Jacques Depelchin

Scratching the surface: Pambazuka News and emancipatory politics

otabenga1 — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:44:23 -0600

Reposted from Pambazuka News October 8, 2008.

As he salutes the ground covered in Pambazuka’s first 400 issues, Jacques Depelchin argues the publication should continue its work as a tool for emancipatory politics in the next 400 and beyond. Drawing in particular on the example of Haiti, Depelchin stresses that new emancipatory politics are being generated all the time, but their potential must be actively harnessed if governmental indifference and hostility is not to overcome the promise of healing histories. read more »

Newsletter #5a & 5b

otabenga1 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:18:08 -0600

Following are two newsletters. The first, in English, continues the discussion of sexual violence against women and children in the DRC. The second, in French, concerns the recent passage of legislation which makes it illegal to accuse children of witchcraft (sorcery). We are extremely sorry that we do not have translations available for both articles. We hope to remedy this situation soon.--OBA Executive Board read more »

Newsletter #4

otabenga1 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:02:34 -0600

This is the fourth in a series of newsletters sent to friends and supporters of the Ota Benga Alliance. We hope they will be of interest to website visitors.

April 21, 2008

A State Which Respects Its Own People Does Not Go to War Against Them

Dear Friends,

If you are following events in the DRC, you may have heard about the latest surge of violence in the Lower Congo Region South West of Kinshasa. read more »

Newsletter #3

otabenga1 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:49:42 -0600

This is the third in a series of newsletters sent to friends and supporters of the Ota Benga Alliance. We hope they will be of interest to website visitors. The following two letters, one in English and one in French, were written to commemorate International Women's Day, March 8, 2008. They are not translations of each other, but a different version of the same theme: the refusal to accept rape. read more »

Newsletter #2

otabenga1 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:01:37 -0600

This is the second in a series of newsletters sent to friends and supporters of the Ota Benga Alliance. We hope they will be of interest to web site visitors.

February 12, 2008

Dear Friends,

Yes, it was bound to happen. After such a long time of not corresponding one tends to forget about some of the the most important things which have been accomplished thanks to your generous support. read more »

Newsletter #1

otabenga1 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:53:19 -0600

This is the first of a series of newsletters sent to friends and supporters of the Ota Benga Alliance. We hope they will be of interest to web site visitors.

February 5, 2008

Dear Friends,

As 2008 unfolds, I have promised to stop procrastinating and communicate more frequently through regular newsletters. In this first one, we are pleased to announce the (nearly) new website of Ota Benga Alliance: http://www.otabenga.org/, where you’ll find articles from and about the DRCongo, and other issues related to peace, healing, and dignity. read more »

From Cité Soleil to Durban

otabenga1 — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:20:35 -0600

From Cité Soleil (Haiti) to Durban (South Africa)
…where Freedom Day is now being seen as Unfreedom Day

April 30-May 4th 2008.

This is a brief report from a visit to Durban, specifically to see for oneself places like Kennedy Road, Motala Heights, to meet with people like S’bu Zikode and Shamita Naidoo whose words continue to impact us in a way which is still generating new thinking. We were on our way to meet people who can be described as the staunchest defenders of the poor, and, by extension, of humanity. read more »

Aimé Césaire, Bien Aimé de l’Humanité,

otabenga1 — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:38:30 -0600

Aimé Césaire, Bien Aimé de l’Humanité,
Mal Aimé des dirigeants politiques de l’Afrique

Après avoir parlé haut, fort, inlassablement pour l’émancipation de l’humanité, Aimé Césaire s’est éteint sans pouvoir être témoin de ce qu’il était en droit d’espérer après avoir tant essayé de guérir de ce qu’il avait décrit de mille et une façons, et que ses vers suivant (extrait du Calendrier Lagunaire dans Moi, Laminaire, 1982) résument admirablement:

J’habite une blessure sacrée
J’habite des ancêtres imaginaires
J’habite un vouloir obscur

En ces 3 petites lignes notre Bien Aimé Césaire
respirait, inspirait et expirait mieux que quiconque, son rapport à une souffrance présente, passée et future. read more »

Wamba dia Wamba Is Assassination Target

otabenga1 — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:01:13 -0600

For Immediate Release: May 5, 2008

Berkeley, Ca.—Within the context of an elusive peace in the eastern part of the D R Congo and an ongoing assault by the government against the fundamental rights of the people of the Lower Congo Region, it has come to our attention that Professor Ernest Wamba dia Wamba and the Honorable Deputy Kiakwama have been targeted for assassination. read more »

The routes and possibilities of a South - South subversive globalization: Africa and Brazil

otabenga1 — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:11:27 -0700

At the time of writing, Jacques Depelchin, Executive Director of the Ota Benga Alliance, was a visiting Professor at the Centre for Afro-Oriental Studies at the Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil in the fall of 2007. Reprinted from Pambazuka News December 11, 2007.

Jacques Depelchin reflects on the growing economic, political and cultural relationship between Brazil and the Africa and urges for a solidarity from below that is cognizant of black revolutionary history. read more »