Everyone in Eritrea is desperate to flee, including the President’s son
In today’s Eritrea, there is no difference between the jailer and the jailed. The political culture is so violent and desperate that the
6445 Article(s) by:
Ladan Osman
Ladan Osman is the author of Exiles of Eden (2019) and The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony (2015). She lives in Brooklyn.
With friends like these
Few places in the world have taken a beating like South Sudan. How did it come to this?
Defend Puerto Rico
This weekend’s music break is dedicated to the isla del encancto.
Nobel Prizes and Politics in Kenya
The Nobel Prize for Literature buzz around Ngugi’s wa Tiong’o’s points to both his seminal contributions to African literature but also his work to kept the memory of Kenya’s divisive past alive.
Is a Chinese education the best shot at success in Africa?
Pragmatism dictates how many young Tanzanians view a Chinese education: A Chinese education was seen as a logical pathway to securing well-paying reliable employment.
What intellectuals look and sound like
Reading three contemporary South African women authors: Lindiwe Hani, Pumla Gqola and Redi Tlhabi.
Is Kati Kati a metaphor for the present crisis in Kenya?
What characterizes daily life in Kenya: a seemingly simultaneous flagrant zest for life and hesitant fascination with death.
Is environmental philanthropy still a white man’s game?
The dominant approach to revitalizing national parks is one-dimensional and sees local residents as obstacles rather than partners.
The Third World Quarterly debacle
For those not familiar with academic publishing, prominent peer-reviewed journals are not expected to publish garbage promoting colonialism.
The golden age of the Nigerian short film
Nigerian filmmakers are embracing the short form as more than just a cinematic calling card.
‘Africa Rising’ in Retreat
As the commodity super-cycle’s denouement now makes obvious the need for change, at least it is clear to all that Africans are not lying down.
The story is always more important than the picture
I was born during the state of emergency in South Africa in the 1980s and witnessed
The end of the Eyadéma Dynasty in Togo?
Protests against Togo’s ruling family aren’t unusual, but this time there’s a few unusual components, including that the protesters have a clear platform of demands.
Kenya’s return to despotism
Daniel arap Moi perfected rigging and state violence as politics. Uhuru Kenyatta campaigned with them and will extend and complete them in his second term.
Checkpoint Babylon
The depressing new norm for one of the most vibrant grassroots, immigrant cultural traditions in New York City.
Africa Is a Radio presents #INTLBLK, Episode 1
It has been awhile since our last Africa Is a Country Radio episode. More than a
Unequal Scenes
Anthropologist Johnny Miller’s aerial photographs chronicles geographic stratifications in South Africa and beyond.
Look to Cuba
Cubans are far better prepared than most for public health and climate emergencies. African countries should emulate the island nation in this regard.
The South African Youths
An edited version of this post appeared in the South African newspaper, City Press, as part of “Thought We Had Something Going,” an e-anthology exploring post-1994 experiences.
The Arab Left at an Impasse
That the recent revolutions failed to transcend political stagnation, is a product of the way neoliberalism functions as an ideology.