A message of solidarity from Jeremy Corbyn

A message of solidarity from Jeremy Corbyn

Dear comrades of Abahlali baseMjondolo,

I send you my warmest congratulations on twenty years of unwavering struggle for land, housing, and dignity. Two decades of standing firm for justice and the equal worth of every human being is no small achievement. You have faced police violence, unlawful bans, evictions, and even assassinations — yet through it all you have refused to bow. You have won numerous important victories for your members, and for poor people in South Africa in general.

Your movement has shown the world that democracy extends beyond elections to a way of living together — through open assemblies and collective decision making. In doing so, you have advanced a vision grounded in humanity, solidarity, and courage.

Your struggle has always been internationalist, and your solidarity with the people of Palestine, Swaziland, and the Congo, and the warm relations you have built with movements around the world, are exemplary.

Working with others, I am in the process of building a new political party in the United Kingdom. We intend to ground it in collective, deliberative practices, directly inspired by movements such as the MST in Brazil and Abahlali baseMjondolo in South Africa. We hope to draw on your achievements as we work to build a United Kingdom for the many, not the few.

May your coming years see even greater strength, deeper alliances, and many more victories.

With solidarity and in struggle,

Jeremy Corbyn