Mali: New Film Focuses on Life and Debt in Africa

Bamako, a film set in that city, is a complex and ingenious production dealing with Africa's relationship with the West.

The film is the creation of Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako, who grew up in Mali and has been making films since the early 1990s. It includes cameos by U.S. actor and activist Danny Glover (also the executive director), French director Jean-Henri Roger, Palestinian director Elia Suleiman, and Sissako himself. The cameos appear in a film within the film where the directors star as cowboys in a parody of the American western – just one part of the formula that adds to the film's ingenuity.


The film's interweaving story lines form the backdrop of its main focus, a show trial in which Africans serve as the plaintiffs in a trial of crimes committed against "African society" by the West, the IMF & the World Bank. During the trial witnesses come forward to testify on the impact of debt, loans, and the social programs attached to the loans. The economic relationship between the World Bank, the IMF and African leaders is blamed for many of the social and economic problems facing Africans.

Witnesses address the lack of adequate health care and education in Africa, and the levels of poverty in which the majority of Africans live. African governments are accused of often being, at most, corrupt and at least complicit in the implementation of the failed neo-liberal economic programs, privatization schemes, and structural adjustment programs that have benefited only Western nations and the continent's elite.

The immigration problems facing Western nations are said to be the result of failed policies that have created economic refugees who flee Africa in large numbers. The film includes a witness who tells of a harrowing trek across the Sahara and into Morocco in search of better economic opportunities.

The film also features a cast of European and African characters who debate the validity of witness testimonies and challenge the accusations of the plaintiffs. The defense brings out the issue of misappropriation of funds as well as examples of Africans benefiting from Western aid.

The film moves between documentary and fiction as its symbolic battle between African society and the West is played out in sometimes comedic form. Its weighty topics are lightened by the location of the trial in the courtyard of someone's house, in the poor neighborhood of Hamdallaye. Throughout proceedings there are constantly people coming and going, as well as secondary story lines of characters who are only indirectly involved. Scenes include children of the families in the compound walking about, families fetching water, the gun of a security guard going missing, and even a wedding procession.

The main subplot of the film centers on two residents of the house, Melé and her husband Chaka. Melé sings in a bar, while her husband is out of work. The couple's story is uniquely woven into the film, and could in itself be a whole separate film.

All of the activities and subplots add layers and depth to the film in way that makes this project unique. The complexity, while sometimes a struggle to follow, makes the film multi-dimensional. The activities and secondary storylines, perhaps most of all, symbolize the fact that while politicians and scholars debate Africa, the daily routine and realities of African lives are unchanging.

Bamako has received much critical acclaim and accolades, including winning Best French-Language Film at the Lumiere Awards in France in 2007.

Bamako (2006)

1 Hour 58 Minutes in French and Bambara with English subtitles




Written, Directed and Produced by Abderrahmane Sissako

The film's Website: http://www.bamako-film.com

The film can be purchased by contacting the U.S. distributor New Yorker Films at 1-877-645-1700.

allAfrica.com

The Water Challenge! That Aint Right

Every living creature on the planet needs water to survive. In certain parts of the world having access to running water isn’t a right, it’s a privilege. People lack access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation. Can you believe that every 15 seconds a child under the age of five dies from a water related disease? Imagine that your child’s next drink of water might kill him/ her. Imagine yourself living in an area where sanitary water is a luxury. Imagine yourself being part of the 2.4 billion (that is two out of every five) people in our world who don’t have access to adequate sanitation. That Ain’t Right!

In poor areas, children and women have to walk many miles, before they reach the nearest water source, to collect water in buckets. These water sources are also used for bathing, washing clothes and also by the livestock. The water collected in the buckets is also the home of many germs and diseases. Every time that they are taking a drink of water they putting their lives at risk. Every time that they are taking a drink of water they are sending out a message of despair, a cry for help but yet nobody listens. That Ain’t Right!

In some under developed countries the people who have access to running water don’t necessarily have clean water. A few months ago a friend of mine went back to Senegal (West Africa) and noticed that the water was red and even black in some areas. He wanted to know why the water distributed to households in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, was so filthy. He then went to see the mayor to let him know about the water situation in the capital but the mayor told him to go and check with the National water company. He learned that that he needed to pay a fee to file a complaint to the water company and gave up. He met with the manager of that same water company who told him that if he wasn’t satisfied with the state of the water he could go and buy bottled water. Sometimes, there are water shortages for days in the capital and people who have the means to do so buy bottled water. The truth is that in poor countries there is often one water company who owns the monopoly of water. In the case of Senegal, the water company also has shares in the company that makes and distributes bottled water. To gain profits they make sure that few people have access to clean water ensuring a need to buy bottled water. The bottled water that they are forced to buy is not cheap and not accessible to all. That Ain’t right!

A study published by the Senegalese tourism department states that only 56 % of rural and 78 % of urban households have clean drinking water in Senegal. The poor quality of water and shortages is due to obsolete pipelines and a lack of infrastructures. Water shortages are also related to electricity outages that are very common; in fact there are continuous power cuts that lead to water supply breakdowns. The availability of clean water is then often unpredictable; one never knows when he/she wakes up if clean water will be available on that day. That Ain’t Right!

There are few things that can be done to decrease water shortages and to provide people access to clean water. For a country like Senegal, decentralization could be one of them. If pumping stations were built for each Senegalese town then the likelihood of a national water shortage would diminish. Governments could also use foreign aid and private investors to build new pipelines and sanitary facilities. Governments can monitor health education programs to educate people on the importance of using sanitary water and the diseases that could come from unsanitary hygiene practices
Water needs to be supplied not only in sufficient quantity but also in the highest quality possible to ensure human development. It might seem that the world has plenty of water but one would be amazed to know that more than 97% of the world’s water is too salty and therefore unsuitable for either drinking or agriculture. Of the 3% remaining, 70% is locked up as ice at the North and South poles making drinkable water a precious and scarce resource. One might wonder why water is not valued like precious stones given its rarity but like the air we breathe water is also taken for granted.
Clean water is still a luxury in certain parts of the world. According to a study by UNICEF, the United Nation’s Children’s Fund, over 40 billion work hours are lost in Africa in fetching drinking water. Many children, particularly girls, are prevented from going to school because the need to get water, squandering their intellectual and economic potential. Each and every one of us must fight for the world’s access to clean water and basic sanitation. When you take your next drink of water think about the child who is going to die in the next 15 seconds from a water related disease. Think about the little girl who will never go to school because she needs to walk long miles to fetch drinking water. Picture that! That Ain’t Right!