From East Africa to the Mascarenes

Fetishizing the Foot: Mobility and Meaning in Indian Ocean Sandals

Decision letter: Admixture into and within sub-Saharan Africa

Recent genetic studies of living African peoples have suggested that the KhoiSan in particular are of very ancient stock and that they share some ancient genetic features with living East Africans. Archaeological and linguistic evidence for an ancient KhoiSan presence in East Africa has been used to support these arguments. A re-examination of the archaeological evidence does not support this stance. In particular, the bulk of the osteological evidence for KhoiSan presence in East Africa is flawed because it is drawn from a typological context where individual osteologicalfeatures were interpreted as KhoiSan and the total morphological pattern was not considered. More recent studies of archaeological specimens and living East Africans have not confirmed any KhoiSan linkage with East Africa. Linguistic evidence is also equivocal and the clicks found in East Africa may represent the remains of ancient linguistic phonemes rather than remnants of KhoiSan languages. Without the support of archaeological and linguistic evidence, the genetic similarities of East and South Africans should be seen as a more distant commonality of underlying genetic features of all Africans rather than a specific KhoiSan genetic identity. (The terminology used in this paper conforms to that of Jenkins & Tobias [1977]. The spelling of KhoiSan was adopted by the session on Nomenclature of People at the Origins of Humanity Workshop at Stellenbosch in September 2002 as part of the HSRC Africa Genome Initiative.)

Whereas Article 5 of the Treaty establishing the East African Community clearly provides for the establishment of a political federation, there is no elaboration on this issue. There are thus no answers to several key questions related to the establishment, operation and growth of an East African Political Federation. Nonetheless, if the political federation is to be successful, it requires the participation and genuine ownership by the people through their institutions of choice. The ultimate decision of when and how to federate has to be put to East Africans in a referendum to endorse or reject a widely negotiated Federal Constitution. Wide consultation are essential because a review of the three East African partner states in 2005 and part of 2006 highlights constitutional developments some of, which have serious implications for the advancement and launch of a political federation in 2010. If the processes leading up to the political federation are not people-centered the East African Community faces the potential risk of collapsing like its predecessor. Therefore, participatory consultations that are all-inclusive have to be set in motion immediately and all modes of reaching the wanainchi should be expansively utilized. East African Journal of Peace and Human rights Vol. 13 (1) 2007: pp. 126-141

Overseas-born doctor migration 1962-66.

The quest for quick cooking Beans

This paper is based on my experience of life (hi)story work with Aboriginal women. It will focus mainly on the development of a collaborative methodology between Patsy Cohen and myself and the process of creating the text Ingelba and the Five Black Matriarchs 1. Life (hi)story writing lies uneasily on the boundary between biography and autobiography and as such challenges many of our assumptions about telling and writing a life. It has traditionally been regarded as ‘an extensive record of a life told to and recorded by another who then edits and writes the life as though it were autobiography‘2. More recently feminist researchers have redefined this process to emphasise its collaborative nature ‘in life history, two stories together produce one. A speaker and a listener ask, respond, present and edit a life‘3. Such a definition focuses our attention on the relationship, the inevitable power relations involved in the processes of the production of knowledge, the interface between talk and text an...

THE decision to send a substantial force of East African troops to the Far East was taken very soon after Gondar had fallen and Italian resistance in East Africa had come to an end. In view of the fine work done by the Africans ill Asia, it seems now an obvious decision enough, but I doubt if it was so obvious then. Although African troops had crossed the sea before and on one or two occasions had served outside the African continent, no large force had ever gone so far afield as South-East Asia. There was a certain amount of doubt whether the East African Askari would remain contented so far away from home and at one time it was seriously considered whether it might be necessary for the wives of Askans to go along with them. Then it could not be certain how African troops would stand up to the Japanese. Early in I942 the reputation of the Japanese soldier stood at its highest and few British or Indian units had had much success against them. The West and East Africans had beaten not only native levies in the East African and Abyssinian campaign, but also the best Blackshirt Italians the Italians had put against them. The Japanese, however, were not only far more skilful but also far better armed adversaries. Lastly, experience alone could show whether the health of African troops would stand up to Far Eastern climatic conditions. The fact that the Africans on their own continent had a large degree of immunity to malaria, did not mean that they were necessarily imrnune to the forms of malaria prevalent in Burma, India or Ceylon. However, it was decided to take all these risks, and early in I942, the first East African troops sailed for Ceylon. It was not possible to send any West Africans since all the troops available, both those who had seved in the East African campaign, and those who had remained in West Africa, were needed to protect the British West African colonies from attack through Vichy West Africa. Nor in the event did it prove possible to use any East African troops in action in the Far East for a long time. One brigade remained in Ceylon continuing to train, but another brigade which had been destined for Far Eastern use had to be employed in Madagascar, first for the successful invasion of the Island, and then for garrison duties. The brigade in Ceylon could not after all be employed in Burma as this was already in Japanese hands and our commitments elsewhere compelled us to remain strictly on the defensive on the Indian frontier. With the turn of the tide in the Allies' favour at the end of I94^ after

We read with interest the recent paper by Eckersley et al. on khat use and driver impairment in Ethiopia.1 The paper highlighted the increasing concern about the association between khat use and traffic accidents with drivers using khat to stay awake and alert. However, much of the information provided was anecdotal and, as yet, there is no clear evidence of a causal relationship between the use of khat and traffic accidents. Recent research we have undertaken in Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, Australia, suggests that east African migrants have brought with them the habit of consuming khat while working to stay awake and alert. Through our observations and discussions we identified that east African taxi drivers in Melbourne currently use khat for this purpose. The increase in migration to Australia from east Africa over the past two decades, together with improved transport facilities, have led to the importation and use of khat in Australia, predominantly by east African community members.2 In Victoria, individuals with a licence and permit can import up to five kilograms of khat per month for personal use. Within east African migrant communities in Melbourne there is a community divide on the issue of khat use and its effects on khat users and their communities. Concerns have been raised by some east African community members that khat use has increased substantially and that it is leading to family breakdowns, economic hardship and health problems.3 To understand these issues further, we conducted an exploratory qualitative study with 29 members of Melbourne’s east African communities; some of whom reported chewing khat and some of whom were opposed to khat use.4 Most of our khat-chewing participants reported that one of the main reasons for using the drug was to improve concentration while studying or working. Several participants worked as taxi drivers or had friends who drive taxis and admitted that they themselves or their friends chewed khat on the job to help them stay awake during their shift. However, in our open-ended interviews there was no mention, positive or negative, of the effect of khat consumption on an individual’s ability to drive. Our research did not produce any evidence to suggest a causal relationship between the use of khat and driver impairment. While some east Africans in Melbourne have reported concerns that khat consumption leads to health and social problems, data from our study suggest that the most significant negative effect of khat use was that it takes individuals, usually men, away from their families. Non-users, 77% of whom were female, spoke extensively of male chewers spending long periods away from the home to chew khat with their friends. Indeed, women (mostly wives and daughters of khat users) were the main groups of people critical of khat use. Some of our participants reported relationship breakdowns that they attributed to khat, but this was most directly linked to the male being away from the home for extended periods, rather than any specific drug effects. Driving under the influence of drugs is thought to be a major contributor to road fatalities in Victoria. Currently in Melbourne, police conduct random drug tests on motor vehicle drivers as one way of reducing traffic-related accidents and harm. A recent study of driver fatalities in several states in Australia found that drugs other than alcohol were present in over a quarter of the 3398 fatalities.5 Saliva screening can be used to detect for the active components of cannabis, ecstasy, amphetamines and methamphetamines with some precision. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no testing specifically for khat undertaken anywhere in the world. We believe more robust evidence is needed about the health and social effects of khat use in general to inform decisions regarding the legal status of khat. Specifically, in the light of the recent work of Eckersley et al., more work is required to establish whether or not khat consumption actually impairs driving ability. If it does cause driver impairment as suggested by Eckersley et al., a new testing regime may need to be developed, especially in relation to commercial drivers such as taxi drivers. Anecdotal reports to suggest that khat use is associated with impaired driving ability do not establish a causal relationship. Further research is thus required to determine whether khat consumption is at all related to motor vehicle accidents outside settings where the use of khat is commonplace.

Human genetic variation particularly in Africa is still poorly understood. This is despite a consensus on the large African effective population size compared to populations from other continents. Based on sequencing of the mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit II (MT-CO2), and genome wide microsatellite data we observe evidence suggesting the effective size (Ne) of humans to be larger than the current estimates, with a foci of increased genetic diversity in east Africa, and a population size of east Africans being at least 2-6 fold larger than other populations. Both phylogenetic and network analysis indicate that east Africans possess more ancestral lineages in comparison to various continental populations placing them at the root of the human evolutionary tree. Our results also affirm east Africa as the likely spot from which migration towards Asia has taken place. The study reflects the spectacular level of sequence variation within east Africans in comparison to the global sample, and appeals for further studies that may contribute towards filling the existing gaps in the database. The implication of these data to current genomic research, as well as the need to carry out defined studies of human genetic variation that includes more African populations; particularly east Africans is paramount.

Identification of the consequences of such a complex phenomenon as longdistance trade has engaged historians of east Africa most particularly since the publication of Reginald Coupland's East Africa and Its Invaders (1938) and The Exploitation of East Africa (1939). The more critically long-distance trade is examined, the more dimensions emerge which appear essential for an evaluation of its impact. Studies made in the 1960s examined political consequences of the trade within and among African societies, as well as those economic aspects which affected African rulers (Roberts, 1968; Gray and Birmingham, 1970). More recently there has been a desire to assess the economic consequences to the vast majority of east Africa's population-not just upon the rulers-during the nineteenth century (see Alpers, 1973). The direction of inquiry is certainly welcomed. It, in turn, will no doubt lead investigators to a number of social and religious issues heretofore unexamined; other significant effects of the trade will be identified and their impact at least partially assessed. One such consequence worthy of consideration is the disease factor. At present we know precious little about the introduction of epidemic diseases into the east African interior during or before the nineteenth century. The most valuable single work available is Dr. James Christie's Cholera Epidemics in East Africa (1876). As a resident physician on Zanzibar, Christie observed and described the effects of cholera on various social and ethnic groups within Zanzibari society. He also endeavored to trace the relentless spread of four specific cholera epidemics from the Asian sub-continent into eastern Africa. Christie, however, was unable to provide precise information about African mortality from cholera within the interior, although impressionistic statements are cited. Given the east Africans' lack of immunity to cholera, there is every reason to assume that its effects were devastating on all people exposed to it (Curtin, 1968: 195). As Christie painstakingly described, cholera was inadvertently transmitted by traders seeking ivory along specific caravan routes through the interior of eastern Africa. Disease and long-distance trade thus became inextricably linked, with caravans serving as an effective mechanism for transmitting alien epidemic diseases as well as indigenous diseases.

Between the 1920s and 1980s, East African consumers were strongly attracted to Japanese textiles, especially cotton, and Japanese manufacturers paid careful attention to that market. The relationship between the both east and west ends of the historical Indian Ocean developed when Japan was in the industrialization phase, which was led by its textile industry at a time during the postabolition period when East Africans were developing a keen interest in the new fashions, which contributed to their keenness to create a new self-identification. Nonetheless, the situation cannot be understood simply by looking at the general relationship between Japan and East Africa. In fact, from the mid-1910s onward, there were many occasions when the Chinese market—the largest for all Japanese products, including textiles—boycotted Japanese products. Then came the Great Depression, when the creation of bloc economies and the raising of tariffs negatively affected Japan’s textile exports to its existing major markets such as the United States, India, and China. On the other hand, there was a space for Japanese textiles to enter the East African market under the free trade principle of the Congo Basin Treaties, which Japan ratified in 1919. Japanese textile exports to East Africa eventually peaked in 1935 but then declined until they ceased altogether during the 1940s as a consequence of World War II and the devastation of Japan immediately postwar. However, beginning in the 1950s, the trade revived and went on to again occupy a large market share, which it maintained until the early 1980s. The history of Japanese textiles in East Africa is more than simply one part of the history of Japan’s relationship with Africa; rather, it is a topic which embeds conjunctions and entanglements of local, regional, and global contexts as well as interaction between consumer and producer—and not forgetting the middlemen.

Impact of geographical origin upon the electrical and structural manifestations of the black athlete's heart.

In the quest to achieve SDG 1 on eradicating poverty, improving savings rates in East Africa is crucial, as it lays the foundation for reducing financial vulnerability and achieving economic resilience. This paper investigated the determinants of individual savings in selected East African countries. Specifically, internet access, financial inclusion, and borrowing were the covariates while individual savings in East Africa were the predicted. This study utilized data from the Global Findex 2021 World Bank database. This dataset was selected because it is one of the most comprehensive databases on financial inclusion, providing a comprehensive view of adults' savings, borrowing, payments, and risk management across global and regional contexts. This study used a basic framework to explore the factors influencing individual savings by examining production, income distribution, and accumulation. A panel data logistic regression model was utilized, and Instrumental Variables (2SLS) regression was employed to test endogeneity. The Sargan and Basmann tests assessed overidentification restrictions to validate the instruments. Shea’s partial R-squared measured the unique contribution of each instrument in explaining the variation in endogenous variables, accounting for the influence of other instruments and endogenous variables. The Hausman test which model was suitable for panel data modeling. The 2SLS regression showed no evidence of endogeneity, as internet access was insignificant with a high p-value (> 0.05). Overidentification tests confirmed instrument validity with p-values of 0.1018 and 0.1016. However, Shea’s partial R-squared revealed weak instruments, especially for borrowing, with an adjusted value of 0.0328. Results revealed that borrowing is strongly and positively associated with saving. The higher the borrowing, the more the savings. In East Africa, most borrowers are savers. These use the borrowed funds to create an injection of income flow through capital accumulation. Internet access significantly predicts savings in East Africa today. In this digital era, most businesses are run online. Therefore, it is almost impossible to save with no internet access. Similarly, those who use digital payment systems are most likely to enhance their savings. Age and gender do not influence the saving of an individual in East Africa. Likely, owning a financial account does not translate to more savings. Most East Africans have non-functional bank accounts. Education levels significantly influence the savings of individuals in East Africa. Highly educated people utilize financial literacy skills to save more. Being out of the workforce reduces individual savings since most of these are out of the working age.


 Travelogues are a rich medium through which to explore observations of everyday culture and rituals, perceptions of the world order, and narrative strategies of othering. In this paper, I turn my attention to travelogues written by East Africans (coastal Swahili Muslims, diasporic Shi’i and Parsi South Asians, and Christian Ugandans) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although the authors come from different religious groupings, cultural-linguistic backgrounds and socio-economic milieus, they travel the same routes within East Africa and, occasionally, also to Europe or even as far as Siberia. I argue that the texts (including journals, retrospectives, and ethnographies) must be read as documents of East African cosmopolitanism. Mobility enables the authors to subvert the imperial world order by re-framing it narratively according to their own religious identity. This gives rise to reflections on humanity, equality and the beauty of knowledge, but not to the exclusion of racial and religious bigotry within and between the non-European communities in East Africa. In my analysis, I tease out narrative patterns, observational styles, and literary tropes present in the texts across religious boundaries. As all the texts were either commissioned by Europeans or edited by their translators before publication they do not document naively ‘authentic’ perspectives of East Africans, but reflect the complexities of communication within strict racial hierarchies. In concluding, I discuss the potential of religion to invert colonial centres and peripheries: European metropoles become places of exotic fascination while the familiar practices of co-religionists can turn the ‘hinterland’ into centres of learning.