It's a question many comrades in Africa are raising and one which the Swaziland Solidarity Campaign is most concerned about. Africa is facing an AIDS pandemic, an uncertain political future, the effects of aggressive free-market policies and international marginalisation. The whole of Africa does not spin around Robert Mugabe's tyranny, yet the British left can't think of anything else to say about Africa.

The British left has mirrored the kind of attitude displayed by Western governments. Perhaps this is due to ignorance, perhaps it is down to underlying racial prejudice or perhaps African issues don't have any populist resonance to rally the masses behind. War in the Middle East is regarded as far more important as it is more visually spectacular. Yet there are far more deaths in Africa as a result of disease and poverty than any war waged by the US. Exploring the causes of economic disadvantage and engaging in dialogue with African groups require a deeper intellectual understanding and a lot more effort than the simple "war in wrong" sloganeering. Maybe the British left does not have the capacity for a deeper and more comprehensive analysis.

Looking through left-wing newspapers this week, there is no mention of the African Union - perhaps the greatest show on earth, in political terms. There is no mention of mass starvation or recent reports by a plethora of international organisations calling for a war on AIDS. Even in this year's round of communist party conferences, Africa gets a token mention at best. It's all about Palestine, Islamic fundamentalism, etc, etc. There's no doubt that Palestine is a vitally important issue, but so are Africa's problems.

It's saddening that groups like Globalise Resistance, the SWP, the CPGB and others won't even respond to our letters calling for support for the fight against tyranny and poverty in Swaziland. This is in stark contrast to the help we have been offered by NGOs, such as ACTSA, the Trade Justice Movement and the OneWorld Foundation.

Of course, Swaziland is just one country of many with problems and perhaps left-wing organisations can convincingly argue that they have to target their focus due to a lack of resources. Yet, one wonders why there is so little interest in Africa as a whole and why the situation there is not given the attention it deserves by the British left.