How Ancient Ghanaian Culture Shapes Sea Turtle Conservation

Ghana’s ancient admiration for sea turtles has inspired a modern conservation movement to protect these ecologically vital animals.

Sea turtle swimming in the ocean. Belle Co. CC0. 

Ghana is a vibrant country located in West Africa, bordered by Côte D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Togo. It is known for its rich culture, stunning beaches, and diverse wildlife. As a traveler, you would likely find Ghana to be a lively country, full of colorful markets, bustling streets, and a unique mix of traditional and modern cultures. Perhaps most importantly, Ghana is known for the warmth and hospitality of its people, where you’ll be met with a welcoming and friendly nature.

Ghanaian people are also very spiritually attuned, whether it’s native African spirituality or more newly introduced Christianity. They are very fond of their cultural and religious traditions, one of which is long-standing is their long standing connection to sea turtles. 

Sea turtles have been a part of Ghana’s culture and folklore for centuries, with oral literature depicting these animals as protectors, helpers or even guides. Moreover, the reptiles are integral to Ghana’s ecology, as they help to maintain coral reefs and seagrass, which in turn ensure continued biodiversity. 

It wasn’t always this way, as with Urbanization came poverty, and with poverty came poachers. These poachers saw the Sea turtles not as protectors but as a source of profit. Now, having returned to their traditions, Ghanaians are more determined than ever to protect and conserve these animals in hopes to prevent their extinction. 

All over Ghana, there are different recorded myths and stories that show the ancient connection between Ghana and sea turtles. 

The Ga and Akan ethnic groups of central Ghana have a story about their ancestors and how they once were caught in a storm while fishing, in which their boat had sunk. It is said that as the men were struggling in the choppy waters, the sea turtles arrived and helped them get back to shore.

The Dange people of eastern Ghana have a story in which their ancestors were trying to retreat after Ashanti armies had them cornered against the Volta River. They recount how both the crocodiles and the sea turtles helped them safely cross the river, by having the crocodiles form a bridge, while sea turtles helped heal the injured and guided the elderly across. It is said that to this day, both animals are fully protected in this region of Ghana.

Sea turtles in Ghana have been protected by law since 1971. Even then, there are still poachers, so just that isn’t enough. The Ghana Turtle Research Project (GTRP) has been around for more than 10 years. The organization encourages community members to participate in sea turtle conservation and to embrace their culture and traditions. By doing so they were able to get more than fifty community members to form a volunteer network. They also helped to tag and identify where turtle species reside most often in order to make sure that fishermen avoid those areas and to ensure they are safe-guarded.

Additionally, the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is an organization that was focused on protecting nesting sites in the fishing communities of central Ghana. In 2019, during the first turtle nesting season (of that year), they were successfully able to deter poachers from the Goma Fetteh region.

As more and more Ghanaian communities return to their traditional and spiritual beliefs, more people are caring about the sea turtles. It’s due to the oral traditions in Ghanaian culture that these conservation efforts were possible, as they make people care more about these creatures of the sea. They helped form an everlasting connection between the sea turtle and man.

Kadija Diallo

Kadija is a student at Georgia State in Atlanta, Ga. She is a creative spirit who loves traveling and seeing new places. She also enjoys using her love for writing/storytelling to make an impact on the world. One day she hopes to make new connections and share stories as she travels to every continent. 

A Brighter Future Emerges 29 Years After Rwanda's Genocide

Rwanda's unwavering determination and spirit shine as a source of optimism for the rest of the world.

Rwanda Genocide Memorial. config manager.CC BY 2.0.

This week marks the 29th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, a 100-day period of violence in 1994 in which more than 800,000 people were killed. The repercussions of this tragedy continue to linger, leaving survivors and their family members with deep emotional traumas. Almost 30 years have passed since the devastating genocide in Rwanda, and the country has made some commendable progress in rebuilding its economy and mending its relationships with other nations, while also acknowledging its past mistakes and the sacrifices made during the massacre. The scars of the past may still be visible, but they no longer define Rwanda. Its developments shed light on the country’s journey toward healing and growth, with infrastructure, technology, and education driving its transformation.

The genesis of the Rwanda Genocide three decades ago can be attributed to years of systemic oppression that eventually culminated in one of the most devastating conflicts in modern history. Surprisingly, the two primary ethnic groups involved in this conflict, the Hutus and Tutsis, shared no religious or linguistic differences at the outset. A deep dive into their origins reveals that the Hutus migrated to the Great Lakes region of Central Africa between 500 and 1000 BC, while the Tutsis arrived four centuries later, migrating from the highlands of Ethiopia. The Hutus primarily worked as land cultivators, while the Tutsis were cattle herders, thus creating an economic divide that eventually led to a hierarchical system. In a strange colonial mythology, Tutsi cattle herders were labeled Hamites — a separate and exceptional group — who hailed from an ancient Christian tribe supposedly linked to people of old Palestine. This system placed the Tutsis, as a minority ethnic group, in a position of disproportionate power over the majority Hutus. 

Colonial powers subscribed to this concept of racial hierarchy and origin stories, believing the Tutsi to be natural leaders and granting them preferential treatment. After taking Rwanda as a colonial possession in 1897, the German Empire built a power structure that firmly established a hierarchy that favored the Tutsis. They bestowed upon the Tutsis a superior status, owing to their taller stature and lighter skin, giving them greater influence over the Hutus. However, in the aftermath of Germany’s defeat in World War I, Belgium took over the reins of Rwanda’s governance, and, rather than attempting to bridge the cultural divide, exacerbated it. The Belgian administration continued to uphold the Tutsis’ superior status while disregarding the Hutus, creating a further chasm of inequality that only grew wider with time. The introduction of identification cards during the 1930s that explicitly listed one’s ethnicity, for example, further polarized the population, and the stage was set for the tragic events that culminated in the Rwanda Genocide.

In 1973, Rwanda witnessed an event that would forever alter the course of its history. General Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu tribe member, rose to power and established the National Revolutionary Movement for Development (NRMD) party to secure his authority. Meanwhile, in Uganda, a group of Rwandan exiles in Uganda who had tasted victory in Yoweri Museveni’s National Resistance Army during the Ugandan Civil War formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). This organization was largely dominated by Tutsi figures and posed a challenge to the incumbent regime. The Rwandan Civil War began, which pitted the Hutu-dominated NRMD government against the primarily Tutsi RPF, while social tensions began to simmer. It was midsummer in 1993 when Hutu extremists hatched their plan, creating a platform for propagating their racist ideology and spewing hatred against the Tutsi people. Thus, Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) came into being, which soon became a tool to incite violence and hatred against the Tutsi, using propaganda and malicious rhetoric. 

Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines broadcasted from this office during the Rwanda Genocide. kigaliwire.CC BY-NC 2.0.

April 6, 1994, was the beginning of a nightmare for Rwanda and Burundi. The presidential plane, which was carrying the heads of state of both countries, was hit by gunfire. The news of their deaths, broadcasted by the radical Hutu RTLM radio station, served as a call to arms, sparking a wave of violence against the Tutsi population. The initial attack was planned by a group of military leaders, politicians, and business owners, who were later joined by an increasing number of supporters. This resulted in a devastating genocide, with Tutsis flocking to ostensibly safe havens like churches and administrative centers only to find them transformed into places of horror. 75% of the Tutsi population was wiped out, including many children who were labeled “little rats” and killed alongside adults. The perpetrators killed people of all ages indiscriminately, committing rape and torture on a regular basis. With nowhere to call home, over 2 million people fled the country, including many Hutu ethnic group members, while a million more were internally displaced, leaving 75,000 children orphaned.

The aftermath was massive destruction, with infrastructure reduced to ruins and hundreds of thousands of citizens dead, dealt a crippling blow to progress and development. Rwanda, however, refused to give in to despair.  The RPF won the Civil War and took power after four months of horror, ending the genocide. The nation embarked on a journey of healing and reconciliation by embracing a deliberate strategy of transitional justice and transformative programs, characterized by the visionary “Rwanda Vision 2020” campaign launched in 2000. Rwanda embraced a path of renewal through initiatives such as “I am Rwandan,” which encouraged deep reflection on the nation's painful history, acknowledgment of past atrocities, and promotion of healing and reconciliation among all its people. Another example is “Umuganda,” a day of community service in which people from all walks of life work together to improve their communities. Though challenges remained, these initiatives instilled a renewed sense of vigor and solidarity, bringing new life to the difficult task of rebuilding Rwanda. 

The modern capital of Kigali is safe, clean, and orderly. Dylan Walters. CC BY 2.0.

Rwanda also undergoes significant changes in its economy. The government has introduced the “Girinka” program, which provides one cow per poor family to combat poverty, with the first female calf being passed on to another family. Poverty has decreased by 23.8 percent from 2000 to 2010, and Rwanda has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in Central Africa, with four years of eight percent GDP growth between 2011 and 2014. These developments are positive indicators for Rwanda’s future.

Despite the indelible mark of shame left by the horrific acts, Rwanda has sought reconciliation by embracing its rich heritage of traditional pre-colonial Rwandese customs and values, while also welcoming contributions from the international community. The genocide has prompted profound reflections on critical issues such as the efficacy of peace operations, the urgency of ending international crimes, and the delicate nature of maintaining civility. These pressing issues necessitate international attention and are still relevant today.

TO GET INVOLVED:

World Help: Over the last decade, World Help has worked to bring healing and restoration to Rwandan communities through initiatives like trauma counseling, children’s homes, child sponsorship, construction projects, clean-water wells, sustainable agriculture, vocational training, and more. To learn more and get involved, click here.

IBUKA: IBUKA is an umbrella organization supporting survivors in Rwanda. Representatives from institutions like IBUKA and the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide are invited to speak at commemorations to provide expert histories and testimonies. To learn more and get involved, click here.

Hope Zhu

Hope is a Chinese international student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina studying sociology, statistics, and journalism. She dreams of traveling around the globe as a freelance reporter while touching on a wide range of social issues from education inequality to cultural diversity. Passionate about environmental issues and learning about other cultures, she is eager to explore the globe. In her free time, she enjoys cooking Asian cuisine, reading, and theater.

The Disappearing Snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro

As the mountain's snow melts, its ecosystem faces escalating pressures from tourism, climate change, and deforestation.

Mt Kilimanjaro. Tambako the Jagua. CC BY-ND 2.0.

If you have perused Ernest Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” you'd be moved by the writer's introspection and memories, and no doubt recall its breathtaking descriptions of Mount Kilimanjaro’s wintery peaks. Nestled in Southeastern Africa, where temperatures often soar to scorching heights, a mountain graced with a frozen crest appears as a natural wonder. Nevertheless, before many have had the opportunity to appreciate its miraculous summit, the pristine snow has begun to melt at an alarming speed.

Rising above the plains of Africa, Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. Its snow-capped peak is created through a combination of freezing temperatures and precipitation at high altitudes, where the mercury can drop to a frigid 15.98 F, calculated according to the linear relationship between altitude and temperature. Long-term averages indicate that, in the middle of February, snowfall occurs three days per week on Mount Kilimanjaro.

The captivating ice-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro renders it a highly coveted destination for tourists visiting Tanzania, with many foreigners and locals flocking to the site each year. As far back as the 1860s, Europeans had launched their quest to summit Kilimanjaro. In 2006, Kilimanjaro National Park Authorities (KINAPA) registered 40,701 climbers on the mountain, with the Machame trail reigning supreme, welcoming 15,879 adventurers. Today, numerous guiding companies, including the African Zoom and Abercrombie & Kent, offer luxury expeditions and comprehensive travel guides for those seeking to conquer the “roof of Africa.”

While Hemingway’s story may have brought Kilimanjaro to the attention of the world, the mountain has long been revered by locals who have given it names like “Mountain of Greatness” in Swahili and “That which defeats the caravan” in Chagga. The Maasai, who have a deep appreciation for Kilimanjaro, affectionately refer to it as the “Mountain of Water” due to its crucial function as the primary source of water for the surrounding area.

Regrettably, as mentioned above, generations to come might be deprived of the privilege of admiring the captivating natural beauty of Mount Kilimanjaro. Several complicated factors contribute to the rapid disappearance of its ice cap. Scientists have established a link between global climate change and variations in greenhouse gasses, along with transformations in land cover. The consequences of climate change loom over developing nations, and Tanzania is no exception. Additionally, glaciers located in tropical regions are more vulnerable to the impact of climate change, and they can only be sustained at exceptionally high altitudes, where the weather is colder than regional averages.

A recent study by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in late 2022 suggests that 1/3 World Heritage glacier sites will disappear by 2050 due to global warming, including Mount Kilimanjaro. Even if global greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, the melting is unlikely to be reversed. 

The danger to Kilimanjaro’s ecosystem has not only inspired a widespread climate advocacy campaign but also sparked controversy. In 2002 a group of scientists led by Ohio State’s Lonnie Thompson published a paper predicting that Kilimanjaro would be devoid of ice by 2020. This claim was picked up in 2006 by former Vice President Al Gore in his documentary film “An Inconvenient Truth,” designed to raise awareness about global warming, emphasizing the melting glacier as a potent symbol of the impending environmental catastrophe. A decade later, the World Mountain Forum in Uganda saw the release of a report by the United Nations, revealing that the warming of the Earth’s temperature, caused by climate change, has led to a marked increase in the occurrence of wildfires on Mount Kilimanjaro, which has resulted in a hastened loss of forest cover. The report stressed the gravity of the situation and called upon Tanzania to protect Mount Kilimanjaro’s water catchment area, including reforestation, early warning systems, and climate adaptation strategies.

It’s obvious by now that Thompson et al. and Gore overestimated the future decline of Kilimanjaro’s glaciers. This has led websites such as Climate Realism and The Climate Record, as well as anti-regulation groups, to attempt to use Kilimanjaro’s lingering snow and ice to discredit climate science and Al Gore’s environmentalist stance. H. Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow, and head of environmental programs at the National Center for Policy Analysis criticized the Kilimanjaro snow melting prediction, stating that it is just one of many scare stories that scientists have had to revise or abandon in the face of significant counter-evidence. Although these specific predictions were false, the result of extrapolating past data far into the future, overgeneralization of a complex system, and neglecting the impact of yearly fluctuations in precipitation, this does not mean that Kilimanjaro or the planet at large are safe from the effects of climate change.

Although perhaps relieved by the presence of snow on Kilimanjaro’s ice cap in 2023, residents of nearby settlements confront other severe environmental problems such as dried streams during the sowing season and deforestation, problematic for a country that is heavily reliant on wood products. Additionally, even if the melting of the snow cap is not affected as much as predicted by Thompson and Gore, the vegetation communities’ altitudinal zonation will inevitably change in the medium-to-long term as the climate warms.

Ultimately, it is crucial to prioritize safeguarding the closely-knit ecosystem that surrounds Kilimanjaro’s snow-covered peak by taking necessary steps to bolster its resistance to the escalating pressures from tourism, climate change, and deforestation.

To Get Involved:

If you are looking to explore Kilimanjaro, there are various sustainable approaches to consider. Visit the site of Responsible Travel to learn more.

Mount Kilimanjaro is managed by Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro National Park, which strives to protect wildlife and provide eco-friendly tourism services around the mountain’s local community. Visit the site of Mount Kilimanjaro National Park to learn more. 

The African Blackwood Conservation Project (ABCP) focuses on replanting the tree species Dalbergia melanoxylon, also known as grenadilla, African blackwood, or mpingo, in eastern Africa, including the Kilimanjaro area. The ABCP has played a significant role in Mount Kilimanjaro reforestation efforts. Visit the ABCP website to learn more.

Hope Zhu

Hope is a Chinese international student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina studying sociology, statistics, and journalism. She dreams of traveling around the globe as a freelance reporter while touching on a wide range of social issues from education inequality to cultural diversity. Passionate about environmental issues and learning about other cultures, she is eager to explore the globe. In her free time, she enjoys cooking Asian cuisine, reading, and theater.

The Ghostly Shores of the Namib Desert’s Skeleton Coast

Bones and wreckage meet biodiversity on the Skeleton Coast of the world's oldest desert. 

A ship wreckage by the red, sandy dunes along the Skeleton Coast. op23 | Unsplash

A map highlighting the Namib Desert in red along the coast of Africa.

Home to earthy-red dunes which roll right into the Atlantic ocean, the Namib Desert is thought to be between 50-80 millions years old, making it the oldest desert in the world. It’s also one of the world's most inhospitable places—an unpredictable, arid and remote region that on the surface has no appeal whatsoever. With temperatures fluctuating from blistering hot to dangerously cold and sand for as far as the eye can see, it extends from the country of Angola, through Namibia and down to South Africa. That’s over 31 thousand square miles of desert. 

But don't be fooled, there’s more to these sandy plains than meets the eye. The Namib is home to the Skeleton Coast. And despite this desert’s penchant for death, The Skeleton Coast is teeming with rare wildlife. 

What is the Skeleton Coast

The Skeleton Coast is on the northern shores of this ancient and unexpected desert and earned its macabre name from the whale and seal bones that once littered the shore from the whaling industry. The Ovahimba who have since settled in the far north-eastern parts of Namibia once used the whale bones for building their shelters. In modern times, the Skeleton Coast hides its infamous graveyard buried beneath the sand, and with the exception of a rare adventure seeker looking for a wave to surf, the odds of seeking a human along this part of the coast are slim.

A shipwreck in the fog on the Skeleton Coast. Lee | CC BY 2.0

The Unique Climate of the Namib Desert

The bones scattered across Namibia’s Skeleton Coast aren’t from ocean mammals alone. Over the centuries, ships have ended up stranded on its shores for various reasons, but the main culprit is caused by the unique geography of the region. Hot, dry air from the interior of the continent and desert blows west combining with the cold wet air from Antarctica via a northward flowing ocean current called the Benguela Current. The hot dry winds act as a cap or roof not only prevents the cold wet air from escaping, but also from forming rain clouds. Instead, there is an eerie fog, and a lot of it. 

In fact, for 180 days of the year there is fog on the Skeleton Coast so dense, it’s caused thousands upon thousands of ships to run aground throughout history; the oldest of which is from the 1500’s. The ocean's intense surf would have prevented anyone from getting back into the water, and with a wrecked ship, this meant that sailors stranded on this isolated coast were left with only one choice: to make their way through the Namib Desert. With a dryness rivaling South America’s Atacama Desert (the driest place on Earth), and sand dunes reaching nearly 1000 ft high, this option was nearly as dangerous as swimming out to sea and surely has added human bones to its burial collection. 

A brown hyena stands over a carcass in the Namib Desert. Joe Knapman | CC BY 2.0

Wildlife on the Skeleton Coast

Incredibly diverse, the Skeleton Coast has more near-endemic species than any other desert in the world. Elephants, black rhinos, desert lions, jackals, giraffes, seals, oryx, kudus and zebras and just some of the desert adapted species inhabiting this wilderness. One such animal is the brown hyaena. They’re usually on the move after darkness has fallen, which adds to their elusiveness. The name strandwolf was coined on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast where they scavenge for dead seals along the shoreline. If you are fortunate enough to spot one, make sure you take a really good look, because sightings of these inscrutable carnivores is never guaranteed. A truly endemic avian, the Dune Lark, inhabits thinly vegetated dunes along the Skeleton Coast and larger Namibian dune system associated with Bushman grasses and Nara melons.

A blooming welwitschias. Ragnhild&Neil Crawford |CC BY 2.0    

A spiny looking nara bush in the Namib Desert. Palmora| CC BY 2.0

Nara Melons are just one of the many plants incredibly adapted to the rainless area and depend solely on the warning fog from the Atlantic Ocean. The nara bush is of great importance not only to the people of the region, but it is ecologically key to maintaining the unique desert habitat. More plants include welwitschias—which is a dwarf tree with only two leaves that can live for several thousand years—several lithops succulent plants known as living stones, lichen, pencil bush and the vividly colored succulents of rainbow colored agate mountains dotting the shore. 

The Lion’s Roar, a desert phenomenon

The phenomena of the Skeleton Coast doesn’t stop at bones, fog and compelling flora and fauna. Travelers, nomads and lost sailors once believed in the presence of desert spirits—singing songs through the mist. When the dunes form a bowl with the right acoustic properties, even a small flow of disturbed sand causes a terrific noise that resembles rolling thunder or even a low-flying airplane. The phenomenon is known locally on the Skeleton Coast as ‘the lion’s roar’.

Ugab River Gate, Agnieszka Rysio | CC BY 2.0

The Skeleton Coast National Park

Luckily, this wildly unique, albeit creepy shoreline, along with its diverse inhabitants is protected. In 1971, Namibia established a well-maintained national park to protect the curious treasures, bones and wildlife which makes the Skeleton Coast so incredible. The park is divided into a northern and southern section; the southern section is open to travelers with four wheel drive vehicles who are welcomed to go as far north as the Ugab River Gate. There, they will be greeted by a sign with a skull and crossbones warning you to go no further. The northern section is off limits, its loose, enveloping sands will literally swallow you up and can therefore only be accessed by airplane with a certified guide. It also happens to be the most attractive region of the park with lunar-esque vistas as far as the eye can see. The park attracts all types of travelers, both local and international fishers, photographers, ecologists and folks just looking for a unique adventure to one of the world's most understated treasures.

Raeann Mason

Raeann is the Content and Community Manager at CATALYST, an avid traveler, digital storyteller and guide writer. She studied Mass Communication & Media at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism where she found her passion for a/effective journalism and cultural exchange. An advocate of international solidarity and people's liberation, Raeann works to reshape the culture of travel and hospitality to be ethically sound and sustainable.

South Africa’s Town of Penguins

The small port town Simon’s Town is full of amazing marine life, most notably the African Penguin colony that is  just outside the town center.

Jackass Penguins Simon’s Town SA. Donnie Ray. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Located on the southwestern coast of South Africa, Simon’s Town is a small village surrounded by both the ocean  and the mountains. Being so close to Cape Town, Simon’s Town is a beautiful, small port city. 

Simon’s Town is on a part of the Cape Peninsula known as False Bay. This area is a Hope Spot, an important and protected area for the ocean’s health. It is a valuable area for wildlife, with various species of birds and marine life coming to live off the area. Large marine creatures such as dolphins, whales, seals and sharks can be found near the town, some close enough to see while kayaking and others closer to Seal Island, 8 nautical miles away from the harbor.

However, much smaller than these other sea creatures is Simon’s Town’s famous attarction –the penguin colony. Penguins are found on every continent in the Southern Hemisphere, all the way from the Galápagos Islands at the equator to Antarctica. Here in this small town in South Africa, one colony of African penguins known as the Boulders Colony regularly comes ashore. Because of the colony, the town is also named Penguin Town. Breeding season for these birds is between February to August, so it is more common to see penguins during those months, but the birds will also come to land while they are molting. People can watch them from afar, and even swim alongside them, as long as they don’t get too close or chase them because the penguins will bite.

Simon’s Town (9). Joe Pyrek. CC BY-SA 2.0

African penguins–also known as black-footed penguins, Cape penguins, and jackass penguins (the last one because of their unique braying-like sounds)–are an endangered species of penguins, with only around 140,000 penguins in the world. They are small birds, only growing between 24-27 inches and weighing around 8-9 pounds. In addition to the black backs and white fronts, they have a black, parabolic band across their chests, though chicks and juvenile members are brown and gray. The population of this species started declining in the 1980s due to commercial fishing and oil pollution. Though penguins do eat more than just fish, it is the largest part of their diet and commercial fishing has been taking all the species that the penguins eat. Luckily, commercial fishing has been banned in False Bay, so African penguins’ food supply belongs to them and the other sea creatures again. The oil pollution is another serious issue for the birds because the oil will destroy their waterproof feathers, making it hard for them to swim.

There are 27 breeding sites for African penguins, and each of them is a protected habitat, including Simon’s Town, though the town did have to erect fences and boardwalks to prevent the penguins from wandering too far inland and into people’s gardens and backyards. The entire area is a sanctuary for penguins, and keeping them from invading residents’ properties can help people respect the animals, as well as helping the number of penguins to increase.

Katherine Lim

Katherine Lim is an undergraduate student at Vassar College studying English literature and Italian. She loves both reading and writing, and she hopes to pursue both in the future. With a passion for travel and nature, she wants to experience more of the world and everything it has to offer.

Pride and Punishment: The Struggles of the LGBTQ+ Community of Africa

In 32 African countries, homosexuality is deemed unlawful—punishable by imprisonment and in some cases, death. The LGBTQ+ community is fighting prejudice in a battle to be their truest selves.

Ugandan citizens at a pride parade. Chrisjohnbeckett. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Out of the 54 countries that make up the African continent, 32 of them outlaw homosexuality. Historically a continent that traveling members of the queer community steer clear of, Africa has a deep and intricate history with politics surrounding sexuality. However, Africans who identify with the LGBTQ+ community fight fiercely to change legislation, stigma and prejudice in their respective countries, challenging this lineage of controversy. Those who are brave enough to protest for their rights to love whomever they desire organize in-person parades and protests, while those under threat of harm—or even death—find ways to demonstrate their pride in, generating virtual communities and workshops that allow for the LGBTQ+ community to connect across the globe without leaving the safety of their homes.

Map of African countries with anti-gay laws. Amnesty International. CC BY-ND

To understand the hardships facing the LGBTQ+ community of Africa today, it is important to know the causal factors that led to such a homophobic climate. Anti-queer sentiments were introduced to the continent during Western colonization; previous to imperialism affects on the continent, African tribes in many regions practiced homosexuality freely. Val Kalende writes in The Guardian that “there is ethnographic evidence of same-sex relationships in pre-colonial Africa.” This cultural history also demonstrates the lack of importance placed on strict gender roles. 

Additionally, the evidence also shows the practice of choice-based pronoun usage; women in positions of power would occasionally label themselves with male pronouns. Post-colonization laws that targeted the cultural muting of African traditions and practices formed the foundations for homophobia by outlawing same-sex relationships and visibly impacted African sentiments around the LGBTQ+ community for the foreseeable future.

Now, on the foundations of decades of hatred inspired by colonizers and imperialists, queer citizens of countries throughout Africa struggle under harsh legislation to simply be their truest selves. In most of the 32 countries that outlaw same-sex relationships, legislation punishes queer people by prison time and fines. Financial punishments vary in size and currency depending on the country. Prison sentences also range widely, varying anywhere between one year (as demonstrated in Ethiopia’s legislation) and lifetime imprisonment (such is the law in Kenya). 

There are four countries in Africa that make same sex relationships punishable by death: Mauritania, Somalia, Nigeria and South Sudan. In Nigeria, a country ranked by Forbes as #1 in “The 20 Most Dangerous Places for LGBTQ+ Travelers,” members of the LGBTQ+ community who are found out be participating in homosexual relationships face death by stoning.  

LGBTQ+ activists hanging signs. Distelfliege. CC BY 2.0.

Despite the gravity of the punishments for being queer, brave members of the LGBTQ+ community continue to demonstrate their pride. Unwilling to be silenced, queer people all around Africa organize pride parades, protests and online conferences to discuss ways they can fight the systemic homophobia they face in legislation. Further, the same people work hard to destigmatize same-sex relationships, challenging the post-colonial homophobia that has overpowered the original nature of African culture. 

Groups like PRIDE OF AFRICA (POA) organize yearly events to celebrate pride, inviting and encouraging queer Africans to “live their most authentic selves.” POA also founded the Johannesburg Pride Parade in 2019, which has recently gone online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but continues to invite members of the LGBTQ+ community to speak and rally. POA also holds online conferences, so those who wish to stay at home and stay anonymous can do so to limit the threat of prejudicial punishments. 

For activists in imminent danger should their sexuality be outed, their protesting and pride demonstrations are more closely guarded. For those who need to seek exile in other countries or continents after being unexpectedly outed, journalism, photography and participation in parades like UK Black Pride (which focuses on Pride in the Black community and is based in London) are their only options to avoid death while still being able to demonstrate their pride. 

To Get Involved

There are a handful of organizations centered on the eradication of hate crimes, stigmatization, improper health care and prejudicial legislation that accept donations to support their missions. Organizations like OUT that support the destigmatization of queer lifestyles and SHE (Social, Health and Empowerment Collective) specifically serve the African queer community. To find a collective list of legitimate organizations including OUT, SHE, and other foundations actively assisting the LGBTQ+ community of Africa, click here.

POA and UK Black Pride serve the same purposes: to allow for queer Africans to have a safe place to demonstrate their pride. POA takes place mostly online and in South Africa, and UK Black Pride is held in London.

To learn more about POA events, mission statements, and goals, click here.

To learn more about the UK Black Pride Parade and their mission statements, click here.

Ava Mamary

Ava is an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, double majoring in English and Communications. At school, she Web Writes about music for a student-run radio station. She is also an avid backpacker, which is where her passion for travel and the outdoors comes from. She is very passionate about social justice issues, specifically those involving women’s rights, and is excited to write content about social action across the globe.

Sand Mining Threatens Coastline as Sierra Leone Rebuilds

Within a few miles of Sierra Leone’s capital, sand mining is having a devastating effect. As beaches slowly disappear, so do the country’s hopes of post-war revival. 

Freetown Beach in Sierra Leone, Erik Cleves Kristensen, CC BY 2.0

Twenty years after Sierra Leone's 11-year civil war, the economic promises of sand mining prove to be costly. The war, which took thousands of lives and led nearly half the country's population into poverty, destroyed most of the country. What followed was a construction boom made possible by an essential ingredient of modern civilization: sand. However, as Sierra Leone’s 300 miles of glorious beaches slowly disappear, so does the revival of tourism and the protection of 55% of the population who live along the country’s coast from the dangers of rising sea levels due to climate change. 

As part of a post-civil war move to help communities benefit from local resources, Sierra Leone’s central government gave regulation of sand mining to local councils. Under the 2004 Local Government Act, local committees operate the trucks and strictly hire local people to mine the sand. After a long day of mining, the sand is dried and sold to developers to pave and extend roads as new homes, hotels and restaurants go up across the country. 

Government officials defend sand mining as an essential source of jobs and a necessary component in rebuilding Sierra Leone. Kasho Cole, chairman of the Western Area Rural District Council, told the Los Angeles Times that his council is “sensitive to environmental concerns, having banned sand mining on certain beaches because of the devastation it has already caused.”

Cole also acknowledged that assessments had not been carried out anywhere in the district to determine sand mining’s environmental impact. Due to large-scale illegal sand mining operations, Cole could not provide a definite amount of sand extracted from the beaches. 

Sand theft, the unauthorized and illegal form of sand mining, has led to a worldwide non-renewable resource depletion issue, causing the permanent loss of sand and significant habitat destruction. Sand mining has already made a significant environmental impact in North Stradbroke Island and Kurnell in Australia; the Indian states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Goa; and the Red River in Yunnan, China. 

In the United States, the sand mining market generates slightly over $1 billion per year. The industry continues to grow annually by nearly 10% because of its use in hydrocarbon extraction. Globally, sand mining is a $70 billion industry, with sand selling for up to $90 per cubic yard. 

In Sierra Leone, sand mining operations are regulated on John Obey Beach, a village 20 miles south of the Western Area (Freetown Peninsula.) According to the Environmental Protection Agency, sand mining should be banned on all beaches apart from John Obey. However, when the police leave the beaches at 5 p.m., the mining continues after dark. 

Efforts to address the issue are hampered by conflicts of interest from those involved: miners who need the work, construction companies who need the supply and investors who are getting rich taxing the sand. Last year, a press statement from the local police force confirmed “certain service personnel appear to be aiding and abetting this illegal act.” 

As dump trucks continue to haul sand away and tides push further inland, John Obey Beach is slowly disappearing—taking trees, businesses, homes and dry land with it as far down the coast as Bureh, a surf town two miles south. While the activity contributes to Sierra Leone's coastal erosion, which is proceeding at up to 6 meters a year, the removal of sand also changes wave patterns that move sand along the coast, altering the quality of surf that Bureh, a renowned surf spot in Africa, is known for. 

Prior to the war, Sierra Leone’s beaches were packed with adventurous travelers from around the world. Kolleh Bangura, the director of Sierra Leone’s Environmental Protection Agency, told The New Humanitarian that “sand-mining is a calamity for the tourism industry… Anywhere in the world, sand is the resource of tourism, but now our beaches are being degraded.”

Lakka, a coastal town located 10 miles from Freetown, was once known for its large beaches and seaside resorts, offering a glimpse of the future if actions are not taken. Sand mining on Lakka Beach is illegal now, but the ban came too late—leaving a thin wedge of sand lined by crumbling buildings, many of which have been left abandoned. 

Even the miners themselves recognize sand mining is not sustainable; however, with a youth unemployment rate of 70%, the pressure falls on the government to provide alternative jobs. “In time, they need to ban it, as we want to bring tourism here,” Abu Bakarr, a sand miner, told The New Humanitarian. “But we need sand-mining to sustain our lives…The government needs to give us jobs. If there are no jobs, the youths will mine the sand.”

Papanie Bai-Sessay, the biodiversity officer at Conservation Society of Sierra Leone, told the Los Angeles Times that “the sand has been a buffer… we are destroying our first line of defense. If we don’t stop, it will be a disaster for millions.”

Claire Redden is a freelance journalist from Chicago, where she received her Bachelor’s of Communications from the University of Illinois. While living and studying in Paris, Claire wrote for the magazine, Toute La Culture. As a freelancer she contributes to travel guides for the up and coming brand, Thalby. She plans to take her skills to London, where she’ll pursue her Master’s of Arts and Lifestyle Journalism at the University of Arts, London College of Communication.

Saving More Elephants with Honey than with Vinegar

The vast majority of people around the world have only seen African elephants from a television screen, from behind fences in zoos, or- if they’re lucky- from a safe seat in a safari car as it bounces past the grazing giants of the Serengeti. From those vantage points, it’s impossible to look at the massive bodies, dexterous trunks, and intelligent eyes of the elephant and not feel a keen sense of wonder and awe. Elephants are some of those ‘charismatic megafauna’ that capture the hearts of people worldwide, making conservation efforts seem like a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want to protect and save these wise, complicated, prehistoric-seeming creatures?

The people who share a homeland with elephants might be in that category. 

Elephants are herbivores, and must eat almost constantly to maintain enough calories to support their gargantuan bodies- individual adults can consume between 200 and 600 pounds of food per day. Traveling in family groups that can consist of 10-20 elephants or more, that’s an incredible amount of vegetation needed to sustain a herd. 

In addition to the grasses, roots, fruit, and bark found in the wild, elephants have quickly learned that their human neighbors can provide a tasty supplement to their diet- fields of carefully tended yams, cassava, corn, plantains, and grains. A herd of elephants can destroy a subsistence farmer’s means of food and income for the whole year in just a single night.

These episodes of crop raiding have created dangerous situations for people living in sub-Saharan Africa. Desperate to protect their livelihood, farmers may try to stay awake all night, ready to yell and bang pots in an effort to frighten away any pachyderm pilferers. However, elephants are not so easily startled by humans, and have been known to attack and kill would-be crop defenders. In anger and frustration, a group of villagers may then retaliate and try to kill the next group of elephants they see. These was creating a vicious cycle of animosity on both sides; elephants are intelligent creatures, and once they began associating humans with pain and disruption, there was evidence that they became more violent to humans in future encounters.

The heightened tensions were disastrous for both humans and elephants, and a solution was desperately needed to protect both vulnerable groups.

There had been local rumors buzzing around for a while that claimed elephants were afraid of bees, but it wasn’t until researchers Fritz Vollrath, Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, and Dr. Lucy King investigated that those results were confirmed to the rest of the world. When confronted with the sound of bees buzzing, the elephants would immediately retreat and send out a rumbling call that would warn other elephants of danger in the area. Additionally, the elephants would begin shaking their heads and dusting themselves, suggesting that their skin was sensitive to bee stings and that they knew to associate the sound with potential pain.  

Armed with this knowledge, researchers, nonprofits, and government groups set out to make affordable beehive fences that could protect precious crops from marauding elephants and protect elephants from learning dangerous behaviors that would bring them into conflicts with humans. 

In the last few years, as the success of the beehive fences has been proven time and again, they are gaining in popularity throughout Africa. The fences are genius in their simplicity; a hanging box hive is hung from a fence every ten meters, all connected by wire. This way, if an elephant brushes against the fence or wire, the hives will swing and rock and the bees will swarm out to get away from the disturbance. Nearly 100% of the time, the elephant will turn tail and run, warning its family members to stay away. Thanks to their famous memories, the elephants won’t soon forget that lesson.

Not only do the fences allow farmers to harvest their full crop without any losses to elephants, but the honey produced in the hives has also found a niche market. “Elephant-Friendly Honey,” as it’s called, has been a huge hit with globally conscious consumers who increasingly want to know that the products they are buying support a good cause. 

African elephant populations have slowly been increasing since the poaching crisis that decimated their numbers in the 1970’s and 1980’s. While the rest of the world celebrated that fact, many African people living in close proximity to elephants couldn’t see why people around the world were so eager to save the creatures that were plaguing their lives and livelihoods. Now, thanks to an increased effort to help protect people along with ivory-tipped neighbors, more and more people are able to view their globally treasured wildlife with a sense of pride instead of fear. 

Katharine Rose Feildling

Katharine Rose was born in Maryland and is currently working for the Condor Recovery Project in California. She studied wildlife management in East Africa, and gained a deep passion for wildlife conservation, social activism, and travel while there. Since then, she has traveled and worked throughout the United States, South America, and Asia, and hopes to continue learning about global conservation and inspiring others to do the same. 

Child Slavery in Ghana

When Elizabeth Tulsky participated in NYU’s study abroad program in Ghana, she also independently volunteered with City of Refuge, a local organization that uses education as a tool to combat child slavery. She said of her experience that it had “a tremendous impact on my life and what I want to do in the future.”

In Ghana, children are often enslaved, maltreated and many mothers struggle to see their children as more than a financial burden. While there are no statistics on the actual number of children trafficked, estimates are in the thousands. What is known is that 25% of Ghanaian children ages 5-14 years are involved in child labor. Child labor and human trafficking are both against the law in Ghana, however, laws are not enforced.

City of Refuge fights against child slavery by educating small villages about the harms of keeping children out of school and depriving them of a childhood. The organization is founded on the belief that if they can empower single mothers educationally and economically then they will no longer be vulnerable to selling their children as slaves.

Can you tell me a bit about City of Refuge and the work they do?

City of Refuge workers enter villages and open discussions with the chiefs in a respectful manner and work to free children who are in dangerous and/or miserable conditions and separated from their families. On a daily basis, City of Refuge provides home, happiness, and sanctuary to many rescued children. Furthermore, City of Refuge runs the only public school in the city, Doryumu. The organization works at the root of the problem, beginning with single mothers. Many children end up in slavery because mothers simply have absolutely no means of supporting themselves, much less their young children. Selling them, as hard as it may be to believe, truly seems like the only option for many women. Thus, City of Refuge works with single mothers to find alternative solutions to make ends meet, and have started two local businesses to be run by single mothers to increase opportunities for mothers and in turn, reduce the number of children sold into horrific situations.

How were you involved with the organization?

I worked in the small school where the children living with the City of Refuge family were educated and spent my evenings at the home playing with children and helping them with their homework. I also spent time shadowing the founders and through this I learned much about the process.

What do you know about child slavery in Ghana?

Children are targeted as slaves for fishermen for several reasons. First, children are easy to acquire as so many parents are impoverished and feel financially helpless. Second, children’s small hands are ideal for making and untangling fishing nets. When the nets get trapped in trees in the lake, children are sent in the water to untangle them. Unfortunately, this means many of the child slaves are incredibly susceptible to water-borne disease and illness and sadly, some do not know how to swim and may drown in the water. Children who are enslaved receive no form of education or care and spend up to eighteen hours a day working on the lake. They are often fed no more than one meal a day, which frequently consists of just gari, a food made from cassava, soaked in the lake water.

Any advice for travelers going to Ghana?

This is probably true for every country, but just approach everything with an open mind, try new things, immerse yourself in the culture as much as possible.

How can readers help the victims of Child Slavery in Ghana?

Check out City of Refuge for more information.

Other organizations doing good work include Youth Generation Against Poverty (YGAP), an organization that inspires volunteers through creative fundraising opportunities. They have created several projects partnered with City of Refuge.

Elizabeth Tulsky

Elizabeth studied social work at NYU and has experience working with trauma, grief, family issues, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and general life transitions. She hopes to use her work to create culturally responsive, affirming and inclusive healing spaces while promoting the use of person-centered, strengths-based, trauma-informed, anti-racist and social-justice frameworks.

Mass Detention of Civilians In Ethiopia

The Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency, resulting in the detention of civilians on suspicion of cooperating with rebel terrorists.

Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. DFID - UK Department for International Development  CC BY 2.0

Ethiopia has been in the throes of a civil war. The federal government, headed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has been fighting against Tigrayan rebels in the northwest region of the country. Recently, it appears Tigray fighters are at an advantage as they push south towards the nation’s capital. In response, the government declared a state of emergency Nov. 2 and began to roundup civilians of Tigrayian descent. Civilians with no connection to the rebels are being detained, forced from their homes, plucked off the street or at work. The United Nations stated that more than 1,000 people have been detained since the government declared the state of emergency. Additionally, they reported that 70 drivers contracted by the United Nations and agencies to deliver aid to the country have been detained by officials as well. Along with the detained drivers, 16 employees of the United Nations were detained following the state of emergency. These employees were present because the Tigray region is in desperate need of aid after airstrikes fell on the region in mid-October. The dire situation in Tigray has been labeled an ongoing humanitarian crisis. 

The civil war broke out after tensions between the Tigray’s People Liberation Front political party and the federal government came to a point. The party previously held control of the Ethiopian government for decades, until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. In 2020, the T.P.L.F attacked a military base in the Tigray region, prompting the Prime Minister to order a military offensive in response. In June, the Ethiopian military was forced to withdraw from the Tigray region, marking a major defeat and subsequent turning point of the conflict. 

In July 2021, the United Nations requested access to the region because an estimated 400,000 people were experiencing famine, with another 1.8 million at risk. Additionally, 1.7 million people have been internally displaced while thousands of others have fled the country.

The state of emergency declared on Nov. 2 allows officials to search anyone’s home and arrest without a warrant solely based on suspicion of association with rebel groups. The recent arrests have included other ethnicities, but the majority of detentions have been people of Tigrayan descent. Along with the large-scale detentions, public figures allied with the government have taken to social media inciting hate speech against ethnic Tigrayans. The head of the Ethiopian government communication office stated that the detentions were not ethnically motivated, but the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights expressed concern at the broad terms of the recent state of emergency.

Dana Flynn

Dana is a recent graduate from Tufts University with a degree in English. While at Tufts she enjoyed working on a campus literary magazine and reading as much as possible. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she loves to explore and learn new things.

The World’s Electronic Waste is Ending Up in Ghana’s Landfill

While new tech gadgets launch every few months, the buildup of electronic waste is being sent to Ghana and damaging the citizens’ health. 

Location, Ghana. Fairphone. CC BY-NC 2.0

The capital city of Accra in Ghana is home to the largest e-waste landfill, Agbogbloshie. Electronic waste or e-waste is waste material with any battery or power cable. It ranges from everyday appliances to laptops, circuit boards, lamps, phones, etc. If these items are not disposed of properly, they can become harmful to the environment and people. An estimated 250,000 tons of electronics are sent every year to the dumpsite. The site not only houses e-waste, but about 40,000 Ghanaians inhabit the area alongside livestock. 

The e-waste arrives in Ghana through the Port of Tema, about 20 miles east of Agbogloshie. Most of the items in the container ships are from the United States or Western Europe. The electronics are secondhand and sent to Ghana with the idea of being refurbished then sold.  The majority of the items cannot be fixed and become e-waste, which is then taken to Agbogbloshie. Once the electronics arrive at the dumpsite, there is an entire process the electronics go through. First, small collectors sell the items to scrap dealers known as “masters.” The scrap dealers then have their workers, known as “boys,” use their bare hands, hammers and other tools to break apart the valuable metals inside. At times insulated wires are bundled together and taken to the “burner boys” they’re in charge of burning the plastic off of the wires. In doing so, they’re able to retrieve valuable metals. The metals include copper, aluminum, zinc, silver and others. Once the metals are recovered, they are weighed and sold for instant cash. 

PCBs Used to Extract Metals. Fairphone. CC BY-NC 2.0

The supply and demand is what fuels the toxic pollution in Agbogbloshie. As soon as the bulk of metals and wires are sold, they are exported out of Ghana and reused to produce new devices. The men and young boys who do this harmful labor are usually from rural northern cities searching for work to provide for their families back home. A “burner boy” will make about $40-50 Ghanaian cedis a day (US$6-8). Living in extreme poverty and barely making enough to move further up the chain, along with paying the ultimate price with their lives. They work arduously with no protective gear and no government regulations. At times, these young men and children have multiple health issues due to the toxic fumes and chemicals that leak from the electric waste. They face chronic nausea, debilitating headaches, skin diseases, burns, respiratory problems, infected wounds and cancer among others. All these issues are brought on by the toxic work environment, pollution and lack of regulations. Most people know that this line of work is debilitating to their health. However, the desperation for survival is the driving force. 

The people who work and live in Agbogbloshie are not the only ones suffering; the livestock is, too. The toxins are entering the food chain as cattle roam and graze the dumpsite freely. This is concerning as the Agbogbloshie area is home to one of the largest food markets in Accra. Most of the cows and chickens are slaughtered and eaten by the residents, which then ingest the high-level toxins. In addition, the water is also being contaminated as Agbogbloshie is situated on the Korle Lagoon. This lagoon is filled with piled-up waste of all sorts and links to the Gulf of Guinea, the Northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean. 

Goat Freely Roaming. Fairphone. CC BY-NC 2.0 

Agbogbloshie is known to many of the locals as Sodom and Gomorrah. These biblical cities are synonymous with Agbogbloshie’s difficult living conditions. Although harsh, the people of this slum depend heavily on electrical waste in order to make a living. The Ghanian government has condemned the activity that’s taking place here. However, it has not lessened. As of now, change might be taking place in the near future. The German agency, GIZ, is in the middle of delivering a $5.5 million project for the people of Agbogbloshie. The plan is to build a sustainable recycling system and a health clinic and football pitch for workers. Much more will need to be done to keep the people’s health intact and away from this harmful environment. However, this is a start in bettering the status quo.

Jennifer Sung

www.jennwanders.com

Jennifer is a Communications Studies graduate based in Los Angeles. She grew up traveling with her dad and that is where her love for travel stems from. You can find her serving the community at her church, Fearless LA or planning her next trip overseas. She hopes to be involved in international humanitarian work one day.

COVID-19 Slows Africa’s Progress Against Poaching

Poaching is a last resort for villagers who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Conservationists now struggle to preserve endangered species. 

A valuable commodity. valentinastorti. CC BY-NC 2.0.

They march through the field with chainsaws, the rhinos sedated. What follows is no gruesome act of poaching. It’s the exact opposite. Workers at the Spioenkop Nature Reserve in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province rev their chainsaws and go to work sawing off the rhino horns. “It has a face mask put on it to cover its vision, it has earplugs put into its ears [...] so that reduces trauma to the animal,” says Mark Gerrard of Wildlife ACT, a nonprofit that protects African wildlife. “We’ve got to remind ourselves that this [a rhino’s horn] is just keratin—this is really just fingernails.” 

These rhinos’ horns will grow back in 18 to 24 months, but in the meantime, poachers won’t hunt them for the priceless commodity. Armed with only chainsaws and sedatives, the conservationists at the reserve are combating Africa’s interminable poaching problem. If a rhino has no horns, poachers have no reason to kill it. This fact doesn’t make the job any easier. “It is a traumatic experience for us,” Gerrard says, “not for the rhino.”

Spioenkop Nature Reserve has fared unusually well in its fight against poaching. Out of 15,600 rhinos in South Africa, 1,175 were killed by poachers in 2014. In 2015, the country began dehorning rhinos to considerable success. By 2019, the number of dead rhinos had fallen to 594. By 2020, it was 394. Nevertheless, Gerrard defines a truly successful dehorning effort as “zero animals poached.”

Two big cats, two big trophies. DappleRose. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

It will be a hard goal to reach. After COVID-19 effectively shut down international travel, tourism revenue in Africa plummeted, leaving conservationists cash-strapped in their anti-poaching campaigns. Spioenkop Nature Reserve has struggled to patrol its vast territory, but the issue goes beyond just South Africa. Wildlife tourism generates $29 billion each year and employs 3.6 million workers across Africa. The lack of sufficient funds for anti-poaching efforts is a continent-wide problem.

In Zambia’s Kafue National Park, poaching takes place at the edges of the park, where patrols have been cut back. In 2020, the park reported a 170% increase in snares, which snag wild cats. That same year, two lions were killed while none had been slain the year before. More disconcerting, patrollers increasingly find poached animals gored for “buck meat.” Poor local villagers, desperate from COVID-19 lockdowns, have joined poachers in the hunt to earn a living and put food on the table.

By and large, however, poaching is the work of international crime syndicates working in the black market. Some conservationists advocate legalizing the sale of poached items such as rhino horns and ivory to lower the market value, reducing profits for poachers. In Kenya, courts have buffed up their prosecution efforts, leading to a precipitous drop in poaching. Dedicated legal teams actively pursue convictions for poaching, and those caught red-handed face long prison sentences and fines of up to $200,000. Still, the black market provides lucrative opportunities for locals willing to break the law in hopes of amassing a fortune. A 35-pound black rhino horn can be worth up to $2 million. For poor Africans, the opportunity is often irresistible. 

Confiscated rhino horns. USFWS Headquarters. CC BY 2.0.

At Mpala, a research center in central Kenya, patrols have adopted a digital approach to combat rampant poaching. They use the SMART app (spatial monitoring and reporting tool) to track every animal a patrol encounters—alive or dead. It also allows them to track people seen infiltrating the parks. Conservationists are attempting to make up in brainpower what they lack in manpower; less tourism revenue led to slashed budgets, which meant fewer patrols. However, park managers agree that addressing the root cause of poaching, poverty, is the best solution to the problem. In this regard, nobody seems to have an answer.

So the traumatic work of sawing off rhino horns in Spioenkop continues. “We cannot let our guard down,” says Elise Serfontein of the organization Stop Rhino Poaching. “The kingpins and illicit markets are still out there, and even losing one rhino a day means that they are chipping away at what’s left of our national herd.” With one rhino’s horn sheared to a nub, the team moves on to the next. The rhino sleeps in the field as they approach. One member revs the chainsaw and begins cutting. White flakes flutter through the air like dust. 

Michael McCarthy

Michael is an undergraduate student at Haverford College, dodging the pandemic by taking a gap year. He writes in a variety of genres, and his time in high school debate renders political writing an inevitable fascination. Writing at Catalyst and the Bi-Co News, a student-run newspaper, provides an outlet for this passion. In the future, he intends to keep writing in mediums both informative and creative.

LGBTQ+ Intolerance in Ghana Reaches Boiling Point 

Tensions within the West African country have risen following the recent restriction of LGBTQ+ rights, resurfacing the decades long discussion regarding the criminalization of same-sex conduct.   

Pride flag waving in the sky. Tim Bieler. Unsplash. 

The newly established office of nonprofit organization LGBT+ Rights Ghana was raided and searched by police last month, endangering one of the only safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people in the country. This raid came mere days after Ghanaian journalist Ignatius Annor came out as gay on live television, and many have speculated that the raid was in retaliation of that moment. 

Given Ghana’s criminalization of same-sex conduct, it is not a stretch to say that homophobia runs rampant and unchecked, especially when considering the widespread opposition from both government officials and religious figures regarding the construction of the center for LGBT+ Rights Ghana.   

The building has been under scrutiny since it first opened back in January. Only three weeks after opening its doors to the public, the organization had to temporarily close in order to protect its staff and visitors from angry protesters. The director of the organization, Alex Kofi Donkor, explained how the community “expected some homophobic organizations would use the opportunity to exploit the situation and stoke tensions against the community, but the anti-gay hateful reaction has been unprecedented.”   

This unprovoked suppression of basic freedoms indicates that LGBTQ+ intolerance in Ghana has reached a boiling point and is about to bubble over. 

Aerial shot of Accra, Ghana. Virgyl Sowah. Unsplash. 

News of the situation reached a handful of high-profile celebrities such as Idris Elba and Naomi Campbell, who joined 64 other public figures in publishing an open letter of solidarity with the Ghanaian LGBTQ+ community using #GhanaSupportsEquality. While prejudice has only recently garnered public attention due to the letter, blatant and widespread homophobia in Ghana has run rampant for years. 

According to a study conducted by the Human Rights Watch in 2017, hate crimes and assault due to one's sexual identity are regular occurrences in Ghana. Dozens of people have been attacked by mobs and even family members out of mere speculation that they were gay. Furthermore, the study found that for women, much of this aggressive homophobia was happening behind closed doors through the pressures of coerced marriage. 

Consider 24-year-old Khadija, who identifies as lesbian and will soon begin pursuing relationships with men due to the societal pressure for women to marry. Or 21-year-old Aisha, who was exiled by her family and sent to a “deliverance” church camp after she was outed as lesbian. 

Marriage pressures and intolerances are certainly prevalent in other countries as well, even in those often deemed progressive. The big difference is that in many countries, homophobic beliefs are slowly becoming less and less common. In Ghana, it seems as though these sentiments are normalized and held by the majority of people. 

The precedent for discrimination based on sexual orientation was set as early as 2011, when former Western Region minister Paul Evans Aidoo called for the immediate arrest of LGBTQ+ people in the area. The stigma that actions like this produced in Ghana have only been amplified over time when coupled with religious and cultural tensions. 

A rainbow forms above a home in Kumasi, Ghana. Ritchie. Unsplash. 

Many victims of hate crimes or abuse in Ghana reported that because of the codified homophobia in the country, they are unable to report their experiences to local authorities without putting themselves in danger. As a result, LGBTQ+ Ghanaians find themselves stuck in a perpetual cycle of making slight progress just for higher authorities to snatch it away. 

There have been countless opportunities for legalized discrimination to be addressed, and ever since current Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo assumed office in 2017, he has been under immense pressure to announce his official position on homosexuality. Four years later, he has still not done so.

Instead of embracing the shift toward more inclusive policies supported by LGBT+ Rights Ghana, the Ghanaian government appears to be succumbing to public pressures in an attempt to keep peace. What it fails to realize is that sweeping inequalities under the carpet doesn’t make them go away. It actually does quite the opposite. It heightens inequalities until they become absolutely impossible to avoid. Celebrity involvement in dismantling Ghana’s current system has caused quite the public reaction. It may end up being the spark that causes the Ghanaian government to reconsider its policies and begin to offer LGBTQ+ people the respect and protection they deserve. 

Zara Irshad

Zara is a third year Communication student at the University of California, San Diego. Her passion for journalism comes from her love of storytelling and desire to learn about others. In addition to writing at CATALYST, she is an Opinion Writer for the UCSD Guardian, which allows her to incorporate various perspectives into her work.