August 2011
53 posts
“Six years ago today, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, upending families and ravaging communities - and no one will forget the tragic events of those days. But what’s required of us is more than remembrance - what’s required of us is our continued efforts to make sure that New Orleans and the Gulf Coast fully recover, and to make sure that our response to such disasters is the best it can possibly be.”
—President Barack Obama’s remarks on the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
“If the young are not initiated into the village, they will burn it down just to feel its warmth.”
—African Proverb
also libya
no one tells you
if anyone does you do not listen anyway
if you do still you do not understand
no one tells you how to be free
there is fire in your neck
ocean in your ear
there is always your fear
the words you cannot even
no one is here
when the world opens upside
down you reach toward dawn
your weight on the earth changes
some of us plant deeper
others ache to fly
by suheir hammad
Africa
D'Angelo
africa ~ d’angelo
How France lives off Africa with the Colonial Pact →
thisisafrica.me
Just before France conceded to African demands for independence in the 1960s, it carefully organised its former colonies (CFA countries) in a system of “compulsory solidarity” which consisted of obliging the 14 African states to put 65% of their foreign currency reserves into the French Treasury, plus another 20% for financial liabilities. This means these 14 African countries only ever have access to 15% of their own money! If they need more they have to borrow their own money from the French at commercial rates! And this has been the case since the 1960s.
warsan versus melancholy.: what they did yesterday afternoon. →
warsanshire.tumblr.com
they set my aunts house on fire
i cried the way women on tv do
folding at the middle
like a five pound note.
i called the boy who use to love me
tried to ‘okay’ my voice
i said hello
he said warsan, what’s wrong, what’s happened?
i’ve been praying,
and these are what my prayers look like;
dear god
i come from two countries
one is thirsty
the other is on fire
both need water.
later that night
i held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered
where does it hurt?
it answered
everywhere
everywhere
everywhere.
