Foreign Workers in Libya continue to dig through the wreckage caused by a storm that has left at least 10 000 people unaccounted for Morocco quick Survivor struggle in makeshift shelters even as Aid response speeds up and in our technology report a self-taught professional roller skater from Zambia is Riding High in the roller
Skating world all this and much more coming up on today’s Africa 54. The horror of the flooding tragedy in Libya is still coming into Focus as the death toll has reached more than five thousand and that number is expected to rise further in the eastern city of derna where flooding has caused massive Devastation according to a local Health official authorities are struggling to
Get Aid to the coastal city after the waters washed away most access roads the United Nations migration agency says that more than 30 000 people are now homeless due to the destruction local rescue teams and Aid workers who have managed to reach dharna continue to search for bodies on Wednesday but
Entire neighborhoods were swept away or crumbled under the Deluge of rain water one Aid Walker from Benghazi says quote bodies are everywhere inside houses in the streets at Sea wherever you go you find dead men women and children for more insight on the aftermath of the Libya floods Vio espon Diego spoke via
Skype with Saleh Sarah a journalist based in eastern Libya what you call the disaster in in the eastern part of Libya is great because the city of dirna is is about uh 200 200 kilometers from the city of Benghazi and the city is affected by the the hurricane and by the water
So a lot of people died but up to now there are no exact numbers or exact figures about uh how many people died but uh but as far as we know where there are thousands of people died not hundreds not tens not hundreds thousands people died in the city of delna and the
Rescue missions they are not saying still they are not talking about the exact figures of the people who died he said a lot of international agencies are also coming to uh to your rescue are you able to maybe uh give us a sense of what has been done on the ground all all
The roads are are closed are damaged so there’s still people and or people of of Libya they are still trying to find the ways how the missions come to the city because no one mostly they are talking about the roads which are damaged from the hurricanes
But uh as far as we know as far as we hear that that Italy is uh is uh is ascending its troops to help to help the the city uh also Egypt which is very near Egypt is when is very near to dinner uh uh they also helped Tunisia Algeria
They send the airplanes to the city of uh tobruk which is near the as far as you know many many countries are sending their their assistance other equipment to uh to uh to move the debris and to help the people and people who are survived or that they did
The country most people are appealing to the governments to the two governments to be United and to make their possible help so let you bring up a very good point and you say that uh people are appealing to the two governments uh to be United what’s the likelihood that that is going
To happen considering that these two rival uh factions have been fighting each other disaster help with help with the two governments to respond to the appeal of the care of their people to be United because the government of the western part of Libya they send money and equipments and Emissions to to help
Their brothers and the industrial park because some people in the in the western part they they announced that they opened their houses and their farmers and their um and their buildings to the to the people in the eastern part who want to uh to join them and want to flee the the floods
So this is a very good uh chance that was Celestial a journalist based in eastern Libya speaking to voas Pond diho elsewhere in North Africa Moroccan rescue workers have been joined by International responders from Spain the United Kingdom the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as they favoritely try to
Reach remote mountains areas that are buried under dust from rubble from Friday’s earthquake First Responders are walking around the clock trying to dig through the wreckage in search of any signs of Life at this hour the death toll from the Quake has risen to nearly 3 000. many survivors are struggling in
Makeshift shelters the situation is most desperate for the people in remote areas cut off by landslides triggered by the earthquake that blocked access roads relief efforts are being stepped up with tent camps and distribution of food and water the number of people injured more than doubled to over 5500 according to
State television the quick was Morocco’s deadliest since 1960 and its most powerful in more than a century Morocco sofa has not accepted offers of aid from Italy Belgium France and Germany Pope Francis on Wednesday expressed his sorrow for the people in Libya and Morocco my thoughts go out to the people of
Libya hit by violent trains that triggered floods and caused numerous death and injuries as well as extensive damage I invite you to join me in my prayers for those who have lost their lives their families and their displaced do not forget to express your solidarity with these brothers and sisters so Tried
By This calamity and my thoughts also go out to the noble Moroccan people who have suffered after the earthquake let us pray for Morocco for its inhabitants that the Lord will give them the strength to recover after this terrible event pontiff made his remarks on Wednesday to faithfuls gathered in Saint Peter’s
Square in Vatican City now for more on the duo crisis in Libya and Morocco I’m joined from here in Washington by William Lawrence a professor of political science and international Affairs at American University School of International Service he also served as a senior Diplomat at the U.S embassies
In Libya and Morocco William welcome to Africa 54. nice to be here now let’s start with Libya what do you do with a crisis of this magnitude Well normally about 95 of what you do has to happen before the disaster and the big problem in Denim and the
Environment is they didn’t do most of that so you kind of have to make it up as you go uh there are many pieces to a disaster like this uh first of all there are collapsed infrastructures that have to be replaced there was no working Hospital in Verna so for example they
Had to take over a building and turn the rooms into hospital rooms I mean that that’s how weekly infrastructure wasn’t that enough uh for reasons that go back decades in Libya and Gaddafi’s Feud with the town and that sort of thing that you have to coordinate these International
Groups coming in uh I think two of the seven access roads to Darna are open or open enough to get people in but I was in discussions yesterday about sea access and how to get things in through the sea libyans are resilient they’re abandoning to together and doing what
They can doing and the nature of a flood is different from an earthquake which we’ll get to in a minute but usually in an earthquake you have all kinds of complicated injuries that happen and and things that go at risks that go on aftershocks for weeks and weeks whereas
In a flood usually what happens is that initial disaster but then not as much afterwards that you have to deal with now the death toll as you were introducing can’t went up officially to 6 000 we have 10 000 people missing uh and we have a lot of work to do to just
Deal with the death and destruction and the injuries that we will have which again won’t be as extensive as Morocco but will have to be dealt with and then a massive Recreation of infrastructure project and I expect in both disasters there’s gonna have to be a relocation of populations rather than just rebuilding
And if I can just add one more Point Communications is key and Communications in infrastructure and Libya is just not there so they’re going to have to get that up to you know you gotta get that up and going to communicate to the people what they need to do
Now let’s turn to Morocco where the quick has killed so many people wiped entire Villages what’s next for survivors so just 50 kilometers from the epicenter you have 800 Villages we’ve been mapping this uh in our relief efforts of organizations I’m working with many of which are still inaccessible so the
First thing you have to do is gain access to these incredibly remote Villages many which already didn’t have running water and electricity and didn’t have good Communications and now that’s been completely knocked out so the Moroccan Army and population has been valiantly trying to do things but it the
Magnitude of this spread over these 800 Villages within 50 kilometers and we had deaths out to 200 kilometers then you’re talking about thousands of villages that need to be accessed and need uh you know Food Water Shelter and again getting back to the Libya thing relocation of
Populations where do you put them down in cities and hotels in adjacent towns you know there’s a huge humanitarian logistical problem that needs to go on here both countries need to take in a lot more International assistance well I was gonna still ask another question but we’re running out of time I
Wonder why Morocco turned down some of the country’s AIDS but okay maybe a quick question to that can you answer that what do you think they turned it down so this the short answer is Morocco has prickly relationships with a number of countries like Algeria and France and
They accepted aid from countries that they have better relations with right now but Morocco needs and has an opportunity to improve its political Relationships by accepting aid from those countries so hopefully they’ll they’ll change that decision very in very short time William many thanks William Lawrence is a professor of
Political science and international Affairs at American University School of International Service and he also served as a senior Diplomat at the U.S embassies in Libya in Morocco the 26th annual African studies and Research Forum is set to begin Wednesday in Washington to honor those who are making immense contributions to the
Continent The Forum brings together numerous African Scholars from the continent to discuss issues that affect Africa and honor those who are excelling in various fields for more on the event I’m joined by Abdul Karim bangura a professor at American University Center for Global Peace USA and organizer of
The Forum Professor welcome to Africa 54. thank you thank you I can hardly hear you and you’re kind of hidden a little bit but tell us what’s the objective really of this forum the objective of the form is to continue a tradition an African tradition that traces back to ancient chemist Egypt
From the fort Dynasty BC to two two two four nine a b c and or the scribes would meet once a year to compare notes to share best practices on how to represent the the story the history of ancient climate ancient Egypt and how to write about not only the
Pharaohs but also situations things about they are a great a kingdom and this is our 2016 that we are doing our annual conference and uh we do honor every year Scholars or others in other professions right that have contributed significantly to increase the knowledge base of others right Professor Africa and his diaspora
Right so tell us who is being honored who is being honored this year and why who used to be with you wonderful folks advice of America Straight Talk Africa for his significant contribution to knowledge about Africa because remember when many of us came to this country Africa was opposed to videos
This jungle where people live on trees and our pets Alliance and all the other stereotypes that went with it it was people like that began to tell the African story not only for audiences see in the U.S but also in Africa and so we believe that it
Is well deserving uh in uh being honored about on this the other person is Queen Marian raka Shamu who an African-American graduate for Sperma with both our bachelor’s and master’s degree in Library science married to a the prince Shamu and decided to leave everything that she had here even with the
Properties and all kinds of things her father mother as they passed away decided to go to Zimbabwe to join a husband in the Revolutionary struggle and after she served in Zimbabwe for many many years and later came back to the United States again continued to educate both Africans and diaspora and Africans from
The motherland Blue State University absolutely I’m afraid we’re going to have to leave it there we had some technical issues here but we’ll follow up with that what happens in The Forum thank you so much Abdul Kareem bangura is a professor at American University’s Center for Global Peace USA and
Organizer of the African studies and Research Forum still to come lawmakers U.S lawmakers are set to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden we’ll be right back Thank you on the next street of Africa this information and propaganda seem to be plaguing the African continent as China and Russia are vying to expand their influence what can the citizens do to get to the truth is this information a threat to democracy join our experts for
An in-depth analysis on the next Straight Talk Africa The first Africa climate Summit held in Kenya has concluded with the Nairobi declaration calling for world leaders to ensure large-scale financing for climate related Investments and debt relief on this week’s episode of our voices we will look at African women’s role in protecting their environment and ask experts for ways their voices are
Represented in the global fights against climate change join the conversation each week right here on our voices In other news Malawi and president Lazarus jaquera is launching a large-scale crop production initiative known as Mega Farms that aimed it’s aimed at boosting the country’s agricultural-based economy and help and persistent food shortages according to a recent report from the farming early Warning Systems Network 4.4 million malawians are facing food shortages
Newly re-elected Zimbabwean president Emerson nangago has sworn in a new cabinet including one of his sons David kudakwache mnangagwa as Deputy Finance Minister and his nephew tongai nangagwa as Deputy tourism Minister both moves are being criticized by the opposition and the Botswana government is responding to criticism from an
Anti-hunting activist saying the number of elephants legally killed by hunters since the lifting of a hunting ban in 2019 is negligible South Africa based activist at Dam cruises pushing for a ban on trophy hunting and says the killing of elephants and other large animals threatens botswana’s wildlife
U.S Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has announced that lawmakers will launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden advancing an investigation concerning allegations Biden benefited from his son Hunter’s foreign business dealings view is Congressional correspondent Catherine Gibson reports from Capitol Hill after months of Investigations house Republican committees will now pursue an
Impeachment inquiry into U.S President Joe Biden through our investigations we have found that President Biden did lie to the American people about his own knowledge of his family’s foreign business dealings McCarthy’s announcement comes after months of pressure from house conservatives I think that any other citizen that had
Stacked up against him what the president had stacked up against him right now would already be in court Democrats say Republicans have failed to turn up any evidence of Biden’s supposed Ron doing after months of Investigation in which tens of thousands of documents were turned over to investigators the impeachment
Absurd the American people want us to do something that will make their lives better not go off on these chases and witch hunts Republicans hold a very slim majority in the U.S House of Representatives with just a five-seat majority over Democrats it’s also possible those articles may never reach this
Set Republicans can get it across the Finish Line they certainly cannot count on any support from Democrats and so they really have to hold together every one of their members and and if they lose just five of them they won’t be able to pass it some Republicans have expressed concern about pursuing an
Impeachment inquiry heading into the 2024 election year Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell who has said in the past that impeachments should be a rare process decline comment Tuesday we got our hands full here uh trying to get through the Appropriations process the announcement of the inquiry also sets up
A showdown between Capitol Hill and the White House as lawmakers must strike a deal with Biden to keep the government open past a September 30th funding deadline if there is a government shutdown house committees would be unable to work on an impeachment inquiry Catherine Gibson boa news Ani a self-taught professional roller
Skater from Lusaka Zambia is Making Waves in the roller skating wall despite the challenges of skating on the city streets he is using Innovative technology to bring their Sports to life Africa 54 technology correspondent Poland is here to tell us more about this oh thank you Esther oniga’s skills
Have made him an internet star and has represented Zambia in international competitions he uses his expertise to train rural skaters in Zambia and beyond for more I’m joined by the onigirazani in the Zambian Capital Lusaka it started out as a hobby for you going to school but you’ve since stand this
Passion into uh into a spot where you have signed up young people across the country bring us up to speed since a friend of mine taught me how to skates I’ve been striving to keep up with the skill and also practice with um the same skill within my community so every time after
Partisano during practicing there’s always this attraction of the support to bring people um to join so apart from that also I’ve seen people wanting to be recruited in the skating business and with that I can say it has brought a lot of people not only within lusakawaste but also people
Out of Lusaka in different other provinces people roller skate that they get in touch with me I do help them with some videos just use them as a reference point for them to learn more about roller skating and also link ups when they come within the
Capital city of Zambia and Osaka we have an opportunity to get together what does it take to be a a terrifica a roller skater as for Americans have been skating for more than 19 years so it’s not something that it’s gradual or everyone would hear my opinion would say
It’s difficult because they’ll say I’ve been sitting for a long time but it is not that difficult it is actually easy it’s it’s not scary because people think of The Following part as the first element when they say roller skating every skateboarding so with that phobia
I tend to shy away and say I don’t want to learn anything that will hit me uh we all know during any place any Learning lesson doesn’t matter what sport it is there are always challenges and they’re always failures you will fall you will have uh challenges and problems at some
Point which I’m not saying that you actually cease to do the sport you have all those fallings um they’re just minor then afterwards you eventually um improve and progress so on my part until now I would say I do for when I’m trying something way more extreme but
Knowing that if I do not try that I won’t become a better roller skater same with my students the whom I teach in Zambia they are good skaters but with more in um have them have intrinsic motivation um they have managed to excel even way better than me how many people have you
Trained this far let me approximate so approximately now say maybe 600 plus because aside from me doing the club training with people within my community I also do offer like private lessons so for the private lessons there are many and over the years which I was also
Using for the sake of my fundraising at school at the University of Zambia as you know I was never accommodated there I was roller skating uh going and coming back that was also part of my marketing that people would see me of skating and therefore they want some lessons and
Through that I would divide my time during my education time with also my lesson term that people come for private lessons and I would use that as a foundation feature so if I hear you correctly you’ve already inspired uh hundreds of young people across Zambia
And these are people who are doing it uh for fun and at a professional level true I would say yes that’s true because majority of them have improved their skills even their babies are the ones I teach they were young when I was 13 but if you see how many years about five
Years passed there have been so good that they are even better than some of the big guys who are joining recently and have maintained excuses so abruptly is this something where people pay a fee or it’s uh one of those things where you offer to the community
With that I would say it’s divided into two sectors or two parts so for the community part I did not charge any amount from them um I don’t charge them any amount uh they actually come to my club and they learn for free so so far openly I’d say
There’s a company called six light media that I’ve helped us to purchase um one some outfits some protectors helmets and also gloves inclusive some Roller City issues which we normally now use on a daily basis uh to empower some of the kids not only in the compound
That I stay they’re like different other six compounds which I am running and influencing within Lusaka and also out of Lusaka thank you so much for your time no thank you so much for having me that was the oniga zani speaking to us from the Zambian Capital Lusaka that’s
Today’s tech report back to you Esther all right thanks Paul be sure to join Paul dijo every Wednesday for another tech reporter right here and with that we say thank you for joining us on Africa 54 see you back tomorrow Thank you
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