Every January foreign policy related websites list their candidates for the top hotspots in the year to come, and 2024 is no different. I pay particular attention to the lists put out by Foreign Policy and the International Rescue Committee.
Nations in Crisis
Like many of you, I expected either Gaza/the Middle East or Ukraine to be right at the top of both lists this year, so I was surprised when Foreign Policy’s article led with Africa’s Second Lost Decade.
The International Rescue Committee’s list (IRC), also, was heavily weighted toward Africa. In fact, 8 of its 10 listings are nations on that continent. These are the African countries that they feel warrant concern: Sudan, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Somalia, Niger, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Four of these countries lie in what is now called a coup belt, comprising 6 countries spanning 3500 miles coast to coast. You can read about the coup belt here. Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have all had coups since 2020.
The International Rescue Committee’s article is titled The Top 10 Crises the World Can’t Ignore in 2024 and you can read it here.
Let’s Go to the Movies
Clearly Africa deserves more attention than it’s getting, but I don’t have time to do more reading. So I decided to cheat a bit and spend some spare time watching movies, primarily focusing on the years when many African countries were colonies. I knew that I’d want to take these films with a grain of salt, but I counted on them to provide some insight on past conditions, even if not always absolutely factual. I did this remembering the famous Carl Sagan quote: You have to know the past to understand the present.
The Year of Africa
1960 is referred to as the Year of Africa because of a series of events that took place then — mainly the independence of seventeen African nations. Interestingly, 6 of the 8 nations listed by the IRC became independent between June 30 and September 20 of that year. You can find a complete list of African countries and their timeline for independence here.
Now, here are the movies that ended up on my watch list. You’ll notice that some of the films are fairly current, centering on the legacy of colonialism as it affects life today. Beware: the earlier films may be products of their times. Take them with a grain of salt.
Note: Current conditions in the countries are drawn from the IRC website. Follow the links if you’d like more information. Some movie descriptions are drawn from Amazon Prime Video. Cold War Studies is an Amazon Affiliate and we make a small commission if you purchase from one of our Amazon links. You never pay more for your purchase.)
Sudan
Sudan gained indepence from the United Kingdom on January 1, 1956. It tops the IRC’s 2024 Emergency Watchlist. Human rights groups have reported mass killings and forced displacement along ethnic lines. In less than a year at war, millions are left with insufficient food, unable to access critical health and other services.
Two early movies about the Sudan are Khartoum (1966) starring Charlton Heston, and East of Sudan (1964.)
Khartoum is free with ads on Amazon Prime. It chronicles Britain’s 1883 crisis in Sudan and the fall of Khartoum.
You can watch East of Sudan on YouTube. The notes say: Two colonial soldiers in 19th-century Africa risk their lives to save two women from Muslim raiders and wild animals…
Wikipedia notes:
The storyline is spliced with various sections of African wildlife. Much of this stock footage makes no sense as it shows species and cultural activities linked to central Africa rather than the Sudan. Tribal sections also have natives speaking Swahili rather than any native Sudanese language.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, faces rapidly growing and spreading violence as the Burkinabe military struggles to contain armed groups. Roughly half of the country is now outside government control. It gained independence on August 5, 1960 from France.
White Material (2010) takes place in the present day, starring Isabelle Huppert as Maria Vial, a struggling French coffee producer in an unnamed French-speaking African country, who decides to stay at her coffee plantation in spite of an erupting civil war. The movie was well received as an official selection of the Venice, Toronto, and New York film festivals.
Mali
Mali became independent from France on September 20, 1960. Today, security and economic crises have left 6.2 million people in need of humanitarian support. The recent withdrawal of the U.N. peacekeeping force has raised safety concerns . . . . Already, armed groups are besieging towns and cutting off humanitarian access while half of the country is living in poverty.
In Bamako (2006), a
I found Dancing the Twist in Bamako on Plex. I know nothing about this platform, but if you’re interested in this film you might want to check it out. The movie takes place in Mali, 1960. The youth of Bamako dance the twist to rock and roll music newly imported from the West and dream of political renewal. Samba, a young socialist, falls for spirited Lara during one of his missions to the bush. To escape her forced marriage, she secretly flees with him to the city. But Lara’s husband won’t let them be and the Revolution soon brings painful disillusions as they dream of a future together.
Somalia
On July 1, 1960, Somalia gained independence from the United Kingdom and Italy. According to the IRC, Somalia is now experiencing widespread flooding after five rainy seasons with no rain; 4.3 million people are facing crisis levels of food insecurity. An ongoing government offensive against the armed group al-Shabaab is further worsening conditions for 6.9 million in need of humanitarian aid.
Movies taking place in Somalia may be familiar to some. Black Hawk Down (2002) is about
The Pirates of Somalia (also on Prime) is the true story of a rookie journalist who
Niger
Niger won independence from France on August 3, 1960. The country’s recent coup (July 2023) has triggered political tensions with neighboring countries and led to the withdrawal of international security assistance, limiting the amount of nutritional aid and medical supplies entering the country.
African Apocalypse was first seen on Apple TV+. In this 2022 film ( also available on Prime and BBC), a French army officer sows atrocity across Niger as he attempts expand France’s colonial empire.
Ethiopia
Across Ethiopia, livelihoods have been decimated by three consecutive years of drought alongside multiple conflicts and, now, there is a risk of El Niño-induced flooding. Conflicts are fueling humanitarian needs and raising the risk of a return to large-scale fighting. Persistent inflation is further deepening the crisis.
