Wednesday, January31, 2007

Breathing new life into the struggle for change in Africa

In the 1960s and 1970s, Africa was symbolised by both royally devastation and the national liberation struggles that swept the colonisers' regimes away. The presence at the World Social Forum (WSF) of so many activist who are as disenchanted with their own governments as they are angry at those of the West illustrates how the hopes for liberation have been betray. But it also shows that a new creation of African left wing activists is beginning to emerge.

Now there is a chance to build a new movement that can go far further than the limits of the old national liberation struggles. "I think the potential is great but to realise it we require a programme of action to keep up the pace," says Wangui Mbatia from Kenya's People's Parliament. "The agenda of the left contains many issues that will have people rallying land, housing, employment, trade, and even migration. People here have huge difficulties moving across borders.