heritage - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

History for sale: what does South Africa’s struggle heritage mean after 30 years of democracy?

ONE of my favourite statues is the one of Nelson Mandela at the Sandton City shopping centre in Johannesburg. Larger than life, its oversized bronze shoes shimmer in the evening light, polished by the hands of many passersby who crowd around to take pictures with it. At the entrance of a square in the mall, it’s a jovial image of the former South African president in a lively jive: a decidedly odd juxtaposition of a liberation fighter at a site of luxury retail. One message it seems to convey is the celebration of the commercial riches brought about by post-apartheid…

Apr

2024

By MAJDI FALEH, ASMA GHARBI and NOURCHEN BEN FATMA

Tunisia’s El Kef city is rich in heritage: centuries of cultural mixing give it a distinct identity

CULTURE

EL Kef is a city built into the southern face of Jebel Dyr mountain, which is linked to the High Atlas mountains in the north-western region of Tunisia that borders on Algeria. The breeze that sweeps off the mountain and through the city’s streets offers relief from the hot weather and becomes part of the identity of a city whose riches are little known to the rest of the world. El Kef is rarely on the list of tours organised for international visitors who flock to Tunisia every year to enjoy sunny beaches and local culture. The city’s magnificent natural…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Songs, stories, pottery: Refugees preserve their heritage in digital archives

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

RINA CHANDRAN SOLIMA Khatun has been a refugee six times in her long life. She first left her home in Myanmar during the Second World War, and most recently in 2017 - when relatives had to carry her as they fled to Bangladesh with nearly one million other Rohingyas. Khatun - who is believed to be aged over 100 - lives along with some 700,000 Rohingya refugees in Kutupalong, the world's largest refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Most fled religious and ethnic persecution in neighbouring Myanmar with few possessions. Khatun took a locket and a loda, a spouted brass…