FROM NAIROBI TO COTONOU
was held last Thursday, the fifth meeting organized by Call Africa to Ferrara. The speaker was Martin Coppola Valeria Viola, volunteers in service Civil National Association respectively in Parma and Rome. Martino explained above the background of the World Social Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya, which was attended. His story revealed what, unfortunately, there are still too many and discrimination and injustice. The idea of \u200b\u200bbringing together people from around the world in Africa has led some, curious, like him, to know the African situation closely and not the one told by the media. The evidence was unfortunately chilling. Nairobi alone has 202 slums or shanty towns, large clusters of shacks made of sheet metal, in which 90% of the population lives on 10% of the territory of the city. The slums are slums where people are struggling to leave because of the control of the police who 'defend' the city. The group that was Martin has chosen to live in Nairobi sleeping and camping in a village. In the latter could see how people led a life much more serene than those who lived near the city to shut up. The observation concerned the logical possibility of returning to the villages all who live in slums. For sure 'they' would be the best solution, but not for the city council, which speculates on rentals of cabins operated by owners which resemble Mafia bosses. Unfortunately misinformation exists in the villages and people remain suspended in vain hopes of emancipation, where there is projected seek his fortune in 'development'. Within this bleak scenario, the last day of the Social Forum was held a march attended by few whites. On that day, under the eyes of Martin and his companions, has been a fact of which no word is made up of three months now. Four children were killed by the police intervened against them for an attempted robbery against three U.S. women. These children have been killed for making 'good impression' against Western expectations and what's more, the march was diverted just to hide the crime committed the majority of the people present. Martin chose not to mention it except by those who know or who was at the meeting, for the simple fact that his voice and one of the few other witnesses, are not the drops in the ocean - information.
Unlike Nairobi, Cotonou (Benin) appeared in the eyes of Valerie as a "poor place democratically," in which there is no Western intervention and where there is the contrast between city and slums. Here, people seem to live in what for us is poverty while their apparent normality. Serge Latouche, one of the speakers at the seminar organized in the city, in this regard, it has its own stressed the relativity of situations and stated that "when they need our help, they will tell us." (This subject debated for almost the entire stay from those who attended the course.) The seminar held in Cotonou in February and who has participated in was organized by Valerie Call Africa, Emmaus CIPSI and Italy with the title 'Africa: wealth growth decrease poverty ', based on the book by Albert Tevoedjiré, one of the speakers of the course, an economist and sociologist Benin. Other speakers at the seminar were de Pasquale Mauro, Professor of Economics of Human Development in Rome, Moyse Mensah, Vice President of the International Fund for Development Agriculture (IFAD) and Latouche, a historian of Economic Thought in Paris. During the week, Valeria and course participants were able to visit the area and make their own observations about reality in which they were entered. An important aspect was to establish peaceful coexistence between different religious denominations: mostly animist, Benin also welcomes Christians and Muslims.
In reference to the Day of Cooperation held at the University of Ferrara, were also raised about the water and its management. Valeria has been noted on his trip to the women as they deal with transport and collection of water with only the help of large basins and under the watchful eyes men sitting under the trees. Martino has instead pointed out the contradiction inherent in the use of bottled water at the World Social Forum, to the principles common to the participants.
Margaret Melancholy, Call for Africa-Ferrara
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