20 October 2014

Twenty years of hell in shacks

Presentation to the DDP Conference on ‘Twenty Years of Local Democracy in South Africa’, Durban, 20 & 21 October 2014

By S’bu Zikode

Twenty years of local democracy in South Africa has been very cruel for Abahlali baseMjondolo and for millions of other poor people. It has been twenty years of hell in shacks. It has been twenty years of living like pigs in the mud. It has been twenty years of living with rats, floods, fire and rotting rubbish. It has also been twenty years of evictions and forced removals to transit camps and other human dumping grounds. For those of us who have stood up for our humanity our reward has been lies, assault, torture, wrongful arrest, the destruction of our homes and even assassination. Continue reading →