"LE GABON ENERVANT" OR "ANNOYING GABON"

English version In his inaugural edition of the new year 2014, the Panafrican magazine Notre Afrik contains an interview of our compatriot, lawyer Paulette Oyane Ondo, in which she talks about the human rights situation in Gabon. We present the content below, in French only as the magazine is only printed in that language. Version française Dans son édition inauguratrice de la nouvelle année 2014, le magazine panafricain Notre Afrik contient une interview de notre compatriote, l’avocate Paulette Oyane Ondo, dans laquelle elle s’exprime sur la situation des droits de l’homme au Gabon. Nous vous en présentons le contenu ci-dessous.

Jonas Moulenda (photo: Moulenda) English version Our compatriot Jonas Moulenda just sent a letter reproduced below, to Ali Bongo. Although the content of the letter belongs to the author alone, to avoid the misinterpretations of the courageous Jonas Moulenda’s thoughts, we would like to contribute our grain of salt to his text by stating that when our compatriot is writing about the Accrombessi case and about what is called the "Foreign Legion”, it is not an ad hominem attack against the Gabonese citizens having a foreign origin or against foreign communities living in Gabon. The Gabonese people refuse to have their destiny conducted by people who hardly know Gabon, who have not shared anything with the Gabonese people, have arrived in Gabon by spontaneous generation and whose main concern seems to be the all-out looting of the country. It is this predatory "foreign legion" which surrounds Ali Bongo that the Gabonese people reject. It is not a xenophobi...

Patrice Lumumba being mistreated after his arrest Patrice Lumumba maltraité après son arrestation (Photo: Life) English version In our research for a better knowledge and discovery of African treasures, we stumbled upon this gem of a poem below which was written by Patrice Emery Lumumba in 1959, that is 54 ago. This poem is dedicated to Blacks and its content is so relevant today that we did not hesitate for a moment to share it with you. Its relevance still makes sense when one looks at the dispossession suffered by the Gabonese people on their own soil. To close the loop and match the content of the poem, we also offer you above, the reaction of another icon, Malcolm X, when he learned of the death of Lumumba. One day Africa will recognize its hero and one day there will be "halls of fame" of Black excellence. This poem by Patrice Lumumba was published in the journal INDEPENDANCE, in September 1959 Weep, Beloved Black Brother ...

(Image: Wordpress) English version Dear readers, it's not every day that I write in the first person singular, but the circumstances that led to this post are rather exceptional. You see, dozens sometimes hundreds of comments fall into the blog’s inbox and I try to respond to them as quickly as possible. I reply to everybody, friends of the blog and those who threaten me regularly. But it is quite rare that I receive an email as relevant and on point as the one sent to me by a compatriot by the initials of Y. S., they will recognize themselves. This fellow Gabonese citizen asked the right questions and was showing a very high level of “critical thinking”. The specialist Lipman describes critical thinking as " an evaluative practice based on a reflexive, self-critical and self-correcting principles involving the use of different resources (knowledge, thinking skills, attitudes, people, information, equipment) in order to determine what is, on reasonable grou...

(Photo: Nelson Mandela Fundation) English version The special occasion of Nelson Mandela’s death has made Fidel Castro break his months of silence by publishing a long article in the Cuban press last week entitled: “Mandela ha muerto ¿Por qué ocultar la verdad sobre el Apartheid?” In English: “Mandela is dead. Why hide the truth about Apartheid?” The following is the English version of these “reflexions”. It is somewhat lengthy but please read it in its entirety; its content is worth it! Mandela is dead. Why hide the truth about Apartheid? Mandela described the defeat thrust forward by internationalists in Cuito Cuanavale on the racist army as a victory for Africa. The Cuban people have feelings of deep fellowship with the homeland of Nelson Mandela. Maybe the empire thought that we would not honor our word when, during days of uncertainty in the past century, we affirmed that even if the USSR were to disappear Cuba would continue struggling. World War II br...

English version To write this post, we have used information from two documentaries we recommend to every person who wants to educate themselves about Nelson Mandela and what it took to win the fight against apartheid. The documentaries are: Mandela, Son of Africa Father of a Nation; and Amandla. The particular power of these documentaries is that they tell the story from the mouth of those who lived it. No one can say that this is the western media trying to say this of that; these documentaries tells the story by interviewing South African freedom fighters and letting them explain the events, their decisions, their successes and their failures; their hopes and ultimately their triumph. This blog thinks that the content of these documentary could instruct the Gabonese people who what the get rid of the Bongo regime, about what it takes to succeed, in term of strength of character and resilience. At the beginning of the documentary Amandla, South African Prime...