Friday, September 28, 2012

MEMORANDUM HANDED TO SENIOR SUPERINTENDENT DE VILLIERS OF THE SYDENHAM POLICE STATION

Three years after the attack on our Movement, the Kennedy Road Displacees Remain Homeless and in Exile

We as men, women and children of the Kennedy Road settlement are gathered here tonight to express our deepest pain and suffering at being refused our right to citizenship, safety and freedom by a government that was meant to save all its people – blacks and whites, poor and rich, young and old and of all genders – from suffering, division and oppression with justice, equality and dignity.
Today, we remember with anger how our leadership, its families, our close friends and close comrades were attacked by the gang associated with the ruling party. Today we remember how our homes were destroyed, looted and burnt down for months – often in broad day light. Today we remember how all this happened in the presence of all state security forces without any of their assistance despite our please for their help. Today we remember how many of us had to deal with trauma in the dark confined corners without any state assistance. Today we remember how our children dreamt nightmares of the incidents. Today we remember how many of us had to leave their jobs and return to their dry rural areas with no jobs and no government presence and nothing but Ubuntu. Today we remember how the Kennedy 12, first the Kennedy 13 suffered in the hands of those who always claim that they liberated this country. Today we remember how our brothers were killed on these days.

Today we remember how the government of the day, from local to national, has pretended not to have seen and known our situation. Today we have learnt how poor people are treated in the new South Africa. Today we can rest assured that the government of the day will never care about the poor. Today we want the whole world to know that the same government they once supported has turned against its own people and become its new oppressors.

Today we make the following demands:

1. Land and safe homes for the displaced families
2. Return or compensation for all personal belongings lost in the attack
3. Immediate arrest of our attackers who still enjoy the protection of the state.
4. Healing process for these families
5. Re-integration in good faith of the displaced families that wish to return to Kennedy.
6. Participatory democracy
7. Real freedom and democracy.

Today we ask how much must we pay for our citizenship? Today we ask much longer shall we serve our sentence in exile?

Today we unite just like how many communities and workers are uniting around the country and around the world against injustices. We express our solidarity with comrades in the mines and everywhere injustices prevail.

Today we wish to state clearly that we will not allow repression by the ruling party and the police to destroy our struggle. We remain committed to the struggle for land, freedom and dignity.

Delivered at…………………………………………………on…………………………………………………………………………2012
Received by………………………………………………..