Annika Hammerschlag

“It's a relief. It's a bomb that's been deactivated.” ✍🏼 for ⁦@VOANews⁩ voanews.com/a/democracy-wi…

@Oceanium_dakar @Oceaniumdedakar organizes regular underwater net removals off the coast of Dakar. On their latest outing they collected 1 ton of abandoned nets. 📸🤿 for @anadoluajansi

Some 650,000 tons of fishing gear are discarded or lost in the ocean each year. Discarded nets, lines, and ropes now make up about 46% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

On average, a single abandoned fishing net kills more than 500,000 animals over its lifetime, including dolphins, whales, seabirds and turtles. As they become entangled, they asphyxiate and die a slow, painful death.

Frustrations have grown in recent years over factors including high youth unemployment and accusations of systemic corruption. “Education no longer holds value. So when the youth revolt, their little brothers follow.” ✍🏼 for ⁦@guardian⁩ theguardian.com/world/2023/jun…

How eDNA technology is changing the game for protecting ocean species. ✍🏼 and 📸 for ⁦@guardian⁩ from Mauritania’s Banc d’Arguin National Park theguardian.com/environment/20…

June 13 is International #AlbinismAwareness Day 📸 for @anadoluajansi @anadoluagency

Some 90% of albinos in Africa die of skin cancer before they are 40. They receive little education about sun protection & even if they do, sunscreen can be nonexistent or too expensive. Superstitions abound, resulting in ritual killings, body part trafficking and sexual violence

Penda Fall, 13, is one of about 10,000 people living with #albinism in Senegal. Each time she ventures from her home, she’s bombarded with disapproving stares and cruel name calling. Head held high, she shrugs it off.

‘This will finally lift the veil’: how eDNA can see the ocean’s hidden life Over the past decade, the use of environmental DNA – known as “eDNA” – to monitor biodiversity has surged. Fascinating piece by @a_hammerschlag in Mauritania. theguardian.com/environment/20…

Meanwhile, students who'd been trapped at the local university during a violent standoff with gendarmes Thursday were evacuated to their homes. 📸 for @anadoluajansi @anadoluagency

It's the same neighborhood where, just 3 weeks ago, a 15-year-old died during an uprising over a land dispute with the national government. On both occasions gendarmes fired tear gas into homes, injuring elderly and children who had stayed home to avoid the conflict.

The call to prayer was eclipsed by the sound of stun grenades and exploding tear gas canisters Friday as protesters clashed with gendarmes throughout Dakar's Ngor village #FreeSenegal

Opponents of current president Macky Sall, who is hinting at running for an unconstitutional third term, say the trial was just Sall’s latest attempt to weaponize the judiciary in order to detain his rivals. 📸 for @anadoluagency

Violent protests erupted throughout Senegal Thursday following the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison for “corrupting youth,” making it unlikely he’ll be eligible to run in next year’s election.

“Le pays, c’est sûr que ça va brûler. Et ce qui est dommage c’est que c’est nous qui allons payer.” - Awa Kama, 30

#freesenegal #sonko

📸 for @anadoluajansi @anadoluagency

Many have large gashes on their bodies and have bloodied mouths from ropes being yanked around their jaws.

Hundreds of camels are brought to a market in Nouakchott, Mauritania each day where they're sold primarily for use as meat. The camels are often strangled and whipped while their legs are tied and unable to move.