In pictures: People live here, say thousands of activists across Africa

By Bridget Burrows, Africa Regional Campaigner Slums, Amnesty International, From N’Djamena to Harare, Cairo to Accra, Port Harcourt to Nairobi, thousands of residents of slums and informal settlements and people affected by forced evictions mobilized from 17-25 March calling for an end to forced evictions in Africa, in a week of action organized by housing rights activists with Amnesty International and local partner organizations.

Events were also organized in Togo, Mali, Senegal and Burkina Faso, in which thousands of people showed their support and solidarity during the week. Sakwa Frank, a resident of Mathare informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, had this to say about the week:

“It felt so great seeing so many residents of informal settlements, even from Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, who have been neglected by our governments for so long, standing up well-informed and peacefully to say ‘people live here’ and demanding that their rights are respected.”

Check out the photo slideshow to see some of the inspiring campaigning that took place over the week, and add your voice to those of people across Africa by signing the petition

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