SA, Rd. 2

-Passop? PASSOP!

-Zim Situation Video

-Adonis Musati

-100,000R from Zimfest

-Press Statement for Passop, ex 1

-Press Statement for Passop, ex 2

-A Smorgasbord of Thoughts and HW Assignment

-Refugee History: Knowledge is Power

-HOW TO BE A LEGAL IMMIGRANT (Roadtrip Lessons Learned)

PASSOP? PASSOP!

Mates, Comrades and Table Mountain Aficionados~

Greetings from the most beautiful city in the world: Cape Town, South Africa!*
(Sir Frances Drake said it and who am I to argue with Sir Frances Drake?)

I'm here on an internship/job with PASSOP (People Against Suppression,
Suffering, Oppression and Poverty) a small NGO that does advocacy work for refugees, undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers. Sounds great, right? But what does that mean I'm actually doing? And where am I living? And what?!? Amy in Africa, again…

My arrival:

Less than an hour after setting foot on African soil, Braam (the
Chairpersonof PASSOP) takes me straight to the Refugee Centre in
Cape Town, where over 1,000 refugees are sleeping on the sidewalk, outside, in the
wind, cold and rain, while they wait in line (or queues as they are called
here) to put in their application for asylum/refugee status. I talk to
Zimbabwean teachers, lawyers, engineers, mechanics, journalists, housekeepers,
policemen, and pregnant mothers who have been forced to flee Zim, crossing the
crocodile-infested Limpopo River under the cover of darkness, in
the hopes of being able to find work in South Africa while supporting
their families back home. Talking to people I encounter:

1 Machiavelli reader, who recommends The Prince to me.

2 Hamlet quoters (I can't even quote Hamlet, for goodness sake)

3 Marriage proposals. (Don't worry, I said no gracefully).

5 Zim refugees who mention Abraham Lincoln. (Do most Americans
even know he is our 16th president?)

Background note: For those of you who are unaware (and that is probably most of you), Zimbabwe is suffering from an economic meltdown; official inflation is over 100,000%, 80% of people are unemployed, the grocery store shelves are empty, gasoline can't be found, life expectancy has dropped from 65 to 35 years, torture is common and President Mugabe is expected to rig and therefore win the next presidential election on March 29. If you lived in Zimbabwe, you'd be fleeing for your life too.

From day one, I've taken refugees to the medical clinics to make
sure they receive their TB and/or ARV medicines (which are provided free
to ANYONE in South Africa regardless of their citizen status), taken refugees
to the police station to write affidavits about employment exploitation, police brutality, corruption/bribery encounters, etc., met with lawyers and politicians, attended countless meetings with other NGOs, entered townships to begin a data census collection, typed up countless resumes to help refugees find work, protested outside of the Department of Health…but that isn't even the half of it. Nevertheless, you get the idea--
I've been busy. Now I am working on writing grants to find funding for PASSOP so
they can continue to make life more tolerable for refugees in Cape Town.

My life while not working:

-I'm living with two national rugby players; we watch a lot of
rugby. And occasionally go dancing till 4 in the morning. Fun times.

-I hope to visit Tanzania (to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and see the
wildebeeststamped in the Serengeti) and Zimbabwe (to see
Victoria Falls and witness the situation in Zim for myself).

-I'm thinking about running the Knysna Marathon on July 12.

-Sandboarding is the plan for this weekend. Assuming I get
my grant writing on between now and then…

-This Thursday- PASSOP is holding a protest outside of
Parliament- I'm way pumped. You can expect pictures from that and from
everything very soon…I just got a camera in the mail (thanks mom).

On a grant writing, picture taking note, I am going to bring
this email to a close b/c I've got work to do and attention-spans are short…Any
and everyone is welcome to come visit and experience lovely, wonderful,
hopeful, amazing Cape Town for yourself. You've got a free tour guide and a
free place to stay. I hope everyone is doing great things…keep in touch and do
something every day that scares you.

Cheers,
Amy

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Youtube is Your Friend!

Check out this video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2260851736318220192&pr=goog-sl

AND the videos on PASSOP's website (esp. the first one):

http://www.passop.co.za/

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Adonis Musati

A Man is Dying for a Piece of Bread

for Adonis Musati, Zimbabwean asylum seeker

A man is lying dead on a busy street

in carefree cape town where

the crumbs of excess elude him

far from home and alone

an ordinary young man

queues endlessly for an ordinary life

the price of a piece of bread beyond him

and so he eats his own shadow

consumes the last twinkle in his eye

swallows handfuls of poisonous hope

his teeth crack biting the pavement

the world passes by except those

who know the taste of a shadow

and stop to mourn him

by Amanda Hammar

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100,000 Rand for Passop from Zimfest

Team,

1. I am still alive.

2.

Funding!!! We are finally getting legit funding!!!

It looks like we may get 100,000R or more from Zim Fest in September....yay funding for PASSOP!

And yay me for writing the basic outline of funding and all the other proposals explaining more in depth the proposal outlines...weee!

I've attached a copy of our basic outline we've given to them...now we meet with donors and hammer out the details...good stuff...too bad I won't be here to see it happen :(

Miss you all,

amy

And the proposal:

PASSOP Funding Proposal

For Zim Fest 2008

About the Organization:

Based in Cape Town, South Africa, PASSOP (People Against Suffering, Suppression,

Oppression and Poverty) is a community based NGO that advocates for refugee and

immigrant rights. By identifying and exposing corruption within the Home Affairs

Department, PASSOP has greatly increased the number of asylum seekers being

served each day (from around 20 before the creation of PASSOP to now over 200).

Through protest action, PASSOP has brought the issues of corruption and xenophobia

In 2008, PASSOP has many future projects planned but needs funding to accomplish

these specific initiatives and for its initial administrative necessities . Above all,

PASSOP is an organization about people— a voice for the voiceless. It takes courage

to be a refugee, to leave behind your family, friends, home and life and enter a new

country with no knowledge of your rights. As the UNHCR explains, “The number of

people willing to cross the dangerous waters of the Limpopo-the rainy season that is

just beginning increases the threat of crocodiles—indicates the depth of the problem."

Individuals do not become refugees out of choice; they are forced to do so out

of necessity. The right to a life without fear of police brutality and xenophobia

is a human right. You can directly, positively influence the lives of refugees and

asylum seekers forced to live in South Africa by making a donation to PASSOP.

Appropriation of Funds from Zim Fest:

Cape Town has seen an ever increasing number of Zimbabwean refugees, as the

situation in Zimbabwe continues to worsen. Outlined below are brief estimates and

explanations of how PASSOP would use funds from Zim Fest to help refugees and

asylum seekers from all over, especially Zimbabwe. We have estimated 100,000

Rand total. Any additional funds would be used to expand the projects below or to

fund our Anti-Corruption Team Project.

Humanitarian Emergency Relief

Fund…………………………………………………….…..30,000

PASSOP would like to have 30,000 R set aside for future emergencies, e.g.

floods, xenophobic violence, massive sudden influx of refugees, etc. We would

use this money only when absolutely necessary for basic humanitarian relief.

• Emergency Refugee Services………………………….…..15,000

PASSOP would like to have basic raincoats and emergency blankets for refugees

who are forced to wait outside for hours or days, trying to put in their application

for asylum. While refugees are waiting to put in their asylum applications, they

are without protection from the elements. During times of intense rain and wind,

we would like to provide refugees waiting in the queues raincoats and emergency

blankets. These basic services will help maintain or even improve the overall health

and well-being of refugees. This will also encourage refugees to pursue their legal

rights to put in an application for asylum. With this documentation, refugees can

live and work legally within South Africa and have full protection under the law.

• Anti-Xenophobia Education Campaign……………………..30,000

PASSOP will spearhead an Anti-Xenophobia Education Campaign. Volunteers,

refugees and asylum seekers, trained by PASSOP, will go together to local schools

to give an educational demonstration that will help educate children concerning the

plight of refugees, what it means to be a refugee, how xenophobia hurts everyone,

and how all people have basic human rights within South Africa. At the schools,

they will show a 15-20 minute documentary produced by PASSOP about refugees

in Cape Town. To show this documentary, we will need a projector (15,000 Rand).

We will then have the volunteers and refugees give short, basic speeches and hand

out pamphlets and brochures with basic information about refugees, xenophobia and

human rights (5,000 Rand). After that, there will be a brief question and answer

session. We will start in township schools where the first xenophobic attacks

happened--Masipumulela and Da Noon. We will provide transport vouchers and

cell phone time vouchers to the volunteers (10,000 Rand). This is a project designed

to start this coming August and reach schools throughout Cape Town and the

surrounding areas over the next year. For more information, please see Appendix 1

• Transport For Refugees Applying for Asylum………………25,000

Refugees that have not put in their application for asylum are living illegally within

South Africa, this means they cannot find legal work and can be deported at any time.

In order for a refugee to survive, it is imperative he or she has put in an application for

asylum. Each day of the week has a different country assigned to it, where only

refugees from that particular country can put in their applications on those days. For

example, the Department of Home Affairs only serves Zimbabwean refugees on

Thursdays and Fridays. All other days, Zimbabwean refugees who have no money for

transport are forced to live on the streets, waiting till the following week to put in their

asylum applications. This means 5 to 6 days of sleeping on the street, with no

protection from the elements, unless transport is offered to these refugees. PASSOP

would use these funds to do just that: provide transport to and from the DHA’s

Refugee Centre and a 20 R food voucher for those days where transport is provided.

During the days when refugees are attempting to put in their application, they are not

allowed to leave the queue and cannot therefore find work or food. Therefore, we

would like to provide a basic food stipend for refugees who receive transport from

PASSOP. The benefits of this are twofold: first, it encourages refugees to pursue

their legal right to asylum application and second, it will demonstrate to the

Department of Home Affairs the actual number of Zimbabwean refugees seeking

asylum. This will help PASSOP force the DHA to serve more refugees.

Appendix 1

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PASSOP Press Statement for Immediate Release

April 9, 2008

PASSOP (People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty) completely condemns the abuse of government officials in Zimbabwe, they have manipulated the release of the official presidential electoral results in Zimbabwe. The current leadership has grossly abused their political positions to alter and postpone the electoral results. The global community is fully aware of the results that were to be announced by the ZEC. It is a disgrace that they were not permitted to do so by President Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party.

PASSOP also condemns war veterans and the youth militia emerging on the streets in Zimbabwe at this sensitive time. Although their demonstrations have been peaceful, it is obvious they were meant to intimidate the public and the opposition. We further question if the same liberty to protest would have been provided to the MDC opposition party. We also question whether, under Zimbabwe's strict Gathering Act, the proper paperwork was done in order for such protests and demonstrations to be held or if the law is being selectively implemented to favour the current ruling party. We appeal to the South African Government's sense of justice. We encourage our government to be proactive and strongly condemn the hate speech, intimidation and bribery. We further hope they will take the necessary steps to prevent a situation out of which genocide may arise in Zimbabwe. It is our view that mismanagement of the economy has resulted in a mass migration, into South Africa, of poor desperate Zimbabweans and that this is an attack on South Africa’s sovereignty, the Zimbabwean issue is one which South Africa has to involve itself, no longer can South Africa respect Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and pay for it by supporting Zimbabweans in South Africa.

We are preparing to protest.

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Press Statement for Immediate Release

A Protest to be held Thursday 17th April at 1200

Outside the Cape Town International Convention Centre

>Following this weekend's Xenophobic Attacks on Zimbabweans and Thabo Mbeki's "No crisis in Zimbabwe" Statement

The government of South Africa is failing the people of Zimbabwe. Thabo Mbeki issued a statement on Saturday that there was "no crisis in Zimbabwe." This is completely and utterly untrue. Mbeki is failing the people of Zimbabwe by not speaking solidly and decisively against the actions of Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party since the presidential elections held over two weeks ago. International pressure, starting with pressure from South Africa, must be placed on the ZEC to release the presidential election results immediately and to make sure that if a run-off election occurs, it is free and fair. Meanwhile, immigrants from Zimbabwe were attacked by South African citizens in Diepsloot. The police did not come to the immediate aid of the immigrants but instead waited for hours before dispersing the crowd; then they arrested the immigrants for being illegal rather than the looters who displaced them and destroyed their shacks. This is a gross injustice on the part of the police. They blatantly disregarded the rights of Zimbabwean immigrants. The situation at Home Affairs is so backlogged and corrupt that most Zimbabweans do not have the opportunity to put in an application for asylum. The fault lies with the South African government, not with the immigrants themselves. Yet it is the immigrants that are punished, brutalised and degraded by the citizens and police of South Africa.

We will be protesting this Thursday, April 17 2008, at noon, outside the Cape Town International Convention Centre to force the government to help the people of Zimbabwe. The South African government must act on the Zimbabwean situation and South Africa must accept and document the influx of immigrants from Zimbabwe until the situation in their country is resolved.

Contact:

Braam Hanekom on 0761011324, braam@passop.co.za.

Regis Mtutu 0843108614, regis@tac.org.za

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Smorgasbord of Thoughts and a Homework Assignment :)

Comrades, Dreamers and Doers,

Oh Northern Hemisphere, how I've neglected you. It has been far too long since I properly touched base. Here goes nothing. It seems as if soooo much has happened since I last wrote ya'll and yet soooo little has ultimately changed.

Since I last wrote you, I've shaken hands with Fidelito (Fidel Castro's son), Zimbabwe held presidential elections on March 29, yet the results have still not been released, PASSOP organized a protest demanding that the IPU (Inter Parliamentary Union) stand up for justice and truth on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe, I've made new travel plans and am nursing an injured knee back to good running health.

PASSOP is in a strange limbo while we wait to see what happens with the elections in Zimbabwe. We organized a protest after Thabo Mbeki (the President of South Africa) claimed there was "no crisis" in Zimbabwe, even though reports of corruption and torture were being reported in the newspapers, the ballots had been moved to an undisclosed location while recounts by Zanu-PF appointed ZEC officials were underway and the old military officials were saying they would do "whatever was necessary" to make sure Mugabe won the election. I wrote the press statements, the formal invite, the grant to fund the protest necessities (I got my first grant money, 10,000 Rand, yay!), and the memorandum we handed to the Secretary General of the IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union) with our demands, concerns and desires. Those were liberating moments for me, where I sort of had a "You can do this Amy Herron" epiphany. I really can change the world and make a difference. Nothing is stopping me except for my own fear. The same is true for my readers.

I urge everyone to read up on what is going on in Zim (it takes 5 minutes everyday to check the BBC folks). Nothing is worse than active ignorance. AND Knowledge is power. Keep yourself informed and come to me if you have questions, comments, concerns or don't understand things or want a different perspective. I'm also trying to keep up with American politics (what a race! "Yes we can!")…so hit me up with news on that front too.

I've re-examined the previous travel plans and am now hoping to go Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and maybe Zaire while I'm here…Zimbabwe with some of Braam's friends and the other countries with Matt.

I'm assigning homework, team, homework. I've re-read Three Cups of Tea and Mountains Beyond Mountains. If you are my friend, you will read them too. Everyone who can read needs to read those books. Period.

Why I love Cape Town: the lingo- takkies, trolleys, red robots and lekker. South African literature--the glimpses of hope, solidarity, a painful past and out of that the optimistic future that make this country special. (If you haven't read My Traitor's Heart and Country of My Skull, add those books to your reading list asap). The sunsets: so pink and orange, so different and so much better than your average US sunset. The way I am pushed and challenged and am forced to look at things differently everyday, through my conversations with Braam, with my housemates, with refugees, with politicians and people in townships. The way Braam treats all people the same, as a friend and human being (whether it is a blind Zimbabwean refugee with his wife begging on the street or the white mayor of Cape Town) and his simple humanity makes me examine how I treat EVERYONE I interact with. Although at times it is frustrating to work with him, he is a very special person. Guguletu township Sunday Braais and Masaphumelele Zimbabwean funeral celebrations. My team- Rito, Mpho and Braam. How I get into 45,000 sold out rugby match stadiums for free. The Southern Cross and the Milky Way in the night sky. Table Mountain and its constant presence and beauty.

Okay, I've gotten sappy and haven't even told you about Fidel yet. But this email is getting long, so that story will have to wait.

I miss everyone but I don't miss the obesity and SUVs and the fake wrestling (WWF or WWE or whatever) and Wal-Marts of the USA.

Until next time,

Amy

PS- Wildlife count: Zebras, ostrich, egrets, kudus, impalas and wildebeest, without even trying team, without even trying.

PPS- I love mail- you can't go wrong with an old-fashioned letter.

Amy Herron

7 Kenilworth Rd

Kenilworth

Cape Town, South Africa 7708

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RANDOM TIDBITS

Good morning!

I'm in Kasane, Botswana now...saw a leopard in chobe national park this morning. headed to victoria falls on both the zambian and zimbabwean sides this afternoon.

just wanted to let you know i am safe and sound and still having a great time!

love and miss you all,

amy

ps- dad- happy early b-day!

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Team America:

What is going on right now and what our meetings have been addressing:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7411357.stm

a busy, hectic, tense time indeed.

warmest wishes,

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Zim in Pictures:

http://ngizwani.wordpress.com/

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HOW TO BE A LEGAL IMMIGRANT

~and other lessons learned on my 1 month road trip through Southern Africa

1. Work is overrated. Taking off on the trip of a lifetime with one super-great Matt Burney to go on a road-trip extravaganza is not. In fact, outstanding housemates and co-workers understand and encourage such adventures. So off we went, in a rented Toyota Yaris…headed for unclear destinations, including Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa's Garden Route.

2. First stop: Namibia. Show your passport at the border, pay the entry fee and the road tax and off you go…onto the dusty, desert gravel roads. Our first major stop was Fish River Canyon, Africa's equivalent to the US Grand Canyon. I was quite nervous about this, as I'd never done any real backpacking trips and the extremely heavy pack on my back didn't help set my mind at ease. The stars that first night made the experience worthwhile. I've never seen soooo many stars, constellations (and galaxies) underneath a campfire in my life. The peace and serenity and sheer beauty of those 5 days, with sand and canyon during the day, and stars and more stars at night, were definitely worth the 2 blisters I got on my toes.

3. Afrikaners will be very nice to you, if you are white. They will feed you, give you wine and teach you Afrikaans words like "Lekker" and "Kok." They will then make extremely racist remarks and you will feel very uncomfortable. This will cause you to question your own humanity, the humanity of mankind and why the world is the way it is. The groups of Afrikaners we met along the way were all very nice to us, but none of them seem to be impressed by my work as a refugee

advocate. After finding out, a lot of them talked to Matt and just let me exist.

4. The following animals are "lekker" because they let me see them: leopard, lion, hyena, 100s of elephants, giraffes, springbok, lots of other bok/gazelle/antelope, ostrich, jackal, African fish eagle, crocodile, hippo, rhino, druiker, impala, wildebeest, baboons, mongoose, zebra, water buffalo, gemsbok, kudu, hartebeest, lilac-breasted roller, warthog and otters, whales and dolphins.

5. If I ask you why you like your country and you tell me because "Botswana is very stable" that probably means your country is very boring. Come on, the best thing your country has going for it is its stability. Oh team, not good. Let us look at this mathematically, using the transitive property, Stable = boring because Botswana = stable and Botswana = boring.

(Although we went to Moremi, Chobe, the Okavango Delta, Gabs, and the Kalahari, I would not recommend Botswana to other tourists. There are only 3 paved roads in the whole country which made getting to the super-neat places in our Yaris impossible.)

6. When everyone and their mother tries to sell you rain ponchos at Victoria Falls AND every other tourist in the park is wearing a rain poncho…. there might actually be a reason for that. Matt and I got totally drenched at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. It was absolutely amazing. You could hear the falls from 2 km away, you started getting mist from the falls 1 km away and you get totally drenched by the falls up close. Take whatever imagine you have in your mind of Vic Falls and multiply the size of that by 10 and then, maybe, just maybe, your mental Vic Falls is as big as the actual one.

7. There is nothing like seeing 100s of elephants in the wild. Driving through Moremi Game Reserve may seem like driving through any other game park, until you come upon a herd of 100s of elephants. That GIANT family of elephants will make Moremi memorable. Learning there was a hyena in the bathroom of your campsite in the morning will put the final nail in the coffin, when it comes to Moremi Game Reserve awesomeness 2008.

8. Park fees are to be avoided whenever possible. For example, Matt and I hike the Otter Trail (South Africa's premier 5 day hiking trail) in 2 days and didn't pay the hiking fee. 1 point Matt and Amy, 0 points SA

9. The best way to see animals is to let them come to you. At Etosha National Park (Namibia), they do just that. You sit back at a watering hole and let the animals come to you. At night, there are spotlights on the watering holes and during the day, you drive from one w.h. to the next. This is totally lekker.

10. Noises Animals Make 101: Being woken up by this extremely loud "ruh, ruh, ruh" sound in the middle of the night…and deciding to go the watering hole to see what it is (thinking it must be elephant, the noise is so LARGE) only to discover it is a male lion is a noise that is neat, as long as it isn't directed at you.

11. I'm a legal immigrant. You can be one too, every time you enter a new country pay all of the "rich-foreigner" fees to get the proper stamps and visas in your passport. Your wallet will cry but your passport will sing.

I've been super busy with work this last month and I still have soooo much more to do before I leave. I hope this email finds everyone safe and sound back home… I'll be returning stateside in less than a week….

Until then best wishes,

Amy

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