http://restorehousingrights.org/?p=1360

S’bu Zikode, South African Shackdwellers’ President, Embarks on U.S. Tour
By darya, on November 4th, 2010

Over thirty organizations across the United States have coordinated the national tour of esteemed movement organizer and public intellectual S’bu Zikode, founding member and current President of Abahlali baseMjondolo, or Shackdwellers’ Movement, post-apartheid South Africa’s largest social movement led by the militant poor.

Zikode touches down in Chicago Saturday, then travels to Ithaca, New York; New York City; Philadelphia; Los Angeles; and the San Francisco Bay Area, all to exchange lessons and strategies with leaders of the United States’ own grassroots movements to end poverty.

The Shackdwellers’ Movement arose from the premise that 1994 marked the end of one and the beginning of another apartheid regime in South Africa: this time between the rich and the poor. The group was founded in 2005, when organizers staged a road blockade at the Kennedy Road informal settlement in Durban to protest the sale of public land to a private developer. The group has grown into the tens of thousands and faces persistent state repression and intimidation.

“…Mostly we have said that our struggle is for land and housing. But sometimes we also say that it is for land and dignity or that it is for land and freedom. Slogans are short and the world is big and time is long. We need all of these things. We need land, housing, dignity and freedom. These things cannot be separated. And dignity and freedom require more than just land and housing. We need electricity, we need libraries, we need good education, we need proper toilets, good and safe transport, crèches (day care), decent work, health care and more.” – Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

In the Shackdwellers’ representative, the U.S. groups — including grassroots, advocacy, legal, and academic organizations — have found a key ally and teacher. From the privatization of public goods to the criminalization of human rights leaders, U.S. groups fighting for the rights to land, housing, and other fundamental human needs have found parallels with the South African situation.

Public Events

Chicago – November 7 & 8

Ithaca – November 9

New York City – November 14 & 16

Philadelphia – November 15

San Francisco Bay Area – November 23 & 24