Category Archives: Picture the Homeless

Picture the Homeless: Jean Rice’s Speech from Riverside Church “Dear Mandela” Screening & Panel Discussion

http://picturethehomeless.org/blog/node/418

Jean Rice's Speech from Riverside Church "Dear Mandela" Screening & Panel Discussion

I am here today, because since the historic transition to a participatory democracy based upon the concept of one person one vote which was declared in South Africa in 1994, my Abhalali brothers and sisters are still being treated as second class citizens and in far too many cases being hunted as if they were targets of a "Fugitive Slave Act."

I am here today to reiterate my brother S'bu Zikode's explanation of the Shackdwellers' "Living Politic", as he explained this credo at the university of Chicago on November 8, 2010: "Our living politic begins with the fact that all  of us were created in the image of God and are therefore equal. Our living politic starts by recognizing the full and equal humanity of every human being. We struggle as human beings with equal worth and intelligence to all other human beings against a system that produces inequality by denying every day the humanity of some of us."

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A Statement of Solidarity with the South African Shack-Dwellers Movement from U.S. Human Rights Organizations and Call to Action

http://www.nesri.org/news/2013/10/statement-of-solidarity-with-the-south-african-shack-dwellers-movement-and-call-to-action-for-human-rights-suppor

On September 30th, Abahlali baseMjondolo (Abahlali) was engaged in protesting the demolition of over 100 homes and the forced evictions of families from the Cato Crest informal settlement. The settlement, where an estimated 500 people gathered for the protest, is located about seven kilometers from the city center of Durban in the South African province KwaZuluNatal. It is our understanding from Abahlali and various news sources that the Cato Manor police responded with such force that a 17-year-old girl who was part of the protest – Nqobile Nzuza – was shot and killed. Additionally, two other women appear to have been injured by gunshots. When the General Secretary of Abahlali, Bandile Mdlalose, arrived at the scene to extend her condolences to the Nzuza family, she was immediately arrested. Abahlali reports that this is the third death the movement has experienced in the last year as a result of taking solidarity actions with families resisting forced displacement from Cato Crest. Residents are also under continuous threats and face serious beatings by the police (see abahlali.org).

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