Launch of The Right to The City Campaign in Cape Town

Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape, invites all media agencies to attend it’s launch of the Right to the City Campaign, which will be launched tomorrow 22 May 2010 at TT informal settlement.

Time: 10:am

Place: TT informal settlement, Site B Khayelitsha

Directions to the area: The settlement is next to Andile Msizi Community Hall. And you call our office admin for direct directions @0787605246 or alternatively 0732562036.

About the Campaign:

Today we are counting 21 days before the kick off of 2010 Fifa world cup and also Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape are counting 21 days before the kick off of it’s campaign.

We have realised that the 2010 Fifa world cup is not meant for the poor but for the rich, and none of us from our settlement will attend the 2010 Fifa World Cup. It has not brought any change into our lives or conditions in which we are living under off instead it has made our lives more difficult. During the preparations of it we were evicted from our homes which we have occupied more than 10 years just to make a way for development of stadiums, and we were evicted and restricted from selling on street, where we have been selling for the past 5 years and now everyday we left with a burden to think if where our next meal will come from.

We’ve identified bridges and housed ourselves under them, and we have been surviving under Cape Town’s cold weather and no one paid attention to us and we use collect scrap and sell papers and we were able to maintain our selves, now because of there will be tourist visiting South Africa we are evicted from these places and our livelihood has been distracted.

Tomorrow we are meeting at TT to launch the right to the city campaign, and that’s where collectively we are going to discuss and agree on the programmes that we are going to do during the world cup.

And we want to make it clear that we are not against the World Cup, those who want to participate to the World Cup they must do so it is their democratic right.

But for we want to claim our right to access to adequate housing and we claim that the government must build these houses within the city.

And we don’t believe that there’s no land within the city, now we want to show them if there is land within the city and we want to show also the international communities that there’s plenty of unused land within the city which can house lot of people.

For comment please call 073 2562 036