A panel discussion about the communal and global implications of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was held at the University of South Florida in Tampa on Nov. 25. Below is a summary of my contribution during the event.
This Summer Saudi Arabia announced plans to “regularize residency and employment status” of foreign workers in the country. This euphemistic language was a warning to the thousands of undocumented workers that they had from July 3 to November 4 to get documentation or get out. The move was reportedly made in response to Saudi Arabia’s 13 percent... Read more »
Shortly after Kieran Dwyer, the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, gave a presentation about U.N. peacekeeping missions (watch video below), he said that the mission also receives “bad press” for some of its work in Africa. The phrase jumped out at me. Bad press is what happens when a Hollywood movie flops. In Africa,... Read more »
When the French first intervened in Mali, Ambassador Vicki Huddleston penned an Op-Ed in the New York Times outlining reasons why the U.S. should assist France in fighting the terror group Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Huddleston was the United States ambassador to Mali from 2002 to 2005 and urged the U.S. not to intervene... Read more »
Africa on the Agenda: Conference on World Affairs in St. Petersburg Initiated by Douglas McElhaney, a former ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2004 to 2007, and hosted at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, the first annual St Petersburg in the World Conference was held from March 28 to 29. The conference brought together... Read more »
The U.S. has stated early and often that the terror group Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) that roams parts of the Sahel region including Niger, Algeria and Northern Mali is considered as a direct threat to its national security. Cautious of the fact that direct involvement has produced mixed results in the past in other parts of the world, the U.S. is... Read more »
In honor of International Women’s Day 2013, I would like to share words of wisdom from CNN’s chief international correspondent and anchor of a nightly foreign affairs program on CNN International Christiane Amanpour. Watch this video and quote of the day: Inspiration for today also comes from a group of African women listed by the Guardian through... Read more »
The Mid-Florida Chapter of the Fulbright Association is sponsoring “Crush-Hopper,” an autobiographic narrative performance by Mandisa Haarhoff, a visiting Fulbright student from South Africa. The event will take place from 5:00 to 8:00 PM on Thursday, January 17 at the University of South Florida’s School of Music Concert Hall. Following the performance, a dialogue about the event... Read more »
The Mid-Florida Chapter of the Fulbright Association is sponsoring “Crush-Hopper,” an autobiographic narrative performance by Mandisa Haarhoff, a visiting Fulbright student from South Africa. The event will take place from 5:00 to 8:00 PM on Thursday, January 17 at the University of South Florida’s School of Music Concert Hall. Following the performance, a dialogue about the event... Read more »