Habibe. With people. Against land grabbing.: Misereor

There are three things that Habibe B. fears: Poverty, undignity and injustice. All three things almost happened at once: when his ancestral land was sold to a large foreign company.

Habibe B. is not a timid person. As a marabout, the 67-year-old is the highest authority in his village in Senegal. Although he has barely been able to walk since suffering a stroke, the upright man makes the journey to the fields to be present when his community works their land. "We only have this land: we live here, feed ourselves from it and come together on it as a community." But a few years ago, a corrupt mayor signed over thousands of hectares of land to major investors from Morocco. The community's ancestral land was to be turned into a rice plantation. The villagers would have had to leave their homes.

Habibe B. had to witness how the land of his ancestors was sold to a large foreign company.

In Senegal, Misereor supports small farming communities in their fight for their land rights and for a life in dignity, with the help of Habibe B. (centre).

Habibe B. from Senegal.

Born in the colonial era, Habibe B. grew up resisting exploitation. The villagers organised themselves under his leadership. They were supported by ENDA Pronat, Misereor's partner organisation in Senegal.

When the marabout Habibe B., accompanied by supporters and cameras, made his way to the president in the capital Dakar, the tide turned. The president realised that the large-scale investment project was neither legally nor politically tenable, withdrew his support for the project and reversed all of the mayor's decisions.

The land finally belongs to the people who have lived on it for generations.

It is a barren land, and yet it can feed its people. The soil just needs to be made fertile. Our partners are also supporting the people with workshops on organic farming: how to use compost, how to keep pests away, which plants can be best combined.

This increases yields and people can provide for themselves. Habibe B. smiles. Justice and dignity have returned to his village community.

I have been fighting against injustice since I was a small child.

Habibe B.

Since 1958, we have been supporting people where poverty is greatest - regardless of faith, culture or skin colour.

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With more than 6.6 billion euros to date, we have helped people around the world to change their lives sustainably through their own efforts.

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Misereor is exempt from corporation tax due to the promotion of development cooperation according to the last notice of exemption we received from the Aachen-Stadt tax office,
tax number 201/5900/5748, Misereor is exempt from corporation tax in accordance with Section 5 (1) No. 9 of the German Corporation Tax Act.