Africa Is a Country

The Soap Bar

The Soap Bar

By
Sean Jacobs

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o6Rxc_JZKg&w=480&h=295]

Sudanese went to the polls yesterday and will do so again today in two days of voting for a new president or in the case of a depressing scenario that the controversial incumbent, Omar Al-Bashir, gets another term. The latter scenario is more likely. However, one outstanding feature in this depressive scenario has been the Girifna Movement, a social movement, that encourages people to vote and works for peaceful change in Sudan. This is an ad they’ve created for the election and their use of media.

In the ad above, a man washes a dirty t-shirt with the image of Al-Bashir on it.

The ad says something like this:

If you are disgusted don’t worry there is Girifna soap bar!
It would not be easy after 20 years with out change
You will have to scrub, scrub and scrub then squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze and squeeze,
But you will like the result
girifna soap bar for the future of Sudan!
I bet Nicholas Kristof won’t report this because it does not fit his picture of Sudan.

Further Reading

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Ruto’s Kenya

Since June’s anti-finance bill protests, dozens of people remain unaccounted for—a stark reminder of the Kenyan state’s long history of abductions and assassinations.

Between Harlem and home

African postcolonial cinema serves as a mirror, revealing the limits of escape—whether through migration or personal defiance—and exposing the tensions between dreams and reality.

The real Rwanda

The world is slowly opening its eyes to how Paul Kagame’s regime abuses human rights, suppresses dissent, and exploits neighboring countries.

In the shadow of Mondlane

After a historic election and on the eve of celebrating fifty years of independence, Mozambicans need to ask whether the values, symbols, and institutions created to give shape to “national unity” are still legitimate today.

À sombra de Mondlane

Depois de uma eleição histórica e em vésperas de celebrar os 50 anos de independência, os moçambicanos precisam de perguntar se os valores, símbolos e instituições criados para dar forma à “unidade nacional” ainda são legítimos hoje.