Alcohol and Drugs History Society

Alcohol and the Slave Trade in West Africa, 1400-1850

Charles Ambler, “Alcohol and the Slave Trade in West Africa, 1400-1850.” Drugs, labor, and colonial expansion. Ed. William Jankowiak and Daniel Bradburd. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2003, pp. 73 - 88.

Drug cartels using African connections

CNN reports (27 July 2005) from Dakar, Senegal that South American drug cartels are moving their logistics bases to West Africa, lured by lax policing in an unstable region and the presence of small, underground criminal groups, United Nations experts say. Drug cartels are increasingly using West Africa as a hub for smuggling, working with criminal networks from the region who market cannabis, cocaine and heroin in Europe and North America, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Read more here.

Liquid cocoa and fake dollars thrown at embassy to point finger in disappearance

Reporters Without Borders reports (18 April 2005) that activists clad in white overalls threw buckets of liquid cocoa and fake dollars at the gates of Côte d'Ivoire's embassy in Paris to point the finger of blame in the case of missing French-Canadian journalist Guy-André Kieffer on the eve of the first anniversary of his disappearance in Abidjan on 16 April 2004.

The protest was part of a demonstration to demand the "truth for Guy-André" that took place peacefully and lasted half an hour. Members of the Truth for Guy-André Kieffer Support Committee and the journalist's wife, Osange Silou-Kieffer, also took part.

"We threw cocoa because it is the 'black box' of those in power in Abidjan and because Kieffer was investigating the embezzlement of cocoa earnings by government officials at the time of his disappearance," Reporters Without Borders said.

"We demonstrated outside the Ivorian embassy today because the ball is now in the government's court in the investigation. To prove its good will, the government must allow the investigation to advance."

Find the full story here.

Ivory Coast polls feed cocoa farmers' fears

Reuters reports (20 April 2005) that cocoa farmers in western Ivory Coast fear October polls will fan ethnic violence just as the main crop will be getting under way in a region where war has already deepened tribal rifts. Growers and industry players said some farmers were too scared to travel to the main towns, while others were reluctant to go into the bush and tend to their plantations for fear of attacks from ethnic rivals. Analysts said fear of attacks was already hindering the flow of mid-crop cocoa from the bush in some areas and cast a cloud over the 2005/06 main crop, due to start in October. Find the full story here.

Cocoa Day in the offing

Ghana News reported on 24 February 2005 that a Cocoa Celebration Day is to be set aside this year in Ghana to promote consumption of cocoa during which cocoa would be served at all official functions and to tourists. Ghana is the world's second largest cocoa producer after Cote d'Ivoire. Even though, Ghana produces a large quantity of cocoa, the use or consumption of the produce is on a rather low scale. Find the full story here.

Harvesting, Marketing Starts for Cocoa Crop

Forbes reports (8 April 2005) that the harvesting and marketing of Ivory Coast's cocoa crop has started, with an above-average take expected despite the conflict that keeps the world's largest cocoa producer divided between a rebel-held north and loyalist south. Find the full story here.

Ivory Coast foreign cocoa firms staying for now

Reuters reports (1 April 2005) that top foreign cocoa firms in Ivory Coast said on Friday they planned to remain for now, despite Britain's closing its embassy and advising its citizens to leave because of deteriorating security. Find the full story here.

Indonesian cocoa exports gain from supply fall in Ivory Coast

Money Plans reports (12 March 2005) that Indonesia is estimated to gain US$30 million in earning from the export of cocoa beans as a result of decline in supply from the Ivory Coast, the world's largest producer of that commodity. Find the full story here.

Rebels impose ban on imported products in Cote D'Ivoire

IRINNews.org reported in July 2004 from Bouake that the ‘New Forces’ rebel movement imposed an import ban on certain types of food and drink in order to promote economic activity in the northern half of Cote d'Ivoire which it controls. The head of the rebels’ economic recovery unit, Dramane Kone, told IRIN at his headquarters in Bouake, central Cote d’Ivoire last week, that the ban applied to items such as cooking oil, rice, sugar, beer, soft drinks and cigarettes. Find the full story here.