News

Sand-mining threatens homes and livelihoods in Sierra Leone

Published in Saturday February 2nd, 2013 In In the media

In the village of Lakka whole stretches of coastline are littered with the remains of buildings whose foundations have been washed from underneath them as a result of sand-mining. Many coastal residents can only watch as the coastline draws ever-nearer to their homes.
Balu Kargbo lives just a few feet away from a cliff of loose sand at the edge of Hamilton Beach, 8 km from Freetown. She is very concerned about the threat to her home but, like her neighbours, she cannot afford to move. “The beach is getting shorter all the time,” she says.

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Diamonds Are Not Forever, but the Land Is

Published in Friday February 1st, 2013 In In the media

In the village of Makonkonde in western Sierra Leone, Mabinti, who no longer knows her age, sits on a low wooden stool in the dappled shade of several palm trees. She clutches a solitary papaya fruit in hands toughened by a lifetime of hard manual work.
Small-scale farming is not an easy way to make a living in rural Sierra Leone. Mabinti’s only real chance of selling her papaya is by waiting for customers travelling along the sandy track running through town, which sees just one or two motorbikes per hour.

‘Inequal Land Rights Aggravates Women’s Status’

Published in Thursday January 31st, 2013 In In the media

The impact of the inequality in lands rights has aggravated women’s socio-economic status, allowed for sexual harassment and violence against women and contributed towards marital instability, separation and divorce.
This assertion was made by the Executive Director, Women Environmental Programme (WEP), Ms. Priscilla M. Achakpa in her address entitled “Gender land evaluation using gender evaluation criteria” presented at a training workshop on gender and land evaluation held in Abuja yesterday.

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Haiti’s road to reconstruction blocked by land tenure disputes

Published in Tuesday January 29th, 2013 In In the media

A practically non-existent land registry, fraudulent land titles, unclear processes for land transfer, and a tangle of bureaucracy have halted the road project and similar major international investments.

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Towards the World Assembly of Inhabitants and beyond

Published in Tuesday January 29th, 2013 In Social movement news

From the 26th to the 30th of March, as part of the World Social Forum, the city of Tunis will host the next World Assembly of Inhabitants (WAI), supported by international networks and inhabitants organisations. Everyone is invited to take part in this key stage in the process!

Austerity may be hitting many in the UK, but it’s the homeless suffering most acutely

Published in Monday January 28th, 2013 In Opinion

From the mid-90s until 2010, following a concerted effort from national government, the numbers of people sleeping rough steadily declined. Thousands of men and women were helped to find social housing or private rented accommodation, often subsidised by housing benefit. But from 2010 onwards the effects of the economic downturn has slammed all this progress into a dramatic reverse.

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Recovery Remains Spotty 3 Months After Hurricane in the US

Published in Tuesday January 22nd, 2013 In In the media

Hurricane Sandy slammed into New York and New Jersey nearly three months ago, and the grueling recovery effort continues with work being done to repair, rebuild and reopen shattered homes and businesses. But the process has been uneven, and there is ample evidence that many people are still struggling in the aftermath of one of the most vicious storms to hit the region. Following are snapshots of how some people and places are faring on the road back.

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Colombia renews pledges to its displaced people

Published in Monday January 21st, 2013 In In the media

For years, left-wing guerillas, extreme right-wing paramilitary militias and the government have been fighting for control. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, and millions have been displaced in the course of the fighting. Now, things are supposed to change.

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Stopping Evictions in Spain

Published in Monday January 21st, 2013 In Social movement news

As Spain’s unemployment rate climbs above 25 percent and its social welfare system is meticulously dismantled, around 500 eviction orders are issued each day. Banks are repossessing the homes of those who can’t meet their mortgage payments. This trend is sadly not new. There were more than 325,000 foreclosures between 2007 and 2011, according to Spain’s justice department. A fellow Polis blogger explored who is to blame for evictions in Spain early last year. In this post, I look at how advocacy and grassroots groups, including Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) and the housing groups from 15M assemblies, are working to stop and transform this process.

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In Wyoming, US, Many Jobs but No Place to Call Home

Published in Tuesday January 15th, 2013 In In the media

As in any other place in the country, many homeless people in Wyoming have lived on the streets for years or suffer from mental illness or drug and alcohol addictions. But social service workers say they have seen a growing number of economic migrants from Florida and Michigan, Wisconsin and California, with nowhere to settle.

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