message from Abahlali

Drew — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:21:39 +0000

The Abahlali baseMjondolo (Shack Dwellers) Movement began in Durban, South Africa, in early 2005. Although it is overwhelmingly located in and around the large port city of Durban it is, in terms of the numbers of people mobilised, the largest organisation of the militant poor in post-apartheid South Africa. Its originary event was a road blockade organised from the Kennedy Road settlement in protest at the sale, to a local industrialist, of a piece of nearby land long promised by the local municipal councillor to shack dwellers for housing.
[taken from www.abahlali.org]

25 March 2010
Anti-Eviction Campaign Press Release

The poor in South Africa have mandated their leaders from social movements like the Anti-Eviction Campaign, Abahlali baseMjondolo, the Landless People’s Movement, Sikhula Sonke, the Anti-Privatisation Forum, etc, to speak about issues that are relevant to poor people. The poor have not mandated us to support political parties and their elite agendas.

The poor who make up our rank and file members of our movements want us to tell the world that in South Africa the poor are treated like terrorists and criminals. Our members are intimidated, harassed, arrested, and tortured every single day. And we are tired of being treated as second-class citizens.

As part of our effort to tell the world about our struggle, two Anti-Eviction Campaign members will be embarking on a trip to Germany, Scotland and Switzerland at the invitation of activists from those countries.

We will be present at the launching of a new documentary film called When the Mountain Meets its Shadow. While visiting Europe, we, the poor people in the shadow of Cape Town’s mountains, will be visiting with and speaking to poor and oppressed Europeans who are also struggling. We will be sharing our experiences and dialogging about our struggle.

One of the things we wish to make clear during our trip is that the World Cup in South Africa is not benefiting the poor.

The lives of small businesses and informal traders in South Africa have been destroyed by this World Cup. If we are not allowed to trade near stadiums, fan parks and other tourist areas, how can we benefit from tourism? In Green Point, we were evicted and moved to less useful areas to make way for the new stadium. In Grand Parade, they want to evict us to make way for the FIFA Fan Park. In Cape Town Station, they are evicting us to make way for a renovated train station for tourists. In Mitchell’s Plain, they evicted us to make Town Centre a “world class shopping facility” for visitors during the World Cup. All these evictions have been using a new oppressive by-law enacted last year.

The poor are not only evicted from their trading spaces for the World Cup, we are also being evicted from our homes. In Woodstock, Salt River and Gugulethu, massive gentrification linked to World Cup accommodation projects has effected thousands of residents. In Joe Slovo, government evicted 2,000 residents and dumped them in Tsunami and Thubelisha Temporary Relocation Areas in Delft. They tried to evict another 10,000 Joe Slovo residents and hide them from the N2 Freeway as part of a Word Cup vanity project. But luckily, residents of Joe Slovo sent thousands to the street in protest and the government eventually gave in. Just the other day in Greenpoint, near the Somerset Hospital and the new stadium, 150 poor residents were evicted without any alternative. Maybe they will end up in Blikkiesdorp where the City is trying to dump all of Cape Town’s poor.

These are just some of the injustices that our communities are faced with every single day.

If there is still any doubt as to whether there is or is not democracy for the poor in South Africa, hopefully our words and experiences will convince Europeans otherwise.

Power to the Poor People!

For more information, please contact the following people before Friday 26^th of March:

Mncedisi Twalo at 0785808646
Ashraf Cassiem at 0761861408

After the above comrades leave on the 26th for Europe, contact Mzonke Poni for comment at 0732562036

between the worlds in 80 days

Drew — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:32:59 +0000

There are only 80 days left until one of the biggest sporting events to ever reach the African continent begins, and as the days become less, South Africa prepares to welcome the the world that waits at its doorstep.

But, seriously, what does the World Cup mean for South Africans?

The semi-famous English Writer Leight Hunt once said, “There are two worlds: the world we can measure with line and rule, and the world that we feel with our hearts and imagination.”

The World Cup is not just the world of FIFA, the games, players, and international fans, it is also the world of ordinary South Africans who welcome the event with joy but also sacrifice. It’s not just the “line and rule” of the stadiums, of the tickets, of the sponsors, but it is also the hearts and imaginations of the South Africa people, the people who will remain in the country after the trophy has been kissed and held high by the soccer/football champion of the world. With the beginning of this competition comes many rumors, many questions, and many trials – on and off the field. South Africa is privileged to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and many of its cities have gone through massive transformation, with the addition of stadiums, infrastructure, decorations and hope.

With the beginning of this competition comes many rumors, many questions, and many trials – on and off the field.
South Africa is privileged to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and many of its cities have gone through massive transformation, with the addition of stadiums, infrastructure, decorations and hope.
So why TwoWorlds 2010?

Well, you could check out the “Why TwoWorlds2010″ page; but if you really want to know the short of it, we agree with Mr. Hunt. We agree there are two worlds within the World Cup, and we believe that there may be some use to expose those worlds. There is use to knowing about the line and rule of the inspiration for the stadiums, and there is value in knowing the hearts and imaginations of the South African people. TwoWorlds is here to consolidate and promote this information to familiarize the people with the product.

Confession…
We’re not South Africans. TwoWorlds2010, the brainchild of a group of American students, comes out of a study abroad program that continues to expose us to the reality of the development, the opinions, and the existence of the World Cup on the African continent. That being said, we’ll try our best to remain neutral when providing the facts. We’ll try our best to let the opinions and facts speak for themselves.