{"id":3000,"date":"2013-05-27T14:01:50","date_gmt":"2013-05-27T21:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000"},"modified":"2013-05-29T12:01:29","modified_gmt":"2013-05-29T19:01:29","slug":"the-african-union-at-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000","title":{"rendered":"The African Union at 50"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"An<\/a>

An African Union billboard outside the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia featuring the four primary languages of the international body- Arabic, English, French, and Portuguese. \u00a92011 Derek Henry Flood<\/p><\/div>\n

New York-\u00a0<\/strong>While it’s memorial day here in the United States, this past Saturday it was the 50th anniversary of the African Union [formerly the Organization of African Unity until 2001]. I visited the AU\/OAU’s original headquarters in 2011in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia after the hectic mel\u00e9e’s of Egypt, Libya and Bahrain when I needed a bit of a break.Upon reading of the AU’s 50th anniversary festivities, I thought a short photo essay was in order.<\/p>\n

I initially ventured to the AU’s grounds from my hotel on Churchill Road to try and gather information on the possible creation of Jubaland astatele<\/a>t\u00a0\u00a0in southwestern Somalia as well as the doings of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the\u00a0Dolo Odo refugee camp<\/a>\u00a0on the Somali border. But I quickly discovered that a Chinese government construction outfit was building a gleeming new AU conference hall and tower on the adjoining lot which captured my attention.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>

An Ogadeni woman exits the Chinese government’s construction of the new African Union complex on April 13, 2011. Just after I took this photo the Chinese man in the pink shirt ordered an Ethiopian security guard at the site to wrest my camera from me because he deemed it forbidden to take photos of the Chinese foremen and engineers. Fortunately for myself, the burly security man had no clue how to erase the flash card on my Olympus DSLR \u00a92011 Derek Henry Flood<\/p><\/div>\n

\"As<\/a>

As the China State COnstruction Engineering Corporation builds the new African Union conference center, goat herders push their flocks past. Despite the vast poverty surrounding the Chinese project, Ethiopia’s late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi stated: “China, its amazing reemergence and its commitments for a win-win partnership with Africa is one of the reasons for the beginning of the African renaissance.” \u00a92011 Derek Henry Flood<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Despite<\/a>

Despite being adjacent to war ravaged Somalia, the then coming partition of north and south SUdan, and and hermetic Eritrea-not to mention the rest of the conflicts spread across the continent, the AU’s Situation Room was a dim office of tranquility in the comparative safety of the Ethiopian capital. \u00a92011 Derek Henry Flood<\/p><\/div>\n

\"In<\/a>

In the courtyard of the original AU headquarters before the Chinese project was completed in 2012 stands a monument for the 25th anniversary of the OAU as it was then called in 1988. \u00a92011 Derek Henry Flood<\/p><\/div>\n

\"A<\/a>

A poster promoting the AU’s peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Sudan. \u00a92011 Derek Henry Flod<\/p><\/div>\n

\"As<\/a>

As the AU’s new tower took shape over Addis Ababa’s low rise skyline dotted with corrugated aluminum shacks coated in red dust, the contrast between Chinese influence and African ground realities never seemed more stark. \u00a92011 Derek Henry Flood<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York-\u00a0While it’s memorial day here in the United States, this past Saturday it was the 50th anniversary of the African Union [formerly the Organization of African Unity until 2001]. I visited the AU\/OAU’s original headquarters in 2011in Addis Ababa,…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,553],"tags":[595,594,1128,995,132],"class_list":["post-3000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-africa","category-ethiopia","tag-addis-ababa","tag-african-union","tag-ethiopia","tag-meles-zenawi","tag-somalia"],"yoast_head":"\nThe African Union at 50 - The War Diaries<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The African Union at 50 - The War Diaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New York-\u00a0While it’s memorial day here in the United States, this past Saturday it was the 50th anniversary of the African Union [formerly the Organization of African Unity until 2001]. I visited the AU\/OAU’s original headquarters in 2011in Addis Ababa,…Read more →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The War Diaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-05-27T21:01:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-05-29T19:01:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DHFlood_AUbillboard.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"derekhenryflood\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"derekhenryflood\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"derekhenryflood\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#\/schema\/person\/df810a7fcaa4910f9fc2513a3de68ff8\"},\"headline\":\"The African Union at 50\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-27T21:01:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-05-29T19:01:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000\"},\"wordCount\":529,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#\/schema\/person\/df810a7fcaa4910f9fc2513a3de68ff8\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DHFlood_AUbillboard.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Addis Ababa\",\"African Union\",\"Ethiopia\",\"Meles Zenawi\",\"Somalia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Africa\",\"Ethiopia\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000\",\"name\":\"The African Union at 50 - The War Diaries\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DHFlood_AUbillboard.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-27T21:01:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-05-29T19:01:29+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DHFlood_AUbillboard.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DHFlood_AUbillboard.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The African Union at 50\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/\",\"name\":\"The War Diaries\",\"description\":\"The Work of Derek Henry Flood\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#\/schema\/person\/df810a7fcaa4910f9fc2513a3de68ff8\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#\/schema\/person\/df810a7fcaa4910f9fc2513a3de68ff8\",\"name\":\"derekhenryflood\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd5233938d6cd11e25d3af3fd8d33ae549c53333d1f91d73a2820cb46179cf37?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd5233938d6cd11e25d3af3fd8d33ae549c53333d1f91d73a2820cb46179cf37?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"derekhenryflood\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The African Union at 50 - The War Diaries","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The African Union at 50 - The War Diaries","og_description":"New York-\u00a0While it’s memorial day here in the United States, this past Saturday it was the 50th anniversary of the African Union [formerly the Organization of African Unity until 2001]. I visited the AU\/OAU’s original headquarters in 2011in Addis Ababa,…Read more →","og_url":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000","og_site_name":"The War Diaries","article_published_time":"2013-05-27T21:01:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-05-29T19:01:29+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DHFlood_AUbillboard.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"derekhenryflood","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"derekhenryflood","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000"},"author":{"name":"derekhenryflood","@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#\/schema\/person\/df810a7fcaa4910f9fc2513a3de68ff8"},"headline":"The African Union at 50","datePublished":"2013-05-27T21:01:50+00:00","dateModified":"2013-05-29T19:01:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000"},"wordCount":529,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#\/schema\/person\/df810a7fcaa4910f9fc2513a3de68ff8"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DHFlood_AUbillboard.jpg","keywords":["Addis Ababa","African Union","Ethiopia","Meles Zenawi","Somalia"],"articleSection":["Africa","Ethiopia"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000","url":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000","name":"The African Union at 50 - The War Diaries","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DHFlood_AUbillboard.jpg","datePublished":"2013-05-27T21:01:50+00:00","dateModified":"2013-05-29T19:01:29+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DHFlood_AUbillboard.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DHFlood_AUbillboard.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?p=3000#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The African Union at 50"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/","name":"The War Diaries","description":"The Work of Derek Henry Flood","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#\/schema\/person\/df810a7fcaa4910f9fc2513a3de68ff8"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#\/schema\/person\/df810a7fcaa4910f9fc2513a3de68ff8","name":"derekhenryflood","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd5233938d6cd11e25d3af3fd8d33ae549c53333d1f91d73a2820cb46179cf37?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd5233938d6cd11e25d3af3fd8d33ae549c53333d1f91d73a2820cb46179cf37?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"derekhenryflood"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3000"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3016,"href":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3000\/revisions\/3016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the-war-diaries.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}