Shailja Patel

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/421/54418_Monica_Nyeko_tmb.jpgD... her approach to writing and her family’s response to her success, Shailja Patel interviews the 2007 Monica Arac de Nyeko.

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And they asked him:
Why do you sing?
And he answered, as they seized him:
I sing because I sing

And they searched his chest
But could only find his heart
And they searched his heart
But could only find his people
And they searched his voice
But could only find his grief
And they searched his grief
But could only find his prison
And they searched his prison
But could only see themselves in chains

From Poem Of...read more

cc. 2008 began for Kenyans with the murder of Kenya’s democracy. It ended with the son of a Kenyan migrant winning the US presidential race. In editing this special issue of Pambazuka News, ‘Kenya – one year on’, our guest editor, Shailja Patel says the the questions that arise apply to both these historic events.

How do we create genuine political, social and economi...read more

cc. In March 2008, I was asked to deliver a “Kenya Bulletin” at South Africa’s Time Of The Writer Festival. In that bulletin, I identified the seven factors that were key to pulling Kenya back from the brink of civil war.

1) The progressive stand taken by the African Union at its January 2008 summit, bolstered by the intervention of the AU chair, President Kikwete of...read more

‘Manifesto Of Beginnings’ by was commissioned by the BBC World Service to mark the one-year anniversary of Kenya's stolen election. The title arose from the questions in the poet's mind, ‘How do we begin to recount all the betrayals and broken promises? And where do we begin when the roots of the post-election violence go all the way back to before Kenya's independence?’ This piece was first broadcast on 27 December 2008 on the BBC World Service on The World Today programme, and is reproduce...read more

Shailja Patel ponders what lies behind the recent attacks in Mumbai. Pointing to the stark inequalities that exist in India and elsewhere in the world, she asserts that the same violence could play itself out in any other city where the poor and oppressed are daily confronted by the opulence and arrogance of the wealthy globalized elite. Why, she asks, should the privileged classes of any society be exempt from fear in a world where war is the corporate strategy to open markets?

In response to : In her new book, "The Shock Doctrine", Naomi Klein provides an excellent analysis of the free-market fundamentalist and corporatist strategies that hobbled newly-independent African governments from the outset, making it impossible for them to deliver "democracy" in any real sense of redistribution and economic justice.

Huge congratulations, to the entire Pambazuka team, and the larger Pambazuka community. Even while we reflect on the challenges facing Africa, these are both extraordinary achievements, absolutely worthy of celebration.

I am thrilled to have shared a tiny part of Pambazuka's journey. I  look forward to the next 400 issues - and to adding my voice to the ever-growing and ever-deepening conversation.

When I think of Pambazuka, what comes to mind is a favourite poem, OPTIMISM,  by ...read more

Lovers of literature and human rights will gather across the world this Sunday, October 5th, for commemorative readings of the poems of Mahmoud Darwish. In Africa, readings will take place in Kenya, Sudan, Senegal, South Africa, Egypt and Zimbabwe.

One of the most eminent poets in the history of world literature, and a leading voice of the Palestinian people, Darwish died on 9 August, 2008. This worldwide day of commemoration, initiated by the Berlin Literature Festival, will honor his...read more

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/380/48554kivuitu.jpgShailja Patel shares with Pambazuka News readers her correspondences with Samuel Kivuitu, Chair of the Electoral Commission of Kenya who was at the center of the country's spiral into violence. Kivuiti's reply captures the arrogance that characterizes African leadership throughout the continent.
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