| peter dörrie

A freelance career

Feb

2012

I asked you about ethics and freelancing earlier, wanting to know if you think that consulting and freelance journalism are compatible. The answer was resounding “no” – not only of those of you who reacted on my blog post, but also of those familiar with the NGO and media business I spoke to offline. Some ...

Microcredits revisited

Feb

2012

In 2008 I entered the microcredit business.That year I discovered the peer-to-peer lending platform MyC4, which lets you lend money to entrepreneurs in various African countries. My initial views on the platform were published in the German weekly “Der Freitag” but for those who don’t speak German or don’t like klicking links, here is a short round-up on ...

Waging Nonviolence: Senegalese protest to prevent a dynasty

Feb

2012

On February 26, the voters of Senegal will elect their next president. The country has long been the stalwart of democracy and stability in West Africa. But this changed dramatically several years ago when incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade—85 years old and in power since 2000—decided to stand for another term to pave the way for a family dynasty ...

Arms deals in Africa

Feb

2012

Update: This article was just picked up and republished by A Peace of Conflict. You can find the (largely identical version) here, but be sure to check out the excellent “this week in conflict” reports on their page as well! SIPRI just published a new report on arms deals and weapons flows in sub-saharan Africa (SSA). ...

Well done everybody! Al Shabaab is now part of al Qaida

Feb

2012

So the Somali islamist movement al Shabaab has now sworn allegiance to al Qaida. Several officials in the United States, Ethiopia, Kenya and in the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia will have silently thanked their deity at this news, as it makes it much easier to justify the ongoing invasion of Somalia and the ...

Ethics and freelancing 5

Feb

2012

I had an interesting conversation with a press relations guy and former journalist today. He currently works for the German branch of a large INGO, with which I did an internship a while back. I told him of my plans to become a freelance journalist and communications consultant and his immediate reaction was: “You can do ...

WarIsBoring: Africa Round-Up

Feb

2012

Mali The regional repercussions of the fall of Gadhafi are beginning to come clear as Tuareg militants attacked a total of six towns since Jan. 17. The Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) — the group responsible for the attacks — has been formed only recently and is believed to have many former Gadhafi mercenaries in its ranks. ...

Why Burkina?

Feb

2012

In my previous post I explained what I exactly plan to do in Burkina, once I’m there. That leaves the little question of why I chose Burkina Faso in the first place. I will be honest: the main reason for choosing Burkina over, say, Ghana, was that my girlfriend got a job in Ouagadougou (the ...