The French army is reluctantly withdrawing further and further from the Sahel. Anti-French sentiment is also on the rise in Chad, the last partner of France in the region. “They support a dictatorial regime that kills its own people.”
Reportage
Ethnic violence has returned to Darfur
Executions of tied up young men, children murdered with axes and mass attacks on groups of fleeing civilians - these are just some of the terrible stories that Darfuris refugees told us in eastern Chad.
Hundreds of thousands have crossed the border in recent months. The vast majority of people moved to the camp that emerged next to Adré, a sleepy border village that has since been transformed into a gigantic humanitarian hub.
But the humanitarian support in the camp is still inadequate: the rest of the world is busy with other crises, the situation in Adré is dire. Although malnourished children are helped to regain their strength, they run the risk of becoming malnourished again when they are discharged from the clinic. There is simply not enough of everything in the camp.
Our report on the violence in Darfur, which is strongly reminiscent of the ethnic cleansing of 20 years ago, is on the front page of the Volkskrant today, with beautiful images by photographer Sven Torfinn.
Fas Boye, the close-knit community where the Senegal migrant boat disaster hits home
A wooden boat with more than 100 people on board drifted at sea for more than a month. 38 men, women and children were rescued, at least 60 people died from hunger and thirst. Almost all those on board came from the Senegalese fishing village of Fass Boye. “Everyone here knows someone who was on that boat.”
“One of the survivors said he saw my son in the hospital,” says Arona Boye. He is convinced that his son Pape is still alive, he does not want to hear any condolences. Half an hour later the bad news arrives: Pape's body has been found.
The boat was supposed to go to the Canary Islands, but got into trouble. Maryam's son also did not survive the journey. She fights back tears. “Allah has sent him to help his parents, so all we have to do is remain patient and gentle.”
Ibrahim Sarr's phone is full of messages. Photos and videos show the men, women and children who survived the shipwreck. His son is one of them. “Allah gives and takes,” he says, “but that does not mean that this disaster could have been prevented.”
Despite warnings from the community, Senegalese authorities did not search for the missing boat. If they had, those on board might still have been alive. The sadness and powerlessness turned into anger on Wednesday evening: government buildings were destroyed.
On the beach of Fass Boye there are hundreds of 'pirogues' like the one that left on July 10. 'España!' shout the boys hanging around the boats. Due to overfishing there are fewer and fewer fish in the sea, but men and women continue to leave to earn money for their families.
Meanwhile, the village's 'chef de village' is working overtime. “This is the fate of Fass Boye,” he says. “There is nothing left for us but to pray.”
The entire report that I wrote in Fass Boye is published in today’s Volkskrant (and here online).
Sudanese flee to Egypt: "a journey from hell"
After a "journey from hell", tens of thousands of Sudanese are trying to cross the border with Egypt. Women and children do not need a visa, but most men do. For the Volkskrant I traveled to the south of Egypt, where I spoke with torn families who are looking for safety.
The report, with beautiful photos by Rene Clement, is in the paper newspaper today, and online here.
Youths are regreening their Nairobi neighborhood, one park at a time
In Nairobi, I spent some time with Evans Otieno who used to be a gangster of Dandora, making money with robberies and muggings. Now, he is a successful entrepreneur and a pioneer in community-led projects. I talked to him about his transformation, and how he now transforms his neighborhood by collecting garbage, recycling, planting trees and creating lush public spaces for his community members. You can read my reportage story for De Volkskrant here.
William Ruto is declared as Kenya's new president, but the battle may not be over
In a chaotic gathering hosted by the Kenyan electoral commission IEBC, William Ruto was declared as the fifth president of the Republic of Kenya. But just a moment before the announcement of the IEBC’s chairman, four of the seven members of the electoral commission said in a statement that they do not support the presented results. How the East African country will progress from here onwards, is yet to be seen. Read more in our latest for De Volkskrant here.
A reportage for De Volkskrant: how Masai are evicted from their land in Northern Tanzania
In northern Tanzania, 165 thousand Maasai herders are driven from their land. After a violent crackdown by the Tanzanian police, at least 2,000 Masai are said to have fled across the border to Kenya, where they are taken in by other herders. "This is an untenable situation."
You can read the whole story in today’s edition of De Volkskrant, or click here. Alternatively, you can listen to this NPO Radio 1 interview with Simone Weimans in Met Het Oog Op Morgen.
New work for de Volkskrant: how Nairobi's bicycle riders are fighting for their rights
In the hilly Kenyan capital of Nairobi, a growing number of cyclists are hitting the streets. In monthly bicycle demonstrations, they are demanding more rights and safety. Cyclists hope that the introduction of e-bikes could gain momentum for cycling.
To read my first Volkskrant reportage, click here.
Somalia is facing its worst drought in 40 years
Millions of people are facing severe hunger as a result of the worst drought in 40 years in the Horn of Africa. For 8 days, I traveled through the country for Dutch and international media and what we witnessed was heartbreaking and harrowing. People have lost everything because of the drought, children die because of malnutrition.
As the situation deteriorates, aid agencies fear that a focus on the Ukraine crisis is likely to overwhelm the agenda and donors at a critical time for the East African country of Somalia in particular. According to a statement by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, only 3.2 percent ($47.1m) of the required funding ($1.5bn) for its humanitarian response plan has been received so far.
To read some of the stories I worked on, click on the links below:
The Guardian: ‘There is not enough food. The situation is dire’: Somalia’s drought crisis
Der Spiegel: With the World's Attention on Ukraine, Suffering Is Rising Elsewhere
Der Spiegel (pictures): Dürre und Hungersnot in Somalia: Nie wieder – hieß es vor zehn Jahren
NPO Radio 1 (Met Het Oog Op Morgen): Hongersnood dreigt voor miljoenen mensen in Hoorn van Afrika
VICE World News: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Is Putting Millions of Lives at Risk in Somalia
El País: Somalia se quiebra por la sequía histórica y la invasión rusa de Ucrania
NPO Radio 1 (Humberto): Droogte in Hoorn van Afrika, 500.000 Somaliërs ontheemd
Al Jazeera English: Drought in Somalia worsened by funding gap, Ukraine war
De Morgen: De vergeten hongersnood in Somalië. ‘Door de droogte zijn we alles kwijtgeraakt’
The New York Times: how the ongoing drought is affecting kids in Somalia
Trouw published a four page story I wrote about the drought in Somalia.
Dutch comedian Dolf Jansen showed some of my pictures in Dutch talkshow Khalid & Sophie.
Kenya's boda bodas: a blessing or a nuisance?
Now that platform companies such as Uber have embraced Nairobi's motor taxis, the Kenyan capital has seen a large proliferation of these 'boda bodas'. There are attempts to replace the millions of polluting motorbikes with electric ones, but not everyone is enthusiastic about these plans.
Read my latest for Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) by clicking on this link.
New work for VPRO: do they have internet in Africa?
“I don’t even think they have internet [in Africa]”
“Maybe the phones over there are nothing more than a cardboard homescreen”
“They can’t even build many houses, let alone an internet transmitter mast”
“There probably isn’t any wifi”
“Maybe they don’t even have a phone”
The answers these children gave when they were asked about how they would imagine what the internet in ‘Africa’ would be like, say a lot about how Dutch people (and their kids) perceive the African continent.
Luckily, there are TV shows like VPRO's ‘De Dikke Data Show’ (about big fat data and the worldwide web). They asked me to tell something about how people in Kenya use internet.
And so I interviewed Nairobi-based Nahla, who follows online classes on her laptop (but also uses it to watch Minecraft videos), and Douglas, who lives near Oloitoktok with his cattle and reads the news and chats using his smartphone.
The video above is just a small snippet - to watch the whole episode of De Dikke Data Show (and also see how the internet is different in China), click or tap here.
New work for Het Parool: a story about Amsterdam's gable stones
In the PS weekend magazine of Dutch daily Het Parool, you can read how I took on a rather peculiar assignment when I couldn’t travel back to our apartment in Kenya: Lieke asked me to photograph hundreds of Amsterdam’s ‘stone tablets’.
A bit more than a year ago, when COVID cases surged in The Netherlands, Lieke asked me to join her on a walk through a near empty Amsterdam – did I ever see these beautiful little pieces of art bricked into the walls of Amsterdam’s houses?
I must’ve cycled past them countless times, these so-called ‘gable stones’ showcasing ships, circus tents, angels and lovebirds. Could I photograph these tablets for her new Instagram account, Lieke asked? I decided that this could actually give my pointless lockdown walks some purpose, and said yes. My ‘gable stone safari’ had begun.
What I learnt from these little depictions filled with history, mystery and fantastic stories, often hidden in plain sight, can be read in a story I wrote for Het Parool. Click here to read the piece, or check out some of my photos over at Instagram: @stonetabletsofamsterdam!
New work for RTL Nieuws: vaccines in Kenya
For Dutch news broadcaster RTL Nieuws, I worked on a reportage by their Africa correspondent Saskia Houttuin. While The Netherlands is vaccinating millions of its citizens, Kenya has so far only vaccinated 1.8 percent of its population. Community Health Volunteers Joyce and Anne, who are working in Nairobi’s Kariobangi informal settlement, say that they can’t get a jab because they have to pay for it. A vaccine would cost them 3500 Kenyan Shillings, they told us – even though getting a vaccine in Kenya should be free.
You can watch the whole reportage by clicking on the picture above, or by following this link.