AFRICA’S FASHION MARKET MOVING FORWARD; The Revolution!

South Africa's Fashion 'Rebels'? Fashionable or bizarre?- www.zumi.co.ke

The fashion industry apparel value chain is a game of “costs, capacity, speed, quality, and compliance” and in 2013, Swedish clothing retailer H&M started sourcing from Ethiopian garment producers and set up H&M ‘made in Ethiopia’ quarters in Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian government saw this as lucrative and three years later the Hawassa industrial park came to existence offering 37 factory units dedicated solely to the textile and apparel sector homing six local companies and 15 textile and apparel companies including PVH, a company known for marketing diversified portfolio of brands including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. Countries like Kenya conversely made over $400M in 2014 on ready- made garments to the U.S under the AGOA agreement and for the last 15 years they emerged as the top exporter of ready-made garments to the U.S, overtaking Lesotho, Madagascar and Mauritius.

Global fashion brands are shifting attention to sub- Saharan Africa from Asia for creativity and manufacturing, estimating Africa’s fashion industry at $75 billion by 2025 from today’s $31M value mark. With a growing younger African population forming a large share of the rising middle class seeking access to a wider choice in food, consumer goods, fashion and cosmetics, brands need to run their territories seriously and pay attention to what the market place wants. There is need to analyze the brand’s business and readiness in playing a good game moving forward. Jain Mc Guigan and Monet Viviers directors of 8^th Ave Online, South Africa call this the need to optimize on maintaining the brand’s presence in today’s evolving African fashion market.

Liz Ogumbo, with Jain Mcguigan and Monet Viviers  from 8^th Ave, SA

Brands need to optimize their management readiness by collaborating with the market at a wider sense. Working with lawyers, brand managers, publicists, accountants, banking institutions and the likes creates a good eco-system for the fashion industry and a network community that supports a brands structure. Business survey brands tend to make it in the Fashion industry and create a wider space for their business and brands need to educate themselves on this. A brand’s management process cannot take shortcuts Jain Mc Guigan said on FashionLabRadio. There is need for astute marketing and presentation of the brand. Monet Viviers believes that product readiness is also key. Quality of clothing and design is important, with brands paying attention to clients style, size perspective and demography to bring in the sense of product readiness. Putting into consideration a clients’ demography such as climate and seasons for instance helps a brand get into other different markets regionally. Trunk shows are effective in market readiness they remind me of how couturier presented the season's latest creations to European aristocrats, who would later be advised on the most flattering ball gown. The 8^th Ave duo believe trunk shows are important in ratcheting up business excitement whilst feeding the designers ego! They allow designers to present samples of entire collections (yes, in trunks!) to the public at retail locations allowing for the preview of the merchandise before it’s made available to the public. They create an opportunity to be associated with a store and give credibility to the brand. Raising funds to participate in a trunk and trade show might be a big fight but they are fundamental in starting any business, with Co-operations such as SIDA providing sponsorship to designers to participate making it not much of a stretch.

With the top ten apparel exporting countries in Africa being located in Eastern and Southern Africa, it creates a new exciting side to Africa’s fashion industry and offers a tremendous scope for African countries to participate in regional and global integration. Designers and brands need to optimize across these dimensions to illustrate a buyer-driven chain where retailers retain control over their supplier’s production, $75 billion is at stake!

COLLECTIONS ARE ART, THEY NEED EDITING.

Liucilla Booyzen, South African Fashion Week (SAFW) CEO said that what has carried her through fashion weeks and what she has invested her life in is the new designs, innovation, ideas and the energies she experiences each year of it on an interview with Fashion Lab Africa TV.

Fashion weeks provide a billboard platform for designers, makeup artists, models and ‘all back end’ fashion jobs to express and sell themselves. They provide market, publicity, networking and they give brands a larger audience. They bring in business and SAFW has provided this for African designers for close to 20 years now. During SAFW AW 2018 highlights radio show on FLA, guests Leon Haasbroek, Operations & PR Executive, Interior Designer Alan Foley, Eji Benson from Ennui New York and host Liz Ogumbo gave interesting highlights of the SAFW and the lessons that can be learnt from the business side of it.

Models play a key part in selling a brand, they highlight the designer’s craft and tell the story behind a brand making what Leon Hassbroek calls editing of models crucial when presenting a collection. Modeling schools and agencies need to be developed as Alan and Leon put it. The schools and agencies need to be able to provide training on the business side of modeling. A model’s grooming, walk and work ethic are crucial in selling a brand. They pointed out that models need to understand fashion weeks and the marketing platform they provide for them, if they do not meet the market’s standards they miss on being booked by potential clients.

#Denimania by Liz Ogumbo SAFW AW18

When asked by Liz Ogumbo on what lacked from designers and brands from SAFW AW 2018, they expressed that there was need for designers and brands to understand themselves and to be able to marry the business side of the industry. Brands and designers need to take advantage of the publicity opportunities that come with fashion weeks. Buyer’s lounges for instance provide an opportunity for publicist and buyers to inspect how the products have been made up close, which in return clings you long term clients for brands. Opening parties on the other hand not only bring fun but provide a more relaxed atmosphere for designers to network and sell themselves to publicist, manufacturers, celebrities and key buyers and designers need to take a hold of this free publicity to sustainably beat the fashion industry.

Business interactions must make sense for both parties in order to last and consistent effort and willingness, season after season build strong, lasting brands. Brands need to stay up to date and to adjust their presentation to the market’s demands so as to increase customer satisfaction and commercial success. FLA SAFW AW18 highlights FLA radio show gave interesting highlights and the leassons to learn from SAFW. Players in all walks of the fashion business need to have a keen attention to the business aspect of fashion weeks for a long-lasting success in the industry. 

If you’d like to have a listen to the show, check out FLA website as Leon Haasbroek, Alan Foley, Eji Benson and hosts Liz Ogumbo interestingly give more highlights on a range of other issues of the SAFW AW18.

THIS IS MY ‘RELIGION’

Love has been defined in different ways throughout time. Mahatma Gandhi to me described it as "My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet.” Maya Angelou simply describes it as "HATE, it has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it has not solved one yet." The Apostle Paul’s poetic expression 'If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything but didn't love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.' to me describes love at its perfection. As an activist love to me is manifested through the bravery of a small but powerful movement, consisting of activists and mothers of political prisoners that began at Freedom Corner in Uhuru Park, Nairobi, Kenya. The mothers would be continually clobbered by riot police, rushed to All Saints Cathedral for shelter and then back to Freedom Corner. They put everything at risk for the freedom of their children, including their nudity.

See, love is beautiful and amazing! It gives us security in the midst of insecurities, ill emotions, bad health and in our darkest and scariest moments. Love is powerful, whether we want to admit this or not. We are created by and with love because God is love. But then it's hard just to give love without something in return. We manifest this in our work, in our relationships, in friendships and even amid our families. We leave by the motto 'nipe ni kupe' (give me some to get some) and we are die hard believers of this. I mean, even in religion the word grace has been made impossible to understand. Brennan Manning in his book the Ragamuffin Gospel describes today's society pretty well, he calls it one that resonates on slogans such as 'There is no free lunch', 'You get what you deserve', 'You want money? Work for it.', 'Do unto others before they do it unto you.', 'Watch out for welfare lines, the shiftless street people, free hot dogs at school, affluent students with federal loans: it's a con game.' and then there is this one 'By all means give others what they deserve- but not one penny more.' We tend to forget that our lives are centered on love, from family to friends to leadership and even to how we need to relate and treat our environment. We also tend to forget we survive on self- love, which we translate as good self- esteem.

The world, my continent and my country today resembles the leading character in Eugene O'Neill's play The Great God Brown: 'Why am I afraid to dance, I who love music and rhythm and grace and song and laughter? Why I'm I afraid to live, I who love life and the beauty of flesh and the living colours of the earth and sky and sea? Why am I afraid to love, I who love love?’ Lack of empathy has given us an unsatisfactory society with an empty quality. It has blinded us and has pushed us into a deep state of loneliness. In my country for instance, the lack of empathy has made us fail both as humanity and as nationalist, we have forgotten where we came from, where we are today and where we are heading. It has cost us our self- esteem and just like a post I once read on Facebook 'we end up voting for a politician simply because of small temporary handouts, because they are from our tribes or because they are good at making jokes at rallies. We end up forgetting year in year out that we, our country and our families still remain at the same position or worse, while they and their families seem to unscrupulously gain more handouts to give us again when they need us. We seem to think in this small box that we also seem to leave in that leads us to become political tissue papers.’ We end up making this seem as our new normal. Carl Sagan in his book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark says: ‘One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.’ We end up fearing the word ‘NO’ and are afraid to say no to tribalism, to corruption and to vices.

The church today has also been affected by this and has forgotten that its foundations are based on the golden rule principle. It preaches of ‘moralistic religiosity’ and forgets of the answer Jesus gave to the rich man who inquired what needs to be done to receive eternal life, ‘that there is nothing that any of us can do to inherit the Kingdom but simply receive it like little children.’ (Luke 18). Little children do nothing to receive love from their parents, families and the community they simply get it. Today’s church decries the loudest on how homosexuality is undermining traditional values of society but yet shows less enthusiasm towards the economically crippled African youth- who in 2010, 70 percent of the region’s population was under the age of 30- due to soaring unemployment and corruption or South Korea’s elderly who have been neglected by family and end up in sex work to meet ends meet. Or even the 43.7 million people forcibly displaced worldwide (the highest number in 15 years and equals the entire populations of Colombia or South Korea, or of Scandinavia and Sri Lanka combined) because of climate change, war or persecution. Today’s evangelical faith has been bartered for cozy, comfortable piety. And has been deprived of love based on the golden rule principle.

Leadership on the other hand has turned into a capitalist venture and not love for humanity or even the popular slogan ‘comrades’ power!’ It has become individualistic in nature with a greed that has fashioned a need to accumulate more profit. It has made public and political interests individualistic rather than a collectivist (community) concern and costs Arica an estimated US$ 10 billion every year through corruption (estimates from the World Bank)- this is roughly half of Africa’s 2003 aid receipts. In my country for instance leadership tends to run into the cocoon of ethnicity that has resulted to distrust between different groups, making collective governance and public service provision difficult. It has limited economic, social, cultural and moral growth that has resulted to poverty. It has slowed the implementation of key policies that could spur economic growth in investments and entrepreneurship. Lack of empathy has made the African leadership forget proverbs from our ancestors and even sayings from contemporary African scholars such as Chinua Achebe who in his essay, The Education of a British Protected Child says: ‘We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without devaluing our own. The Igbo always practical put it concretely in their proverb- ‘Onye ji, onye n’ani ji onwe ya’- He who will hold another down in the mud must stay in the mud to keep him down.’ But then as it is said the dumb politicians are not the problem. The problem is the dumb people that keep voting for them. So if the ‘Kenyan Project’ is failing, it is we who are failing it and not the other way round.

PJ O’Rourke in his book Parliament of Whores says: ‘it isn’t drugs, not even alcohol that causes fundamentals ills of society. If we are looking for the source of our trouble, we shouldn’t test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power and money.’ We are not getting younger, or are you? So why not try to give love to yourself, to your community, to your nation and to humanity. Why not take that risk? Hate has costed us many lives and many years that could have been used to promote development and just like Maya Angelou said "HATE, it has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it has not solved one yet." Let us not allow it to rob us our inner child, our capability to imagine, to dream, to believe, to hope and to grow. I guess I’m that fool who believes that love will give us the freedom that we’ve desired as humanity, as a continent and as a nation. This is my religion.

MY BODY SPASMS. I THINK I’M GOING TO COLLAPSE.

Accepting change is hard at times but change is inevitable and whether we like it or not, change will always occur as long as we breathe. Everything goes through change, even seasons, there are hot and cold seasons, dry and wet ones. Even our emotions change too, I mean when I get honest I become a bundle of paradoxes, I believe and I doubt, I hope and I get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about something good, I feel guilty of not getting guilty, I feel like success and other times I feel like failure. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. See then, we all are prone to change but change is difficult. I once read a story of a merchant who was so afraid of change. He was so used to the way things were, he’s daily routine and never did anything differently for the thirty years that he ran his crystal shop; a shop at the top of a hilly street where few customers passed. He had dreams and ambitions but he still was afraid and every morning he woke up feeling the same anxiety over and over again. And despite the principle of favorability or the beginners luck since life wanted him to achieve his destiny, he still was afraid to achieve that one dream he always wanted to because he was afraid of change.

But I want to speak of my change, a slightly different change. As I lay on the bed in that dark room I felt something I had never felt before. Something foreign that my body and emotions did not know of, I couldn’t explain it. It felt confusing, it felt frightening. I could hear the sounds, the crickets chirping, the dogs barking, loud music coming from one of the flats, I couldn't quite figure from which flat the music was coming from, whether the flat above me or whether it came from a different block, and as much as I tried to figure out where it came from, just as a means to desturct myself and to avoid what I felt at that  particular moment, I realised it really didn't matter and what really mattered was what I was feeling. All I knew was that I was aware of my surrounding, aware of the sounds that came from it, aware of the dark room I was in and of the bed my body lay on. I felt alive than I had ever felt before. I felt alive as much as I didn’t want to. It was being alive beyond my breathing or my waking. 

It felt as if I was trapped in some box, a coffin you might say, dark and nailed really hard. Unable to break it open, it was suffocating. I doubted myself, my actions, my choices and even what I felt at that particular moment. All I knew was that that coffin I was in was fear and the impossible was happening. I had nowhere to go to, even the ground underneath couldn't swallow me in. Mayhem and confusion surrounded me and there was no one to come to my rescue. Not even my God who I firmly believed in and his love for me. I felt stuck for the first time in my life and it was scary. I was scared about that which I hadn't seen yet or known and whether what  felt had become a constant in my life. I was afraid of that change.'You brought this to yourself', I would see pictures of loved ones in my head telling me austerely while pointing fingers at me. Karma! That b*tch! (And what's up with the majority American rap artists using that word in all their songs?)

I felt like I needed to fight the emotion, the fear, I kept thinking of what my African community would tell me, ' 'Panic attacks! Pshht!'White people' problems, it's Unafrican! Just like homosexuality and the many other things we still want to to assume do not happen in our society. Mental illness in the African society is seen as something foreign, to traditionalists it might be seen as a curse, as being possessed and to my peers its seen as a 'white man's problem' which I call out bluntly a stupid myth! So here are the facts. There are more than 200 classified forms of mental illness. Some of the more common disorders are: clinical depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders. Depression is the leading cause of disability throughout the world and is especially prevalent among low-income African countries, where 75 percent of the people who suffer from mental illness do not have easy access to the mental health care they need. Besides the high unmet need for mental health services, low-income countries allocate 0.5 percent of their health expenditures to mental health, compared to more than 5 percent for high-income countries. Africa today isn't what it used to be a few years back, We are growing and becoming more industrialized as each year goes by. thus the so called 'white people's' problems are catching up with us. And fact be told where there is war, famine, corruption, displacement, it is the most vulnerable that suffer the greatest.

I love Africa, I love telling African tales and today I’d like to tell you African tales of young Africans who are trying there luck in the African struggle trying to achieve their dream, the African success. The African youth thirst for change and yearn for success, stability and for equity and equality. The African youth also have dreams, they have goals and targets. I’m trying to imagine the 18^th century African youth, I bet they had pressure of their own. I mean they had to own livestock or land to make ends meet. They all had to prove themselves once they got to maturity which of course was determined by their culture just like today. And today's African youth face something similar. They want to own cars- and not just any kind, property, businesses, they want proper education, they want wealth and families. They also want to see the world, and some yearn for fame while others just want to express themselves. They're pressured from every corner by society, family, their bosses and to some even friends. Kenya’s unemployment rate rose to a staggering 40% in 2013 compared to a mere 12% in 2006. As of 2013, 16 million Kenyans had no formal employment and 70% of those who are employed are underpaid (United Nations Development Program , 2013). A new World Bank report says that corruption is costing the economy more than 300,000 jobs, enough to absorb the mass of unemployed youth aged between 15 and 34. There are poor policies that encourage entrepreneurship, arts, sciences and music in Kenya despite the current generation of youth having put their faith in business, with 48 per cent preferring to venture into entrepreneurship and just 26 per cent keen on employment and careers. Nepotism, tribalism, demands for bribes and sexual harassment are major barriers to success, it is this that drives young people into crime and drugs, and into a general state of hopelessness and despair and later depression and mental illness. And this is not only in my country but in my continent as a whole.

It is seriously expensive to treat mental illness in Africa and policies need to be put in place on how to take care of this, just the way HIV/AIDS has been taken care of with antiretroviral drugs being provided for, which has chipped in and made it so much affordable to curb. Mental illness might be not as much disastrous as how HIV/AIDS is, but it is on the rise. Expenses related to treating mental disorders and lost worker productivity are currently estimated to cost low- and middle-income nations $870 billion a year. This is projected to soar to $2.1 trillion by 2030. Mental illness in Africa is real and it's looked down upon, stereotyped and stigmatised. It is ignored and has been forced into silence despite the majority being the youth who suffer from it. We all go through different struggles. I mean today the African youth is growing through drastic changes and with industrialization clumped with technology, this does not make things any easier. But emotions are really strong. There are time I am happy and I can always feel that energy, a totally different energy from that which suspicion oozes or that which comes from doubt, anger and confusion. I've learnt that each emotion is different and they make us feel different things. They make us hope, they make us weak and they also  make us strong. Emotions silence us at time and at times they make us  talk. This was the change I experience. And my panic attacks have made me appreciate all this

To those who probably experience panic attacks and are probably afraid to share this due to the stigmatisation around it, the only way through Panic Attacks is to go through Panic Attacks. I mean, you have to get right into them like you would a dive from a diving board. I get them at times and their times I think I'm going to die or go mad, but then I've learnt to tell myself "well go on and drop dead then .. it'd be better than getting this sh*t all the time" and while I wait for the impossible, thinking that this is it, I'm dead or I've lost my mind, I always get this real feeling of bliss. I've realised it is okay if I dropped dead and that everyone I loved knew I loved them and I think this is the key point. Maybe the panic was the idea of dropping dead incomplete with people, but I realised at that moment that I was complete. I also realised that death wasn't such a bad thing and I lost my fear of it. I am really grateful to myself for not getting 'treated'. Drugs would have just masked it. I'm grateful I had the courage to dive headlong into the terror (those who have had these understand why I use the word terror) and I am grateful I had these attacks because it led me to a great insight and real peace. Turns out they were my friend and ally. And because of this I know that karma does not mean suffering or punishment, I am here to learn and not to suffer and that karma is the result of my past actions, allowing me to learn and grow.

‘SANSIBAR’ BY CHRISTOPH

‘Sansibar’ as Christoph would call and write it gave me the opportunity to witness different perspectives and to experience different emotions. I’ve always known how to hide emotions, how to keep them inside and I always thought that exposing them as I did in Zanzibar was impossible. I never couldn’t quite hide how I felt or even how I expressed them during my stay in Zanzibar. I experienced a different side of opening up and being vulnerable. And I realised that I also had insecurities as much as I didn't want to admit it. I have to say it all felt liberating and I felt I was being true to myself.

Jabiani, Zanzibar

I ended up in Zanzibar through an abstract I did that was selected for presentation at the 2nd African Conference on Key Populations in the HIV Epidemic that took place in the country's capital Dar es Salaam. During my stay in Zanzibar I visited a small village called Jabiani located on the southeast coast of the Island between the villages of Paje and Makunduchi. Bliss! Her cool ocean winds that gently hit my skin always left a soothing effect on me. The sand on my feet felt pacifying going through my toes, her clear crystal blue waters were always a beholding sight. Each day’s big blue beautiful sky felt peaceful just looking at it and her majestic night sky dazzling with stars and with a moon that stood just at the right spot shining her rays on her blue waters with occasional shooting stars reminded me of how fast life moves and if I don’t take time and look around I might miss it. Jabiani reminded me of Earth’s magnificence and grace. From the hills, plains, mountains and lakes of the Great Rift Valley (which also splits the African Plate into two new separate plates), to the astonishing Giant’s Causeway of Ireland, to the blazing liquid fires of the big island of Hawaii USA and the magnificent Halong Bay of Vietman, earth glows with beauty and grace in the solar system. I was also reminded of how today’s capitalism is killing this beauty bits by bits. How its individualistic centered nature continuous to exploit it in the name of maximizing profits without paying regard on how it affects the community and the environment. Twenty years ago a school of dolphins hoping gracefully along Jabiani’s beautiful shores were a normal occurrence. But continuous pollution and over exploitation has turned this to a rare spectacle- that is if it does happen. Today to see this, motor boats have to drive you to locations where they have been spotted which mostly is further into sea. Twenty years ago in Jabiani natural corals across its ocean were a frequent sight and were a habitats to rich diverse aquatic life.When I imagine this I see life rich in shape, color, form and character. But climate change and the use of dynamites and other unsustainable apparatus while fishing have destroyed the corals killing the rich life in the process.

The Sultan's palace, Stone town, Zanzibar (1960s)

Jabiani and the whole of Zanzibar still has its beauty but I'd like to believe it probably was seventh heaven twenty years back. Barrack Obama’s words during the 2014 climate summit in New York solidified what different leaders, scientists, organization and even various faiths have said on how our interaction with the environment is important as it brings different consequences. The US head of state in his speech pointed out that no nation is immune to climate change with the global carbon emission still being on the rise. That this generation is the first generation feeling the effects of climate change and that we also are the last generation that can do something about it.  But maybe for most people today; climate change is sweating more because it is getting hotter or it's getting caught up in the rain more often than we're used to or it's just another issue on TV. How swift have we been in addressing this issue? How swift are we and our governments in creating awareness on the implications of not taking care of our environment? Are the commitments being made by the major contributors to climate change enough in sustainably addressing this problem? Climate change is causing war, immigration, poverty, disease and death.  The global government and the global community which includes you and me need to create more awareness in any way they are able to, We all need to invest and accustom ourselves to sustainable living methods or we end up killing our cultures, believes and legacies along with it.

Night street food, Forodhani, Stone Town, Zanzibar

My taste buds also experienced Zanzibar's richness and beauty. I felt new taste, familiar tastes, sweet taste, sour tastes and tastes that were both sweet and sour. I had deserts tha varied from cold deserts made from boiled bananas, spices and coconut milk and had a rich vanilla taste. To warm deserts made from pumpkin, spices and warm coconut milk that left a rich chocolaty taste behind making me ponder on all the creativity it must have taken making it. This made me appreciate and love the food even more. It was amazing. Just like the richness in their recipes I also got to interact with a rich and diverse set of individuals who I met while volunteering for the Youth Movement for Change (YMC), a grass root organization in the district of Ugunja Zanzibar that advocates for the rights of women and the LGBTI community of Zanzibar. I met individuals who showed me kindness, who taught me how hospitality felt like and who made me feel special and beautiful. Individuals who I got to know more and shared mos. and meals with. Individuals who have taught me to work hard especially where motivation lacks. Individuals who produced positive energy in the room by just being around them and working with them. Individuals who showed dedication and commitment to seeing a better society. And most importantly, individuals who experience different challenges far from that of mine when I'm at home but are experiences unified a common kryptonite, that of tolerance, unity, equity, fairness and love in leadership and life generally. Seeing and experiencing the growth and change the organization has and is making to it’s staff and the community since I started working with them made feel amazing and refreshed. I am truly humbled to have met and worked with all this individuals. It reminded me of those little things I probably might had forgotten about myself. It made me feel ready for tomorrow in determination and confidence.

My stay and interactions in Zanzibar also reminded me as to why politics clumped with ethnicity is still offered to account for why African countries have little to show for. Although the general political atmosphere in Zanzibar was calm since the October 2015 Tanzania general elections I couldn’t help but feel the tensions that existed. At times I found myself in political arguments that were rooted in ethnicity and reminded me of home. Of how ethnicity continues to hinder development in my country as well. Zanzibar being a semi-autonomous archipelago island from mainland Tanzania elects its own President and members to its sub-national legislature. On the 25^th of October 2015, the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) annulled Zanzibar’s elections citing violations of electoral laws. Zanzibar's 500,000 registered voters also cast ballots for Tanzania's national president, and despite the cancellation on the islands, a new President was sworn into office. But this isn't what is causing most of the tensions. The incumbent semi-autonomous islands President Ali Mohamed Shein existence in office despite the majority's preference to the opposition's key candidate Seif Sharif Hamad is what is causing most of this tension. Today, this is what is making headlines in other East African states like Burundi or Congo or even other African states. It is estimated that as many as 2000 people were killed in 1992 during Kenya’s political tribal clashes while another 1, 300 died and 600, 000 displaced in the 2008 political tribal clashes, 309, 200 are still leaving in IDP camps since 2008 as of 24^th April 2015 (estimates by IDMC). An estimated 40 million Africans have died in civil wars (which includes tribal wars) in the past 5 decades scattered across the continent, this  is  equivalent to the population of South Africa and twice the Russian lives lost in the second world war. Ethnicity has cost us many lives and many years that could have been used to promote development. Once locked into the ethnic argument, there is no obvious policy prescription, IT'S A DEAD END!

Tanzania's population is predominantly between 15-24 years with an unemployment rate of 7.1% amongst this age set (2011 World Bank statistics). One of the major observation I made through my work with YMC is how unemployment affects the already marginalized group in the society. Economic hardships usually lowers self- esteem. It makes it hard for one to attain there full potential. Economic hardships makes the community treat one as a stranger and a nuisance to society. Some of you may have gone through this you. Statistics show that this kind of environment makes one much more vulnerable to drugs or HIV/ AIDS than any other person in the society. This is what the youth of Zanzibar and Africa experience today and the marginalized LGBTI community of Zanzibar and Africa as a whole is the most hit. In Zanzibar for instance, it's mostly as a result of being ostracized from the family and the community and having their education interrupted by the fact of their sexual orientation or their gender identity. And just like in any other country in Africa violations and discrimination of the LGBTI community only gets offhand mention in the press mainly when it is impossible to ignore because the issue has been dominating the world news headlines surrounding neighbouring countries.

And just like in any other society religion also forms an integral part in the community and it influences the different aspects of life. But today it at times fails to teach and practice its faith based on fundamental principle it was founded in such as the golden rule. It fails to teach of tolerance and love becoming legalistic ending up teaching and practicing the opposite. Like in many African countries, Zanzibar's religious and political leaders decry of how homosexuality is undermining the traditional values of society and yet it is known to have existed in the island through time but yet there is no concern about western women exploiting local beach boys or how distinctly foreigners and expats display a sense of post-colonial superiority that comes from the often- royal treatment they get, a treatment that they come to expect which to some extent contributes to racism like I personally witnessed, shows me how religion whether Christianity or Islam is often seen as the only authentic and local safeguard against this many- headed hydra of post- colonial exploitation and poverty that has gripped many countries in my continent. Organizations such as YMC and others in Zanzibar and across Africa carry initiatives aimed at bringing change renewed my hope. YMC is carrying out entrepreneurship trainnings to the youth of it's community and more so the LGBTI community of Zanzibar with not only aiming to equip them with skills needed for sustainable economic growth but they also aim to use it as a way of fostering family and community reconciliation once the individuals attains their full potential. Or projects such as LILO that aims at moving towards a positive identity, a strong self- worth and a regard for themselves as individuals that will ultimately help them advocate for their rights made me see that change is possible and that humanity and diversity should be celebrated not hated.

Stone Town, Zanzibar

This experience was completely an unforgettable one for me, There were times it frightened me being away from home, and at times I felt like people were taking advantage of the little kindness I showed or maybe even the kindness I showed was causing harm. But it gave me the opportunity to live in a beautiful and fascinating place. All this taught me how liberating it feels if you stay true to yourself, it has taught me to face each emotion whether good and bad and to allow myself experience them, This opportunity allowed me to gain better understanding on how exploitation exists at many levels and how the effect of the colonial project in Africa has had many long lasting consequences across the continent. This experience has reminded me of the bondage that intolerance and greed has engulfed in as a society. How it's killing our men, women and children. Ultimately, we must be the change we want to see in the world just like Mahatma Gadhi said. By focusing on our common humanity, equality and fairness, whether through religion, or by simply acknowledging the man serving your food at the cafe or through supporting the effeminate local hair stylist, we will be able to overcome these divides brought by capitalism, race. ethnicity, religion or even culture.

GREY HAIR, EVEN THE PAGANS RESPECT IT.

Have you ever pictured yourself in your sixties or seventies? What do you usually see? Say grandkids around you, successful children, you’re finically stable, maybe you own a retirement home that is to your liking and taste with say a successful business, or a farm or a ranch as a means of income and to keep you busy. No hustle, just eating from the fruits of your labour and taking it a day at time. I mean you’ve already been there and done that, now, you’re just chilling. Or it could be that we don’t picture ourselves old at all. We probably see our lives like it is in the twilight sagas, immortal and forever young, just like a vampire, full of strength, youth and vigor. Well, it’s in human nature to desire youth but all beings age whether natural or artificial. The fact of the matter is that the world is growing old and fast. Even today’s older population that, persons 80 years or over to the “oldest old” is itself ageing. In 2013 they accounted for 14% cent within the older population and is projected to reach 19% totaling to 392 million by 2050, more than three times the present.

See, aging isn’t a bad thing as its stereotyped, or talked about or even imagined. Maya Angelou said“Grey hair, even the pagans’ respect it” explains how highly age is valued in the African culture. Albert Einstein to me simply described ageing when he said that the only source of knowledge is experience. So aging isn’t bad at all nor boring as we might want to think, Aeschylus (525BC - 456BC) himself acknowledge that it’s always the season for the old to learn. Age comes with its benefits and pleasures. The World Population Ageing 2013 report indicates that there are 841 million persons aged 60 years or over, this is roughly 12% of the global population and a 3% increase from 1990. It is estimated that in the next 10 years, this number will surpass one billion and is projected to more than double, to more than 2 billion reaching 21.1% by 2050. Today’s life expectancy rate is at, this is due to factors such as unhealthy life choices, war, climate change and even today’s capitalism where public and political interests have become more individualistic rather than a collectivist (community) concern. So some of us won’t get to sixty. But then what if we hit 60 and over? I mean some of our parents and grandparents have, and even to some, sisters or brothers have. It’s possible. Now, how is ageing in the Twenty-First Century like?

that most people don't grow up, they age. They find parking spaces, honor their credit cards, get married, have children, and call that maturity. But what that is, is ageing. Audrey Hepburn on the other hand describes the beauty of a woman as that that only grows with passing years. In Arica, the Oromo of Ethiopia saying

Ageing results from decreasing mortality, and, most importantly, declining fertility. The UN, Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division findings are that 1 out of 25 people is aged 60 and over in Africa, this is roughly 4% of Africa’s population. East Africa leads in Sub- Saharan Africa with a total 11,074,205 elderly persons who majorly live in rural areas and in some areas, make up close to 40% of the population. Kenya’s coast is known for its beautiful white sandy beaches, rich culture and even its Swahili and Arab cuisine- both in food and people. It’s part of what makes Kenya magical. The Coast is also known for witchcraft, which has existed throughout recorded history and not only in Kenya but also in Russia, in oceanic regions such as the Cook Islands, Spain in Europe, Saudi Arabia in the Middle East and even in 1645, Springfield, Massachusetts USA and was usually practiced either for religion, belief or culture. In 2012, I did my clinical attachment at the Kilifi law courts in Kilifi along the coast line of Kenya and happened to witness cases involving witchery or sorcery. In all of them the elderly were the aggrieved complaining that they had been accused of being witches or sorcerers. In Kenya, if one is found guilty of practicing witchcraft with intent to cause fear, annoyance or injury they're liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years under the Witchcraft Act. Traditionally on the other hand in Africa and beyond, persons accused of practicing such kind of witchery were usually lynched. Finding witches and removing them for the good of the community was a tribal affair even in colonial Kenya. In the famous Wakamba Witch-killing Trials of 1931-1932, Mwaiki, a Kamba woman was killed in 1931 by tribal leaders and members of the ruling council of her tribe after they established the fact that she had bewitched another woman in the village. The case was known as Rex v. Kumwaka s/o of Mulumbi and 69 Others. The accused were sentenced to death but ultimately commuted by the Governor of Kenya who reduced there sentence to prison terms instead.

Now back to Kilifi County. In 2014 alone 41 older people accused of witchcraft were murdered while another sixty-one killed in 2013. The same year, the Kenya police reported that at least 20 elderly people are killed monthly in the same county on account of witchcraft allegations. So this means that morgue attendants at the Kilifi Hospital might have received 20 bodies of the elderly each month murdered for witchery allegations. In May 2008, eight elderly women and three elderly men were burned to death in the western Kenya Kisii district, another area in the country where belief in witchcraft is also widespread. In such incidences, suspects arrested are usually found in possession of property or livestock belonging to some of the victims and they usually produce trifling evidence as defense, such as seen in Kisii where an exercise book at a local primary school that contained the minutes of a ‘witches' meeting’ detailing who was going to be bewitched was produced. Media reports also indicate that an average of 6 elderly people were lynched every month in 2009 in the same district for allegedly practicing witchcraft and that another estimated 42 older people were killed in three districts in 2008 and 23 older people in three provinces in the first half of 2009. While a total of 261 were murdered between 2013 and 2014. In his report , Poverty and Witch Killing – 2005, Review of Economic Studies, Edward Miguel claims that poverty and violence go hand in hand. Kenya’s unemployment rate rose to a staggering 40% in 2013 compared to a mere 12% in 2006. As of 2013, 16 million Kenyans had no formal employment and 70% of those who are employed are underpaid (United Nations Development Program , 2013). According to Mr. Kenneth Kamto Kilifi's Deputy Governor, there are three reasons why young men kill witches: lack of education, dire poverty, and lack of employment. Though the rights of elders are protected in the 2010 Kenyan constitution, cases of elder abuse and neglect persist in the country. Today in my country, older people are hunted. They are killed. But witchcraft accusations used to justify extreme violence against older persons are not only reported in Kenya but also in 41 African and Asian countries, including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, India, Malawi, Nepal and Tanzania (UN DESA 2014 report on aging).

In Somalia on the other hand population estimates indicate that of the 9.3 million people in Somalia nearly half the population – 3.7 million people – are now in crisis and among them are approximately 160,000 people aged 60 and over. Older women are reported as one of the most common victims of sex-based and gender-based violence. There is absence of adequate health facilities such as health posts, community health workers or referral network in the IDP camps they are in. The only health center older people can access is in the town of Puntland where they have to pay US$10 for each visit. The health center itself does not have appropriate drugs, especially for chronic diseases. They are hit by vision problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, gastritis, malaria, asthma, join pain, headaches, diarrhea, tooth ache which are very common, name them. Not only are the elderly suffering in Africa and other developing regions but globally as well such as in Greece where the elderly are among the social groups most affected by the recent occuring economic and social crisis in their country, making it the worst country in Europe when it comes to the socio-economic prosperity of seniors (2015 Global AgeWatch Index). Or In South Korea where the elderly have been neglected by family and end up in sex work to meet ends meet. Or even in the United Sates where in last decade the number of prisoners aged 55 and over has grown by an astonishing 75%. This has resulted to prisons across the country dedicate entire units just to house the elderly and during difficult economic times, the issue hits a crisis point with estimates indicating that locking up an older inmate costs three times as much as a younger one. This elderly prisoners suffer higher rates of health problems such as functional disabilities, impaired movement and even mental illness making life in prison hell for them.

Kenya’s government show of commitment in taking lead in the fight against Elder Abuse by

spearheading WEAAD activities and identifying existing gaps for policy and programme action or by African countries taking an important step by drafting an African Protocol for the Rights of older people that was approved at the end of May might mean that elder abuse and the plight of older people in Africa are getting increased recognition, but this is not enough. We need to ensure inclusion of older people. We need to recognize and utilize older people’s capacities and they should not only be seen as passive recipients of assistance. Older people are an untapped resource of expertise and have experience of previous emergencies. Combined with socio-cultural roles such as caring for children and acting as mediators in communities, they provide extensive resources that can deliver high returns on investment if adequate funds are allocated for integrating/ mainstreaming ageing into existing assistance activities. Creating special services for older people is not the answer; rather, integrating ageing into various services should accommodate their specific needs. There is also need to have in place social welfare schemes and programmes, in the form of a social protection floor, that will cater for an increasingly ageing population and ensure all people everywhere can enjoy an old age with dignity and quality of life. Older women living alone, making their own decisions, owning their own homes as well as control their own money and resources also need to be protected. Gender equality will help a great deal in this fight. Governments also need to close in the social gaps they have left such as education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for the youth, for these gaps left are major contributors to elderly abuse incidences as can be learned from my country where 85% of all Kenyans are less than 35 years of age.

So there you have it, this is where we are today, the tales of today’s elderly community. This is how ageing in the 21^st century is like. How often do we think of ageing and the elderly? How often do we mention them? Are our governments doing enough to address their plight so far? And most importantly what are we doing as a community to ease life in their old age. We need to treat the elderly with the much respect that they deserve, for without a prior generation there would be no present generation. They fought for our independence and have and still are contributing immensely to our economies. Most importantly, they are the keepers of our history as humanity. Is this what we want in our old age? If we do not lead by example, preceding generations will pay little attention and a time will come when there will be no replacement of the elderly. We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. Remember, Grey hair, even the pagans respect.

SHAME ON YOU!

The number of people forcibly displaced worldwide has reached 43.7 Million, the highest number in 15 years- roughly equaling the entire populations of Colombia or South Korea, or of Scandinavia and Sri Lanka combined. Women and children suffer most and make up 47% of refugees. It is estimated that 15, 500 individual asylum applications were lodged by unaccompanied or separated children throughout 69 countries in 2010 most of them Somali or Afghan. So far, Syria has been the biggest refugee producing country and Somalia the second. In both countries and many other refugee source countries, the interrelated factors of conflict and climate change made survival at home impossible for them. Although each crisis is different, there are useful lessons that can be shared between the two.

Congo Refugees

In 1991 Somalia broke into civil war that has gone for close to a quarter of a century now. Since then a total of 500,000 Somali lives have been lost and another 770,154 Somalis have sought refuge in neighboring nations and western countries across the globe. According to UNHCR refugee statistics as of 31^st October 2015, Kenya hosts a total 329,811 registered Somali refugee population in Daadab camp while Ethiopia’s Dollo Ada camp is home  to 210, 698 registered Somali refugees (a 5% increase since 2012) making them the world's biggest refugee hosting countries . The world’s longest humanitarian crisis evidenced has not only resulted in a swell in the number of refugees in the region but also piracy, where Somali pirates were responsible for 44% of the 289 piracy incidents on the world's seas in the first nine months of 2010 (data from IMB) and also costed the global economy between $5.7 and $6.1 billion in 2012. A Hollywood film based on the container ship Maersk Alabama that tells the story of Captain Richard Phillips, who was taken hostage for five days by the pirates tries to paint the picture. But most important impact felt are the terror attacks in Somalia and across East Africa by the armed militia group Al-Shabaab, with Kenya having lost 300 lives making it the most hit which of course cannot be compared to the many more lives still being lost in Somalia.

Approximately 230, 000 Somalis made the trip to Daadab camp, Kenya In mid- 2010 and early- 2013 arriving in terrible health conditions after days of walking through the desert. Hundreds died on the journey and hundreds more families arrived with malnourished children. Aid agencies were severely overstretched trying to deal with both the sheer numbers arriving and the terrible health condition of people entering the camp. Studies show that countries neighbouring refugee source areas are almost always the primary destination for refugees, as seen in Africa where Kenya hosts refugees from both Somali and South Sudan or in the Middle East where Afghan refugees are in Pakistan. However, the crisis in Syria has unfolded on such an overwhelming scale that neighbouring countries can no longer adequately accommodate them. As a result, close to 7% of Syrian refugees have sought asylum in Europe but, as is becoming increasingly apparent, this percentage is quickly rising. This has resulted to a rapid instalment of razor-wire fences at Europe’s borders and the recent November 13^th attacks in Paris, hasn’t made things any better with campaigns lodged against more intake of refugees and immigrats intensifying within EU States and in the US where governors form 30 states say they will not take in any Syrian refugees. This has created Islamic phobia, Xenophobia as well as setting back the strides made towards the fight for equality and minority groups.

Jordanian Refugee Camp

During this year’s Refugee day the UN Secretary- General Ban Ki- moon acknowledged that theburden of helping the world’s displaced is uneven. A UNHCR report indicates that a full four fifths of the world’s refugees are being hosted by developing countries (80% of the world’s refugee’s) both in absolute terms and in relation to the size of their economies. Pakistan, Iran and Syria have the largest refugee populations at 1.9 million, 1.1 million and 1 million respectively. Pakistan also has the biggest economic impact with 710 refugees per $1 of GDP (Gross Domestic Product). The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya come in second and third in the report with 475 and 247 refugees respectively. On the other hand, South Africa continues to be a major destination for asylum-seekers, as well as migrants and others seeking better economic and social opportunities, hosting nearly one fifth of the 850,000 registered asylum-seekers under the UNHCR. This makes the asylum system be overwhelmed creating a backlog that affects the quality and efficiency of refugee status determination. Without a comprehensive immigration system, migrant workers and others sometimes try to make use of the asylum system to stay legally and gain access to South Africa's services drawing back its economy. By comparison, Germany, the industrialized country with the largest refugee population (594,000 people), has 17 refugees for each dollar of per capita GDP and yet the anti- refugee sentiment are heard loudest in industralized countries. Conor Phillips, Country Director for the International Rescue Committee in Kenya writes that with the exception of Germany and Sweden, EU proposals to accept refugees have so far been verging on irrelevance. EU members are balking at a proposal to accept 160,000 refugees. To highlight the absurdity of this scale, this is 1/8 of the number of Syrians that Lebanon already hosts and Lebanon’s landmass is 1/423 the size of Europe. So, this situation demands an equitable solution. ISIS, Al-Shabaab, Hezbollah or any other armed group are not formed on religious principles and we all know this. They are groups that were formed as a result of poverty, marginalization, inequality and as a way of filling in social gaps left by our governments such as security and social welfare (See, The Side of Terrorism That Doesn’t Make Headlines: Part 1 ).

So instead of creating fear as some Senators in the US congress have expressed or turning down of economic refugees as witnessed in Croatia and Macedonia refusing to resubmit them, or Poland closing down it’s boarders which is against some of the principles that the EU is founded. Or even spreading of Islamic phobia and xenophobia by some political parties in France, Germany, United Kingdom and other parts of Europe and North America. Can we actually focus on the real issues at hand, such as the thousands of lives that are being lost in Syria, Somalia, Iraq and other refugee source nations, the 15.4 million refugees (10.55 million under UNHCR's care and 4.82 million registered with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees), the 27.5 million people displaced within their own country by conflict, the nearly 850,000 asylum-seekers or the United Nations human rights investigators report that leveled accusations of genocide and war crimes by the Islamic State in Syria. This reactions in Europe can cause a ripple effect and the 80% of refugees in Africa and other developing nations will be affected immensely.

Kenya and other countries in the region must be applauded for continuing to receive huge refugee populations from Somalia and South Sudan, despite mounting internal pressure to close the camps. Without the political will to keep the camps open, thousands of women and children refugees would not survive. António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees once pointed out that in today's world there are worrying misperceptions about refugee movements and the international protection paradigm. Fears about supposed floods of refugees in industrialized countries are being vastly overblown or mistakenly conflated with issues of migration. Meanwhile, it's poorer countries that are left having to pick up the burden. This act by the EU and North America is highlighting how difficult it is for refugees to exercise the right to seek asylum in practice as is enshrined in international law. SHAME ON YOU!