Sample text from the Online World Monitor newsletter ISSN: 0805-6315. December 1994. (C) by Odd de Presno, Norway. (Note: Links are not maintained!)
Earlier this month, I visited Lagos, Nigeria. Getting in and out was a bad experience. The Murtala Muhammad Airport's customs people asked for bribes, and some in an aggressive way. The amount requested seemed to increase by the number of stars on the uniform. I paid some of them off to avoid more hassle.Then they discovered my laptop computer! Five of them jumped on me. "You must pay US$200.00! You can reclaim the money when you leave." A lie. We later discovered that they had given me a receipt for VAT on the amount. Worthless. . . . Beware!
I had checked up on the country before leaving, so I knew that there were problems ahead. Still, my negotiating position was weak.
Background information on all African countries is available in the CIA World Factbook. The Online World resources handbook explains where to find it, but you may find it easier to search the book using a Web browser.
There, you can search for country specific information, as in
general search terms: lagos country name: nigeriaNote: The handbook explains how to receive World Wide Web pages by email.The U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT TRAVEL INFORMATION texts are also interesting. Their December 16 bulletin said:
"The onset of the holiday season and the continuation of bad economic conditions in Nigeria increase the incidence of automobile checkpoints by persons wearing police or military uniforms. Many of these checkpoints are not sanctioned by the government, but are improvised, usually in darkness, by bands of police, soldiers, or bandits posing as or operating with police or soldiers. The purpose of these unauthorized checkpoints generally is to extort cash. The best defense against unauthorized checkpoint shakedowns is to avoid night travel, and act cautiously at all times. Checkpoint personnel should be considered armed and could be dangerous."
All my Lagos night travels was done with police escort. My only problems were at the airport. I enjoyed my stay. Interesting country.
Read more about traveling and living in Nigeria in the soc.culture.nigeria newsgroup. As for information about other African countries, check out the following newsgroups:
soc.culture.african Discussions about Africa & things African. soc.culture.maghreb North African society and culture. soc.culture.arabic Technological & cultural issues, *not* politics. soc.culture.somalia News from Somalia. soc.culture.berberThe following clari.* groups are only available if your site pays for them:clari.world.africa clari.world.africa.south_africaThere are many South African newsgroups under the za hierarchy:za.ads.jobs Looking for a job?/Offering a job? za.ads.lifts Want a lift from Bulawayo to Cape Town via Durbs? za.ads.misc For sale/to swap/wanted to buy za.archives Who's got what, where... and how... za.culture.xhosa For discussions of Xhosa language and culture. (Ingxoxo ngolwini, amasiko nezithete zakwaXhosa.) za.events Conferences, events and happenings nationally za.humour Humour/jokes/fun za.misc General chat, comments, announcements etc za.net.misc Miscellaneous ramblings on networking in ZA za.net.stats Statistics on network usage, automated postings etc za.net.uninet Announcements and feedback from the Uninet-ZA office za.politics Politics in Southern Africa za.schools Issues affecting primary and secondary education za.sport Finer points of jukskei or the Comrades marathonThe za hierarchy is also distributed outside South Africa.You may also find things of interest in soc.culture.misc (discussion about other cultures), and soc.culture.native (Aboriginal people around the world.)
You may also find it useful to search or monitor Usenet more broadly for African country specific information using The Stanford Netnews Filtering service (Now defunct. Instead, use Reference.COM presented in Chapter 11).
Connecting from there
It is possible to connect to the Internet from Lagos, if you have friends in a local educational institution, or subscribe to commercial services like one offered by Ross Clayton Limited, Plot PC1, Engineering Close, Victoria Island, P.M.B. 10745, Marina, Lagos. (I know nothing of them. It's expensive. You'd better be careful!)If you just want email, then your best bet may be to call CompuServe's 14.400 bits/s nodes in North America. That's what I usually do when moving around. It is easy to set up, and "switch off" upon return to home base.
CompuServe has local dial-up numbers in some African countries, but not in Nigeria. Most of them are for 2,400 bits/s access. The connection is usually through a surcharged network like Infonet (WORLD-Connect) and CSIR- Net.
I assumed that phone lines between Nigeria and the U.S. were better than to neighboring states, and most other countries. This appeared to be the case. Daily, generally after five to six attempts, I had a LAP-M quality connection to a CIS number in the United States
While you can do a lot in two minutes at 14.400 bits/s, it still costs a leg and an arm. If you plan to stay for a longer period in an African country, you may therefore want to check if there is a FidoNet node nearby, or the possibility of using the dialup UUCP links in Lesotho, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
A directory of Internet access in Africa is regularly posted to the alt.internet.services newsgroup.
Communications is still difficult in most African countries. No wonder that information on the continent is limited compared with other parts of the world.
Things are changing
South Africa has a good information infrastructure. Egypt was the fourth fastest growing Internet domain in the world during 3rd Quarter 1994 (148% growth). Tunisia is coming. Most other African countries, however, still have little to offer, but investments seems to be picking up.The handbook has several pointers to African information resources, such as:
* The South African Bibliographic and Information Network. The Information Bank on African Development Studies (The World Bank). The United Nation Information Centre. The Fourth World Documentation Project. CompuServe's International Trade Forum. * Mailing lists on African people, culture and issues. The Tunisia Network. The Egypt Discussion and News Forum. The Pan-Africa Forum. The Kishwahili language. The IPE mailing list. The SUDAN-L mailing list. * French language Algerian News. News from Reuters. The PeaceNet World News Service's six digests on Africa covering different regions of the continent.NewsNet offers newsletters such as Africa News (IT15), Africa Intelligence Report (IT69), Country Risk Guide: Mid-East & North Africa (IT13), Country Risk Guide: Sub-Saharan Africa (IT14), Monthly Regional Bulletin - Africa S. (IT67), PRS Forecasts: Mid-East and North Africa (IT56), and PRS Forecasts: Sub-Saharan Africa (IT59).Here are some recent discoveries:
News from Africa
Somalia News Update is irregularly published out of Sweden. Email to: bernhard.helander@antro.uu.se .Subject: Somalia request. Body: Ask nicely.The Weekly Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg, South Africa) offers news by email. Write wmail-info@wmail.misanet.org for subscription information, or look it up on the Web. A one year subscription costs $100.
Their November 11 issue came in at 245 Kb, and was broken up in sections called News, Business, and Art.
The North Africa/Europe MeteoSat weather picture is updated half-hourly.
Background information and databases
CERN's DataSources library should be your starting point.The African Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania (USA) offers an interesting resource of African news and information.
Among other things, this database contains:
* Electronic African News (radio & television broadcasts, online computer resources). Includes: broadcast frequencies, African Communications Satellite, African Language Radio & T.V. Broadcasts, BBC's schedules, DX Hotline for Africa, etc. * Computer Networking information (email to Africa, networking & Africa, interest & discussion groups, Africa-related software, resources for academic research). * Governmental & Political Documents (Official statements, policy papers), and country information. * Articles, papers, newsletters, conference proceedings, and book reviews. * Africa, Islamic, and Arabic related bibliographies. * African Studies related monographs. * Organizations, Institutes and Associations (newly formed, research & international organizations and institutes). * Publications & Publishers (newsletters, journals, monographs, African publishers and Africa-related publications). * Products & Services (commercial products and services related to Africa). * Urgent Action & Commentary (Appeals for intervention, activist events and petitions). * Travel Opportunities (employment, study, vacation, internships, and volunteer positions abroad). * GIF Images (GIF archives, Africa-related graphics, including CIA Maps). * Miscellany (African Fine Arts including FaceMasks, African recipes).An extensive country study on Ethiopia is available on the Web address http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ettoc.html. The report has these five chapters: History, The Society and its Environment, The Economy, Government and Politics, National Security,Egypt's Regional Information & Communication Network offers country profiles for Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia, and information about economy, geography, communication, research, government, people.
While visiting, take a look at Collection of Arabic and Islamic manuscripts, Treasures of the Egyptian Museum, and Tut the King (under the choices Programs of Work & Products / RITSEC / Products)..
The African National Congress (ANC) gopher has information about South African history, policy documents, and press statements. A summary of South African demographics by region is on http://www.aztec.co.za/exinet/sa_regn.html, while information on politics is at http://unpsun3.cc.unp.ac.za/UNPDepartments/politics/saonline.htm.
The South Africa FAQ has country specific information on Abyssinia, Eritrea, Malawi, and Ethiopia. The Abyssinia FAQ has information on Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Somaliland.
Subscribe to "the Ethiopians' E-mail group" by mail to Ethiolist-Request@Netcom.com. Put "join EthioForum" in the body of your mail.
Education and Research
The University of South Africa has links to FTP sites throughout South Africa.The Algerian Centre de Recherches sur l'Information Scientifique et Technique is on http://www.cerist.dz/esrs/cerist/home.htm. The Reseau National de la Recherche et de la Technologie of Tunisia (RNRT) is at http://www.irsit.rnrt.tn/.
Business
For leads in South Africa, start with ExiNet. This South African trade information resource has information on South African Exporters, South African Trade Fairs and Exhibitions, Travel and Tourism, South African Publications, South African Property, and South African Demographics: A Regional Summary.ExiNet boasts a database of over 70,000 South African companies. Mail to exinet@aztec.co.za for information.
Some other pointers:
* The Africa Commercial home page in Cape Town. * Compustat. * South African wines.Travel
If you plan a safari in Zimbabwe, Zambia, or Botswana, point your Web browser at http://www.aztec.co.za/exinet/travel/travel.html.The Cape Town page is on http://www.aztec.co.za/aztec/capetown.html, and for more South African tourism information, check out the URL: http://www.africa.com/captour/.
--- end ---
The newsletter and the book are companions. While the book describes the online world as it is, the newsletter tracks changes. It can more freely focus on selected offerings or phenomena than can be done within the strict framework of the book.
Bulletin 4 has the following contents:
1. Focus on Africa
2. Update: Europe
3. Spotlight on important developments:
- Patent searches on the Internet
- Trend - commercial services on the Internet
4. Pointers
5. Interesting conferences, newsgroups, discoveries.
6. Important changes
For more about the newsletter, try the following URL:
monitor.html
To give copies of this sample newsletter to others, send a message to
LISTSERV@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU with the
following command in the TEXT of your mail:
GIVE TOW SAMPLE4 TO <email address>
Replace <email address> by the recipient's email address.Thanks,
Odd de Presno
(publisher/author)
Email: presno@eunet.no Web page: http://home.eunet.no/~presno/presno.html KIDLINK (Global Dialog for Kids 10 - 15) on URL: http://www.kidlink.orgFeel free to redistribute as long as the text remains intact as it appears here (including this paragraph). Permission to quote/excerpt/reference in other media is hereby granted, so long as cited material is identified as coming from The Online World Monitor newsletter. For any other use, contact the author for permission.