Africa Tale of the Day (Updated 10/15/2013)

I will be updating this often so we can all learn about world's most interesting and diverse continent with hundreds of ethnic groups and 54 countries.

Meet the Guinea Worm.



"Dracunculus medinensis is a long and very thin nematode (roundworm). The parasite enters a host by way of host ingestion of stagnant water contaminated with copepods (water fleas) infested with guinea worm larvae. Approximately one year later, the disease presents with a painful, burning sensation as the female worm forms a blister, usually on the lower limb."

"Once prevalent in 20 nations in Asia and Africa, the disease remains endemic among humans in only four countries in Africa."

Almost all of the current cases are in South Sudan.

The Exit of the Worm Video

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The Darfur conflict in Sudan is between peoples of African and Arab descent, with both groups generally adhering to Islam. The conflict stems from land disputes between Arab nomads and African farmers, thus it generally maps onto ethnic divisions. This conflict is generally unrelated to the Sudanese Civil Wars fought between 1955-1972 and 1983-2005. These wars were between the Arab/African/Muslim North versus the largely Christian and Animist African South. South Sudan seceded in 2011 after a referendum that was part of a peace deal largely brokered by the Bush Administration. This made for Africa's 54th country and the most undeveloped country in the world. Roughly the size of Texas, South Sudan has only a few kilometers of paved roads. Meanwhile the conflict in Darfur remains generally unsettled. Here is a picture that I took while monitoring the referendum in South Sudan. He was praying before he cast his vote for secession and freedom for his people:




Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia was ruler from 1930-1974. He was considered to be the descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. His official title was "His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings of Ethiopia, Elect of God." He was deified as God reincarnate by the Rastaferi movement largely centered in Jamaica (viewed as the messiah). He is known for giving a powerful, albeit ineffectual, speech at the League of Nations in 1936 after Ethiopia was invaded by Italy. At home he was known for extreme extravagance, and even had a pride of lions in his entourage.

Ethiopia was never colonized like almost all the rest of the continent. This, and its unique heritage of Christianity and lineage from the Abyssinian Empire make it home to a very unique country, culture and people. Emperor Selassie is one example of this distinction.



Idi Amin ruled Uganda for eight years. He started out, like many post-colnial African leaders, as a widely supported reformer. He ended up as one of the most brutal strongmen in history. He killed at least 300,000 people during his tenure. "According to Amnesty International, the ICJ, and exile sources, Amin deliberately created four rival and overlapping agencies to carry out his mass killings. These were the Military Police, the Presidential Guard, the Public Safety Unit and the Bureau of State Research. His bodyguards were drawn from his own Kakwa tribe and, with their special language and accent, they were well placed to detect any attempt by an outsider to infiltrate their ranks." He was also a championship swimmer:

How to win a swim race like Idi Amin

Mobutu Sese Seko ruled the Democratic of the Congo (Zaire) for 32 years (1965-1997). His original name was Jospeh Mobutu but he changed! with his new name translating to "The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, goes from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake." Each evening the nightly news was preceded by his descending from the clouds in a ridiculously awesome graphic.