Tears, exuberance as 'Black Panther' opens across Africa

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Tears, exuberance as 'Black Panther' opens across Africa

2018-02-18 09:19 Last Updated At：09:19

"Black Panther" has burst onto the screen in Africa, handing a powerful response to the unfortunate remarks about the continent by President Donald Trump.

As the red carpet in South Africa swirled with stunning outfits and exclamations in the local isiXhosa language used in the film's Wakanda kingdom, cast member John Kani laughed at the U.S. president's views, which several African nations have openly scorned. (Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o said simply: "No comment.")

The South African actor Kani, like many at Friday night's Johannesburg premiere, expressed pride at seeing an Afrofuturistic society that celebrates traditional cultures and dreams of what the world's second most populous continent can be.

"This time the sun now is shining on Africa," he said. "This movie came at the right time. We're struggling to find leaders that are exemplary and role models ... so when you see the Black Panther as a young boy and he takes off that mask you think, 'Oh my God, he looks like me. He is African and I am African. Now we can look up to some person who is African.'"

Added actress Danai Gurira, who grew up mostly in Zimbabwe: "To bring this film home is everything."

The film has opened in other top economic powers across Africa, where a growing middle class flocked to IMAX showings and shared vibrant opening-night images on social media.

"The African culture highlighted in the movie is so rich that it makes me feel proud of being black. I totally love it," said Liz Muthoni after a screening in Kenya's capital, Nairobi. "I can watch it again and again."

"Black Panther" screened a few days ago in Kenya's western city of Kisumu, where Nyong'o's father, Anyang, is the local governor.

"Sometimes we think that we have two choices to make in Africa," he wrote this month in The Star newspaper. "Choice one: We maintain our traditions and cultures and stay backward forever. Choice two: We modernize by becoming westernized and forgetting our cultural traditions which, by their very nature so we think, are stuck in the past. The experience of the Wakanda people teaches us otherwise."

In Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, "Black Panther" has been selling out its five-times-a-day screenings at the only theater showing the film.

"Moviegoers are enjoying the African heritage part of the film. This is also unique for us because Ethiopia is often mentioned alongside the black power and black movements as the only nation not colonized by Western powers," said Elias Abraha, the cinema's operations chief. "There are people who changed their flight plans just to watch the movie."

Some Ethiopian fans quickly changed their Facebook profile pictures and expressed their adoration.

"Tears stream down my face as I write this," said one Facebook user who goes by LadyRock Maranatha. "Black Panther was basically an enormous . roller coaster of emotions, adventure and most of all the affirmation of what I had felt since I left my country for Cambridge and came back. I cried for my people and felt immense pride in being Ethiopian and most importantly AFRICAN. We are truly resilient and beautiful."

As the audience poured out of the Johannesburg screening, spirits were high.

"Totally blown away. I got emotional," said reality TV star Blue Mbombo, who admitted that going into the film she thought the expectations had been "hype." But she praised its use of cultural touches like Basotho blankets and called the use of the isiXhosa language "very humbling."

Others considered the American side of the story. "An African-American coming back to Africa, it's a nice reminder of their heritage as well," said Ayanda Sidzatane. She called the film awesome. "We knew it would be cool but not like this."

As Ghanaian celebrity blogger Ameyaw Debrah put it on social media: "What will #BlackPanther make the world think of Africa now?"

Flooding wreaks havoc across East Africa. Burundi is especially hard-hit

2024-04-22 19:44 Last Updated At：19:50

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — Deadly floods are wreaking havoc in many parts of East Africa that face torrential rainfall, with Burundi calling for international help to deal with the aftermath.

Lake Tanganyika's rising waters have invaded the port of Bujumbura, Burundi's economic capital, disrupting business there and elsewhere in the country that relies heavily on donor support to run government programs.

"We are issuing this statement to ask our development partners to combine efforts with the state of Burundi to help all people affected by these disasters," Interior Minister Martin Niteretse said April 17. "We need that support.”

Between September and April 7, some 203,944 people were affected by flooding, with 19,250 homes and 209 classrooms destroyed. The number of people internally displaced by flooding rose by 25%, reaching over 98,000, according to Violet Kenyana Kakyomya, the U.N. resident coordinator in Burundi.

Burundi is one of the world's poorest countries, with 80% of its 13 million people employed in agriculture, according to the World Bank.

Flooding there has created surreal scenes like game rangers entering the waterlogged Rusizi National Park in a canoe. The Boulevard du Japon, a major highway in Bujumbura, has been flooded in recent days.

Climate experts say flooding in Burundi and elsewhere in the region is part of extreme conditions linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon.

“It must be said directly that these floods are associated with climate changes that affect Burundi like other countries in the region,” said Jean Marie Sabushimike, a geographer and disaster management expert who teaches at the University of Burundi.

While climate change is the trigger, the impact of the flooding is exacerbated by poor land-use planning “that does not take into account areas at very high risk of flooding,” he said.

The rising waters of Lake Tanganyika have caused the Kanyosha river to overflow, damaging homes and other property in Bujumbura. Some in the city have been unable to return to their homes — or leave.

Joachim Ntirampeba, resident of the village of Gatumba near the Congo border, said that while he had witnessed many flooding events over the years, this time “it’s terrible."

He said it's “the first time” he's seen such heavy flooding.

Meanwhile, in Kenya 35 people have died since mid-March in flooding events that have affected more than 100,000 people, according to the U.N., which cites Red Cross figures in the most recent update.

Some residential areas in Nairobi, the capital, flooded as rivers broke their banks Sunday night.

The Kenyan government agency in charge of roads warned Nairobi residents to avoid flooded highways, including one to the coastal city of Mombasa. Those who live by the Nairobi river were urged to move to higher ground.

Flooding and mudslides have also been reported in western Kenya. In the northern region, a passenger bus was swept away by floodwaters on a bridge earlier in April, with disaster avoided after 51 passengers were rescued.

Kenya's meteorology department predicts that rainfall will peak this week.

Musambi reported from Nairobi, Kenya.