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EV startup Rivian has beaten other industry giants to become the first automaker to produce an electric pickup

Grace Dean,Francis Agustin
Wed, September 15, 2021

Rivian's R1T has an estimated range of 314 miles. Jeff Johnson/Rivian


Rivian produced its first electric pickup Tuesday - becoming the first automaker to do so.


A Rivian spokesperson said its vehicles were "ready for sale in all 50 states."


The R1T has an estimated range of 314 miles and prices start at $67,500.


California-based electric vehicle startup Rivian has become the first automaker to produce an electric pickup truck.

"After months of building pre-production vehicles, this morning our first customer vehicle drove off our production line in Normal [Illinois]," CEO RJ Scaringe tweeted on Tuesday

Rivian's vehicles are "ready for sale in all 50 states," after receiving full certifications from three regulators - the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Air Resource Board, the company told Insider.

Deliveries of the R1T, Rivian's electric pickup, are set to begin this month after an initial delay earlier this summer. It has an estimated range of 314 miles, and comes with an air compressor, a built-in cooler under the bed, and a tailgate you can control through an app.

Rivian R1T. Rivian

Rivian's completion of the R1T beat out the release of several highly-anticipated electric pickup trucks from established manufacturers by substantial margins. Production of Tesla's Cybertruck was pushed back to 2022 alongside Ford's F-150, which is eyeing a spring 2022 production start date. GM's Hummer EV is expected to go into production sometime this fall.

Prices start at $67,500, and customers are able to pay a $1,000 deposit on its website.

Rivian is also working on the R1S, an electric SUV.

Rivian is poised to rival the likes of Tesla in the EV market. The company, which is backed by Amazon, has raised more money than any other EV startup that hasn't gone public, Insider previously reported. Amazon also ordered a fleet of 100,000 custom electric delivery vehicles from Rivian earlier this year.

Bloomberg reported in August that Rivian was aiming for IPO later this year with a valuation of around $80 billion.

Rivian's first production R1T electric pickup truck rolls off the line



Kirsten Korosec
Tue, September 14, 2021, 

The first production Rivian R1T electric pickup truck in "Rivian blue" rolled off the assembly line Tuesday morning at the company's factory in Normal, Illinois, marking a milestone more than a decade in the making for the automaker and its founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe.

The company, which started in 2009 as Mainstream Motors before adopting the Rivian name two years later, has undergone explosive growth in terms of people, backers and partners in the past few years. Today, Scaringe tweeted the news and a photo of the first production truck painted in Rivian Blue.

"After months of building pre-production vehicles, this morning our first customer vehicle drove off our production line in Normal,!" he wrote. "Our team's collective efforts have made this moment possible. Can't wait to get these into the hands of our customers!"

What isn't clear is who will get this first customer vehicle.

Rivian operated in relative obscurity, aka stealth mode, for years before it revealed prototypes of its all-electric R1T truck and R1S SUV at the LA Auto Show in late 2018.

Since then, Rivian has raised billions of dollars ($10.5 billion since 2019); expanded its Normal, Illinois, factory; hired thousands of employees; landed Amazon as a commercial customer; and, most recently, filed confidentially for an IPO. Today, in addition to its Illinois factory, Rivian has facilities in Palo Alto and Irvine, California; and Plymouth, Michigan; and an office in the U.K.

The debut of electric pickups signals a new EV era

When it first revealed the two electric vehicles in 2018, Rivian had about 600 employees. Today, it has 8,000.

Scaringe's announcement Tuesday, which marks the official beginning of R1T production for customers, comes after at least two delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and global chip shortage. Earlier this summer, Scaringe wrote in a letter to customers that R1T deliveries would begin in September, with the R1S to follow “shortly.”

Rivian has been juggling the dueling priorities of prepping and eventually producing the R1T and R1S for consumers and commercial delivery vans for Amazon. The Illinois factory has two separate production lines producing vehicles. One is dedicated to the R1 vehicles and the other line is for its commercial vans.

Amazon ordered 100,000 of these vans, with deliveries starting in 2021. Earlier this year, Amazon began testing the electric delivery van in several cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Amazon begins testing its Rivian electric delivery vans in San Francisco

Earlier this month, Rivian announced that the first edition version of the R1T pickup truck has an official EPA range of 314 miles, while its R1T SUV comes in at 316 miles.

The official range and fuel economy values posted on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website align with Rivian's previous estimates, which it advertised as 300 miles.

The moment is also important because it means Rivian has the benefit of being the first electric truck on the market. Ford's F-150 Lightning, which isn't expected to come on the market until spring 2022, has a targeted range of 230 miles in the standard and up to 300 miles in the extended version. The EPA has not issued official ranges for the Ford Lightning.

Rivian's "Launch Edition" R1T truck and R1S SUV come equipped with a 135 kWh battery pack that is branded as the "large pack." Deliveries of the Launch Edition vehicles are slated to begin this month.

Clarification: Rivian has raised $10.5 billion since 2019, not in total. Rivian has not shared the total amount but sources have said it is around $11 billion.

Braving intimidation, hundreds of Iraqi women run for parliament


Issued on: 17/09/2021 -

Video by:Wassim Cornet

A powerful mix of insecurity and traditional prejudice against more liberal female politicians put Awatef Rasheed off running for parliament when she returned to Iraq in 2014 after years abroad. Today, she is one of the 951 women, representing close to 30% of the total number of candidates, running for election to the country's 329-seat Council of Representatives.

'Worn out': New van Gogh drawing of old man discovered



Video by: Carys GARLAND

Issued on: 17/09/2021 

A newly discovered Vincent van Gogh drawing that has been hidden in a private collection for more than a century went on display for the first time at an Amsterdam museum on Thursday. "Study for 'Worn Out'", which depicts an old man sitting in a chair, was sketched by van Gogh in November 1882 when he was just starting the career that would later produce masterpieces like "Sunflowers".

'New' Van Gogh drawing unveiled in Amsterdam

"What a fine sight an old working man makes," wrote Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo about the subject of the newly discovered sketch. The previously unknown work is named "Study for 'Worn Out.'"



The work will be displayed in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam until early January


In a rare treat for art lovers, an Amsterdam museum verified and put on display a previously unknown drawing by famous Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh.

"This one has never been seen before anywhere," Teio Meedendorp, senior researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, told the AFP news agency.

The "Study for 'Worn Out'" closely resembles another drawing already owned by the museum, albeit with a slight change of perspective. Both of them are believed to show an elderly laborer named Jacobus Zuyderland, who was 72 at the time.


The Van Gogh Museum already owns a very similar sketch by the famous artist

The artist mentioned drawing the sketches in a letter to his brother Theo in 1882.

"What a fine sight an old working man makes, in his patched bombazine suit with his bald head," Van Gogh wrote.
Drawing handed through generations

The sketches precede Van Gogh's more colorful and better known works such as "Irises" and "Stary Night." At the age of 29, the artist was attempting to improve his people-painting skills and possibly find a job as an illustrator for a magazine.

His efforts to make a living of his art were famously unsuccessful, however. Van Gogh's works only gained recognition after his death in 1890 and are currently worth millions.

VAN GOGH: IMAGES ON THE VERGE OF INSANITY
Van Gogh's final months

The exhibition seeks to answer questions such as why Van Gogh cut off his ear, and the precise nature of his mental illness that made him commit suicide at the age of 37 in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris. Here Van Gogh can be seen with a bandaged ear in Emile Schuffenecker's "Man with a Pipe" from 1892-1900, which is exhibited in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
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The "Study for 'Worn Out'" came into possession of a well-known Van Gogh collector, Henk Bremmer, who sold it to a Dutch family in 1910. It has since passed through generations until it reached its current owner, who wished to stay anonymous.

The owner approached the museum last year after the officials asked for help in documenting privately owned Van Gogh paintings.
Finding the sketch a 'total surprise'

Museum experts confirmed the work was produced with the tools Van Gogh was using at the time, including a carpenter's pencil and a coarse watercolor paper. They also found traces of damage corresponding to the way Van Gogh used to attach paper to his drawing board.

Art expert Meedendorp said finding the sketch was a "total surprise."

"We didn't expect it to be out there, but it was out there, so this was a lucky find," he told a press conference.

The drawing will remain on temporary display at the museum until January 2, before returning to its owners.

Kenya's shelter for suspected witches

A rescue center in southern Kenya is a haven for elderly people accused of witchcraft. The residents have often had to run for their lives to escape being killed by their families.

These elderly people had to run away from home. Some have been brutally beaten. They are accused of practicing witchcraft. Many were persecuted by their own children. Kadzo Ngala has lived in this camp for two years. It's a haven for those accused of sorcery in Kilifi County. Some in the region believe gray hair is a sign of witchcraft. It's said the youth are also killing their elders for their land. The facilities are basic here. The food is too. The center organizes traditional events to entertain the residents. Dance and song transport them back to happier times.

VIDEO

Kenya′s shelter for suspected witches | Africa | DW | 16.09.2021

 

Berlin and Paris concerned over Russian mercenaries in Mali

The Russian mercenary group "Wagner" is notorious; among other things, it has been accused of war crimes in Syria. Now it's allegedly set be deployed in Mali. Germany and France are threatening to withdraw their troops.

    

Malian army soldiers in Gao - will they soon be supported by Russian mercenaries?

The situation is explosive: There are indications that the government in Mali is discussing a paramilitary operation with the Russian mercenary force "Wagner". Malian and Russian authorities are said to be on the verge of signing an agreement to this effect. This was revealed by the Reuters news agency at the beginning of the week, causing a stir in European diplomatic circles.

Mali reacted promptly: The government wants to expand its relations to ensure the security of the country — nothing has yet been signed with Wagner, a spokesperson for the country's Defense Ministry said according to media reports. Not only are several thousand French soldiers stationed in Mali, but 1,000 Bundeswehr troops are also stationed in the country to combat Islamist extremists.

Military cooperation is not new

Mali and Russia have worked together in the past: In 1961, after France's withdrawal, the first Malian president Modibo Keita turned to the former Soviet Union, among others, with the request to train and equip the Malian army. This military cooperation continued until the early 1990s.

Around 1000 members of the German armed forces are involved in the 

UN Minusma mission in Mali

"Most of the military in power in Mali were trained in Russia and are close to the Kremlin," analyst Mahamadou Konaté tells DW. He warns: "We should be careful not to send these mercenaries into action, also because of the risk that they could commit massive human rights violations."

Signals are already coming from France about a possible troop withdrawal from Mali. Involvement of the private Russian company Wagner in Mali would be "incompatible" with maintaining a French force, according to Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. The German Foreign Office also expressed great concern.

German troops in Mali — how much longer?

Germany's Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) wrote on Twitter that such agreements between Mali and Russia would contradict "everything that Germany, France, the EU, and the UN have been doing in Mali for eight years," and also indirectly threatened to withdraw troops as well.

"Russia's interest in further arms sales is of course great," Christoph Hoffmann, a member of the Bundestag representing the FDP, told DW. He added that the German government must now maintain intensive contacts with Mali in order to salvage the situation. He added that Germany would not continue to be involved in the EU mission if there was a real commitment from the Wagner Group. Katja Keul, a member of the Green Party, also considers this "out of the question". 

Denis Tull, a researcher with the Foundation for Science and Politics in Berlin, also expressed concern, saying that if the partnership with Mali is confirmed, it would be a "considerable gamble." When the Central African Republic called in Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group to help in 2018, Paris immediately suspended its activities in the country, he said.

According to Tull, the Malian government's current talks with Russia could also be an attempt to increase pressure — just weeks before the Africa-France summit scheduled for October — and to show France that other alliances are also possible.

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer threatens the withdrawal 

of the Bundeswehr troops if Russian mercenaries operate in Mali

In Mali's capital Bamako, Thomas Schiller, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, has called for a dialogue between the countries concerned. At the same time, however, he emphasized that Mali and other African countries are sovereign states. "It is not our job to tell Africans what is good for them. It is up to them to define that, and to reform their political system and their army," Schiller told DW.

Kremlin denies mercenary deployment

He said he was not surprised: there have long been rumors of greater Russian involvement in Mali, especially in the area of security training for the armed forces, possibly also through arms deliveries. The problem, he said, is that these claims have never been verified.

Russian mercenaries in the Central African Republic as life guards for 

President Faustin Archange Touadéra

Reuters reported an agreement to send up to a thousand Russian mercenaries to Mali. When DW approached the Kremlin for confirmation, this report was denied by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. Reports surfaced on some Russian websites that claimed that more than 1,200 Russian mercenaries are already in Mali. However, these media platforms are considered dubious and, according to DW research, are apparently controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin — a close confidant of Vladimir Putin — who is said to head the Wagner Group.

UN accuses Wagner of war crimes

UN experts accuse the mercenaries from Russia of committing war crimes in Central African Republic (CAR). They recently submitted their report to the UN Security Council. In July, an investigation by "The Sentry" — an activist group that investigates money flows related to atrocities — and CNN revealed possible war crimes by mercenaries in CAR. The Russian mercenary group is also active in Libya and Syria. At least in Syria, it is also accused of serious human rights violations.

 

This way home: A dog's magnetic sense of direction

Dogs are known for their navigation skills. As with birds, cats and fish, dogs can find their way home from almost anywhere. We just don't know why.

  

Scientists say dogs may use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate their way

It would take you or me three days straight, walking without a break, to go the 350+ kilometers (217 miles) from Savoie in the French Alps to Nimes in the country's south. And we would probably need a GPS device to navigate our way.  

Well, we're not dogs, are we? But that is a shame in this case, because a 2-year-old hunting terrier called Pablo walked that very journey, finding his way all by himself. 

Pablo was on a camping vacation with his family when he went missing at a pit stop on the French-Swiss border. 

A few days later, he resurfaced at the family home in Nimes — hundreds of kilometers away. The question is: How did he do it?

Our trusty friends

We have known about canine navigation skills for years. Perhaps we even envy dogs for their sense of direction. We've certainly used them for it: During World War I, for instance, European armies used dogs as messengers, letting them carry letters and instructions to the dangerous front lines. 

But there is little research into why canine navigation skills are so good. Scientists have studied other animals, such migratory birds and reptiles, far more than dogs. 

"Our knowledge of dogs' sense of direction is mainly anecdotal," says Hynek Burda, zoologist at the Czech University of Life Sciences. 

Burda says we've assumed in the past that dogs rely on a sense of smell to find their way. But that is starting to change, as he and his team have a compelling theory. 

They think dogs may use the Earth's magnetic field. 

A hidden GPS? 

It all goes back to 2013 when Burda noticed that dogs crouched down to defecate or urinate in a north-south orientation. 

Burda's team ran a study and came up with a possible explanation: that dogs can sense the Earth's magnetic field. That sense is called magnetoreception — it's like an internal compass. 

They were left wondering whether dogs could use that internal compass to find their way around. And seven years later, the team collected its first evidence to suggest that, indeed, dogs can. 

Using GPS, they analyzed the routes that hunting dogs took to return to their owners after they had chased an animal over unfamiliar terrain. 

They were surprised to learn that those dogs that walked back via a new route — instead of retracing their steps — had started off by running along a north-south axis for about 20 meters (65 feet) before choosing a way back. Burda calls it the "compass run."  

"We think dogs do the run to recalibrate an internal compass, like a navigation system in a car that needs a few seconds to figure out the car's location," says Burda. 

Those dogs that performed a compass run ended up returning to their owners via a more efficient route than the others.  

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Finding home from anywhere 

The same internal dog compass is what might have saved Ziggy's life. 

One night, a few years ago, the Jack Russell Terrier strayed from his family's home in Ireland. After crossing through a forest, he reached a road and was hit by a car. 

But despite being unable to move his back legs, Ziggy made his way home. 

His owner, Tom Prendergast, saw Ziggy appear from the pitch-black night, dragging himself up the driveway. 

"I was surprised he was able to find his way back in his state. But I also always knew he had a great sense of navigation. I'd trust him to find home from pretty much anywhere," said Prendergast of the experience.  

 

Ziggy, a Jack Russell, survived being hit by a car and found his way back

If Ziggy used the Earth's magnetic field to guide him home, he's clearly not the only dog to have done it. 

But other animals seem to have a similar ability, too. The problem is that those internal compasses are still a bit of a scientific mystery.

Navigators of the sea 

Salmon are some of the most remarkable navigators known to science. 

After hatching in a freshwater river, salmon set off on an epic journey in the North Atlantic Ocean. The journey can last years, sometimes covering up to 9,000 kilometers, before the fish turn around and head back to the natal stream where they breed. 

Scientists have found small deposits of magnetite — a magnetic mineral — in the sinuses of salmon. So scientists think salmon may have a compass in their nose.  

In a book called Nature's Compass, James and Carol Grant Gould say salmon navigate their impressive trek by pairing information from their internal compass with other information collected from their surroundings as they swim, such as cues from natural light or the stars.  

After travelling the ocean, salmon navigate back to the rivers and streams

 where they were born

Steering with all senses 

A dog's sense of navigation may be less sophisticated than that of salmon, but they do use similar cues — things they hear, see, and smell. 

"They don't rely on a single mechanism but use lots of senses and experiences at the same time," says Jaqueline Boyd, a senior lecturer in Animal Science at Nottingham Trent University.  

For short distances, canines visualize landmarks and navigate towards them. That's what scientists think Ziggy did when he spotted the lights of his home in the distance. 

But for longer journeys, they think animals may use a more elaborate system. 

Salmon have an extraordinary sense of smell, just like dogs. They can detect a tiny drop of water from the stream where they were born, even if it's mixed with thousands of liters of seawater. 

Dogs, meanwhile, are particularly sensitive to the scent of the people in their lives. 

"There is definitely a very strong evolutionary bond between dogs and their people," says Boyd. 

Among a cluster of smells, their owner's scent will stand out.

"Dogs are very good at sticking their noses in the air and finding the source of whatever scent they pick up," says Boyd.  

Scientists are only just starting to open and understand what is inside the black box of dog navigation. But from every gripping story we hear about a lost dog that's found its way home, we all learn a little bit more about our four-legged friend.

India: Religious riots surge in 2020, despite lockdown — report

While India's coronavirus lockdown limited public movement to a large extent, incidents of religious violence saw a major rise. National Capital Delhi reported the highest number of rioting cases.


New Delhi riots in 2020 during the anti-citizenship law protests were the worst in the national capital in decades


India, like many other countries around the world, spent much of the year 2020 under lockdown due the coronavirus pandemic. While the restrictions led to a decline in crime, civil clashes saw a significant hike.

Cases of religious riots nearly doubled in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to a government report released Thursday.

The National Crime Records Bureau, in its annual report titled "Crime in India 2020," said 857 cases of communal or religious rioting were registered in the country in the last year.

This is up from 438 in 2019 and 512 in 2018, the report stated.

Of the incidents of rioting, 520, more than half, were reported in the national capital of New Delhi, which was the center of demonstrations against a controversial citizenship law.

The Hindu-majority country is also home to the world's third-largest Muslim population.

Since India gained independence in 1947 following a bloody partition, incidents of communal clashes between Hindu and Muslim communities have claimed thousands of lives.

Communal clashes between Hindu and Muslim communities have claimed thousands of lives in India

Delhi's deadly riots

New Delhi saw the worst communal rioting in decades in February 2020.

Massive protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA — championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi — culminated in deadly riots in the capital.

The Delhi riots largely affected the city's Muslim-majority neighborhoods in the northeast.

DELHI RIOTS: SURVIVORS STRUGGLE WITH CONSTANT TRAUMA
Momentary relief
One of the relief camps for the victims of the riots has been set up inside an Eidgah, a large open-air mosque designated for Eid al-Fitr prayers. Set up by the Delhi government, it now shelters about 1,000 people affected by the violence. It's located in the Mustafabad area of the Indian capital.    123456

Two days of bloody violence left 53 dead, including both Hindus and Muslims, and more than 200 wounded.

Amnesty International accused Delhi police of carrying human rights abuses during deadly riots.

In August 2020, India's tech hub Bangalore witnessed deadly violence after an allegedly blasphemous Facebook post about the Prophet Muhammad.

Angry crowds attacked police stations, set vehicles on fire, and even burned down the house of a lawmaker whose nephew was allegedly behind the post.

Three people were killed and more than 100 were arrested.

India was under complete national lockdown from March 25 till May 31, 2020.

 

Ozone hole larger than usual, EU scientists say

A group of EU scientists say the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is larger than the continent itself . The discovery comes as the world marks the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

  

A map of the ozone hole over Antarctica on 16 September 2021

The hole in the ozone layer is larger than it usually is at this time of the year, according to a team of EU scientists.

The European Union's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said Thursday the ozone hole is larger than the size of Antarctica.

"Forecasts show that this year's hole has evolved into a rather larger than usual one," said the head of the EU satellite monitoring service, Vincent-Henri Peuch.

The hole makes an appearance each spring season in the Southern Hemisphere.

How serious is the hole in the ozone layer?

Ozone is the layer that protects the world from harmful ultra-violet rays from the sun.

Since the implementation of the Montreal Protocol, the ozone layer has started slowly recovering.

The landmark international agreement led to the banning of a group of chemicals known as halocarbons. These are found in synthetic compounds that have been found to destroy ozone.

Peuch said the ozone layer should recover, but close monitoring was still required. This would also involve identifying violations of the Montreal Protocol.

Experts believe the world will only be free of harmful ozone-depleting substances in 2060, when it's hoped they will have been completely phased out.

World commemorates landmark ozone agreement

The discovery of a larger-than-normal hole comes as the world marks the anniversary of signing of the Montreal Protocol on September 16, 1987. 

The day has been designated by the UN as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.  

The UN said the treaty has done well over the past three decades, and the layer is "on the road to recovery."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world needs the same level of cooperation to tackle climate change. He called for the international community to "act now, to slow climate change, feed the world's hungry and protect the planet we all depend on."

kb,wd/rt (AP, dpa)

'Flying Tiger' ace WW2 pilot dies at 103

P40 MUSTANG

The Flying Tigers operated out of Burma in the early 1940s in support of Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek against the Japanese, conducting dangerous missions over occupied China and shooting down hundreds of enemy bombers 

JONATHAN DANIEL GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File


Issued on: 17/09/2021 - 

Washington (AFP)

An ace US fighter pilot and one of the last surviving members of the swashbuckling "Flying Tigers" who fought the Japanese for Nationalist China during World War Two has died at 103, friends and colleagues announced Thursday.

The Flying Tigers operated out of Burma in the early 1940s in support of Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek against the Japanese, conducting dangerous missions over occupied China and shooting down hundreds of enemy bombers.

They initially operated as mercenaries with the tacit support of the US government, given Washington's official neutrality towards Imperial Japan before the Pearl Harbor attacks in late 1941.

Serving under the legendary lieutenant general Claire Chennault between 1943 and 1944, Stephen Bonner flew "five confirmed and five probable aerial victories and additionally was credited with damaging two more fighters and bombers," Jeff Green, Chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, told AFP.

"With his remarkable longevity, Steve would become the last living 'Fighter Ace' to have flown in China during the Second World War," Green said, describing him as a "Gallant Soldier and a Christian Gentleman."

Later in life Bonner became an advocate for the commemoration of the Flying Tigers' legacy and China-US dialogue, founding the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation and receiving the Congressional Gold Medal.

He also visited China with fellow veterans in 2005, where they were named honorary citizens of the city of Kunming. The Flying Tigers had played a critical role in putting a stop to a Japanese bombing campaign in the city during the war.

© 2021 AFP

Desolate villages face famine in Madagascar drought

Issued on: 17/09/2021 - 

Across Madagascar's vast southern tip, drought has transformed fields into dust bowls. More than one million people face famine 

RIJASOLO AFP


Amboasary (Madagascar) (AFP)

Nothing to eat, nothing to plant. The last rain in Ifotaka fell in May, for two hours.

Across Madagascar's vast southern tip, drought has transformed fields into dust bowls. More than one million people face famine.

Across tens of thousands of acres, the countryside is desolate. Harvest season begins in October, leaving long, lean weeks before the meagre crops come in.

Some villages are abandoned. In others, people should be working the fields, but instead are languishing at home. There's nothing to reap.

Hunger weighs people down, both in mind and body. They move slowly, and struggle to follow conversation.

"I feel sick, and worried. Every day I wonder what we're going to eat," says Helmine Sija, 60 and a mother of six, in a village called Atoby.

- Eating cactus and weeds -

A petite woman with grey hair and a hardened face, Sija tends a boiling pot of cactus in front of her home. She chopped the pricks off with a machete to prepare them for cooking.

It can't really be called food. The concoction has little nutritional value, but it's a popular appetite suppressant, even though it causes stomach aches.

Her three oldest children have left home to look for work in other towns. She's caring for the young ones.

"I want to move somewhere more fertile, where I can farm. But I don't have enough money to leave," she says.

Doctors Without Borders has dispatched a mobile clinic to travel from village to village RIJASOLO AFP

Arzel Jonarson, 47, a former cassava farm worker, now gathers firewood to sell, earning about a 25 US cents a week. Enough to buy one bowl of rice.

In Ankilidoga, an elderly couple and their daughter are making a meal of wild herbs, which they season with salt to cut the bitterness. In better times, these were cast off as weeds. But their crops of corn, cassava and sweet potato have failed.

Their village does have a reservoir to collect rain water. No one can remember the last time it was full.

"I haven't received any aid for two months," said Kazy Zorotane, a 30-year-old single mother of four. "That last time, in June, the government gave me some money."

About $26 (22 euros).

- Climate crisis -

Malnutrition afflicts southern Madagascar regularly. But the current drought is the worst in 40 years, according to the United Nations, which blames climate change for the crisis.

Around the town of Ifotaka, people said the government had brought some rice, beans and oil. But that was in August. Of 500 people designated for financial aid, about 90 received the $26.

Doctors Without Borders has dispatched a mobile clinic to travel from village to village. Children clutch at packets of "plumpy", a peanut butter-flavoured paste designed to help the severely malnourished.

Through the waiting crowds, nurses and aides spot the most urgent cases, guiding them to the front of the line. Small children are weighed in a blue bucket.

Measuring tapes are wrapped around their tiny arms, to get an indication of just how acutely malnourished they are.

In Befeno, another village, nine-year-old Zapedisoa came with his grandmother. He's sluggish, his eyes look vacant. At 20 kilos (44 pounds), he's showing alarming symptoms, and is given medicine and food supplements.

Satinompeo, a five-year-old with short hair, weighs only 11 kilos. She's severely malnourished, but she's terrified of the doctors. She hangs onto her father's yellow shorts and cries.

Families are sent home with a two-week food supply, based on the number of children in the house.

The current drought is the worst in 40 years, according to the United Nations

 RIJASOLO AFP

In Fenoaivo, two sisters and a brother, all retirees, share a home.

"It's been a long time since we grew anything. On good, days, the three of us share a bowl of rice," said Tsafaharie, 69.

At another home in this town, a 45-year-old man holds watch over his father's body.

While it is hard to determine an accurate death toll from hunger, that is why he died in in June, his family say.

"We don't have enough money to buy a (cow) to feed mourners, so we can't have a funeral," Tsihorogne Monja said.

The corpse is in a separate hut, partially covered by a cloth.

Across tens of thousands of acres, the countryside is desolate

 RIJASOLO AFP

"My father was very hungry. He ate too much cactus and tuber bark. That's what killed him. It's like he was poisoned."

© 2021 AFP