More About ChangentsChange Agent | Tutu Alicante
Send Story to a FriendDictator Berator
It's another day of quiet insurrection for Tutu Alicante. He's sitting in front of his computer - again. This is where he currently spends most of his time - writing up presentations, working on his Web site, and drafting incorporation papers. But Tutu is hardly another 9-to-4:30 office drone. The Equatorial Guinea (EG) native is a one-man human rights operation.
Equatorial what? For most people, this tiny nation in Sub-Saharan Africa is way off the radar. But don't worry about that. Tutu will fill you in - from the history of the country to the beautiful black-sand beaches to the pulse of the people. His story begins on a tiny island called Annobón (only "7 miles by 3 miles," he says) and ends with him glued to his laptop - an ivy-league educated lawyer working on his recently-formed organization, the Equatorial Guinea Rights and Democracy Network (EGRDN).
Ask Tutu about his work and you'll start with a history lesson. For him, the past and the present are just two halves of a dysfunctional whole. Originally a Spanish colony, in 1968 EG was taken over by "11 years of one of the worst dictatorships in Africa - where almost 1/3 of the population was either killed or sent into exile, and this included mostly anybody that was educated." Teachers, priests, doctors and lawyers were gone. You get the idea - a viciously-imposed brain drain. The current president took over from there.
Tutu isn't impressed with past efforts to change EG (mostly based in Spain) which have tried to establish a political opposition camp with little success. He has set his sights on a few different strategies to take on EG's dictatorship with a global network he is assembling piece by piece:
• Getting the diaspora to act on their deep and visceral outrage. Tutu wants to go after the bad guys by pursuing human rights violations through regional and international bodies, such as the African Union and the U.N. He says, "As a lawyer, I believe in litigation - sometimes seeing justice done is an essential part of the healing process."
• Getting U.S. citizens to question, "who else is paying at the pump?" Over the last 10 years, EG has become one of the wealthiest countries in Africa through oil exports. But most citizens still live in abject poverty. In a nation of approximately 500,000 people, that kind of money should bring some upward mobility to the man on the street. For Tutu, "Oil should be fueling development instead of more private bank accounts in foreign countries." To that end, he is pushing for oil companies to publish what they pay governments to drill for oil and for governments from the Gulf of Guinea to publish what they receive from oil companies. A similar initiative in the UK called the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was launched by Tony Blair in 2002 after British oil companies' behavior in Nigeria caused the public to take notice.
In EG, politics are personal. Equatoguinean activists in Spain and other countries have been the victims of state-sponsored harassment and assassination attempts. In Africa, opposition leaders have been kidnapped and taken back to EG. Tutu hasn't been back home since he started his human rights work in 2004. He certainly knows he is taking a risk - even subjecting his family to peril.
Why should you care about this lawyer trying to straighten up an oil-rich government in an African nation most Americans have never heard of? Tutu has the perfect answer: "Something is fundamentally wrong with the leadership that we have in the country and something is fundamentally wrong with international agencies and corporations and multinational agencies in other countries [because] they are supporting this type of government or they are not speaking up. Sometimes silence is tacit agreement." Amen.
Tutu is a 2007 Echoing Green Fellow. Let's just say that gives him street cred and a solid organization that's got his back. Echoing Green - the renowned organization that supports visionary social entrepreneurs - is now accepting applications for its class of 2008. Change Agents looking for financial and operational support should check it out.
Flag as spam/inappropriate
Comments
October 2, 2007 - 5:33am
Tutu:
Eres el faro en las tinieblas para muchos de nosotros..
Te quiero,
ger
October 2, 2007 - 7:52am
tutuoso fructuoso --
even when the copier doesn't work,
even when the internet is down...la luch sigue!
el gato negro
October 2, 2007 - 3:52pm
Dear Dictator Berator,
(I like this title , you should add the letters DB after your name, kind of like MD :-) )
This was an inspiring read. Inspiring to continue to Do Change. From your Action Packs, here's what I can do.
- Be a buzz agent and forward your story; generally to those I know and to some very specific people we should probably discuss.
- I would be happy to help with fundraising here in London and elsewhere.
- I afraid I don't know how to web design or make documentaries or own a video camera or have money to make a donation (my clients are all receive legal aid which makes me the poor kind of human rights lawyer). As for phones, I may have a couple old ones but think I need to know more. Let me know.
- What else do you need? Please, keep asking. There are many willing to help.
My fellow African, keep fighting the good fight. You make those who know you so proud. And is those like you
October 3, 2007 - 3:59am
Hey Tutu -
I love your initiative. I too come from a country that needs rebuilding. I am an interactive designer by trade and would love to help you build your site. One thing that concerns me is that my time is limited throughout the day and the project may take quite long.
But, feel free to contact me through my e-mail (can you get it from 'Changents'?) - All the best and here's a link to some of my photography: http://www.flickr.com/photos/valoni - Also, web: http://www.lucidvagabond.com/folio
All the best Tutu & please feel free to contact me.
Best, Valon.
October 3, 2007 - 7:30pm
Hello old friend,
I didn't realize you were in NM now. My, my you do get around, but all for the good. I believe we do have some old cell phones (not sure the condition - the kids have used them as toys :-p). Also, I will be happy to forward the story. Well, I haven't heard from you in a very long time (since you were in the DC area), so I look forward to hearing from you soon.
God bless you in your endeavours!
Love & Friendship,
Always,
Carey
October 9, 2007 - 10:53am
greetings tutu. and happy today! congrats on your recent eg fellowship. well done. i am a native of nigeria. i've been dwelling in the us for almost 30 years. my background is in the marketing/advertising industry, and i am currently using my skills to help "underrated youth" in underserved communities discover and maximize their creative potential through life-changing ideas (seeds of hope). let's keep in touch as i'm sure our paths are bound to cross one day.
pe@ce.
nwoke.
November 24, 2007 - 1:52pm
...good work. It is exactly the sort of stand you take that will bring about the world we are committed to leaving our children. Keep it up!
---v
Post new comment