Category Archives: Advocacy

by

Storymoja breaks Kenya’s national reading record

Kids read aloud in different venues. Photo/Storymoja

According to Guinness World Records™, the record for the most people reading aloud from the same document simultaneously is 223,363 participants at 909 venues across the United States for an event organized by Walden Media on December 13, 2006.
The good people at Storymoja have been gunning to break that record for the last few years which is why 30th of January was the day that we tried to break the record. They were to read “Attack of the Shidas” at different venues.

Our Storymoja friends did their best but they didn’t quite get the world record. 160,190 children from 422 schools in 12 counties did read at the same time.

Its not a world record but a Kenya national record. We’ll take it.

by

Malawi Writers Union in support of beleaguered Sudan Writers Union

Malawi Writers Union president Mike Sambalikagwa Mvona Photo/Malawivoice.com

Yesterday I blogged that the license for the Sudanese Writers Union (SWU) had been revoked by the ministry of culture of that country making it very difficult to do their activities.

As of writing that piece the people who come out in strongly in solidarity with Sudanese Writers were the Association of Nigerian Authors, Canadian Writers as well as the International Authors Forum. The Malawian Writers Union have also come to support their brothers and sisters to their north with a statement released by its president Mike Sambalikagwa Mvona. Here is the statement in full;

The President,

Sudanese Writers Union (SWU)

CC: International Authors Forum (IAF)

Att. John Degen and Katie Webb

Dear Mr. President,

Malawi Writers Union (MAWU) has learnt with shock and dismay the ban of the Sudanese Writers Union (SWU) from carrying out its daily business.

The Sudanese Government should be aware that writers worldwide have a right to write anything they presume as creative with a ploy to address an outstanding issue prevailing at that particular time. Writers are not enemies of mother governments but partners in development.

We at Malawi Writers Union understand your position as we are reminded of the rough autocratic one party regime the country went through when our writers were persecuted through self exile, thrown in notorious prisons without trial and many more atrocities just on trivial issues. Such petty issues affected heavily our reading habits, cultural as well as our educational standards.

While writers unions and associations across the globe including the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) and the International Authors Forum (IAF) are sympathizing and doing everything possible for the Sudanese Writers Union to be re-instated, we appeal to the Executive and the Board of Directors of the writers’ body to open a dialogue with the Ministry of Culture to discuss the way forward and urge the government to find a permanent solution that will allow writers to exercise their profession without interference.

May God bless the Sudanese Writers Union.

Yours Sincerely,

Mike Sambalikagwa Mvona

PRESIDENT

by

Support comes in for embattled Sudanese Writers Union

Sudanese Writers Union Secretary General Osman Shenker Photo/sudantribune.com

The license for the Sudanese Writers Union (SWU) was revoked on 29th January by the ministry of culture of that country. The revocation has been described as a wider crackdown by authorities on centers believed to be pro-opposition. This means that the organisation registered in 2006 to hold cultural and intellectual seminars, film screenings and musical nights cannot continue doing their activities.

In its statement the SWU stated; “The SWU would like to state clearly that it does not approve or accept this ban, and condemn the way it has been carried out. The SWU would like to assure its members, associates, partners and friends nationally, international and regionally that it would pursue all possible means to regain the rightful status the Union deserves. With your support and solidarity, we would prevail; we would triumph over oppression; we would eventually celebrate the third rebirth of the Sudanese Writers Union.”

This is not the first time the organisation has been shut down as happened before following the 1989 coup led by president Omer Hassan al-Bashir and authorities. They were not allowed to resume their activities until 2006, a year after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

Richard Ali

This time round however the move has seen solidarity from people outside the borders of Sudan. The Association of Nigerian Authors, the largest writers body on the continent, has through its publicity secretary Richard Ali released a statement in support of their colleagues to the East.

It read in part, “The Association of Nigerian Authors states that the actions of the Government of Sudan are entirely unacceptable and we condemn the persecution of our brothers and sisters in the Sudan categorically.”

The statement acknowledges the work of the great contributions of Sudanese writers, including voices like Tayeb Salih, Taban lo Liyong and Leila Aboulela, to the literary and cultural heritage of Sudan and African peoples.

It goes on to state; “The Association of Nigerian Authors stands firmly in solidarity with the Sudanese Writers Union in this time of censorship and oppression. The pen is mightier than the sword; the story is greater than the violence of State..”

Also coming in support of the Sudan writers union is the International Authors Forum. In their own statement they said; “The International Authors Forum expresses solidarity with the Sudanese Writers Union at this difficult time. The Sudanese Writers Union joined IAF in March last year and has been an active member, connecting its network of writers with writers in the rest of the world.”

The writing community world wide has come to support their brothers. They include The Writers’ Union of Canada Offers Solidarity with Sudanese Partners. Arab lit contributor mlynxqualey also has an excellent piece in against the Writers Union Shutdown, Read Stories and Poems from Sudan

As we follow these proceedings we here at JamesMurua.com also lend our voice to support our Sudanese authors against this attack on their freedom of speech and association.

by

African literature Association endorses academic boycott of Israel

Mukoma Wa Ngugi supports the academic boycott

The African Literature Association (ALA) has seen the madness happening in Gaza in the Middle East and decided that enough is enough. The organisation in its most recent ALA Resolutions and Executive Letters supports the Palestinian people who are currently suffering a hail of bombs and other non nice things that kill.

The statement, given in the spirit of the one against apartheid South Africa, supports the scholars of Palestine that cannot do academic work whilst their Israeli counterparts sit around twiddling their thumbs. It reads in part,
“It is resolved that the African Literature Association (ALA) endorses and will honor the call of Palestinian civil society for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. It is also resolved that the ALA supports the protected rights of students and scholars everywhere to engage in research and public speaking about Israel-Palestine and in support of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement.”

So what is this African Literature Association you wonder? It describes itself as “is an independent non-profit professional society open to scholars, teachers and writers from every country. It exists primarily to facilitate the attempts of a world-wide audience to appreciate the efforts of African writers and artists.”

From my little googling it seems that a large part of the organisation’s activities lean towards the diaspora arm of African writers which is probably why I am just now hearing about it. Even with this the membership is African or Africa leaning so I have no choice but to accept them as “we are one” (either Marcus Garvey or that Westgate hashtag came up with it). And on this specific issue I am squarely with them.

Now back to the boycott, Mukoma Wa Ngugi who is a member of the ALA commented to ElectronicIntifada via email “The African literary tradition has been one in which writers have used their pens to speak out against injustice – so they wielded their pens against colonialism, neocolonialism and concomitant dictatorships and today against unequal globalization.”

So this kind of boycott makes perfect sense. If you want to support the Palestinian cause you too can join the ALA and boycott Israel academics.