East Africa Today

The countries of East Africa are some of poorest, and most highly populated in all of Africa. These countries are limited in technology, but they use what few resources they have to progress. They mainly rely on agriculture and tourism. Countries like Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia produce coffee, tea, cotton, and livestock. Other countries like Tanzania, draw in tourists with their national parks. And Eritrea brings in travelers with its coral reefs. Both agriculture and tourism_________.

In many of these countries, they are ethnic groups clashing. For example, Rwanda has two main ethnic groups called the Hutu and the Tutsi. The groups could not get along, which led to the genocide in the 1990's . These kinds of problems are arising in many places such as Uganda, Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea. The reason for these conflicts is imperialism. The Europeans conquered African land, and without thinking of the tribes and their differences, they shoved them all together into the same countries. Now that most of the European countries have left, the groups are clumped together, leading to constant feuding.

Their is quite a diversity of religion and languages in East Africa. Many Muslims live in countries like Sudan, Uganda, and Somalia. Christianity is also a major religion in East Africa, and is practiced in many countries. Their are also religions unique to their own countries like Somali. Somali, the religion, is practiced in Somalia, as well as the language Somali. East African countries speak mainly English, and languages that the European settlers brought over. There are also several native African languages that are still commonly spoken too.

Burundi Peace Progress

The government of Burundi has signed a peace agreement within the past few days. The ceremony took place in Bujumbura, the capitol of Burundi. It was looked over by officials from other countries that surround Burundi. Among other topics, the peace agreement stated that the fighters would fight on designated areas. It also is going to let political prisoners be released, as well as resettling civilians into their homes. The president wanted to assure neighboring countries that he was realising permanent peace.
This news should be reported for many reasons. One being, relevance. We are studying Africa in Humanities now, so learning about the current events of the different countries in Africa is crucial. Another is Reference to someone famous or important. The article mentions the President as well as other government officials of Burundi signing or overseeing the treaty. It also mentions important figures from neighboring countries overseeing this progress. Finally, it will impact many readers. Raising awareness about peace, weather the reader is in Burundi or not is important. Showing the world that progress in peace is being made will have an affect on many people. As you can see, this piece is news worthy for many reasons.

Imperialism Political Cartoon

This political cartoon is trying to show us how Europe left a "footprint" on Africa. European countries conquered different parts of Africa for the resources they needed, without thinking of what they were doing to the African people. The main visual elements help to clearly depict this idea. The artist affectivley used contrast in this cartoon. The black and white stand out, and show eachother's opposite. You can cleary see when the Europeans left, they took everything with them, leaving barren land. The black, filling out the rest of Africa, shows the underdevelopement left behind. I think the cartoonist believes that the Europeans conquered the land, wihtout thinking of the Africas. I think the artist may feel pity for the Africans, and anger towards the Europeans. The Europenas took Africa's resources for their benefit, not thinking of its inhabitants. While the Europenas became wealthy, Africans became impoverished.

Image: http://mrcoyle.edublogs.org/files/2008/11/colonialism.jpg

East African History

Religion
Christian missionaries introduced Christianity in Ethiopia in 300 AD. Gradually, Islam spread to northern Sudan from North Africa. Islam also spread to Somalia, on the coast of the Indian Ocean.
Slave Trade
The slave trade took place along the coasts of the Indian Ocean. The slave trade consisted of East Africans, Arabs, and Europeans. Africans got kidnapped, enslaved, and shipped throughout Africa, and Southwest Asia. The island of Zanzibar became the international slave-trading center.
European Influence and Conflict
Europeans usually ended slavery in the 1800's, and focused more on trading materials. To get these materials, they believed they should conquer different parts of Africa for the resources they needed. The British gained the most control over East Africa. The Europeans colonized Africa. Even now, as a result of imperialism, there are many ethnic conflicts. In the 1960's most of the African countries were independent.
Language
The European influence was very strong in terms of religion. French is still spoken in Rwanda, Burundi, and Djibouti. English is the primary language of Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. East Africans also speak African languages, such as Swahili. When trade with Arabic people progressed, Swahili developed.
Religion
Most of the religions in East Africa revolve around honoring the ancestors. Many East Africans are Animists. Animists believe the natural world contains spirits.
The history of East Africa revolved around the imperialism of the Europeans in East Africa.

Image: http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/images/east_africa2.jpg:

Scramble for Africa

Scramble for Africa is a simulation of the European countries colonizing Africa. They all wanted different materials from different places. My country was Belgium. We wanted ivory, diamonds, and minerals and rubbers from the Congo river basin. We wanted to colonize Cote D'ivoire as well as the rest or the west coast or "Ivory Coast" for ivory, Botswana and Angola for the diamonds, and the Congo for minerals and rubber. Our strategy from the beginning was to conquer small sections of each country during each round. This way we would have at least a small amount of the resource we needed. During each round we would build on the amount of land we had of each country. That is how in the end we had large colonies in all of the countries we needed natural resources from. We considered what parts of Africa were desired by many European countries, so we conquered those as soon as possible. Mostly every country wanted to take South Africa, so we took the top section as out first piece of land. We also took under consideration which parts of Africa were not coveted by many countries, and we waited to conquer those until later in the simulation. We knew the western coast of Africa was not in demand, so we colonized that last. I think France won the Scramble for Africa. They wanted petroleum, iron, zinc, and diamonds. They got diamonds and zinc from South Africa, iron from Algeria and South Africa. I don't think they got much petroleum, but by just conquering South Africa France got almost all of the resources they needed. I think Great Brittan lost. They didn't completely colonize one place, but were scattered around Africa. They only got small amounts of any of their resources, and they didn't conquer the Suez canal. This simulation clarified to me why the European countries wanted to colonize in Africa.

Dumpsite in Kenya Threatens Health and Envrionment

A waste site just east of Nairobi poses environmental and health risks even after studies have been done recommending its closure. "The waste clogs the drainage systems, and spreads all over into the residential areas." says Kimani, the principle investigator. The waste also pollutes the Nairobi river that passes by near the dump site. Many of the people who live near to the site have developed health problems. The main cause of these sicknesses is the toxic gases that come from burning the waste. Many people suffer from respiratory abnormalities. Skin disorders, abdominal problems, and eye infections are also common among people who live near the site. But, the government has decided to move the dump site to the outskirts of Nairobi within the next couple of years. The new site would protect the land, air, and water from the impact of the waste. It would also provide recycling facilities.

This issue is reported on for many reasons. It is an unexpected problem. Environmental and health problems from a dump site are not commonly heard of. The amount of pollution, and sickness that has come from this waste site is unusual. It is also a continuing issue. There has been research and studies done about this dump site for a while, but only now the government has began to recognize it. News needs to report the solution to a problem that has been developing for years. Luckily, progress is being made on this issue. The government has decided to relocate the dump to an area outside the main city of Nairobi, so that it will not affect as many, if any, people health wise. It is also going to offer recycling to keep it from damaging the environment. As much as bad news "sells", people love good news even more.

Article: http://allafrica.com/stories/200811110937.html

Image: http://allafrica.com/stories/200811110937.html

Physical Geography of East Africa

The physical geography of Eastern Africa varies greatly. There are rift valleys going across the north and south of this region. The rift walls are normally a series of steep cliffs. This region also has many mountains, including volcanic mountains. The tops of come of these mountains are covered in snow due to the high elevations. Rugged highlands cover Ethiopia. This is another point of high elevation where the weather is cooler. But there are some flat lands, like the plains that cover Tanzania and Kenya. These plains provide nutrition for wildlife. East Africa also has many lakes and rivers. The world's longest river, the Nile, begins in East Africa. The lakes that surround the eastern rift of the Great Rift Valley, are too hot for any human to swim in. As you can see, East Africa has a variety of physical geography.

Image: http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/9/9b/350px-LocationEasternAfrica.png

Can we Trust Julius Lester?

I think we can trust Julius Lester as an author, therefor trust the information in his book, "To Be A Slave". In the beginning of the book Lester dedicates a couple pages to stating where he got all of his information for the book. He says that he found the information at the Library of Congress, government building. He also uses a lot of interviews with slaves themselves. Under each of them he has the name of the slave, the author, and where he found the interview. He has given full credit to all of his sources, and interviewees. Lester has written many of them revolving around African Americans and the unjust treatment towards them. He seems to be fascinated with African history, and proud of what his people have accomplished. This leads me to the conclusion that Julius Lester can be trusted as an author, so we can trust the information in "To Be A Slave".

Image: http://www.ajlmagazine.com/graphics/subpages/content/012007/juliuslester.jpg

Ethiopian Drought

I have chosen to research news from Ethiopia. There has been a major drought across most of Ethiopia in the past few months. It is predicted to to continue on into the next year. The crop production has ceased. The UN has decided to give a large some of money to relief operations. Hopefully, this money will help the Ethiopians get through the coming drought.

This is a tragic event that needs to be reported upon in the news for several reasons. The magnitude of the story should be known. Across Ethiopia many people are suffering from the affects of the drought, and they will continue to suffer throughout the next year. It also refers to something negative, because bad news often "sells". Many families are struggling through economic hardships because they cannot produce their crops, which they have to sell to make money. Luckily progress is being made in Ethiopia. The UN has decided to give $265 million to help the cause. The UN decided it was a large enough issue to spend money and time into helping the Ethiopians.

Image:http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/media/images/UN-LOGO%20copy.jpg

Article: http://allafrica.com/stories/200811071056.html

5 Themes of Geography
Movement

• fans traveled from different places to see their teams play

• the game of baseball traveled because it is played around the world

Region

• the green walls, the design of grass and dirt, and placement of seats depicts a baseball stadium
• baseball is most commonly played as a professional sport in the United States

Human Environmental Interaction

• the land that the baseball field is on had to be cleared(for hills, trees, etc.)
• the stadium uses disposable a lot of paper for cups, napkins, and signs that trees had to be cut down for

Location

• the giant green wall is called the "Green Monster" and that shows that this is Fenway Park in Boston
• the picture of two red socks also shows that this stadium belongs to the Boston Red Sox

Place

• the advertisements for companies on the stadium walls shows that this is a developed country
• the advertisements and merchandise that the fans are wearing also shows that this is a capitalist country

Image: http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia/photo_gallery/0808/10.must.visit.sports.locations/images/fenway-park.jpg

"Violence leads to more violence"
I believe this quote is definitely true, and I can prove it! William Shakespeare must have believed it too because it appears in Julius Caesar. When the conspirators killed Caesar, (in act 3, scene 1) they decided they would stab him many times. This is violent crime. Once Mark Antony knew what they had done, he wanted to start a war with them to get Caesar justice. The death of Caesar lead to a war, but it doesn't end there. When Brutus kills himself, (in act 5, scene 5) it is because many of his men had died and they were losing against Antony/Octavius's army. All of these things started with Caesar's death and could have been avoided if he hadnt been killed. Therefor, violence definitely leads to more violence.
Image:http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/shakespeare/60secondshakespeare/images/times/caesar.jpg