Mozambicans take to social media to piece together the truth about the Cabo Delgado attacks

Attacks by armed groups started in 2017

Translation posted 11 June 2020


Cabo Delgado bridge, Mozambique. August 4, 2009. Photo by F. Mira via CC BY-SA 2.0.

Twitter users in Mozambique are mobilising to share information on the violence in the province of Cabo Delgado, which has been the site of attacks by armed groups since 2017.

Since the start of the attacks, more than 900 people have been killed. In February this year, a local government report revealed that over 150,000 people had been affected by the conflict. The reason for the attacks is not completely clear, but there is some evidence that they are linked to an Islamic extremist group.

Read more: New video gives clues about motives behind attacks in northern Mozambique


In mid-May, the Mozambican government joined other presidents from southern Africa at a high-level conference in an apparent attempt to generate external support for the fight against insurgency.

Days later, the president of Mozambique announced the death of two of the leaders behind the attacks in the north.

Many of the attacks have subsequently been revealed in videos and photos on social media, sometimes by the attackers themselves. In the absence of adequate information from the authorities, some users are trying to make sense of this content on social media:


#CaboDelgado as coisas pioram dia após dia, #massacres atrás de massacres, destruição de vilas umas das outras. Para quando o apoio militar da #SADC ?🤔

#CaboDelgado the situation is deterioriating day after day, #massacre [HYPERLINK] after massacre, destruction of one town after the next. How long until military assistance from the #SADC?

— Egídio João (@Egidio_E_Joao) June 3, 2020


Afinal o que está acontecer em Cabo Delgado (Moçambique)?

After all of this, what is happening in Cabo Delgado (Mozambique)?

A Thread pic.twitter.com/kcVVZDBiTp

— Withney Osvalda (@withneysabino) June 1, 2020


Okok
THREAD CABO DELGADO
Peço que deixem aqui em baixo toda informação que há disponivel sobre o que está a acontecer em Cabo Delgado, vamo nos ajudar a ajudar, invés de reclamarem só!!

Okok

CABO DELGADO THREAD

Please add below any information available on what is happening in Cabo Delgado, let’s help ourselves to help, instead of just complaining!!

— soh fee uh (@smaquile) June 1, 2020


Para podermos ajudar temos que ter informação, e isso o governo não está a publicar, temos que estar a basear-nos em mouth to mouth information e videos fora de contexto que nos mandam de lá…

So that we can help ourselves we need to have information, which our government isn’t publishing, we need to rely on mouth to mouth information and videos beyond what they are giving us…

— druegas, sole da (@Queen_Tassy1) June 1, 2020


Lembrei de ter lido nalgum lugar que a forma mais fácil de roubar terra é criando instabilidade ao ponto dos proprietários fugirem. Não há terra mais barata do que aquela em conflito e miséria. Agora pergunto… a quem interessa comprar Cabo-Delgado?

I remember reading somewhere that the easiest way to steal land is to create instability to the point that owners flee. There’s no land cheaper than where there’s conflict and misery. Now I wonder who would be interested in buying in Cabo Delgado?

— manteiga de karité, bebé (@Leocadeea) June 1, 2020

Some have noted the fact that events outside of Mozambique appear to be receiving less attention than those taking place inside:


Tenho visto em muitos Moçambicanos “Black life’s Matter” e menos “Pray for Cabo Delegado”…

I have seen many Mozambicans with more “Black Lives Matter” and less “Pray for Cabo Delgado”

— 𝗕𝗮𝘃𝘆 (@Djbavy) June 3, 2020

Also being shared are warnings about misinformation:


Mas muita atenção com a informação proliferada por este senhor, já várias vezes foi confrontado por mostrar imagens que não são de Cabo Delgado e ele tenta passar as images como “exclusivas”!

But beware the information shared by this man. He’s already been confronted for showing images that aren’t of Cabo Delgado and he is attempting to pass them off as exclusive!

— Micah Dunduro (@Donduro88) June 2, 2020

A movement has also resurfaced with the aim of organizing solidarity campaign in support of those affected by the escalating violence in Cabo Delgado:


Estamos a preparar a 4a Fase da campanha de solidariedade nacional por Cabo Delgado. Precisamos de voluntários para pré-organização
Por favor partilhem com os vossos amigos que possam ajudar-nos com cartazes e vídeos da convocatória✌🏽#CaboDelgado_também_é_Moçambique#CaboDelgado

We are preparing the 4th phase of the national campaign for solidarity for Cabo Delgado. We need volunteers for the pre-organisation phase. Please share with your friends who are able to help us with poster and video calls to actions #CaboDelgado_também_é_Moçambique#CaboDelgado

— Cídia Chissungo (@Cidiachissungo) June 3, 2020


Quem puder ajudar de alguma forma:#CaboDelgado #CABODELGADOIMPORTA pic.twitter.com/Itnq9V507K

If anybody can help in any way: #CaboDelgado #CABODELGADOIMPORTA pic.twitter.com/Itnq9V507K

— Alícia Cossa (@alicia_cossa) June 3, 2020


Written byDércio Tsandzana

Translated byAyoola Alabi

Tanzanian women’s savings and loan groups in flux during COVID-19

Members struggle to pay back loans and restore group capital

Posted 11 June 2020


A skills training for current and prospective members of vicoba in Dunga, Zanzibar. Photo by Jessica Ott, used with permission.

Editor’s note: Jessica Ott studied women’s civil society organizing in Tanzania. This article is informed by research and fieldwork for her dissertation, “Women's rights in repetition: Nation-building, solidarity and Islam in Zanzibar.”

Vicoba, which stands for “village community banks,” are ubiquitous microfinance savings and loan institutions across Tanzania.

The majority of members are women who rely on vicoba to provide access to credit for business and other living expenses. Women widely describe these groups as a way to reduce their economic dependence on men and enable social solidarity.

Vicoba provide members with credit access during times of financial hardship, but they are not structured to support members during a societal level crisis — such as a drought or a pandemic — when everyone needs to borrow at the same time.

When Tanzania issued a stay-at-home order in March 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 — essentially closing its economy for several months — most vicoba ceased to meet.

The World Bank issued a press release on June 8 that predicts a sharp slowdown of economic growth in 2020 due to COVID-19. Tourism operators forecasted revenue losses of 80 percent or more in 2020, and the crisis could push 500,000 more citizens below the poverty line.

Now, many women members are unable to contribute toward group savings or to pay back loans, which has raised concerns about how vicoba will cope with the long-term financial effects of the coronavirus.

As vicoba members struggle to pay back loans, a decline in group capital has limited the ability of members to borrow, according to a news report in The Citizen.

Women’s participation in vicoba has shifted gender norms and enabled women’s economic agency — to varying degrees — but as groups experience the financial strain of COVID-19, vicoba are in limbo.
An overview of vicoba

Vicoba have operated in Tanzania since the early 2000s. They were inspired in part by a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) model that was first implemented by the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) in Niger in 1991.

Before vicoba, women participated in rotating credit associations and informal economic activities in Dar es Salaam at an unprecedented level in the late 1980s and early 90s, according to political scientist Aili Mari Tripp. At that time, Tanzania was transitioning from first President Julius Nyerere’s socialist project of Ujamaa (Swahili: “Familyhood”) and enacting structural reforms to liberalize its economy.

Established during a subsequent era of rapid global microfinance expansion, vicoba have been adapted to Tanzanian cultural contexts. They are usually self-initiated and self-sustaining, unlike borrower groups who acquire credit and accrue debt through formal microfinance banks. Women often establish vicoba with family members, neighbors, friends, and/or work colleagues.

In Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous archipelago off the coast of mainland Tanzania, where the majority are Muslim, many women give their savings groups names that allude to the socialist past or to Islam, like Umoja ni Maendeleo (Unity is Development) and Tunaomba Mungu (We Humbly Ask for God’s Support) groups — both on the island of Pemba.

Individual members buy into vicoba with shares, which enables them to take out loans to support their own business ventures or other living expenses, like health care costs or school fees.

Group members collaboratively determine the amount and terms of individual loans, such as the interest rate and length of repayment. When groups have excess funds, they instigate collaborative income-generating projects with earnings going back to the group.
Vicoba and unity

Vicoba help women meet their own financial needs, but they also enable and strengthen the notion of umoja or “unity,” which embodies ideas of community and mutual support.

A recent Twitter poll highlights the ubiquity of vicoba in Tanzania. Twitter user habimana playfully asked her 18,300 followers:


Mpira – unawaleta wanaume pamoja

Cartoon – zinawaleta watoto pamoja

Nini kinawaleta wanawake pamoja??

— habimana (@uwimano) June 3, 2020


If football brings men together, and cartoons bring children together, then what brings women together?

Over 850 people — mostly men — responded to the poll. The most common, somewhat disparaging response was umbea (“gossip”), closely followed by vicoba and hair salons.

Twitter user Abdulraheem cheekily tweeted:


Wazamani umbea, wasasa vikoba na vikundi vya ushirika

— Abdulraheem (@ibn_sayid) June 3, 2020


For women in the past, it was gossip, but for women today, it's vicoba and other savings groups.
Shifting ideas about gender and household finances

Twitter commentary about vicoba also sheds light on shifting gender norms and household economics in Tanzania.

Twitter user Myra complained to her more than 5,900 followers about the propensity of men to force their wives to wash laundry by hand rather than buying washing machines:


Sema watoto wa kiume mnapenda tu kuwatesa wake zenu na hizi issue za kufua. Washing machine hadi laki 5 zipo. Nasema mke coz kama hujaolewa ukajifanya we dobi utakuwa umeamua.

— 𝓜𝓨𝓡𝓐 (@alwaysmyra) May 29, 2020


Hey, you young men just enjoy persecuting your wives with this issue of hand washing clothes. Even if you have the 500,000 [Tanzanian shillings or $250 United States dollars] for a washing machine. I say ‘wife’ because if you haven't gotten married yet and you do, you will have decided to become a laundry woman.

In response, Twitter user Mgwabi Mwambi challenged Myra for putting too much financial responsibility on men:


Hata watoto wa kike waliiolewa, wanapenda tu kujitesa kufua kwa mikono, washing machine hadi lako 5, wanaweza tu kujibana kwa pesa za VICOBA wakanunua na wala sio kusubiria mume anunue kila kitu.

— Mgwabi Mwambi (@JakaMgwabi) May 29, 2020


Even young women who are married, they enjoy persecuting themselves by hand washing clothes. If a washing machine is about 500,000 [$250 USD], which they can reach with their vicoba savings, then they can buy their own rather than waiting for their husbands to pay for everything.

The Twitter exchange highlights changing ideas and social norms related to the division of household labor and finances in Tanzania — and how vicoba play a role.
Microfinance during COVID-19

The situation in Tanzania points to the vulnerability of microfinance savings and loan groups worldwide when faced with large-scale crises.

During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, restrictions on movement limited women’s economic activities, which drastically reduced the capital of savings and loan groups in Liberia and Guinea, according to a report by the United Nations Development Group.

Several humanitarian agencies have issued emergency measures and guidelines to mitigate the health and economic effects of the coronavirus on microfinance initiatives. CARE, with 357,000 VSLA groups in 51 countries, issued emergency guidelines for supporting savings and loan groups.
The future of vicoba in Tanzania

Some vicoba leaders on Tanzania’s mainland have considered emergency measures like extending loan repayment terms and reducing the interest rates on existing loans, according to The Citizen.

One possible emergency measure may be a government bailout. The Citizen reported that the Ministry of Finance and Planning was conducting a COVID-19 economic impact assessment and would provide recommendations for vicoba and other savings and loan groups. Its emphasis on recommendations, however, suggests that governmental financial assistance may not be forthcoming.

If women default on their loans, group members may decide to liquidate their assets to recoup group debts, which could potentially devastate vicoba and strain social relationships. Members may also decide to accept their COVID-19 related losses.

Vicoba — which provide community, mutual support and human connection — may help women mitigate the financial pangs of the coronavirus.


Written byJessica Ott

Fish prices spike as Cameroon’s mangroves face total depletion 

Cameroon's mangroves could 'vanish without action'

Posted 20 June 2020


A man walks through the mangroves in a wildlife reserve in Manoka, a town and commune in the Littoral Region of Cameroon, Manoka island, south of the Wouri estuary, within the Douala Edéa Wildlife Reserve, Cameroon. Photo via Piqsel, public domain.

In Cameroon, extensive mangrove systems provide an abundance to the communities that surround them. From firewood to fish, communities have depended on mangroves, locally known as matanda, for years.

These low-lying, tide-resistant shrubs grow in salty water and cover nearly 60 percent of the southwest region alone, but also spread across three regions: Rio de Ray, Wouri Estuary Douala and Ntem South, according to Ekwadi Songe, southwest regional delegate of environment, nature protection and sustainable development.

Due to overfishing and overharvesting its wood, mangroves have seriously depleted in recent years. Sea level rise due to climate change also threatens the mangrove ecosystem. Now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a spike in the price of fish is largely blamed on mangrove depletion.

Jocien Siyir Kinyuy, a student living in Buea, the southwest regional capital, told Global Voices that the price of fish has definitely increased in the market during the pandemic. “I used to buy a kilogram of fish for 650 francs [$1.11 United States dollars] but now I get it at 750 francs [$1.28 USD], sometimes 800 [$1.37 USD],” she said.

Kinyuy notes that most fish at the market is now imported, driving the prices up even higher. “From my experience, it’s even more expensive to buy from the petit traders down at Limbe beach who buy from the fishermen,” adding that foreign companies dominate the market and pay high taxes. However, Cameroon placed a temporary ban on importing fish from China due to the coronavirus in February.

As of 2010, Cameroon’s mangroves were nearly 75 percent depleted, but today’s figures are likely much higher, according to the Andalou Agency.

“If mangroves go extinct, fish will finish in Cameroon,” said Songe, the southwest regional delegate.
Fish supply and demand

Mangroves offer a variety of benefits to surrounding communities, providing a favorable environment for most fish species — including crabs — to reproduce, according to Chechua Manzo, a master’s student in natural resource management in Cameroon. They are also home to many migratory birds.

Mangrove roots act as good speed brakes for waves, providing calmer waters for toddler fish and crabs to lay eggs. In 2009, over 5,000 tons of fish were sourced from the mangroves, according to a study reported in BusinessCameroon. “Bossu, bar, mulet, machoiron are some of the types fished in these mangroves — the most sought after by consumers,” the report said.

This year, the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries reported that it imports 200,000 tons of fish yearly to make up for its low national production and a national demand estimated at about 400,000 tons of fish per year.

Over the years, fishing communities have placed immense pressure on mangroves, where over 80 percent of the population relies on mangrove wood to smoke and preserve their fish.

“Passing along the village streets of Yoyo [Littoral coastal Sanaga-Maritime area], one can see hips of harvested mangroves … and the people say it’s comfortable … to use [the wood] as fuel to smoke their fish,” Manzo explained.

On Twitter, Regina Fonjia Leke explained how this crisis plays out in the town of Mouanko, Sanaga-Maritime area:


2500 cubic metres of #Mangroves are lost everyday in #Mouanko #Cameroon. They are harvested to smoke fish n this pressure has led to a drastic reduction in the pop of this vital https://t.co/dX4mGIydMI local NGO,CWCS is trying to turn the tides. Watch how https://t.co/vXFsxI1utc

— Regina Fonjia Leke (@ReginaLeke) December 28, 2018

“The main threat to mangroves is the Nipa palm [variety],” Manzo told Global Voices, adding that extensive construction in Cameroon’s Littoral region has seriously threatened its extinction in this region.

Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Ministry of Forests and Wildlife sells mangrove timber used for construction on destroyed mangrove areas for less than one dollar, according to the Andalou Agency.
Mangrove conservation

The government has made several efforts to safeguard Cameroon’s mangrove ecosystems. In 2006, Cameroon signed the Ramsar Convention, the only international legislation that focuses specifically on wetlands conservation. In March 2007, Cameroon created its own National Ramsar Committee on Wetlands.

At that time, the Ministry of Environment decreed that 30 percent of Cameroon’s land should be preserved for natural resources, including mangroves, and “this 30 percent … is divided across five agroecological zones,” explained Songe, the southwest regional environment delegate.

In 2006, the government worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization to encourage local communities to find alternate ways to smoke fish instead of harvesting mangrove wood.

These efforts continue in various ways:


Visit to Manoka island with @CIFOR, where the #Cameroon team is working with a local women association to develop a more efficient technology to smoke fish using less wood to protect the mangroves! pic.twitter.com/81fuc4Csyz

— Ahtziri Gonzalez (@ahtzirigonzalez) March 4, 2020


Fishing (for men) and fish smoking (for women) are the only livelihoods in the island. This is why @CIFOR and its partners are helping the community to better manage natural resources. pic.twitter.com/wvuOwRRgL6

— Ahtziri Gonzalez (@ahtzirigonzalez) March 4, 2020

In 2011, the government invested in reforestation efforts, “but the wood is often cut down in less than three years and with the government’s permission,” explained Langmi Moses, who heads a mangrove conservation agency, to Andalou Agency. He continued:


By cutting down mangrove trees that have been planted in less than three years and with the government's permission, operators are destroying the mangroves and preventing their regeneration. … We can't reforest all the time when our work is destroyed after two years.

In 2013, Cameroon spent 3 billion francs or $5,123,043 USD on mangrove conservation and managed to preserve over 195,000 hectares.

However, overexploitation continues to be the main cause of mangrove depletion, according to Jean Marie Tchouala Wabo, a Cameroonian forest manager.

“These mangroves are being vandalized under the watchful eye of the government,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Netizen Magdalene Ngeve laments that “Cameroon's mangroves could vanish without action”:


What a sad reality about the mangroves of my home country! I have been studying these mangroves for a while now and I must say something urgent needs to be done to turn the tides around.
Cameroon's mangroves could vanish without action https://t.co/ROdAczQbR1

— Magdalene Ngeve (@MagdaleneNgeve) January 25, 2020


Written byBoris-Karloff Batata

The rise of artemisia in Cameroon in the fight against COVID-19

'Shouldn't Africa take a deeper look at natural medicines?'

THE STAR CALLED WORMWOOD

The Bible

Posted 8 June 2020

The artemisia plant has long been used as a medicinal herb to cure malaria and other ailments in Cameroon and throughout Africa. Screenshot from “The malaria business: Big pharma vs natural medicine,” a documentary by Franc24 via YouTube.

When Cameroon recorded its first COVID-19 case on March 6 in Yaounde, the capital, public health officials reassured citizens that the government would take swift measures to contain the spread of the virus, including compulsory face masks in public areas.

But the virus rapidly spread and also wreaked havoc on its economy.

By March 17, when Prime Minister Joseph Dione Ngute announced 13 guidelines to stem the spread, 10 people had tested positive. Since March, Cameroon has recorded 8,060 cases, with over to 200 dead and over 4,700 recovered cases since June 8.

Yet, on April 30, Ngute eased various COVID-19 measures, following an inter-ministerial committee meeting aimed at restoring the economy and local markets.

As the coronavirus cases continue to soar in Cameroon, many who believe in local herbs have turned to the artemisia plant as the government plans to reopen the country. Most Cameroonians believe in the efficacy of the artemisia plant to treat malaria and other illnesses.

Conglad Ngwa, a plant scientist and fungi researcher at the University of Buea, told Global Voices that the edible artemisia plant can treat headaches and stomach disorders, in addition to many other ailments.

On April 25, Archbishop of the Douala Metropolitan Diocese, Samuel Kleda announced over the national broadcaster CRTV that he has come up with an herbal treatment for COVID-19 that features the artemisia plant. Archbishop Kelda said:

Given that I already knew the plants according to the symptoms of the coronavirus, I have simply put together these combinations, prepared them and given to persons with the symptoms and they were relieved.

Kleda has about 30 years of research experience with medicinal plants, with a focus on herbal treatment for ailments affecting the respiratory system.

The government of Cameroon took some time to react to the clergy’s treatment of the coronavirus, raising questions among Cameroonians. Surprisingly, on May 19, President Paul Biya encouraged the use of homemade treatments to beat the dreaded coronavirus in a televised address to the nation.

The president’s call prompted Cameroonians to further rely on the local herbal combination to treat COVID-19 symptoms. The potency of artemisia — also known as wormwood or absinthe — has caused an upsurge in its cultivation in Cameroon.

The common recipe includes lime, lemon, pineapple, fever grass — and the artemisia plant, boiled and drunk as a tea.

When I flew to Cameroon few months ago, I was given this ‘Artemesia’ tea to drink, as a preventive shield against malaria.

Interesting to learn it may offer some level of immunity against CoronaVirus too, should be further studies on this plant's properties vs. Covid-19 👁️👁️ https://t.co/LYF5RY0qbY

— FLOЯIΛN 🏁 (@Florianaire) May 1, 2020

Atoh Mercy Acca, an accountant working in Doula, Cameroon, told Global Voices that her parents sent her pre-prepared traditional herbs for her to boil and drink after she complained that her boss’ family were exhibiting coronavirus symptoms:

As soon as I informed my parents about my boss whose child died of an alleged COVID-19, my parents did not hesitate to send my bottles of traditional herbs for me to boil and drink.

Bekondo Nestorine, a printing press clerk in Limbe, Cameroon, told Global Voices that he and his colleagues boil and drink the artemisia plant nearly three times a day in his office, including ginger to fortify their immune systems.

A return to growing artemisia plants

Asaba Lynda, an environmental enthusiast working with the southwest regional delegation of environmental nature protection and sustainable development, told Global Voices that “it is thanks to the coronavirus that lots of persons have turned back to growing plants — especially those they think help in the treatment of the virus.”

Set Ekwadi Songe, another regional delegate, expressed concern about a possible shortage of the artemisia plant due to its surge in popularity as an essential ingredient in herbal home remedies:

As people want to protect themselves from COVID-19, many herbalists, many traditional practitioners, are now going to nature to look at all types of species to produce cures, hence tampering with the existence of such species. Like the artemisia plant, it’s going to be difficult for us to get the plant because everybody wants it to treat COVID-19.

Delegate Songe added, however, that he is happy because the plant is there to help the population.

Respecting traditional medicine

The rise of artemisia as a respected plant is not a surprise in Cameroon, where traditional healers have used the plant for centuries to cure a host of ailments including malaria.

Now that the pharmaceutical world has recognized the efficacy of the plant in potential cures for contagious diseases, there's been an increase in artemisia plantations, both large and small. This may be perceived as an affront to big pharmaceutical companies who attempt to control its production, according to Irene Teis, in her blog for Malaria World. Last year, she wrote:

Artemisia plantations are spreading like a bushfire all over Cameroon, under the vigilant eye of universities and local organizations who avoid that the plant is improperly cultivated, handled and used.

Teis claims that the lives of traditional healers have been threatened and local artemisia plantations have been destroyed by police:

Several cases of murder or attempted murder have become known recently. It is also discouraging for them that their research and numerous clinical trials are ignored or depreciated by the medical neocolonialism, mostly by French experts.

The artemisia plant recently made headline news when Madasgar President Andry Rajoelina put forth the claim that COVID organics, a locally-produced herbal concoction featuring artemisia, could cure symptoms caused by the virus.

The World Health Organization quickly dismissed the efficacy of COVID organics, insisting there is no known cure for COVID-19, but the leaders of several African nations signed on to the product, including Tanzania and Comoros.

Netizen Kathleen Ndongmo made a plea on Twitter for further research on the power of traditional plants and herbs to cure contagious viruses.

Madagascar's recently released #COVID19 drug is largely artemesia based.

Now, shouldn't #Africa have a council of experts taking a deeper look at the natural medicines we've used for years?

How many of us “swear” by lemongrass, pineapple skin tea, hibiscus, paw-paw leaves?

— Kathleen Ndongmo (@KathleenNdongmo) April 30, 2020


Written by Boris-Karloff Batata

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Bioactive Compounds and Health Benefits of Artemisia Species

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Manisha Nigam, Maria Atanassova, Abhay P. Mishra, ...

First Published July 24, 2019 Review Article

https://doi.org/10.1177/1934578X19850354

Article information

 

Abstract

Artemisia L. is a genus of small herbs and shrubs found in northern temperate regions. It belongs to the important family Asteraceae, one of the most numerous plant groupings, which comprises about 1000 genera and over 20000 species. Artemisia has a broad spectrum of bioactivity, owing to the presence of several active ingredients or secondary metabolites, which work through various modes of action. It has widespread pharmacological activities and has been used as traditional medicine since ancient times as an anthelmintic, antispasmodic, antirheumatic, and antibacterial agent and for the treatment of malaria, hepatitis, cancer, inflammation, and menstrual-related disorders. This review comprises the updated information about the ethnomedical uses and health benefits of various Artemisia spp. and general information about bioactive compounds and free radicals.

Traditional and Current Uses

One of the most known plants of the genus Artemisia is A. absinthium L., commonly known as “wormwood,” a yellow-flowering perennial plant distributed throughout various parts of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia, and several chemotypes have been recognized.¹³ The plant is used for its antiparasitic effects and to treat gastrointestinal problems, anorexia, and indigestion.¹⁴ The aerial parts are present in many gastric herbal preparations, in dietary supplements, and in alcoholic beverages, for example, absinthe products, which enjoy a resurgence of popularity all over the world.^2,15 Moreover A. absinthium and other plants of this genus were used to control pain in childbirth and to induce abortions.^5-17

In North African and Middle Eastern countries, A. abyssinica Sch. Bip. ex A. Rich. is used in folk medicine as an anthelmintic, antispasmodic, antirheumatic, and antibacterial agent.¹⁸ This plant grows abundantly in various parts of the Arabian peninsula and is locally known as “ather” (Saudi Arabia) and “boitheran” (Yemen).^2,19,20

AS DOC SPICE LOCAL ALCHYMIST I PRODUCED ABSINTHE IN THE 1980'S USING WORMWOOD AND PERNOD. IN FACT ABSINTHE WAS MADE BY PERNOD IN THE 19TH CENTURY, AND THE WORMWOOD WAS SIMPLY REMOVED FROM THE RECIPE ONCE ABSINTHE WAS BANNED IN EUROPE.

Trinidadian Tony Hall, visionary of ‘play and performance’, leaves behind a precious legacy

"Tony always emphasized play and performance as tools for self-emancipation"

Posted 29 April 2020


A portrait of Trinbagonian playwright, actor and director Tony Hall, by Maria Nunes. Used with permission.

On April 27, 2020, one of the pillars of Trinidad and Tobago's film and theatre community — actor, playwright and director Tony Hall — died suddenly of a heart attack, leaving the heart of a nation in pieces. He was 71 years old.

Hall dedicated his life to the performing arts, writing both stage and screenplays, directing theatrical and film works and often appearing on stage and screen as an actor or interviewer.

After getting his bachelor's degree in drama and education from the University of Alberta in 1973, Hall cut his teeth in community theatre in Canada; he also did work in prisons, where he created workshops for the inmates using role-play as a technique. A lifelong learner who enjoyed the questions just as much as the answers, Hall earned a diploma in film and advanced television production from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 1980.Both qualifications served him well when he returned home and became an integral part of the pioneering group of television producers that created “Gayelle” [this clip features his brother, Dennis “Sprangalang” Hall], a cultural magazine-type series that began to transform the landscape of regional television in the mid-1980s.

For many years, Hall apprenticed as an actor and director with Nobel laureate Sir Derek Walcott in the seminal Trinidad Theatre Workshop (TTW), where he performed in the world premiere of Walcott's “The Joker of Seville” and “O’ Babylon” (1975-81).

Speaking with me by telephone, Bruce Paddington, one of the founders of Banyan Limited, the video production company through which Hall put his unique artistic stamp on various indigenous soap operas, drama series, and current affairs programmes, recalled that Hall was so deeply involved in the TTW that he was “widely viewed as Walcott's heir apparent”. He described Hall as “an ultimate artist and renaissance man” who would often develop scripts from improvised sessions with other theatre giants like Errol Jones and Eunice Alleyne.

“He loved satire skits and social commentary,” Paddington said. “He was always off the wall, but very authentic — and very socially committed.” He remembers the pairing of Hall and fellow actor Errol Sitahal in the “Gayelle” series as “wonderful”, noting that Hall would usually insist they approach topics from an unexpected angle. “Tony would, therefore, do interviews for events like the Hindu festival of Phagwa,” Paddington explained, while Sitahal, of Indian descent, would host segments on things like the Orisha religion. In Trinidad and Tobago, where the population is almost evenly split between people of African and Indian descent, Hall helped make the country's rich cultural diversity more inclusive, and accessible to everyone.

Niala Maharaj, who co-hosted “Gayelle” with Hall, said on Facebook:


Tony’s pursuit of truth had no room for pettiness, for jostling for stardom, for ethnic competition, pretense and pappyshow. […] Making Gayelle was always a hunt for the unexpected twist that would flip a situation out of the mundane.


A promotional still from Tony Hall's play, “Jean and Dinah”. Photo by Abigail Hadeed, used with permission.

In a career that spanned five decades in various media — in his words, “play and performance in space, street, stage and screen” — nothing Hall ever worked on was short of original ideas. Some of his most recognised pieces of work, staged through his Lordstreet Theatre Company, include the critically acclaimed play “Jean and Dinah” (based on The Mighty Sparrow's famous 1956 calypso of the same name), “The Brand New Lucky Diamond Horseshoe Club” (a musical collaboration with calypsonian David Rudder), and “Miss Miles, Woman of the World”, a play based on the life of Trinidadian political whistleblower Gene Miles. He also co-directed the award-winning BBC/Banyan documentary, “And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon”.

Film producer Danielle Dieffenthaler, who worked with Hall at Banyan from 1990, remembers him as “the ideas man”. “Tony's brain always worked so much faster than everyone else's,” she told me over the phone. “He was always mulling over some concept or the other.”


Actor Penelope Spencer (left), at work with Tony Hall. Photo by Abigail Hadeed, used with permission.

Hall was passionate about the culture of Trinidad and Tobago and in the 1990s, according to Dieffenthaler, was instrumental in reviving the commemoration of the Canboulay Riots, an event that birthed j'ouvert, the ritual loosely translated as “the opening of the day,” which heralds the official start of Trinidad and Tobago's annual Carnival celebrations. A lecturer at Connecticut's Trinity College at the time, Hall would bring his American students to Trinidad to experience the event first-hand, as he always believed that education and Carnival — the ultimate performance art — were closely interwoven.

Dieffenthaler also remembers, however, the frustration Hall sometimes felt as a member of Trinidad and Tobago's creative industries. Though he had many successes, some of his projects remained in flux waiting for adequate funding.


Trinbagonian playwright, actor and director Tony Hall. Photo by Abigail Hadeed, used with permission.

In a tribute posted on the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival website, Paddington noted:


Tony played the leading role in the local film, ‘Obeah’ (1987) – initially known as ‘The Haunting of Avril’ – which was directed by Hugh Robertson [the director of the classic Trinidadian feature film, “Bim”]. Unfortunately, the film is still awaiting post-production funds, and it would be a great tribute to Tony if the government or private sector would pay for the completion of this film. […]

Tony always had great plans to complete major film projects such as a film version of his play, ‘Jean and Dinah’, and a major documentary on the life of [Trinidad-born civil rights advocate and Pan-Africanist] Kwame Ture. Unfortunately, he did not receive the support for these and many other worthy cultural projects which he developed.

“Yankees Gone”, the film version of “Jean and Dinah” to which Paddington refers, was particularly close to his heart; he had been working on it with Canadian filmmaker Mary Jane Gomes for more than a decade.

Via WhatsApp, Gomes called the collaboration “the most gratifying working relationship of [her] whole career”. “I learned so much,” she told me. “Tony was a friend and a teacher, a colleague and a comrade, a brother — everything, all rolled into one — and he will always, always be an inspiration”:


He was one of the most creative forces, and so insightful. He'd never compromise for anything he didn't believe in, but he would always embrace the journey to learn. He lived to provoke thought. Tony represented the best of that kind of extempo wordsmithing that Trinidad is famous for; he was a master of it.

In fact, Hall helped establish the Jouvay Popular Theatre Process, a drama workshop approach that draws on a type of improvisation born from this extemporaneous, lyrically improvisational form of calypso, coupled with oral storytelling using traditional Trinidad Carnival characters and regional folklore.

On Facebook, fellow academic Lorna Baez explained:


Tony always emphasized play and performance as tools for self-emancipation and as a life-organizing principle. […] He was inspired by Garveyism in the Grand Caribbean and opening up spaces of self- discovery and introspection.

Actors Michael Cherrie and Penelope Spencer in Tony Hall's Marcus Garvey Popular Theatre Project. Photo by Abigail Hadeed, used with permission.

Hall's inimitable style left its mark on members of the regional and international arts community, many of whom posted their tributes on social media, especially given the fact that current COVID-19 stay-at-home measures will prevent them from gathering to celebrate his life.

Apart from watch-party tributes, there is a plan to have a memorial for Hall via Zoom, where his friends and colleagues can honour his memory through stories and songs.

Baez ended by remembering:


Our resilience, he once said to me, ‘is not in spite of being from the Caribbean but BECAUSE WE ARE from the Caribbean’. I honor his rebellious spirit and mind. ‘Most of us’ he once wrote, ‘have allowed all sorts of schemes to disconnect us, sometimes through no direct fault of our own. We are all born connected. There are many ways and means through play and performance in which we can allow ourselves to realise our connection to the energy of the universe.’ I am grateful to have met someone with such an elevated sense of courage, clarity and artistry. May you Rest In Peace and Power.


Written byJanine Mendes-Franco

Surprise in Papua New Guinea as Prime Minister rejects the renewal of license for major gold mine

"The world will not end if Porgera closes.”

Posted 14 June 2020 15:16 GMT


Porgera gold mine. Photo by Richard Farbelini from Wikipedia licensed under public domain.

In an unexpected move, Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister James Marape announced on April 24 that one of the largest gold mines of his country will not see its mining lease renewed. This decision has launched a intense debate about the future of the mining industry, a key pillar of the PNG economy.
A surprising announcement

Marape's decision has ignited an intense discussion PNG: the Porgera mine site which will see its license end is a major and international investment in the country. The site is is managed by Barrick Niugini Limited (BNL), a joint venture between Canada-based Barrick Gold, Chinese firm Zijin Mining, the Enga’s provincial government, and Porgera landowners.

The Porgera site started operating in 1990. It is an open-pit and underground mine which produces a million ounces of gold a year, and employs more than 5,000 people. The mining operation has boosted local revenues but it also drew local complaints about its negative impact on the environment. Human rights violations were also reported in communities surrounding the mine. Marape cited environment and resettlement issues to support his announcement to close the mine.

BNL’s lease expired on August 18, 2019. There were negotiations about extending the lease for another 20 years but in the end, Marape decided to reject the application, surprising key players in the mining industry. Yet Marape, who ran on a ‘Take Back PNG’ election campaign in 2019, had announced that if elected, he would seek to get a bigger revenue share from the operations of multinational companies in the extractive industry.

Marape wrote on Facebook on April 27 to assure his constituents that “the world will not end if Porgera closes.” He also asked Barrick Niugini Limited to work with his government in implementing a transition phase and exit plan:

Now that your lease has expired, the legal process is there for Barrick to comply so you can maintain your operation until an agreed exit time we both secure at negotiations when mutual obligations are retired.

My letter will ask Barrick to continue operating the mine when we go through this phase, but if you sabotage or close the mine, you leave me no choice but to invoke orders to take over the mine for the sake of land owners and provincial government who should be getting bigger equities, plus the employees and contractors who are presently working with the mine.

In a subsequent Facebook post on April 29, he reminded local stakeholders that the government has a plan for them:


To all staff at Porgera that is laid off at this time, we are working to restore you all back to work at the earliest. Hang in there!

Your loss of income will be compensated and none of you will lose your job and you will be back working when the mine is opened.

To all contractors of Porgera, you will still be required.

To all land owners of Porgera, this is your moment! You will sit on the table as greater free equity owners.

BNL described Marape’s decision as “tantamount to nationalisation without due process.” The company added that Marape’s government has failed to consult local landowners:


The Government has also ignored the wishes of the Porgera landowners, who overwhelmingly support the extension of BNL’s lease, and the Prime Minister has refused to consult them or even hear their views.

A group of landowners criticized the non-renewal of the lease and warned about its disastrous impact on the local economy:


The ill-conceived decision not to extend the Porgera Mining Lease, and the resulting economic chaos that has brought to our people is causing us much pain, but the Government has never come to us to ask our views or to explain why they are making these decisions that affect us so much.

We already suffer from an uncertain future as our peoples’ livelihoods are impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the suspension of mining operations at Porgera after an ill-conceived decision by the government over the refusal of SML [Special Mining Lease] extension without consulting the landowners.


Landowners are challenging this decision too. They have already negotiated with Barrick and want them to stay They’re claiming #PNG gov not even listening to them? https://t.co/t2bHqm9dum pic.twitter.com/qN0xU1DEX3

— Susan Abel (@SusanAbel) April 26, 2020
Can PNG make the shift to sustainable development?

The underlying issue for PNG is to what extend it can control its model of economic development. Public opinion, though, remains divided over the question: some landowners saw the wisdom of what Marape did and its potential to develop a better development model for the country. An editorial published by Post-Courier newspaper urged the government to manage the country’s resources well and pursue programs aimed at establishing a self-reliant economy.

But there are also other views: a writer cautioned Marape not to act like a dictator in a democracy where rule of law is supposed to be upheld. BNL has since filed a court petition questioning the action of the PNG government.

While a PNG journalist has appealed for dialogue to resolve the issues related to the lease, it is unclear if both sides are ready for negotiations: On May 29, BNL announced that it is ready to increase the stake of local landowners in the Porgera lease, yet on June 5, PNG’s Mineral Resources Authority accused BNL of attempting to illegally export gold to Australia, an act denied by the company. On the same week, BNL said it received a court notice that there will be a judicial review of the non-renewal of the lease scheduled on July 20.

Finally, on June 10, the country’s parliament has passed an amending law that would increase the government share in extracting the country’s oil, gas, and mining resources. Marape thanked the parliament for the law. He wrote a message addressed to investors on his Facebook page:


I can assure our investors that we know they must make money for their shareholders too so we will not be greedy but we just asking for a fair share, if they want to harvest our resources.

The Porgera mine lease issue has rekindled previous debates about what constitutes a fair deal in allowing companies to extract the country’s finite resources. This will remain a contentious issue but whatever action the government will carry out is going to have a lasting impact on the country’s economic future.


Written by Mong Palatino

In Brazil, COVID-19 death rate for black community is higher than for other populations

The results of an analysis by Agência Pública

Translation posted 29 June 2020


Photo by Pedro Conforte in Plantão Enfoco, used with permission.

This article was first published in Portuguese on May 6, 2020, and translated into Spanish by our Brazilian partner Agência Publica. It was then republished and edited by Global Voices with their permission.

The number of black people who have died from COVID-19 in Brazil increased fivefold over a period of two weeks. From 11 to 26 April, the number of federally confirmed deaths rose from just over 180 to more than 930 among black Brazilians infected with the coronavirus. The number of black patients hospitalized for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by the coronavirus increased 5.5 times.

For the white Brazilian population, the rise in deaths during these same two weeks was significantly smaller: deaths increased three times and the number of hospitalizations increased by a similar proportion.

By 18 June, the total number of deaths from the coronavirus in Brazil had risen to 46,842. Since the beginning of the pandemic, President Jair Bolsonaro has minimized the seriousness of COVID-19 and argued for keeping the economy open. Quarantine rules have been decided by regional governors. Today the country has the second-highest number of cases in the world.

The large increase in the number of black people who have been hospitalized or have died due to COVID-19 has highlighted issues of racial inequality in Brazil. Among the black population, one in three patients has died from complications due to the virus compared to one in 4.4 deaths among white Brazilian patients.

[Translators’ note: Below, the graphs include “branco”, referring to white people and “preto” and “pardo”, referring to black and mixed-black people. For the English translation, we will refer to the latter group as black people.]




Deaths from COVID-19 in Brazil increase more among black people. Graph used with permission.




The percentage of deaths among white people has decreased, while among black people it has increased. Graph used with permission.




Deaths caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Graph used with permission.

These data have been taken from an analysis carried out by Agência Pública based on epidemiological reports from the Ministry of Health which contain information on race in hospitalisations and deaths from coronavirus. The federal government published these updated figures on 26 April.


Graves are opened in the Vila Nova Cachoeirinha cemetery, which serves the community of Brasilândia, a neighbourhood in São Paulo where black people comprise half of the population and have the highest number of deaths from COVID-19. Used with permission.
For every death in Moema, four die in Brasilândia

São Paulo, the country's biggest city and the one with the highest number of deaths from COVID-19, has registered increased death rates in neighbourhoods where the black population is larger. According to Agência Pública, of the ten neighbourhoods with the highest death rate from coronavirus, eight have a larger percentage of black residents than the São Paulo average.

The neighbourhood with the highest number of deaths is Brasilândia, where 103 coronavirus patients have died. Nearly 50 percent of the residents in this area identify as black (the average in São Paulo is 37 percent). In contrast, Moema, the neighbourhood with the lowest percentage of black residents (less than 6 percent), registered 26 deaths.

When adjusting the figures proportionally, the two neighbourhoods still have different realities: compared to the number of residents in Moema, Brasilândia has approximately 25 percent more deaths. Agência Pública used data from the last census (2010) to analize the population size and residents’ race.

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COVID-19 data for black residents in Brasilândia and Moema. Graph used with permission.

In Jardim Ângela, the neighbourhood with the highest percentage of black people in the whole city, deaths from coronavirus almost tripled in about two weeks. In other neighbourhoods with a majority black population, such as Grajaú, Parelheiros, Itaim Paulista, Jardim Helena, Capão Redondo and Pedreira, deaths from COVID-19 more than doubled during the same period.

The spread of the coronavirus in São Paulo’s suburbs has slowed down in wealthier neighbourhoods where the first cases of COVID-19 appeared. On 17 April, neighbourhoods with fewer black people than the city average had 13 percent more deaths than areas where more black people live. Two weeks later, that difference fell to 3 percent. If the trend continues, deaths from COVID-19 in neighbourhoods with a majority black population will exceed those in neighbourhoods where fewer black people live.

The areas with denser populations of black people are the areas where the Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI) — which calculates longevity, education and income — is at its lowest. The ten neighbourhoods with the worst MHDI in São Paulo are where more black people live than the city average. The ten neighbourhoods with the best MHDI are where fewer black people live. In the ten neighbourhoods with the highest number of deaths, eight have an average MHDI below 0.8. The percentage of black people in these eight neighbourhoods is higher than the city average.
In Rio, neighbourhoods where more black people live than the city average already have more deaths


In Rio, increasing cases of COVID-19 in neighbourhoods where there are more black residents than the city average have led to these areas recording more and more deaths. Used with permission.

In Rio, neighbourhoods with more black people than the city average already have already seem more deaths in absolute numbers than neighbourhoods with fewer black people.

Currently, Campo Grande, which has more than 50% black inhabitants, is the neighbourhood with the most deaths. The neighbourhood overtook Copacabana, which previously had the highest number of deaths from COVID-19. After Copacabana, Bangu and Realengo, two neighbourhoods with a majority black population are the third and fourth most affected in the city.




Neighbourhoods with most COVID-19 deaths in Rio de Janeiro. Graph used with permission.

In Rocinha, the city's largest poor neighbourhood, there were nine deaths according to official data at the time of the investigation. Doctors working in that community questioned the number and pointed out that there were already 22 deaths in the favela.

The relationship between the number of confirmed cases and deaths is also quite different between the rich and poor neighbourhoods of Rio de Janeiro, which may indicate difficulties to get tested for residents of favelas and suburbs.
In Amazonas, white people survive more than black people

In Amazonas state, where the public health system has collapsed, black people are dying in higher numbers than white people who are severely affected COVID-19 patients. According to Agência Pública, one black person dies for every 2.4 patients in serious condition, while among white people there is one death for every 3.2 seriously ill patients.




COVID-19 data from Amazonas. Graph used with permission.

The state of Amazonas, which was the first to reach its maximum capacity of intensive care units for patients with COVID-19, has recorded a more significant increase among black people severely affected by COVID-19 than among white people. At the end of April, the number of seriously ill black patients doubled.

In Amazonas,13 black people died for every white person who died. The health department had registered about 850 black patients with severe coronavirus infections and over 340 deaths. Among white people, there were 81 serious cases and 25 deaths. The data on race was updated on 29 April.


In Manaus, the first Brazilian city to have its public health system collapse, more than 13 black patients died per one death of a white patient. Used with permission.

Despite data that shows a greater increase in deaths in the black population and more deaths among hospitalized patients, the Federal Government does not release details about this information. For example, there is no information available about how many cases were confirmed by race, nor the number of tests done on black people, white people, and other populations.

The lack of official data on race has a long history in the country, says lawyer Daniel Teixeira, director of the Centre for the Study of Labour Relations and Inequalities (Ceert). According to Teixeira:


There are several factors that may explain the high lethality [of COVID-19 among the black population]. Indeed, having more information means that we can even confirm or exclude the importance or relevance of each of these factors, as the case may be. That's where the importance of the data lies.

Teixeira believes that the gap is not only in the area of health and that it is widespread in the country.


The lack of this type of data could prevent people from having public policies that take into account this situation which, historically, ignores the factors of structural inequalities in Brazil.

The Report was originally published by Agência Pública.