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Members' News
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Mourning the Loss of Fr. Bill Dyer, M.Afr. |
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 Lately, in the context of the
political campaigns and conventions, we have heard the phrase speaking truth to power. On Wednesday August 27th,
confreres, friends, and colleagues of Fr. Bill Dyer gathered at Ascension Church
in Bowie, MD to
celebrate the life and ministry of one of us who spoke truth to power
courageously and consistently. There
were an overwhelming number of testimonials that were received from colleagues
in the greater Washington area as well as from
Africa that spoke of his wit, passion, and witness to Christ in all he did to
promote justice and fairness for the peoples of Africa. Bill served in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Tanzania,
Niger, and Sudan. The lives and struggles of those he came to
know and love in Africa fueled his passion for
justice here in DC. He fearlessly but
respectfully spoke truth to power, no matter where, no matter what, and no
matter who. His focus was on Christ and
how we as Christ's disciples are commissioned to reach out to the poor, give
voice to their plight if they are unable, and more.
Bill didn't want a "big show" for
his funeral. He may not have had the
chance to leave "precise" instructions on this celebration since death came
sooner than anyone thought, but enough of us knew his mind to know that the
celebration was above and beyond his preferences. But he deserved what was done and we needed
to celebrate the gift of his life in this manner. To the community of the Missionaries of
Africa, his family, especially his sister Dorothy and her husband Joe, the
parish community of Ascension in Bowie, and his many friends and colleagues here
and in Africa, we thank you for sharing the gift and life of Bill Dyer with
AFJN.
This celebration was held at
Ascension Parish, Bowie, a parish community where Bill began serving only two years ago. But his service in Bowie was
more to Bill than an occasional weekend to help out. Rather, they adopted him as
one of their own and grounded his priestly ministry in their call to service
and love.
Fr. Rocco Puopolo, s.x.
Executive Director
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Jesuit-led shareholder movement advocates Cheveron to develop and implement Human Rights Policy |
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The Jesuits, organizational members of AFJN, recently
introduced a shareholder movement that received a strong 24% vote at Chevron’s
annual stockholder meeting. Gas and oil companies have recently come under a
lot of pressure for their human rights violations. This Jesuit-led movement has
been working to convince Chevron to develop a comprehensive and transparent
human rights policy. While Chevron has passed some human rights initiatives,
this movement of shareholders urges the company to create a more detailed
policy that is integrated into all aspects of the company. This movement also
acknowledges the need to make more than a humanitarian argument for Chevron to
institute a policy change; therefore, it asserts that the implementation of
better human rights standards by Chevron would also be a smart business
decision. It would “address threats to shareholder
value before they arise.” As a result of receiving 24% of the vote on their
initiative, the religious investment community expects to see the establishment
of a comprehensive human rights policy by Chevron. The company is heavily
involved in crude oil production in West Africa.
Escravos, Pennington, Bonny Light and Cabina are just a few of the crude oils
produced by Chevron in this region. According to the company’s website, Chevron
is also the leading refiner and marketer of petroleum productions in South Africa. AFJN
applauds this effort by one of its members and encourages other U.S.
corporations to adopt stronger human rights policies.
To read the full press release from the Jesuits
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Young People and AFJN |
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Where do we go to meet and invite younger folks to be part of the Africa Faith and Justice Network? Here in the USA we have approached university students over the past two years to engage them in advocacy for Northern Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Last year’s Northern Uganda Lobby Days attracted over 700 young people to come to DC and make their voices heard on the Hill. Three college campuses are now affiliated in some way with AFJN: Notre Dame and St. Mary’s University in Notre Dame, IN and Loyola University of Chicago, IL. Significant contacts have been extended to 4 other campuses: University of Illinois, Chicago; Dayton University in Dayton, Ohio, Xavier University of Cincinnati, Ohio and American University here in DC.
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Book on Africa in the Globe from Former AFJN Director |
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Former AFJN Executive Director, Marcel Kitissou, has contributed a chapter to a new book entitled Africa in the Global Power Play from Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ldt. Kitissou's chapter is "Coping with Reality and Dealing with Imagination: Political Violence and Terrorism in Africa in the Global Context" - an excellent supplement to AFJN's continued work on AFRICOM. One of the primary goals of the new US Africa Command is to combat terrorism on the African continent, in addition to protecting oil resources and providing humanitarian aid. Kitissou is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for African Development at Cornell University. Please contact AFJN (afjn(at)afjn.org) for more information on how to order a copy of the book.
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AFJN Attends UN Conference in New York |
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AFJN was well represented at the 60th Annual UN
Conference for DPI/Non Governmental Organizations held at the New York
Headquarters from September 5th to 7th. The topic for this year's conference was Climate Change; How It Impacts Us All. Over 2,500 people gathered from 81 countries. AFJN Board Member and current liaison to the UN in New York, Fr. Luigi Zanotto,
was joined by Fr. Rocco Puopolo, Executive Director; Sr. Maura Browne of the
Sisters of Notre Dame (and former Executive Director of AFJN); Mr. Jacques
Bahati, AFJN policy analyst; and Sr.Cecilia Nya from Nigeria and a member of
the Sisters of the Holy Child of Jesus.
Three days were dedicated to two general sessions, a series of
round table discussions, and noon-time workshops that exposed the participants
to research from over 37 experts in the field of Climate
Change. One of the insights that disturbs
those of us advocating for Africa is that Africa
contributes only 4% of the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming, but it is
the continent most effected by carbon emissions of the rest of the
world.
For the program, final declarations, web casts of the major roundtables, and general sessions, visit: www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/conference/. AFJN has been affiliated with the UN
DPI (Department of Public Information) status since its early years.
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China and Water Subjects of New Books by Former AFJN Director |
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Duri  ng Dr. Marcel Kitissou's time as Executive Director of the Africa Faith and Justice Network, he helped to raise the first alarms over the important role water would play in the geopolitical arena of the future. Dr. Kitissou has recently announced the publication of a new book, The Hydropolitics of Africa, A Contemporary Challenge , edited in conjunction with three other colleagues.
At the same time, Dr. Kitissou has announced the publication of a book on China's current outreach to African countries. Entitled, Africa in China's Global Strategy, the book lays out the way in which "China,
in the past five years, has developed a proactive global policy and is emerging
as a new global power with particular focus on developing countries in Central Asia, Southeast Asia,
Latin America and Africa." As Dr. Kitissou says in his introduction, "In 1998, China’s aid to Africa
was $107 million. By 2004, it had reached $2.7 billion, 26% of its international
assistance that year. In 2005, Africa-China trade reached $40 billion, 35% up
from the previous year. China is interested mainly in four sectors: infrastructure projects, regional banks
such as the African Development Bank, training of African professionals
particularly in economic management, and institutions of higher education with
the goal of establishing Chinese language programs. The human factor is also
important. Chinese Diaspora is fast increasing. For example, in Zambia, it grew
from 3,000 to 30,000 in ten years and, in South Africa, from practically none
to 300,000.
African countries constitute a new market for
Chinese products. They also provide a source of raw materials. Today, the
continent supplies 30% of China’s
import of oil and gas, Angola
being the largest supplier with 522,000 barrels of oil per day to China. The last
five years, Chinese oil companies spent $15 billion acquiring oil fields and
local companies. The appetite for raw materials goes beyond oil and gas and China’s foreign
political strategy is primarily to solve its own domestic problems and protect
its interests in the global arena.
Will Africa
be a pawn or a player in this emerging geopolitical game? Will China’s
deepening relations with the continent represent a new opportunity for African
countries to negotiate a new partnership and skillfully use it to the best
advantage of their citizens? These are some of the questions contributors to
the volume have tried to answer by examining various facets of these deepening
relations and underlining areas of concerns as well as the opportunities for
mutually rewarding relations."
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Dr. Marcel Kitissou, a historian and
political scientist, is a member of the public policy faculty at the
Union Institute and University (Cincinnati,
Ohio) and Visiting Fellow with
the Institute for African Development at Cornell University.
He was formerly Senior Visiting Research Scholar at the Center for Global Studies
at George Mason University.
He has also been the Faculty Director of the Global Humanitarian Action Program
and the Summer Institute on International Development of the same institution
and Executive Director of the Washington DC-based Africa Faith and Justice
Network. Earlier, he founded and directed the PEACE Institute of the State
University of New York at Oswego;
he directed a regional school of journalism in Lomé, and was Associate Director
of the National School of Public Administration of Togo. He has published widely on
security issues and the politics of water in Africa.
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AFJN Executive Director Takes Part in Uganda Conference |
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AFJN played a prominent role in the World Gathering of the
International Young Christian Student Movement (the Cardijn Movement), held in  Kampala, Uganda from August 1st to 15th. From July
24th to August 8th, Fr. Rocco Puopolo took part in the preparatory Pan
African meeting of the African YCS delegates and joined the world
delegates for the first week of their two week council. There were 19
African movements represented and 51 world movements. He was a faciliator
for one day and spoke on culture, conflicts, and roadmaps to peace
through dialogue and advocacy. The major issues that the Pan African
Coordination Team is dealing with are peace and justice education,
HIV/AIDS awareness and action, interreligious dialogue and human rights education. The Pan African sessions were held at the Uganda
Spirituality Center for the Laity at Namungongo near the shrine of the
Uganda Martyrs. The World Formation and Council for IYCS was held at
Ggaba Major Seminary.
Rocco met with the chaplains and student leaders in order to
strengthen ties with the many YCS groups at univeristies throughout
Africa. He also invited them to share their analysis and actions with AFJN in order to enhance and deepen our advocacy for Africa. This will add
another layer of "African voices" to our unique mission in Washington, DC. If
AFJN members in the US or in Africa know of other university chaplains
or student groups that we should be in contact with, please do not
hesitate to let Rocco know.
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Dingell's Op-Ed Prompts Response from AFJN Member |
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AFJN member, Sarah Nash, read Rep. John Dingell's July 8th op-ed about the Farm Bill in the Monroe (Michigan) Evening News and couldn't help herself. Dingell entitled his op-ed, "New Farm Bill Provides Safety Net." Knowing better, Sarah, who works n their office of Justice, Peace and Sustainability for the IHM Sisters, wrote a letter to the editor exposing the problems with Dingell's arguments. Find below this excellent example of what AFJN members can do in their local communities to carry the message of justicefor Africans to their friends and neighbors. AFJN invites other members inspried by Sarah's example to write letters to their editors and to their Senators. What follows is the text of her letter:
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Great Bend Dominicans Celebrate Nigerian "Daughter" Community's Independence |
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Our daughter congregation, the Dominican Sisters of St.
Catherine of Siena of Gusau, Nigeria,
became an independent congr egation of diocesan status, April 19, 2007, at Holy
Family Cathedral, 39 Ahmadu Bello
Way, in the Diocese of Sokoto, Nigeria. This momentous occasion
has been over 25 years in the making. Following a letter from Rome, the Most Rev. Dr. Kevin J. Aje, Bishop
of Sokoto, issued the decree establishing them as a diocesan congregation with
their motherhouse in Gusau.
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