May 14, 2012
Across Africa hundreds of thousands of people each year are left homeless when they are forcibly evicted from their homes by the authorities. In most cases evictions are conducted without any due process, consultation, adequate notice or compensation.
Amnesty International has documented mass forced evictions in Nairobi, Accra, N’Djamena, Port Harcourt, Cairo and Harare in addition to other cities and countries across the continent.
Forced evictions can have catastrophic effects, particularly for people already living in poverty. They do not just lose their homes and possessions, they also lose their livelihoods, their social networks and the basic services they rely on for survival.
They struggle to find clean water, food and toilets. They struggle to find work and schools for their children. And they struggle to rebuild their shattered lives, often with no help or support from the governments that uprooted them.
In March 212, thousands of slum dwellers from informal settlements across Africa rallied together to make their voices heard by housing ministers and heads of state during a week of action organized with Amnesty International and partner organizations. This Campaign video shows archive footage of forced evictions being carried out in various African countries. It also shows parades, concerts, and other events held in Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Egypt, as part of the Africa Week of Action against Forced Evictions where slum dwellers protested for the right to fair housing and an end to forced evictions.
Take action: http://www.amnesty.org/en/end-forced-evictions
Source: Amnesty International
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