Ten Messages to Ten countries
By Mekki ELMOGRABI
Press Writer on African Affairs
elmograbi@gmail.com
1\ I don’t expect that Tunisia will return to dictatorship again. We learned from Tunisian people how to revolt, how to practice democracy, and we will learn from them – inshallah – how to solve the political crises in a democratic context. I expect, sooner or later, there will be national reconciliation. The sole democratic experience in the Arab world will survive and will flourish.
2\ I do believe that the political weight of Algeria and the good reputation of Ramadan Al-Amamra as an African politician and leader who spent time in African Union leadership will make difference in the GERD dispute. It was a very smart step from Ethiopia to invite and welcome Amamra to mediate between the three countries. As a result, no more Arab stand against GERD. Algeria now is a mediator and does not back any party in the dispute.
3\ Lebanon is completely abandoned by the international community; they want to make another Greece on the Eastern Side of the Mediterranean Sea. The Lebanese economy is facing the biggest crisis in its history, the Lebanese lira lost almost 10% of its value in a very short time. The IMF or WB criticized the situation and threatened to suspend their program. It is shameful for these international institutions to speak such a language with a country paying the price of the problems in two other countries, Syria and Palestine, a country hosting a big number of refugees.
4\ Faustin Touadéra, is Bashar Al-Assad of Africa, and the Central African Republic will be African Syria as the strongest hub for the Russian influence. I directly, blame France for what they practiced during the last decade in CAR till the country lost its stability.
5\ Good morning Zimbabwe, one the strongholds of Pan-Africanism, I am very proud of my friend and the friend of Sudanese people Ambassador Hilda Suka Mafudze, Ambassador of African Union to the United States of America. Washington, DC. Amb. Hilda spent a long time of her diplomatic service in Sudan as Ambassador of Zimbabwe to Sudan. She shows the world how African women can be very successful, smart, and brave. Thanks to AU, thanks to Zimbabwe.
6\ My preferable country in west Africa in Niger, I love all countries of West Africa but I feel at home in Niger. When I walk down the streets of Niamey, I feel that I am in Khartoum or Al-Obeid. Same people, same faces, same weather, and same way of Quran reciting in the small clean mosques, I only wake up from my daydream there when I need to speak French.
7\ India is one of the strongest economic powers in the world, a country with a very good level of industrial products and it is nearer to African markets. Also, the Indian communities in Africa countries or the African citizens of Indian origin have a very good reputation in commercial sectors, they are famous for honesty and dedication. We need more African Indian cooperation.
8\ I am very thankful for TRT Arabic for inviting me to comment on African issues from Khartoum, I have been interviewed on the situation in East Africa, Central Africa, and the Tigray conflict. I appreciate media and TV channels based in Turkey, they are professional in covering African issues. We need Turkish media to correct the image of Africa in the world.
9\ Mogadishu became very beautiful, all my Somali friends are sending me very nice photos of clean roads and new buildings. My latest visit was in 2013, it was a tour in refugees and displaced people camps. I will write again about Somalia but I need to go there. Please, invite me, I am ready, I will cancel anything in my schedule and fly to Somalia, nothing more important than to tell the world positive things about Somalia.
10\ I started to write a piece on the role of the Arabic language and Islam in giving the French language more power. I hope my article will help to ease the tension between the French government and the Islamic world. My theory is very simple; Firstly, Islamic Fiqh, studies, and even Jumaa Speeches in some of the Francophone African countries delivered in French, African Muslims are using French for religious teaching. Secondly, Arabic grammar is preparing Arab people to learn French easily, some linguistic rules are pretty similar. As a result, the Arabic language and Islamic religion are reasons for the strength and continuity of the French language.
