Ethnicity, language and national unity: The case of Malawi

African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented September 1978In late 1976, in the Mkuyu detention camp, outside Malawi's old colonial capital, Zomba, there were detained fifty-five university graduates. Forty-five were from the Northern Region (4). Between 1975 and 1976 many senior administrators and lecturers at the University of Malawi were detained. Over 90 per cent were from the Northern Region. In early 1976 sixteen people employed at the vital National Statistical Office were detained. All were from the Northern Region (5). Children from northern Malawi now being enrolled in school are being entered by their parents as non-Northern in origin and with new surnames. As a growing manifestation of a deepening 'Chewa' ethnic awareness, anti-Northern policies are common in Malawi today, destroying rapidly the remaining shreds of the national feeling inspired by the movement against the Central African Federation in the late 1950s and early 1960s and bring into question continued political stability once President Kamuzu Banda, already in his late seventies, passes from the scene

The legacies of coercion and the challenges of contingency: Mozambican unions in difficult times

Although insecure work may be found everywhere, the general lack of secure work in emerging economies is a particularly striking feature of the contemporary condition, undermining the continued viability of the labour movement in such countries. Yet, this topic is rarely tackled directly in African studies or business history journals. The two key questions addressed in this paper are, first, to what extent does the labour movement’s past define their present and future, and second, what are the challenges and opportunities affecting their ability to mobilise workers, influence government and effectively tackle employment security? This article details how in Mozambique, unions’ ability to mobilise has been affected by: the post-colonial, post-conflict and post-socialist historical context; the resulting legacies of regional and racial discrimination; international imperatives for liberalisation and privatisation; challenging relationships with the country’s African neighbours; and high levels of informal sector work. In order to remain viable, key imperatives include: effectively influencing national government, engaging internationally and working with organisations representing informal sector workers

Oral literature in South Africa: 20 years on

I offer a retrospective on the field of orality and performance studies in South Africa from the perspective of 2016, assessing what has been achieved, what may have happened inadvertently or worryingly, what some of the significant implications have been, what remain challenges, and how we may think of, or rethink, orality and performance studies in a present and future that are changing at almost inconceivable pace.DHE

The Creation of tribalism in Southern Africa

Despite a quarter century of "nation building," most African states are still driven by ethnic particularism - commonly known as "tribalism." The stubborn persistence of tribal ideologies despite the profound changes associated with modernization has puzzled scholars and African leaders alike. The bloody hostilities between the tribally-oriented Zulu Inkhata movement and supporters of the African National Congress are but the most recent example of tribalism's tenacity. The studies in this volume offer a new historical model for the growth and endurance of such ideologies in southern Africa

Acro-osteolysis in systemic sclerosis is associated with digital ischaemia and severe calcinosis

Objectives. Acro-osteolysis (bony resorption of the terminal digital tufts) is a well-recognized, but under-researched, manifestation of SSc. Our aim was to investigate the hypothesis that acro-osteolysis is associated with (i) the severity of digital ischaemia and (ii) the presence of calcinosis. Methods. This was a retrospective study of 101 patients with SSc in whom hand radiographs taken between 2001 and May 2008 were available for review. These radiographs were graded for severity of acro-osteolysis on a 0-4-point scale for each finger (0 = normal bone structure, 4 = severe pencilling of the terminal phalanges). From these scores, patients were subdivided into the following two groups: normal/minimal acro-osteolysis and moderate/severe acro-osteolysis. The presence or absence of calcinosis (mild, moderate or severe) was also documented. Results. Of the 101 patients, 68 were grouped as normal/minimal acro-osteolysis and 33 as moderate/severe acro-osteolysis. Forty-five had severe digital ischaemia: 25 (76%) of the patients with moderate/severe acro-osteolysis compared with 20 (29%) of those with normal/minimal acro-osteolysis (multifactorial analysis: P < 0.001). Patients with moderate/severe acro-osteolysis were more likely to have severe calcinosis (33% vs 13%), but this was not statistically significant after adjustment for potential confounders. Conclusion. Acro-osteolysis was strongly associated with severe digital ischaemia. The potential association with severe calcinosis merits further study. Prospective studies are required to investigate acro-osteolysis as a marker of digital vascular disease progression and of treatment response