There is an elderly woman with a long-winded anecdote about the old days on the prairies; a farmer with a desperate appeal for drought assistance and lower petrol prices; and a set of African refugees who want a group photograph of themselves. Tom Daschle, the most powerful Democrat in Washington, has time for them all.

The Israeli general who commanded the destruction of the only Jewish settlement in the Sinai before it was returned to Egypt recently offered Ariel Sharon advice on how to carry out his pledge to remove settlers from the Gaza strip. ”Evicting someone from the home they’ve lived in for 20 years isn’t a simple matter,” wrote Brigadier General Obed Tira.

They were fêted by Robert Mugabe as patriots and pioneers in a radical redistribution of land to redress colonial injustice. But the war veterans who ousted white farmers have now themselves been invaded. Last month, police units fanned across Trelawney, a rural district outside the capital, Harare, and erased settlements with matches and mallets.

I have been under attack in recent weeks for suggesting that the extraordinary concrete wall that the Israeli state is building around itself, designed to keep Muslim Palestinians out of its borders, is racist. I am attacked for being racist myself – why shouldn’t Israel be allowed to do what it likes, considering the anti-Israeli assaults that are constantly being launched against it.

<b>Head of Communications: SANParks</b>

When SANParks speaks, it’s usually with Wanda’s voice. Managing communications for 20 national parks is “a bit of a challenge… But the biggest challenge is to ensure the public knows that SANParks is about more than Kruger Park and Table Mountain,” she says.

<b>General Manager, Social Science Research, People and Conservation Directorate, South African National Parks</b>

Sibongile has two masters degrees in arts and is now doing a PhD in environmental education through Rhodes University. Among her passions is South Africa’s multifaceted cultural heritage.

<b>Corporate Communications and Marketing Manager, IUCN-SA</B>

Tzila says she became an environmentalist in her first year at high school. “We had a passionate geography teacher who reinforced this message all the time … My career aim is to promote environmental responsibility, through communications and marketing."

<b>Project Manager: Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers, SANBI</b>

“I have had a passion for trees since childhood but didn’t know I could get a job related to plants, so I opted for veterinary science,” says Domitilla. “For part of my BSc, I studied botany and realised this was for me. Ever since, I’ve worked in plant conservation, researching threatened fynbos and arid plants.”