This edited volume focuses on mobile phone use in specific African communities, namely those that have a long history of mobility and are regarded as marginal in the national economic, social and... Show moreThis edited volume focuses on mobile phone use in specific African communities, namely those that have a long history of mobility and are regarded as marginal in the national economic, social and/or political context. It was in such regions that the most intensive dynamics were expected to be seen following the introduction of the mobile phone. Contributions: Introduction: mobile margins and the dynamics of communication (Mirjam de Bruijn, Inge Brinkman and Francis Nyamnjoh); Mobilit‚ et moyens de communication au Gu‚ra (Chad) (Djimet Seli); La connexion des marges: marginalit‚ politique et technologie de d‚senclavement en Basse Casamance (Sud du S‚n‚gal) (Fatima Diallo); 'Angola my country, Cape Town my home': a young migrant's journey of social becoming and belonging (Imke Gooskens); Transnational migration and marginality: Nigerian migrants in anglophone Cameroon (Tangie Nsoh Fonchingong); Les femmes hadjaraye du Gu‚ra … l'‚cole de l'alphab‚tisation (Khalil Alio); From foot messengers to cell phones: communication in Kom, Cameroon, c. 1916-1998 (Walter Gam Nkwi); Grandeur ou misŠres des cabines t‚l‚phoniques priv‚es et publiques au Mali (Naffet Ke‹ta); Informationandcommunication technology and its impact on transnational migration: the case of Senegalese boat migrants (Henrietta Nyamnjoh); Identities of place: mobile naming practices and social landscapes in Sudan (Siri Lamoureux). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
'We cannot imagine life now without a mobile phone' is a frequent comment when Africans are asked about mobile phones. They have become part and parcel of the communication landscape in many urban... Show more'We cannot imagine life now without a mobile phone' is a frequent comment when Africans are asked about mobile phones. They have become part and parcel of the communication landscape in many urban and rural areas of Africa and the growth of mobile telephony is amazing: from 1 in 50 people being users in 2000 to 1 in 3 in 2008. Such growth is impressive but it does not even begin to tell us about the many ways in which mobile phones are being appropriated by Africans and how they are transforming or are being transformed by society in Africa. This volume ventures into such appropriation and mutual shaping. Rich in theoretical innovation and empirical substantiation, it brings together reflections on developments around the mobile phone by scholars of six African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Sudan and Tanzania) who explore the economic, social and cultural contexts in which the mobile phone is being adopted, adapted and harnessed by mobile Africa. Show less
This book provides an overview of the conditions facing the urban poor in Khartoum, Sudan and explores the opportunities and constraints people of different genders, ages, wealth and social... Show moreThis book provides an overview of the conditions facing the urban poor in Khartoum, Sudan and explores the opportunities and constraints people of different genders, ages, wealth and social origins face in the pursuant of their livelihoods. Using an in-depth analysis, it argues that the livelihoods of poor people have been severely constrained by both formal and informal institutions that have not allowed them to access capitals and choose the way they utilize those they have. Muna A. Abdalla was born in August 1966 in Khartoum, the Capital of Sudan. After completing primary and secondary education in Sudan, she pursued her university education in Egypt, University of Zagazig, where she obtained her BSC in Science and Education. In 1989 she obtained an Advanced Diploma in Development and Adult Education, Post Graduate College, University of Khartoum, then a M.Ed. in Education, University of Manchester, UK, 1991. She worked as consultant/researcher on Africa's development challenges, poverty, gender and capacity building issues with ILO, OSSREA and the Ford Foundation in different countries. She coordinated and assisted in implementing and managing projects for UNECEF in Sudan, and worked for the Sudan Broadcasting Services and DPMF in Ethiopia. Show less
The Free University in Amsterdam has undertaken several research projects in the Sudan. One programme (1983-1986) was aimed at comparing spontaneous and organized settlement of refugees as roads... Show moreThe Free University in Amsterdam has undertaken several research projects in the Sudan. One programme (1983-1986) was aimed at comparing spontaneous and organized settlement of refugees as roads towards integration; the locations studied were in the region of Gedaref, in the southern part of the Eastern Region. A second programme (1986-1987), undertaken jointly by the Free University and the University of Khartoum's Development Studies and Research Centre, studied the impact of refugees on the host region; Kassala and the surrounding rural area were chosen for this study. The present publication is a collection of articles written by some of those involved in these research programmes. They summarize the principal results of the various researches. The first chapter, by Henk Tieleman, introduces some of the prominent issues in refugee studies and discusses possible theoretical approaches. This is followed by a chapter, by Tom Kuhlman, on the root cause of the largest refugee flow: the Eritrean conflict. Chapter 3, by Jan Bouke Wijbrandi, evaluates the economic integration of refugees under conditions of organized and spontaneous settlement, and chapter 4, by Walter Kok, discusses the burden of refugees as assessed in the Kassala region. The last article, by Moniek Boerenkamp and Arjan Schuthof, is a condensation of the research undertaken by two anthropologists among Eritrean refugees belonging to the Baria ethnic group in a village near Kassala. Show less
