The Weekender: Kennedy Road gets global response

There are some empirical errors in this article but its broad thrust, noting the scale of international support, is correct and valuable.

http://www.theweekender.co.za/Articles/Content.aspx?id=83640

Kennedy Road gets global response

by Sibongakonke Shoba

Published: 2009/10/10 09:03:17 AM

OUTSIDE SUPPORT: The Kennedy Road settlement was attacked by a mob led by shebeen owners in protest against a curfew curtailing trading hours. So far, more than 1000 scholars, activists, supporters and veterans of the struggle have signed a petition to President Jacob Zuma in solidarity with the community. Picture: MHLABA MEMELA

ON FRIDAY , a group of protesters gathered outside the South African consulate in New York to protest against a “shack dwellers movement under attack in Durban”. The protest, similar to gatherings outside the consulate during the ’80s protesting against apartheid, was organised by New York organisations Picture the Homeless, the Poverty Initiative, and Domestic Workers United.

The organisations had met representatives of the shack dwellers movement Abahlali baseMjondolo in New York in August.

“As Abahlali baseMjondolo faces attack and repression in Durban, poor and struggling people and our allies in New York City make common cause and stand with our friends in SA,” the three organisations said in a statement.

On Tuesday, a small group picketed the South African embassy in London in support of the shack dwellers.

Around the world, millions of people are responding to recent events in a small informal settlement near Sydenham in Durban, known as Kennedy Road.

Residents of the settlement were shocked on September 26 when an armed mob went from house to house, forcing people to join their planned protest.

Abahlali baseMmjondolo president Sibusiso Zikode says the mob was led by shebeen owners in the area who were protesting against a curfew that banned them from trading for 24 hours.

According to Zikode, the mob allegedly attacked the homes of local committee members of his organisation. In the 20-hour battle that ensued , about 27 shacks were destroyed, several people were killed and more than a thousand displaced.

Although many people have tried to politicise the incident, Zikode maintains it was sparked by the curfew imposed by local police and the safety and security committee in an attempt to curb crime in the settlement.

This was an incident that deserved front-page coverage in local newspapers and a lead place on radio news bulletins. But the news of the attack reached every corner of the world — and sparked condemnation and protests.

The community of Kennedy Road — under the leadership of Abahlali baseMjondolo, a civic organisation that fights for housing and basic services — received solidarity messages from human rights organisations, academics and churches across the globe.

The United Nations former s pecial r apporteur on h ousing made himself available to the South African press for interviews. Miloon Kothari said he had visited Abahlali baseMjondolo in April 2007 and wrote a report on housing in SA in which he specifically commended their work.

Since the attack, 1164 scholars, activists, supporters and veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle have signed a petition to President Jacob Zuma in solidarity with the Kennedy Road community.

It was drafted by Raj Patel, a British-born academic, journalist and activist who is based in San Francisco.

Like many people who have sent messages of support to the residents, Patel lived in Durban for two years and visited Kennedy Road several times.

Zikode says his organisation’s mailing list of 1500 e-mail addresses was instrumental in spreading the news of the attack to the world.

People on the list include academics, students, human rights movements, businesses, journalists and “ordinary people”.

Zikode says Abahlali baseMjondolo gained prominence in 2005 when it staged protests against forced evictions in Durban and clashed with police. “When the government banned our marches, that is when we gained our popularity.”

The movement formed partnerships with other local, like- minded organisation such as the Anti-Privatisation Forum and the Landless People’s Movement , which eventually came together in the Poor People’s Alliance.

To date, Zikode claims Abahlali baseMjondolo has 50000 registered members in KwaZulu-Natal and more in Khayelitsha in the Western Cape.

He says the relationship with international universities was formed when foreign students visited informal settlements, including Kennedy Road . They wrote reports about conditions in the area and returned home to mobilise support .

Abahlali baseMjondolo leaders have been invited to seminars and workshops in the UK, US and other countries, where they have spoken about the struggle of the poor in SA.

“That is where we formed relationships with other human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, Dignity International, War on Want and many others,” says Zikode.

“We have gone overseas recently. We have been invited by churches to visit England and America. We go there to speak the truth. That is our right.

“ It is true we have supporters in other countries. Most of these people are the same people who supported the struggle against apartheid. They are supporting our struggle because our struggle is clearly just.”

The movement uses new media tools such as Facebook and YouTube to great effect. It has seven videos on YouTube and the Kennedy Road attack clip has been viewed more than 1800 times.

Zikode says the Abahlali.org website gets 3000 hits a day. Photographs of international and local solidarity protests following the Kennedy Road attacks are posted daily on the site.

The movement also stars in a documentary film, A Place in the City, which has been screened at festivals and universities around the world. Director Jenny Morgan shot the film in settlements around Durban, asking residents about their daily lives and their hopes for the future.

“Many people have contacted us asking what they can do to support us,” Zikode says. “We want to thank all those who are supporting us — especially the church leaders and all those comrades who organised protests in London and in Grahamstown.”