MEETING NEW CHALLENGES I t has been a tough year for our con­ cerns in Washington. Congress has slashed programs for the poor in the US. and in Africa. Jesse Helms has found allies in his call for U.S. isola­ tion from the world. As the mood and tide seem to shift against us, people ask constant­ ly, "So, what are you doing now?" At THE AFRICA FUND we still be­ lieve that active U.S. citizen engage­ ment with southern Africa and with U.s. policy is critical for the survival of the new democracies. u.s. relations with Africa must not be left to the exclusive control of State Department experts, corporate interests and isola­ tionists who see no US. national in­ terest in Africa. Among the actions we have un­ When The Africa Fund brought Florence De Villiers, General Secretary of the South African Domestic dertaken this year: Workers Union, to tour the United States, the borough of Manhattan honored the occasion by proclaiming • We took up the fight to stop Con­ October 10 Florence De Villiers Day. Here De Villiers (left) joins Africa Fund Executive Director Jennifer Davis to receive the proclamation from Deputy Manhattan Borough President Fred Davies. gressional destruction of devel­ opment aid to Africa. Our sup­ porters phoned, faxed, and sent DOMESTICWORKERS' LEADER ONTOUR hundreds of letters to their Sena­ tors and Representatives. Cities In South Africa, more than one mil­ it assists about 50,000 domestics each as far apart as Newark, NJ and lion Black women live in tiny back year, through literacy programs, so­ Seattle, WA passed resolutions rooms in white homes. Far from their cial services, and help settling griev­ calling for continued Africa assis­ own families, these domestic workers ances. tance. Similar resolutions were raise their bosses' children, cook their De Villiers told the story of how passed by denominations such as meals, clean their homes, and live un­ she and a handful of determined wom­ the Churchwide Assembly of the der their roofs. They toil for wages as en organized this most oppressed of Evangelical Lutheran Church and low as $25 a month, with limitless work forces to audiences across this the Progressive National Baptist hours and responsibilities. country during her October 1995 tour, Convention, raising their voices But one indomitable woman, Flo­ arranged by THE AFRICA FUND. against cuts in aid to Africa's poor. rence De Villiers, has emerged from "Seventeen years ago, people • We sent a delegation of state leg­ the back room to empower maids asked me, 'Florrie, why do you want islators on a mission to southern through the South African Domestic to organize the impossible?1II she re­ Africa to establish strong links Workers Union. called at an AFRICA FUND reception in with their counterparts in Zim­ Today SADWU has 28,000 dues­ ~ew York. Her courage and persis­ babwe, South Africa and Namib­ paying members, and De Villiers, Gen­ tence have made it possible, and now ia, and to assess the impact of U.S. eral Secretary of the union, estimates she sits on the leadership of South (continued on page 5) (continued on page 4) LEGISLATORS FORGE NEW LINI( The delegation meets President Sam Nujoma in his office in Windhoek, Namibia. Left to right: Rep. Arthur Hamilton, Rep. Irma Hunter Brown, President Nujoma, Elizabeth Smith, Sen. Virgil Smith. New eras are rarely as clearly marked Africa today, but they also remain on eled to southern Africa to meet their as those in southern Africa this centu­ the table every day for local legisla­ counterparts and learn more about the ry. Zimbabwe won its independence tors here in the United States. challenges facing the young democra­ in 1980, Namibia triumphed ten years cies there, and to gauge the effective­ later, and South Africa finally defeat­ ness of U.S. policy in the region. They ed apartheid in 1994. A;;;:~i~~ ;~;;idii; ··i~· ~t went as part of an AFRICA FUND pro­ Now each of these countries grap­ just money to us. It is gram to encourage continued U.s. cit­ ples with problems that beset all de­ izen engagement with southern Afri­ mocracies, such as: ammunition for the ca and U.S. - Africa policy. toughest fight we Accompanied by THE AFRICA FUND • How best to ensure representa­ Projects Director Dumisani Kumalo, tion of voters once elected offi­ are involved in - the three state legislators spent May cials take office? the fight against 1995 in South Africa, Namibia, and • Where to find the money for poverty and ignorance. Zimbabwe - meeting with members roads, schools, water, all at the of government, unions, churches, same time? - Sam Nujoma, women's organizations, and business • How to balance the relationship President of Namibia leaders. The project was made possi­ between central and regional gov­ ble by a grant from the Carnegie Cor­ ernments? poration of New York, which bears, • How to answer immediate needs Three such state officials - Rep. however, no responsibility for the del­ while planning for the future? Arthur Hamilton of Arizona, Rep. egation's findings. These questions present them­ Irma Hunter Brown of Arkansas, and Reporting on their experiences, selves in extreme forms in southern Sen. Virgil Smith of Michigan - trav- delegation members stressed the need Delegation members consult with the Executive Council of Ministers in Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe. 2 5 IN SOUTHERN AFRICA seems to me that the u.s. is not doing enough to support the transition to democracy. Much more can be done," he said. The message was the same every­ where they went. Namibia's President Sam Nujo­ ma told the delegation, "We get con­ cerned when some people in the Unit­ ed States are calling for cutting aid to Africa. American aid is not just mon­ ey to us. It is ammunition for the toughest fight we are involved in - the fight against poverty and igno­ rance. We must do something, and we need the United States to continue to be on our side." The delegation also saw the over­ whelming disparity between the haves and have-nots in each country, with the colonial pattern of white wealth and Black poverty still basically un­ disturbed. In meetings with members of five of the nine provincial parliaments in South Africa, as well as with leaders ill. the far north of Namibia and in Zimbabwe, the three Americans were struck by the similarities of their jobs. Rep. Smith observed, "We all have to address basic infrastructure needs of our constituencies. We are expected to provide water, electricity, sewage, adequate housing and police services. But the difficulty of the task is multi­ plied in South Africa because apart­ heid policies purposely placed the Black majority in townships with the worst location and without any infra­ structure. Housing is often no better Delegation members meet with local politicians at the provincial parliament of South Africa's Free State. than shacks built out of whatever was Left to right: Rep. Art Hamilton, Dumisani Kumalo, Rep. Irma Hunter Brown, Deputy Speaker of tllC Free State Dr. J. Nel, Speaker of the Free State Rev. Motlalepula Chabaku, Sen. Virgil Smith, Elizabeth Smith . (continued on page 4) for continued u.s. economic and po­ litical support for these emerging de­ mocracies. As Rep. Hamilton said, "We now have an opportunity to help secure democracy in a part of the world that colonial rule made a pow­ der keg. With the rapid growth of the African nations, a relatively small in­ vestment now will pay huge divi­ Tokyo Sexwale, dends down the road. This is good Prem ier of government policy and good busi­ South Africa's ness." Gauteng Province, Sen. Smith echoed that advice. receives a gift "With the immense task of building a from Rep. democratic future in South Africa, it ~ Art Hamilton. 3 NIGERIAN RULER THREATENS DEMOCRACY I know THE AFRICA FUND well from their support of our struggle for freedom. They were with us even in the early days when hope was very faint. Theirs was an important contribution to the victory over apartheid. I am confident that they will bring the same dedication to their new campaign for democracy in Nigeria. - Desmond Tutu Archibishop of Cape Town, September 27, 1995 Archbishop Tutu wrote these words ues to escalate its brutal repression. sales alone last year. Sanctions direct­ after a visit to Nigeria. He was sent Promises of an eventual return to de­ ed at their oil industry would serious­ there by South African President Nel­ mocracy notwithstanding, Gen. ly weaken Gen. Abacha'sability to son Mandela to attempt to secure the Abacha has closed newspapers and stay in power. release of Chief Moshood Abiola, im- imprisoned journalists, executed op­ THE AFRICA FUND is urging Wash­ . prisoned by Nigeria's military gov­ po~ition leaders, dissolved trade ington to use its economic leverage to ernment. But Abiola remains behind unions, and effectively extinguished help restore democracy in Nigeria. We bars, because he won Nigeria's last all human and civil rights. are also working with city legislators democratic presidential election in Nigeria's civil society stands on to pass resolutions calling for econom­ 1993. the brink of extinction. Meanwhile, ic sanctions against Nigeria. But like THE AFRICAFUND has started a cam­ U.S. and European oil companies, in­ the sanctions on apartheid, this move­ paign for the freedom of all Nigeria's cluding Shell and Mobil, continue to ment will only succeed with the hard political prisoners - including Abio­ do business with the outlaw govern­ work of people in local communities. la - and the restoration of democracy ment - and the United States is a THE AFRICA FUND is encouraging to Africa's most populous country.