Sunday, December 1, 2013

Israel's New Racism - Interview with film maker David Sheen

About 60,000 African migrants have arrived in Israel since 2006, fleeing unrest in their home countries. But upon arrival in the ostensibly democratic country, the migrants have faced intense persecution and have been branded as "infiltrators" by right-wing politicians and activists.
We speak with film maker David Sheen about his new film Israel's New Racism: The Persecution of African Migrants in the Holy Land

Listen to the interview here

Kidnapping of Eritrean Migrants - Interview with Meron Estefanos

Meron Estefanos is an Eritrean journalist and human rights activist. She is a contributor to the leading Eritrean diaspora news site Asmarino and a presenter for Radio Erena. Estefanos is the co-founder of the International Commission on Eritrean Refugees, an advocacy organization for the rights of Eritrean refugees, victims of trafficking, and victims of torture. She actively campaigns for freedom and democracy in her country, which has suffered under the dictatorship of Isaias Afwerki since 1993.

We spoke to her about he plight of Eritrean migrants, who en route to Israel are kidnapped for ransom and held in the Sinai desert.  We also spoke to her about the horrendous treatment that African migrants receive by Israeli state and society.

Meron has set up a PayPal account to collect donations to help the families of Eritrean hostages in Sinai. To donate, go to PayPal.com and transfer to the account soscare@yahoo.com. Note that the account is not set up as an official charity.

Listen to the interview here

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Protest Against President Paul Kagame

Interview with Serge Ndayizeye, one of the organizers of the protest against the presence of President of Rwanda Paul Kagame at the Rwanda Day festivities held on September 28th, Toronto, Canada.



Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Interview with David Austin



Earlier this month author David Austin was in town to promote his newest book Fear of a Black Nation: Race, Sex, and Security in Sixties Montreal. It is available in bookstores!









Monday, June 17, 2013

Africom Declaration and "Made in Congo" Sabrina Moella

In this edition of African Perspectives (May 26, 2013), we first speak with Aziz Fall, an organizer with the Group for Research and Initiative for the Liberation of Africa (GRILA) in Montreal.  He speaks about an international declaration that was released by an international coalition of organization and individuals condemning AFRICOM.  We then speak with Sabrina Moella regarding her new one-woman play called "Made in Congo".  We start, as always, with news briefs and headlines from the continent.

Listen to the show here

For the AFRICOM Go Home! declaration (in 6 languages), visit the GRILA website


Wednesday, June 5, 2013

African Liberation Day 2013

PanAfricanism and Today's Challenges: Obstacles and Ways Forward

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Organization for African Unity and African Liberation Day, GRILA-Toronto hosted a panel discussion at A Different Booklist. Panelists:
Prof. Pablo Idahosa: Resources and Land Grabbing on the African continent
Ameth Lo: AFRICOM, the New Wave of Militarization in Africa.

Listen to the panel presentation here

Visit GRILAs website to access the Declaration on AFRICOM in 6 language

Monday, April 15, 2013

Report Back from Cabral Workshop

In this episode, Ameth speaks to organizers of a public workshop held in honour and memory of Amilcar Cabral.

Listen to the show here

Blogging and Social Media, African Cup of Nations

Blogging and other forms of social media are huge on the African Continent. We speak with Dr. Neelika Jayawrdane of the blog Africa is a Country.

The African Cup of Nations football tournament finals are today, we get a recap of the tournament with Farid Omar

Listen to the show here

Tribute to Amilcar Cabral, Part 2 and the African Cup of Nations continues

We continue our dedication to Amilcar Cabral. And an update on the African Cup of Nations tournament.

Listen to this week's show here

African Cup of Nations 2013

Another African Cup of Nations is upon us, and we are always excited to see the action! We speak with Farid Omar for what to look out for in this year's tournament.

Listen to the interview here

Tribute to Amilcar Cabral, Part 1

We start the show off this week with an update of the situation in Mali. Then we spend the rest of the hour discussing the work and legacy of Amilcar Cabral

Listen to the show here

US Deployment of Troops to the African Continent

On December 24th, US President Barack Obama announced the deployment of 3500 troops to various spots on the African continent to supposedly fight terrorism. This was a sneaky move from the government coming the day before Christmas so as to not garner much attention. We speak with Abayomi Azikiwe about this move and its implications. Azikiwe is the editor of the Pan-African News Wire.

We start the show off as always with headlines. Interview with Azikiwe starts at 19:02

Listen to the interview here

From Soweto to Cuito Cunavale

Interview with Issac Saney Cuba specialist who teaches at Dalhousie University (Canada) and is author of the acclaimed, Cuba: A Revolution In Motion. He is currently finishing the book From Soweto to Cuito Cuanavale: Cuba, The War in Angola and the End of Apartheid.

We will be talking about this important date (Jan 1988) and the battle of Cuito Canavalee that marked the beginning of the end of the Apartheird regime in South Africa.

Listen to the interview here 

Update on Democratic Republic of Congo

Ameth speaks with Michael regarding the latest updates from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Listen to the interview here

Liberation Cooperative Organization (LCO)

Interview with Owen Sheppard, member of Liberation Cooperative Organization (LCO) on a solidarity projec with the creation of an independent media in the heart of East Africa's second-largest slum in Nairobi (Kenya). People of Mathare have established their own independent media groups to share issues and generate conversations relevant to their lives.

Listen to the interview here

Grenada -

Interview with Kymani starts at 15:15. Before that news briefs from the continent.

Listen to the show here 

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Speak Sudan Magazine

In this segment of Amandla - An African Perspective, we speak with Mariam Ahmed from the new African youth magazine Speak Sudan about the magazines launch and objectives.  Check out the Speak Sudan magazine.

Listen to the interview here

Thatcher in Africa, FEMEN Debate

In this week's edition of Amandla- An African Perspectives, we first chat with Kuthula Matshazi about the legacy of Margaret Thatcher's policies and actions on the African continent, specifically Zimbabwe and South Africa. Then we talk to Roshan Jahangeer about the FEMEN controversy. FEMEN is a Western style feminist organization that has caused a lot of anger amongst Muslim women because of their racist and neocolonial attitude to Islam and liberation.

Listen to this week's show here

Sunday, March 31, 2013

New Constitution in Zimbabwe

On March 16th, Zimbabweans voted on a new Constitution in a national referendum. With all major parties supporting it, the result was a resounding 93% 'yes'. We are joined by Nkululeko Sibanda to speak to us about the new constitution, its historical context and its future implications.

We start the show, as always, with headlines from the African continent.

Interview with Nkululeko starts at 15:17


Listen to this week's show here