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Central African Republic and South Africa

Thomas Fessy on a priest who saves people and stops violence in the Central African Republic and Hamilton Wende on why the Zulu defeat of the British at Isandlwana still matters.

Around 500 European Union peacekeepers are heading to the Central African Republic, to try and stop the violence between militias and lynch mobs of the Christian majority and the Muslim minority. In Bozoum in the northwest of the country, Thomas Fessy meets an Italian priest who has saved many lives and now seems the only one able to mediate between the two sides these. First Father Aurelio Gazzera let thousands of displaced Christians shelter from the violence of the Muslim Seleka rebels in his mission, and later, when the tides had turned, he tried to give safe passage to hundreds of Muslims as they fled the militia of the Christian majority.

In South Africa, Hamilton Wende meets a Zulu family who preserve the memory of a battle from much longer ago: in 1879, the Zulus defeated the British Empire at Isandlwana. The battle has fascinated military historians ever since, and showed that white domination in Africa could be defeated. Now, the Zulu victory even provides jobs, such for the guides who show the thousands of annual visitors around the site, and pass on the battle stories of their ancestors.

Presenter: Pascale Harter
Producer: Arlene Gregorius
Photo: displaced people in a camp near the CAR captial Bangui by Miguel Medina for AFP/Getty Images

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11 minutes

Last on

Thu 23 Jan 2014 20:50GMT

Broadcast

  • Thu 23 Jan 2014 20:50GMT