Support Oakland Institute: Join us in Supporting the Active Uncovering and Halting of Unscrupulous Land Deals in Africa

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Dear friend,

At the heart of the land investment deals in Africa that the Oakland Institute researched and exposed is the reality of what losing land means to families, farmers, the many indigenous people, and the next generations.

One indigenous elder from the South Omo Valley in Ethiopia, an area being cleared for sugarcane plantations, expressed his concern:

"We're going to lose our culture and there will be nothing remaining for the next generation. I'm afraid this life may only be a story that we can tell our children."
 
Another elder, an Anuak man from Gambella, stated:

"This is our life. Without it we will die."
 

In Tanzania, where US based investor AgriSol has its eyes on lands where 162,000 people reside and prosper:

Sembuli Masasa, father of seven, who has been farming in Katumba for 39 years explains the dire situation of his community today, "they are giving us $200, ask us to dismantle our own house and to move to a place we have never seen before."

The impact of land deals that go on in near-secrecy with the blessing and assistance of the World Bank are widespread and devastating for people, the environment, and the future food and water security of Africans.

Oakland Institute asks you to join us in supporting the active uncovering and halting of unscrupulous and predatory land deals in Africa. We have successfully raised a curtain exposing investment by popular US university endowments, hedge funds, "responsible and green" corporations, and more.

We have stalled two major land deals from moving forward as planned, Nile Trading Co. in South Sudan and AgriSol Energy in Tanzania. But much more is needed given the scale of land rush that is going on in the developing world. In 2012, we will continue to work with impacted communities to provide critical information and legal assistance so they can take action to defend and enforce their rights.

We do this work because we believe that human rights, livelihoods, community survival, and the preservation of natural resources are worth fighting for and more important than profit and misguided, inflated ideas about economic development.

Please lend your support to our efforts in the form of a tax-deductible donation; we can't do our work without you.

Thank you very much.

Anuradha Mittal
Executive Director, Oakland Institute

P.S. For more information on what we've achieved, please see:  http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/sites/oaklandinstitute.org/files/OI_letter_November_2011.pdf