Richard Pithouse, Mail & Guardian
On May 11, Karabo Mokoena’s body, burnt and mutilated, was found in a ditch, discarded along with the ordinary detritus of our lives, in Lyndhurst, Johannesburg. Her name took a very public place, along with Anene Booysen, Reeva Steenkamp, Nokuphile Khumalo, Rachel Tshabalala, Nosipho Mandleleni and so many others, in the grim record of what our society does to women. Continue reading
This article by Imraan Buccus was published in The Mercury and the Sunday Independent.
A REVOLUTION seems to be building in South Africa.
As inequality and developmental deficits persist, South Africans are standing up and demanding social justice. The “rebellion of the poor” has most often emerged from the informal settlement. But since the beginning of regular protests from informal settlements, protests have also spread to the mines and to university campuses.
But the informal settlements have been more or less constant sites of struggle. There is no doubt that shack-dwellers have often been given the short end of the stick in their attempt to carve out an existence on the fringes of the cities. Despite this, one often hears middle-class citizens talking about how frustrated they are “with these people constantly protesting”. The poor are often spoken about in truly derogatory ways. The middle-class often express prejudices that sound like they come straight from the colonial script. Continue reading
Residents of Foreman Road informal settlement in Durban gathered on Saturday for the funeral of Jayden Khoza, the two-week-old baby who died during housing protests in the settlement on Monday. Khoza’s parents allege that the child died after inhaling tear gas fired by police during the protest.
Siphelele Sivunga a spokesperson for Abahlali baseMjondolo, the Durban-based group fighting for housing and basic services, “As the Foreman Road family we are under a dark cloud. Jayden was in a struggle because his people were in a struggle”. Continue reading