Jour des morts
Comment le vol de cadavres au Gabon reflète la politique du pays.
Gabon
Day of the dead
How stealing corpses in Gabon reflects its politics: a political system that does not hesitate to draw its vital force in death, even as death and paralysis threaten the system’s leading beneficiaries.
The African Who Wanted to Fly
When he was fifteen, the Gabonese Luc Bendza embarked on his life journey to China to follow the footsteps of his childhood movie stars, Bruce Lee and Wag Yu. Notwithstanding objections from his family, culture shock and economic hardships in China, and racism in his new country, Bendza joins a prestigious wushu academy (the kind […]
Football failures mirror Gabon’s sorry state
The image of striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, descending alone from the field after Gabon was knocked out of AFCON 2017 game, tells the whole story of Gabon's malaise.
The paradoxes of soft dictatorship
The longevity of the Gabonese political system also lies in the many channels of redistribution that connect politicians (known colloquially as “les Grands”) to ordinary citizens.
‘Til death do us part
The Bongo family has ruled the central African country of Gabon uninterrupted for 49 years. This past August, President Ali Bongo – whose father, Omar, was in power from 1967 to 2009 when Ali took over – secured a second seven-year term in presidential elections. Since the announcement of official election results, violent clashes have […]
Fresh eyes: Yannis Guibinga’s photos of Gabon
Guibinga documents the vibrant beach culture of the country's capital, Libreville, on the West African coast.
Football Referee of the Year
My knowledge of European club football doesn’t stretch much further beyond what gets posted here on Football is a Country and the odd link I come across on our Twitter feed (blame my wary interest on the historical underperformance of Belgian teams* and a time-consuming preference for all things music) so I was surprised to […]
Do African filmmakers care for FESPACO?
Filmmakers who use digital technology hope FESPACO catches up to the times. Meanwhile, this year the festival attempts to right its gender imbalances.
My Favorite Photographs N°11: Jide Odukoya
Nigerian photographer Jide Odukoya’s portfolio offers an exceptional insight into the social fabric of Lagos. His Facebook page documents fashion events, open mic ‘happenings’ and weddings, while his official website reveals focused street photography series, such as ‘ADay in the World (Creek Road Market)’, ‘Kids in Makoko’, ‘Lazy Obalende’ or ‘The Business of Worship’. As […]
The African Cup of Nations preview
The 28th edition of the African Cup of Nations kicks off in Gabon and Equitorial Guinea tomorrow. 16 teams–including the joint hosts who did not have to qualify–will play for 2 places in the final match scheduled on February 12. The big question is, of course, who will take the trophy.
Independence August
Since we’ll be on break for a minute (details tomorrow) when the following central African countries celebrate their independence days, let’s do a quick roundup for Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, and Gabon. August 13, The Central African Republic is the home of Deep House DJ Boddhi Satva, who we talked about here before. [youtube […]
Ali Bongo loves America
Gabon's unsavory Life President came to visit the US. Probably to discuss oil deals. He became collatoral damage in the US right's media war against Barack Obama. So less time to focus on Bongo. So a win for him then.
Music Break
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRKFpx6zmYo&w=500&h=307&rel=0] “Après Tintin au Congo j’ai lu Sarkozy à Dakar / 50 minutes d’insultes… accusé à la barre / Blague à part, un fantasme d’il y a 400 ans / Une vision de l’Africain rappelant Tarzan.” A translation of Gabonese musician Lord Ekomy Ndong’s letter to Sarkozy would read something like this: “After Tintin in […]