The Spring Issue of Middle East arts magazine, Bidoun, is about sports. This includes a piece on “Kenyan long- and middle-distance runners who have found infamy and fortune as Arabized athletes in the Gulf” on $1000 a month for the rest of their lives. This comes with the “standard complement of elite trainers and cutting edge facilities.” These athletes, mostly men from Kenya, do not actually reside in the Gulf states, according to the article, only flying back to have their residence permits and passports renewed. The article describes the case of Saif Saaeed Shaheen of Qatar:
The Motherland
The documentary film, Blacks Without Borders: Chasing the American Dream on Foreign Soil (2008, directed and produced by Stafford U. Bailey. Co-produced by Judy Thayer-Bailey)–which tells the story of a group of African-American professionals who immigrate to South Africa right after the end of legal Apartheid–is now on Youtube in its entirety. (It’s been since February last year). You can watch it in seven parts. Here‘s a link to part one. Anyway, when the film first came out 3 years ago, I was asked to review it. This what I wrote:
‘Coming to America’
Joseph’s Journey
Al-Jazeera follows Joseph, a Liberian man on his journey to New York City. He gets randomly selected in the US green card lottery system. The 22-minute film is currently showing on their English language broadcast station. (Most cable TV providers are coy about carrying Al Jazeera–they’re apparently terrorists–but you can stream the channel online on Livestation.com). On See more info here. It’s quite a journey and a must watch for anyone interested in the realities of contemporary immigration. Joseph really experiences it all.–Chief Boima
“New Europeans”
The Photographers’ Gallery, the largest public gallery in London dedicated to photography, recently named the shortlisted artists for its annual Deutsche Börse Photography Prize. Now in its 15th year, the prize will be on display from 2 April until 29 April 2011, with the winner announced on 26 April. Among the four nominated artists is Jim Goldberg, nominated for his exhibition, “Open See,” at The Photographers’ Gallery, London (16 October 2009 to 31 January 2010),
Europe’s Apartheid
In a recent interview on French television to promote his new book “Sortir de la Grande Nuit: Essai sur l’Afrique Décolonisée,” Johannesburg-based political philosopher Achille Mbembe suggested that Europe “seems to be gripped by an enormous desire for apartheid.” (We blogged about it here.) This is also the implicit theme of a recent lecture by British social theorist Paul Gilroy entitled “Multiculture in Europe: Melancholia or Conviviality?” which I managed to stumble on earlier this week. (Gilroy was speaking at the FORMER WEST Project at the Centre for the Humanities at Utrecht University in The Netherlands.) One option is to listen to it while you’re cleaning the house. I did.
Jimmy Mubenga is Dead
Dan Moshenberg, Guest Blogger
Jimmy Mubenga came to England seeking asylum, seeking life. According to his wife, Makenda Kambana, he was on a government hit list, “They killed my father and they threatened to kill Jimmy. They were looking for him. We had no choice but to leave.” Earlier this week, on Tuesday, October 12, Mubenga boarded a plane for Angola, having lost his last battle for asylum in the UK. Within 50 minutes on the plane, he was dead.




