Neymar tearful at World Cup 2014 Show-down with Mexico

I couldn't watch the Brazil v Mexico match yesterday so I was anxious to know who won. Naturally, I though it would be Brazil, but alas no! It was a draw... Then I heard the full story of how the events unfolded.

Some people say that Neymer was crying because he was moved by his country's anthem. But I think it was more about facing the hardcore Mexicans. Shedding a few tears at the start of the match, the Brazilian footballer, Neymer probably sensed that his team had to lot to live up to. He was again the star of the match as she tried his hardest to break through the Mexican wall of resistance at yesterday's World Cup game. The Brazilian team were not just up to scratch, couldn't win any games and can't compare with past Brazilian teams.

 

About Author: Morin Okenla is an artist and designer, teacher, writer, publisher, entrepreneur and online marketing, branding and blogging expert. Follow her on Twitter @MorinOkenla

Top African achievers celebrated in Italy

African heros were given achievement awards in Italy. The ceremony was organised by Divino Event Organization and headed by Freda Coope Ambassadors, local authorities, religious leaders, community leaders, entrepreneurs, academics, artists and many more

New vaccine could stop 100m cases of malaria a year

Could this be the time for celebration? A new malaria vaccination has been  made by British pharmaceutial company, GlaxoSmithKline. The jab has the potential to prevent up to 100m cases of the malaria disease each year and save 200,000 lives.

Plastic bank notes to be introduced in England...and scrapped in Nigeria?

African cowries

The top note is the polymer bank note. Photo: CNN

Going back in time. Remember cowries? They were used as a form of currency in Africa and China because they were light weigh and durable. And, do you know that the Ghanaian unit of currency known as the Ghanaian cedi was named after cowry shells?

Fast forward. In 2016, the Bank of England, one of the most powerful banks in the world is thinking of introducing plastic £5 to £50 notes to cut costs and for durability.

Australia was the first country in 1988 to use  modern polymer banknotes as currency and by 1996, the country had switched all notes completely. Many on their countries including Brunei, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Vietnam, Zambia and Canada.

In 2009, Nigeria introduced polymer notes but according to THISDAY newspaper, the Central Bank of Nigeria has decided to scarp it. Bank officials said they assumed that polymer notes would last longer than paper notes and cost less in the long-run. But they found out that the colours on the notes faded quickly.

So, when will African countries return to innovation and develop their own type of money which will be as sturdy and durable as the humble cowrie?

 

Egypt Crisis: Watch how Egyptian demonstrators broke into a police station, freed prisoners and burnt it down

CAIRO, EGYPT - As Egypt falls into bloody chaos more killings have been reported after Friday's prayers. A mass demonstration led by the Muslim Brothers from one of Cairo's main mosques ended with at least 45 more people dying. 
On Thursday, over 2000 people were feared dead and several thousands injured after the Egyptian police opened life ammunition on the crowd of demonstrators. 

NIGERIA - 60 dead in Kaduna bomb blasts

Frequent bomb blasts create a constant atmosphere of fear in Nigeria

KADUNA - Bombs exploded in the Nigerian army's 1st Mechanized Division headquarters and the training command of the Nigerian Air Force in Kawo near Kaduna on Tuesday, officials said.


Witnesses said a suicide bomber entered the division and exploded a bomb. The glass windows of the division's headquarters had been blown apart by the power of the explosion.


A second suicide bomber detonated a bomb at the gate of the airforce base on Airport Road while a third bomb exploded under a busy flyover close to Kawo Motor Park killing three people.


As fear and uncertainty spread through the city, soldiers shut off the areas and prevented journalists and the National Emergency Management from reaching the affected areas.


There are unconfirmed reports that as many as 60 people may have died. An unknown number of soldiers and civilians in the area were also injured. Witnesses said they saw injured soldiers wearing blood-drenched uniforms after the blasts.


A primary school was said to have collapsed in the division due to the impact of the blast injuring hundreds of many pupils.


A spokesman for the division said two different cars loaded with explosives rammed through the headquarters' gates.


Maj. Gen. Raphael Isa, an army spokesman, said in a statement that one of the suicide bombers was dressed in a military uniform. Soldiers guarding the gate opened fire on the man, who died from gunshot wounds.


Although no one has claimed responsibility for the blasts, all eyes are on by Boko Haram a group blamed for killing over 1,200 people since last year. The sect's violence comes as part of a campaign its leader Abubakar Shekau describes as avenging Muslim deaths and pushing for strict Shariah law across multiethnic country of 160 million people who are mostly Christian and Muslim.

Egyptian football tragedy leaves 104 people dead

PORT SAID - Egypt has begun three days of mourning for the victims of the worst soccer violence in the nation's history.



Riots began when fans invaded the pitch after a football match involving top Cairo club al-Ahly and the Port Said side al-Masry leaving 104 dead.


The people of Port Said are reeling after the spasm of violence tore through this coastal town and many are blaming the military government for failing to maintain security.

African Cup 2012: Ghana secures place in quartre finals

The African cup is getting more exciting. Asamoah Gyan scored a beautiful free-kick for the Black Stars. Unfortunately, Mali was unable to score a free-kick through Cheick Diabate.

Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew then sealed a place in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals for Ghana with a 2-0 win over Mali in Franceville.

Inauguration of New AU Headquarters Celebrates China's Rise in Africa

President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria with his wife

Welcome by the Ethiopians



Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi



Aerial view

Former President of Ghana - Jerry Rawlings

A snapshot of Africa leaders

Addis Ababa AU headquatres

 

 VOICE OF AMERICA - Africa is rising indeed. The African Renaissance has begun." Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi


The African Union has inaugurated a new headquarters with tributes to China's rise in Africa, and to the political prisoners who died in the jail that once occupied the site.


The new $200 million Chinese-built headquarters was officially opened by China's senior political adviser Jia Qinglin, standing in for Premier Hu Jintao.


In a speech to an audience of heads of state and African diplomats in the spectacular 2500-seat Grand Hall, Jia hailed the rapid growth of China-Africa relations. China's trade with African countries reached $150 billion last year, he said, a 13 fold increase in the past decade.


Others at the ceremony praised China as the model for Africa's economic growth.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi derided western economic prescriptions of the late 20th century as “medicine that turned out to be worse than the disease."


He singled out The Economist magazine for criticism, saying policies it advocated a decade ago had set the continent on the path to recolonization.


"The Economist, which espouses the very market fundamentalist ideas that wrecked our economies, had a banner headline in one of its issues which simply read, 'The Hopeless Continent.' Clearly, these pundits, these experts and international magazines had given up on Africa," Meles said.


The Ethiopian leader suggested that the recent rapid growth experienced by many African countries had coincided with the trend toward adoption of China's state-led economic model. He said western economists were having to reconsider their ideas in light of what he called “the African Renaissance."


"The pundits and academics who were publicly advocating for the recolonization of our continent have now refrained from doing so, at least in polite company," said Meles. "The very magazine that came up with the banner headline, 'The Hopeless Continent' a decade ago, has recently come up with a new banner headline that simply read, 'Africa Rising.' Africa is rising indeed. The African Renaissance has begun."


The ceremonies included dedication of a memorial to victims of the Red Terror campaign during the previous Ethiopian government led by Marxist dictator Mengistu Hailemariam. Prime Minister Meles noted that the new AU headquarters had been built over the site of the maximum security prison where opponents of the Mengistu regime were tortured and executed.


"People in Ethiopia used to call that infamous prison Alem Bekagn. Loosely translated it means, 'I have given up on this life.' This building, which will now house the headquarters of our continental organization, is built on the ruins of a prison that represented desperation and hopelessness."


African heads of state will convene Sunday for a two-day meeting in the new conference hall. The summit theme, "Boosting Intra-African Trade," is being overshadowed by several hotly contested elections for leadership posts.

AU Commission chairman Jean Ping's bid for a second term is being challenged by South Africa's veteran freedom fighter and former foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The election, by a secret ballot of African heads of state, is set for Monday.

China - Africa relationship

The building in Addis is seen as a symbol of China’s new role in Africa. The African Union has inaugurated its newly built headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The entire $200m project was funded by China as a gift to the AU, as Beijing continues to strengthen its influence in Africa.



In front of African leaders a huge golden key was handed over and the 100m high building was officially opened. The tower overlooks a vast conference center where African heads of state are expected to meet for years to come. Their first AU summit in the building will take place on Sunday.

The AU chairman, Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, said the complex was “a reflection of the new Africa,” the agency reports. The new AU building dominates the skyline of Addis Ababa and is the city’s tallest building.


Most of the materials used were imported from China and even the furnishings were paid for by Beijing, AFP news agency reports.


Construction began in January 2009 and involved 1,200 Chinese and Ethiopian workers.

Trade between China and Africa has increased more than six-fold during the past decade to $120bn in 2011. China is interested in Africa’s natural resources and in return is investing huge sums in African infrastructure.


Roads are being built by Chinese firms at a staggering rate, says the BBC’s Will Ross in Addis Ababa.

African Cup 2012 ~ Fixtures and Tables

Fixtures and tables for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations finals co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Cup Holder: Egypt

Group A

P W D L GF GA Pts

Zambia 1 1 0 0 2 1 3

Eq Guinea 1 1 0 0 1 0 3

Senegal 1 0 0 1 1 2 0

Libya 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

21/01/12: Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Libya, Bata

21/01/12: Senegal 1-2 Zambia, Bata

25/01/12: Libya v Zambia, Bata

25/01/12: Equatorial Guinea v Senegal, Bata

29/01/12: Equatorial Guinea v Zambia, Malabo

29/01/12: Libya v Senegal, Bata

Group B

P W D L GF GA Pts

Angola 1 1 0 0 2 1 3

Ivory C 1 1 0 0 1 0 3

Burkina F 1 0 0 1 1 2 0

Sudan 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

22/01/12: Ivory Coast 1-0 Sudan, Malabo

22/01/12: Burkina Faso 1-2 Angola, Malabo

26/01/12: Sudan v Angola, Malabo

26/01/12: Ivory Coast v Burkina Faso, Malabo

30/01/12: Sudan v Burkina Faso, Bata

30/01/12: Ivory Coast v Angola, Malabo

Group C

P W D L GF GA Pts

Gabon 1 1 0 0 2 0 3

Tunisia 1 1 0 0 2 1 3

Morocco 1 0 0 1 1 2 0

Niger 1 0 0 1 0 2 0

23/01/12: Gabon 2-0 Niger, Libreville

23/01/12: Morocco 1-2 Tunisia, Libreville

27/01/12: Niger v Tunisia, Libreville

27/01/12: Gabon v Morocco, Libreville

31/01/12: Gabon v Tunisia, Franceville

31/01/12: Niger v Morocco, Libreville

Group D

P W D L GF GA Pts

Ghana 1 1 0 0 1 0 3

Mali 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Guinea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Botswana 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

24/01/12: Ghana 1-0 Botswana, Franceville

24/01/12: Mali v Guinea, Franceville

28/01/12: Botswana v Guinea, Franceville

28/01/12: Ghana v Mali, Franceville

01/02/12: Botswana v Mali, Libreville

01/02/12: Ghana v Guinea, Franceville

________________________________________

Quarter-Finals:

1. 04/02/12: 1st A v 2nd B, Bata

2. 04/02/12: 1st B v 2nd A, Malabo

3. 05/02/12: 1st C v 2nd D, Libreville

4. 05/02/12: 1st D v 2nd C, Franceville

Semi-Finals:

08/02/12: QF1 winner v QF4 winner, Bata

08/02/12: QF3 winner v QF2 winner, Libreville

3rd place play-off: 11/02/2012, Malabo

Final: 12/02/2012, Libreville

MATCH RESULTS
21/01/12: Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Libya
 
21/01/12: Senegal 1-2 Zambia

22/01/12: Ivory Coast 1-0 Sudan

22/01/12: Burkina Faso 1-2 Angola

23/01/12: Gabon 2-0 Niger

23/01/12: Morocco 1-2 Tunisia

24/01/12: Ghana 1-0 Botswana

24/01/12: Mali v Guinea

Nigeria bomb attack - 155 killed

More than 150 people were killed in a series of bomb attacks in north Nigeria's largest city, Kano late on Friday. Suicide bombers and gunmen targeted police stations and government offices.  According to government security agents, it is the deadliest attack claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram to date.

More than 150 have been confirmed dead. The city exploded late Saturday in a series of coordinated blasts and chaos. Witnesses said there were several bombs and then gunmen were attacking police and police came back with attacks.

As hundreds of bodies lay in Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano's largest hospital, staff said there were still bodies arriving at morgues.

Smoke billowed from the police headquarters after the blast blew out the windows, wrecked the roof and triggered a blaze that firefighters struggled to control.

Police officials said there were over 50 youths aged between 15 and 18 and the local Police Mobile Force could not differentiate the Boko Haram members from their own men because they wore the same police uniforms.

The police said eight buildings were attacked, including police headquarters, three police stations, the headquarters of the secret services and the immigration head office.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility on Saturday for the wave of strikes. After speaking to journalists in the north Nigerian town of Maiduguri, a letter, written in the Hausa language spoken in northern Nigeria was dropped on the streets and it said the attacks were retribution for police arrests and killings of members of the sect.

The attacks prompted the government to announce a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the city of more than 10 million people, the country's second biggest.

President Goodluck Jonathan, who has been criticized for failing to act quickly and decisively enough against Boko Haram, said the killers would face "the full wrath of the law."

The African Union on Saturday condemned what it said were the latest "terrorist" attacks in Kano.

Who is BOKO HARAM?

Boko Haram is a Islamic sect which became active around 2003 in the northeast state of Borno but its attacks have spread into other northern states, including Yobe, Kano, Bauchi and Gombe.

Boko Haram, a Hausa term meaning "Western education is sinful," is loosely modeled on Afghanistan's Taliban. It is responsible for at least 510 killings last year alone, according to an official government count. So far this year, the group has been blamed for at least 219 killings.

The sect originally said it wanted sharia, Islamic law, to be applied more widely across Nigeria but its aims appear to have changed. Recent messages from its leaders have said it is attacking anyone who opposes it, at present mainly police, the government and Christian groups.

HISTORY OF ATTACKS

A bomb attack on a Catholic church just outside the capital Abuja on Christmas Day, claimed by Boko Haram, killed 37 people and wounded 57.

The main suspect in that attack, Kabiru Sokoto, escaped from police custody within 24 hours of his arrest, and police have offered a 50 million naira ($310,000) reward for information leading to his recapture.

Police arrested him on Tuesday but he escaped when their vehicle came under fire as they were taking him from police headquarters to his house in Abaji, just outside Abuja, to conduct a search.

Last August, a suicide bomber blew up the U.N. Nigeria headquarters in Abuja, killing at least 24 people.

The sect's targets have included both Muslims and Christians. However, the group has begun specifically targeting Christians after promising it will kill any Christians living in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north.

Friday's attacks also could cause more unrest, as violence in Kano has set off attacks throughout the north in the past, including postelection violence in April that saw 800 people killed. Kano, an ancient city, remains important in the history of Islam in Nigeria and has important religious figures there today.

Amid the recent unrest and attacks, at least two journalists have been killed in Nigeria.

BAYELSA BOMB BLAST

There were two blasts in the southern state of Bayelsa in the oil-producing Niger Delta late on Friday but no one was killed. Police said they were not linked to Boko Haram.

Bayelsa, the home state of President Jonathan, is holding a governorship election next month. Troops have been deployed in the state in recent weeks to stem political unrest.

Nigeria on the brink of breaking up? Anniko Briggs calls for Delta independence

NIGERIA - Environmental activist, Annkio Briggs has called for an autonomous government in the Delta region of Nigeria. In an alleged statement made in a document circulating the internet, the President of Agape Birthrights and Convener of Niger- Delta Occupy Niger Delta Resources, made requests for Nigeria to step back for making claims on the oil resources in the Delta region. The year-old Briggs has met with community leaders, politicians and community members to gather support.

Briggs lays claim to the following facts: the neglect of the Delta people politically and economically; sacrifice of the Delta resources to Nigeria; the long term and ongoing destruction of the Delta environment; the unscrupulous killings of the Delta people; the attacks on and destruction of the communities in the Delta area


Here is an excerpt of her statement:


•The persistent opposition to the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan presidency, which has translated into high level violence as well as the ongoing killing of innocent Nigerians, particularly of Igbo origin among others.


We the long suffering, neglected, abused, and marginalized people of the Niger Delta find it very necessary at this point, after much consultation and analysis, to call our people to come back home.


For our survival, home is where we will feel safe and be better and more prepared to defend ourselves in the face of the level of neglect and abandonment of our region and our people after more than 50 years of providing for the country or entrapment designed by Lord Lugard for the benefits of others and to the detriment of our region, people and future.

We hereby call on all Niger Delta citizens and all oil-producing states and people to call the Federal Government and the Oil Companies in their enclave that the Oil and Gas and all other natural resources found or to be found in our land, creeks, water, mangroves and swamps belong to the peoples of the Niger Delta and other oil producing states.


Therefore, we consider the ongoing devastation of our land and waters as a serious violation of our Human Rights and Environment.


We also call on the Federal Government and the oil producing companies to take note of our resolve to resist the ongoing exploration and exploitation of oil and gas in our region. The activities of the Joint Venture between the Federal Government and the International Oil Companies are a violation of our birthright and economic rights.


We have also resolved to declare and call for:


NIGER DELTANS OCCUPY NIGER DELTA RESOURCES (NDONDR).


We hereby peacefully insist on taking our resources back by all and any legal means available to us, nationally and internationally. It is our absolute right to reclaim our land, water, mangroves, swamps and creeks from the strange hands that have long held them hostage.

This clarion call is to all Niger Delta people who believe that the natural resources on their land are given to them by God Almighty.


Therefore, we have as of this date, 15th of January 2012, started the occupation of all our states and resources and call on all Niger Delta people to converge in protest to occupy our land, water, swamps, mangroves and creeks to protect our God-given resources.


After watching the events in reminiscence of the past since Independence to date (1960-2012), we are convinced that without this action we will have nothing for our future, our children and their children’s future.

This step is necessary as it is the only one left for the Niger Delta people otherwise we are condemning our nationalities and people to self-imposed slavery and destruction.


President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan or Niger Delta people will not be slaves to Nigeria that has survived on injustice, mismanagement, corruption and massive fraud.


We the Ijaw and Niger Delta people are not prepared to be blackmailed and terrorized into a corner because of our God-given oil and gas.


We support the withdrawal of fuel subsidy even though as usual in the creeks and swamps we end up paying the highest price. We are opposed to and will continue to fight against mismanagement and corruption in Nigeria.


But having watched the goings on against the person of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, an Ijaw and Niger Delta son, over the past one week in the name of "PROTEST AGAINST SUBSIDY", it has become crystal clear to our people that we are neither wanted nor needed as equals in this country that is made by Lord Lugard. We therefore have had enough of the distasteful, shameful and offensive open ridicule of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in the world and Nigeria media, instigated openly by self-proclaimed leaders, elders, intellectuals and men of different faith.


ENOUGH IS ENOUGH


Niger Delta and all the resources found in the Niger Delta belong to Niger Delta people. All resources found in any other region of Nigeria belong to the people of such region.


We call on all our Niger Delta peoples, for the sake of our future, to look to our nearest neighbours, the Igbos, for immediate and strong alliance to enable the Niger Delta nations and the Igbo nation to face the obvious change that will come to Nigeria, in strength, justice, brotherhood and truth.


IF JONATHAN, A NIGER DELTA SON IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO GOVERN NIGERIA, THE OIL IN HIS NIGER DELTA IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR NIGERIA.


IF THE NIGER DELTA PEOPLE ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO BE PART OF GOOD GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA, THEN OUR OIL AND GAS OF THE NIGER DELTA PEOPLE IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR NIGERIA.


Signed


Annkio Briggs


PRESIDENT, AGAPE BIRTHRIGHTS and
CONVENER, NIGER DELTA OCCUPY NIGER DELTA RESOURCES

Egyptians vote after 10 months of conflict

A woman reads her ballot paper before casting her vote at a polling station during the parliamentary election in Cairo / Reuters

CAIRO, Egypt - Millions voted peacefully on Monday in a parliamentary election marred by the heavy handed meddling of the military government. After months of protests, conflicts and killings, Egypt as able to move a step closer to electing democractic leaders.


Egyptians at Tahrir Square, on Monday

Congo's election marred by violence

Voters in Congo

 AFRICA - After years of conflict, the Congolese took to the polls. As feared, Congo elections was marred by killings and attacks on polling stations. Intimidation of voters, electoral fraud and delays was also reported during Democratic Republic of Congo's second election. But voters have come out in full force despite the violence.

In the capital, Kinshasa, Human Rights Watch said weekend violence left nine dead and 76 injured, and rain meant people had to tread through mud along pot-holed roads on their journey to the polls. Voters complained of confusion over where they were meant to be voting due to polling stations being moved and errors with voter lists. There were also allegations of fraud and cheating.


At a school hosting a polling station in Kintambo district, an election official was alledgedly attacked by a furious mob who claimed he had tampered with presidential ballot papers. A policeman tried to intervene but shouting and physical aggression continued.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo  (DRC) is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of over 71 million, the DCR is the fourth most populous nation in Africa, as well as the most populous officially Francophone country.

The Second Congo War sometimes referred to as the "African world war" began in 1998 devastating the country. It involved nine African nations and over twenty armed groups. Despite the signing of peace accords in 2003, fighting continues in the east of the country. In eastern Congo, the prevalence of rape and other sexual violence is described as the worst in the world. The war is the world's deadliest conflict since World War II, killing 5.4 million people since 1998.Congo opposition supporters have paraded what they claim are badly printed photocopies of election ballots found in Kinshasa.The sounds of gunfire and anger punctuated election day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as millions of people got their second taste of democracy. This is Congo's second election since its 1998-2003 war.

The Democratic Republic of Congo

Egypt Army forcibly testing women for virginity

Women in Egypt have been forced into taking virginity tests including electric shocks which amount to torture, Amnesty has claimed.



Director of Amnesty International UK, Kate Allen, told Today on BBC Radio 4 that 12,000 people have been put through military tribunals and 13 people have been sentenced to death.

Describing what was happening in Egypt as appaulling, Allen said Amnesty had documented horrific treatment of civilians by the Egyptian army, particularly against women.


"We've seen torture continuing and we know that women have been beaten and had electric shock treatment," she told Sarah Montague on Today on Tuesday morning. "Women were dragged out of Tahrir square in March of this year and virginity-tested. The Army has failed to investigate this."


Here are pictures of the latest protests so far:



A young Egyptian man shows off empty tear gas cannisters

 

Tear gas imported from the US was used on civilins



Crowds in Tahrir Squre in Cairo



The three capture students are released



Five killed in Ghana floods

DAKAR - AlertNet has reported that floods have destroyed homes and cut off several roads and bridges in Ghana’s capital city of Accra, leaving several residents stranded, media in the West African nation on Wednesday.

Flood victims

Political facebook man freed

The case against Zimbabwean Vikas Mavhudzi, accused of subversion because of an alleged post on the social media site Facebook, has collapsed.

Zimbabwe's forgotten children

Xoliswa Sithole is a South African film-maker based in Johannesburg. She was awarded a BAFTA, for her role in producing the BBC/True Vision documentary Orphans of Nkandla, chronicling the effects of Aids in Africa. She released a film called Zimbabwe's forgotten children showcasing the struggle children face.

Zimbabwe, when Xoliswa was growing up there, was the breadbasket of Africa and had one of the best education systems in Africa if not the world according to Xoliswa Sithole. The healthcare system was great, too.

For a child born in apartheid-era South Africa, as I was, it was a land of opportunity. After my mother moved to Rhodesia, I received a first-class education, and graduated from university in post-independence Zimbabwe. It is startling how quickly a society can fall apart.

Xoliswa Sithole's  film, Zimbabwe's Forgotten Children, follows the stories of a number of children struggling to survive in the country today.
Zimbabwe has become a very hard place to be poor, and poverty is ugly. Conspicuous consumerism is very evident, and greed is also very visible.
He shot the film undercover, after getting a permit to make another film, about my childhood and how it has shaped me.


Esther with her mother and baby sister

Xoliswa Sithole was raised as a child of the Zanu party. His stepfather's cousin Ndabaningi Sithole, founder of Zanu, was a prominent politician, and hiscousin Edison Sithole the first doctor of law in southern and central Africa - he disappeared in 1975, abducted by Ian Smith because he was a human rights lawyer and political activist.
But while Xoliswa Sithole was making this film the Zimbabwean government launched Operation Murambatsvina (Remove the filth) - a slum clearance programme that left thousands of people on the streets.

This made Xoliswa Sithole resolute to make another film, about Zimbabwe's children. He focuses mostly on three stories.

There are Michelle and Grace, who live with their father Joseph. Joseph dreams of saving enough money to pay for his children's education, but for now they all work - by digging bones from a rubbish heap and selling them.
"What I am doing is child abuse really," he says. "They should not be working like this. It hurts me."

There is Esther, who looks after her mother as she dies of Aids, and also her younger brother, Tino.
After her mother dies, Esther's life becomes simpler. "It's much easier to look after Tino now, because I don't have to look after mum as well," she says. Esther's case is not an unusual one in today's Zimbabwe. It's a common scenario.

Zimbabwe: Harare's street kids


There are also the street children. When Xoliswa Sithole lived in Zimbabwe in his twenties, there were hardly any street children in Harare.Children are now not only living on the streets, they are giving birth on the streets. A second generation of street children is growing up.The system was supposed to take care of its people, but it has failed.

In less than a generation, the country has changed beyond all recognition.

BBC

South Africa - the new land of milk and honey

Desperate Zimbabweans come into South Africa illegally daily to escape poverty

More than a year after the signing of a power-sharing deal aimed at rescuing Zimbabwe's shattered economy, young people are still leaving the country in droves, seeking a better life in South Africa.

"Not much has changed in Zimbabwe over the past year," says 21-year-old Blessed Rugaru, a day after arriving in South Africa from the eastern Zimbabwean city of Mutare. She has left behind her parents, who have both lost their jobs.

Zimbabwe's economy has stopped its freefall - mainly because the government has adopted foreign currencies instead of the worthless Zimbabwe dollar.

But this means that those without access to hard currency are in a desperate situation.

The Red Cross has launched an appeal to aid some 220,000 people - mainly in rural areas - it says have no access to money from abroad.

And so those who can send South African rand back to to their families are increasingly valuable.

"There is nowhere to work in Zimbabwe - even if you are educated there are just no jobs," says Brian Ngovu, 17.

They are some of hundreds of Zimbabweans waiting in long queues to be served at a refugee reception centre in Musina in Limpopo Province.

It opened its doors in July 2008 to deal with the thousands of Zimbabwean asylum-seekers then camping out in an open field in the border town.

There are three refugee centres in South Africa and the Limpopo centre, close to the Beit Bridge border post, receives the largest number of people - about 350-400 new asylum applications daily.

"The trends have not changed, we are still seeing the same large groups of people coming here as before the elections last year," says a senior official at the centre.

He refuses to give his name in case he gets "into trouble for speaking to the media".

Queuing for change

The halls and corridors of the centre are packed; the air is warm and stuffy and there is very little conversation as people wait their turn.

Many applications for refugee status are turned down

Mr Ngovu is in the queue that snakes outside; beads of sweat have formed on his face.

He has had nothing to eat that day but he says he will not go home without being served - which looks unlikely to happen before the office closes.

He has been in South Africa for a year - trying to get a job but failing as he does not have legal documents.

He is living in Thohoyandou, about 100km (62 miles) from Musina, with friends who sometimes get jobs at gardeners or painters, but they never get anything long-term because they do not have papers.

"I am looking for a job here so I can help my family back home. If I can get papers for asylum I can get a good job," he says.

But unemployment is high in South Africa and he left school a year before graduating. With no official qualification, finding a job - even with legal documentation - will be difficult.

In a country of close to 50 million people, more than 23% of South Africa's citizens are without jobs.

But between three and four million Zimbabweans are believed to have already crossed into South Africa.

Xenophobic fears

Tension in some townships and informal settlements with a large number of foreigners is on the rise again, following last year's spate of xenophobic attacks.

Some 3,000 foreign nationals, mostly Zimbabweans, were recently driven from their homes in a township outside Cape Town - their shacks were set alight and their belongings destroyed.

Ms Rugaru says fears of more attacks against Zimbabweans are never far from her mind.

"I am worried that the attacks might happen again," she says.

"Things are not good right now in Zimbabwe but I will go back, home is best."

But she is prepared to stay in South Africa as long as it takes to get her refugee papers.

"When I get asylum papers I will use them to apply for study bursaries here," she says.

"I want to be able to build computers from scratch and then I can fix the broken computers in my country."

No guarantees

Both Ms Rugara and Mr Ngovu believe the answer to their troubles is being awarded refugee status.

However, the authorities at the centre say only cases that have "merit" are considered.

"South Africa is obliged by AU [African Union] laws to give permits to refugees, but most of these people do not qualify for refugee status," the senior official explains.

"We cannot give refugee status to people who only leave their country because there are no jobs; these people are economic migrants not refugees," he says.

Although many Zimbabwean asylum requests are rejected, until its economy starts to recover, people will continue to risk their lives crossing the crocodile-infested Limpopo river to earn the hard currency their families need to buy food back home.


BBC