Day: November 23, 2022

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Fans Hold On to Hope Despite No African World Cup Wins Yet

Senegal lost 2-0 to the Netherlands, Tunisia drew against Denmark, as did Morocco against Croatia. No Africa team victories yet, but fans in the United States aren’t discouraged. It’s early in World Cup play and teams still have chances to win and advance to the next phase.

It was undeniably heartbreaking for the fans of the Senegalese team to see the Lions of Teranga lose their first World Cup game against the Netherlands. But fans like Sadio Yaya Barry are keeping their hopes alive.

“I would like to congratulate the Senegalese team,” Barry, the president of the New York-based Association of Senegalese in America, told VOA. “It’s a very strong team. We know we lost the first game, but we do see a young team who are very dedicated, involved and motivated to win the game … the Senegalese played very well.”

He added that “people sometimes forget who is the Netherlands team. They are very strong in Europe.”

However, losing hurt even more when goalkeeper Edouard Mendy couldn’t stop two goals a few minutes before the end of the game.

The Senegalese suffered another loss as midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate had to leave the game after injuring a thigh muscle. This came after the team lost star player Sadio Mane before the start of the tournament, also because of injuries.

Other teams battled to draws, Tunisia against Denmark on Tuesday, and Morocco against Croatia on Wednesday.

Hassan Samrhouni, president of the Washington Moroccan-American Club, based in Washington, described the Wednesday draw as “a great start for Morocco. Remember, we are playing the runner-up team, which played the final at the last World Cup.” In 2018, Croatia played against France in the World Cup finals.

He reminded fans that “one point is a great point for us. Remember, Argentina has zero points as well as Germany has zero points.”

The first few days of the event have seen these two surprises — Saudi Arabia beating Argentina and Japan beating Germany.

Prior World Cup games have also had upsets, including in 2002, when Senegal claimed a first-round victory over then-world champion France.

Barry remembers the match and said he believes that “this time the African nations are going to make a big improvement, not only to quarterfinals but to reach the semifinals — and why not the finals?”

He added, “I believe it’s time for the African continent to get that cup and take it to Africa. It is very possible. We have the teams, we have the qualifications and requirements we need. And all those players, they are very professional.”

The next games for the African teams are scheduled Thursday, when Ghana will play against Portugal and Cameroon will play against Switzerland.

Samrhouni, who played for his country’s national soccer team, advised players that “World Cup is one time every four years and maybe one time in a player’s career” and urged them to “take advantage of it.”

Source: Voice of America

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Men called to champion fight against GBV, spread of HIV: South African minister

PRETORIA— South Africa’s Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu, says men are champions of change in preventing the spread of HIV, and addressing gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) in communities.

“One of the key tasks in preventing gender-based violence in all its forms is to enlist the active participation of men in all communities throughout the 52 districts and metropolitan municipalities of our country,” Zulu said in Parliament on Tuesday.

She was addressing the occasion of the National Men’s Parliament.

The Minister commended the participation of men who have voiced their commitment to non-violence.

“Toxic masculinity puts pressure on boys to be tough and emotionless. These societal constructs of what it means to be a man are extremely harmful to the boys who are being socialised into them, to the men that they become, to our families and to all of society,” Zulu said.

She said all men can play a part in dismantling the stigma around mental health by supporting men to access psycho-social support services, particularly mental health support.

“It is really important that we do that because men in general are less likely to seek assistance when faced with family, health, societal, and economic challenges. It is particularly important that we have met here over the last two days to foreground men’s agenda and to reflect on the state of the South African men.

“Gone are the days when men were only seen as providers or disciplinarians in families. Men have a critical role to play, particularly with respect to correctly nurturing and socialising their children.”

Zulu said men who champion change help in the fight against the multiple social challenges such as HIV, substance abuse and child pregnancies.

“They are not part of these problems. They are on the side of the positive solutions; real solutions that go to the heart of manhood are needed. This starts with building safe spaces by men, for men and with men.

Zulu said the perceptions of being overlooked when employment and empowerment opportunities arise are real among men.

“These frustrations, which turn into violent expressions, need alternative avenues and language[of expression]… We do know that many men do not abuse their partners and children. These are the men who continuously strive to embody respect and dignity.”

The National Men’s Parliament is part of Parliament’s initiative to address sector-specific challenges in order to develop a coordinated national plan of action on the role that men should play in the fight against gender-based violence.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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EU recommits to support Africa to deal with terrorism threats – European Council President

Ghana President Akufo-Addo and the European Council President Charles Michel discussed how to prevent the spillover of terrorism from the Sahel region.

Militants have gradually spread their activities from Niger to Burkina Faso and Mali to West Africa’s coastal states. Charles Michel said the European Union will continue to support the initiative to deal with jihadist movement in the region.

Michel is in Ghana for the Accra Initiative Summit by countries along the Gulf of Guinea, Benin, Ghana, La Cote D’Ivoire and Togo. The meeting’s agenda is to prevent the spillover of terrorism from the Sahel and to address transnational organized crime and violent extremism in member countries’ border areas.

The death toll of victims of the Daesh-allied and Al Qaeda militants waging war in the Sahel keeps rising; and the meeting with Akufo-Addo at the seat of government seeks to look at critical bilateral issues of common concern between the EU and Ghana ahead of the summit.

Akufo-Addo called on the E.U to support Ghana and West Africa to develop strong security to thwart threats of terrorism.

Michel said the EU stands by Africa under its European Peace Facility to deal with the current terrorism threats confronting the region.

The Accra Initiative is a cooperative and collaborative security mechanism. It is anchored on three pillars: information and intelligence sharing; training of security and intelligence personnel; and conducting joint cross-border military operations to sustain border security.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK