Three of us launched Manchester for Planet Repairs in the Summer to bring the PRALER process to the third largest city in England. We wanted to start this process with a campaign that directly and materially linked people here to the reparations movement – and as three people then in University or College, we knew how many people have unused technology laying around their house. We proposed a tech drive for the month of October, to line up with Black History Month and The World Transformed where we had a PRALER fund stall. Through the month of October we postered and leafletted to get the word out about the drive, and took loads of leaflets along with us to push at the World Transformed. 

The PRALER process and PARISC had a massive presence at The World Transformed this year. From talks and panels to the PRALER Fund Solidarity Stall, we had so many people come through to learn about the process. Participation in, and shaping of the panels meant that our practical solidarity efforts were also given an impactful political framing. Panels such as the one on the Pan-African struggle for sovereignty in the Sahel illustrated very clearly how initiatives such as Afrecycle can have an impact. Alongside selling goods from the FENMUCARINAP and some locally made posters and postcards at the stall, we also had information about the tech drive. We noticed that it really helped to engage people, especially those who could not buy anything, to have a way to feel directly involved in the reparatory process. It was amazing to talk to so many people, and see how Planet Repairs and the PRALER fund resonated with them!

Throughout October, we received donations not only from people in and around Manchester but London and Stroud too. By the end of October, we realised we had a wave of interest coming out of TWT and decided to continue on the drive through November. We were joined by comrades across the country who brought the drive to Leeds, Cardiff and the Midlands. THis has enabled us to reach even more people – especially useful due to how many travelled to TWT and had technology at home. These tech drives have become their own initiatives, with some continuing on after our end in November.

In Cardiff, the tech drive ran from mid October until the end of November, with leafleting in community spaces and shout outs at many local marches and events for Palestine, Sudan, and Congo. There was a keen sense of the connections between these struggles and the broader need for resources for developing sovereign economies and knowledge production. 

Electronics and the tech industry are deeply involved in the exploitation of Global South countries. The metals used to make them are mined under horrific conditions, leaving scars on the land and people. Tech companies then sell their products at rates higher than many of the people who produced them can afford. And yet technology like computers, phones, radios etc can be vital forms of communication in the people’s struggle. Through the tech drive, we are doing the work of Just Restitution, contributing resources that would otherwise be wasted and which contain minerals sourced in the Global South. We are also aware of the importance that any tech we received be in working or easily repairable conditions, so as not to reinforce the practice of using the Global South as a dumping ground for Global North e-waste

We have been busy collecting and dropping off all sorts of technology, from monitor screens to phones to audio recorders, ready to fix up any minor issues and send them on to where they are needed.