Issue 3/ 2010
March
Editorial
Dear
Go
Africa
Go
Germany
community, dear readers of Joint
MAG,
this issue of Joint MAG covers an
topic that is always prevalent in
Afro-European
affiars:
the
perception of the other, be it
from
a
media,
a
scientific,
political or indeed interpersonal
point of view.
This issue attempts to present a
forum for contributions
Julian Bergmann presents a brief
analysis of Africa in the German,
media guest writer Marvin
think of a rather negative image: Africa is of only minor significance and if there is
any media coverage, it is presented as the continent of crises, catastrophes and
seems. With regard to daily news, it is certainly true that Africa plays only a minor
role because the focus of many newspapers and TV-stations lies on German and
European politics. With regard to German TV, for example, studies have shown that
Dagmar Schmidt and Jürgen Wilke (1998) found that, on average, not more than
Dimmendahl about African
one percent of the contributions was about Africa. Another study by Anke Poenicke
studies in Germany. Algerian
(2001) comes to a similar conclusion: ‘With regard to daily news, it could be
guest writer Lakhdar Ghettas
confirmed that Africa is merely a minor topic and if there is coverage about African
presents his view on the
issues, only few background information is given'.
Algerian-French relations that
Referring to articles about Africa in the German press, a big share of them deals
have recently been strained by
rightwing French campaigns and
a legislation seemingly unaware
of the sensitive issues regarding
the country's colonial past.
with issues such as civil wars, humanitarian crises or diseases. Recent examples
are the conflict in Nigeria, the humanitarian situation in Darfur, the situation in socalled failed states such as Somalia or DRC or the military coup and its
consequences in Niger. In his recent book ‘Journalisten der Finsternis’ (english
title: ‘Journalists of Darkness’), which gives a comprehensive analysis of the
Lastly, Alia Jakoby has put
perception of Africa in German media, the German scholar Lutz Mükke (2009) finds
together a small collection of
that between 12 to 19 percent of the coverage of African issues in the most
links and information relevant
prominent German newspapers is about war – not including reports about crises
for the subject matter.
and conflicts below the level of full-fledged wars. But this rather negative coverage
Have a good read, and do not
reviews,
If asked about how Africa is perceived by the German media, many people might
German newscasts in 1995 on four main TV channels (ARD, ZDF, RTL, Sat1),
Cologne university's Prof.
independent
ermany
the share of African news in daily TV news is very small. In their analysis of
Kumetat has interviewed
contact
by Julian Bergmann, Germany
frica
coverage of Africa? The answer to this question, however, is not as easy as it
dimensions: while staff writer
to
A continent of crises, conflicts and
catastrophes? – Africa in the German
media
conflicts. But does this wide-spread perception still hold true for today’s media
analyzing relations in those
hesitate
JOINT M
A
G
us
for
analyses
or interviews!
Linda Poppe and Dennis Kumetat
of Africa in the daily newsmedia has to be seen in a wider context, too: the topics
with the highest news value are those that relate to dramatic and negative events.
As the German journalist Sebastian Bräuer, who has worked on African topics,
knows: ‘The slogan "bad news is good news" is nowhere more accurate than in the
reports about Africa. Who cares about successful and peaceful elections? A violent
post-election conflict in Kenya is getting lots of attention, which is also due to the
fact that many journalists are based in Nairobi. A peaceful post-election power
Content
transition in Senegal does not get anywhere near to that’. Additionally, German
Africa in the German media // 1
media reports about African politics when there is a link to German politics: for
Europe in Africa - Africa in Europe
example when a prominent German politician visits an African country or when
// 2
German soldiers take part in a peacekeeping operation on African soil, as it was
African Studies in Germany // 3
the case with EUFOR RD Congo in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006.
Algiers - Paris Relations today// 5
Another aspect of the rather distorted perception of Africa in German media can be
Imprint // 6
found in German motion pictures such as “Nirgendwo in Afrika” (“Nowhere in
Africa”), “Africa mon amour” or “Albert Schweitzer – a life
for Africa”. Although some of these movies deal very
critically with the German colonial past, they tend to
Info
Europe in Africa - Africa in Europe
reproduce typical stereotypes. Africa is presented as the
“continent of the wild” and local people are shown as “the
Africa in Europe
noble savages”. African people are often presented as being
• The internet library sub-Saharan Africa, from the
less-educated and poor, grateful for the white man to come
library of the University of Frankfurt offers a wide
and to help them out of their “dramatic” situation. What is
range of links about Africa. You can find links to
also striking is that in nearly all German motion pictures
databases for literature and magazines, collections of
about Africa, the chief characters are Germans or Europeans.
images and documents, libraries with a good selection
But this is only one part of the story. In fact, numerous
of literature on/of Africa, research institutes, news and
documentaries and background stories about African history,
some more. Even if the site is in German, most of the
politics, economy or culture have been produced in the
links are in English, so that it can also be interesting
recent past. These media formats differ from mainstream
for Non-Germans. Just have a look at:
contributions insofar as they show a more balanced picture
http://www.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/webmania/lafrika.html
of Africa. One problem regarding their mass outreach,
• A German platform on art, culture and business
however, is that TV documentaries about Africa are often not
http://www.afroport.de/ aims to paint a picture of
broadcasted during prime time and therefore cannot address
Africa different from that of the usual media
a large audience. Additionally, some newspapers such as
representation.
“die tageszeitung (taz)” report regularly and well-informed
• The library of the African Studies Institute in Leiden
about African topics. Furthermore, in the run-up to the
(NL) provides a list of free, Africa related, e-journals:
soccer world cup in South Africa, there seems to be an
http://www.ascleiden.nl/Library/FreeOnlinePeriodicals.
increased interest of German news agencies in Africa in
aspx
general and South Africa in particular. But again, the main
focus of German media coverage lies on “negative” aspects
Europe and Africa
such as the precarious security situation in some South
• http://www.africa-eu-partnership.org/index_en.php
African cities and the problems the organizing team faces
is a platform on the partnership between the African
with regard to transportation and accommodation – aspects
Union and the European Union. Under
that are, again, eurocentric and do not at all cover the full
http://europafrica.net/ you can find more news and
range of topics possible.
resources on the joint Africa-EU strategy.
In sum, it seems that although some progress has already
• Information on the European Union and its member
been made, the perception of Africa in the German media
countries you can find on the official website
remains overwhelmingly one-sided. One reason for this is
http://europa.eu
the lack of support for journalists reporting on African
issues. As a survey among German correspondents in Africa
Europe in Africa
conducted by Lutz Mükke has shown, these journalists do
• As first contact to German culture, society and a
often not possess the necessary resources to carry out their
focus on language courses, the Goethe Institute has
work. And often, even large papers only have 1-3
offices in many African countries: www.goethe.de. You
permanent correspondents on the continent. Usually based
can select the country under “network”.
in Nairobi, Cairo and Capetown or Johannesburg, they are to
• For the United Kingdom, their international
report for major parts of the continent, on average about 33
organisation for cultural relations and educational
countries. Another reason is the rareness of African
opportunities, the British Council offers interesting
journalists contributing news to German newspapers or TV-
information http://www.britishcouncil.org/new/
channels. Possible ways to overcome these obstacles might
Its a portal for Africa:
be the facilitation of exchanges between German and African
http://www.britishcouncil.org/africa.htm
journalists, the financial promotion of German media
• The internet presence of the French equivalent, the
projects covering African topics and the creation of
Alliance Française. is not as good as from the Goethe
awareness campaigns that point to the deficits of the
Institute or the British Council, but you may get
German media coverage of Africa. If such activities could
information from the French embassy. Here are two
really make a difference, remains an open question.
links for the Alliance Française in South Africa
http://www.alliance.org.za/ and Ghana
http://www.alliancefrancaiseghana.com/
African Studies in Germany – an
insider’s point of view
Prof. Dr. Gerrit Dimmendaal studied African languages
and cultures, Arabic, literature and history in Leiden,
the Netherlands, and is now chair of African languages
at the Institute of African Studies, Cologne University.
The interview was led by Marvin Kumetat, student of
African studies, Cologne.
over the last few decades?
GD: Until recently, it had hardly changed. I hail from the
Netherlands and I studied and worked in Leiden for
twenty years. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Dutch
government took measures to reorganize and completely
terminate some fields of study. Eventually, Leiden was the
only place left to study subjects such as Non-European
philology and cultural studies rendering it a protected
MK: Prof. Dimmendaal, how would you describe the
public perception of Africa in Europe?
zone or a nature reserve for these disciplines. Towards
the end of 90s, these disciplines were further reduced
leaving
GD: I think it is a constant fight. Africa is generally
regarded as the continent where nothing is functioning
and everyone is in need of help. This is exactly the
perception I have been fighting for years. Let’s talk
about Sudan, where the same applies: it is not THE
Sudan but a small minority which tries to lead the
repressed Islam and has done so for almost a century
– not particularly successful but it is a small group that
defines the picture to the outside world. Then, of
course, there are many Sudanese who take a different,
liberal view. I pin my hopes on those.
The media negatively depicts Africa. I have been
battling this image, albeit not so successfully. If I
notice that some place is undergoing change, I try to
talk about it. That is what I did in the case of Addis
Ababa and I am doing now regarding Khartoum. By so
doing, I try to make this little contribution and make
use of every opportunity to tell something positive
about Africa. Since the media are already reporting the
bad news, there is no need for me to do the same. To
take another example: plans were made for a new
research area here in Cologne joining geographers,
ethnologists, Africanists and the University of Bonn
under the heading “collapse”. My immediate
MK: How have the African Studies changed in Germany
reaction
was: “I just won't participate. This is done by the
media and there is really no need for a research area
covering this topic.”
I do not intend to disregard these issues and I am
aware of certain problems, but I feel the desire to also
present the positive things (which also exist). Things
that work well. Senegal, for example is a great
country. They are about fifty or even a hundred years
ahead of the situation in Sudan. It may all take a long
time, but still good things can be reported there –
which hardly make the news. And that's the problem.
only
the
financially
lucrative
disciplines
of
Japanology and Sinology, although they too had to cut
back.
When I first came to Cologne in 2002, I was told: “This
place looks like a Dutch University before the Second
World War.” Everything was quite cosy and traditional
meaning you had your professorship and a handful of
"Plans were made for a new research
project on Africa called "collapse" - I
refused to participate"
students. Whereas in Holland we were obliged to combine
different subjects and develop new degree programs. In
2002 and 2003 the pressure for reform from outside, e.g.
from the Düsseldorf district government, finally took hold
of the University of Cologne. In my opinion, the same is
happening as what happened in the Netherlands 20 years
ago and I hope that it does not evolve in the same way
here. In the Netherlands, that was the first step towards
saying: “We do not need anything that is not yielding any
money such as taxes.” The same thing happened
in
Great Britain, although it is acknowledged that these
subjects
provide
invaluable
knowledge
about
African
cultures and languages – albeit at a cost. SOAS is a good
example: almost terminated under Margaret Thatcher, its
situation has constantly improved since the 90s.
These changes figure prominently in Cologne. A new
“subject group four” (as we have not agreed on a name
yet)
has
emerged
Japanologists,
studies.
In
merging
Sinologists,
fact,
it
could
Africanists,
Indologists
be
called
ethnologists,
and
Islamic
'Non-European
philology and cultural studies'. We, as in Leiden 20 years
ago, are undergoing a restructuring. Even if institutes are
not dismantled directly, there is an organisation that
merges six institutes under one common administration.
Yet we are struggling to remain independent, acquire
external funds and network as much as possible. But it is
a hard battle and I am trying to use the experiences I
gained in Leiden because, as I said, I hope that this will not happen here
in Cologne. You may not notice the restructuring from the outside but we
Miscellaneous
really have to fight every day and justify ourselves constantly. This
relates to the first question: there is this image of a continent where
there is no money to be made. Sudan refutes this claim. Business people
The online portal http://allafrica.com
provides African news and information
have already discovered this. They come to Sudan from all over the
worldwide from over 120 African news
world because it has got huge oil reserves. Universities do not seem to
agencies.
have noticed it and the following perception reigns: “This institute is
dealing with a hopeless continent – get rid of it!” We are fighting because
A link on conferences in African Studies
it matters to us. It is not merely our jobs but about African Studies as a
and related fields worldwide:
discipline.
www.conferencealerts.com/africa.htm
MK: What impact do African Studies have in Germany?
GD: “Basically, I think that we can provide knowledge about Africa. That means that if our students and graduates work
as journalists or in development, they take with them this know-how. Influencing the media is also another side although
this is not easily accomplished. In 2001 I was very enthusiastic and thought I’d try and cooperate with the media in
Cologne. As in Leiden,
people had a complacent attitude. They thought you could withdraw into
the ivory tower of academia and think: “Those things outside, in the real world, have nothing
to do with me.” But that is wrong. So I visited the WDR [the major regional public
broadcaster] a few times where I continually deplored the one-sided and negative media
coverage of Africa. They disagreed and made every effort to report the other side of Africa.
WDR really put an effort, but I know for sure that there are other, worse examples in the
media who exclusively try to disparage Africa. The problem that arises is: “Does the audience
want to hear about the positive side of Africa? I do not think so.”
Many people I talk to speak of THE Africans who are kicking each other’s heads and fail to
build a future for themselves. This is a fairly widespread image, which is difficult to change.
Hopefully, our students can take with them another image of Africa. And if they work with the
media they can possibly even influence them. We should not ignore the negative aspects – of course, they do exist just
like anywhere else – but we should try to emphasise the positive sides of things – and there is unfortunately hardly
anyone who does that. I have visited several African countries over the last 25 years and I know about the problems, but
if you want to make a change you have to focus on the positive developments and cooperate with those who can and
want to change things, as I experienced in Ethiopia. You have to be tough – it is not always an easy matter. For instance,
I am trying to build something up at the University in Khartoum but there is much resistance because there are people
who want to get rid of me. I am sort of a troublemaker to them. They had a peaceful and cosy life and now, suddenly,
there is someone who is eager to change things. I noticed that before in Addis Ababa. As it is a constant fight, this also
involves losing your motivation sometimes. But, still, I have this need and in light of my 25 year experience, I know that
it actually works, that you can change things in small steps.
At present we have a project running in the Nuba Mountains (Sudan) where we are helping a group of people develop
their Tima language and a dictionary. There will be an Arabic and an English dictionary so that the children have
advantages in school as both languages are taught. These changes may not be noticed outside the region but I think it’s
important all the same. It takes time. It is sometimes forgotten what happened in Europe. Most people tend to think that
we have always lived as we do now but that is a misconception. Here, too, we believed in witchcraft till the 19th century.
Only a few people are aware that not too long ago, the Europeans practiced customs that are just practiced in Africa and
South America until today. So today I am somewhat optimistic and I truly believe that things can be changed.”
Algiers-Paris Relations: Crossing the Rubicon in the War of Colonial Legacies
Lakhdar Ghettas, London
The French National Front’s election campaign poster, which depicted the French map covered with the Algerian flag and
minarets together with a veiled women wearing a burka as well as the ‘No to Islamism’ slogan, has been the latest
event in an episode of deteriorating Algerian-French relations since 2005. Jean-Marie Le Pen’s party poster provoked
human rights associations and NGOs in France who took the case to court. Algiers protested officially for what it
considered a scandalous treatment of one of the symbols of its sovereignty: its national emblem. Since then the court
has ruled that the National Front party had to take down the posters in question or else face penalties.
Between Algiers and Paris, however, there is more than a provocative poster by a French far right party. AlgerianFrench relations have always gone through cycles of ups and downs since Algerian independence in 1962. By the early
1980 it looked like the countries had finally found the formula to reconcile their troubled past of a former coloniser and
colony. Objective and subjective linguistic, demographic and economic considerations dictated the shape of the special
relationship which was based on a mutually privileged status, but the end of the Cold War and the regional and global
events which followed 9/11 introduced new elements into the relationship. New global players, particularly the US,
started to penetrate North Africa, which Paris has always considered part of its vital sphere and crucial to its global
influence. The arrival to power of President Sarkozy, who is detached from the colonial legacy which French presidents
before him shared, removed an important element from the way the relations between the two countries had been
"Algeria should not be blamed for
pursuing what is in its national
economic interest"
forged until then.
The early warnings came with the adoption of the 23
February 2005 law by the French National Assembly. This law
aimed at including material of what they considered “the
positive role” of French colonialism in history textbooks in the
French public schools. The passing of the law triggered an extensive wave of indignation in Algiers and a widespread
debate on the legacy of colonialism among politicians, historians, media, NGOs, university campuses and academics in
both countries. In order to calm the debate, towards the end of his presidency, President Chirac set up a commission of
historians to address the issue but it was too late. Since the issue related to collective memories, colonial experiences
and legacies is political to begin with; academics could do little to calm down the situation.
President Sarkozy inherited this controversial issue and it was not before long he exacerbated the situation having a
bad start in engaging with the North African immigrants and the Arab community in France as a whole. Meanwhile,
Algeria was using its revenues from energy exports (following the record surge of oil prices ) to finance its extensive
infrastructure development plan. For domestic reasons and geopolitical factors the Algerian government entrusted
American as well Chinese companies with the majority of those lucrative contracts. While American companies extended
their presence in the oil and gas exploration and exploitation sector in the Algerian Sahara, the Chinese won all major
housing construction contracts. Besides, the gigantic East-West Highway project (dubbed in Algerian the “Project of the
Century”), which once completed would link the Algerian-Tunisian border to the one with Morocco, was won by a
Chinese and a Japanese company. French companies lost a bid after another of most of the lucrative contracts which
were won by new-comers from the Far East and the Far West. At a time of acute economic situation in France Paris read
in this a politically motivated retaliation by Algiers for the 23 February 2005 Law. Commentators and observers in world
capitals spoke publicly of the gradual eviction of France from its traditional sphere of influence. This led to frictions even
within the European Union member as Italy developed stronger commercial exchanges with Algeria or when Germany
announced its “Desertec” renewable energy project. The official Algerian line maintained that all bids were transparent
and that laws of economic completion among the bidder apply. If the American and Chinese kept offering competitive
bids, Bouteflika defended, then Algeria should not be blamed for acting in its national economic interest.
Meanwhile, Sarkozy’s government introduced new laws which were regarded as targeting the large Algerian immigrant
community in France. Algiers protested against the mistreatment of Algerians by the French authorities including the
new drastic measures Paris introduced for granting Algerians tourist visas. In Algeria, President Bouteflika retaliated by
calling French colonisation ‘a crime against humanity and genocide’ whenever a speech to celebrate a national day was
pronounced. Besides, by now, the Algerian media, politicians, academics, etc. routinely called for retaliating via passing
a law by the Algerian Parliament to criminalise French colonialism in Algeria.
All this angered Paris to such an extent that it even warned Algiers
unofficially through politicians and figures close to the French establishment
not to cross the Rubicon.
The war of colonial legacies between Paris and Algiers would be intensified by
the world economic crisis: by the time Bouteflika won a third presidential
term in April 2009 the economic crisis had started to set in Algeria. The fall of
oil prices compelled the Algerian government to pass drastic protectionist
economic measures, which affected what remained for the French firms of
business opportunities. Most French exports to Algeria were significantly
affected. Paris protested officially and even a delegation of the Marseille
Chamber of Commerce met with the Algerian Premier to express their deep
concerns. Algeria, on the other hand, considered the French protest
interference in its internal affairs. In the course of the following months,
several diplomatic mishaps and provocative declarations were made in both
capitals leading to the cancellation of official presidential visits and meetings
of the both countries’ foreign ministers. Furthermore, Paris resurrected the
case of its seven Christian monks who were assassinated in 1995 in Algeria;
when a retired French general accused the Algerian army of involvement in
the kidnapping and then killing of the monks, blamed at the time on the
Islamist terrorist group GIA. Prior to this episode, an Algerian diplomat was
Algier's iconic martyr's monument
commemorating the up to 1 million
casualties of its independence war
arrested in Paris for allegations that he was connected to the assassination in 1987 of Ali Mecili, an Algerian opposition
figure with French citizenship, on French soil
These two developments would mark the climax in the build up of the extremely strained relations between Paris and
Algiers. The latest declarations in early March by Bernard Kouchner, French Foreign Minister, that relation between the
two countries would not improve ‘until the independence generation now ruling Algeria was gone’ have aggravated an
already deteriorated situation. Following this declaration, a number of the FLN party MPs have sponsored a bill to
criminalise the French colonisation of Algeria 1830-62. If passed, the Rubicon would have indeed been crossed opening
a new phase yielding severe consequences for regional and Mediterranean affairs.
Editors: Dennis Kumetat and Linda Poppe // Editorial Team: Julian Bergmann, Mwenda Gatobu, Lerato Tsebe and Benjamin Zasche
Available online: www.bpb.de // Contact: goafrica (at) bpb.de