Like the Israelites after the fall of the first Temple (recorded in the book of Lamentations), Somalia’s people suffer innumerable woes. With residents fleeing in the hundreds of thousands, their Jerusalem lies deserted and destroyed (Mogadishu), and many believe that...
In Zimbabwe, hyperinflation has reached levels beyond control and the road to recovery seems unclear. Reports of secret human rights abuses and extreme political opposition harassment continue to surface, lengthening the list of questions for the supposedly strong...
In early June, the United States intervened militarily in Somalia for the third time this year, striking a group of alleged terrorists with cruise missiles. The men targeted had come ashore in northern Somalia two days earlier and were hiding in nearby mountains....
Grim tales of humanitarian emergencies and violence now dominate where once there existed some hope for Somalia’s future. The fragile transitional government and its Ethiopian backers now face a violent insurgency, and the humanitarian situation continues to...
The military and humanitarian situation in Somalia worsened over the weekend, primarily due to the actions of the Union of Islamic Courts. Reconciliation now seems even more unlikely. But is there hope? The situation in Somalia turned even bleaker on Saturday as...
On April 4, the Southern African Bishops’ Conference came out with a statement on the situation in Zimbabwe. Meant to coincide with the Easter season, the Bishops bring out the various forms of suffering of their brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe and the...
On April 17, the US House of Representatives, by a vote of 414-0 passed a resolution ‘condemning the recent violent actions of the Government of Zimbabwe against the peaceful opposition party activists and members of civil society.’ The resolution (H.Con...
On January 9th, in the latest development in the U.S. global War on Terror, air strikes undertaken by U.S. military aircraft hit presumed al-Qaeda terrorist hide-outs in southern Somalia, though subsequent statements from the Pentagon have revealed that the only...
On April 6, Rev. Rocco Puopolo, Executive Director of AFJN and chair of the Catholic Task Force on Africa, sent a letter of support to the Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube. The Catholic Task Force wanted to support the Archbishop in his efforts to speak out...
The Catholic Bishops of Zimbabwe have written a pastoral letter on the current crisis in their country. In the letter, they call on the government to end the violence and to be fair, just and compassionate in governing their people. Weeks of escalating political...
