AbM WC Welcomes Church Solidarity

3 September 2011
Abahlali baseMjondolo, Western Cape Press Statement

Abahlali baseMjondolo, Western Cape Welcomes Solidarity from the Cape Town Churches

On Wednesday 31 August Abahlali baseMjondolo in the Western Cape had an important meeting with a number of church leaders and church organisations. The meeting was held in Khayelitsha and was called by the church leaders.

The church leaders present included:

* Dr. Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
* Dr. Stephen Brislin, Catholic Archbishop of Cape Town
* Dr. Braam Hanekom, Moderator of the Dutch Reformed Church, West and South Cape

The church organisations present included

* The South African Council of Churches, Western Cape
* The Restitution Foundation
* The Centre for Christian Spirituality
* The Institute for Healing of Memories
* The St. Georges Cathedral Crypt and Memory Project

As everyone knows Abahlali baseMjondolo and the Rural Network in KwaZulu-Natal have formed close bonds of solidarity with church leaders and church organisations. The solidarity that has been developed between the organised poor and the churches in KwaZulu-Natal has been vital for the movements there to be able to survive repression and the general tendency of the middle classes, in and out of the state, to criminalise the movements of the poor.

Everyone knows that the churches have played a very important role in supporting popular struggles in places like Haiti and Brazil. In both these countries the theology of liberation, a spirituality which takes the view that every human being is important and that God is on the side of the poor, has been a very important contribution in building the power of poor people's movements.

Everybody knows the powerful role that the churches played in the struggles against apartheid.

For all these reasons we warmly welcomed the meeting proposed by the church leaders.

The meeting was open, frank and warm. Abahlali baseMjondolo was very clear that the movement is looking for solidarity in the struggle for justice and not for charity. We were also very clear that as a movement we do not accept that NGOs or other organisations should think for us or represent us but that poor people must have the same rights as all other people to think for ourselves and to represent ourselves. We are not children and for us solidarity must be a partnership between equals. We were also very clear that our struggle is not a struggle for service delivery to speeded up. Our struggle is for social justice and for the poor to be fully included in all decision making that affects us.

The church leaders were very clear that they recognise that they can't be friends with everyone and that their support for the state over the last 17 years has not led to the creation of a just society in which everyone counts. They were very clear that South Africa is an unjust society. They were very clear that they have decided that the time has come for them to listen to the voices of the organised poor and to find ways to work with us to support our day to day struggles. They were very clear that they need to break with a state centred theology and to rather choose a people centred theology that has a preferential option for the poor.

We have agreed to have a follow up meeting soon to concretise the basis for ongoing solidarity.

As a movement that has been subject to serious state repression and to the general tendency, which is also prevalent in civil society, to misrepresent the organised poor as irresponsible, irrational, violent and criminal, we warmly welcome this important overture from the church leaders in the Western Cape. We look forward to working closely with the churches in the Western Cape as we struggle, together, for a just society in which the human dignity of all people is recognised.

Mzonke Poni
Chairperson, Abahlali baseMjondolo, Western Cape Region
073 256 2036