By the end of 2004, Côte d’Ivoire’s civil war had cooled to a simmer, but the country remained split, with a rebel-held north and a government-held south. What do these divisions mean to people on the move, late for christenings, doctor’s appointments, and dinners with friends? In an essay that will be published in the forthcoming issue of Transition, Siddhartha Mitter recalls a slow road trip to Korhogo:
War and peace in Côte d’Ivoire
May 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Drogbacite
May 22, 2012 By 2 Comments
Guest Post by Laurent Dubois
There are some matches that end up seeming primarily the vehicle for one person to somehow attain mythical status. The Champions League final between Chelsea and Bayern was written, it seems now, purely to allow Didier Drogba a form of poetic catharsis worthy of fiction or film. The fact that Chelsea won was itself a kind of oddity, for throughout the game it seemed the most unlikely of outcomes. But as he had against Barcelona, Drogba became the master of the unruly and the absurd: none of what the other team did, not of the great passing and possession and continual shots on goal, mattered in the end. Just Drogba did, his head and then his foot.
Tiken Jah Fakoly’s identity politics
March 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
A few days ago, Al Jazeera English channel screened (and then put online) a 30 minute documentary, “The Power of Song,” on the Ivorian reggae star Tiken Jah Fakoly. Made by a Canadian production company, the film was billed by Al Jazeera as following Fakoly on a visit to two village schools in Côte d’Ivoire that he funds (51% of Ivorians are illiterate). The publicity also emphasized generalities. Tiken Jah “fights for Africa’s poor and marginalized.” Al Jazeera also played up this quote uttered by Tiken Jah at the film’s outset: “There’s something wrong. Africa is one of the richest continents, yet the people who live on this continent are the world’s poorest. That’s a problem. We’re living in a house of gold and we can’t get medical care, we can’t send our kids to school, we can’t get enough to eat. That’s the paradox, it’s historical and no one can fix it except us. It is our unity that will allow us to overcome it.” Not surprisingly, this was also how I learned about the film on twitter: it’s about schools and Tiken Jah’s general criticism of African corruption. But then I actually watched the film. [Read more...]
Everybody wants in on the final
February 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Some coupe decale to warm you up for the African Cup of Nations final later today between Cote d’Ivoire (the favorites) and Zambia (the team everybody is rooting for). Here, here and here are some links to previews and bold predictions on the outcome of the match. Also read our earlier post on the improbable march of Zambia to the final.
Chipolopolo
February 9, 2012 By 6 Comments
Everyone wanted to see Cote d’Ivoire play Ghana in the African Cup of Nations final on Sunday. A heavyweight clash between the two West African giants, it held the promise of a meeting of “golden” generations. The Ivorian veterans against the Ghanaian whipper-snappers, Drogba versus Ayew, Yaya Toure against Agyemang-Badu. Everyone wanted to see it. Everyone, that is, except those who have been following the progress of a Zambian side that has lit up the tournament at every stage. They might only have one player at a top European league (winning-goal specialist Emmanuel Mayuka ), but the Chipolopolo have played the best football, scored (some of) the best goals, and produced by miles the best goal celebrations at CAN 2012. Their success hasn’t been lucky or accidental. They haven’t had an easy route to the final. They have simply been brilliant.
The African Cup of Nations preview
January 20, 2012 By 3 Comments
The 28th edition of the African Cup of Nations kicks off in Gabon and Equitorial Guinea tomorrow. 16 teams–including the joint hosts who did not have to qualify–will play for 2 places in the final match scheduled on February 12. The big question is, of course, who will take the trophy.
Didier Drogba, Politician
December 14, 2011 By 1 Comment
Despite his brilliance as a footballer, a lot of people can’t take footballer Didier Drogba serious. For starters, what’s with that wet curl?
Africa gets new football kits
November 11, 2011 By 2 Comments
By Basia Lewandowska Cummings
It is (sort of ) a nice project. Puma Creative invited ten artists to design a new football kit that ‘celebrates Africa’s unique visual identity and culture’, with a strip for each of the partnering African national football teams: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa and Togo. The launch happened this week in London and the kits look alright when they are on, and from far away.
But up close, the 10 artists stuck to the format: for Ivory Coast we’ve got an elephant with a really long trunk across the chest:
