Ah yes, we are entering June, the month our president probably hates the most. While many back home look forward to the national Juneteenth holiday and will take part in Pride Month celebrations nationwide, our fine leader will be huffing and puffing and hosting a huge military parade on the 14th, his birthday.

Attacks on DEI, stripping away Black History and imagery from libraries and government websites, they are all part of his white supremacist agenda. These actions and many others must be confronted head on by both our elected representatives and the citizenry at large. DASA will be hosting No Kings, No Tyrants - Day of Defiance activities on June 14th as a direct response to the planned parade. We also continue to host our Take Action Tuesdays. Consider joining both – you’ll feel better knowing you did your part to confront and resist unethical, exclusionary and undemocratic leadership.

Dear -- I hope you all had a little time to refresh and recharge over the April holidays. There has been a lot going on and its impossible to ...

An Assault on our Federal Systems: USAID was just the Beginning The headlines describe events at a distance, but I witnessed the clinical and swift assault on USAID up close. ...

This will likely be one of the most difficult periods of US history in our lifetimes. We knew it would be bad, but this onslaught seems worse than expected, right from the outset. We’re experiencing a serious threat to the country we as know it, rolling back decades of progress. The implications for South Africa and the world are dire. 

I think it's safe to say that we’re all feeling high levels of anxiety and concern for our country, as people’s dignity, rights, freedoms, identities, livelihoods and lives are threatened. There are too many specific issues to mention but our humanity and democratic norms are under attack. Let’s all open our hearts, minds and eyes - and stand up. Standing together - seeing and leveraging the range of our interests, identities, experiences and political perspectives as our collective strength - is the way we get through this. Raising awareness of the Trump administration's actions is critical but it must be coupled with action. There are wide-ranging opinions on how we fight this – it’s clear that Trump and his cronies are willing to test Congress, the law, the Constitution, and the American people. It will require a multi-pronged legal, political, legislative and social response. 

As Dr. King said, “Voting is the foundation stone for political action." Our core work as Democrats Abroad is to help US Citizens living outside the country to vote. The one weapon we each have in this battle for our country is our ballot. There are elections this year in several states and we also need to work now to be ready to mobilise voters for the 2026 midterms to increase our power in Congress and across the country. Request your 2025 ballots now at www.votefromabroad.org and ask every American you know if they are registered. If they’re in SA or elsewhere abroad, lead them to Vote From Abroad and invite them to join us at www.democratsabroad.org/join

No, this will not be enough! We’ve been discussing ideas for additional tools to share resources between us and specifically focusing on action / solution-based resources and opportunities. Please email [email protected] if you have ideas or would like to be involved in crowdsourcing these resources! We’re having discussions with members and will keep engaging. 

The Democrats Abroad South Africa (DASA) Executive Committee (Exco) is comprised of the positions outlined below. Candidates will be elected for 2-year terms as outlined in the DASA Bylaws. Democrats Abroad is a volunteer-led organization and seeks interest from US Citizens living in South Africa who are committed to developing the organization’s capacity, reach and impact.

It feels that there are few polite words to describe the moment and the reality we face so I'll keep this brief. Our Global Chair, Martha McDevitt-Pugh has written to all members and I will write more soon but I wanted to acknowledge this moment, particularly for those of you who are not in our WhatsApp group, and needed to get urgent info out on Ballot Curing as well as a Joburg meet-up.

We Have Voted!!  You've all voted too, right?  Wow, what a time we are living in! So much is at stake in this election and so much responsibility for our country's ...

Kamala Harris has stated that ‘the bottom line is that we know what Donald Trump wants: he wants unchecked power. The question is: what do the American people want?’ The Harris-Walz ticket is the best option that cares enough about America to lead the country forward.

Vote Now, If You Haven't Already!   It's Here!  This election season is moving quickly. I've voted, have you?  First of all, a very warm welcome to our new members!  Numbers are ...

Most of us, at one point or another in our lives, have had to make tough decisions. Leadership is defined by embracing that the needs of the many, far outweigh the needs of the few. President Biden’s decision to step aside earlier this year demonstrated true leadership in making what, by far, had to be one of the hardest decisions of his life. However, the road ahead for the country is still as tough as it was before. 

It’s estimated that there are 6.5 million U.S. citizens living abroad who can vote but less than 14% actually do. Active participation by all citizens, domestic and abroad, is more important than ever in the upcoming election. 

It is easy to forget about voting when you’re outside of the United States. DON’T! One person (one vote) can make a difference; even from abroad.

Thank you for joining, volunteering, reaching out to others, donating and for Getting Ready to Vote! 

We are happy to welcome so many New Members to Democrats Abroad South Africa (DASA)! The past six weeks have been an incredible moment in our country's history and a time to celebrate democracy! Let's celebrate it by VOTING! 

Thank you to all of our volunteers - old and new! Quite of few of our most active volunteers since 2020 have left the country and DASA is still building up as a reconstituted Country Committee so all help is welcome! 

There's a lot of info in this newsletter so I'll keep this welcome short. You can read past newsletters HERE and keep an eye on upcoming DASA events HERE. We already have eight events coming up this month (see below) - in Joburg, Cape Town and Online. Thanks to all of the members who are helping to host these! The energy is pumping, even more so since the Convention!