Jodutt Basrawi's Website

In reference to Angelou’s quote above, Angelou describes courage as a trait that can help many to avoid the pains of the past.  In other words, courage in the present will yield less painful thoughts of the past in the future.  Africa’s recent past, unfortunately, is riddled with pain from varying perspectives, for courage –…

In 1994, Rwanda experienced a genocide that can be explained as the most intimate genocide in the twentieth century.  Thankfully, the genocide in Rwanda only affected large numbers of local groups, distinguishing it from other twentieth century genocides that ultimately targeted foreign groups.  The genocide also revealed the unhealthy economic and social trends that much…

The boundaries of our continents, nations, and regions are all man-made “constructions”.  Regions like the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia have been “educationally” or “arbitrarily” grouped by historians, geographers, and other social scientists based off of similarities in language, history, culture, and other criteria.  Such regional grouping patterns usually make sense; the Middle…

The appropriation of leftover European institutions, the growth of local political agendas, and the use of unfair economic practices characterized post-1945 South African history in ways similar to the histories of other former British African territories (Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, etc.).  Post-1945 South Africa differentiated itself from the rest of the African continent through its…