EAST AFRICAN FILMMAKERS CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE CHANNELS FOR DISTRIBUTION

FILMMAKERS in the region that converged in Kampala for the 8th Annual Congress on East African Cinema explored the possibility of exploiting the Internet, film training initiatives, alternative means of fundraising and distribution including the networks of the film pirates as some of the means to propel the industry forward.

The congress held during the Amakula Kampala Cinema Caravan Festival from December 14 – 17, 2011, focused on how to leverage the East African Common Market for cinema.

This is against the background that with a 130 million strong population East Africa not only offers a potential market for film consumption but also reveals the multitude of stories that can be told cinematically across the varied cultural tapestry of the five member nations; Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

Summarizing the current state of the industry, Prof. Martin R. Mhando, a Tanzanian filmmaker said: “Cinema is dead in Africa because no one goes to the theatre anymore. Maybe a few members of the elite class watch films in theatres, but the cinema market does not make much money like it did in the 1960s – 80s. We can’t sell in Africa and yet our market is here at home.”

“We need to identify our target audience. We may not get them in the cinema hall, but we should make the products that they actually want and these could be DVDs, television, makeshift video halls or via YouTube,” the chief executive officer and festival director of the Kenya International Film Festival, Charles Asiba, noted.

Asiba, who is also the director of the Kenya Film Commission, contends that: “Cinema should be the high end product of a filmmaker. If you can have a theatrical release that should be the ultimate – but it is only a selected few who turn up. The Nigerians have been producing home videos for the last 15 years it is only now that they are turning to theatrical productions because they have created audiences for their films.”

“We have witnessed a revival of pop music in East Africa by the new generation with the Bongo flavor rhythm, among others. And now the middle class is listening and appreciating local music in place of the once dominate Congolese music. The film industry should borrow a leaf from the music sector and target the video market and not the cinema market. We could also copy the Bibanda (video halls) in Uganda and develop our film structure around that kind of distribution pattern,” Mhando, a film professor at Murdoch University in Australia, said.

“We have observed that more people are watching DVDs in the comforts of their homes. So for us to claim to be doing film business we have to take our films to homes or even the makeshift video halls, as longer as we can generate income. We can’t claim to have a film industry if we are not making money,” Asiba added.

“My encouragement to the young filmmakers is that they should look at cinema as a business and not an art. As much as it is a creative industry let’s look at the business end of our productions. Why are we making these films? And can we live on them? And can they sustain our livelihoods?” Asiba argues.

According to the sales and marketing manager, Fast Track Productions Limited, Richard Geria, the emerging market for African film is online. “The online market is presenting an alternative channel for the distribution of film content. The regulation for this new outlet maybe nonexistent but it offers film producers an opportunity to make money.”

Fast Track Productions Limited has developed a platform called AfricaFilmOnline.tv that is still on a test run will provide its customers with a variety of African content. It is a Voice on Demand (VoD) service where members will sign up to download television episodes and films. Payments will be by debit card, credit card or mobile money.

“We have noticed there is a huge demand for African films. We have uploaded all the 90 episodes of the first season of our television series ‘The Hostel’ on our platform and we have been overwhelmed by the demand for DVDs of the series. Our targets are the Ugandans in the Diaspora and the high enders in Uganda that can afford the latest gargets,” Geria revealed.

According to Geria the film producers will be entitled to 25 per cent of the revenue generated after sales. “We shall share the numbers with the producers as partners. In order to protect copyright infringement we have invested in a security system in which our customers will only be able to stream and not down load content,” he said.

According to the business development associate, Google Uganda, Elijah Kitaka, the launch of the Ugandan YouTube channel recently gives Ugandan filmmakers an opportunity to broadcast themselves to the world on world on the world’s largest online video community on a service that receives 3 billion hits a day.

Mhando highlights a completely different approach to the issue of piracy without necessarily condoning it, in his paper titled, “Leveraging Film for the East African Common Market: The Swahili Film Market.”

“The reason for that is to acknowledge the role that culture plays in diverse ways, which Swahili and other local language films could embrace in its journey towards profits and efficiency…,” he argues in the paper presented at the congress.

“While we have no figures to quantify the extent to which the Swahili film business functions and aids the economy of Tanzania, we can indeed see the number of people involved in the production and distribution of videos therefore acknowledging the job creation capacity of the industry. The distribution network that assists Steps to reach millions of customers is genuine job creation enterprise. The hundreds of machinga (street vendors) that survive on this business attest to the importance of the culture to their lives and therefore the country,” Mhando argues.

Mhando believes that piracy is not necessarily a negative aspect. “It can help us to improve the way we communicate. It provides employment and cuts down the crime rate. We can take advantage of the pirate’s distribution networks to make our sector profitable. Let’s think outside the box to leverage film for the East African Common Market,” he argues.

At the Swahili film level in the last decade, the means by which independent films, documentaries, and screenplays are financed, advertised, marketed and sold has undergone tremendous change. With more than 100 Swahili films being produced annually competing for distribution “deals,” independent filmmakers’ opportunities to have their scripts produced or films released into the marketplace have become increasingly difficult, Mhando observes.

Kenya continues to churn out many films in English and Swahili recognizing both the language factor in the marketing of films as well as its cultural efficacy and beneficence, Mhando adds in the paper that projects commercial and cultural conditions necessary for a viable and utilitarian film industry in the region.

However if we are to look at the market in general we find a much enlarged distribution circuit in the region. Steps Entertainment of Dar-es- Salaam has captured and controls the market of Swahili (Bongo) films around the region and have now opened offices in Rwanda, DR Congo and are looking at opening offices in Kenya and Burundi, Mhando adds.

“Indeed it is a well-known fact that the distribution of Swahili films in Tanzania and the region in general has eclipsed that of Nigerian films,” Mhando writes.

Steps Entertainment began its operations in 2005 with the mission of reaching the people through small outlets and agents spread countrywide offering affordable entertainment and education through films. They produce 6,000 DVD copies of a film and sell 4,000 copies on the day of release. The average cost of production is $10,000.

According to Mhando, “Notwithstanding the piracy factor, the company has indeed expanded to producing films cheaply in order to allow themselves a wide profit margin to undercut the film pirate. It has now achieved a modicum of respect despite it also being seen to undermine the growth of local filmmakers through their crass management system. It is well-known fact that producers for Steps are forced to pay miniscule rates to artist (except the stars) to just break even while affording Steps the margins necessary for profit making. With its vast distribution network in and outside Tanzania, it purchases movies and distributes them across the region.”

“What Steps has revealed however is that there is need for a link between producers and distributors. Steps works in both and in that way undercut the producer. If there was a link, an “advertising and marketing” link who would handle multiple projects,” Mhando observes.

Ends.

The novel, “Cry, the Beloved Country" embedded in murder, prostitution and racial hatred

THE classic fictional novel “Cry, the Beloved Country” is about Rev. Stephen Kumalo seeking his delinquent and only child, Absalom in the city of Johannesburg - his search takes him through a labyrinth of land, murder, prostitution, racial hatred and, ultimately, reconciliation.

The story begins with Rev. Kumalo preparing to leave his rural area of Ndotsheni for Johannesburg after receiving an urgent letter from Rev. Theophilus Msimangu asking him to rush to the big city to rescue his ‘sick sister,’ Gertrude Kumalo.

Gertrude went to Johannesburg to look for her husband who was recruited for the mines. But when his time was up, he did not return, nor did he write at all. She did not know if he were dead perhaps. So she took her small child and went to look for him.

When she fails to find her husband she turns to selling liquor and sleeping with any man for their price. They gamble and drink and stab. A man is killed at her place in Claremont. She has been in prison more than once.

Absalom had left Ndotsheni in pursuit of his auntie, Gertrude, but never returned, nor after a while did he write to his parents any more.

“Cry, the Beloved Country” by Alan Paton that was first published in 1948, is a remarkable story for its contemporaneity; unforgettable for character and incident, the fictional novel is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man.

In search of Absalom and Mathew Kumalo (the son of John Kumalo), Kumalo and Msimangu learn that the boys were buglers and robbers.

The parsons went to Shanty Town at the home of the Hlatshwayo’s. “He stayed with me, umfundisi. We took pity on him because he had no place to go. But I am sorry to tell you tell you that they took him away, and I heard that the Magistrate had sent him to the reformatory,” Mrs. Hlatshwayo informed them.

The head of the reformatory informed them that Absalom, who had left a month ago, was a good boy and had a promising future. Absalom was partly released because of his age, but mainly because there was a girl who was pregnant by him. He promised to work for his child and its mother.

Absalom together with Mathew and Johannes Pafuri are detained for the murder of a Whiteman, Arthur Trevelyan Jarvis and seriously injuring his male servant. It is Absalom who is found guilty of the murder and sentenced to death. His two accomplices are set free.

Arthur was well known for his interest in social problems, and for his efforts for the welfare of the non-European sections of the community. Condolence messages came in from Africans, coloured people, Indians and Jews. Arthur had learnt Afrikaans and Zulu, and he was talking of learning Sesuto.

He was the only son of Mr. James Jarvis of High Place, Carisbrooke. Jarvis owned a farm in the hills of Ndotsheni. Father and son did not see eye to eye on the native question. It was after reading some of his son’s essays on social justice that Jarvis changed his racist attitude towards non-whites.

In one such easy Arthur contended that: “…It is not permissible to add to one’s possessions if these things can only be done at the cost of other men. Such development has only one true name, and that is exploitation. It might have been permissible in the early days of our country, before we became aware of its costs, in the disintegration of native community life, in the deterioration of native family life, in poverty, slums, and crime. But now that the cost is known, it is no longer permissible.”

The church service was attended by people of all races – it was the first time that Jarvis and his wife, Margaret had sat in a church with people who were not white. Later he also shook hand with black people for the first time.

Kumalo, who was frail laments that his has been a sorrowful journey. “At first it was a search. I was anxious at first, but as the search went on, step by step, so did the anxiety turn to fear, and this fear grow deeper step by step. …When we heard of the murder, that my fear grew into something too great to be borne.”

In his comforting words, Father Vincent told Kumalo: “My friend, your anxiety turned to fear, and your fear turned to sorrow. But sorrow is better than fear. For fear impoverishes always, while sorrow may enrich.”

With his sister turned prostitute, his brother (John Kumalo) turned labour protestor and Absalom, arrested for the murder, Kumalo must grapple with how to bring his family back from the brink of destruction as the racial tension throughout Johannesburg hampers his attempts to protect his family.

A night before Kumalo returned home, Gertrude disappeared leaving behind her little boy. So he only went back with his daughter-in-law and nephew.

When Jarvis returned to Ndotsheni he hired an agricultural demonstrator to introduce better farming methods all in memory of Arthur. His farm also started supplying milk to pre-school children, some of whom were dying as a result of the long drought. The milk supply was to continue until the grass came and the area got mill again. A new church to replace the dirty old wood-and-iron, patched and forlorn one was to be built in memory of Margaret.

The film “Cry, the Beloved Country” directed by Darrel Roodt was released in 1995 in the USA. With James Earl Jones as Rev. Kumalo, Tsholofelo Wechoemang (child), Vusi Kunene (Theophilus Msimangu), Richard Harris (James Jarvis) and Charles S. Dutton (John Kumalo), among others.

Ends.

LIBRARIES IN AFRICA ARE UNDERUTILIZED RESOURCES - SAYS A NEW STUDY

GROUNDBREAKING research into perceptions of public libraries in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Uganda shows libraries in Africa are “essential,” yet underutilized resources for technology and community development services.

Most people in the six African countries see libraries primarily for educational purposes but recognize potential for much more. They also believe that public libraries have the potential to contribute to community development in important areas such as health, employment, agriculture and closing the digital divide.

Public libraries are widely available in most of the six countries studied offering the traditional service of lending of books and offering a good environment for studying, for instance, where school pupils or even university students can complete homework and other classroom related reading, such as reading for examinations.

However, libraries are small and under-resourced, and most people associate them with traditional book lending and reference services rather than innovation and technology. In some cases they lack relevant books to meet the needs of users, the report titled “Perceptions of Public Libraries in Africa,” notes.

Users and non-users were surveyed in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Awareness of libraries is high even among those not using them. Users share information about their library experiences a lot, mainly with their friends. In addition to the high awareness a majority have very positive sentiments about libraries across all groups surveyed, for instance, from policy level all the way to users, including non-users.

“Libraries are perceived as offering academic related information and therefore an extension of academic study. Children’s exposure to libraries is limited and a lot more could be done to improve usage,” the report released in Kampala on November 12, 2011, recommends.

“Librarians are competent in the traditional roles of a librarian but have limitations in the technology related services. Low skill levels on technology services result from lacking the facilities that would enable them improve competency. A significant number of librarians admit to lacking the necessary skills for advocacy to generate additional funding,” it adds.

Libraries are seen as essential to the individual as well as communities in general by all groups surveyed. Libraries need to engage with the community at a more tangible level that goes beyond passively providing books and information only, for example, facilitating community interaction with service providers of health, agriculture and culture. Stakeholders recognise a role for libraries in these fields. “Funding for libraries is low, and donors (local or international) are expected to play a greater role in funding libraries,” the report suggests.

“Print media are currently doing more in promoting the library agenda than other media. Digital media like the internet are not properly exploited and with the growth of mobile telephony and data services in Africa, this could be an avenue to explore,” it adds.

According to the report, electronic media is the best way to reach the policy level target audience for libraries. TV and radio are the most frequently used sources of information and also the most trusted ones.

The findings demonstrate that awareness of public libraries is high and a majority view libraries as very important to both communities and individuals. Library users and non-users, librarians, library officials and government decision makers alike view public libraries primarily for educational purposes (90 per cent across all groups), however a range of other information services are emerging in libraries, including Information and Communications Technology (ICT), that have the potential to help meet community development needs.

The study found a significant majority of all respondents (80 per cent) believe the biggest benefit that public libraries offer is the opportunity to learn and to develop new skills. A growing number of people view libraries as a source for national and local news and information on important topics including agriculture, health and employment. Public library users and government officials view libraries as “essential to them personally and to the greater community.”

In addition to raising awareness of the information services libraries provide, the research shows that there is a strong demand for more technology resources. Among library users, only 14 per cent report using computers or the Internet at public libraries. A lack of computers is one of the primary reasons library users (37 per cent) and the local authorities that operate libraries (53 per cent) report being dissatisfied with library services.

Non-users say they would be motivated to use libraries if more access to online content was available (29 per cent) or if there were more computers in general (24 per cent). A significant majority of librarians (72 per cent) would like to see more funding invested in technologies to meet community needs.

Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL) commissioned the research under its Public Library Innovation Programme (PLIP) to deepen understanding of the role of public libraries in Africa and of the vision, aspirations and expectations of the general public, librarians and national and local government. The study was conducted by the social and marketing research company, TNS RMS East Africa Limited., from Januarury 2011 to April 2011.

EIFL is an international not-for-profit organization dedicated to enabling access to knowledge through libraries in more than 45 developing and transition countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. PLIP supports public libraries to implement innovative community development services.

In Kenya, education, local and national news and information were at the top of the list of public library services librarians reported providing. However, high numbers of librarians also reported that libraries are providing information on a wide variety of important issues, including health (65 per cent), use of electronic government services (60 per cent), information on agriculture (59 per cent), financial and investment news (63 per cent), employment searches (54 per cent) and information on starting a business (37 per cent).

“Sustainability of library services and funding is needed and should be enhanced to make sure that libraries meet existing community needs today and into the future,” said Silas Kobia, Kenya National Library Service (KNLS) board chairman. “Community leaders, government decision makers and other library stakeholders are needed to provide the policy and financial support libraries need for sustainability.”

The research also shows that ICT is a library service area with significant growth potential. Unprompted, few users and non-users in Uganda, associate libraries with ICT. Among library users, only 20 per cent report using computers or the Internet at public libraries. A lack of computers is one of the top reasons library users (36 per cent) and the local authorities that operate libraries (69 per cent) report being dissatisfied with library services. A significant majority of librarians (94 per cent) would like to see more funding invested in technologies to meet community needs.

In Uganda, the study looked at four regions: Kampala, Mbale, Masaka and Lira. More than 75 per cent of library users report visiting the library on a weekly or daily basis. The librarian is an important part of their library experience, with a majority (69 per cent) seeking advice or consultation from librarians. Users and non-users alike view the library as a place for study and a social place to meet people.

Among non-users in Uganda, a majority (58 per cent) report being “too busy” as the primary reason they do not use the library. However, if more libraries were able to offer broader selection of books, computer stations and more online content, a portion of non-users would be motivated to use the library.

Librarians report educational, health information and national news as the top three services libraries provide in Uganda. However, significant numbers of librarians indicate that libraries are providing information on a wide variety of other important community development issues, including agriculture (70 per cent), information on financial and investment news (38 per cent) and use of electronic government services (14 per cent).

Uganda has 26 public libraries and 80 libraries owned by communities and individuals.

Soon there will be a new library service introduced that will focus on helping young people find employment. The National Library of Uganda (NLU), working with Lira and Masindi public libraries and the National Youth Council, will train young people to use computers and the Internet — increasing their employability.

The new service, Electronic Information for Youth Employment (EIYE), will take advantage of the popularity of mobile phones among youth and send regular text messages to over 1,000 young jobseekers about vacant positions, education and training opportunities, business support and loan facilities. NLU was recently awarded a grant of Ushs39 million ($15,000) from EIFL to pilot the new service through PLIP.

“This is an exciting time for public libraries in Uganda,” said Gertrude Kayaga Mulindwa, director of the National Library of Uganda. “The perception research reinforces what we are already experiencing: public libraries are playing an important role in community development, especially when it comes to agriculture, health, social cohesion, local economic development and youth. And it will take all of us — community leaders, government decision makers and other library stakeholders — to provide the policy and financial support libraries need for long-term sustainability.”

According to Monika Elbert, senior policy advisor at EIFL and lead on the research project: “Everyone agrees that public libraries are essential. But more awareness and support is needed for library services that go beyond providing books and places for study.”

“Access to knowledge is critical for development and public libraries are uniquely positioned to provide ICT-enabled information services that will contribute to countries’ medium and long-term development plans. Libraries are a hub where, for example, at-risk youth can access computers and learn new technology skills for the 21st century, unemployed people can learn job-seeking skills and farmers can find valuable information about new farming methods — all of which are key strands of community development. We want this research to spark dialogue and create more interest in libraries as community development partners,” Elbert added.

Ends.

THE NOVEL 'TSOTSI' RESONATES WITH CRIME IN SOUTH AFRICA TODAY

ATHOL Fugard could have written his much acclaimed novel “Tsotsi,” 49 years ago and published it in 1980; it resonates with the current crime like robbery, murder and rape, the biting poverty, shuttered dreams and hopes in South Africa – party as a result of the defunct apartheid system.

However, the good news is that the number of murders in South Africa declined by 6.5 per cent in 2010/2011, with 15, 940 cases being recorded, according to annual police crime statistics released in September 2011. The murder rate has come down consistently by nearly 20 percent since 2003/2004.

In the period from April 2010 to March 2011, attempted murders had fallen by 12.2 per cent, whereas assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm had dropped by 4.5 per cent. Robbery with aggravating circumstances was also down by 12 per cent.

The “Tsotsi,” story begins in an illegal drinking dive known as a shebeen on a Friday night with four gangsters plotting to attack mine workers in the rail station returning home with their earnings. Their criminal repertoire included attacking lonely taxi drivers, or a darkened, deserted house in one of the white suburbs.

“The trains,” Tsotsi said. “Let’s take one on the trains.”

The gang’s target was Gumboot Dhlamini, a mine worker who was returning home after a year’s work in the city with all his savings.

The four including Tsotsi and Die Aap surrounded Gumboot in the coach. Butcher worked the bicycle spoke up and into Gumboot’s heart. It was Buston who slipped his hand into the pocket and took out the pay packet. They left him dead in the train.

Tsotsi is an angry young gang leader in the South African township of Sopiatown. He was the youngest of the four. He owned a sheath-knife, the blade four inches long. He carried it in the back pocket of his trousers, and slept with it under his jacket which he rolled up and used as a pillow. The knife was not only his weapon, but also a fetish, a talisman that conjured away bad spirits and established him securely in his life.

Tsotsi hated questions about himself and how no one knew anything about him except that he was the hardest, the quickest, the cleverest that had ever been and once somebody had tried to find out something and he was dead.

Tsotsi hated questions for a profound but simple reason. He didn’t know the answers…neither his name, nor his age, nor any of the other answers that men assemble and shape into the semblance of a life. His memory went back vaguely to a group of young boys scavenging the township for scraps needed to keep alive. Before that a few vague, moody memories, a police chase and finding himself alone.

Tsotsi didn’t know because he had never been told, and if he had known he no longer remembered, and his not knowing himself had a deeper meaning than his name and his age. He allowed himself no thought of himself, he remembered no yesterdays, and tomorrow existed only when it was the present, living moment. He was as old as that moment, and his name was the name, in a way, of all men.

One day when he was scavenging on the streets an Indian chased him away from his shop door, shouting and calling him a tsotsi. So he decided to take on the name of Tsotsi. Tsotsi is an Afrikaans term for a hoodlum or a thug.

In a drunken state one day, Boston, asks Tsotsi for his age and expressed his displeasure of how they had ended Gumboot’s life.

In a sudden and irrational impulse Tsotsi brutally attacked Boston and nearly beat him to death.

One night, in a moonlit grove of the bluegum trees, a woman Tsotsi attempts to rape forces a shoebox into his arms. The box contains a baby, and his life is inexorably changed. He begins to remember his troubled childhood, to rediscover himself and his capacity to love, find mercy and sympathy.

Changing the baby’s cloths and feeding him proved a challenge. He tried to give it water and bread soaked in water, but it had all come driveling out. He was chancing his hand at a game he had never dared play and the baby was the dice, so to speak. He hid the baby away from the other gangsters in the ruins of buildings.

Tsotsi forced Miriam Ngidi, an eighteen year old mother of one to feed and clean his baby. The thought of that greedy, decrepit, foul-smelling bundle in the rags on the bed at her breast filled her with horror. It was a violation of her body that brought to a sharp pitch the possessive, miserly twist in her nature. “He’s too dirty!” Miriam cried.

“Then clean him,” Tsotsi replied savagely. “Clean him and feed him.”

When she still hesitated, he took out his knife and gave her one last chance. She fought down her disgust and went to work.

Tsotsi heard the bulldozers and saw the dust a long way away as they razed the ruins of buildings completely to the ground. He run and got there with seconds to spare. He had enough time to dive for the corner where the baby was hidden, before the first crack snaked along the wall and the topmost bricks came falling down, time enough even then to look, and then finally to remember. Then it was too late for anything; and the wall came down on top of him, flattening him into the dust.

The only novel by prize-winning playwright Fugard, Tsotsi’s raw power and rare humanity show how decency and compassion can survive against all the odds.

Fugard was born in Middelburg in South Africa in 1932, to an Afrikaner mother and English father. The racial discrimination that he observed while growing up under apartheid has greatly influence his writing.

The South African director, Gavin Hood shot the film “Tsotsi” in South Africa in 2004 and 2005. Among the numerous awards it has won include the Best Foreign Film at the 2006 Academy Awards, and the Jury Prize for Best Feature at the 2006 Pan African Film and Arts Festival.

Ends.

YASAR MELTEM: A PHOTOGRAPHER WITH A PASSION FOR CHILDREN

SHE IS out to portray the hospitality and humorous nature of the Africans in contrast to the Western press that believes that the only news on the continent is when there is a civil war, a natural disaster, a drought and famine, where people look unhappy and devastated.

“I want to show them (people in the West) that African people are amazingly funny, hospitable and humorous under normal conditions and any condition contrary to what I have listed above would make anyone unhappy and unfortunately most of the photos taken in Africa belong to those sad moments,” Yasar Meltem says.

Meltem’s exhibition of her African works titled “Bright Faces from Africa” was held at Aznavur Art Gallery in Istanbul from September 29 to October 9, 2011. She also plans to exhibit her work in Brussels in the first quarter of 2012.

Meltem’s photography obsession is limited to people and especially children where her passion for the ordinary young ones is vivid with messages of innocence, naivety, compassion, love and care. In the picture on the right Meltem poses with Muhammed, a Tuareg boy taken in Timbuktu, Mali in 2010.
The love for children is what drives her concentration on the young people and this was testimony of her pictures she exhibited at the MishMash Gallery in Kampala on June 26, 2011.

“I love playing and talking to children. They are so much fun. They are full of surprises. They are lively, playful and easily excited. And if you are quick enough to capture the moment, they give you the memory of amazing moments of the time you share with them,” Meltem said.

“I am not a professional photographer. Naturally, I want to photograph the moments I enjoy the most. And the moments I enjoy the most during my holidays are the times I spend with children. I also like talking to children. In a foreign country, you get to learn very interesting – be it funny or tragic facts about that county from a child. You learn things that no guidebook or mature person would tell you.”

“I also like physical acts like playing with them. If you tap a child on the head, from nowhere you can start a tag game instantly and many will join. However if you do it to an adult, you are in trouble! They are fun and I love having fun with them. With children I feel free to do whatever I want,” she added.

“Most of the time I am taking photos of children, their parents are with them. Because I don’t want anyone to walk from the bush or from a house and ask me as to what I am doing there. I befriend the parents or relatives of most of these children to make sure they don’t have a problem of me taking photos. But my passion for children is far bigger than adults. I think I am a child myself stuck in an adult`s body.

Meltem cannot stand the accusation of exploiting children. “People accuse other people for many things in life. However my conscience is very clean. First of all, I never make money from children`s photographs. Photography to me is not about making images; it is also about making friends. Secondly, I don’t force them to be in my photos or I don’t change the way they are. I never told a kid to do something that he/she was not doing. I never told a child to wear or undress something so that it would look nice in my photos,” she argues.

“Thirdly, the streets in Africa are full of children. If you are taking photos in Africa, it is impossible not to take children photos. Take Uganda for example: the average age in this country is 17. So the average age of someone I photograph on the streets will be automatically under-age. I love taking photos of old people but where do I find them?”

“I like the bond between a child and a mother. I believe it is a miracle giving birth, a very difficult miracle and yet women especially in this part of the world are not scared at all to do it many times! That is very brave.”

Meltem came to Uganda six years ago, to see the gorillas and has been living here ever since. “In January 2005, I came here on a safari to see the gorillas. I had the most amazing time of my life. I had a chance to see how gentle, kind and happy Ugandan people are. I fell in love with Ugandan people and the beauty of this country. On Uganda’s Independence Day that year, I came back to live here.”

During the week, Meltem works as head of corporate finance with Icemark-Africa Limited in Kampala, but in her free time on weekends and holidays, the only numbers she cares about are the aperture and shutter speed values of her camera. To her photography is a hobby and does it for free. “Photography is not a field I know how to make money,” she says.

As a very patient photographer who can wait for days, interacting with people first before she even takes the camera out of its case, Meltem emphasizes that she is not out there just to take photographs. “I am out there to experience a different life, to observe something that I have never seen before, to enjoy a different person/life other than myself. If I want to talk to them, I have to be patient to understand them. If you have a camera with you, after a while it is them who want me to take their photographs any way. So my pursuit for getting to know people turns into photography.

“I want to take photos of what is beyond the faces,” Meltem says. “Most people look `at` the photos. I want to take photos which people will want to look `into.’ I believe a camera can capture thoughts and it is those photos which managed to capture a thought or a feeling are the best! And also as it is a frozen moment in time and it is that moment I preferred to take that photo, my portraits are more about me rather than my objects.”

“I like getting closer to my subjects physically and mentally. And personally I will not take a photograph of someone unless I somehow have a liking for the person and I want to remember him/her for the rest of my life,” she adds.

Meltem’s other interests are African art and fabric, travelling and getting to know as many people as possible. Although she has held exhibitions in Uganda and Turkey her plans are to publish her collection of pictures. “Instead of exhibitions, I want to concentrate on a photography book about mothers and their children in Africa. I respect the mothers in this country and in Africa so much and I truly think mothers are really struggling very hard to take care of their children and it is basically mothers who raise them.”

Meltem, who was born in Adana, Turkey, studied Political Science and Public Administration at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. Then she obtained a master’s degree in Banking and Economics from the University of Wales in (U.K.) in 1996.

Her love for photography began in 1995, when her brother bought a very cheap 35mm manual Zenit camera from the Russian Market in Istanbul after the USSR collapsed. Her first pictures were those of three kittens in her balcony playing with their mother. One of the photos came out really nice, but the rest were either dark or out of focus. As they say, the rest is history.

If her tiny camera had not been stolen from her luggage at Nairobi airport in 2005, she would never have upgraded to her fist Nikon and then an interest in photography. “If they did not steal that camera, I would have got very annoyed and got promoted to my Nikon which inspired me to start taking photos again from 2008 onwards,” she says.

Meltem, who has taken pictures in Uganda, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Mali – has no favorite picture yet.

“I enjoy taking photos in Uganda the most as this is my home and I know people a lot better than I would know in another country. I can read them, I can have a lot of fun with them as I know how amazingly fun loving and gentle people Ugandans are. I don’t like taking photos of children with swollen bellies and flies in their eyes. However if that is the case, then it is the way to photograph it. But as Ugandan people are fun people, I enjoy being with them and taking their photographs.”

Watching people in action is what she finds most interesting in the art of photography. “I like watching people. I like how people act, what they perceive of themselves, how important they find themselves, what their motive is. I like human psychology. I can watch people for hours. With photography, I am not only watching people and keeping those images in my head, but I am also carrying those images back home,” Meltem said.

“And I enjoy looking at them at home recalling the moments when I took them. Some trying to look serious, some cool, some funny, some dominant, and some subservient, among others. It is so much fun capturing those moments of watching people. I am also very impressed the difference between color and black and white photography. I find black and white images very capturing,” she added.

She observes that, due to lack of financial means, equipment and training, photography in Uganda is not where it is supposed to be. “It is most of the time not Ugandans taking photographs of their country and people. But you need a camera, a computer/laptop and some other equipment to do it. Unfortunately it is not a cheap hobby. By the way, I am not trying to say that a good camera makes a good photographer…”

Ends.

WILL AFRICA OVERCOME OVERRELIANCE ON RELIGION, WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC?

TITLE: DIARY OF AN AFRICAN FANATIC
AUTHOR: ISMAIL DRAMUNDRU ALI
PUBLISHERS: ROSEDOG BOOKS, 2010

A NEW book by a Ugandan author that attempts to analyse the challenges of Africa concludes that the Africans have been slow towards solving their problems in all spheres of life because of the overreliance on religion, witchcraft and magic to overcome their predicament.

“The African regime had correctly studied the African mind and seen that despite the suffering the modern African endured, he still found enough capacity to endure more. Africans loved the comforts and joys life had to offer…,” Ismail Ali Dramundru argues in his book, ‘Diary of an African Fanatic.’

“The African regime knew religion was the opium of the masses so they encouraged it unlike the ban that was put in place in Soviet Russia. Africa’s rogue rulers let a lopsided version of religion prevail to make the people more subservient…,” Dramundru adds in his book published by RoseDog Books.

“…African regimes have to be thankful of the opium said to be in religion because Africans are a mightily religious lot and their slow response may directly have something to do with the beliefs passed on to them by religion,” he concludes.

“In Africa when religion failed, there was always the recourse to the witch doctor and magic. It was not that God had abandoned Africans but Africans had abandoned God because they lost belief in a God that wanted total obedience. The African chose to take a shortcut to the spiritual realm by way of the witch doctor.” “…If God’s love is not shinning on Africans, then that of the witch doctor is definitely casting a bad spell on Africa for a very long time too…,” he writes.

What is the solution?

According to Dramundru, “The African God is the only God capable of saving Africa from its wretched place on earth – seeing everybody had a God in their image, it was not too much to ask of Africa to produce its own God. If Africa can go into its illustrious past and draw on the culture of its ancestors, they will know and learn about the God they feel has abandoned them…”

The narration in his first book is partly a personal experience and fiction. “The events in the story either happened to me or to somebody I know,” he told The EastAfrican.

The book tackles issues of colonialism, civilization, the leadership and accountability crisis in Africa, poor polices, the dangers of tribalism, environmental degradation, and the challenges of rural – urban, terrorism and guy rights issues, among others.

Dramundru believes that Africa’s biggest problem is fear in confronting the bad leaders who have let the continent down. “We are so fearful to fight for a larger cause than our next meal. The world over people have fought for their freedom and continue to exhibit very strong tendencies of keeping it that way…”

He suggests that: “…To prosper, Africans will have to discard the fear it has generated over many years. The fear to lose one’s own life for a just cause must inspire Africans to fight injustice wherever they find it on the African continent. If as is the case, millions of Africans wallow in poverty, sickness, and disease. What else do we have to fear? How bad can it get now?”

After university he co-founded a non-profit venture called the African Self Help Initiative (ASHI) with an emphasis on community upliftment. ASHI soon became successful attracting the attention and greed of the ruling party and eventually paid a heavy price for refusing to unite its social work and the political message of the ruling party. “…They arrested our members on dubious charges of treason and terrorism. Our offices were shut down and soldiers placed to guard them. We were accused of corruption and defrauding the public…,” he narrates.

Dramundru fled to the US where he got admitted into a master’s programme at a business school in New York City. He had to work to raise his tuition fees – which turned out to be a hassle. He discovered that bad employers take advantage of students without work permits to offer them low pay, or not to pay their wages, physically abuse, insult, verbal taunting and harass the poor students.

Dramundru laments that tribalism has followed the Africans to America. “…There was nothing improper with prizing your culture and origin. But there is something definitely wrong when the tribe feels its approach to issues is the ultimate reality. The tribe’s enemies attain no salvation – they are permanent foes. These thoughts and ways of survival learnt in a different past cannot be now expected to dictate behaviour in a current age.”

“The tribal conduct and its call for total solidarity among its members reek of the remnants of a bygone era – an era where reason was hijacked and buried in the pit of tribal history and lore. So, like cancer, tribalism is thriving in Africa untreated. It is not objective nor is it critical or progressive in any way shape or form. My tribal biases dictate how I treat other people and societies. …Africa has chosen to lay more emphasis on the need for tribal solidarity – the outcome is there for all to see: war and endless wars,” he argues.

Dramundru resides in Washington, D.C., USA and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications studies with a minor in Islamic Studies and a master’s degree in human resource development and counselling from the University of Bridgeport Connecticut. He is other book dealing with upliftment on the continent is underway.

Ends.

AFRICAN RIDDLES CAN HELP IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS

RIDDLING should be adopted as a dependable and sustainable mode of communication in the face of HIV/Aids that is devastating most families in Africa, suggests a new collection of essays on the traditional oral heritage in Uganda.

“…Riddles offer an advantageous escape route in that they are witty, provocative, exploratory, playful is yet serious in the way they expose matters to the core for those who understand them.” Cornelius Wambi Gulere observes in his essay, ‘Riddling and Taboos: Exploring Boundaries in Discussing Reproductive Health.’

Riddle discourse knows no taboo and no status, age or sex boundaries. Children and adults alike participate actively or passively in riddling depending on the prevailing context. The riddle is manifested in the forms of embedded metaphor, puzzle, wordplay, insult, pun, tongue-twister, proverb, narrative, material and non-material non-verbal elements within the speech act, Gulere argues.

“Through riddle discourse, a language user is able to communicate on matters of high sensitivity without compromising their dignity or the dignity of the audience. Topics on sex and politics usually encumbered with restrictions are ably presented for discussion through riddle discourse. The Ugandan audiences, particularly in Busoga, would benefit greatly from a communication culture with riddle discourse because it instills confidence while side stepping the many taboos and restrictions,” he notes.

The misleading assumption that riddles are for children to play with should be done away with. All people, young and old and in different professions and lifestyles, should invest time and resources in riddle discourse so that tensions and misconception born in plain language can be overcome. Riddling should be embraced as an important part of language learning, communication skills training and education in all learning centres, Gulere suggests.

“Although reproductive health is an important concern in African communities, issues of sex and sexuality are considered taboo and better not talked about or discussed in many families. This is exhibited in the way children and adults shy away and feel uncomfortable when words on the subject of sexuality are used…,” Gulere observes.

In most African societies, sex is not to be suggested, discussed or directly spoken about in public, let alone among children. It is treated as pornographic or obscene to explicitly or suggestively use language and imagery with sexual undertones, Gulere adds.

The call by governments for straight talk during sex education, and for parental guidance and counseling to begin as early as pre-primary school, is great challenge, he admits in the essay published in the book, ‘Performing Community’ edited by Dominica Dipio, Lene Johannessen and Stuart Sillars.

The essays in this book are the first fruits of collaboration between the Universities of Makerere and Bergen in Norway. Varied in approach and technique, they offer a insistent and reflective probing into the relations between individual and community, tradition and modernity, and African and western outlooks. There are twelve essays falling in the themes of kinship, authority and resolution, folklore and transmission of wisdom, change and assimilation, parallel formations, children and adults.

“…Efforts by governments and parents to inform and safeguard their children against the scourge of HIV/Aids are plagued by fear, shyness, shock, shame, ignorance, faith restrictions and fallacies, all of which are polite responses to what we define as taboo in this paper. That is, untouchable or no-go no-say, no-speak-about situations,” Gulere argues.

Within the feminist and women’s liberation movement, direct sexual language is seen as sexual harassment. Even though sex and sexuality are at the core of human existence, growth and development, and constitute a core principle upon which human thought and actions are based, it is seen as taboo to think about or discuss its natural influences. It is usually when the liberating power of riddling comes into play that people feel the freedom to express themselves publicly on these matters,” Gulere adds.

Issac Tibasiima’s essay, ‘The Concept of Power in the Praise Poetry of the Batoro,’ discusses the relationship between praise of poetry and the concept of power. Praise poetry is looked at not only as a means of giving and confirming, but also negotiating power between the praise giver and the subject of praise. The essay deals with praise poetry forms that are an essential part of the oral traditions of Tooro Kingdom in western Uganda known as ebihaiso. His main argument is that praise reflects power as a productive force that shows how people perceive their reality and life as a network of relationships that are intrinsically rewarding.

“…People always exploit the rhetoric of power that is contained in the praise poem. Praise poetry therefore has the ability to affect not only the subject of praise but also the praise giver. It thus becomes a means through which both the praise giver and the subject of praise negotiate both their power and position in society,” Tibasiima observes.

“’Engabu’ is poetry recited by men who have established themselves with brave acts and therefore quality to be called ‘Emanzi’ (the heroes). The recitation is normally a public acclamation that shows the degree to which the hero’s acts of bravery are recognized by his society…”

“Praise poetry among the Batoro is thus a show of personal achievement. The recitations take place because the poet wants to be recognized by the king and the community, which is why it is performed in public. …There is no special position in Toro for a royal court poet because the king recognizes whoever is able to show their own bravery and achievements… The poet is in essence trying to establish his own space that must be recognized as an exceptional human being and not just an ordinary one. This poetry is never performed during death and funeral ceremonies.”

“’Enanga’ on the other hand is slower and more composed poetry. Women perform this type of poetry; it is sung with the help of a small harp called an ‘enanga’ from which it derives its name. Sometimes the poetry may be recited without the instrument, with a group of choristers… This poetry deals mainly with historical events for example the start of the kingdom, past war memories, and stories of heroes from the past and the present. It is passed on from one generation to another from mothers to their daughters.”

Today the roles are changing with men reciting the enanga consciously of the fact that it’s a female domain. While on the other hand, women reciting the male genre of the engabu are not willing to be acknowledged. “…Women who have willingly given these recitations have preferred to stay anonymous, however, because they feel it is not their domain and they would prefer to stay in the confines of their traditions. In its subtle presentation, this too is a power shift,” Tibasiima notes.

“Power is a complex concept because each of the participants seeks ways of recognition and identification. It is not vested in the hands of one individual but each must be able to move to the space of the other and then back to their position…,” he adds.

Ends.