Global Call-In and Solidarity Actions for Evicted KwaMashu Community

Activists Gather in front of the South African Embassy in London with images of some of the evicted community members from KwaMashu. Photo by Anna Collins

London – Councilor Lucky Mdlalose's of KwaMashu's phone was ringing non-stop on Friday as activists from all over the world phoned in as part of a Global Day of Action to support a community from KwaMashu that had been evicted because of the COP17 Climate Conference in November. This Global Action, with people calling in from the United States, India, Belgium, the UK and others, also included a protest in London at the South African Embassy.

“I called because no one should have their home stolen from them, especially not by their own Government” reported Anna Collins of the UK.

Activists from “Occupy COP17”, who came to Durban for the COP17 conference, had developed a close relationship with the community. “In our General Assembly, someone told us of how a community had been illegally evicted because of the COP17, so we called them.” said Kevin Buckland from the International NGO 350.org, “two days later, some of us from Occupy COP17 went to meet with them. As soon as we arrived we were moved to tears by hearing about the injustice that had occurred. They told us their story on the very place where there houses had stood just weeks before. Now all that was left were piles of broken roofing and scattered objects."

On the last day of the COP17 Climate Change Conference, community members attended a “Vigil For Climate Justice” just outside the ICC Center where the Climate Negotiations were being held. At the vigil, they shared their story and young members from the community performed a play reenacting the illegal eviction. Many of the people who witnessed the performance were among those to call-in on Friday. Community member Jabulilie Mdlalose said “They destroyed our houses. They destroy our lives. They took our food. They took out clothes. They took everything from us. And they said we are messing up the place because of the COP17. Today we don't have a shelter. ”

“Now that we have met them and heard their story,” said Buckland “we cannot let them suffer alone, and we will not abandon. Councillor Lucky Mdlalose: people all over the world will be watching how you act on this. We will stand by our friends from KwaMashu until justice is served.”

This community of 31 families had originally been evicted in 2007 to build a road for the World Cup. They were given no alternative housing and eventually built homes in KwaMashu, District 7. On November 23rd the community, consisting mostly of women and children, were illegally evicted without an eviction order and without an assessment required by the PIE act of 1998.

Shortly after the illegal eviction the community appealed to local authorities to let them sleep in a public hall. They were barred from entering the hall, and so, having nowhere else to go, they returned to the site where there homes had been and huddled under plastic sheets. In the torrential rainstorm that night, one man, Mwempi Caka, caught a chill and died soon after. The community has until now received no attention from local authorities despite attempts to deliver legal documents and repeated requests for meetings.

Anna Collins, an organizer from OccupyLondon who was in Durban for the Climate Negotiations and helped to organize the Action at the South African Embassy said, "We decided to organize this solidarity action at the South African Embassy because one death is already too much. Many of these community members are grandmothers and small children, they should not have to beg to sleep on neighbours floors any longer. One grandmother is very sick, and a young girl will be having a heart operation this month. They need their homes back, they need immediate action!”

The feeling of betrayl is strong among the community, many of whom had recently voted for Councillor Lucky Mdlalose and are hoping he will follow through on his promises to bring improved living conditions to KwaMashu. "The municipality said we were messing up the community and they didn't want the people coming to Durban for the United Nations conference to see us," said Jabulile Mdlalose. "They are ashamed of us. We have nowhere to go in our own country. The worst part is that the order to destroy our community came from a councilman who had come campaigning in our neighborhoods just months before, promising that he would get us running water and electricity if we voted for him. We voted for him expecting something better and we got this."

“We stand in solidarity with OccupyKwaMashu because this is not just the story of 31 families, but the story of a government who is not looking out for its own people. Our constitution was created to protect our people from injutices such as this. If our government violently evicts its own civilians from public land without offering them an alternative is not the South Africa that Nelson Mandela and others worked so hard to create,” reported Nkyaniso Madlala of Durban.

For more information please visit www.occupycop17.org

Contact
OccupyCOP17@gmail.com
Kevin Buckland +33 6 88 44 79 70
Jabulile Mdlalose (+27) 0745425939
Nkyaniso Madlala (+27) 0843271176 or 0762133908

CALL OUT FOR A CALL IN

Global Solidarity CALL-IN for Climate Justice
(SAMPLE CALL-IN CONVERSATION BELOW)

We invite you to show your solidarity and join the fight of the 31 families from KwaMashu who were robbed of their homes, their dignity and their friends by the COP17 Climate Change Conference. Sample script below.

Please join us this Friday by calling Councilor Lucky Mdlalose at +27 822565398 to demand that he respect the constitutional rights of these families and provide them with immediate housing. Solidarity emails may also be sent to OccupyCOP17@gmail.com, and will be delivered to the Councilor. Alternate number: +27 0847221900

When calling Councilor Mdlalose, remember that he is probably very unused to speaking with an international audience or receiving international attention. Be respectful and encourage him to look into the case (when spoken to yesterday he was completely unaware of this situation) and remind him that we will be following his decisions closely.

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Three weeks ago, governments from around the world met in Durban, South Africa for the 17th UN Climate Change Conference, COP17. Just days before the international summit began, a community from nearby KwaMashu had their houses destroyed and all their possessions and food stolen from them by their government.

They were told they were "dirtying" the image of Durban for the COP17 conference by city officials ashamed of their own inhabitants. The next night, as members of this community crouched in the rain under plastic bags in the spaces where their houses used to stand, Mwempi Caka caught a chill and died soon after. To this day, this community of grandmothers, mothers, babies and sons sleep each night on the floors of the kind neighbors that surround the empty land where their own houses once stood.

After two weeks of intense negotiations, the COP17 Conference once again finished without any international treaty to address climate change. Many critics have said that “this conference didn’t change anything”. The 31 families, who lost their homes and all their possessions because of COP17, know this is a lie.

What the conference clearly delivered is a prime example of the manner that governments are reacting to climate change: with blatant disregard for basic human rights. This grave injustice to the community from KwaMashu and the death of Mwempi Caka reminds us that while the climate crisis and its impact cannot be underestimated, they cannot serve as an excuse to continue a legacy of injustice.

We invite you to show your solidarity and join the fight of the 31 families from KwaMashu who were robbed of their homes, their dignity and their friends by the COP17 Climate Change Conference. It is our hope that international support will put pressure on an otherwise unresponsive local government to return justice and houses to this community immediately.

Please join us this Friday by calling Councilor Lucky Mdlalose at +27 822565398 to demand that he respect the constitutional rights of these families and provide them with immediate housing. Alternate number: +27 0847221900

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SAMPLE CALL-IN CONVERSATION:

Hello, can i speak to Councilor Lucky Mdlalose

My name is … and i'm calling from….

I'm calling to enquire about the case of Jabulile Mdlalose & 31 families from KwaMashu, who were unlawfully evicted from their homes shortly before the COP17 Climate Conference – violating their rights outlined in Article 26 of the South African Constitution.

I want to encourage you to act immediately to provide these 31 families with housing. I followed/attended (or have co-workers/friends who attended) the COP17 Conference and I was outraged to learn that this conference was used as an excuse to violate this communities rights. The PIE act states that in cases of evictions: “special consideration should be given to the rights of the elderly, children, disabled persons and particularly households headed by women, and that it should be recognised that the needs of those groups should be considered”. The needs of this community have not been met, one woman has broken her leg due to this eviction and one man has already died as a result of this negligence.

This community needs immediate attention, and I want you to know that many of us from around the world will be following this case and expect prompt action.

Many of these community members voted for you, I hope to see you act in their interest. Thank you for your time.

Sample Questions:

What do you intend to do to help this community?
What immediate housing can you offer a community in need?
What are your priorities as Councilor?
What was done to investigate the conditions of this community before their eviction?
What has been done to protect the elderly, children, and families headed by women as stipulated in the PIE act?

IMPORTANT: Report back on your call here or to OccupyCOP17@gmail.com saying where you called from so we may gather a list of how many countries and people participated.

PIE Act, No. 19 of 1998.

“WHEREAS special consideration should be given to the rights of the elderly, children, disabled persons and particularly households headed by women, and that it should be recognised that the needs of those groups should be considered;”

Article 26, Section 3 of the South African Constitution States: "No one may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances." The PIE act was also violated: "whether people have been living lawfully or unlawfully they cannot be evicted without there being alternative accommodation."