21 April 2011

Legal Aid- Woohoo

I am putting together an application for a blogging competition and I took a look through old blogs. My sister tell s me to be more positive about the work that I have put out and my experience in Swaziland as a whole- not in terms of my enjoyment but in terms of my achievements.

So in reflection, I realise that there is a huge project that I have not written about. This project took up my energy for most of November and early December.

In Swaziland there is no legal aid. The Government doesn't have the money for it, and Swaziland is not a socialist state generally. At the request of a few legal persons in the country, I started to think about what the steps are for establishing legal aid. Step 1- what would legal aid look like, especially funding wise. In order to get that done there needs to be a feasibility study. So early November I began liaising like I have never done before, between the UN offices and the Government offices, in order to gain support for a study to be completed.

Fast forward mid December, right when I finished up working with SWAGAA. And the UNDP had secured a lump of money for a consultant to get the work done. Success.

I was then fortunate enough to interview for the position via telephone a few weeks ago. We shall see what happens. It is a hugely big deal for Swaziland. If the study is done properly- with as much support from funding bodies and legal professionals as possible - then the beginnings of legal aid will be-a-happening.

I am proud to be a part of that.
And would love to see it to the end.... for the number of years that it would take

16 April 2011

Turmoil and Hope for Swaziland

Faithful readers,

This blog posting should read like an apology posting. I fell off the blog-o-sphere sometime back in November. A combination of tumultuous times and personal achievements marked my sad blogging demise. I learned what it is to fall hard in the small Kingdom of Swaziland, realizing that it was not my imagination making me think that everyone knew what was happening- Swaziland really is that small.

I am reminded of the commonality of the human experience with the tumultuous and hopeful times that Swaziland is going through. I have been virtually glued to the computer with my hourly updates from the Swaziland Solidarity Network as the labour unions called for country wide democracy protests in the spirit of Egypt and Libya. The protests were called off after two days of country wide protest and violent clashes.

I was fortunate enough to attend a talk given by a Swazi human rights lawyer, Thulani Maseko, at Amnesty International, Ottawa office, on the 12th April. Speaking with a 'fellow' Swazi so far from home hits home for me how involved I am in legal reform in Swaziland and just how small the world is. I also realize that I am rather moderately opinion-ed regarding violence as a tool for democratic change. My concerns are with the safety of the average Swazi.

If you get a chance, take a look at this statement from Amnesty International and send away the pressure letter to Swaziland Prime Minister, Dr. Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini.