At the end of last year, South Africa’s National Assembly, the lower house of the parliament, passed the highly contentious Protection of State Information Bill. Better known as the ‘Secrecy Bill’, the proposed legislation relates to the “protection and preservation of all things owned or maintained for the public by the state” against foreign spies, but would in effect deny the country’s own citizens, particularly the poor, an accountable and transparent state.

Seventeen years ago today South Africans across the country came out in full force to vote, the majority for the first time in the first free elections in South Africa. In commemoration, this day has been called Freedom Day. 

Yet, 17 years on, the majority of South Africans still live in shacks, still lack access to water and electricity and poverty and inequality have spiralled, leaving South Africa as the second most unequal country in the world. Thus, War on Want's partners, Abahlali baseMjondolo KwaZulu-Natal, Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape and the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign have re-named this day unFreedom Day.

In 2007, the  residents of Joe Slovo were served eviction notices. The motivation underlying these is frequently linked to the World Cup as their homes represented an eyesore for the throngs of tourists visiting the city during the tournament.

War on Want – “This is a fascinating article drawn partly from research on four War on Want partners – Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape, Abahlali baseMjondolo KwaZulu-Natal, the Anti-Eviction Campaign and the Anti-Privatisation Forum. The full article can be found in Downing, John (2010) Encyclopedia of Social Movement Media. London: Sage Publications.”

Old and new media in movement struggles [South Africa]

Social organizations central in the resistance against South Africa’s apartheid regime, such as the African National Congress (ANC), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), effectively mobilized their constituencies through use of alternative media such as t-shirts, murals, music, pamphlets and posters. However, their tactics, use of alternative media and strategies of resistance lived on in the new social movements that emerged in South Africa in the early 2000s.

"The poor" are all too frequently lumped together as an homogeneous voiceless group, whom the likes of NGOs, academics, celebrities and government officials speak on behalf of with little or no consultation or involvement of the people they seek to represent. A new book "No land! No house! No vote! Voices from Symphony Way" represents a radical shift from this in being an anthology written by poor pavement dwellers in South Africa. 

A witness in the Kennedy Road trial of 12 people affiliated to War on Want’s partner Abahlali baseMjondolo KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) has faced death treats and has had to flee her home. These threats follow her (known as Witness X) changing her testimony to admit she had been intimidated into giving false evidence that the 12 men were guilty.

Close to five hundred people in Khayelitsha, a shack settlement in Cape Town, have been left homeless and destitute following a shackfire on Tuesday night. War on Want's partner, Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape is based in the community and is calling for help to support their members who have literally lost everything.

Friday saw the end of the first week of the trial of the 'Kennedy 12' - members of War on Want-partner Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM), which suffered attacks on its Kennedy Road group in September 2009. This blog has previously covered the background to the trial, the proceeedings of which have now been postponed until May next year.

Abahlali baseMjondolo, War on Want’s partner organisation in South Africa, is facing unjust charges which threaten to jeopardize their invaluable work and handicap their leaders.

Please support their amazing work and fight for justice.

A year ago today the leaders and members of one of our partners, Abahlali baseMjondolo (which fights for the rights of shackdwellers in South Africa), had just survived a night of horror at their headquarters in Kennedy Road, Durban. A night when armed men beat them, drove them away from their homes and sent their movement underground. Two people died as a result of the attacks. Whilst the people the community believe were responsible for the attacks have never been charged, thirteen people believed to be victims rather than perpetrators are still awaiting trial, unsure of the evidence against them. 

On the anniversary of this fateful day, the movement has released a fascinating statement on the situation in Durban a year on.