---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Pambazuka Editor <[email protected]> Date: Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 7:54 PM Subject: Pambazuka News 535: From aid and humanitarianism to solidarity To: pambazuka-news <[email protected]>
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 535: FROM AID AND HUMANITARIANISM TO SOLIDARITY The authoritative electronic weekly newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa Pambazuka News (English edition): ISSN 1753-6839 CONTENTS: 1. Features, 2. Announcements, 3. Advocacy & campaigns, 4. Pan-African Postcard, 5. Books & arts, 6. Letters & Opinions, 7. Highlights French edition, 8. Cartoons /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 1 Features FROM AID AND HUMANITARIANISM TO SOLIDARITY Discourses on development and the realities of exploitation Horace Campbell Horace Campbell charts Africa’s exploitative history of ‘aid’ and the struggle to establish a new global system rooted in dignity, equality and genuine social justice. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74098 ****** TINPOT BOMBARDIERS: NATO IN LIBYA Alexander Cockburn In NATO’s hands, UN Security Council resolution 1973 has morphed into a clear attempt at regime change in Libya, writes Alexander Cockburn. He stresses: ‘A hundred years down the road the UN–NATO Libyan intervention will be seen as an old-fashioned colonial smash-and-grab affair.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74077 ****** MAURITANIA: ‘A SIMPLE CITIZEN DEMANDING HIS RIGHTS’ Sokari Ekine Following the death by self-immolation of 41-year-old Mauritanian Yacoub Ould Dahoud in January, Sokari Ekine revisits his demands for change in the country. In the wake of the revelations around Gay Girl in Damascus’s true identity, she also explores the outrage and severe criticism directed at the site from those in the LGBTI and Middle Eastern blogosphere. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74110 ****** FACE TO FACE WITH THE CONGO Part two Cameron Duodu In the second part of a two-part article, Cameron Duodu reflects on the exciting and challenging times he had in the Congo in the 1960s and the experiences of George Padmore, Kwame Nkrumah and Patrice Lumumba in seeking to support Africa’s liberation movements. (Part one is available to read at http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/73943) http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74111 ****** FRANTZ FANON 50 YEARS ON Richard Pithouse ‘On 6 December 2011, 50 years will have passed since the death of Frantz Fanon. Around the world people are getting together in universities, trade union offices, shack settlements, prisons, church halls, and other places where people try to think together, to reflect on the meaning of an extraordinary man for us and our struggles here and now,’ writes Richard Pithouse. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74090 ****** GENUINE PARTNERSHIP OR A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE? India–Africa relations in the 21st century Fantu Cheru and Cyril Obi While China's relationship to Africa is much examined, knowledge and analysis of India's role in Africa has until now been limited but, as a significant global player, India's growing interactions with various African countries call for detailed analysis of the Asian giant's influence and its relations with the African continent. 'India in Africa: Changing Geographies of Power ( http://fahamubooks.org/book/?GCOI=90638100776420 ) ', a new title from Pambazuka Press, brings together expert commentators to explore inter-related areas including trade, investment, development aid, civil society relations, security and geopolitics, enabling readers to compare India to China and other 'rising powers' in Africa. In this extract from the book, Fantu Cheru and Cyril Obi explore the nature of the relationship between India and Africa. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74100 ****** INDIA IN AFRICA: CHANGING GEOGRAPHIES OF POWER Edited by Emma Mawdsley and Gerard McCann Pambazuka Press Pambazuka Press is proud to announce the launch of ‘India in Africa: Changing Geographies of Power ( http://fahamubooks.org/book/?GCOI=90638100776420 ) ’ a new title edited by Emma Mawdsley and Gerard McCann. 'With India and other emerging powers increasingly eyeing the rich resources of the African continent, this book by leading experts makes both timely and essential reading,' writes Yash Tandon, former executive director of the South Centre, Geneva. Featuring contributions from Padraig Carmody, Fantu Cheru, Alex Gadzala, Dave Harris, Paul Kamau, Dorothy McCormick, Renu Modi, Sanusha Naidu, Cyril Obi, Zarina Patel, Luke Patey, Zahid Rajan, Alex Vines and Simona Vittorini, the book enables readers to compare India to China and other 'rising powers' in Africa. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74115 ****** CAMEROON: PROPPING UP A DICTATOR Dibussi Tande A bewildering list of Cameroonian academics and intellectuals at home and abroad are throwing their full support behind President Biya and the ruling CPDM party, writes Dibussi Tande, in this week’s review of African blogs. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74089 ****** THE SECRECY BILL: SPEAK NOW OR FOREVER BE GAGGED Dale T. McKinley Dale T. McKinley takes a clause by clause look at South Africa’s Protection of Information Bill (POIB) – known publicly as the Secrecy Bill. It is ‘all very real and even more dangerous’, he writes, and South Africans should speak up now before it is too late. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74060 ****** THE PREVENTION OF SCHOLARSHIP BILL Jane Duncan South Africa’s Protection of Information Bill (POIB) – known publicly as the Secrecy Bill – represents the biggest threat to academic freedom since 1994. Yet the voice of universities has been missing from the uproar over the bill, writes Jane Duncan. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74062 ****** SOUTH AFRICA: BRING BACK THE TRUTH AND DIGNITY FROM 1976 Abahlali baseMjondolo Youth League ‘On 16 June 1976, the youth died for Freedom, yet today while we are told that we are free it is clear that we are not free,’ writes South African shackdwellers movement Abahlali base Mjondolo, as the country marks both Youth Day and the 35th anniversary of the Soweto uprising. ‘We are struggling for a freedom that everyone can experience for themselves in their every day lives. That means decent education, decent work, a decent guaranteed income for those without work and a decent place to stay for everyone. It also means the freedom to organize as we want and to say what we want in safety.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74104 ****** RE-EXAMINING THE MEANING OF 16 JUNE Veli Mbele With the legacy of South Africa's 1976 student uprising marked on 16 June, Veli Mbele writes that education is an area in which the ANC has failed South Africa's young black people. 'The situation is so dire that it gives credence to the theory that it serves the political interests of the ruling party to keep a huge section of the population uneducated and trapped in poverty and ignorance.' http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74070 ****** SOUTH AFRICA: WHERE IS THE FREEDOM CHARTER? Lindela S. Figlan If South Africa’s government ‘is really implementing the Freedom Charter, why are people complaining everywhere?’ asks Lindela S. Figlan. If ‘the ruling party was on the side of the poor it would encourage us to organise ourselves and to speak for ourselves…But instead it is always repressing the struggles of the poor’. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74103 ****** A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL: A DREAM FOR POOR AND UNEMPLOYED Ayanda Kota UPM The ‘old woman stopped for a moment, looked at me, a smile crawling out of her mouth. Yet I could see the tears making the way through the corners of the eyelids. I then stopped and stared at her. She made a sound, trying to remove a lump in her throat and finally broke the silence. She said “Vote ANC, Vote for Better Life, Vote for Heaven and Vote for Jesus. Better life in heaven indeed not under ANC”.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74091 ****** SOAWR YOUTH ESSAY COMPETITION: FINALIST ESSAYS ‘Why is the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa important to you?’ Brenda Kombo A month ago Solidarity for African Women’s Rights coalition (SOAWR) invited young people to reflect on the contributions women and girls can make to development issues, by writing an essay on the importance of Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. The four finalists – Nonyelum Umeasiegbu, Laurence Lemogo, Itodo Samuel Anthony and Nelly Nguegan – will attend this month’s AU summit in Malabo on the theme of 'Youth empowerment for sustainable development’. The three best essays in English are published in this issue of Pambazuka News. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74095 ****** HEEDING THE PROTOCOL Nonyelum Umeasiegbu ‘It is taking Africa forever to commence the implementation and domestication of the protocol on national levels and in various countries. If the charter had been implemented even a year after its declaration, I would not have lost my friend to childbirth,’ writes Nonyelum Umeasiegbu, one of the four finalists in SOAWR's essay competition. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74097 ****** THE PROTOCOL ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN: MY PERSPECTIVE Itodo Samuel Anthony The importance of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa lies in its potential to change negative power relations and address the impoverishment of women in Africa, writes Itodo Samuel Anthony, a finalist in the SOAWR essay competition. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74063 ****** SAFEGUARDING RIGHTS AND EMPOWERING YOUTH Eunice Kilonzo As part of the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) coalition’s essay competition ('Why is the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa important to you?'), Eunice Kilonzo discusses the strengths and limitations of the protocol. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/74096 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 2 Announcements THE MODERNIST DEMOCRATIC POLE: A 'NEW' POLITICAL COALITION Afef The political scene in Tunisia has witnessed the birth of a new political force: The Modernist Democratic Pole. This pole is a coalition of a number of political parties and civic associations. Mr. Riadh Ben Fadl and Mr. Mustapha Ben Ahmed, the founders of the pole, believe that it is crucial for all entities that have the same political ideas to unite. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/Announce/74069 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 3 Advocacy & campaigns AFRICAN FARMERS GATHERED TO DISCUSS AGROECOLOGY IN ZIMBABWE Via Campesina 'Zimbabwean farmers’ organizations are hosting a training meeting on agroecology, an encounter organized by La Via Campesina (LVC) Africa in Masvingo province in Zimbabwe, from June 13 to 19. The training workshop brings together LVC member organizations in the continent, key allies including academics, NGOs, social science practioners, and small-scale farmers.' http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74101 ****** ANOTHER SHACK FIRE DESTROYS FAMILIES HOMES IN SIYANDA Abahlali baseMjondolo South Africans are still recovering from the heavy rains that caused a lot of damage and flooding especially to poor communities. In Siyanda people have to deal with fire as well as flood. The Shange family, the Buthelezi family and one other family have all been left homeless after a fire that destroyed three shacks in Siyanda B Settlement on Saturday, 11 June 2011 during the broad day light. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74068 ****** HUGE SUPPORT FOR FREE MAXWELL CAMPAIGN Africa Contact Messages of solidarity with the detained president of the Swaziland National Union of Students Maxwell Dlamini keep flowing in. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74067 ****** ISRAEL–PALESTINE: WRITER AND ACADEMIC DETAINED WITHOUT CHARGE Rapid Action Network The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International is seriously concerned about the detention of prominent Palestinian writer and academic Dr Ahmad Qatamesh, who has been held without charge by the Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank since 21 April 2011. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74088 ****** NAMIBIA: DEATH THREAT FOR AVID ACCUSED NAMRIGHTS NAMRIGHTS is alarmed by what appear to be renewed death threats directed at one of the seven key accused persons in the alleged AVID Investments Corporation-Social Security Commission (AVID-SSC) financial fraud, suspected to come from people fearing their involvement in the case will be exposed. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74102 ****** STOP TAR SANDS IN MADAGASCAR - WRITE TO TOTAL'S CEO NOW! World Development Movement http://www.wdm.org.uk/action/stop-tar-sands-madagascar-total Madagascar, its unique biodiversity and its people, are under threat. French oil company Total is deciding whether to mine highly polluting tar sands in one of the poorest areas of Madagascar. Please act now to help stop this. Email Total’s chief executive today and call on him to abandon his company’s destructive plans. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/74118 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 4 Pan-African Postcard ON CULTURAL OPPRESSION H. Nanjala Nyabola ‘Can African women or women of African descent ever be truly liberated if they never learn to love their hair as it grows out of their head?’, asks H. Nanjala Nyabola. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/74092 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 5 Books & arts CONFLICT RESOLUTION: NEW AND EVOLVING DISCIPLINE Review of 'The SAGE Handbook of Conflict Resolution' Lucy Shule While stressing the need for greater engagement with the theme of gender, Lucy Shule commends the ‘historical depth and topical breadth’ of ‘The SAGE Handbook of Conflict Resolution’. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/74064 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 6 Letters & Opinions SHINING A VERY BRIGHT LIGHT ON AFRICA Response to 'The lies behind the West's war on Libya' Lars Thanks Jean-Paul Pougala for a very informative article ( http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72575 ) . Your article shines a very bright light on what is happening on the African continent in global terms. I hope that unity can be found quickly amongst the African leaders. Thanks again! ****** CANADA'S WARPLANES AND THE LIBYAN CONFLICT Response to 'The lies behind the West's war on Libya' A truly wonderful article ( http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/72575 ) and explanation of the history leading to the Libyan conflict. But you failed mention that it is Canada's warplanes (at the direction of Prime Minister Stephen Harper) who have taken the lead role in the air assaults on the Libyans--to the cheers of many Canadians and to the heartfelt shame of many others like myself. ****** INFORMED PUBLIC NEEDS ACCESS TO INDEPENDENT NEWS Response to 'The lies behind the West's war on Libya' William LeGere ‘Hopefully, in this new era of electronic information where we are no longer dependent upon corporate owned and sponsored media , people can now find access to honest, independent news agencies with truthful information, writes William LeGere. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/74108 ****** NEWS NOT COMING OUT OF AFRICA Seri Nyirimpisi Certainly, the Africa media is inept and poor equipped and/or perhaps scared to do its job. But you have to highlight and perhaps give credit to some of the blogs that do a good job of taking over from where the local media fails. For example, one the newest blogs about Tanzania, mtafakari.blog.com ( http://mtafakari.blog.com/ ) , is such one that most people are not aware of, but it is literally a fantastic blog to read. Mtafakari should be given credit, and encouragement to continue. ****** WESTERNERS: CHAMPIONS OF HYPOCRISY O. Cosgrove I'm sometimes ashamed to be a Westerner. Throughout history, Westerners have conquered by violence as though they had a right to conquer and kill. Anyone who stands in our way is cannon fodder and anyone who competes with us, as Gaddafi has by trying to make Africa independent of western 'aid', evokes jealousy and retribution. We have not set a good example to the world; we have made power and money our gods while professing to be children of God and champions of democracy. What we are champions of is hypocrisy. ****** WE CAN MEET THE CHALLENGES Gerry German Communities Empowerment Network Many thanks for keeping us up-to-date with events and happenings and continuing to convince us that we can meet the challenges, some of which sometimes appear overwhelming. Hundreds of problems but also hundreds of solutions, so long as we keep the faith. Peace, love and blessings on all your efforts to access freedom, equality and justice for all. ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 7 Highlights French edition PAMBAZUKA NEWS 193: DR CONGO: THE DEATH OF CHEBAYA AND THE ADVENT OF ANOTHER CONGO FLORIBERT CHEBEYA'S DEATH, ONE YEAR AFTER: A STRONG SIGN! Jean-Pierre Mbelu How can the struggle for human rights be converted into a struggle with the Congolese people (male and female alike) so that they become defenders of their own social, economic and cultural rights and political freedoms? What to do with the Congolese people whose rights and freedoms are constantly violated so that they do away with their status of 'innocent victims' defended only by a few worthy sons and daughters of Congo? How to enable them to become a people able to shout ‘their indignation’ without fear of death nor of vampires which can suck blood but cannot eat the spirit of resistance against the forces of death? Such are the questions which should bring the Congolese together, passionate for peace, justice and truth, and fighting for the advent of another Congo on this day when we remember these worthy sons and daughters of our people. Our article explores a few ideas. http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/74011 ****** GABON IN RUINS FROM SHATTERED DEMOCRACY Marc Ona Essangui The visit to the United States of America by the Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba from 6 to 9 June has sparked off protests from Gabonese civil society. In a letter addressed to President Barack Obama, the Gabonese civil society not only denounced the catastrophic state of democracy and governance in their country but also reminded President Obama of his speech in Accra, Ghana, which should form the basis of his relations with African leaders. http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/74044 ****** MOROCCO: CITIZENS NOT SUBJECTS! In the wake of revolts which changed the course of history in Tunisia and Egypt, the movement of 20th February by young Moroccans fulfils and asserts this aspiration to freedom and social justice. Under the slogan ‘citizens not subjects’, Moroccan associations decided to join Moroccan youth in the ongoing dynamics of revolutions of the people of the Maghreb and Mashreq in the quest for a legally constituted state. http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/74013 ****** MADAGASCAR: STOP THE DISORDER The political crisis continues in Madagascar, with false solutions and missed opportunities in the search of a return to political stability. For the members of the observatory of public life, it is time to get out of this cycle which has brought about the crumbling of everything and now the Malagasy people have started to lose their bearings. http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/category/features/74010 ****** ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ 8 Cartoons SELLING OUR LAND FOR DONOR AID The economics of foreign aid... http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/74094 ****** ZIMBABWE'S PRESIDENTIAL TOILET Gado A policeman was arrested for using Zimbabwean President Mugabe's private toilet at a trade fair last month. http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/cartoons/74093 ****** /\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\/\/\//\ Fahamu - Networks For Social Justice http://www.fahamu.org Pambazuka News is published by Fahamu Ltd. © Unless otherwise indicated, all materials published are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. 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