Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Media Focus On Ailing Mandela Is Not 'The African Way'

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton — Sat, 11 May 2013 09:30:00 +0000

It's almost impossible these days to switch on South African radio or television, or read a local newspaper, website or tweet, and not hear Nelson Mandela's name mentioned.

Friday marked the 19th anniversary of Mandela's inauguration as South Africa's first democratically elected — and first black — president, four years after he was released from prison.

For many South Africans, the coverage of his recent hospitalization and poor health seems like media overkill. Older South Africans stress that the African way of coping with the twilight years is culturally nuanced.

Dream Wedding Is Now South Africa's Diplomatic Nightmare

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton — Sat, 04 May 2013 21:09:00 +0000

It's been dubbed Guptagate. The real-life story reads like a Hollywood — or Bollywood — script, and it's dominating the national conversation in South Africa.

It starts with a high-society wedding in South Africa, organized by three wealthy, well-connected and influential brothers named Gupta from India.

Lady Mechanic Initiative Trains Women For 'The Best Job'

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton — Thu, 02 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

The young women training to be mechanics at Nigeria's Lady Mechanic Initiative wear navy overalls and work boots and their hair is tucked under customized red caps as they repair vehicles in a garage. Customers come and go, dropping off and collecting their cars. Trainee Enogie Osagie says she faced great resistance at home when she started.

"At first, they were really angry. They didn't want me to go for it," says Osagie. "My mum wasn't happy with it. She just went on crying, 'Why do you want to be a mechanic? The risk is too much.' I was like, 'Don't worry, this is what I want.

S. African Leader Under Fire After Awkward Visit With Mandela

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton — Wed, 01 May 2013 20:45:00 +0000

In South Africa, controversial images of a frail and ashen Nelson Mandela being visited by South Africa's current president aired on national television this week.

A Minnesotan In Mali, Teaching The Country's Sounds

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:52:00 +0000

Numbers are down at the American International School in Bamako, the capital of Mali.

In just over a year, the country has witnessed a rebellion, a military coup and the occupation by Islamist fighters of the desert northern region, recently largely liberated in a counteroffensive by French-led forces.

South Africans: Why Were Paratroopers In Central African Republic?

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:24:00 +0000

The deaths of 13 South African soldiers in the mutinous Central African Republic has opposition politicians asking why South African troops were there. The ruling ANC has denied it has any business in the Central African Republic — which is rich in natural resources, including diamonds and uranium.

Nigeria's Outspoken Writer Chinua Achebe Dies At 82

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:55:00 +0000

Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, who played a critical role in establishing post-colonial African literature, has died. The author of Things Fall Apart was 82.

Chinua Achebe, Nigerian Author Of 'Things Fall Apart,' Dies

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:29:00 +0000

NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports from Lagos, Nigeria, on the death of one of Africa's greatest contemporary writers. Quoting his publisher, AP, CNN, and the BBC are reporting Chinua Achebe has died.

Chinua Achebe who taught at colleges in the United States made literary history with his 1958 best-seller Things Fall Apart, a sobering tale about Nigeria at the beginning of its colonization.

Achebe, 82, played a critical role in establishing post-colonial African literature and is known to students all over the continent for his seminal novel, Things Fall Apart.

Baba Salah: A Malian Musician Speaks To His Nation's Displaced

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:58:00 +0000

It's Friday night in Bamako, and a club in the Malian capital has come alive. Guitarist and singer Baba Salah is on the floor.

His hometown of Gao, along the banks of the River Niger on the fringes of the Sahara Desert, made headlines as the first city in the north to be liberated by French-backed Malian forces in January. Gao was one of three regional centers in the north captured by rebels and jihadis a year ago. Islamists warned musicians that their tongues would be sliced out if they continued to sing and play.

Fastjet Brings High-Frequency, Low-Cost Flights To Africa

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:18:00 +0000

The first pan-African budget airline took to the skies in late November with a series of flights in Tanzania. Fastjet's aim is to offer a low-cost alternative to passengers accustomed to uncertain and costly air travel.