Introduction

Journalists and media experts from all parts of Africa and from diverse religions gathered from 14 to 20 November 2009 in the capital city of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia and explored the theme “Journalism for Co-existence and Reconciliation and Welfare”. Addis Abeba, which literally means ‘new flower’, is also the capital of Africa: the African Union’s headquarters are based in this city situated over 2,200 meters above sea level.

The organisers needed to get prior permission from the Ethiopian government to organise this event.  They considered it was important to mark our presence in Ethiopia and to be with the people of Ethiopia as well as with their colleagues and friends from all parts of Africa.

Keynotes

The keynote speakers and resource persons included government and religious leaders, journalists, publishers and media experts: Metropolitan Archbishop Abune Berhaneyesus D. Souraphiel of Addis Abeba, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop George Panikulam, Ato Motumna Temesgen, Hagos Hayish, Ato Guelay, Ghiogris, Matteo Pinotti, Americo Xavier, Lazare Komandegel, George Sunguh, Daniel Mwaringa, Frank Mugabi, Petros Berga, Chrisantus Ndaga and Bernadini Mfumbus.

The keynote speakers, resource persons and participants analysed the theme from various angles and discussed its sub-themes: Journalism in the dialogue of cultures and religions; Media in the promotion of peace and reconciliation; Challenges of reporting in conflict areas: the case of the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea); Media ethics and values; Journalism for peace and reconciliation and the experience of Sudan, Uganda and Kenya; Role of media in poverty reduction; Journalism for the promotion of education, gender equality, welfare.

Conflicts in Africa

Out of 53 countries in Africa 23 are involved in conflict, either internally or with their neighbours. The conflicts’ first victims are innocent children, who become orphans and thus destroying the only hope for the future, making peace building difficult, reconstruction almost impossible and the level of poverty unbearable.

The conference found that most of the conflicts have their origins abroad. And they are in the interest of investors, invaders and foreign settlers who take advantage of the conflicts to loot resources from Africa. And they insist all the time through the international media that the problems are only because of the African leaders, when these leaders happen to be puppets in the hand of powerful nations and their political and business leaders.

Most of the conflicts in Africa happen where there are minerals. What people see there are ongoing displacement and killing just for transporting precious resources such as diamonds, gold and cobalt. In the process, the invaders support trafficking of women and children to countries of the European Union, North America and the Middle East.

Participants and resource persons observed that coexistence and reconciliation demand truth and the elimination of poverty and conflicts whose originators in most cases are outside the continent. If there were no conflicts, traditional and new colonisation would be impossible and Africa could grow: This is not at all the agenda of foreign business people, investors and politicians who aim at the progress of their own countries with the resources “legally” stolen from Africa. Because of the power of foreign traders, African business people cannot develop healthy and strong internal and external trade.

The conference called upon leaders and journalists to take up these issues and their real causes in order to find lasting solutions.

Stolen resources must be returned

Keynote speakers emphasised the necessity of money, resources and brains stolen from Africa  be returned to the continent. It is a question of respect and the basic condition for reconciliation, co-existence and welfare worldwide.

Unfortunately, the contact of the so called Western world and the Middle East with Africa is dominated by the looting of African resources, slavery, as well as various forms of ownership of land and nations by the foreigners. Thus the Congo was the private property of one man, then of one family and then of a nation and finally a new colony under the guise of false independence.

Colonisation has taken many forms in many ways. At present multinationals and foreign governments buy land in countries like Ethiopia to produce food for export outside the country.  Thus the wish of some slave takers, who also castrated the slaves before bringing them to their own countries for fear of reproduction, is now realised by keeping the “slaves” in their own countries to work for them and produce food for them without any legal protection and welfare system.

The pan-African conference affirmed that co-existence, reconciliation and welfare demand justice and an immediate cessation to all forms of slavery, robbery, looting and colonisation; returning of all stolen resources as well as reparation to these irreparable damages. The event observed that even simple promises such as contributing a meagre 0.7% of the G8’s national income has never been maintained.

Africa has been so much misused by the world

The conference expressed grave concerns on the way the world continues to abuse Africa. Africa is still considered a “dark” place while this continent is full of sunshine and smiles. By introducing alien seeds and plants, investors and invaders have devastated the ecosystem and the equilibrium of African agriculture. The eucalyptus tree, for example, devastates vast areas of Africa and makes fertile land sterile.

Ethiopia suffers from over 70% severe desertification, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The major reason for this is the eucalyptus tree brought over from Australia under false promises by Western invaders to make Ethiopia green and with the aim of destroying fertile agricultural land. Today more than 150 years after, the people in Ethiopia want to see the eucalyptus replaced with indigenous plants in order to restore the soil and save water.

Vast lands are used now for producing flowers and food for foreigners and even animals overseas, while people in Africa die of hunger and malnutrition. Agriculture is also made to produce fuel to drive fun toys such as automobiles in the name of “ecology” in the West and in the Middle East. And in return, African men and women get hamburgers and coke for survival.

Food is used more and more as a weapon, so that the poor in Africa have no choice but to line up to the dictates of the powerful or die.

As the conference recalled the responsibility of leaders in Africa, the resource persons and participants emphasised that there is practically no decision-making power in Africa with regard to fixing of prices for the goods produced in Africa, determining the value of currencies of African nations as well as the values of services and resources.

African nations need to be respected and dealt with like any other dignified nation on earth in a true spirit of self-reliance, reconciliation, coexistence and welfare. And journalists should ask the real questions behind the causes of huge problems such as poverty and AIDS.

African people are one

The conference emphasised that African people are one and all Africans and the world should know that they are united; religions or politics should not separate them. People should not need entry and exit visas on African soil, as is the case today in many African nations.

African people are one and all the present borders are artificial. Those borders were drawn up in the interest of invaders and colonisers to protect their own interests, to divide peoples so that people from outside can have the supremacy over the peoples of Africa.

Conflicts were introduced to Africa because the continent is rich not only in earthly resources such as minerals but also in human values and the care for others.

Power of journalists

The keynote speakers and resource persons said that many political and religious leaders have great respect for journalists and writers as they are close to all levels of society from the top to the grassroots. Journalists’ words are almost God’s words, and journalists have power.

Unfortunately foreign news stations and agencies carry a lot of news on conflicts and wars in Africa without giving the real causes of these evils. This is intentionally to give an impression worldwide that Africa is full of evils. But Africa’s message consists in traditional values of hospitality, kindness and gentleness.

The conference said that journalism and communication are high priorities for co-existence, reconciliation and welfare. All institutions of good will and religions should increase their presence in the media so that educational and informative media can be guaranteed and common welfare can be achieved.

There is also a great need to take private initiatives in the media to bring good balance into reporting. The conference was told that private media are not very strong in Africa and Eritrea is the only African nation without any private media.

African peoples have the right to have their own sources of news

The conference said that if African journalists want to be effective and competent, they must be able make use of their fundamental right to have their own sources of news. True sources of news for Africa are necessary to counter news on Africa from other continents and regions with their own agenda.

African journalists should develop their own news networks and sources instead of hearing about themselves from other sources and be dependent on them. This is the best way to give information morally and justly.

At present, the agenda for the media are set from far away. And many media, especially radio and television, spent most of their time announcing birthdays, marriages and parties, or playing  foreign music and films.

Someone who writes from New York about Ethiopia does not necessarily think of the consequences of what he or she does in Addis Abeba. If there is a bad consequence, it may be that those who stay outside are the ones to benefit from it.

Religions

Religions have helped promote human values throughout Africa. Human values are kept in their traditional forms and that is why the family of Jesus Christ could come to Africa in Egypt when they were persecuted. So, too, in his turn the Prophet Mohammed came to Ethiopia when he was persecuted.

Religions can do a lot of good things in Africa, as they know Africa in the villages, in small towns and big cities. It tries to recall the importance of good and solid values that are innate to African peoples.

On the other hand good religious leaders also find it difficult to accomplish their job while some fanatics preach extremism and hatred, which are not at all in the agenda of a good religious leader.

The conference made concrete suggestions on how religions can help media more powerful and competent, for example, helping to carry reports on major events worldwide with a view to the integral welfare of the people.  In this way the secular and religious media can attract serious-minded people from all walks of life.

Exposure

The seminar resource persons and participants were given great exposure experiences to Ethiopian realities, culture, and living-situations of people by visiting the city of Addis Abeba as well as the countryside. Thus they were able to visit the 3.2 million-years-old skeleton known as Dinknesh (wonderful) or Lucy and trace the human activities of the Rift Valley millions of years ago.

The reality of the peoples today in this rich and fertile land is tragic. Poverty and malnutrition bring premature death, killing all hopes for the survival of this rich nation. Thus thousands crowd around churches and other public places to get their last bits and pieces of food before they die.

Resolution

The participants proposed a 10-point Addis Abeba declaration at the end of the Pan-African conference on “Journalism for co-existence, reconciliation and welfare”:

We journalists and media experts from Africa and Europe gathered at the Pan African Journalists’ Conference hereby resolve and affirm that:

1. Professionals of all walks of life must uphold ethics and values, as they are the only ways to better communities, societies and nations.

2. Economic independence and freedom is the pre-requisite for co-existence, reconciliation and welfare not only in Africa but also worldwide. Those who have invaded, invested and settled in Africa and their progenies should not continue to steal and appropriate the economic resources of Africa in order to make themselves rich and Africans poor.

3. Poverty is an artificial creation of an unjust economic system that has been perpetuated by a few. Every one is born to a rich world and everyone has the fundamental right to share the riches of this world.

4. Journalists and all other professionals should ask the real questions and enable all those who are in charge, especially those outside the continent, in order to guarantee the right value of the services, resources, property and the monetary instruments and currencies of Africa.

5. Legislation must be made for transparency and access to information so that peoples, leaders and journalists can accomplish their work ethically and morally for the welfare of the people.

6. Leaders, decision-makers and journalists should promote the appreciation of local agriculture and resources so that imported plants, seeds and products do not destroy local ecosystems, agriculture and trade.

7. Journalists and media experts by using the power of their words and images should support good governance not only in Africa but also in the whole world.

8. Local cultures and traditions that help people grow and blossom must be safeguarded; they enrich the diversity and promote unity.

9. Media should be promoted in African languages in order to guarantee quality, transparency and access to information to people of Africa. This is the only way people in Africa can express their realities to their own peoples and to stop all forms of colonisation.

10. Africans must be able to create their own sources of news, mastering the new technology and the new media by making them accessible to all strata of societies in Africa and worldwide.

‘Heal the world’

In a great expression of networking and friendship, participants and resource persons joined hands together and sung the great song with great conviction and committed themselves to making the world a better place:

Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me
And the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough
For their living
Make it a better place
For you and for me

Feedback

Much feedback has been reaching us since the meeting ended.  People said that the Addis Abeba meeting was a beginning for many events like this. We should do everything that such  types of events be organised not only for journalists but also for all other professionals: lawyers, doctors, politicians, religious leaders and all other decision makers and activists.

The participants, keynote speakers and resource persons said that they were not only excited to be part of this programme held in Addis Abeba but also honoured and privileged. It was pure enlightenment of the true and most crucial issues of our day.

For many, the refresher seminar has become an occasion to perceive and understand real ethics and commitments. It is true that journalism can lead us to freedom, justice and peace.  Some expressed thanks for their renewal, by helping them get knowledge that could liberate them.