M&G: Not in our name: Religious leaders plan march to end xenophobia

http://mg.co.za/article/2015-04-15-not-in-our-name-religious-leaders-plan-march-to-end-xenophobia

Sarah Evan, Mail & Guardian

Religious and political leaders are planning a peace march to the Durban City Hall in a bid to stop attacks between foreign nationals, police and residents of the city, a spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal government said on Tuesday.

“On Thursday there will be a march led by various sectors by government from Curries Fountain as a stand against xenophobia, as an expression of commitment to ending this kind of violence and to protecting lives,” said Thami Ngwenya.

Meanwhile, EWN reported that foreign nationals have armed themselves in anticipation of further attacks. No further attacks were reported overnight. Gift of the Givers Foundation has opened a refugee camp outside Durban to accommodate foreigners who have fled the area.   Continue reading →

Abahlali baseMjondolo Statement on the Ongoing Xenophobic Attacks

Tuesday 14 April 2015 – 5:22 p.m.

Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

 

Abahlali baseMjondolo Statement on the Ongoing Xenophobic Attacks

A view from below – umuntu ungumuntu ngabantu

There is a war in our city. Our African brothers and sisters are being openly attacked on the streets.

In 2008 our movement stood firm against the attacks on people born in other African countries. We committed ourselves to shelter and defend our brothers and sisters. There were no attacks in any of our communities.

For some time now we have been working very closely with the Congolese Solidarity Campaign. We have been working to build a politic from below that accepts each person as a person and each comrade as a comrade without regard to where they were born or what language they speak. In this struggle we have faced constant attack from the state, the ruling party and others. We have been attacked for having members from the Eastern Cape, members born in other countries and Indian members. We have always stood firm against these attacks. Our movement has survived almost ten years of repression. Continue reading →

Workers’ Liberty: “Poor people can think for themselves”

http://www.workersliberty.org/node/24902

In South Africa, the governing African National Congress (ANC) considers itself the only legitimate voice of the poor. Self-organising among the poor is met with brutal repression by the state and its organs.

Christoph Plutte and Anja Hertz talked to Ndabo Mzimela and S’bu Zikode of Abahlali base Mjondolo, a grassroots organisation of people living in informal settlements in South Africa who struggle for the dignity of shack dwellers and against evictions and repression by the state and its organs.

In 2014, South Africa celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first democratic elections. What does it mean to be poor in the “new South Africa”?

The word “democracy” is a nicer word for the oppression we face today, so that people will be loyal to the ruling class. We are still being excluded from the processes where the rules that affect our lives are being made. We are still in shacks because of the same system that is ruling the country today, controlled by the ruling class, so we can’t fool ourselves and say we are free. Continue reading →

March Against Xenophobia in Durban – 8 April 2015

Organized by Congolese Solidarity Campaign “CSC” and other foreign nationals, supported by Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA

P.O.BOX 421

DURBAN 4000 RSA

congolesesolidaritycampaign@gmail.com

AFRICA IS UNITED AGAINST XENOPHOBIA

On Wednesday 08 April 2015, Congolese Solidarity Campaign “CSC” together with Somali Association of South Africa “SASA” and other foreign nationals supported by Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA will be having an Anti-Xenophobia March to demand an end to the current wave of xenophobic violence against foreign nationals.

We are united in our common outrage at the brutal acts of the current wave of xenophobic violence against foreign nationals unleashed over the last few weeks and which shows no end insight, it is important to remember that these horrific acts that have spurred us into action are the result of many years in which xenophobic attitudes, practices, and beliefs have been allowed to exist and proliferate amongst all of us. Continue reading →

The Indypendent: In New York City, A Global Celebration For International Women’s Day

https://indypendent.org/2015/04/06/new-york-city-global-celebration-international-women%E2%80%99s-day

BY

KATIE EARLE

APRIL 6, 2015

It felt like spring in New York City on Sunday, March 8th, International Women’s Day, the day of a global celebration of women and an evening when the reverberating voices of women everywhere demanding dignity were given our full attention. It was in this spirit that activists crowded into the Maysles Cinema on Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem for an event convened by Movement for Justice in El Barrio (Movement), to hear these voices from NYC and beyond.

Movement for Justice in El Barrio is in its tenth year of organizing for dignified housing and against displacement. Founded by mothers demanding better living conditions in their buildings, this movement has grown to include over 85 organized buildings and 900 members. The great majority of their members are women. With a focus on everything, from winning international battles against multinational corporations to fighting against multiple forms of oppression, the organization’s roots as a women-founded movement has also inspired international solidarity.  Continue reading →