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INSIDE AFRICA
Farewell to Miriam Mabeka
Aired November 15, 2008 - 12:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Isha Sesay. Welcome to INSIDE AFRICA, your weekly window to the continent. This week, we say farewell to an African icon, South African singer Miriam Makeba. She suffered a fatal heart attack after a benefit performance in Italy. She was 76.
Makeba achieved world-wide fame while spending more than 30 years in an exile from her beloved country. Her crime -- standing up against apartheid. Johannesburg bureau chief Kim Norgaard looks back at the life of both heartache and triumph.
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KIM NORGAARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Her voice moved people for more than half a century. Known affectionately as Mama Africa, Miriam Makeba was an African musical legend, considered by many the most important female vocalist to come out of South Africa.
MIRIAM MAKEBA, SINGER: I know I made African music universal. I'm the first artist to come out of the continent of Africa, and particularly from South Africa, to go to Europe, America and other countries, and sing the songs of my people, and have people come by the thousands to just queue up and want to see this young African woman.
NORGAARD: In her final years, she was still singing some of her early hits composed in the 1950s.
MAKEBA: People would kill me if I do a performance and not sing "Pata Pata" or (inaudible). So what I do is I try to put them in a medley of songs. I do a medley of songs, then I just sing bits and pieces of them, because I'm too tired of singing the song.
NORGAARD: Always the show woman, many believe Makeba died doing what she loved -- touring the world, touching people with the music. She died of a heart attack after giving a concert in Italy.
Makeba's music helped fund her passion, supporting disadvantaged girls who lived in a home she established near Johannesburg in 2001.
MAKEBA: I'm not rich, but I shared with these children whatever it is I could afford.
NORGAARD: Makeba experienced much in her lifetime, in exile for 31 years for speaking up against apartheid. During those years, she sang for John F. Kennedy, collaborated with Harry Belafonte. She was once married to jazz legend Hugh Masekela and the controversial Black Panther leader Stokely Carmichael.
Makeba always said that she didn't deliberately become an anti-apartheid activist. Instead, it was her honesty that banned her from her homeland.
MAKEBA: I still, until this day, I do not know why I was exiled, because I didn't kill anybody and I never told a lie about anyone. All I did was, when I was becoming popular and people knew I came from South Africa, people knowing that in my country there was a problem of apartheid, they asked me how we lived here, and I told them the truth. And if my truth then became political, that was not my intention. My intention was to tell the truth, how we live, where we live, how we were treated, and so on. Different treatment for peoples of South Africa, white and black. It was the truth. It was not politics, as far as I was concerned.
NORGAARD: Being away from home was not easy. In 2007, she described returning from exile and visiting her mother's grave in South Africa.
MAKEBA: Because I was not allowed to come home to bury my mother. And when we got there, my aunt was there. I put a mat on her grave and I just sat on her grave like a baby sitting on its mother's lap, and I cried. I told her -- I said I'm sorry I was not here to see you rest in peace, but I'm here now and forgive me for not being here.
NORGAARD: The apartheid could not silence her voice, or destroy the hopes for the future.
Makeba leaves a legacy for her continent, a nation, and a group of young girls who call her grandmother.
Kim Norgaard, CNN, Johannesburg.
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SESAY: Former South African President Nelson Mandela expressed his country's sense of loss, saying "She was South Africa's first lady of song and so richly deserved the title of Mama Africa. She was a mother to our struggle and to the young nations of ours."
Makeba's friend and business manager Graeme Gilfillan shared with us his thoughts on her life and legacy.
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GRAEME GILFILLAN, MAKEBA'S BUSINESS MANAGER: If I was just to cover a couple of words, I might say that she was a storyteller; she was a diplomat; she was a communicator; she was a linguist; she was a great grandmother; she was a friend and a mentor; she was an (inaudible). She was many, many things. She was the singer; she was the songwriter; she was the producer; she was the label; she is the publisher. A very, very dynamic woman and the world is blessed to have had her. She was a powerful woman.
She ran her world. The world didn't run her. She spoke her mind, and the stage was a special place. She would be joyful and playful and humorous on stage, and she would do the same at home. And she could speak her mind and have a (inaudible) on stage, and she would do that also off the stage.
She never complained about any (inaudible) that she was given for the struggle. She lived and embodied the struggle, and she lived and embodied the South African revolution. She spoke for it, and she spoke evocatively.
She is -- she inspired many people. Many, many, many people. She would not want us to sit back. She'd want us to lead forward. She would not want us to sit still. She'd like us to be active. She wouldn't like us to mourn, or get overly religious, if you like. She would like us to celebrate what's been created and to celebrate her.
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SESAY: Miriam Makeba will be greatly missed and long remembered. We'll be right back.
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SESAY: Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA.
The crisis in eastern Congo appears to be getting worse, not better. The International Committee of the Red Cross says North Kivu is reaching its limits for handling refugees from the fighting there. Local families have taken in some of the displaced, but a camp in Kabati is teaming with thousands more. Many have fled nearby villages as rebels attacked in recent weeks. Aid workers say about 150 children in the camp were separated from their families in the chaos. About 250,000 people have been displaced in eastern Congo since fighting flared up in August.
Leaders on the continent have long insisted that Africa should solve its own problems, and the DRC's neighbors are giving that a try. David McKenzie joins us with details of regional diplomatic efforts.
David, there is widespread concern that this conflict could spread, isn't' there?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isha, that's right. There have been a number of high-level talks here in Africa in recent weeks, and many see that as an encouraging sign for the continent.
But let's look at it a little bit closer. Here in Nairobi, there was the emergency meeting that included regional leaders and the U.N. secretary- general. That was about the eastern Congo. As you know, the eastern Congo has been racked by violence in the last few months, with untold civilian deaths and thousands pushed from their homes.
That meeting came up with a couple of recommendations. They said obviously that there must be an immediate cease-fire by all the parties, that there should be more U.N. troops on the ground there, in eastern Congo to help protect civilians, and also, that they should come up with a lasting solution.
But we have to remember that earlier this year, the parties already came up with what we thought was going to be a solution, but that hasn't been implemented. And of course, the one person who everyone wanted to see there, Laurent Nkunda, the head of one of the rebel forces there, didn't show up, which shows that perhaps these talking shops will have limited impact on the ground in eastern Congo.
The other important meeting, of course, was in Johannesburg. That was the extraordinary meeting of SADC, the regional community there. They also had strong words to say about the Congo, calling for much the same thing, but everyone wanted to know what they will come up for Zimbabwe, where Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe signed a deal some months ago, and still that power-sharing deal hasn't been implemented. SADC was roundly criticized for the solution they came up with, which was to say that Tsvangirai and Mugabe should share the Home Affairs Ministry, which is in charge of the police. Now, the police were obviously involved in a lot of the crackdown on the opposition in the leadup to the elections earlier this year, so many don't see that as a workable solution. Isha.
SESAY: This is Motlanthe's first big test as a regional leader. How did he do? How was he perceived?
MCKENZIE: Isha, Kgalema Motlanthe is in a difficult position, because many of the political class in South Africa see him really as a seat warmer until Jacob Zuma takes the presidency, most likely next year. But he does have an important diplomatic and domestic role to play as the current president of South Africa.
At that SADC meeting, he did say the right things about the eastern Congo, as well as about Zimbabwe, and how change is needed in that country. But he would be put in the same pile, critics say, as the others in the SADC area, for not doing enough to help solve the Zimbabwe crisis.
But really, Africans or South Africans are once again ready to help South Africa weather the economic crisis, as well as make sure that the country is peaceful in the run-up to next year's elections. And many, in fact, have praised him for keeping the cool head in these fractious times. Isha.
SESAY: David McKenzie there. David, many thanks for that.
Now, human rights activist Eve Ensler recently got back from eastern Congo, where she's trying to break the cycle of violence against women. Up next on INSIDE AFRICA, she tells us what she thinks the international community can and should do about the crisis.
Also ahead, an award-winning documentary shows us what can happen when thousands of women banded together.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Making business news in Africa. France Telecom is said to expand its mobile phone services in Africa once again. Following last month's launch of its Orange brand in Kenya, the mobile phone operator says it bought a 53 percent stake in Uganda's Hits Telecom. France Telecom says over three years, it will invest $200 million to make that network fully operational.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki says his government will spend more on agriculture, to boost production. He says Kenya will invest close to $56 million in irrigation projects over the next five years. The investment will target high-value crops like flowers, tea and coffee.
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SESAY: You're watching INSIDE AFRICA. Welcome back.
Playwright and human rights activist Eve Ensler made Congo a focus of her work. She and her organization are driving an initiative to stop violence against Congolese women and girls. She talked to us about her recent trip to eastern Congo, where she insists the international community must get involved.
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EVE ENSLER, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: I feel very upset about it, because I feel like we're beginning to make efforts on the ground, building a movement and stopping the violence and having women come forward, penetrate the silence and break the silence and own their power, and it was (inaudible) conflicted to have public testimonials on one hand, where women were coming forward and uniting and building a grassroots movement, and where 16 kilometers away the war was raging.
SESAY: Eve, what are the women saying to you? What are the people saying to you when you were there? I mean, how do they view their plight?
ENSLER: Well, I've been getting calls and emails all week from women and people in the Congo, basically saying, where is the world, and why aren't they protecting us? And I think what people are feeling is horribly vulnerable, and terrified that there's going to be all-out war again.
I think the Congolese army, as we know, is not really -- it's not an army, per se. It's a group of very hungry, undertrained, basically psychotic men who at this point seem to be looting and raping their own villages, and then we have Nkunda's forces that are looting and raping and pillaging and murdering people straight out.
So, I think, really where we have to look to right now is the international community, both supporting peacekeepers on the ground, bring -- I think they're talking today about the potential of bringing 3,000 more peacekeepers in. We need European peacekeepers. We need forces on the ground that will protect people. We need pressure put on both Kabila and Kagame to negotiate it and declare a cease-fire and to work to stop Nkunda. And we need someone to be in discussion with Nkunda, because there will be no stopping this war unless people actually talk to him.
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SESAY: Turning now to Somalia, which is a dangerous place for anyone, especially women and girls. Case in point, the recent stoning of a 13-year old girl. Amnesty International says about 1,000 people watched as Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was buried in a hole up to her neck and stoned to death in a soccer stadium. Citing anonymous sources, Amnesty says the girl was apparently accused of adultery after she told the radical Islamic group in control of Kismayo that she'd been raped by three men. The human rights group says none of the three men was arrested.
Women in Liberia had been leading the charge for peace and justice for years. Up next on INSIDE AFRICA, the story of a women's movement that helped bring down the Charles Taylor regime. It's the subject of the acclaimed documentary "Pray the Devil Back to Hell."
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SESAY: Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA. In two weeks time, we'll mark World AIDS Day by exploring attitudes about HIV and AIDS right around the continent. And of course, we want your input. Please tell us, have you been tested? Do you encourage others to get tested? How has your government responded to the AIDS crisis? You can use photos, video, or a Web cam to share your opinions and experiences. All you have to do is go to cnn.com/insideAfrica, and click on the "iReport" logo. We hope to use some of your entries in our World AIDS Day show, so do speak up.
We turn now to the story of hundreds of Liberian women who spoke up and demanded peace. Their courage is documented in the award-winning film "Pray the Devil Back to Hell." At the center of the story is Leymah Gbowee, who brought together two women's groups, one Christian, one Muslim. They're credited with forcing warring factions to make a peace deal, which led to the exile of President Charles Taylor. I asked Gbowee what it was like when she finally had an audience with Taylor after many failed attempts.
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LEYMAH GBOWEE, LIBERIAN PEACE ACTIVIST: One day we were sitting there, just doing what we usually do -- saying prayers, chatting, some women standing with placards -- and the speaker of parliament came and said, "the president will see you all tomorrow."
So, myself and two other women walked down and told the security guards that we had an appointment with the president, and this guard proceeded to tell me that, well, he had been instructed that if we were less than 25 women, he was not going to open the gate. So I asked if we're more than 25, and he smiled sarcastically, and say, yeah, if you are more than 25, you can come. And it was almost like you have to be crazy, because no one thought that given all of the human rights abuses, the way people was afraid, there was a ban on public gathering, that we would pull off a lot of women coming on that day.
And all this young man saw was a sea of white, and that was like unbelievable to him.
We got there, and then we were told that the president will only see 10 of us upstairs in his office. And we said no, that was unacceptable. We came with -- that number of women, and he needed to come down to see us.
So he came down, we met with him, but we (inaudible) - of all the different things, we chose to sit on the bare ground.
SESAY: Leymah, you saw Charles Taylor up close and personal in that setting. How did he seem to you?
GBOWEE: I don't think I even saw Taylor. I mean, standing up there, at that moment, the images that was in my mind was the images of women that I had interacted with, who had lost their children, the images of people running with their bundles on their heads, the images of human rights abuses. So I really didn't see Taylor. I saw the sufferings of the Liberian people, and that made me very angry on that day.
There was nothing like fear, there was nothing like intimidation. It was just that I had come to do a piece of job, to safeguard the lives of our children and the lives of the women of Liberia, and that was what I was there to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we said, well, if I should get killed, just remember that (inaudible) for peace.
GBOWEE: And I think every corner of the country Liberia, people there know that the women of Liberia are a force to reckon with, and it's not just the educated women. I mean, rural ordinary women. These women have so much power, and I think it's really -- after the campaign, after everything, people just could not -- everywhere you go, a lot of the men in society, a lot of the politicians will say, where we've come is largely because of these women. So, yeah, I think we've been recognized, we've been appreciated, and we need to exploit where we find ourselves now, to do even more for our society and our communities.
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SESAY: Inspiring indeed. Well, there we must leave it. INSIDE AFRICA will be back with a brand-new show next week. We leave you now with Mama Africa, the late great Miriam Makeba, performing one of her biggest hits. Bye for now.
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