#PeoplesHistory | Today, we remember Thomas Sankara. Today, he would've turned 75.
Sankara was the President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987 and a revolutionary Marxist pan-Africanist. His foreign and economic policies were centered on anti-imperialism, rejecting foreign aid and policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and nationalizing all land and mineral wealth.
Sankara, famously known as Africa’s Che, introduced various progressive policies, including ones that advanced the empowerment and status of women, as well as massive education, and self-reliance programs to address the structural underdevelopment of the Burkinabé people under colonialism and neocolonial leaders.
On October 15, 1987, the Burkinabé revolutionary Sankara was brutally assassinated in Ouagadougou at the age of 37 with the help of imperialist Western powers.
Sankara was the President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987 and a revolutionary Marxist pan-Africanist. His foreign and economic policies were centered on anti-imperialism, rejecting foreign aid and policies of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and nationalizing all land and mineral wealth.
Sankara, famously known as Africa’s Che, introduced various progressive policies, including ones that advanced the empowerment and status of women, as well as massive education, and self-reliance programs to address the structural underdevelopment of the Burkinabé people under colonialism and neocolonial leaders.
On October 15, 1987, the Burkinabé revolutionary Sankara was brutally assassinated in Ouagadougou at the age of 37 with the help of imperialist Western powers.
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We sat down with the Secretary General of the Workers Party of Belgium Peter Mertens to discuss his latest book "Mutiny", the state of global class struggle, and how to stop the surge of the far-right.
"Fascism is a reaction towards the power of people’s movements. It’s the same in Europe.
This counter-power, that’s called “mutiny” in the book, at least in Europe, is not very politicized. It’s not very class conscious. It’s not already a class force. It’s not a class aware of its class interest. It is a spontaneous first level struggle. But it is big. And if we work very well among these first level movements against inflation, against the cost of living, etc., we can orient these movements towards socialist or democratic goals, and not leave them for the far right".
📲 Read the full article on our website:
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/20/peter-mertens-where-there-is-a-working-class-there-will-always-be-hope/
"Fascism is a reaction towards the power of people’s movements. It’s the same in Europe.
This counter-power, that’s called “mutiny” in the book, at least in Europe, is not very politicized. It’s not very class conscious. It’s not already a class force. It’s not a class aware of its class interest. It is a spontaneous first level struggle. But it is big. And if we work very well among these first level movements against inflation, against the cost of living, etc., we can orient these movements towards socialist or democratic goals, and not leave them for the far right".
📲 Read the full article on our website:
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/20/peter-mertens-where-there-is-a-working-class-there-will-always-be-hope/
Peoples Dispatch
Peter Mertens: “Where there is a working class, there will always be hope”
The Belgian political leader spoke to Peoples Dispatch about his book Mutiny and what this moment of mass discontent and major geopolitical shifts means for working class struggle.
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“President Biden, take Cuba off the infamous list!” exclaimed the over half a million Cubans who marched on Havana’s malecón to the US Embassy. The mass march was called for by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel earlier this week to demonstrate the absolute and total rejection of the Cuban people to the six-decade US-imposed blockade on the island as well as the inclusion of Cuba to the US State Sponsors of Terrorism list (SSoT) which together have wreaked havoc on the island’s economy.
In his address to the mass mobilization, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel declared, “If the United States persists in its determination to undermine our sovereignty, our independence, our socialism, it will only find rebellion and intransigence! Every administration that has tried has been outlived by the Cuban Revolution, and it will continue to be so. This is a march, yes, a very anti-imperialist march! Against US imperialism and its pretension to impose itself in Cuba by force or seduction, we will march now and always!”
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/21/cubans-march-against-the-us-blockade/
In his address to the mass mobilization, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel declared, “If the United States persists in its determination to undermine our sovereignty, our independence, our socialism, it will only find rebellion and intransigence! Every administration that has tried has been outlived by the Cuban Revolution, and it will continue to be so. This is a march, yes, a very anti-imperialist march! Against US imperialism and its pretension to impose itself in Cuba by force or seduction, we will march now and always!”
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/21/cubans-march-against-the-us-blockade/
Peoples Dispatch
Cubans march against the US blockade
Hundreds of thousands of Cuban people participated in the mass demonstration against the six-decade US blockade of Cuba and the inclusion of Cuba on the US state sponsors of terrorism list.
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How Qatar is maneuvering today has much to do with its desire to maintain its position as a middleman between the region and the West.
GiorgioCafiero of Gulf State Analytics writes for Peoples Dispatch.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/21/qatars-position-in-post-assad-syria/
GiorgioCafiero of Gulf State Analytics writes for Peoples Dispatch.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/21/qatars-position-in-post-assad-syria/
Peoples Dispatch
Qatar’s position in post-Assad Syria
How the Gulf country is maneuvering today has much to do with its desire to maintain its position as a middleman between the region and the West.
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The outsized response of the state to, on one hand, vilify the man suspected of killing a health insurance CEO, and on the other, repress a workers’ strike against Amazon, has shed light on solidarity among the ruling class
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/21/in-the-us-only-ceos-and-corporations-are-protected-by-the-state/
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/21/in-the-us-only-ceos-and-corporations-are-protected-by-the-state/
Peoples Dispatch
In the US, only CEOs and corporations are protected by the state
The outsized response of the state to, on one hand, vilify the man suspected of killing a health insurance CEO, and on the other, repress a workers’ strike against Amazon, has shed light on solidarity among the ruling class
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In April 2024, relentless heavy rains wreaked havoc across Kenya, plunging the country into a humanitarian crisis. The devastation claimed at least 270 lives, displaced over 200,000 people, and obliterated livelihoods, infrastructure, and property. Among the hardest-hit areas was Mathare, one of Nairobi’s largest informal settlements, where over 40 lives were lost as the Mathare River burst its banks, flooding vast portions of the community.
Amidst the destruction, a tremendous spirit of resilience and unity emerged from the people of Mathare. Determined to reclaim their environment and rebuild their lives, young people and community members joined forces to transform despair into hope.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/22/mathare-ecological-network-fights-for-the-restoration-of-dignity-and-hope-in-nairobis-informal-settlements/
Amidst the destruction, a tremendous spirit of resilience and unity emerged from the people of Mathare. Determined to reclaim their environment and rebuild their lives, young people and community members joined forces to transform despair into hope.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/22/mathare-ecological-network-fights-for-the-restoration-of-dignity-and-hope-in-nairobis-informal-settlements/
Peoples Dispatch
Mathare Ecological Network fights for the restoration of dignity and hope in Nairobi’s informal settlements
After heavy rains caused massive devastation in the country’s urban settlements, residents in Mathare organized to rebuild their community.
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🇵🇸“This is cruelty. This is not war. I want to say this because it touches the heart,” Pope Francis said during his traditional address to the Roman Curia after an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia killed 7 children.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/24/pope-francis-calls-israels-bombing-of-gaza-children-a-great-cruelty/
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/24/pope-francis-calls-israels-bombing-of-gaza-children-a-great-cruelty/
Peoples Dispatch
Pope Francis calls Israel’s bombing of Gaza children a “great cruelty”
Israel continues to commit massacres in Gaza, and has launched attacks on Pope Francis for speaking up in defense of the Palestinian people.
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🇿🇦One of the few Black communities to have survived the Apartheid-era evictions from Cape Town just won a crucial legal battle against attempts by city authorities to evict them. The community was one of the few that survived Apartheid-era attempts to evict all Black communities and create an exclusively White-settler city. Their eight-year-long legal battle was against attempts by the city authorities’ to evict them in service of real estate interests.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/27/survivors-of-apartheid-era-forced-removals-from-cape-town-win-a-crucial-legal-battle/
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/27/survivors-of-apartheid-era-forced-removals-from-cape-town-win-a-crucial-legal-battle/
Peoples Dispatch
Survivors of Apartheid-era forced removals from Cape Town win a crucial legal battle
The Constitutional Court's order on December 20 is a landmark judgment, advancing jurisprudence by specifying "location" of the alternative housing provided to those evicted as an "essential component of adequate housing".
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🌍Can the AU meaningfully confront the structural inequalities perpetuated by global systems of power or will it remain mired in the pitfalls of neoliberalism, neocolonialism, and deepening inequality?
Nicholas Mwangi reflects on the AU leadership debate
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/27/can-the-african-union-advance-the-continent-without-confronting-neocolonialism/
Nicholas Mwangi reflects on the AU leadership debate
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/27/can-the-african-union-advance-the-continent-without-confronting-neocolonialism/
Peoples Dispatch
Can the African Union advance the continent without confronting neocolonialism?
Nicholas Mwangi shares reflections from the AU leadership debate held as part of the February 2025 chairperson elections.
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2024 was a difficult year marked by intense struggle, unexpected geopolitical shifts, and tremendous loss.
🚩Yet, amid these challenges and setbacks, people across the world continued to resist and fight against capitalist exploitation, imperialist and zionist war and violence, and oppression.
🌍At Peoples Dispatch we work tirelessly to bring you, our readers and our community, these stories of hope, resilience, and courage. We know that we have a world to win!
☀️Let us know some of the stories that gave you hope this year.
🚩Yet, amid these challenges and setbacks, people across the world continued to resist and fight against capitalist exploitation, imperialist and zionist war and violence, and oppression.
🌍At Peoples Dispatch we work tirelessly to bring you, our readers and our community, these stories of hope, resilience, and courage. We know that we have a world to win!
☀️Let us know some of the stories that gave you hope this year.
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Israel claimed that it escalated its aggression on Yemen after the Yemeni Armed Forces stepped up its missile and drone attacks on Israel during the past few weeks. Speaking to local media on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to launch an open war on Yemen.
“We’re just getting started with them,” Netanyahu said. “We won’t allow them [to attack Israel] these days, today and any other day. We will strike them to the bitter end until they learn. As I said, Hamas learned, Hezbollah learned, and Syria learned. The Houthis will learn too,” he added.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/28/israel-threatens-all-out-war-on-yemen/
“We’re just getting started with them,” Netanyahu said. “We won’t allow them [to attack Israel] these days, today and any other day. We will strike them to the bitter end until they learn. As I said, Hamas learned, Hezbollah learned, and Syria learned. The Houthis will learn too,” he added.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/28/israel-threatens-all-out-war-on-yemen/
Peoples Dispatch
Israel threatens all-out war on Yemen
Israel has escalated its attacks against Yemen, most recently launching airstrikes on civilian infrastructure at Sanaa Airport which almost resulted in the death of the WHO Director.
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Four children in Guayaquil, Ecuador were disappeared after they were arrested by state forces on December 8. The news of their parents desperately searching for their underage children has dominated the news in Ecuador for the last several weeks even amid the festive season.
On December 8, Ismael and Josué Arroyo (15 and 14 years old), Saúl Arboleda (15 years old), and Steven Medina (11 years old) were detained by a military contingent patrolling the area where the boys were playing football. The four young Afro-Ecuadorian boys have not been seen since then.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/27/disappearance-of-4-afro-ecuadorian-children-after-detention-by-military-has-sparked-mass-indignation/
On December 8, Ismael and Josué Arroyo (15 and 14 years old), Saúl Arboleda (15 years old), and Steven Medina (11 years old) were detained by a military contingent patrolling the area where the boys were playing football. The four young Afro-Ecuadorian boys have not been seen since then.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/27/disappearance-of-4-afro-ecuadorian-children-after-detention-by-military-has-sparked-mass-indignation/
Peoples Dispatch
Disappearance of 4 Afro-Ecuadorian children after detention by military has sparked mass indignation
The case has revived an existing social trauma about the disappearance of children, especially poor and Black ones, at the hands of the State. There is a general feeling of pain and uncertainty among the population.
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🇵🇸 The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) set Kamal Adwan Hospital on fire on Friday, December 27, putting the largest medical facility in the northern part of the besieged enclave out of service. Kamal Adwan is located in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip and was one of the last functioning hospitals in the area.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan refuted Israeli claims that there were Palestinian fighters in the hospital. Hamdan added that the attack on the hospital is part of Israel's attempt “to end all manifestations of civilian steadfastness in northern Gaza.”
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/28/the-siege-of-kamal-adwan-hospital-when-israel-made-a-hospital-its-staff-and-patients-military-targets/
Hamas official Osama Hamdan refuted Israeli claims that there were Palestinian fighters in the hospital. Hamdan added that the attack on the hospital is part of Israel's attempt “to end all manifestations of civilian steadfastness in northern Gaza.”
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/28/the-siege-of-kamal-adwan-hospital-when-israel-made-a-hospital-its-staff-and-patients-military-targets/
Peoples Dispatch
The siege of Kamal Adwan Hospital: When Israel made a hospital, its staff, and patients, military targets
As part of its ethnic cleansing policies, Israel continues to systematically target medical facilities and health workers across the Gaza strip.
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🇨🇩 The war-torn country has accused the US-based global tech giant of war crimes, forgery and deception by using illegally extracted and smuggled minerals in its products.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/30/the-drcs-historic-case-against-apple-over-blood-minerals-in-its-supply-chain/
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/30/the-drcs-historic-case-against-apple-over-blood-minerals-in-its-supply-chain/
Peoples Dispatch
The DRC’s historic case against Apple over blood minerals in its supply chain
The war-torn country has accused the US-based global tech giant of war crimes, forgery and deception by using illegally extracted and smuggled minerals in its products.
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🇭🇷 Milanović has attracted support across the political spectrum, particularly for opposing Croatia’s potential involvement in the war in Ukraine, pledging as commander-in-chief that no Croatian troops will be deployed to fight “others’ wars.”
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/30/croatias-presidential-race-heads-to-second-round/
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/30/croatias-presidential-race-heads-to-second-round/
Peoples Dispatch
Croatia’s presidential race heads to second round
Incumbent president Zoran Milanović missed a first-round victory in Croatia’s presidential election, setting the stage for a run-off on January 12, 2025
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🇵🇸 A sniper from the Palestinian Authority’s security forces killed female journalist Shatha al-Sabbagh in Jenin refugee camp on Saturday, December 28. Shatha (22) was on her way to a grocery shop close to her house along with her two little nephews, her mother, and a sister-in-law, when the sniper shot her in the head, according to Shatha’s mother, who witnessed the incident.
The bereaved mother held the Palestinian Authority’s security forces fully accountable for murdering her daughter. She also considered the incident a targeted assassination as a barrage of bullets was fired by the security forces at people in the street, who tried to rescue Shatha, including her mother.
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/31/palestinian-authority-security-forces-kill-female-journalist-in-jenin/
The bereaved mother held the Palestinian Authority’s security forces fully accountable for murdering her daughter. She also considered the incident a targeted assassination as a barrage of bullets was fired by the security forces at people in the street, who tried to rescue Shatha, including her mother.
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/31/palestinian-authority-security-forces-kill-female-journalist-in-jenin/
Peoples Dispatch
Palestinian Authority security forces kill female journalist in Jenin
Shatha al-Sabbagh was shot in the head by a sniper a day after interviewing victims of the Palestinian Authority's security campaign in the Jenin refugee camp.
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Political parties in Bangladesh have opposed the calls for scrapping the 1972 constitution claiming the move unnecessary and against the spirit of the country’s liberation war in which millions sacrificed their lives.
Sharif Shamshir, a prominent left activist, told Peoples Dispatch that the move was expected given the religious nature of the student movement. After removing the Hasina government through the anti-quota movement in July-August they are moving to scrap the constitution now, he said. He expressed apprehensions that the move will further erode the secular polity in the country and pave the way for the rise of regressive forces in the country.
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/01/02/student-movements-call-to-scrap-bangladeshs-1972-constitution-met-with-widespread-rejection/
Sharif Shamshir, a prominent left activist, told Peoples Dispatch that the move was expected given the religious nature of the student movement. After removing the Hasina government through the anti-quota movement in July-August they are moving to scrap the constitution now, he said. He expressed apprehensions that the move will further erode the secular polity in the country and pave the way for the rise of regressive forces in the country.
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/01/02/student-movements-call-to-scrap-bangladeshs-1972-constitution-met-with-widespread-rejection/
Peoples Dispatch
Student movement’s call to scrap Bangladesh’s 1972 constitution met with widespread rejection
The student movement has called the 1972 constitution, drafted after the 1971 war of liberation against Pakistan, as “Mujibist” and accused that it facilitated the prolonged rule of the Awami League.
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67 people, including 35 children and 22 women, were trampled to death in three separate stampedes that ensued in Nigeria as desperate crowds struggled to get their hands on a bag or two of groceries being distributed at Christmas charity events.
After dozens died in stampedes, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu remarked, “We should just get on with it.” Tinubu’s IMF-prescribed policies have more than doubled food prices in the country, condemning millions more to hunger.
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/01/02/67-killed-in-stampedes-at-christmas-food-drives-in-nigeria-as-imf-induced-hunger-engulfed-millions-more-in-202467-killed-in-stampedes-at-christmas-food-charity-events-in-nigeria-as-imf-induced-hunger/
After dozens died in stampedes, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu remarked, “We should just get on with it.” Tinubu’s IMF-prescribed policies have more than doubled food prices in the country, condemning millions more to hunger.
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/01/02/67-killed-in-stampedes-at-christmas-food-drives-in-nigeria-as-imf-induced-hunger-engulfed-millions-more-in-202467-killed-in-stampedes-at-christmas-food-charity-events-in-nigeria-as-imf-induced-hunger/
Peoples Dispatch
67 killed in stampedes at Christmas food drives in Nigeria as IMF-induced hunger engulfed millions more in 2024
After dozens died in stampedes, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu remarked, “We should just get on with it.” Tinubu’s IMF-prescribed policies have more than doubled food prices in the country, condemning millions more to hunger.
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Months after a strike numbering in the tens of thousands, US dockworkers throughout the East Coast could once again walk off the job just before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/01/02/us-dockworkers-could-go-on-strike-again-before-trumps-inauguration/
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/01/02/us-dockworkers-could-go-on-strike-again-before-trumps-inauguration/
Peoples Dispatch
US dockworkers could go on strike again before Trump’s inauguration
Dockworkers union and longshore industry at impasse at the bargaining table over use of automation
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A report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development reveals an 18% increase in homelessness in 2023.
The Biden administration blames increased migration—leaving out the cost of living crisis and the rollback of pandemic-era social services.
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/01/02/biden-blames-increase-on-homeless-on-migration-sidelining-cost-of-living-and-unaffordability-crisis/
The Biden administration blames increased migration—leaving out the cost of living crisis and the rollback of pandemic-era social services.
📲 Read the full article on our website.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2025/01/02/biden-blames-increase-on-homeless-on-migration-sidelining-cost-of-living-and-unaffordability-crisis/
Peoples Dispatch
Biden blames increase on homeless on migration—sidelining cost of living and unaffordability crisis
A report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development revealed that there was an 18% increase in homelessness in 2023
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