Research Papers: IDPs/Darfur, Refugees/Mail, Refugees/South Africa, Relief & Religion, Urban IDPs via Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog
Barriers to Asylum: The Marabastad Refugee Reception Office (Forced Migration Studies Programme, August 2008) [text]
Conflict, Arms, and Militarization: The Dynamics of Darfur’s IDP Camps, HSBA Working Paper no. 15 (Small Arms Survey, Sept. 2008) [text]
The ‘Humanitarian Frontline’, Development and Relief, and Religion - What Context, Which Threats and Which Opportunities?, Working Paper no....
from the Mail and Guardian This article profiles new food co-operatives in South Africa that are being used to combat rising food prices. - Kaleby NOSIMILO NDLOVU Salaminah Motsoagae (23) is a single mother who lives in an informal settlement in Orange Farm, Gauteng. She lives with her mother, who is a domestic worker and the only income earner in the family.Rising food prices have put a financial strain on Motsoagae's family, leaving them with less money than before to buy food. "We are down to two meals a day," she says."Things are especially tough on people in my community who are HIV-positive because they must eat a nutritional meal each time they have to take their antiretrovirals (ARVs). Most of the time there just isn't enough for them to eat and they become very ill. Our... 
from All Africa This examines the use of resources to uplift the poor. the authors say that South Africa have many recources but the are under used. - KaleBusiness Day (Johannesburg)By Ted Black and Andrew BlackJohannesburgON HIS 90th birthday, Nelson Mandela said: "There are many people in SA who are rich and who can share their riches with those who have not been able to conquer poverty."We all understand why he said that, but "wealth redistribution" is the wrong focus for the nation. More than enough of it has taken place since 1994 -- legally and illegally.Over the past 60 years, developed countries have given billions of dollars to help developing ones escape poverty, disease and provide hope. Despite an extraordinary level of financial support, relatively few countries, mainly Far... 
from the Turkish Press The rising cost of everything has spurred a nationwide strike in South Africa. The strike shut down gold mining and other big industries. - KaleA sea of protesting workers filled the streets of the capital as they made their way to President Thabo Mbeki's office, carrying signs and chanting while demanding action over the rising cost of living.Public transport shut down countrywide, trade unions said, while there were reports of roads barricaded by burning tyres in the south and low worker turnout for the key mining industry."We are taking this town," one speaker told demonstrators at a rally in Pretoria.Others said high prices were further hurting the poor in a country where around 40 percent of the estimated 48 million people are unemployed and more than four... 
from All Africa South Africa is responding to President Mbeki's war on poverty plan. Mbeki announced the effort last weekend. The plan has it's fair share of critics. - Kaleby Amy Musgrave and Karima BrownJohannesburg - CIVIL society and organised labour have cautiously welcomed the government's planned anti poverty campaign, saying it is scant on detail and that they were not consulted.The campaign, announced by President Thabo Mbeki at the weekend, following the cabinet lekgotla, will be headed by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and launched next month.Yesterday, lobby groups welcomed the campaign but said it was difficult to ascertain how it was different from existing anti poverty measures.Mbeki told reporters that the campaign would identify deprived wards and households.A... 
from the BBCThe BBC has picked up on the story of white poverty in South Africa. Attention has been drawn to the subject by the ANC president Jacob Zuma. - Kaleby Peter BilesKarel and Annetjie du Randt moved to the Bethlehem settlement in Pretoria West five years ago after falling on hard times.Previously, Mr du Randt had been employed, making tombstones in the town of Rustenburg.The du Randts' home today is a tiny wooden hut on a private plot of land where about 30 whites make up the small community.The huts have no electricity or individual toilets, but there is a spacious garden where the residents can grow and sell vegetables."We try to help each other", says Mr du Randt."We're not just sitting around and crying. Most of the guys here don't have any income, but we're just starting a... 
from AFP via Google After visits to poor areas last week, the president of South Africa announces a new scheme to fight poverty in the country. - KalePRETORIA — South Africa, the continent's economic powerhouse, will next month launch a nationwide campaign against poverty, President Thabo Mbeki said on Sunday."The war on poverty campaign will be launched in all the (nine) provinces during August. The most deprived wards and households have been identified and will be visited ... to identify needs," he said at a media briefing on the outcome of a cabinet meeting last week."A war-room on poverty has also been established," and the campaign is coordinated by the office of the vice president, he said.More than four million South Africans live below the poverty line, according to government... 
All Africa Usually story's on fair trade stores only profile the store itself. This one talks of the artisans who supply the store. - KaleInter Press Service (Johannesburg)By Stephanie NieuwoudtCape TownEntering the Monkeybiz shop, one is confronted with hundreds of brightly coloured beaded animals, dolls, place mats and pictures. You find yourself smiling involuntarily."Just look at the beautiful work. How can you resist it?" asked Emma Johnson, an American tourist who visited the shop twice in one week. "I am buying a lot of dolls to take home as Christmas gifts."Another tourist, Beatrice LaCroix from Canada, said she was impressed with the fact that Monkeybiz helped poor people: "I read about this project some time ago. When I arrived in Cape Town, I made a point of finding out where... 
from AFP via Google You might remember yesterday's post that previewed Zuma's meet. Now we have details what happened on the visit. - KalePRETORIA — Jacob Zuma, leader of South Africa's ruling ANC party, promised Thursday to break the silence on white poverty as he met Afrikaans residents of a township living without running water or electrity.Zuma, favourite to become only the third black president of South Africa at elections next year, said he had been shocked and embarrassed by the plight of the residents of Bethlehem, situated on the outskirts of the capital Pretoria."I am shocked and surprised by what I have seen here," said Zuma."The vast number of black poverty does not mean that we must ignore white poverty which is increasingly becoming an embarrassment to talk... 
from the Times Proof that poverty knows no race or ethnicity. A story on poor whites in South Africa. - KaleHundreds of poor whites from the Bethlehem informal settlement in Pretoria West would again meet African National Congress president Jacob Zuma tomorrow, trade union Solidarity said.In a statement, the union said community leaders from at least 40 informal settlements in Pretoria would gather under the auspices of Solidarity Helping Hand to discuss their problems with Zuma."Zuma returns to the white informal settlement Bethlehem tomorrow after promising earlier this year to tackle the community’s problems."The union would also present a report on the growing problem of white poverty in Pretoria to Zuma and the executive mayor of the Tshwane Metro Council Gwen Ramokgopa.Zuma was... 
from the Dispatch Here are more details from the government report on poverty in South Africa that was released last week. It also shows that there was a rapid increase in Tuberculosis cases. - KaleTHE income of the poorest South Africans has improved in real terms over the past 14 years, according to government’s 2008 development indicators released last week.The publication provides “evidence-based pointers” on the impact of government programmes on the lives of South Africans and is published on an annual basis.According to the document, income inequality has increased because the income of the richest 10% of the population has increased at a faster rate than the rest of the country.The per capita analysis shows an improvement in the incomes of the poorest 10% – rising from... 
from the Times Online, UK Here's a story of a man escaping South Africa and returning to help. Despite going back he is worried about the safety of his family. - KaleCharlene SweeneyIvan Turok was only 10 when his family left South Africa but he will never forget the relentless persecution that drove them out. His parents were involved in the struggle against apartheid and his father, who had been under house arrest, faced a long prison sentence.“It was very frightening,” he said. “We used to get woken up in the middle of the night by police — sometimes with dogs — trying to find [political] material.”Compelled by the intimidation that he experienced as a child, the Professor of Urban Economic Development at the University of Glasgow is now ready to make his own contribution... 
from the Independent On Line A little history and a little review on South Africa. Showing how expectations on lives improving after the fall of apartheid have fallen short. - KaleJohannesburg - When they talk of their government's failure, South Africans in the tangle of shacks and narrow lanes that is Alexandra point to an unfinished modern brick and steel building near the edge of the township.The billboard out front says the Mandela Interpretation Centre should have been completed two years ago.Neighbors gossip that corrupt officials stole money for the centre.Julian Baskin, director of a government project to redevelop Alexandra, says the real story is that only R4-million (US$525 000) was set aside four years ago for a museum that has since grown to include space for cultural and... 
from the Independent On Line By Barry BatemanGovernment's ability to respond to women's rights issues and the prevention of HIV and Aids are hampered by the critical shortage of skilled health professionals.Deputy Minister of Social Development Dr Jean Swanson-Jacobs told guests on World Population Day on Friday that measures were being taken to combat the problem.She said this year's World Population Day coincided with an interesting milestone."For the first time in history, more than half of the world's populations, 3,3-billion people, are living in urban areas," she said.Swanson-Jacobs said that the South African Population Policy, adopted in 1998, recognised that population and development are intertwined and cannot be dealt with by a single entity."Education is a key factor in... 
from All Africa BuaNews (Tshwane)NEWS2 July 2008Posted to the web 2 July 2008By Gabi KhumaloDurbanPoverty is among the main reasons for the high treatment defaulter rate among Tuberculosis (TB) patients.Speaking to BuaNews during the South African TB Conference, currently underway in Durban, TB Free Advocacy Communication and Social Mobilisation Manager, Leko Nkabinde said due to poverty, most people were surviving on social grants they received for their illnesses.They however deliberately neglected to take their TB treatment as required so that they could continue to receive the grant."Poverty levels are so high and some people do not want to be cured in order to continue receiving the grant."You find a person continuing to drink alcohol knowing that you can't consume it whilst on... 
from The Daily News, South Africa
Some 200 000 Zimbabwean refugees are likely to cross into South Africa in the next month or two if it becomes clear that Robert Mugabe will remain in power.
This is according to Braam Hanekom, of Passop (People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty), which released a statement on the ramifications of Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal from the election.
"We fear that Zimbabweans will flood into South Africa, as never before, resulting in further frustrations among poor South Africans.
"The numbers we can expect, if the Zimbabwean people have no chance of changing their president, will result in massive bloodshed. It is the worst possible time for a drastic increase in migration into South Africa, it will be war," the statement noted.... 
from Business Day The world’s hungriest people are the rural poor who starve even when prices are low, writes ROBERT PAARLBERGTHE price of many basic foodstuffs has surged in the past six months. High import prices, on top of high fuel prices, place an acute economic squeeze on urban consumers in developing countries that depend heavily on the world market. In Haiti, Egypt, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Ethiopia, the urban poor have been taking to the streets.Yet it is a mistake to see high prices as a proxy for actual hunger. Most of the world’s hungry citizens do not get their food from the world market and most who rely on the world market are not poor or vulnerable to hunger.In south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, hunger levels are twice as high as in the developing... 
from IPS Newsnterview with Abera Tola, Director of Oxfam's Horn of Africa regional officeADDIS ABABA, Jun 21 (IPS) - Ethiopia, a nation of 80 million people, has been the site of famine and drought throughout its tumultuous history. Arising from a myriad of causes and often shepherded along by political instability, the country's 1984-85 famine, for example, left over a million dead and served as the impetus for the fund-raising concerts of Live Aid in the United States and the United Kingdom.Today, Ethiopia once again stands at the brink of a substantial food crisis, with the Word Food Program currently estimating that, of Ethiopia's 80 million citizens, 3.4 million will need emergency food relief from July to September. This is in addition to the 8 million currently receiving... 
from the Edinburgh News SOUTH African President Thabo Mbeki today urged world leaders to end the divide between rich and poor in the "global village" at the start of the Earth Summit in Johannesburg.More than 100 world leaders - with the notable exception of US President George W Bush - are meeting for ten days to find ways of helping millions of people out of poverty without poisoning the planet.Mr Mbeki opened the World Summit on Sustainable Development today in the Sandton convention centre.There was a heavy police presence outside to shield delegates from crowds of demonstrators and sprawling, crime-ridden slums.It is hoped the Summit will lead to agreements which will help more than one billion people without access to clean water and more than two billion without proper... 
from The Times, South Africa Education is a weapon against poverty, ANC president Jacob Zuma told Indian children from poor households in Mumbai, India, today.Zuma was speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Gandhi Institute of Computer Education and Information Technology at the conclusion of his three-day visit to India.The aim of the visit was to strengthen relations between the ANC and the Indian National Congress Party."We have taken a resolution in our country to invest heavily in education, including information and technology," Zuma said."We see a lot of areas of collaboration with India in this regard given the strides this country is making in information and communications technology".Zuma said that he also came from a poor background but he had taught himself."I come from... 
from All Africa The Nation (Nairobi)By Peter KagwanjaNairobiThe xenophobic attacks reflect the failure by the ANC government to close the gap between the "two different countries" that South Africa has become in the last 15 years.The first country, visibly white and wealthy, signifies South Africa's dramatic successes in pulling back from racism, violence and human rights abuses of the apartheid era to political stability anchored on a liberal constitution, relatively impartial courts, faster economic growth than under apartheid and inflow of foreign investment.African migrants with high professional skills, technology and resources to invest in businesses have settled in this "country", which has met the UN millennium Development Goals (MDGs) long before the 2015 finish line.The second... 
from All AfricaBuaNews (Tshwane)By Michael AppelDurbanAn amount of R21.6 million has been set aside by the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government for Early Childhood Development (ECD) in 2008, increasing it to R97 million in 2010 said KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele, Sunday.Speaking on International Children's Day, the premier highlighted the need for strong focus to fall on ECD as indicated by The Growth Report released by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and the Commission on Growth and Development."On the issue of education and skills development the report found that equality of opportunity and gender inclusiveness was necessary to bring the benefits of globalisation to those not yet actively participating in the economy."It found that, for instance, adequate nutrition among... 
from AFP via GoogleChildren make their way to school past shacks, destroyed in xenophobic violenceJOHANNESBURG — South Africa's government acknowledged an urgent need Thursday to accelerate efforts to tackle poverty and unemployment as it assessed the damage from a wave of deadly xenophobic attacks.In a statement issued after a cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, the government said it "accepts that the pace of service delivery needs to be expedited ... to address the developmental needs of our communities."However, blaming and attacking foreign nationals is an unacceptable way of highlighting community concerns."The government said there were genuine concerns about access to basic provisions such as water as well as jobs but they were being exploited to justify attacks on foreigners...