Crowning a decade of substantial investment, the Chinese government gifted Algeria, its “comprehensive strategic partner” since 2014, with its very first opera house. After suffering through over half a century of political upheaval and extreme violence, Opera d’Alger represents the Algerian people’s hope for a future characterized by peace and cultural resurgence.
In 2010, the Chinese government announced a $40 million gift to Algeria in the form of the country’s first opera house, to be built in Algiers. After six years of planning and construction, the Opera d’Alger was completed in 2016.
Internationally, those keeping tabs on China’s rapid economic growth and increasing foreign investments see the Opera d’Alger as a symbol of Beijing’s considerable economic influence in Algeria. It is true that the Chinese-Algerian partnership has created close economic ties between the two countries. Since 2013, China has been Algeria’s top importer. According to Analyze Africa, a digital database providing macroeconomic data from leading global sources, “China’s influence in Algeria’s economy is undoubtedly most pronounced in the construction sector. Chinese firms have won billions in government infrastructure contracts in the past 15 years.”
Before 2015, when energy prices were favorable and Algeria’s economy was stable, the government announced a housing development plan to combat the rapid population growth and urbanization that had catalyzed a serious housing crisis, which had pushed many Algerians into slums and even into homelessness.
The government program, one of the most ambitious in the region, promised free, modern housing to those in need. Chinese firms fulfilled the majority of this exorbitant demand for construction; Chinese corporations have built nearly 250,000 homes in the country since the beginning of the 2000s. In addition to low-cost housing projects, Chinese construction contracts have included an East-West highway, an airport and shopping centers.
The foundation of the Chinese-Algerian partnership began in the 1950s, when China was the first non-Arab country to recognize Algeria’s bid for independence from France. Though ultimately successful in securing independence, the Algerian revolution was marked by extremely violent terrorist acts and a high civilian death toll. The post-revolutionary government in Algeria failed to achieve true stability, and in 1991 a civil war erupted between the state and various Islamic rebel groups. Algerian civilians once again suffered extreme and brutal violence, and tens of thousands of citizens were “forcibly disappeared”, never again to be heard from by their families.
Now referred to as the “Black Decade” in Algeria, the national recovery and reconciliation process is, according to many, still incomplete. The government’s housing program has been regarded as a significant step toward reconciliation with the Algerian people, but experts have criticized its efficacy, and the state’s newly instituted austerity measures necessitated by depressed energy prices have delayed its completion.
China’s gift of an opera house, then, is especially symbolic as a “home” for all. A glance through the events promoted on the Opera d’Alger’s Facebook page is indicative of the inclusive spirit its directors hope to promote in Algerian society. One of the first performances considered to be of a world-class standard given at the opera house was “Beyond Bollywood”, a theatrical showpiece of various traditional and modern forms of Indian dance. Recent performances include a concert dedicated to the memory and legacy of Algerian culture given by the National Ensemble of the Algerian Opera, a performance entitled “Rhythms and Colors of Algeria” given by the Algerian Ballet, “Agora: Greek Musical Fusion” and a rock concert by Algerian band Ithrene.
Though a concert of selected opera scenes from repertory standards such as Verdi’s La Traviata and Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro was given at the Opera d’Alger earlier this month, a complete opera has yet to be staged at Opera d’Alger. It is likely that the Chinese-Algerian partnership will be furthered by tour performances by the Peking Opera.
Noureddine Saoudi, the director of the house, stated in a recent interview that aspiring artists will soon be able to participate in free creative master classes at the Opera d’Alger, as he and his colleagues hope to see the opera become a “radiant centre of culture and arts”.
With a recent history fraught with conflict and violence, and fresh disappointment caused by the current economic downturn, the Chinese government’s gift of Opera d’Alger seems to have come just in time to renew the Algerian people’s hope to rebuild their communities and usher in a new era of pride in their homeland.
– Savannah Bequeaith
Photo: Flickr
PMI Expansion Malaria Treatment for 90 Million More People
Launched in 2005, PMI is an interagency initiative in collaboration with USAID and in conjunction with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PMI was originally established with the goal of cutting mortality caused by malaria in half across 15 African countries. This came during a time when the U.S. decided to put malaria control at the forefront of its global aid agenda. It seeks to approach this goal by increasing concentration on four essential malaria treatment and prevention measures: insecticide-treated mosquito nets, indoor residual spraying, accurate diagnoses and preventative prenatal treatments. With its focused strategy, PMI has contributed to the aversion of 6.8 million malaria-related deaths between 2001 and 2015. In 2016 alone, PMI protected over 16 million people by spraying homes with insecticide and distributed 42 million bed nets.
In total, approximately 480 million people have benefited from the work being done by PMI. This latest PMI expansion will bring malaria treatment and prevention to an additional 90 million people. This is spectacular news given how life-threatening the disease still is, even after so much progress has been made. Today, malaria still takes the life of a child every 30 seconds, amounting to a staggering 3,000 children every single day. Though heartbreaking, this statistic should not come as a surprise, considering 40 percent of the world’s population lives in high-risk regions for malaria. With the continued effort aid agencies like PMI and USAID, that number is projected to decrease significantly. Hopefully, sometime in the coming years, the world will witness the complete eradication of malaria.
– Micaela Fischer
Photo: Flickr
Foreign Aid as a Counterterrorism Strategy
Social marginalization and poorly governed areas increase the appeal of an extremist group. Social marginalization, the feeling of being oppressed or excluded from society, creates a need for acceptance. The absence of security may lead to residents looking for an opportunity to escape oppression or economic despair. These conditions produce breeding grounds for the recruitment of terrorists. Extremist groups symbolize a promise of social status, respect, necessary services and a sense of belonging.
Yemen and Somalia are prime examples of terrorist breeding grounds. In Yemen, about 35 percent of the population is undernourished and 55 percent lack food security due to soaring food prices. Merely 2 percent of Yemen’s gross domestic product is spent on healthcare. Unemployment has increased to 35 percent and the Sunni-Shia civil clash has heightened the terrorist capacity.
Somalia, similarly to Yemen, is lacking a central government. The war zone environment has provided a safety net for those hiding from the law, giving terrorists the ability to move freely. About 73 percent of the population lives on about $2 a day. The promise of profit from extremist groups feeds the embrace of terrorist membership. Recruiters use the incentives of food, profit and even a sign-up bonus to gain members.
These nations portray the hardships developing nations face when countering extremism. They are not equipped to stop the targeting of terrorist groups. Economic security and efforts to decrease marginalization would provide a preventive measure for global threats.
In the “Assisting International Partners to Counter Violent Extremism” report, the U.S. Department of State and USAID outline objectives for counterterrorism. These objectives include engaging in partnerships, encouraging policy and employing foreign assistance tools. The recognition that youths are more inclined to embrace extremism led to the production of institutions focusing on employing youths and preventing them from joining extremist groups.
The report details that foreign aid would be spent on building institutions and strengthening impoverished nations’ international partnership. The strategic vision behind foreign aid proves that aid is more than a loan to combat poverty. The objectives can be viewed as a tactic within the grand strategy of foreign aid.
Foreign aid provides a weapon to combat counterterrorism. This strategy provides a cheaper long-term tactic that targets one of the causes for breeding ground conditions. It serves as a preventive measure and a source of international security.
The potential foreign aid budget cuts could put American national security in jeopardy. Foreign aid serves as an investment to prevent vulnerable conditions for terrorist recruitment as well as managing the likelihood of a global threat. Developmental aid is not only a valuable tool to counter poverty, but is an effective counterterrorism strategy.
– Shauna Triplett
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About the Central African Republic Conflict
Several organizations, principally the United Nations, are working in the country in order to end the conflict. However, the conflict is still ongoing, creating a wave of violence that has resulted in thousands of refugees, deaths and political uncertainty.
– Dario Ledesma
Photo: Flickr
Children’s Human Rights in Saint Helena
Recently, Saint Helena has been under scrutiny for possible child abuse on its shores. In 2014, the Daily Mail published a series of three articles about the “culture of sexual abuse of children” in Saint Helena. Needless to say, these articles shocked the public. The articles detailed the brutality of the abuses. More importantly, the articles suggested that authorities needed to review the policing on the island.
The articles criticized the authorities in great detail, particularly the Foreign Commonwealth Office, the local government of Saint Helena and the Department for International Development. Other occurrences suggest that child abuse is ongoing on the island, creating a grave concern for human rights in Saint Helena.
Claire Gannon and Martin Warsama, social workers from Britain, were working with island residents. Gannon and Warsama reported the abuse; later, both alleged they were threatened and forced to leave the island in retaliation for reporting such abuse.
Later, the FCO withdrew its initial report in front of the United Nations. The FCO apologized for its “erroneous report” that denied the allegations of child abuse. Gannon and Warsama were furious. In return, the social workers sued the FCO and the United Kingdom Department for International Development.
The FCO was faced with a public outcry. As result, it commissioned a report by a children’s charity, the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. The foundation kept its report confidential. However, the contents were leaked to a website the social workers had created to help drum up support for their lawsuit. The report noted that there was a culture on the island of abusing teenage girls through “violent and brutal attacks.”
The reports generated by the FCO indicate that there is, at a minimum, some ongoing child abuse on the island. One of the reasons such abuse could potentially take place is because of the small population: there are just over 4,000 permanent residents of the island. It is well-established that abusers often become close to their victims.
The government of Saint Helena has begun taking an active interest in the welfare of children as a whole. In 2010, the Welfare of Children Regulations formed the Safeguarding Children’s and Young People’s Board. To avoid undue political influence as much as possible, the board is chaired independently, though it does report to the governor of Saint Helena. Other members of the board include those who work with children regularly: representatives from the different sectors of health, social services, education and nongovernmental organizations.
The board is a sincere effort from the government to protect children’s interests; it meets every six weeks and when there is an urgent matter. The board also strives to harmonize different elements of the government, so that various agencies can work for the betterment of children’s interests.
– Smriti Krishnan
Photo: Google
Organizations Working to Relieve Hunger in Guinea
The World Food Programme (WFP) has been working on reducing hunger in Guinea since the mid-1960s. In the time the organization has spent in Guinea, WFP has effectively improved nourishment by promoting education programs in schools, providing nourishment to women and children specifically with HIV, tuberculosis and Ebola and promoting locally grown foods. Another area of focus for food insecurity that the WFP is addressing is access to healthcare supplies by supporting government incentives for air transport.
Similarly, Action Against Hunger (AAH) is helping Guinea move forward in food security and nutrition. AAH began work in the mid-1990s and has worked to fight disease such as cholera, while also promoting better practices relating to hunger in Guinea. AAH assisted 264,124 people in 2016.
Earlier in 2017, two native Guineans were celebrated on International Women’s Day for their contributions to the fight against hunger in Guinea. The food security, resiliency and archeology project team of the Stop Hunger foundation awarded the two women for their work in involving local parboiling in schools in rural areas that experience food-insecurity. Supported by local government, the program is an excellent example of mobilization of local communities and the effectiveness that larger nonprofits have in sparking efforts toward reliving hunger in Guinea.
– Casey Hess
Photo: Flickr
How to Help People in Grenada
Since the abrupt U.S. invasion in 1983, Grenada has largely vanished from public discourse. How to help people in Grenada remains a crucial question, as the Caribbean nation has a poverty rate of nearly 32 percent among a population of only 111,724.
Poverty in Grenada remains largely confined to rural areas, among farmers who lack access to the island nation’s highly import and export-dependent economy. Farming in Grenada is peculiar in that about 87 percent of farms are individual enterprises, and poor farmers often own their own land. Especially after the U.S. invasion, which unseated the left-wing government from power, Grenada has increasingly become involved in the globalized economy. Farmers with small holdings have difficulty succeeding in an economic system in which literacy, entrepreneurial skill, access to credit and knowledge of market information are crucial to survival.
The size of Grenada’s economy leaves it vulnerable in globalized markets to rapid fluctuations and sudden price changes in crucial imports and exports. The tiny country is also susceptible to hurricanes. In 2004, the country was ravaged by Hurricane Ivan, which according to the World Bank caused damage amounting to over 200 percent of the gross domestic product of Grenada. During the reconstruction of this catastrophic level of damage, Hurricane Emily hit in 2005, further crippling the economy and the nation’s poor.
In response to the lack of viability of farming in Grenada’s new economy, many young people are leaving farms for urban centers, despite an unemployment rate of 33.5 percent. In 1961, Grenada’s farmers numbered 67,100, and by 1995 the number had decreased to 43,400.
The World Bank has worked with the democratic government of Grenada since the early 2000s to implement poverty reduction plans. They have attempted to address poverty by increasing the nation’s openness to markets, and diversifying the economy towards services and tourism and away from subsistence agriculture. However, liberalizing trade and capital has made Grenada’s small economy even more susceptible to sudden fluctuations in prices and has shattered the largely rural and agricultural sector of the population.
Grenada’s young labor force is not entering the agricultural sector, despite a lack of entry-level opportunities for youth with a lack of education. This results in a cycle of poverty and an economic downward spiral. Huge swaths of land go uncultivated, traditional farming knowledge and techniques are lost, and a large sector of the population becomes unemployed and impoverished. Substance farming, which once fed the communities on the island, is no longer adequate to produce food. Food imports now account for more than one-quarter of Grenada’s total imports.
In such a fragile economic environment, the question remains of how to help people in Grenada. In 2016, USAID approved a $9.5 million Rallying the Region to Action on Climate Change project. This project was implemented to help Grenada build sea walls, reforest coastal mangroves vital to the nation’s ecosystem, and prepare for climate-related disasters such as hurricanes.
USAID has also granted $173,968 to the Grenada Cocoa Association, a farmer’s cooperative which grows and processes cocoa for export. The stated purpose of the measure is to help empower youth (More than half of Grenadians who live below the poverty line are under the age of 20), to work for the company. By supporting this effort, this aid measure has the benefit of strengthening local cocoa farmers and reducing unemployment. Measures like this are crucial to alleviating poverty on the spice island, and aid from nations like the U.S. is a vital component in improving the lives of the poor in Grenada.
Besides supporting USAID, the International Fund for Agricultural Development has given Grenada a $3 million loan from their Market Access and Rural Enterprise Development Programme. This program is aimed at the empowerment of rural communities, the creation of employment opportunities, particularly for young rural men and women, and the strengthening of rural businesses and microenterprises.
Moreover, organizations like Food for the Poor are working daily to treat the symptoms of Grenada’s extreme poverty. Food for the Poor operates three orphanages in Grenada, while also sending food to communities that are particularly affected by the radical shift away from subsistence farming into the global market. By supporting any of these programs, you can find ways of how to help people in Grenada as they navigate a complex economic transition.
– Jeffery Harrell
Photo: Flickr
Education in Bulgaria Continues Post-Soviet Era Momentum
Overall, Bulgaria’s education system has a long list of positive statistics. The national adult literacy rate is at a significantly high 98.3 percent, with a mere 5,000 primary school age children out of school, and nearly 95 percent of students enrolled in secondary school in 2011. The country allocated approximately 4 percent of its GDP to education, putting it on par with Russia, Japan and Italy.
The education system of Bulgaria is supported by the government department of the Ministry of Education and Science, and school is mandatory for children from the age of seven until the age of 16. Like many, if not all, other developed nations, Bulgaria’s school admits both male and female students, and municipal state schools allow non-native speakers of Bulgarian to study their mother tongue.
Education in Bulgaria, however, was very different under communist rule. Much of what was taught in schools nationwide was heavily centered around communist propaganda and ideals. Although the noble goal of eradicating illiteracy was established, the government did so through the introduction of mandatory study of the Russian language. Liberal arts were replaced with technical training and the Soviet national newspaper Pravda was distributed in even the most remote areas of the country.
Today, however, the objective of those promoting higher education in Bulgaria is to focus on science and culture. Currently, Bulgaria has 51 institutes of higher education, 37 of which are publicly managed and state-owned. Of these universities, a potential student has the opportunity to study a wide variety of topics, including scientific research, humanities, social sciences and technical sciences, all of which are available up to a PhD level.
Despite the struggles it faced under the Soviet Union, the situation of education in Bulgaria has improved dramatically over the past 27 years. With 98 percent of the adult population functionally literate, 95 percent of children enrolled in school and a strong percentage of national GDP continuing to be committed to education expenditures, Bulgaria can and will continue to have a highly educated population thanks to a well-endowed system.
– Brad Tait
Photo: Flickr
Suny Clean Water Solar Still
Throughout the years there have been many methods implemented to purify water such as heating, distillation and boiling. Researchers at the State University of New York have created a fast and cheap solar still that could potentially provide drinking water to those who currently don’t have access.
The solar still is first set on top of any body of water. After a few minutes, the water that goes inside the still heats up, begins to evaporate and becomes trapped in the clear topping. Once the trapped evaporated water cools down, it is then collected in a vessel free of impurities.
The method itself is not that innovative. Solar stills have been around for thousands of years. What makes the Suny Clean Water solar still different is how efficiently and cheaply it purifies water.
A large number of solar stills use solar nanomaterials on the bottom to collect heat and energy from the sun. Unfortunately, these nanomaterials can end up making the solar still cost up to $200 per square meter. At that price, it cannot be sold in impoverished countries. Not only that, these expensive solar stills do not efficiently use solar energy and can only lead to one liter of water a day. These issues prevent the stills from effectively purifying drinking water in impoverished countries.
Suny Clean Water has found a solution to both of these problems. The biggest issue is the cost of creation. Given that the nanomaterials drive up the price, the researchers looked for a way to bring it down. The solution they found was a black fiber-rich paper, similar to what is used to print money. It functions similarly to the nanomaterials, absorbing sunlight to assist in evaporating the water.
This black material is much cheaper than the nanoparticle. It would only cost about $2 per square meter, which is 1/100th of the price of the nanoparticles per square meter. That low cost could lead to each unit of this solar filter costing only $5 once it is completely put together using the black fiber paper.
Not only is this solar still model cheaper to produce, it is also energy efficient. The Suny Clean Water solar still has 88 percent thermal efficiency to evaporate the water. According to Qiaoqiang Gan, the lead author of the study, that is nearly three times as efficient as natural evaporation. Due to how efficiently water is evaporated, this new solar still can end up providing up to one liter of water an hour.
This new solar still took all the issues that previous stills faced and conquered them. It is cheap and provides water relatively quickly. Currently, it is not commercially available but Suny Clean Water hopes that will soon change. Once it becomes available, creating purified drinking water in impoverished countries will become affordable and easy.
– Daniel Borjas
Photo: Pixabay
Improvements to Water Quality in the Netherlands
As reported by the Dutch public health agency RIVM, due to human factors, the quality of tap water in some areas of the Netherlands does not meet the expected standards. It is also indicated by its survey that about 60 percent of drinking water in the Netherlands is sourced from the ground, and the rest is provided by surface water. Because of the contamination resulted from pesticides, industrial emissions and improper waste disposal, more than half of the groundwater used is below the international standard of water quality.
Regarding surface water quality in the Netherlands, the quality was also poor due to the pollution from drugs, cosmetics, pesticides and other chemical residues. Some factories of wastewater treatment were unable to purify these harmful substances. RIVM has called for the establishment of a better environmental monitoring system on the sources of drinking water.
The drinking water quality in the Netherlands depends on the variations in regional management. The test standard is more strict than bottled water in the market. The related Dutch laws such as Drinking Water Law and Water Pipeline Management Measures aim to ensure water quality. Organizations in the chain of water production, including companies and collective supply units, all must regularly check the water quality in the Netherlands and inspect the results. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment of the Netherlands also publishes annual reports on the quality of drinking water each year.
The latest Dutch water law was enacted in 2009. It aims to stress the impact of climate change and sea-level rise on flood control security, release the pressure of population demands from increased water consumption and accelerate integrated management of water resources.
Water quality in the Netherlands across drinking water from rivers, lakes and the ground has improved greatly over the past decade, to great praise. The successful practice of water management by law and regulations from the Dutch government has been recognized as “the miracle of drinking water” by media in Europe. Nevertheless, further efforts are still needed to maintain the water quality in the Netherlands, in addition to the promotion of water management practices from a single country to the world.
– Xin Gao
The Chinese-Algerian Partnership Focuses on Social Housing
In 2010, the Chinese government announced a $40 million gift to Algeria in the form of the country’s first opera house, to be built in Algiers. After six years of planning and construction, the Opera d’Alger was completed in 2016.
Internationally, those keeping tabs on China’s rapid economic growth and increasing foreign investments see the Opera d’Alger as a symbol of Beijing’s considerable economic influence in Algeria. It is true that the Chinese-Algerian partnership has created close economic ties between the two countries. Since 2013, China has been Algeria’s top importer. According to Analyze Africa, a digital database providing macroeconomic data from leading global sources, “China’s influence in Algeria’s economy is undoubtedly most pronounced in the construction sector. Chinese firms have won billions in government infrastructure contracts in the past 15 years.”
Before 2015, when energy prices were favorable and Algeria’s economy was stable, the government announced a housing development plan to combat the rapid population growth and urbanization that had catalyzed a serious housing crisis, which had pushed many Algerians into slums and even into homelessness.
The government program, one of the most ambitious in the region, promised free, modern housing to those in need. Chinese firms fulfilled the majority of this exorbitant demand for construction; Chinese corporations have built nearly 250,000 homes in the country since the beginning of the 2000s. In addition to low-cost housing projects, Chinese construction contracts have included an East-West highway, an airport and shopping centers.
The foundation of the Chinese-Algerian partnership began in the 1950s, when China was the first non-Arab country to recognize Algeria’s bid for independence from France. Though ultimately successful in securing independence, the Algerian revolution was marked by extremely violent terrorist acts and a high civilian death toll. The post-revolutionary government in Algeria failed to achieve true stability, and in 1991 a civil war erupted between the state and various Islamic rebel groups. Algerian civilians once again suffered extreme and brutal violence, and tens of thousands of citizens were “forcibly disappeared”, never again to be heard from by their families.
Now referred to as the “Black Decade” in Algeria, the national recovery and reconciliation process is, according to many, still incomplete. The government’s housing program has been regarded as a significant step toward reconciliation with the Algerian people, but experts have criticized its efficacy, and the state’s newly instituted austerity measures necessitated by depressed energy prices have delayed its completion.
China’s gift of an opera house, then, is especially symbolic as a “home” for all. A glance through the events promoted on the Opera d’Alger’s Facebook page is indicative of the inclusive spirit its directors hope to promote in Algerian society. One of the first performances considered to be of a world-class standard given at the opera house was “Beyond Bollywood”, a theatrical showpiece of various traditional and modern forms of Indian dance. Recent performances include a concert dedicated to the memory and legacy of Algerian culture given by the National Ensemble of the Algerian Opera, a performance entitled “Rhythms and Colors of Algeria” given by the Algerian Ballet, “Agora: Greek Musical Fusion” and a rock concert by Algerian band Ithrene.
Though a concert of selected opera scenes from repertory standards such as Verdi’s La Traviata and Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro was given at the Opera d’Alger earlier this month, a complete opera has yet to be staged at Opera d’Alger. It is likely that the Chinese-Algerian partnership will be furthered by tour performances by the Peking Opera.
Noureddine Saoudi, the director of the house, stated in a recent interview that aspiring artists will soon be able to participate in free creative master classes at the Opera d’Alger, as he and his colleagues hope to see the opera become a “radiant centre of culture and arts”.
With a recent history fraught with conflict and violence, and fresh disappointment caused by the current economic downturn, the Chinese government’s gift of Opera d’Alger seems to have come just in time to renew the Algerian people’s hope to rebuild their communities and usher in a new era of pride in their homeland.
– Savannah Bequeaith
Photo: Flickr