Durban, South Africa
a brief note: The reason is this. As possible agents of non-governmental It is difficult, at this specific moment in time, to complete a case action, we, meaning our collective bodies together in our both virtual study of Abahlali baseMjondolo without placing a significant and non-virtual class, are in a position to engage with Abahlali amount of attention and time on the current situation of AbM. In a baseMjondolo in a way where they do not just stand in as frightening escalation on September 30th with the killing of a 17- representatives of a housing rights group. And it is at this point where year old activist during a protest in Cato Crest, AbM is, potentially we have decided to make a choice to devote our energy to relaying at this very moment, actively resisting illegal evictions from land the unfolding actions that are taking place in Durban, South Africa. that has been occupied since March 2013 on Cato Crest that they We have also chosen in this specific case to allow AbM to speak in its have named “Marikana” in solidarity with miner’s strike of last own words whenever possible. As an active protest movement, and year that was brutally put down. This is just the latest killing in 8 as a movement whose legitimacy is constantly being questions by months of active resistance after being evicted and displaced from governing powers, to “study”AbM would remove its agency in a nearby housing development. order to talk about non-governmentality and subsequently relegate urgency to history, whereas to provide a platform with On March 13, 2013 community leader Thembinkosi Qumbelo was requisite clarification and critique might encompass practicing assassinated along with a second man, “unnamed in media non-governmentality. We also feel that it is important to allow the reports”. growing group of voices, which has come to include widely respected and in some cases, widely visible academics and activities, that On June 25, 2013 activist Nkululeko Gwala was assassinated. surround AbM to speak for themselves. We do this not out of laziness, or lack of adequate information, but rather due to the fact that they Activists Nkosinathi Mngomezulu has been in the hospital. do not abstract of distance OUR conversation from the violence and protest that is happening right now. Again on September 30, Nqobile Nzuza was shot in the back by police forces and is dead. Her companion Luleka Makhwenkwana This method that we are trying to employ, begs us to question is still in the hospital. our role and response to the events in Durban. It allows us to define our Terms of Engagement in a very concrete way. Thus, we ask you to On October 7th, 2013, according to AbM’s facebook page, a young keep these few questions in mind. man, Nyathi was shot in the chest by Fidentia Security in the municipal court. From the best that we can tell he was shot with a What is the capacity, and what are the possibilities of trans- rubber bullet since the photograph shows a small wound. From continental solidarity? How would it be possible to show sources available, he was subsequently beaten by police. solidarity with AbM? Is this an effective tactic? Elected Secretary General Bandile Mdlalose was jailed and held As a continuation of the conversation around non-violent, not without bail on the charge of public violence, a charge that has non-violent, and violent tacttics, how do we position the active been used frequently against peaceful protesters, until October 7th, resistance of AbM and their tactics of road barricades that when she was release on the condition that she not return to Cato consists of tires on fire? is this an effective tactic? Crest. What is the role of active resistance and direct action in The question now becomes: Why are we telling you all of this? conjunction with resistance through institutional means? ie: success at the level of the Supreme Court in overturning the Slum Act, successful lawsuits against police forces.
‘No Land, No House, No Vote’ Abahlali baseMjondolo began in Durban in October According to War on Want.com, the aims of AbM are 2005. It is the largest organisation of the militant poor in post- apartheid South Africa. AbM represents 50 settlements ● To oppose demolitions and evictions, which have left thousands of shack comprising upwards of 10,000 people in Durban, plus dwellers homeless settlements in Pietermarzinburg and Cape Town. ● To secure shack dwellers access to essential services such as clean In the eThekwini municipality, which includes the city water, electricity, sanitation, health care and a decent education of Durban, almost half of the African population – and one third ● To develop the job skills of shack dwellers, particularly women and youth of the general population – live in shacks. The eThekwini authorities have systematically cracked down on Abahlali, both ● To campaign and lobby at the national level for the legal rights and by introducing the Slums Act, which Abahlali overturned in protection of shack dwellers court and by denying Abahlali the right to demonstrate. Abahlali has also come under attack with death threats and phsysical attacks particularly on the leadership and arrests of its members. Their successes have been: Along side the normal menagerie of effective ● In 2009, Abahlali successfully challenged and overturned in the community organization activities such as gardening, craft Constitutional Court the draconian KwaZulu-Natal Slums Act of 2007, collectives, supports groups from residents living with AIDS, which gave city officials the authority to evict shack dwellers music and sports organizations, AbM also makes use of both non-violent protest and direct-action/ active resistance tactics ● Abahlali has prevented countless evictions as well as the demolitions in conjunctions with institutional and legal appeals. of many shacks through legal interventions, protest marches and grassroots campaigning AbM has elicted much critical attention for its “politics of the lived” and its efficacy and tactics. ● The organisation has assisted in the rebuilding of homes illegally destroyed by municipal authorities, and has helped those left homeless rebuild their lives ● To support shack dwellers without adequate financial means, Abahlali has successfully petitioned for the abolition of rent in many settlements ● With its strong focus on developing the skills of its thousands of members, Abahlali has set up numerous training programmes, educational courses and activity groups
“Abahlali baseMjondolo, or AbM, is a shack- Abahlali baseMjondolo Occupy dwellers' movement in South Africa. They are also Downtown Durban to Protest Jacob ZUma known as the red shirts. The movement grew out by Abahlali baseMjondolo of a road blockade organized from the Kennedy Sunday Mar 28th, 2010 1:07 PM Road shack settlement in the city of Durban in March 2005 and now also operates in the cities of Pietermaritzburg and in Cape Town as well as a number of smaller towns in KwaZulu-Natal. It is the largest shack dweller's organization in South Africa and campaigns to improve the living conditions of poor people and to democratize society from below. The movement refuses party politics and boycotts elections. It's key demand is that the social value of urban land should take priority over its commercial value and it campaigns for the public expropriation of large privately owned landholdings. The key organising strategy is to try "to recreate Commons" from below by trying to http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/03/28/18643150.php?show_comments=1 create a series of linked communes. According to The Times, the movement "has shaken the political landscape of South Africa." According to 'As much as all debates are good, fighting only by talking does Professor Peter Vale, Abahlali baseMjondolo is not take us much further. Sometimes we need to strengthen "along with the Treatment Action Campaign the our muscles for an action debate, that is a living debate that most effective grouping in South African civil does not only end on theories.' society." However the movement has faced - S'bu Zikode, 24 September 2007; http://www.abahlali. considerable repression” org/node/237
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