In the media

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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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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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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Czech Republic Roma Community Stand Firm Against Eviction

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

In August 2012, the Ostrava City Hall issued a 24-hour eviction order to the owner of the 11 buildings at Přednádraží, asking him to evict all of the residents, giving as a reason an unsafe condition of the buildings, primarily due to broken sewage lines. Three lawsuits have been filed between the various departments of the Ostrava City Hall to establish responsibility for fixing the sewage lines, but in the meantime, the residents have to bear the consequences of this neglect (earlier GV coverage of the case – here [1]and here [2]
Approximately 100 families, supported by local activists, refused to move out. Many simply did not have anywhere else to go; some have been living there for over 30 years. Now, five months later, twelve families still remain at Přednádraží, including six children. Everyone, except for one couple, moved to Building #8, which has become the focus of community efforts.

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Families evicted from Maela land in Kenya

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

Tension is high in the volatile area of Maella Naivasha after APs evicted several families from a piece of land. The heavily armed officers raided Ngambani village destroying property worth thousand of shillings.
Maize crops were destroyed during the early morning eviction supervised by senior AP officers. The officers said the land in question had been set aside for the construction of an AP post. Families affected threatened to hold a demonstration and called on Lands minister James Orengo to intervene as the issue has raised anxiety in the area.

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Life in the Red

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

The usual explanations for reckless borrowing focus on people’s character, or social norms that promote free spending and instant gratification. But recent research has shown that scarcity by itself is enough to cause this kind of financial self-sabotage.
“When we put people in situations of scarcity in experiments, they get into poverty traps,” said Eldar Shafir, a professor of psychology and public affairs at Princeton. “They borrow at high interest rates that hurt them, in ways they knew to avoid when there was less scarcity.”

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Indigenous Squatters Resist Eviction in Brazil

Published in Monday January 14th, 2013 In In the media

Police in riot gear surrounded a settlement of indigenous people next to Rio de Janeiro’s storied Maracana stadium on Saturday, preparing to evict them as soon as an expected court order arrived. The site commander, police Lt. Alex Melo, explained officers were “waiting for the order, and understand it can come at any time.” But the order still had not arrived after a tense, daylong standoff.

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