The writer and journalist Donato Ndongo, a key figure in Afro-Hispanic thought and political exile from Equatorial Guinea, will be evicted on 7 July in the Murcian district of Espinardo, where he has lived for more than two decades. The eviction order also affects his family, and so far no alternative housing solution has been offered.
Ndongo, 74, was correspondent for the EFE news agency in Central Africa and director of the Centre for African Studies at the University of Murcia, a post from which he was dismissed in 2004 without official justification. In recent decades he has denounced the lack of institutional recognition of his career and the neglect of the Spanish state, which has led to an unsustainable economic situation. The house, acquired in 2002, accumulates a mortgage debt that has led to the eviction process.
Various African and Afro-descendant community groups have reacted with indignation at what they consider a "flagrant injustice" and "intolerable institutional neglect". Through social networks and associations, a resistance fund has been set up with the aim of covering the costs of a new rent and guaranteeing a decent roof over the heads of Ndongo and his family. The account number to collaborate is IBAN ES61 1465 0320 0617 4412 9794, with the concept "Aid to Donato's family".
"I will not bow my head", the writer has declared in recent interviews, underlining his decision to resist despite the imminent eviction. Ndongo, author of seminal works such as Historia y tragedia de Guinea Ecuatorial, is one of the most lucid voices of post-colonial thought in Spanish and has dedicated his life to denouncing the abuses of Teodoro Obiang's regime and international complicity.
A support rally is planned for 7 July at the door of their home in an attempt to stop the eviction and demand an institutional response. Social, cultural and trade union organisations have already announced their support for the mobilisation. The Afro-descendant community stresses that this is not an individual case, but a reflection of a structure that makes invisible those who have made a decisive contribution to Hispanic thought and culture.
Source: eldiario.es; @espacioafro