WHAT IS MISA

We are the Maasai International Solidarity Alliance (MISA). We are Maasai, and along with our allies, we fight to defend our human rights.

Many of us have been advocating for Maasai rights for a long time and even for generations. However, the violent evictions of June 2022 in Loliondo have prompted us to reinforce the coordination of our local and global efforts. We oppose the forced relocation of the Maasai of Ngorongoro and the illegal measures taken to that effect by President Samia Suluhu Hassan since 2021. We reject the grounding of the Flying Medical Service (FMS) which has been stopped from operating since April 2022. The inability of FMS to operate has led to disastrous consequences including vaccination delays, maternal health risks, unchecked TB cases, infant health crises and emergency response lapses. All this to force our people to leave the land and make space for tourists.

We bring together international faith-based organisations, human rights organisations, international aid and development organisations, as well as grassroots organisations, individual activists, researchers and lawyers representing the Maasai in several land cases.

Our alliance includes Maasai activists and lawyers representing Maasai values and defending Maasai rights, as well as international allies such as the Africa Europe Faith Justice Network (AEFJN), Agrecol Association for AgriCulture & Ecology, Coalition of European Lobbies for Eastern African Pastoralism (CELEP), Center for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) at Coventry University (UK), International family of Catholic social justice organisations (CIDSE), FIAN International, Koordinierungsstelle der Österreichischen Bischofskonferenz/Coordinating Office of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference (KOO), Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker/Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV), Misereor, and Welthaus Graz.