S’BU ZIKODE FROM SOUTH AFRICAN SHACKDWELLERS ORGANISATION SPEAKS FRIDAY

-

GPJA Special September Forum: 7pm, Friday 2nd September, Unite Office, 6A Western Springs Road, Kingsland

Special Guest S’bu Zikode from the South African Shackdwellers organisation is arriving for a two week visit to coincide with events to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1981 Springbok tour protests. The Skackdwellers organisation, Abahlali baseMjondolo, is the largest organisation of the poor in South Africa and fights for the right to housing and basic amenities such as water and electricity. S’bu will speak about South Africa 17 years after the election of the first democratic South African government and will show the award-winning video Dear Mandela. This will be an occasion to welcome him to New Zealand. S’bu will also be speaking at the Auckland anniversary event on Sunday, September 11th (Gather at Eden Park gates Walters Road at 12noon).

Abahlali baseMjondolo (Zulu: [aɓaˈɬaːli ɓasɛmdʒɔnˈdɔːlo], Shack Dwellers), also known as AbM or the red shirts is a shack-dwellers' movement in South Africa which is well known for its campaigning for public housing. The movement grew out of a road blockade organized from the Kennedy Road shack settlement in the city of Durban in early 2005 and now also operates in the cities of Pietermaritzburg and in Cape Town. 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, boycotts elections and has a history of conflict with both the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance. Its 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 create a series of linked communes. According to The Times, the movement "has shaken the political landscape of South Africa." According to Professor Peter Vale, Abahlali baseMjondolo is "along with the Treatment Action Campaign the most effective grouping in South African civil society." However the movement has faced considerable repression.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jacinda Ardern’s Resignation Is Anything But Simple - It’s Time For The Left To Organise

-
Image
Interview with Joe Carolan by Jennifer Pannell. The sudden resignation of Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand and Labour Party Leader, on the 19th January this year was a shock to many around the world. She was held up by the global mainstream press as a beacon of strong and empathetic leadership in the face of numerous crises throughout her two terms. In her emotional resignation speech, she gave little hint as to why she was stepping down, stating “having reflected over summer I know I no longer have that bit extra in the tank to do the job justice. It’s that simple.” ' As a socialist, Joe, what’s your analysis of why Ardern resigned? There is a narrative that as a female Prime Minister, she experienced vicious, relentless trolling - death threats and attacks from a deeply misogynistic far-right led mob, who thought she was a dictator, a tyrant, a Communist. This is similar to the ideology used by the far-right in many other countries; in America, in Ireland, etce
Read more

Commentary fron an American member of Socialist Aotearoa

-
Image
My Two Cents By Laura Hardin As with any presidential election, the American pubic will once again be asked to head to the polls to test which campaign slogans proved more effective. We can either vote for the fairy tale of “hope and change” or we can cast our vote for the “Maverick’s from Main Street.” The McCain/Palin ticket has just recently been trying to lure the middle class with their new Main Street myth, an attempt to portray themselves as sympathizers who understand how this economic crisis is affecting the majority of America. In the Vice Presidential debate last Thursday Palin said that credit markets is where "mainstreeters like me" would feel the effects of the meltdown. And earlier last week, presidential nominee John McCain said of the bailout, “The first thing I’d do is say, ‘Let’s not call it a bailout. Let’s call it a rescue,’ Because it is a rescue. It’s a rescue of Main Street America.” You know what you’ll find on most Main Streets in most American towns
Read more

The Rainbow Rejects the Thin Blue Line

-
Image
While the French are rising up against their government and being confronted with armed police and tanks , Auckland’s queer community are in the midst of a small battle of their own.  Thursday December 6th saw the debate about whether or not to allow an oppressive force to march in full uniform in a parade commemorating the struggles of the queer community against a colonial state reach its zenith. Last month, after multiple opportunities for community consultation , the Board given the task of organising February 2019’s Pride Parade let police know that they are welcome to march alongside the LGBTQ+ community, under the one condition that, if they choose to do so, they are not welcome to wear their uniforms. This kicked off a series of melodramatic but necessary events which have seen the withdrawal of the Police, military, and several major corporate sponsors from the Parade .  For some reason, this is considered controversial. The culmination of this supposed crisis
Read more