Centuries away from undiluted Igbo customs, and thousands of miles away from the land of their ancestors, Minnesota Igbos strive to keep their traditions alive.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Young women wiggled their bellies and shook their torsos to the tune of the music. Gentlemen – with bundles of one-dollar bills in their hands – lined up to tip their favorite dancers. Women dispensed generous amounts of dollars, too. It was one big party, but not the kind you are thinking about. It was the fourteenth-annual IgboFest.
   
Members of Umunne Cultural Association, an organization of Igbo-speaking Nigerians in Minnesota, gathered Saturday at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul to celebrate their culture. Women, men and children braved the showers that descended on the Twin Cities all day to form long lines at he food kiosks.
 
Inside the O’Shaughnessy Education Center auditorium, two young women stood on stage, ready to sing. The first one sang the Star-Spangled Banner. Two people – perhaps American friends of Umunne – sang along. But when the other young woman took the microphone and began to sing, “Arise, O compatriots, Nigeria’s call obey, …,” the auditorium joined and applauded loudly when she finished.

Throughout the day, the theme of the festival seemed to be “Dance, dance, dance,” and people came from far places to join their countrymen in performing traditional Igbo dances and rituals.

“There is a brother-sister relationship between us and Umunne,” said Uba Nwaerondu, as sweat dripped down his face.

A minute earlier, Nwaerondu, who traveled from, Manitoba, Canada, was on stage, clad in a golden-brown T-shirt and a multi-colored cloth wrapped around his waist, shaking his abdomen and stamping his bare feet. Jingles from small bells attached to a waist belt filled the room, as men and women cheered and showered him with dollar-bills for “Ubamara,” a special dance he said he had invented and named by combining the first two letters of his name and Amara, his wife’s name. Nwaerondu belongs to Umunna Cultural Association, (not to be confused with Umunne) based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

“Umunna means ‘children of the same father,’ and Umunne means ‘children of the same mother,’ he explained. “We are all descendants of the same parents.”

So special is the relationship between the two organizations that each group makes efforts to send representatives to the other’s festival. Umunne dancers traveled to the Twin Cities to Winnipeg in July to attend Ummuna’s IgboFest. The trip prompted Nwaerondu and other dancers to come to St. Paul – not only to return a favor, but also to showcase their new dance moves.

“It is a well-natured competition between us,” said Ifeoma Okwor, a University of Manitoba graduate student of immunology, whose Umunna troupe danced as drummers and percussionists played traditional Igbo beats.

The highlight of the evening was Ummune’s Bende war dancers. Imagine four clean-shaven topless black men wearing red, white and blue-stripped Santa hats and kilts similar in color, but not as neatly tailored as Scottish ones. In fact, they were not tailored at all. Then add eight similarly dressed little helpers aged between 10 and 12 with – like the Santas – dry blood-like emulsion on their bare chests. Now imagine them dancing to West African drums, bells and flutes.

“This is who is going to carry the mantle and make sure the tradition continues,” Austin Wamuo, the group’s leader, said of the boys. “We want them to master the traditional Igbo culture and pass it on to future generations.”   

Wamuo has been commander of the warriors since the first IfboFest. He retired on Saturday.

The dance is unique to the Bende region of Igbo and is a celebration of victory in  war against a non-Igbo tribe, said Marcus Kalu, who went around the hall dipping a white fly whisk in a bowl of water and spraying “villagers” to cleanse them of “evil spirits.” His ancestors used palm wine.

As the younger warriors danced around the stage, one of the older men paraded three skulls supposedly decapitated from to the enemies they had “killed.” Ironically, all the warriors still carried between their teeth eight-inch pieces of golden-yellow paper, like pigeons delivering messages of peace. The rolled-up and twisted papers were supposed to be dry palm leaves traditional warriors placed in their mouths to ensure they “concentrated on the task of fighting and killing the enemy.” The warriors are forbidden to talk until the cleansing ritual is finished.

“We try our best to accurately simulate the way it was done in the past,” Kalu said.

The festival is not only about past traditions, however. Young people are allowed to show that the past and the present can come together harmoniously. That is why four girls, whose group was so new they hadn’t even thought of a name for it – received cheers and applause for a routine that was not even remotely Igbo: They danced to the late South African diva Brenda Fassie’s hit song, “Vulindlela.” 

It is this kind of flexibility that has made the festival popular across generations, said Diane Uchechi Okwulehie of St. Paul, who has attended IgboFest every year since it’s founding in 1993.
   
“The festival has quite grown,” Okwulehie said. “Every year more people from outside (the Twin Cities metro area) come to celebrate with us.”

Money raised from the festival goes toward promoting Igbo cultural education and awareness, according to Umunne’s Web site. The organization hopes to raise enough money to acquire a building to serve as a permanent Igbo cultural center.

Designer to champion protection of children from violence and abuse

Cape Town, South Africa, 11 August… UNICEF last night announced the appointment of top South African couturier and humanitarian activist Gavin Rajah as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.  The announcement by the world’s premier children’s organization came at the close of the designer’s Cape Town Fashion Week show in the city South Africans affectionately call the “mother city”.

Welcoming Mr. Rajah to the global fraternity of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors, Macharia Kamau, UNICEF South Africa Country Representative, said the appointment recognized Rajah’s transformative contributions to the lives of South African children and their families.  Through his generous philanthropy and advocacy and his impressive creative achievements as a fashion designer and entrepreneur, Gavin Rajah promotes the rights of women and children to protection from violence, abuse and exploitation, and actively supports the development of critical life skills for young people.” 

 “I am deeply honored by this appointment, Mr. Rajah said, as he accepted the UNICEF appointment.  I have always been a great admirer of UNICEF’s work to protect the children of the world and I am proud to have been given the opportunity to help UNICEF protect, care for and stamp out the most abhorrent crime of violence against children, particularly those in my own country.  We must all work harder to create safer conditions for children to grow up in.  There is no future without children.” 

In his work with UNICEF, Rajah will champion child protection, focusing on the care and protection of orphans and other vulnerable children like those in child-headed households, and for their right to grow up in healthy, safe environments, free from the scourge of violence.

According WHO global estimates, twenty-five per cent of girls and eight percent of boys have been subjected to some form of sexual abuse.  The United Nations Study on violence against children showed that from forty to sixty percent of sexual abuse in families involves girls under the age of 15, and that boys and girls with physical disabilities are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse.

Equally startling data on violence against children in South Africa show that the country may have a long way to go to achieve Rajah’s dream of a violence free environment for all children.  According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), in 2005, 360,000 women and children were murdered, raped, assaulted and sexually molested in South Africa and 31,607 children were victims of common assault.  Eighty-eight percent of first offenders are known to the abused, and homicide and violence is the no. 15 cause of death for children under 5 years old in South Africa.
 
South Africa is fighting back, however, with significant pieces of protection legislation currently before Parliament such as the Children’s Amendment Bill, the Sexual Offences Bill the Child Justice Bill and Child Trafficking legislation.  Child protection units and specialized courts have been established to deal with sexual offences and aim to help reduce the time between reporting and finalizing a case and increase conviction rates.  South Africa has a 7% conviction rate for all rapes reported to police, whether child or an adult. UNICEF provides technical support to these initiatives and to the 12 integrated centers (Thuthuzelas) that provide treatment, care and support to child survivors of sexual violence.

About Gavin Rajah

Gavin Rajah, who recently introduced  the work of  four young South African designers at his 4 July Paris Fashion Week show, is a founder of Cape Town Fashion Week and the only South African designer invited by France’s prestigious Federation Française de la Couture to showcase his collections at fashion’s leading event, Paris Fashion Week. 

His relentless advocacy has helped give the fashion industry a human face and has earned him international admiration as a speaker on development issues at high level events like the World Economic Forum, where he recently spoke out about child labour practices in the fashion industry and others.  He is in demand as fundraiser and remains an influential celebrity advocate for the rights of South African children and women.

Inspired by South Africa’s rich, cultural heritage and traditional crafts, Gavin Rajah believes they should be nurtured and protected. “These unique traditions can, through advanced skills training, provide HIV affected young people and their families with sustainable livelihoods,” he says.  Mr. Rajah has announced plans to work with UNICEF and other partners to establish a sustainable development community-based project that supports families and young people who wish to learn garment manufacturing skills, a backbone industry in the Western Cape, where he operates his design studio and where his world famous garments are made. 

With his new appointment, Gavin Rajah joins global celebrities such as tennis great Roger Federer, singers Ricky Martin and Shakira and South African football and music stars Quinton Fortune, Zola and Yvonne Chaka Chaka, who use their celebrity power to advocate for improvements in the wellbeing of all children. 

Sadiya Sahal was returning to her home in St. Paul Wednesday afternoon when she made a phone call to her relative in Minneapolis a half hour before the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed. The relative didn’t answer that call, but now he wishes he did.

No one has heard from the 23-year-old mother since then. Her 19-month-old daughter, Hana Mohamed, was with her in the family’s Toyota Highlander.

Sahal, who is five months pregnant, is a refugee from Somalia.

"The family is devastated and is in complete shock," said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center.

As a leader in the Somali community, the family enlisted Jamal’s help to find Sahal.

Leaders of the Somali community were at the family’s house most of Thursday to console the family. He said he’s organizing a fund-raiser to try and put the word out.

"The family is hoping that [Sahal] is in the hospital or somewhere else," Jamal said. "We will do everything possible to locate her."

Jamal said authorities were supplied with information about the car Sahal was driving. Hospitals and other health facilities in the Twin Cities were checked with no luck.

Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan told the press Thursday that "a number of vehicles… are underneath big pieces of concrete, and we do know we have some people in those vehicles."

Even under that grim prospect, Jamal said the family is hoping a miracle will happen.

August 1st, 2007 is a day that many Minnesotans will remember for years to come. When news broke that the bridge over the Mississippi River on interstate 35W had collapsed during rush hour, many Minnesota residents reacted with shock and disbelief.

As the shock begins to wear down, questions on why this happened are being asked. As authorities investigate the tragedy, Twin Cities residents attempt to come to terms with this disaster and continue with their lives.

The Mshale community would like to extend our sincerest condolences and well wishes to those who have lost family and friends, and those injured in the tragedy. 

The State, with federal assistance, has set in motion several programs to assist those that have been directly affected by this tragedy.

The Red Cross, Twin Cities chapter provided mass care at the site, and is providing mental health counseling through their grief counselors and other services at their family assistance center. It is also a place for those waiting for word on their loved ones.

The Family Assistance Center is located at:

 Holiday-Inn Metrodome
1500 Washington Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55454

To search for information on a missing person, please visit their website here or call (612) 871-7676.

For alternate routes visit the Minnesota Department of Transportation here.

MINNEAPOLIS – Merchants of the largest African immigrant mall in the Twin Cities are involved in a dispute with their landlord, who they accused of threatening and harassing them.

The conflict at Karmel Plaza began towards the end of June, when Basim Sabri, the mall’s owner notified his tenants that he planned to introduce a pay-to-park scheme, charging customers  between $2 and $10. Sabri said the fees were aimed at easing congestion at the mall. Merchants of the mall, most of them Somali immigrants, responded by rioting and refused to make rent payments.

The mall, which is usually busy during the weekend, was a no-go zone during the last week of June as tenants decided to barricade the entrance to prevent vehicles from entering the premises. Several traders also opted to close down their shops in protest. Some of the merchants told Mshale that the troubles with their landlord were not new.

"The problem in Karmel didn’t start yesterday,” said Mohamed Osman, who owns a shop at the mall. “It’s perennial and has been brewing for years. Hardly does one year end before a fresh one erupts.”

Mohamed said before the parking matter, there was one about power outages.

In a letter addressed to Sabri, Karmel Plaza Business Association members rejected the introduction of parking fees imposed on customers entering the establishment. They termed such a move a breach of contract and an effort to scare their clients away.

The tenants’ association called for an unconditional two-hour free parking for customers and the reservation of the underground parking lot for the tenants. They also demanded a two-year minimum rental contracts with the management and the end of what they said was “harassment and threatening behavior of tenants by the landlord.”

Another businessman, a cafeteria owner who did not give his name, said he had to seek the help of a lawyer to put an end to what he called “continuous harassment” from the landlord. He said that Sabri threatened to evict him every time they had a disagreement.

“Its only after he realized that I meant business (by hiring a lawyer) that he stopped coming to my premises to threaten me,” the cafeteria owner said.

Sabri denied having threatened his tenants and said he had built a good reputation spanning more than two decades. He said that during his 27 years as a landlord, he had evicted only three tenants.

“You have to push me hard to evict you,” Sabri said. “There is no single landlord in this state who can tolerate what I go through.”

Sabri, who also owns several shopping malls leased by Somali and Latino immigrants in Minneapolis, said the parking solution required an investment of approximately $100,000, an amount that he said could not be raised overnight. He said that despite constructing a new lot with 100 parking spaces in the adjacent building, one block from the mall, the tenants refused to park there. Efforts to find a lasting solution to the problem had failed, he said.

Without giving names, Sabri accused a group of his tenants of inciting other merchants by spreading lies about him. But two tenants displayed eviction letters giving them a 30-day to move out of Sabri’s property. They said they went to the tenants’ association, which quickly demanded an unconditional revocation of the order. The association accused the landlord of victimizing some of its members for their outspokenness.

After accusations and counter accusations, the warring parties met at Sabri’s office in an attempt to resolve their differences. Tenants reported that a heated debate took place, with each group accusing the other of causing the problem. In the end, they temporarily agreed to try for two months a system that offers customers free parking for the first hour, to test its viability.

Sabri also agreed to give the tenants the two-year contracts they asked for. But he was quick to point out that only those with a history of paying rent on time would benefit from the deal.

Osman expressed doubt that the agreement was going to end the quarrels between Sabri and his tenants.

“It’s hard to tell if this agreements is gonna hold, but who cares,” Osman said. “We’ll wait and see.”