Eduardo Galeano and Noam Chomsky!

Hugo Chavez seems to have a good taste of reading. He made an advertisment for Noam Chomsky´s book: Hegemony or survival: America´s Quest for Global Dominance at a UN summit A few years ago.

At the recent Latin America summit, he gave Barack Hussien, Eduardo Galeano´s book - Las venas abiertas de America Latina-open veins of Latin America:Five centuries of the pillage of a continent.

I am reading both books right now and feel that Hugo has contributed to the avalanche increase of new readers across the globe.

Leaders could make a difference and I hope that Hussien would be able to learn something from his reading of Eduardo. Barack Hussien himself likes the novel Netherland by Joseph O,Neills at the moment.

For my part, I am still in a state of bewilderment and have not been able to put myself together after the South American Journey. I feel a bit lost and take a day at a time.

WHY just WHY single out ERITREA ???

"Eritrea has become a nighmare and all our hopes of a democratic nation have been shuttered", according to western media. The reality in the country tells a different story.

Eritrea was liberated from Ethiopia on may 24, 1991 after 30 years of brutal war and gained formal independence in 1993 with more than 98.5 % of the pouplation voting for it.

The last 18 years with Issayas Afeworki have not been catastrophic and the future with him looks bright. Read the article from the BBC:


"Eritrea becoming 'a giant prison'

The Eritrean government is turning its country into a giant prison, according to Human Rights Watch.

The Horn of Africa nation is widely using military conscription without end, as well as arbitrary detention of its citizens, says HRW.

Hundreds of Eritrean refugees forcibly repatriated from countries like Libya, Egypt and Malta face arrest and torture upon their return, says the group.

Religious persecution and forced labour are also rife in Eritrea, says HRW.

The report urges countries not to send back Eritrean asylum-seekers and calls on the international community and donors to exert pressure on the government in Asmara over its rights record.

HRW says every year thousands of Eritreans flee their country, where statutory national service, which used to last 18 months, has been made indefinite.

The advocacy group says most of Eritrea's adult population is currently conscripted.

Sixteen years after it won independence from Ethiopia following a three-decade war, Eritrea is one of the most closed and repressive states in the world, says the report.

It accuses President Isayas Afewerki of using an unresolved border dispute with Ethiopia to keep Eritrea on a permanent war-footing.

HRW says there is no independent civil society and all independent media outlets have been shut down.

People under the age of 50 are rarely granted visas to leave the country and those who try to do so without documentation face imprisonment and torture or being shot at the border, says the group.

Prisoners are often held in underground cells or in shipping containers with dangerously high temperatures, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Christians are being rounded up and tortured on a regular basis, says the group.

The BBC's Pascale Harter spoke to Salamay, a 16-year-old Eritrean refugee in Italy.

She said she fled when police began rounding up youths in her village for national service.

In Sudan, she said a family took her hostage and forced her to work without pay.

In Libya, she was taken to a prison where inmates faced rape every night by the guards. " Western people judging Africans is not trustworthy. The west has no a moral supremacy to tell Africans what is best for themselves.Enough bullshiting from Babylone.

Back in Sweden!

I am back in Sweden after having been in South America over 6 months during which time I visited Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil.

I had an enriching experience. I do not know as yet what the future holds for me here in Sweden but it feels good that I am done with the great journey in South America for the time being.

I have now been in all continents and visited almost 40 countries. It might be about time to calm down for a while.

I am currently reading Ngugi Wa Thiongo´s book ..."Wizard of the Crow" about the free republic of Aburiria....which reminds me of Eritrea quite a lot.

Africa has never been a Tabula rosa and terra nullius!

The pre-colonial Africa, slavery, colonialism, the Ethio-Eritrean conflict, pan-Africanism and the western media coverage of black people were some of the subjects that I took up during my lecture in the faculty of social science at the university of Bahia on saturday.

We had about 60 wouldbe journalists who were curious about the African continent. I held the lecture in English and a friend of mine translated into portugese which of course is not the easiest thing to do.

Some words and messages were lost in transition and translation........ it is not the same momentum as communicating directly to the audience.

I tried to emphasize that Africa has never been a Tabula rosa (clean slate or utopian blank) and terra nullius (no one´s land) before the arrival of the Europeans. I wanted the students to be critical and see things in historical and holistic perspective.

The word Africa is said to have its origin in northern or eastern Africa.Afri meaning cave and ca meaning birthplace. In greece, Africa means a land - free of cold and horror. Africa has almost a billion people with 2000-3000 languages and 8000 dialects. The diversity in this continent is enormous.

The suppresive structures and institutions of the colonial state have not made governance more effective and democratic in the aftermath of colonialism. It is not that Africa has failed after "independence". Genuine democracy and development has actually never been on the agenda, as the Nigerian scholar Claude ake claimed.

Nation-state was an European invention and its power concentration in the center made it pretty difficult to many African societies to participate in the nation-building process as it does not encapsulate multiculturalism in its oppresive form.

The cold war, structural adjustment programme and many other international interferences have worsened the situation for poor people across the continent. Bad leadership is also one of the reasons for the "failure".

It was a great experience for me and the students appreciated the things that I had to say. I am now in my final days of my south American journey. I shall be in Sweden on the 4 th of april.

Nyabinghi, candomble' and capoeira..

I am really having a great time here in Salvador da Bahia. The people that I have met recently are full of energy and commitmment to fight for equal rights and opportunities to all the sons and daughters of Adam and Eva.

The zion train is moving and no body can stop it. I visited a Brazilian family yesterday evening, who are friends to a friend of mine. It was an amazing family of 6 who make their living through Reggae music that they produce and sale.

One of their sons is called Mekonnen Tafari in a direct reference to their idol , the late Ethiopian emperror Ras Tafari Mekonnen, i.e , Haile selassie the first. They had the Ethiopian alphabets well-preserved in a dose as well and the father told me of his dream to master Amharic.

I felt that I had come to the right place and should open an Eritrean restaurant and Amharic school here in the future. I have met some people who would like to strengthen their African roots. Learning Amharic and African history might be one way of getting there.

I believe that Afro-centrism is necessary in order to have a holistic perspective on things and to later be able to transcende your own boundaries. This task is almost impossible without first knowing yourself.

I am gonna hold a lecture about Africa for Bahian students at the university in a week time. A lot of doors are being opened for me in here and I would be more than happy to settle in Bahia once I have sorted out my life in Sweden.


I currently live in a big house on my own in an old part of Salvador as the owner is in Sao Paulo. It is this kind of gesture and generosity of Bahians that make feel humble and want to stay here for a longer time.

Nothing is impossible in an environment of fraternity and solidarity. The Nyabinghi, Candomble' and capoeira movements are very strong in Bahia and it is these working institutions that are going to be our inspirations for our demands for equality and justice across Brazil.

Mulheres em foco! Onde as mulheres vao parar?

Women in focus! Where are the women going to stop? These were the slogans that were written on placards when women's day was celebrated here in Salvador da Bahia this weekend.

The best 8th of march I ever had in my life. Strong women with a will that could move mountains. Samba music from a stage surrounded by a lake created an atmosphere of solidarity that could be felt everywhere. The empowerment of women is a must if this planet is going to have any chance of survival. The fire is burning and the message is being spread like a wild fire. No one can stop the women!

I really enjoyed the moment and met a lot of wonderful people. We later went to the house of Helena who had her 92nd birthdate and had a great time.

I have started to like the portuegese language and Brazil more now. I am having a second thought about my plan to go back to Sweden on the 3 rd of april because I have got a cheaper place to stay and have been offered a couple of volunteer works where my experience and education could be used better.

I have not made up my mind as yet but having met amazing people lately has not made my hesitation to diminish.

Langstone Hughes (1902 - 1967)

Born in Joplin, Missouri, James Langston Hughes was a member of an abolitionist family. He was the great-great-grandson of Charles Henry Langston, brother of John Mercer Langston, who was the first Black American to be elected to public office, in 1855.

Hughes attended Central High School in Cleveland, Ohio, but began writing poetry in the eighth grade, and was selected as Class Poet. His father didn't think he would be able to make a living at writing, and encouraged him to pursue a more practical career.

He paid his son's tuition to Columbia University on the grounds he study engineering. After a short time, Langston dropped out of the program with a B+ average; all the while he continued writing poetry.

His first published poem was also one of his most famous, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", and it appeared in Brownie's Book. Later, his poems, short plays, essays and short stories appeared in the NAACP publication Crisis Magazine and in Opportunity Magazine and other publications.

One of Hughes' finest essays appeared in the Nation in 1926, entitled "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain".

It spoke of Black writers and poets, "who would surrender racial pride in the name of a false integration," where a talented Black writer would prefer to be considered a poet, not a Black poet, which to Hughes meant he subconsciously wanted to write like a white poet.

Hughes argued, "no great poet has ever been afraid of being himself." He wrote in this essay, "We younger Negro artists now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame.

If white people are pleased we are glad. If they aren't, it doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too... If colored people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure doesn't matter either. We build our temples for tomorrow, as strong as we know how and we stand on the top of the mountain, free within ourselves."

In 1923, Hughes traveled abroad on a freighter to the Senegal, Nigeria, the Cameroons, Belgium Congo, Angola, and Guinea in Africa, and later to Italy and France, Russia and Spain. One of his favorite pastimes whether abroad or in Washington, D.C. or Harlem, New York was sitting in the clubs listening to blues, jazz and writing poetry.

Through these experiences a new rhythm emerged in his writing, and a series of poems such as "The Weary Blues" were penned. He returned to Harlem, in 1924, the period known as the Harlem Renaissance.

During this period, his work was frequently published and his writing flourished. In 1925 he moved to Washington, D.C., still spending more time in blues and jazz clubs. He said,

"I tried to write poems like the songs they sang on Seventh Street...(these songs) had the pulse beat of the people who keep on going." At this same time, Hughes accepted a job with Dr. Carter G. Woodson, editor of the Journal of Negro Life and History and founder of Black History Week in 1926. He returned to his beloved Harlem later that year.

Langston Hughes received a scholarship to Lincoln University, in Pennsylvania, where he received his B.A. degree in 1929. In 1943, he was awarded an honorary Lit.D by his alma mater; a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1935 and a Rosenwald Fellowship in 1940.

Based on a conversation with a man he knew in a Harlem bar, he created a character know as My Simple Minded Friend in a series of essays in the form of a dialogue. In 1950, he named this lovable character Jess B. Simple, and authored a series of books on him.

Langston Hughes was a prolific writer. In the forty-odd years between his first book in 1926 and his death in 1967, he devoted his life to writing and lecturing. He wrote sixteen books of poems, two novels, three collections of short stories, four volumes of "editorial" and "documentary" fiction, twenty plays, children's poetry, musicals and operas, three autobiographies, a dozen radio and television scripts and dozens of magazine articles.

In addition, he edited seven anthologies. The long and distinguished list of Hughes' works includes: Not Without Laughter (1930); The Big Sea (1940); I Wonder As I Wander" (1956), his autobiographies.

His collections of poetry include: The Weary Blues (1926); The Negro Mother and other Dramatic Recitations (1931); The Dream Keeper (1932); Shakespeare In Harlem (1942); Fields of Wonder (1947); One Way Ticket (1947); The First Book of Jazz (1955); Tambourines To Glory (1958); and Selected Poems (1959); The Best of Simple (1961).

He edited several anthologies in an attempt to popularize black authors and their works. Some of these are: An African Treasury (1960); Poems from Black Africa (1963); New Negro Poets: USA (1964) and The Best Short Stories by Negro Writers (1967).

Published posthumously were: Five Plays By Langston Hughes (1968); The Panther and The Lash: Poems of Our Times (1969) and Good Morning Revolution: Uncollected Writings of Social Protest (1973); The Sweet Flypaper of Life with Roy DeCarava (1984).

Langston Hughes died of cancer on May 22, 1967. His residence at 20 East 127th Street in Harlem, New York has been given landmark status by the New York City Preservation Commission. His block of East 127th Street was renamed "Langston Hughes Place".