Years after Live Aid
This summer will be the twenty fifth anniversary of Live Aid. In many western minds awareness of the problems and challenges of Africa started with Live Aid and it seems appropriate to put other memorable events in Africa into a time line referred to Live Aid.
We start with the run up to Live Aid and will add events to this timeline over the weeks to come as we work through our archives.
1950 onwards (35 years before Live Aid)
In 1950 only four African countries (Liberia, South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia) were independent of Western colonial powers, all the rest were colonies. Libya became independent in 1951. Many countries followed suit through the next two decades, and in 1960 France granted independence to most of French West Africa. Much depended on the first president at independence in each country. In some countries the presidents who took power through well ordered transfer of power ruled peacefully and successfully for decades. Examples are Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Cote D'Ivoire (President from 1960-1993) or Julius Nyerere in Tanzania (President from 1961-1986).
Some colonial nationals did not willingly grant independence resulting in bloody wars of independence which lasted for a decade or more. In some cases, like Mozambique and Angola, eventual independence after war (both in 1975) led to bloody civil war which carried on to 1992 for Mozambique and 2002 for Angola. The civil wars were partly a result of militarisation from the wars for independence (so that the incoming president had a military base) and partly driven by wealth (especially in the case of Angola which has rich diamond and oil resources). Their people, and especially children, paid a heavy price for the greed of others.
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) declared its independence from the UK unilaterally in 1965 but it was not until 1979 that a white minority government gave way to democratic constitution ending the 16 year bush war.
Burundi gained independence in 1962 from Belgium, and as elsewhere tribal and ethnic divisions immediately surfaced when the colonial powers receded. In 1963 Hutus killed around 12,000 Tutsi tribe members in Burundi and several hundred thousand more fled across the border into Rwanda. Between 1966 and 1976 inter-tribal violence continued involving government forces on both sides and several hundred thousand people were killed by violence in that period.
Overall the thirty years before Live Aid were a period of change and turmoil in much of Africa but it is worth bearing in mind, for those of us in Britain who have centuries of peaceful democracy and human rights behind us, that the recent past of much of Africa is troubled. We, and other colonial powers, have to accept that power held by violence was something which, to a degree, we taught within the lifetime of the existing African leadership. There is a varied track record of success in the West trying to aid and influence post-independence Africa, but there are some shining examples of successful help for Africa's children.
We start our more detailed history forty years ago, partly because that is when SOS Children started playing a role in Africa, and our experience started:
1971 (14 years before Live Aid)
Cote d'Ivoire: Invited by a retiring Priest, SOS Children take over a Roman Catholic orphanage in Abobo Gare, Abidjan (the main bus station) in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire and transform it from an orphanage to providing family-based care in an SOS Children's Village, the first in the continent of Africa. A primary school for local children was included in this modest start for SOS Children in Africa.
Uganda: the first prime minister of Uganda, Milton Obote, falls in a military coup led by Idi Amin.
Ghana: SOS Children opens its first community in Ghana in Tema
1972 (13 years before Live Aid)
Uganda: Amin orders 60,000 Asians to leave Uganda
1973 (12 years before Live Aid)
Rwanda: the first president of Rwanda since independence (Gregoire Kayibanda from 1962 to 1973) was ousted in a coup d'etat by Juvenal Habyarimana who introduced one party rule and remained in power for two decades until the Rwandan genocide. At first rising commodity prices brought some prosperity but there was rapid decline into poverty.
1974 (11 years before Live Aid)
Ethiopia: Around 200,000 people die in Northern Ethiopia as a result of famine. Emperor Haile Selassie is toppled by a communist military Junta (the Derg).
Ethiopia: SOS Children start constructing a Children's Village in Makalle, the capital of Tigray in Northern Ethiopia which was where most of the children who had been left orphaned by the famine lived. As well as family based care for orphans, the Village has a small model farm to promote self-sufficiency and teach farming methods, a medical centre, a primary and secondary school and a large "Family Strengthening Program" to keep local vulnerable families together.
1976 (9 years before Live Aid)
Burundi: A bloodless coup d'etat installed Colonel Bagaza as president which led to a period of relative calm albeit with little political or religious freedom. Eight years later Bagaza's position as president was legitimised by election before he was ousted in a coup.
Uganda: Idi Amin declares himself "President for Life" and lays claim to land in Kenya and Tanzania
1977 (8 years before Live Aid)
Rwanda: The situation of widespread poverty in Rwanda had destroyed any community capacity for orphans. Seeing children in such need drove SOS Children to enter Rwanda and set up family based care for orphans in an SOS Children's Village as well as a medical centre and a primary and secondary school.
Somalia: Somalia invades Ethiopia and attempts to seize the Ogaden region, but fails.
1978 (7 years before Live Aid)
Ethiopia: Thousands of government opponents die in a "Red Terror" campaign by the Derg; collectivisation of farming begins; Tigrayan People's Liberation Front launches war for regional autonomy.
Burundi: Relative peace provided an opportunity for SOS Children to provide conflict orphans with family based care for orphans in an SOS Children's Village as well as a medical centre and a primary and secondary school.
Uganda/Tanzania: A war between Tanzania and Uganda leads in 1979 to the overthrow of Idi Amin in Uganda.
1979 (6 years before Live Aid)
Uganda: Yusufu Lule installed as president, but is quickly replaced by Godfrey Binaisa.
1980 (6 years before Live Aid)
Rhodesia: Zimbabwe ending the 16 year Rhodesian bush war.
Uganda: The army deposes President Binaisa and organises elections which are won by Milton Obote.
Algeria: A massive earthquake hits El Asnam in Algeria, reaching 7.7 on the Richter Scale. Approximately 5,000 die; SOS Children makes offer to build a Children's Village to aid those effected by the catastrophe.
1984 (1 year Before Live Aid)
Ethiopia: Four heavily populated Ethiopian provinces—Tigray, Gojjam, Hararghe, Tigray, and Wollo—experienced record low rainfalls in that year. The government of Ethiopia was struggling with regional uprising which was the focus of its attention. Nearly one half of the Ethiopian Gross National Product was being spent on defence. The resulting famine affected Eritrea and Ethiopia and caused at least hundreds of thousands of deaths, as well as leaving some millions of people destitute from loss of lifestock. The famine was widely televised and caused shock throughout the West.
Ethiopia: SOS Children launches an emergency relief program to help those around its well established Village in the middle of the famine area.
1985 (Live Aid year)
A Christmas song "Do they know its Christmas" was launched by a group of artists called "Band Aid" drawing attention to the plight of those starving in Ethiopia. The song sold 3.5 million copies, a record and generated a huge feeling of soldarity amongst the public with those suffering.
Following from this success, Live Aid, a rock concert split between London and Philadelphia was organised to help victims of the Ethiopian famine. Estimates of up to 400 million people watched or listened to the concert. The feeling of soldarity engendered, and enormous financial success (with nearly £150m gross funds raised), led to a popular optimism about the West's ability to solve Africa's long standing problems. Bob Geldorf became a respected opinion leader on the problems of Africa and how to solve them.
After Live Aid there was a degree of anti-climax and controversy. Anti-climax because the famine was not "a famine to end all famines" and the response was short term. Controversy because inevitably questions have been asked by the BBC and others about whether the funds raised were spent sensibly and especially whether the funds prolonged the conflict which was a cause of the famine.
Nonetheless, Live Aid showed people cared. Live Aid started a level of popular interest in international aid and development amongst parts of the population (especially the young) who had never previously been interested and it set perceptions and expectation of aid amongst a generation who are now, twenty five years later, core financial supporters of many NGOs.
South Africa: Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Uganda: Milton Obote, the Uganda president who had been toppled by Idi Amin in 1971, but had regained the presidency in 1980 was toppled in from power again in a bloodless Uganda coup and escaped across the border to Zambia
Somalia: SOS Children opens a Children's Village in Mogadishu, Somalia, offering family based care to the increasing numbers of orphans there.
1986 (1 year after Live Aid)
Uganda: Rebels seize power and install Yoweri Museveni as president.
Cameroon: Close to 2,000 people die, many in their sleep, as poisonous gases from Lake Nyos kill all life in the surrounding 15km.
1987 (2 years after Live Aid)
Mozambique: SOS Children starts building a village in Tete Mozambique to provide family based care for children left orphaned by the civil war. During construction an emergency relief program is run to deal with the effects of famine.
1988 (3 years after Live Aid)
Somalia: SOS Children opens a hospital in Somalia treating 30,000 patients a year.
Burundi: Tutsi's massacre thousands of Hutu's
1989 (4 years after Live Aid)
DRC: SOS Children set up a Children's Village in Bukavo, DRC (formerly Zaire) where the worst of the conflict had left many children without parents.
Uganda: SOS Children set up a Children's Village to provide family-based care in Kakiri, Kampale.
South Africa: FW de Klerk replaces PW Botha as president. He agrees to meet Nelson Mandela and frees many ANC activists.
Mozambique: Emergency Relief Programme is set up to aid sufferers of famine.
1990 (5 years after Live Aid)
Somalia: SOS Children launches a major emergency relief operation in Somalia following the outbreak of civil war.
Rwanda: An armed group of Tutsi refugees invades Northern Rwanda from Uganda starting the Rwanda Civil War.
South Africa: Nelson Mandela is released from prison after 27 years of incarceration.
Namibia: Namibia gains its independence from South Africa on 21st March.
Algeria: After an agreement is made with the Algerian government, SOS Children relocates the village constructed in the aftermath of the 1980 earthquake, to Draria, 8 miles south of Algiers.
Ghana: SOS Children opens an International School in Tema. Offering International GCSE's and the International Baccalaureate, it educates students from all over Africa
1991 (6 years after Live Aid)
Western Sahara: Western Sahara eventually gains independence ending 18 years of armed conflict.
South Africa: Multi-party talks are began. International sanctions are lifted. FW de Klerk abolishes many apartheid laws. There is major fighting between the ANC and the Zulu Inkatha movement.
1992 (7 years after Live Aid)
South Africa: An SOS Emergency Relief Programme established in Natal Province to provide a home for orphaned babies abandoned in local hospitals.
Mozambique: Another SOS Emergency Relief Programme is set up as the harevst in Mozambique fails. SOS Children commits to repeating this annually, with aid going to children and others suffering from malnutrition
1993 (8 years after Live Aid)
Rwanda: A cease fire in the Rwandan Civil war gave temporary relief to long suffering Rwandans.
South Africa: FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Burundi: Civil War breaks out in Burundi, as Hutu President Ndadaye is assassinated by Tutsi rebels. Some 300,000 die in the ensuing conflict. SOS Children sets up an Emergency Relief Programme in Muyinga, providing a home for children orphaned by the conflict.
Togo: In an attempt to push through democratic reforms, France, Germany and the USA withhold aid from Togo.
1994 (9 years after Live Aid)
Angola: SOS Children sets up a community in Lubango, Angola, to provide family based care to children orphaned by decades of conflict. A vaccination programme is started against meningitis, from which hundreds of people are dying.
Rwanda: The Rwandan genocide; in six months following the murder of President Habyarimana some 800,000 people are massacred. SOS Children immediately set up an Emergency Village for children orphaned by the genocide.
South Africa: Nelson Mandela is sworn in as president on 10 May, after ANC win 62.65% of the vote in the national election. SOS Children builds Cape Town village in 1994. SOS Children sets up a village in Cape Town. It is the first racially integrated SOS community in South Africa following the end of apartheid.
Egypt: Severe flooding in Southern Egypt leaves hundreds dead and over 15,000 homeless. SOS Children sets up an Emergency Relief Programme in Asyut, consisting of 42 temporary family houses, medical centres and social centres.
Lesotho: After fighting and political unrest resulted in delays, the first SOS Children's Village in Lesotho opened in Maseru.
1995 (10 years after Live Aid)
Botswana: Many thousands of Kalahari tribesman are relocated outside of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the traditional homeland of the Kalahari
1996 (11 years after Live Aid)
Guinea: Members of Guinea's armed forces mutiny, 30 die and the presidential palace is set ablaze
1996-97 (11 years after Live Aid)
DRC: First Congo war started when rebels from Uganda and Rwanda invaded DRC (Zaire). It ended with the overthrow of President Seko and the installation of rebel leader Kabila as president.
Uganda: President Museveni is confirmed by election in Uganda's first direct presidential election.
Burkina Faso: A meningitis epidemic sweeps through Burkina Faso, killing 4,000.
1997 (12 years after Live Aid)
Burkina Faso: After the political situation settles, SOS Children opens its first community in Burkina Faso in Polosgo, 10km north of Ouagadougou.
Burundi: The temporary accommodation provided by SOS Children as part of the Emergency Relief Project is turned into the permanent Muyinga SOS Children's Village
1998 (13 years after Live Aid)
Angola: SOS Children sets up its first Angolan Children's Village in the capital, Lubango
Cameroon: Transparency International names Cameroon as the most corrupt country in the world.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Following unrest in the South Kivu region, SOS Children sets up an Emergency Relief Programme in Uvira. Later, this is turned into a permanent SOS Children's Village.
Guinea-Bissau: Fighting in the vicinity of SOS Children's Village Bissau leads to the forced evacuation of children, to Bakoteh in the Gambia, for a year.
Kenya: 224 are killed and thousands injured in a bomb explosion at the US embassy in Nairobi
2000 (15 years after Live Aid)
Botswana: Flooding hits Botswana, leaving more than 60,000 homeless
Ethiopia: A catastrophic drought results in SOS Children setting up an Emergency Relief Programme in Gode. This later becomes a permanent Children's Village.
Madagascar: Two cyclones hit Madagascar, leaving thousands homeless
Swaziland: SOS Children sets up an Emergency Relief Programme in Mbabane to offer relief from the effects of the flooding in the area
2001 (16 years after Live Aid)
Ghana: Debt relief for Ghana is provided by a scheme from the World bank and IMF.
Guinea-Bissau: World Bank and IMF question the disappearance of millions from development fund.
Nigeria: Warfare between tribes leads to the Nigerian army being mobilised. Troops go on to kill over 200 civilians
2002 (17 years after Live Aid)
Democratic Republic of Congo: An Emergency Relief Programme is set up by SOS Children following the eruption of a volcano called Mount Nyiragongo, which left thousands homeless.
Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia: Countries agree deal to secure mutual borders, in order to aid attempts to counter insurgency
Malawi: In response to the AIDS/HIV situation in Malawi, SOS Children sets up a community outreach programme in Lilongwe
2003 (18 years after Live Aid)
Cape Verde: As a response to increasing social deprivation in the capital Praia, SOS Children opens its second village in Cape Verde in neighbouring Sao Domingos
Kenya: Following a 3 year hiatus, The International Monetary Fund begins to provide aid to Kenya again.
Liberia: SOS Children sets up a short term Emergency Relief Programme to provide refuge for 7,000 people after fighting in Liberia.
2004 (19 years after Live Aid)
Botswana: Botswana no longer has the worlds highest HIV incidence rate. The rate drops below 37.5%.
Liberia: Over $500 million is pledged by donors to provide reconstruction aid.
Mali: As the World Food Programme declares severe food shortages and famine, caused by locusts and drought, SOS Children's Village Mopti distributes foodstuffs and relief aid to the neighbouring area
Morocco: Northern Morocco is hit by an earthquake, more than 500 are left dead
Sudan: The Sudan National Army is sent to suppress the rebel uprising. There is a mass movement of refugees from Sudan to Chad, as a result of the increasing violence
Swaziland: Swaziland is deemed to have the worlds highest incidence of HIV by the UN
2005 (20 years after Live Aid)
South Africa: On the 2nd July, the Live 8 concert is held simultaneously throughout the G8 states and South Africa. On the 7th July, global leaders decide to increase aid to poor nations from $25 billion, by 2010, to $50 billion. Half of the money pledged would go to Africa.
Angola: Hundreds are killed by the lethal Marburg virus. SOS Children opens its second village in Benguela, a coastal area that harboured refugees throughout the Angolan civil war.
Chad: SOS Children provides Emergency Relief for victims of the Darfur crisis in the Oure Cassoni Refugee Camp in Chad.
Lesotho: Ambitious plans are announced to provide HIV tests to the whole population
2006 (21 years after Live Aid)
Benin: Benin is granted debt relief by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, as a result of the pledge made by the G8 in 2005. SOS Children opens its third Children's Village in Dassa-Zoumé.
Namibia: A polio outbreak leads to a national vaccination campaign. At least 12 die.
Tanzania: Huge debt of just under $650 million is cancelled by the African Development Bank, as Tanzania is seen to have a decent level of accountability and a good finance record
2007 (22 years after Live Aid)
Ethiopia: An outbreak of the Ebola virus hits Ethiopia.
Tanzania: A scheme to give out subsidised anti-malaria drugs is piloted in Tanzania by ex-US President Bill Clinton
2008 (23 years after Live Aid)
Kenya: Following post election violence, SOS Children starts an Emergency Relief Programme.
2009 (24 years after Live Aid)
Guinea: 157 die and over a 1,000 injured after soldiers open fire at a stadium rally in Conakry.
Guinea-Bissau: President Joao Bernardo Viera is assassinated by renegade soldiers in a perceived revenge attack.
Kenya: The military is used to distribute food, after the Kenyan government claims that at least 10 million are in need of food.
Lesotho: A Children's Village is built in Quthing, to provide homes for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS
Mozambique: over 350,000 people are in need of aid, as a result of famine, according to the UN
2010 (25 years after Live Aid)
Niger: With a food crisis imminent, SOS Children sets up an Emergency Relief Programme in Tahoua, aiming to provide aid to 10,000 vulnerable children and families.
Nigeria: Fighting between Christians and Muslims in the city of Jos leaves many dead. Construction of a new SOS Children's Village in the city is delayed.
Angola: Days before the beginnning of the African Cup of Nations 2010, an attack on the Togo team bus leaves two officicals dead and several wounded
Niger: SOS Children launch an Emergency Relief Programme in Niger to help children and communities survive the effects of the developing food crisis.
South Africa: The 19th FIFA World Cup kicks off in June 2010 in South Africa, the first African nation to host the finals. Dutch and English football stars visit SOS Orphans in Mamelodi and Rustenburg.
Uganda: Several explosions in Kampala leaves scores dead while they watched the World cup finals.
2011 (26 years after Live Aid)
East Africa: Famine spreads across East Africa. SOS Children launches an Emergency East Africa Famine Appeal to help as many children and families in East Africa as possible
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