Non-State Actors

By Péter MARTON Having just finished Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven (the 2015 winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award), a part post-apocalyptic, part pre-apocalyptic novel with (inevitably and yet mostly just implicitly) the apocalypse in its centre, here are a few quick notes, in praise as well as criticism – not as a literary review, but mainly in reaction to the plot: its plausibility and its implications. As a work of literature I really liked this book – I enjoyed it, even. It is moody and haunting, as many would say. All the characters want to be somewhere else, even some time else. The story is effectively a collection of their memories upon memories of times, places and faces past. What follows here, however, is the dirty work – the ugly analysis of probabilities and plausibilities that's more interesting from a social science vantage point. A raw take from my part. Feel free (or invited, even) to add to this, or to criticise any element of my ass...

By Péter MARTON Have you heard of the Life Esidimeni healthcare scandal before? In a nutshell: There is pressure now on the managers of several South African NGOs to account for the deaths of psychiatric patients in their care after as many as 75 patients died in the facilities of five of these organisations between March 23 and December 19, 2016, in Gauteng Province (population: 12.2 million). A total of 141 deaths (including at hospitals) are being investigated. So who is responsible for these deaths? South African Health Ombudsman Dr. Malegapuru Makgoba named five NGOs "the most dangerous" related to the cases concerned. These are Precious Angels, CCRC/Siyadabinga/Anchor, Mosego/Takalani, Tshepong, and Hephzibah (see page 1 of this government report for the list and more). These and 22 other NGOs took over mental patients from Life Esidimeni, the healthcare contractor that provided services up to 2015 for the Department of Health in Gauteng province. The Depart...