ACTSA; Beshlie goes to Africa.: 14: Southern Africa Trust, High Comission and Zimbabwe.

So what's it all about then?

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Well hello there. My name is Beshlie and I work for the Marine Management Organisation as a Marine Officer. I joined Prospect, the recognised trade union for marine officers, and soon became involved in union matters, including the young professionals network. I took on the role of environment rep and international development advocate because it is a subject I feel strongly about and thought it would be an opportunity to influence decisions affecting all MMO staff and have a positive influence outside the organisation. I have been working with management, fellow reps and Prospect officers on creating MMO’s sustainable development action plan, which ties in with the bargaining for international development project; the environment and people are very much linked in my mind. As a consequence, I applied for a two week trip to South Africa with ACTSA, an organisation described as the successor to the anti-apartheid organisation. Guess what.... I'm going and this blog will tell you about it. Eventually!

Tuesday, 7 September 2010

14: Southern Africa Trust, High Comission and Zimbabwe.

It has been a really long day today. I will keep this quick, as it is currently two in the morning and I can't keep my eyes open.

Today we had a very informative meeting with the Southern Africa Trust. They have some amazing Corporate Social Responsibility things happening. We also met with the British High Commission of Southern Africa and the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum. I met a Zimbabwean woman who has is afraid to go outside....she's been a victim of racism, she's been raped five times.

1) Southern Africa Trust

The Southern Africa Trust supports processes to deepen and widen participation in policy dialogue with a regional impact on poverty. It:

is an independent, regional, non-profit agency registered in South Africa

supports organisations and processes with regional impact

supports deeper and wider engagement in policy dialogue

supports public policy development to overcome poverty

supports voices of the poor to be heard in policy dialogue

In a very very basic form, SAT is big on stakeholder engagement and education. Fab!! They are running some brilliant projects aimed to tackle xeno[phobia, one of which is an excahange programme between communities in Southern Africa and Mozambique. They send teenagers over to live with a family for three months, so that they are able to face full cultural immersion and come back having overcome fears and smashed misconceptions; this is then fed into the community and will hopefully spread.

SAT are also running a project called "Business for Development" which does this:

Provide a platform for a united and powerful voice on the role of business in developing sustainable, market-based solutions to poverty challenges;

• Call on governments to create the necessary framework conditions for companies to maximize their contribution to development; and

• Extend an invitation to governments and other stakeholders to partner with business in the common quest for a more inclusive and sustainable future

2) British High Commission

The BHC in Pretora was a pretty ace meeting; it was good to hear about Southern Africa from the point of view of officials. The chaps we saw had some interesting facts to give; for example the fact that for every 7 seats in each world cup stadium,14,000 school libraries could have been stocked. I did not see anything to back that up, but hell, what a statistic! Before we jump to conclusions, South Africa deserved the praise they got for the World Cup and it has put the country firmly on the map. I do not believe it is our role to judge or even comment on how another country spends its money. Perhaps I would have done it differently, perhaps not. If you are still not convinced, think about the relative poverty we have in the UK, think of the unemployed, the NHS underfunding, the tax rises.....now, think about us hosting the Olympics in 2012! A spotlight has been shone on Southern Africa and that can only be good from an investment point of view!

3) Zimbabwe Exiles Forum

"The Zimbabwe Exiles Forum is a Southern African non-political, non-profit and non-partisan organisation with an eye on the future of Zimbabwe. It was founded in 2003 in South Africa on the premise that political change that will usher in a democratic dispensation where human dignity and civil liberties are sacrosanct in Zimbabwe is inevitable.

ZEF is however concerned that little or nothing is being done to prepare for this change. In this regard ZEF is engaged in research, documentation, advocy, lobbying and litigation around issues of human rights in Zimbabwe."

Meeting with the ZEF was inspirational. Here are people who are unable to go back to Zim for fear of arrest or worse. The things we do not think about are things like the fact that these guys can not go home; so, when one's mother dies, they can not bury her. Things we take for granted, like hospital treatment are not afforded to these exiles living in South Africa; they are numbers, not people. Although the authorities should medically treat exiles, we all know how systems are easily bent to someone's own preference. This results in the exiles living in constant fear. We spoke to one lady who admitted to being terrified living in South Africa. Because the rate of rape is so high, she is too afraid to go anywhere but to and from work; she knows that if she were to be attacked, she could not guarantee medical help. That must be one hell of a thing to live with. The ZEF is campaigning to ensure medial help is given to those seeking asylum.

The ZEF is also campaigning for those in exile to be given the vote in their home elections; this happens elsewhere in the world, so why not for them? Good point; how can a country ever get better if those who want to change it are exiled and can have no official input?

Knowing racism as we do, it comes as no suprise that those in exile face racism and xenophobia on a daily basis, they have lived in a country where officials have burned homes and raped thousands and they come to a country where they are abused and exploited.

Let us hope that those in the ZEF keep working to attain rights for their kin.

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Secondary Links

The Nomntu Project

The Nomutu project is run by a friend of mine's family. It provides educational, social and practical support to those suffering from poverty, abuse, HIV/AIDS in small communities in the Eastern Cape. They do good work. Support them if you can!

Artists For a New South Africa

Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA) is a nonprofit organisation working in the U.S. and South Africa to combat HIV/AIDS, assist children orphaned by the disease, advance human and civil rights, educate and empower youth, and build bonds between our nations through arts, culture, and our shared pursuit of social justice.

Music you might like

Johnny Clegg: Johnny Clegg is one of South Africa’s most celebrated sons. He is a singer, a songwriter, a dancer, anthropologist and a musical activist whose infectious crossover music, a vibrant blend of Western pop and African Zulu rhythms, has exploded onto the international scene and broken through all the barriers in his own country.

Listen on Myspace here.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo: So good were they that after a time they were forbidden to enter the competitions but welcomed, of course, to entertain at them.

Listen on Myspace here. (Yes, they are the ones from Paul simon's Graceland album).

Putumayo world Music - South Africa. Listen to previews through Real/Media Player. These guys are great, as they support NGO's and non profit organisations. For info click here.

Soul Brothers; Initially formed in KwaZulu Natal, the group have remained the slickest and most successful proponents of the mbaqanga sound which dominated South African urban music for over three decades.

Listen on We7 here.

Xavier Rudd and Izintaba: Album Koonyun Sun. Xavier is from australia, Izintaba from South Africa. I won't give you a review, just get it. It's ace. Particularly track 4.

Listen on Myspace here.

South Africa Fact File

For more information click here.

South Africa, officially called the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country of continental Africa, bordered in the north-west by Namibia; in the north by Botswana and Zimbabwe; in the north-east by Mozambique and Swaziland; in the east and south by the Indian Ocean; and in the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The independent country of Lesotho forms an enclave in the eastern part of the country. South Africa has an area of 1,219,090 sq km (470,693 sq mi). The administrative capital of South Africa is Pretoria, the legislative capital is Cape Town, and the judicial capital is Bloemfontein.

Government

In February 1990 South Africa’s white minority government lifted the ban on anti-apartheid political organizations and freed African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners. The government and the black liberation movement, led primarily by the ANC, then entered into negotiations to dismantle apartheid and open the way to political democracy in South Africa.

Religion, Language and Culture

Religion

About 68 per cent of the people of South Africa are Christians, mainly Protestant. Most Afrikaners belong to the Dutch Reformed Church, and most South African whites who speak English as their first language belong to the Anglican, Congregational, Methodist, or Roman Catholic Churches. Blacks are also members of these denominations; in addition, many of them adhere to so-called independent Churches, which combine elements of Christianity and traditional African religions. A significant minority of blacks also follow traditional beliefs. Of the non-Christian religions in South Africa Hindus comprise 1.3 per cent and Muslims 1.1 per cent. South Africa also has a Jewish community of some 67,600 people, although a number of Jews have emigrated to Israel in the past 25 years.

Language

There are 11 official languages in South Africa: Afrikaans (6.2 million), English (3.5 million), Ndebele (588,000), Northern Sotho (3,840,000), Southern Sotho (2,704,000), Swati (1,019,000), Tsonga (1,646,000), Tswana (2,822,000), Venda (666,000), Xhosa (6,858,000), and Zulu (10,700,000). Afrikaans and English are the languages of record. The former, a variant of the Dutch language, is the first language of almost all Afrikaners and many Coloured people. English is used as the primary language by many whites and is also spoken by many Asians and blacks. To most blacks, however, a Bantu language (see Niger-Congo Languages) or Khoisan (Click) language is their first language. In addition to English, many Asians also speak a language of India. Fanagolo, a Zulu-based pidgin, is spoken by several thousand mainly as a lingua franca among mining communities. A group of Afrikaner intellectuals, concerned that Afrikaans is being marginalized in South Africa, met at Hammanskraal in May 2000, to launch the Group of 63, which seeks special constitutional protection for Afrikaans and other minority languages. Members include the South African writer Breyten Breytenbach. It is the first time since early last century that Afrikaners from such a diverse political spectrum have united on a cultural project.

Culture

The historical segregation of racial and ethnic groups in South Africa has resulted in distinct cultural developments. Within the white population English and European cultures have re-emerged as dominant influences, especially with the erosion of the Afrikaner-created apartheid system, and the end of the international isolation it caused. The historical distinction between the more religious and nationalistic Afrikaners and the more cosmopolitan English speakers is diminishing, especially among young people.

Among blacks, urban and rural cultures continue to differ. Urban black culture is multi-ethnic and increasingly draws on international influences, such as those of African-Americans. These influences have increased since the end of international sanctions against South Africa, which restricted artists from other countries from performing in South Africa. In the major urban areas the end of apartheid has brought about more interracial cultural activities. Generational differences within both the white and black populations also play a role in cultural expressions. In rural areas black cultural activities tend to emphasize the traditions of particular ethnic groups. Traditional Afrikaner culture is also strongest in rural areas. In recent years a new sense of self-pride has developed in the Coloured community and has found expression in writing, theatre, and music.

In 1993 the two sides agreed to hold the first multiracial elections in South Africa’s history in April 1994. A Transitional Executive Council was formed to supervise the elections, which would put in place new national and provincial governments. After difficult negotiations amid rising violence, much of it politically linked, an interim constitution was approved to serve as the country’s law until a permanent one could be written and adopted by the new parliament. The negotiators agreed that the new government would be one of “national unity”, in which minority parties with at least 5 per cent of the vote would be represented. However, the minority parties would not be able to exercise veto power over the decisions of the majority governing party.

ACTSA; Beshlie goes to Africa.

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So what's it all about then?

Tuesday, 7 September 2010

14: Southern Africa Trust, High Comission and Zimbabwe.

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