Al Djanat: The Original Paradise review – striking account of Burkina Faso homecoming
Economic and financial woes cast a dark shadow over family bonds in Chloé Aïcha Boro's contemplative, searching documentary. Returning to her Burkina Faso village after decades of living in France, Boro experiences an emotional paradox intimately known by all immigrants. Once-familiar places turn foreign, since the migrator has undergone huge internal changes of their own. And with the recent passing of her uncle Ousmane Coulibaly, the head of her extended Muslim family, Boro's homecoming is marred by disharmony. Between Coulibaly's brothers and his 19 children, warring interests over inherited land rage on.
The film returns time and again to a sacred courtyard where, for centuries, the umbilical cords of Coulibaly newborns have been buried to ensure their ascendence to heaven in the afterlife. More than a ritual, the tradition concretises the lineage of generations. But while religious rules automatically transfer Coulibaly's claim to this land to his sons, some of the elders turn to secular laws for their bid. As the courts of Burkina Faso are based on the French colonial system, this clash is more than just a family squabble; it represents a disconnect between the past and the present of a nation.
Boro's perspective on the dispute remains incisively critical while reserving judgment. The courtyard is not a neutral domain but a gendered one. Several scenes move between the men's heated debates and the women on the sidelines who have little say in the proceedings; thanks to her camera, Boro gains access to spaces that previously excluded her. In a particularly striking and moving sequence, the director steps in front of the lens as she joins her aunts and cousins in a song. Though cut from the same cloth, the women are now worlds apart.
Al Djanat: The Original Paradise is on True Story from 6 June.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Imane Khelif breaks silence after leaked medical report ‘proves Olympic gender-row boxer is a biological male'
IMANE KHELIF has issued a response after a leaked medical report claimed the gold medal-winning Olympian was a "biological male". Khelif, 26, won Algeria's first-ever female gold medal in boxing during the Paris Games in 2024. 2 However, during Khelif's run to the final, she was embroiled in a bitter gender row after being banned from International Boxing Association competition in 2023. The IBA banned Khelif after tests taken in New Delhi allegedly produced the DNA of a 'male'. The IOC - who replaced the IBA as the Olympic's boxing governing body - were warned about the tests and urged to remove Khelif from the competition. But Khelif was allowed to box in Paris because of her female passport status. Now, the alleged sex-test results from the 2023 World Championships have been published for the first time by 3 Wire Sports, and suggest the boxer is biologically male. American journalist Alan Abrahamson produced the result of a test said to have been carried out on the boxer in New Delhi in March 2023 - which triggered the boxer's disqualification. The document published summarises the findings on Khelif as 'abnormal', stating: 'Chromosome analysis reveals male karyotype." A karyotype refers to an individual's complete set of chromosomes, which in Khelif's case has been reported by (IBA) as being XY, the male pattern. Khelif refused to respond directly to the claims in a social media post on Monday, instead focusing on her work as a Unicef ambassador - a role she has held since January 2024. The post featured a photo of Khelif wearing a blue polo bearing the organisation's logo as she made a heart symbol with her hands to celebrate the "Global Day of Parents". Imane Khelif wins Olympic gold in women's welterweight final after huge gender row that has grabbed worldwide attention She paid tribute to her own parents in the caption, saying: "Today, I became a champion, but it all started long ago. When my parents believed in me, even when the dream felt too big. "When they supported me, listened to me, and stood by me. Being a parent isn't easy. There's no manual. But the love, patience, and trust you give your child can change everything. "On this #GlobalDayOfParents, I just want to say thank you. Thank you to every parent who chooses, every single day, to be there for their children. "Together with @unicefalgerie, I'm celebrating these everyday heroes. Because when parents are supported, children can dream and succeed." The alleged test results disputing Khelif's gender carry the letterhead of Dr Lal PathLabs in New Delhi, accredited by the American College of Pathologists and certified by the Swiss-based International Organisation for Standardisation. This directly challenges what IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in a tense news conference at the Paris Olympics. He described the results that saw Khelif banned as 'ad hoc' and 'not legitimate'. IOC president Thomas Bach even claimed that the results are the product of a Russian-led misinformation campaign. It followed after the IBA - headed by Russia's Umar Kremlev - had been stripped of IOC recognition in a row over ethics and financial management. Khelif has always denied being a biological male and even named JK Rowling and Elon Musk in a cyberbullying lawsuit. And the 26-year-old has vowed to fight on, even eyeing another gold at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. But World Boxing has ruled that Khelif is ineligible to enter future events as a woman without first submitting to the same chromosome testing that has already triggered the boxer's disqualification at global level. The governing body - provisionally approved to run Olympic boxing in LA - announced that all athletes in its competitions over 18 years old must undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genetic test to determine their sex. The test detects chromosomal material through a mouth swab, saliva or blood. Khelif has failed to provide any evidence of having female chromosomes in the nine months since the gender scandal erupted. In February, Khelif spoke out in her defence and wrote: 'For two years, I have taken the high road while my name and image have been used, unauthorised, to further personal and political agendas through the spreading and dissemination of baseless lies and misinformation. But silence is no longer an option. 'The IBA, an organisation that I am no longer associated with and which is no longer recognised by the IOC, have again made baseless accusations that are false and offensive, using them to further their agenda... 'My team is carefully reviewing the situation and will take all necessary legal steps to ensure that my rights and the principles of fair competition are upheld." An IOC spokesperson told Sun Sport: "The IOC has always made it clear that eligibility criteria are the responsibility of the respective International Federation. "The factors that matter to sports performance are unique to each sport, discipline, and/or event. "We await the full details how sex testing will be implemented in a safe, fair and legally enforceable way."
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
White British people will be a minority in 40 years, report claims
White British people will become a minority in the UK population within the next 40 years, a report has predicted. An analysis of migration, birth and death rates up to the end of the 21st century predicts that white British people will decline from their current position as 73 per cent of the population to 57 per cent by 2050 before slipping into a minority by 2063. The research, by Prof Matt Goodwin, of Buckingham University, suggests that by the end of the century, the white British share of the population – defined as people who do not have an immigrant parent – could have fallen to around a third (33.7 per cent). It projects a big rise in the proportion of the UK population comprising foreign-born and second-generation immigrants, from below 20 per cent to 33.5 per cent within the next 25 years. By 2100, it predicts six in 10 people in the UK will either not have been born in the UK, or will have at least one immigrant parent. The Muslim population, which currently stands at 7 per cent, is estimated to increase to more than one in 10 (11.2 per cent) within the next 25 years and account for one in five (19.2 per cent) of all people in the UK by the end of the century. Prof Goodwin, an honorary professor at Kent University, said the research, based on Office for National Statistics (ONS) and census data, raised 'profound questions about the capacity of the UK state to both absorb and manage this scale of demographic change'. In his report, he said the findings were certain to spark a 'considerable degree of anxiety, concern and political opposition' among many voters who favoured lowering immigration and slowing the pace of change in order to maintain 'the symbols, traditions, culture and ways of life of the traditional majority group'. Prof Goodwin said: 'Their concerns will need to be recognised, respected and addressed if the UK is to avoid considerable political turbulence and polarisation in the years and decades ahead.' His report follows a period of unprecedented legal and illegal migration – hitting a record high of 906,000 under the Tories in 2023 – and subsequent crackdowns including Labour's white paper this month proposing restrictions on the rights of migrants to live, work and study in the UK. He said: 'By the end of the current century, most of the people on these islands will not be able to trace their roots in this country back more than one or two generations. 'By the year 2100, based on our projections, six in 10 people in the UK will not have been born in the UK or born to two UK-born parents. 'This raises enormous questions about the capacity of our country and leaders to unify people around a shared sense of identity, values, ways of life, and culture, and avoid the very real risk of us becoming what Sir Keir Starmer referred to, in May, as ' an island of strangers '.' The research compared ethnic identity, comprising white British, other white groups such as Irish, Gipsy, Roma and other Europeans, and non-white; religious identity of non-Muslim versus Muslim and country of birth comparing UK born with foreign born. It projected populations forward by applying age and sex-specific fertility, mortality and migration rates to a 2022 base population derived from the latest UK census data. These projections were calibrated to the 2022-based ONS national population projections. Foreign-born and Muslim populations were estimated to have higher fertility rates. So, while the UK-born fertility rate was 1.39, it was 1.97 for foreign-born people. For Muslims, it was 2.35, and for non-Muslims 1.54. The research forecasts that white British share of the population will decline from 73 per cent to 44 per cent by the year 2075, and to 33.7 per cent by 2100. The non-white share will increase from 19.7 per cent to 34.8 per cent by 2050, 48.1 per cent by the year 2075 and to 59.3 per cent by 2100. The analysis suggested that the white population including both white British and white other would become a minority of the population in the year 2079. The share of the UK population that is non-Muslim will gradually fall from 93 per cent in 2025 to 88.8 per cent in 2050, to 84.8 per cent by 2075 and then to 80.8 per cent by the year 2100, according to the research. The analysis suggested that the share of the population that is UK-born will fall from 81 per cent to 39 per cent between 2025 and 2100, while the share of the population comprising people born overseas will increase from just above 18 per cent to almost 26 per cent over the same period. When the foreign-born population is combined with their children, the proportion of the projected foreign-born and second-generation population will rise to 33.5 per cent of the overall UK population in 2050, 47.5 per cent by 2075 and 60.6 per cent by 2100, according to the analysis. The report said: 'In other words, by the end of the current century, by the year 2100, based on current trends around six in 10 people in the UK will not have been born in the UK or born to UK-born parents.' Migration is changing Britain beyond all recognition By Matt Goodwin The White British will become a minority group in the UK by the year 2063. The foreign-born and their immediate descendants will become a majority by 2079. And by the end of this century, roughly one in five people will follow the Islamic faith, up from roughly one in 14 today. These are the findings from my latest research report, which builds on Office for National Statistics data to project how the UK population could evolve in the decades ahead. Population projections are notoriously difficult, but using something called the 'cohort-component method', a standard approach in the study of demography, we can project the changes in the UK's population between today and 2100, picking out trends in race and ethnicity, country of birth and religious identity. Our research suggests that unless there is a radical change of policy, the share of the UK population that is white British will fall sharply from just over 70 per cent today to below 34 per cent by the year 2100. They will be a minority in the country in 2063, just 38 years from now. Among the under-40s, the tipping point will come much sooner, in 2050. A child born today, in other words, will be living in what is close to becoming a white British minority country by the time they turn 25. We will also witness profound changes in where people were born. A population where most people can trace their roots on these islands back over multiple generations will make way for one in which a majority were born overseas, or born to at least one parent who were born overseas. The ties to our nation – to its sense of history, culture, ways of life and collective memory – will become much weaker. Between the early 2020s and the end of this century, the share of the UK population comprised of people who were born in the country and who are not the direct offspring of immigrants will collapse from 81 to 39 per cent, according to our research, while the share who are foreign-born or the immediate descendants of the foreign-born will rocket from 33 to 61 per cent. By the end of this century, around six in 10 people in this country will either not have been born in this country or will be the direct descendants of recent immigrants to the country, we found. The foreign-born and their offspring will become a majority in England in 2079, in Wales in 2081, in Scotland in 2093, and in Northern Ireland sometime after 2122, our analysis suggests. And again, this will happen much sooner among the under-40s, with the foreign-born and their descendants becoming a majority among the young in England as early as 2062. Our projections also reveal how the religious identity of the country will be transformed, with the Muslim population surging three-fold from 7 per cent today to over 15 per cent by 2075, and to nearly 20 per cent by 2100. Under a 'high Muslim migration scenario', whereby the UK receives higher than average in-flows from Muslim states, we estimate that one in four British people will be Muslim by the year 2100, rising to nearly one in three of the under-40s in this country. As you'll have noticed, all these demographic projections are more pronounced among the under-40s. Among young people, by the year 2100, whites will only comprise 28 per cent of the population of England while the UK-born who are not the immediate descendants of immigrants will represent just 28 per cent of the English population, a little over one in every four young people. At the end of the century, again among young people, some 68 per cent will be non-White, roughly one in four will be Muslim, and a large majority will have been born to at least one parent who was themselves not born in the UK. Precisely because of the policy of mass immigration, under both the Labour and Tory parties, and which was then turbocharged by the so-called post-2019 ' Boriswave ', the UK is on course to experience huge and historically unprecedented changes in the composition of its population. By the year 2100, and again unless things change, our immediate descendants will be living in a country in which the White British will only comprise one third of the population, people with long and strong roots in this country will only represent around four in every 10 people, down from eight in 10 today, while somewhere between one fifth and one third of all people will follow the Islamic faith. Lastly, it's worth pointing out that while population projections are complex and should be treated with caution, for the last quarter-century the story with these projections has been one of projections and forecasts underestimating, rather than overestimating, the scale and pace of change. What we can say today, with some certainty, is that these islands are about to experience a dramatic population transformation that will not only be unprecedented in history but will also test the state and the social contract like never before. It is high time our political leaders look beyond the short term to try and think just as seriously about the longer-term consequences of their policies. Prof Matt Goodwin is senior visiting fellow at the University of Buckingham and writes at
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
ICE wants an office inside NYC's notorious Rikers Island jail. A judge might end those hopes
A state judge in New York will continue to block Donald Trump 's administration from opening an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office inside Rikers Island jail, one of the largest and most notorious detention facilities in the country, plagued by decades of reports of widespread abuse and violence. New York City Mayor Eric Adams gave ICE permission to operate inside the jail earlier this year, drawing lawsuits from city officials accusing Adams of crafting a 'corrupt bargain' with the president to expand his anti-immigration agenda in exchange for dropping a criminal corruption case against the mayor. On Tuesday, New York Supreme Court Justice Mary Rosado extended her temporary restraining order as she considers a more permanent injunction to keep federal immigration authorities from entering the city-run jail. 'The argument that this is not part of a quid pro quo or there's no politics at play here is absurd,' New York City Council member Alexa Aviles, chair of the council's immigration committee, told reporters after Tuesday's hearing in Manhattan. 'We cannot trust this administration to follow the law,' she said. New York officials banned ICE from city jails in 2014 after the passage of so-called sanctuary laws intended to block the transfer of undocumented immigrants to ICE custody, where they are placed in deportation proceedings. But Adams — following his meetings with Trump border czar Tom Homan — granted ICE permission to return to the troubled facility with an executive order issued by one of his deputies. A subsequent lawsuit from the Democrat-controlled New York City Council called the order 'illegal, null, and void.' A coalition of civil rights and legal aid groups and public defenders along with New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams filed briefs supporting the lawsuit. The order from the Adams administration is in 'clear violation of New York City's sanctuary protections and it invites a new era of racial profiling, wrongful deportations, and constitutional violations,' according to Meghna Philip with the The Legal Aid Society. 'The Trump administration has shown it will use any pretext to carry out mass deportations — even in defiance of our Constitution and federal court rulings — and this executive order gives ICE direct access to New Yorkers in custody, their information, and their families,' she said in a statement. Last month, after a years-long court battle, a federal judge stripped New York City of its control over Rikers Island and ordered a third-party monitor to take over. That ruling — the culmination of roughly 14 years of litigation — followed years of reports detailing the conditions, abuse, violence and death inside the jail. At least 19 people died inside Rikers in 2022 — the highest number of deaths since 2013. At least five people have died inside the jail in 2025 so far. After years of public pressure, the jail is legally required to close by August 2027. That detention space — where more than 7,000 people are jailed — is set to be replaced with smaller borough-based jails. But the Adams administration is reportedly considering scrapping those plans altogether. Federal immigration officials maintained an office at Rikers in the years before the city's sanctuary policies, leading to 'countless violations of detainees' rights,' according to law professor Peter Markowitz, co-director of the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic at Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law. ICE had access to detailed information about anyone entering the jail with 'on-demand access' to interview them, he wrote in court documents. 'Detainees were often misinformed that they were being taken for legal visits, only to then be presented to plain-clothed ICE agents who would question them and attempt to extract legal admissions,' according to Markowitz. Immigration officers used the jail to 'surveil, intimidate, and conduct uncounseled interviews in an inherently coercive setting, allowing them to extract admissions about nationality and immigration status and then use those statements to justify detention and deportation,' he wrote. If ICE returns to the jail, Rikers will return to the 'widespread violation of detainees' constitutional rights and due process of law, albeit in an even more aggressive posture than during the first Trump administration,' according to Markowitz. The city's arrangement ostensibly only allows for ICE to launch criminal investigations, not for routine enforcement of largely civil federal immigration law. But civil rights groups and immigration attorneys fear that federal officers — empowered by Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to target alleged gang members — will bypass due process and summarily deport immigrants using only spurious evidence against them. 'The assertions that returning ICE to Rikers Island is necessary to advance criminal investigations of dangerous gangs reeks of pretext. I know of no specific instance where ICE's lack of physical presence at Rikers Island has stood as, or even been claimed as, an obstacle to a criminal investigation,' according to Markowitz. The Independent
