History suggests apartheid ends not through appeals to conscience alone but through sustained economic and political pressure, says HUGH LANNING
Marking International Women’s Day as refugees
Tens of thousands of exiled Saharawi women live in refugee camps in Algeria – but their hopes of achieving justice, peace and returning to their homeland remain undiminished, writes DANIELLE SMITH
As the US marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, the People’s World Editorial Collective argues that the real legacy of 1776 lies not in official celebrations but in centuries of popular struggles to make democracy a reality for all
Once a source of national pride, Cuba’s healthcare system declines as energy shortages deepen crisis, writes ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
Socialists, feminists and trade unionists gathered in Manchester to launch a network committed to evidence-based activism with a renewed emphasis on class and collective struggle. ANNA BARRETT reports
By making it simpler to support workers in struggle, Strike Map’s new Solidarity Fund aims to strengthen strikes when they need it most, write ROBERT POOLE and HENRY FOWLER
Only an ambitious programme of state-led investment can restore growth and improve living standards, argues MICHAEL BURKE
“WE ONLY wish to have the right to exist, to decide our future and to return to our country to live freely without fear.”
These words have been ringing in my ears ever since I heard them uttered by Fatimetu Malainin, a Saharawi woman who was born in refugee camps in south-west Algeria where she has grown up. Now 27 years old, she is married with a second child on the way and teaches music to children in an after-school programme in Boujdour camp, where she also lives. The camp is one of five that currently house nearly 200,000 Saharawi refugees.
This year, along with tens of thousands of other Saharawi women, Fatimetu will once again be celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8 in the harsh desert camps of her exile. For some of the women, it will be their 49th year. Despite all the time that has passed, they still hold on to the hope of achieving justice and peace and returning to their homeland.
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