are not being used. Another significant obstacle that women face is with regards to the use of DNA testing. A victim of rape is subjected to hours of examination, which usually takes place immediately after the rape, where samples are taken for DNA testing. It is a very thorough examination, which you can only imagine is the last thing the victim wants to be subjected to. However, what has been the case, not only in Thohoyandou, but also throughout the country is that these DNA samples are not being used. A newspaper report highlighted that in Johannesburg, thousands of DNA samples are being left uncollected at hospitals due to the negligence of the police not collecting them. Given the great importance in using DNA to support the evidence in a rape case and increasing the likelihood that the rapist will be convicted, it therefore raises alarms that DNA is not being used to its full potential. As a result, many guilty rapists are walking free. Reading through several rape cases in Thohoyandou, it is easy to identify the areas where the victim was being raped again, only this time by the criminal justice system.

Advocating for women’s access to justice, I can understand the difficulties and frustrations felt by TVEP. Simple procedures that could easily help a woman convict her rapist are not being engaged with. Resultantly, many women have lost faith in the criminal justice system and have decided not to report the rape. However, whilst these frustrations are justified, it is important that this is examined within the bigger picture.

Sexual violence within correctional centres in South Africa is a major issue for both civil society and the government. I was lucky enough to attend the launch of a booklet to end sexual violence within correctional centres. It was a truly insightful day and opened my eyes to the true extent of the problem. I knew it occurred, but given the nature of a prison environment, and the little that is known about what happens behind closed doors, there certainly is a tendency to simply ignore such issues. For those men who are in prison for crimes such as rape and who are now being raped themselves, I am sure many may think that the men are finally getting a taste of their own medicine. However, the reality is that inmates have rights and if these are being violated, necessary steps need to be taken to overcome this. Correctional centres are supposed to be the spaces in which transformation takes place and where offenders re-enter society as changed men, however when there is a gross violation of human rights, it is necessary to ask, what kind of transformation will actually take place?

My time in South Africa really forced me to open my eyes to the challenges that are faced by civil society and the need to think holistically. How does one ensure that women get the necessary access to justice whilst also ensuring that the rights of men are upheld and they can serve their time without fear of being the victim of sexual abuse? You cannot simply solve one problem without considering the wider implications. Even by overcoming the obstacles that are in the way of survivors of sexual violence accessing justice, the challenge continues with the severity of sexual abuse that men will face in prison. Whilst it is perhaps difficult for TVEP, a women’s rights based organisation, to begin addressing sexual violence amongst male prison members, it really is inspiring to see organisations like Sonke and CSVR working in prisons to try and combat the issues of sexual violence and HIV/AIDS.

Amy Mitchell, MSc student in Africa and International Development

While slowly crunching my way through a bowl of ‘Endearmints’ in a plush conference room, surrounded by civil society organisations, High Commissioners and national ambassadors, I heard Lindiwe Zulu (International Relations Advisor to Jacob Zuma) and her panel (Deprose Muchena; Isabella Matambanadzo; Dewa Mavhinga; Professor Chris Landsberg, Vasu Gouden; Richard Smith) present on the ‘Roadmap for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe’. Having relatively little knowledge of the intricacies of this issue I was enthralled by the complex problems challenging this compelling plight. ‘Post-conflict’ reconciliatory measures, black female rights, security sector reform, media reform and even the fundamental issue of whether there were the financial resources to fund the elections, were all raised and discussed. The most prevalent issue, however, was the need to create an environment in which a repeat of the 2008 electoral violence could be avoided.

Although I was ‘in the field’, ‘doing as practitioners do’, this refined environment still exhibited the comforts and detachment of armchair academia and the majority of my university career. Even my subsequent attendance at a screening of ‘The Axe and the Tree’- a documentary focusing on the ‘healing’ of communities in the aftermath of the 2008 Zimbabwean electoral violence through the ‘Tree of Life’ programme- did not translate the reality of conditions on the ground. While evocative and emotive, the visual images and narrative accounts of the abuses individuals suffered jarred with the luxury of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the refreshing Rooibos and koeksisters before, and the tasty butternut stew after the screening. Although the panel members and the audience participation made some ground into conveying the conditions in Zimbabwe, the cynicist, used to the sensationalist and selective reporting of the British media, could easily dispel the messages associated with the film.

It was only at the Zimbabwe Solidarity March in Sandton on 13th June 2011 that I gained any real sense of the volatility and emotion underpinning these issues. Joining the march en route, the crowd was joyful, singing and toi-toing. They were very welcoming to the two random white girls standing by the side of the road awkwardly trying to spot ACTION colleagues. Unable to recognise any familiar faces, and embarrassed at being unadorned and conspicuously ‘different’, Charlotte and I enthusiastically took the red t-shirts, placards and headbands we were given, oblivious of the MDC logo and the messages we sent by wearing them. Stopping outside the Standard Bank, just minutes from the SADC summit, we (naively) assumed we were waiting for police permission to cross the busy junction. This was not the case. As leaders of various cultural groups disagreed over the content and delivery of the platform programme, ethnic differences and conflict surfaced. Protests arose due to the paucity of Ndebele speakers on the platform, only one out of eleven, and crowd members refused to let a Shona individual speak. Unaware of the commotion, as nothing was in English, Charlotte and I were surprised to find ourselves amongst a scuffle. And then amongst the police with their batons raised. And then amongst a running, coughing crowd. I blame inexperience for not recognising the pain in my eyes and throat as tear gas more swiftly; luckily Charlotte is a bit quicker on the uptake and had already started dragging us away.

Recalling the SALO conference and their discussion of ‘creating an environment’ in which violence would not occur, the magnitude of their task is overwhelming. The march was promoting a ‘clear Roadmap to free and fair elections’, it had the financial backing of OSISA, the approval of the police and municipality authorities and had been meticulously planned by ACTION’s ‘Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum’ and partners ‘Crisis Zimbabwe’. It intended to be peaceful, it intended to show solidarity with Zimbabwe and it intended to demonstrate to the SADC summit the need and capacity for free and fair elections. It did not intend to end in violence, the burning of symbols of MDC, tear gas and police dispersal. It did not intend to halt halfway up Sandton drive, as confused shoppers cruised past in their pursuit of expensive shopping malls, and never actually reach the summit.

Samantha Evans, MSc student in Africa and International Development

We arrived with pop up stands, information sheets/booklets etc about the Centre, we had copies of the Critical African Studies Journal, which is edited by staff members at CAS and a bundle of information about ABORNE the African Borderlands Network that Wolfgang Co-ordinates. So we arrived (not quite on masse, but close enough) and set -up the table at the conference centre. The stall/information desk was (wo)manned by a combination of staff and students across the conference days, speaking to conference delegates and answering endless questions. I was also doing a bit of “corporate advertisement” by wearing my CAS T-shirt.

At the Conference there were around 1200 delegates from all around the world. It was busy but that didn’t mean we didn’t have time to socialise and have some fun. Sweden is generally quite expensive but we met up most evenings. The first day was the official opening of the conference followed by the dinner – free food and time to meet new people. The second evening was the CAS Wine Reception, which was really well attended, we ran out of wine and many people commented how much they enjoyed it. The wine reception launched the CAS@50 Conference which will take place in Edinburgh in June 2012. Lots of people enquired about the conference, I nearly lost my voice by the end of the night from talking to so many people. Later that evening there was a gathering with Wolfgang and some of the ABORNE group, we “partied” in the park!! Friday was then the CAS dinner and a time to wind down and relax (or in my case, start to panic about presenting my paper the next day). I was the last of the CAS cohort to present, which did mean I got to relax earlier in the week. Saturday went well for me in the morning; then there was the closing ceremony in the (pink) Castle. There were lots of stairs to climb and lots of speeches, though Paul kept his short!! – He did get us all to say “cheers” or something similar and I suspect half the room lost their champagne in their enthusiasm. It was officially announced at the Closing Ceremony that the next hosts for ECAS5 in 2013 would be Lisbon, Portugal.

It was my first time speaking at an international conference, so I was quite happy to come out of the panel in one piece. CAS was very well represented, the stall seemed to be well received and I’ve never been asked so many questions about the MSc and PhD programmes! In the course of the conference someone tried to sell me James’ book, I was mistaken for being Swedish (several times), I saw more bicycles than cars, I walked for miles, I met loads of news people and most of all I really enjoyed the experience of attending this event!

Alli Coyle, PhD Student, Centre of African Studies

I often joked that my job was a ‘necessary evil’, in that I sometimes had to suggest that the hospital turn down new programs, tests or procedures simply because they weren’t cost effective. I wasn’t hired to analyze what was best for the patients, I was hired to view the hospital as a highly sophisticated business; in doing so, I believed my department was making the hospital financially sustainable and ensuring that it could continue to provide the life-saving services people needed for the long term. As my boss would often say, our work ‘wasn’t personal, just business’.

When I left hospital finance to begin my master’s studies in Africa and International Development, I thought I was permanently exchanging suits, ties, and boardroom meetings for flip flops, mosquito nets and focus groups. In my mind development wasn’t fueled by profits and return on investment, but by philanthropy and people who bought TOMS shoes. At Edinburgh I began to learn about the richness and diversity of the development field, and I was intrigued by discussions about aid (in)effectiveness and the inability of many organizations to remain financially sustainable. I read books and listened to lectures from Africans suggesting that the continent didn’t need more donors, it needed more business. More business? Don’t mind if I do! Ready and willing to dive back into the world of finance, I began to investigate the banking sector and current debates surrounding financial inclusion. In an environment where microfinance organizations routinely fail or are designed to scam locals out of their money, sustainable and transparent banking services are especially in demand. I liked the idea that banks were investigating ways to provide services for low-income customers, but I also respected the fact that they would only do so when it made sense financially. In Africa, there is also a place for “It’s not personal, it’s just business.”

Today I am continuing to investigate and learn about banking and financial inclusion as a volunteer with the Grameen Foundation’s AppLab and Bankers Without Borders in Kampala, Uganda. Since arriving several weeks ago I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with Uganda’s largest mobile phone operator, MTN, and learn about their mobile money service. Through a number of interviews, readings and observations I’m beginning to understand how the ability to save and transfer money through a phone influences the way people manage their incomes, as well as their interest in using commercial banks. I’ve also been tasked with mapping out the process through which customers register for mobile money and I’ve provided MTN with recommendations as to how it can be improved. A more efficient registration process will mean higher profits for MTN, but also happier customers with quicker access to a secure way of saving and transferring their money.

Extending my research to the western, rural part of the country has helped me reconsider ideas about the superiority of formal banks as a savings mechanism. For many of the people living outside of main towns, the monthly maintenance fees and travel expenses associated with using a bank make it almost nonsensical to put their small deposits into an account. Why would I deposit 50,000 shillings into a bank each month if it costs 12,000 to travel there and I’ll be charged another 5,000 in fees? A local farmer actually convinced me that it was more cost effective to invest his money in a cow.

Even so, there is a noticeable appetite for financial services among the rural poor, and the banks that want to remain competitive will have to find profitable ways to serve this demographic. Before I leave, I hope to talk with multiple bank representatives to find out how they are doing this, whether it is through mobile banking, banking vans, Internet banking, or other means. I’m excited to see – and in a small way be part of – the impact these businesses are having on the lives of their customers, communities, and the nation as a whole.

Matt Wilson, MSc student from Kampala

“That girl, she was saying she’s looking for employment. I asked her why she was not in school and told her that dress, the one she was wearing, it costs more than a school uniform. You see, her parents are divorced and she lives with her mum. I said, does your mother endorse you going around like this and not at school? She was saying she has no food, that’s why I gave her the MKW50. But she’ll go around and some man, he will give her MKW200 and she will end up impregnated. You see what we deal with? It’s lack of parental guidance.”

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The focus of my research, here in Malawi, is on the type and range of mental health and well-being provision for children and young people. By focusing on this I am not disregarding the many factors that contribute to a vulnerable child’s well-being- such as food, clothing and shelter. Rather, my aim is to examine the extent to which emotional needs are met and perceived alongside these basic, material needs.

Through my research so far, I have come across a variety of interpretations and understandings of emotional well-being. In many areas I have been assured that it is extremely important to meet the emotional needs of, for example, orphans and, more specifically, those in foster families who have little time or resources to offer their newly acquired sons and daughters.

When probing further into the type of support or activities they consider suitable to meet such needs, the answers range from prayers and reading the Bible to games and dance. Those who have received training talk of ‘memory books’ and the ‘Tree of Life’. These activities encourage children to look back over their life and the troubles they have faced. The focus is then on the positive, highlighting the ways in which they have dealt with these difficulties, to become aware of their inner strength and to share these experiences for other children to learn from. In the ‘Tree of Life’ children are encouraged to think about what they would like to achieve in the future and plan ways in which they can accomplish this.

The future is a strong feature of these activities. As one woman told me, it is the future that is often the biggest cause of stress for these children. They worry about how they will provide for themselves and for their siblings; the future to them can look very bleak and this in turn leads to mental health issues, such as suicidal thoughts or substance abuse.

Travelling through the country I have also discovered a movement of mental health professionals. In particular, there are more and more people training to support and advocate for those with learning disabilities. In the north of Malawi, in a town called Mzuzu, there is a centre called St John of God. Here they have a service for children with learning disabilities. Not only do they provide specialist education for them, they also work in the local community raising awareness on these issues and offer extensive support and advice for the families of such children.

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This is my third day at Link Community Development and so far I have learnt a lot about the work of Mother’s Groups in providing counselling and encouragement to vulnerable children. Tomorrow I will be visiting a local Special Needs resource centre and will meet a specialist teacher there. Although capacity is low, the will to instil change is high. I look forward to assisting this movement in the future.

Rosie Bacon, MSc student in Malawi

I’m very careful around the Rwandan officials, making sure to get proper clearance and taking no pictures. Thankfully by this point, initial suspicion has pretty much given way to passing curiosity. One soldier approaches me and asks me what I think is the difference across the frontier. I don’t know where to start. The border itself takes the form of a single dirt track running down the hill towards the lake. The two cities merge here completely, without even a small neutral zone dividing them.

In Gisenyi’s Makoro district, most houses are compounds, with walled gardens and brightly coloured roofing. You know you’re in Goma when these buildings give way to the impromptu, wood and corrugated iron constructs ubiquitous to townships across the continent. It is this stark asymmetry in built environment that makes the place tick. Imbalances across the boundary, be they economic, geographic, or demographic, generate opportunities for the proximate populations. An intricate and dynamic web of loopholes sees people here thriving off what is otherwise an arbitrary line in the sand.

With just five weeks this time, and four months total in the country, Kinyarwanda has been an absolute non-starter (it’s a tonal language with sixteen noun classes). Still it’s important my response is neither political nor misunderstood. I raise two fingers to my eyes, then gesture towards the buildings on either side. He laughs, shakes his head, and points to two Congolese police officers counting money in full view. Then he walks off.

Just across the border, a gauntlet of officials and opportunists stands ready to demand small payments, or else to simply grab the odd cabbage, egg, or pineapple from the sea of baskets as they pass.

It’s been long enough out here on the border to miss hot showers. Sadly it would take years to do anything near justice to the complexity – the absolute ingenuity – of the processes at play. What I have is a snapshot, but one that has me totally absorbed with the place. Next Thursday I will be sorry to leave!

Hugh Lamarque, MSc student from the field

I love Burkina Faso (and not only because I’m planning to marry a man from there…but that’s another story and another blog!). It has less French influence than countries such as Senegal and Ivory Coast, as France did not care much to develop this country which is practically semi-desert and without any significant mineral deposits. It is a friendly and fascinating place. Life happens outside; mopeds, and the occasional SUV, choke the dusty roads, street hawkers sell anything from mobile phone cards and lottery tickets to kitchen utensils and underwear. The women are beautiful in their traditional two-piece outfits of printed wax fabrics. The arts and crafts are intricate and skilled – colourful batiks, hand-crafted drums and balafons, coconut shell jewellery… The food is fantastic and fantastically calorific – lots of rice of course, as a West African staple, accompanied by oily stews of chicken or fresh-water fish, onions, green peppers, yellow chillies (lots of!), peanut sauce, fried plantain, succulent mangoes and enormous avocados.
FESPACO is an unforgettable and unique experience. It has been called the African Cannes but it is nothing like that elitist, stuffy and self-important festival in the south of France. It is friendly, accessible, down-to-earth and chaotic. The festival opens with a breath-taking spectacle in the city’s enormous football stadium, with lots of live music performances, dancers, show horses, performers on stilts, fireworks and the obligatory speeches. Over one week hundreds of films from every corner of the continent are screened in the city’s multiple cinemas, interspersed with press conferences, workshops, seminars, red carpet parties and lots of ‘celebrity spotting’ while sitting in the shade drinking quarts of local beer. Some of the best screenings are those at night in one of the city’s open-air cinemas. Beer and snacks are being sold and lots of locals attend. Watching films with African audiences is quite a different experience from watching a film in a cinema in the UK. Cinema-going is a social event in Africa, with people enthusiastically discussing the events unfolding on screen, jumping up and shouting things at the protagonists and applauding to show their approval or protesting loudly if the plot goes in the wrong direction.
The selection of films at FESPACO 2011 did not disappoint. As has become somewhat of a trend over the last few years, the North African contingent of films was particularly strong, with a Moroccan film, “Pegase”, winning the grand prize. Second place went to Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s “A Screaming Man”. Some said that Haroun should have won; his previous films such as “Abouna” and “Darratt” have been screened with wide acclaim internationally, also at Africa in Motion. Third place went to a film from Ivory Coast, “Le mec ideal”. These are just the main prizes, as lots of other awards went to the best documentaries, shorts, student films, actors, music, screenplays, editing, cinematography…My attendance at FESPACO was not only for my own post-doctoral research on the emerging film industries in East Africa, but also to source films for the Africa in Motion film festival. This means that you would be able to see many of these cinematic gems in Edinburgh come October. Watch this space!

Lizelle Bisschoff, Centre of African Studies