Subscribe for Free!

Donate to Pambazuka News!

Pambazuka News is produced by a pan-African community of some 2,600 citizens and organisations - academics, policy makers, social activists, women's organisations, civil society organisations, writers, artists, poets, bloggers, and commentators who together produce insightful, sharp and thoughtful analyses and make it one of the largest and most innovative and influential web forums for social justice in Africa.

Latest titles from Pambazuka Press

From Citizen to Refugee

Uganda Asians come to Britain
Mahmood Mamdani
'On the face of it, life in the camp presented a sharp and favourable contrast to the open terror of living in Uganda. But it was the Kensington camp, and not Amin's Uganda, which was my first experience of what it would be like to live in a totalitarian society.' Mahmood Mamdani
Buy now

African Awakening

The Emerging Revolutions
The tumultuous uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have seized the attention of media but what about the rest of Africa? With incisive contributions from across the continent, "African Awakening" presents the 2011 uprisings in their African context.
Buy now

Demystifying Aid

Yash Tandon

This pamphlet from Pambazuka Press shows that 'development aid' is not what it purports to be - the effects of actions of well-meaning allies in the North who support aid to Africa for reasons of ethics or solidarity are, unfortunately, the opposite of their good intentions.
Buy now

To Cook a Continent

Destructive Extraction and the Climate Crisis in Africa
Nnimmo Bassey
Exploiting Africa's resources has delivered huge profits to the North and huge damage to Africa's environment and economies. Overcoming the crises of environment and climate change means also addressing corporate profiteering and resource extraction.
Buy now

Earth Grab

Geopiracy, the New Biomassters and Capturing Climate Genes
Diana Bronson, Hope Shand, Jim Thomas, Kathy Jo Wetter
As greedy eyes focus on the global South's resources this book 'pulls back the curtain on disturbing technological and corporate trends that are already reshaping our world and that will become crucial battlegrounds for civil society in the years ahead.
Buy now

Pambazuka News Broadcasts

Pambazuka broadcasts feature audio and video content with cutting edge commentary and debate from social justice movements across the continent.

See the list of episodes.

AU MONITOR

This site has been established by Fahamu to provide regular feedback to African civil society organisations on what is happening with the African Union.

Perspectives on Emerging Powers in Africa: December 2011 newsletter

Deborah Brautigam provides an overview and description of China's development finance to Africa. "Looking at the nature of Chinese development aid - and non-aid - to Africa provides insights into China's strategic approach to outward investment and economic diplomacy, even if exact figures and strategies are not easily ascertained", she states as she describes China's provision of grants, zero-interest loans and concessional loans. Pambazuka Press recently released a publication titled India in Africa: Changing Geographies of Power, and Oliver Stuenkel provides his review of the book.
The December edition available here.

The 2010 issues: September, October, November, December, and the 2011 issues: January, February, March , April, May , June , July , August , September, October and November issues are all available for download.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Advocacy & campaigns

Abahlali baseMjondolo emergency appeal

War on Want

2010-10-28, Issue 502

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/68188

Printer friendly version

UK-based War on Want has launched an emergency fundraising appeal for South African shackdwellers’ movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo. Following attacks on the Kennedy Road settlement just over a year ago, the demands placed on the movement by people losing their homes and being dragged through the courts are beyond what the movement’s member subscriptions can cover.

In South Africa, one in four people live in overcrowded shacks scraping a living on less than a dollar a day. They frequently have no toilets, no water, no electricity and are evicted from their homes. Despite extreme poverty and hostility from the government, shackdwellers are coming together to fight for their rights and improve their conditions.

Abahlali baseMjondolo is a pioneering social movement, supporting tens of thousands of shackdwellers. But a year ago, Abahlali's leaders were brutally attacked. Armed men threatened them and their families' lives and destroyed their homes on the night of September 26 last year. Since then, the leaders have been hiding and the movement has had to operate quasi-clandestinely - even though just ten days after the attack, Abahlali won a constitutional case entirely vindicating their operations!

We are making an emergency appeal on behalf of Abahlali. Justice has been denied to thirteen of its members arrested after the attack in Kennedy Road, who have still not been brought to trial. Many families were displaced by the violence, and have been unable to return to their homes, losing what little they had.

Abahlali is a true grassroots movement. It funds its activities on the subscriptions of its members – R10 a year (the price of a loaf of bread). But the demands placed on it now, by people losing their homes and being dragged through the courts, are way beyond what these subscriptions can cover.

A donation as small as £10 translates into R120 – enough to help Abahlali support a family to stay in their home. 100 per cent of all the money donated will go straight to Abahlali and their amazing work. Abahlali will be sent the names of everyone who contributes unless you would prefer to remain anonymous.

Many thanks.

* Please visit www.justgiving.com/Abahlali-Appeal to make a contribution to the appeal.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

↑ back to top