CAMPAIgns A brass band leads the way on the morning rally in Kabare, Rwanda Photos: Christian Aid/Alexander Carnwath ‘It’s not the end of the struggle – It’s the begInnIng’ 14 Christian Aid News
Last November, Christian Aid’s Africa communications officer Alexander Carnwath joined a campaigning ‘caravan of hope’ as it travelled through 10 African countries, carrying an urgent climate change message to the United Nations summit in Durban, South Africa. The talks may have ended in compromise, but the caravan helped strengthen African voices calling for action First came a police car, clearing a path through the busy streets of Bujumbura, Burundi. Next, a crowd of 50 bicycle taxis, their riders hooting their horns and stretching out to hand leaflets to passers-by. last of all came the bus itself, a giant banner advertising our journey covering one side. For those who stopped on the pavements to watch our colourful, chaotic lap of the city centre on 9 November, this was africa’s first glimpse of the caravan of Hope: a 7,000km campaigning road trip, organised by christian aid partner pan african climate Justice alliance (pacJa). and for those inside the bus – Burundian activists, a handful of east african journalists and myself – it was a chance to find our seats, buckle up and settle in for what would be a very long ride indeed. the journey had been organised by pacJa with two main objectives. the first was to raise awareness of the impact of climate change in africa. and the second was to transport activists from 10 african countries to Durban, south africa, to campaign at the UN climate change negotiations, cop17. ‘in africa, there is a need to demystify climate change so that people can see what the link is to their lives,’ explains mithika mwenda, head of pacJa. ‘We wanted to think of a massive activity that would unite the people of africa with the UN process.’ Suffering the effects When we left Bujumbura, we were one bus of about 30 people. By the time we reached Durban, there were three buses packed with more than 150 caravanners. these included young people, women’s rights campaigners and farmers, many of whom were already suffering the impact of changing weather patterns. Janet mussa, a malawian farmer and mother of seven, explains how unpredictable rainfall had severely reduced her harvests and forced her family to leave their home. ‘the rains start late and finish early, so hunger comes now,’ she says. ‘and we have been displaced from our homeland by floods. i am worried because i don’t see any future for my children.’ though data on climate change is lacking in africa, her account of variable rains is consistent with what scientists expect to see in the region. and all along the route we heard stories like these, from those on the bus and from the thousands of people who attended caravan ceremonies in each of the 10 countries we passed through. No two events were quite the same. in Burundi bicycle taxis took the lead, in Nairobi we were led through the streets by a marching band, and in Zimbabwe we processed right to the edge of Victoria Falls, whose waters are thought by local people to be drying up due to temperature rises. But each one was a chance for people to share experiences, express solidarity and gather signatures of politicians (including the vicepresidents of Burundi, Uganda, tanzania and malawi) on an african people’s petition calling for climate justice. Strengthening solidarity When we arrived in Durban just before the start of the talks, there were high hopes among us that progress would be made on a fair climate deal. at one of the campaigning events in Durban, my fellow travellers were told by mary robinson, the former president of ireland: ‘it’s your voices that should be heard at this conference. i have heard more urgency from you than in the big hall.’ at this campaigning rally Desmond tutu was presented with a global petition of messages calling for climate justice, before addressing the crowds. But alongside the optimism, there was also an understanding that the caravan’s demands would not be met overnight. its greatest success has been in laying the foundations for a unified position on climate change among africans and strengthening the campaign movement for the long struggle ahead. ‘climate change is not going to be defeated by one individual, one country or one region [and] cop17 won’t be the end of the struggle,’ says mwenda. ‘it’s the beginning and i like to think that we will be able to continue this solidarity.’ • You can see and listen to video and audio interviews, at christianaid.org.uk/ ActNow/climate-justice/ Far left: Mithika Mwenda, head of PACJA, addresses farmers, politicians and campaigners in Kigali. Left: drumming up support. Above: families come out to support the caravan launch in Bujumbura, Burundi Christian Aid News 15
Change language