the morningside post

"Election" Time in Zimbabwe

By Suraj Prasannakumar
MIA 2009

If anyone reads this post in the next couple of days, I would like to know what you think the odds are that Tsvangirai will be Zimbabwe’s next leader. I give it a 50-50 chance, with higher odds of bloodshed given either outcome.

Keep in mind that we are not betting on who will be declared the winner. Mugabe has said he wants the job until he is at least 100 (16 years from now), and there is no doubt he will stuff as many ballots as he needs to get there. Today I saw a news article stating that the late Ian Douglas Smith, Rhodesia’s white supremacist former Prime Minister, had risen from his grave to cast a ballot for Mugabe.

In this regard, Tsvangirai’s overwhelming lead in early polling is important only symbolically. But the Tsvangirai’s party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has reportedly been gaining inroads in the rural regions that traditionally support Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). And the broad-based urban support for the MDC virtually guarantees a critical mass for protests and uprisings these coming weeks. Further, ZANU-PF has been split apart by the former finance minister Makoni, weakening its political base. This, and general discontent at the current country’s staggering levels of poverty, starvation, and unemployment could provide enough popular momentum to finally oust Mugabe from his palace.

Obstacles to Local Entrepreneurship in Ghana

Editors' note: This is the second in a series of posts about the SIPA student-led trip to Ghana and Nigeria over Winter Break.

By Molly McMahon

MPA 2008

Kofi Dadzie, brother to Christabel Dadzie (MIA 2007), had breakfast with us and shared his experience launching his Accra-based technology firm, Rancard Solutions. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, and former employee of Dell, Kofi's entrepreneurial spirit radiated as he discussed the obstacles of starting a business, and pioneering the ICT (Information Communications Technology) industry in West Africa. The framework for his discussion covered the public policy, business landscape, and human resource issues that challenge Ghana's emerging market. Highlights of his talk were his opinions on the conditions set by multilaterals, the barriers in financing new business ventures, and the poor state of education. 

Rancard Solutions offers a platform for Internet content providers to offer their services to the mobile phone market. The service it provides is as good as the international competition, but at a lower cost.  However, although Rancard has a quality, affordable product, it is unable to compete for government contracts.  The Ghanaian government only negotiates with international multi-laterals because foreign aid conditions stipulate contracts from home countries. African companies don't have access to, and can't bid at that international level. Kofi described these conditions as a "master servant relationship" between multilaterals and developing nations.  He questioned why the government did not invest in Ghanaian talent and companies, but instead chose to depend on foreign firms. The issue of Indian contractors building the new presidential palace is a current example of how foreign contracts diminish national integrity.  As Kofi expressed, "Governments are supposed to develop the capacity of their local companies, not bring talent from abroad.  They are not investing in their own citizens."

Battling Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals in Nigeria

Editor's Note:  This is the first of several posts about the SIPA student trip to Ghana and Nigeria. 

By Molly McMahon
MPA 2008

One of the highlights of our tour of Abuja, Nigeria was meeting Professor Dora Akunyili. In her office, as she shared her story, we were dazzled not only by her courage, but by the shine of all the plaques on her wall recognizing her accomplishments.   Her aura of strength and compassion was inspiring.

Although Professor Dora began her career as a teacher,   

SIPA Should Be A Leader In International Media Development

By Ben Colmery
MIA 2009

Now is the perfect time for SIPA to take a leadership role in international media development. SIPA is one of the top international affairs schools in the world. It is a school within Columbia University, which has one of the top journalism schools in the world. It is in New York City, the media capital of the known universe. The pieces are all there. All SIPA has to do is seize the moment, and make it a priority.

Why become a leader in international media development? Simple. First, we are in the information age, in which media are booming and constantly evolving, presenting relentless opportunities for growth. Second, much of the developing world is comprised of people who have limited access to media, and even less access to utilizing media. Third, media are vital resources for promoting the flow of ideas, freedom, democracy, human rights, and development in the world, while progress in the developing world is often believed to be slowed by a lack of these things.

SIPA Goes to Ghana and Nigeria

What to do with the month-long student vacation? Over two-dozen SIPA students have come up with an excellent solution and are heading to Ghana and Nigeria today on a student-led trip that combines tourism with on-the-ground learning about government, civil society, development, and human rights. The Morningside Post will be featuring some blogs from the trip. Also, you can check out this student blog about their trip.

Can Peace in Darfur be Sustainable?

By Jeca Taudte
MIA 2007

According to its sponsors, Center for the Study of Human Rights, the  Humanitarian Affairs Program and the Institute of African Studies, today's SIPA conference about Darfur, "Towards Sustainable Peace in Darfur," hopes to refocus efforts there on a development horizon that will have practical benefits to today’s humanitarian emergency as well as positively influence the U.N.’s efforts to bring Darfuri factions together and broker an accord with Khartoum.

It's an important point, given how dismally other efforts to stop the conflict are going. Most of last week's news about Sudan highlighted the improbable charges, trial and sentencing of a British teacher after her  class of 7-year-olds named a teddy bear Muhammad. (The teacher has now been pardoned by the Sundanese state.) But meanwhile many diplomats and United Nations officials, including the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, were raising alarms about the hybrid African Union-UN peacekeeping force finally being deployed to the region. Their concerns suggest that the force, which was heralded when it was approved by the UN Security Council, may already be failing even before most of its troops are on the ground.

Why? Khartoum, naturally. Indeed, last week's warnings nearly uniformly blamed Khartoum's stubborn refusal to approve all the forces from all the countries that have been offered to UN. According to this New York Times story, Sudan's intransigence left the UN facing  "hard choices":

In addition, [Guehenno] said, the government in Khartoum was asserting the right to close down the force’s communications when its own army was operating in the area and was refusing to give United Nations planes clearance to fly at night. “The mission has the mandate to protect civilians,” Mr. Guéhenno said, “and that responsibility does not end at sunset.”

He said the actions left the United Nations with “hard choices.”

“Do we move ahead with the deployment of a force that will not make a difference, that will not have the capability to defend itself, and that carries the risk of humiliation of the Security Council and the United Nations, and tragic failure for the people of Darfur?” he asked.

That's quite a question.

PARIS & THE “PLIGHT OF THE PACHYDERMS”

Our Modern Media World

Paris & the “Plight of the Pachyderms”

Don’t believe Ms Hilton's Animal Magnetism rules here; Trees fall, unheard

Comment by Tom Lansner

Tom Lansner is adjunct associate professor at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, specializing in international media and communications. He covered conflicts in many countries over a decade as correspondent for the London Observer and other publications. His three-part e-seminar on war reporting is available at Columbia Interactive.

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HAVE we finally seen the perfect media storm? The Mid-November's teacup tempest blew away many other stories, and then became more complex as a torrent of denials and clouds of obfuscation buried a genuinely important story.

In a nutshell, an AP stringer in Gauhauti, the biggest city in Northeast India, filed on 13 November describing local reaction to Paris Hilton’s reported concern over elephants that died in an electrocution accident after sucking down stores of local famers’ rice beer. Paris’s “publicist couldn’t immediately be reached for comment,” AP waved as due diligence. After all, the source was an entertainment website that said it saw the piece in a British tabloid. This story was obviously too good to hold for verification. Hit “send” immediately!

Today, anything Paris Hilton — or Britney, etc.— does (or even doesn’t really do, in this case, as we soon see) is major news for even many of our allegedly most serious news outlets.

AP ran it hard. Pravda picked it up. YahooNews and the Hindustan Times got excited. The Critternews blog commented.  The Orange Country Register in California even elevated Paris’s conjured quote to a headline screamer: “Don't give booze to elephants, sobs Paris Hilton”.

Pop Culture meets atrocities....yet again!

By Martyne Aime
MIA 2009

I was surfing Youtube this morning and i came across this video by the Fall Out Boys.

The backdrop of the video is about child soldiers in Uganda with an undertone of a love story. Our Conceptual Foundations class dealt yesterday with the topic of Human Rights, its origins, future and the ideas behind international HR law. It's refreshing as always to see artists bring to light through art and music atrocities that are happening in our world but are not being covered by the U.S media. As depressing as they are, these are stories that need to be told, whether through the avenue of entertainment or news. And something needs to be done to help these children through education, or information sessions about the life they choose to engage themselves in.

During the lecture yesterday, I asked Professor Mary Robinson how international law responds to child soldiers.

New Issues in HIV/AIDS Transmission

Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world. An estimated 24.5 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2005 and approximately 2.7 million additional people were infected with HIV during that year. In just the past year, the AIDS epidemic in Africa has claimed the lives of an estimated 2 million people in this region. More than twelve million children have been orphaned by AIDS. A pregnant woman who is HIV-positive can pass the virus on to her baby in the womb or during childbirth, or postnatal, through breastfeeding.

On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, Dr. Louise Kuhn of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health will give a brownbag lecture, "New challenges for prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Africa”, in which new issues related to viral transmission will be discussed. The event will go from 12pm-2pm in room 1118 in the International Affairs building at Columbia University (Morningside Campus), and will include a question and answer period and light refreshments.

Dr. Kuhn is an epidemiologist who has developed and manages an active research program primarily focused on aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Her work is focused on mother-to-child HIV transmission, particularly in the international arena. Central to her research endeavors is focus on translation of scientific findings into effective HIV prevention and treatment programs in low resource settings.

So all you health policy people and those focusing on HIV/AIDS for stats projects, this event might prove to be important inspiration... Can't make it? Check back here after the 14th for a blog on the event.

Source: UNAIDS, ‘2006 Report on the Global AIDS epidemic’

The African AIDS Awareness Campaign

By Sean Blaschke
MIA 2007

This blog series attempts to recreate events that occurred between January 1995 and June 2006 during the African AIDS Awareness Campaign. To remain flexible, the structure of the campaign was very loose, gradually revealing itself during the course of our travels. This story will be told in a similar narrative fashion, with regular postings that include academic articles, photographs, film and blogs from the actual campaign. If you are new to the blog, you can find the last post at http://www.themorningsidepost.com/2007/10/the-african-a-1.html

The Underbelly of Senegal… (Part 3)
July 2005

The first week of our campaign took us from The Gambia through Cassamance, a region in southern Senegal fighting for independence.

Nate, July 17, 2005, Sedhiou, Senegal
"We have not covered a shockingly large amount of ground. Our departure was delayed by an attempt to persuade the ambassador of Guineau Bissau to issue us passports from his country, something we did on the advice of confidential sources who usually merit trust. Success would have saved us thousands of dollars on VISA costs, since Africans do not pay for VISAS in Africa. The ambassador proved to be quite friendly and scrupulously professional. We learned that you can only get a country's passport if you are from that country. We had to learn that because we are venal and dense.