Annie Lennox recently visited South Africa for a concert to raise money for the SING Campaign, and has blogged about the violence between small township residents and police.
Violent protests recently erupted in about 20 South African townships due to a lack of confidence in the Government and to protest the lack of jobs, housing, water, sanitation and electricity.
“If any of you are at all interested in South Africa, then this is a sobering read,” she wrote, referring to an article in The Guardian. "The issues of endemic/systemic poverty are complex in every way, and yet the fundamental human rights premise is straightforward….Would you let a dog live this way??? When people have nothing to lose, they really do have nothing to lose.
“In a country where so many have so little, and a minority have so much, with “extreme lifestyles” living cheek by jowl… it begs the question of “sustainability”.
“In the days of apartheid, the impoverished classes were reined in and suppressed by force. Now that the post apartheid honeymoon is over, it remains to be seen what will happen.
“But one thing is pretty certain… If those in power do not respond appropriately and effectively, then the parts of the country will most likely implode into a downwards spiral of ( more) violence and dissent.
“The ANC totally need to pull their finger out… and fast! ’Let us work together”?…. Actions now… come on!!!"
The full blog can be read on Annie Lennox’s official website.
While in South Africa, Lennox also got together with Comic Relief to visit the Mothers 2 Mothers project. The Project was founded by Dr. Mitchell Besser in 2001 and has developed from a single support group in Cape Town to a multinational NGO in just over four years. The project aims to create an effective, sustainable model of care that provides education and support for pregnant women and new mothers living with HIV/AIDS.
To see footage from the visit, click here.
