Statement by the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front on the armed attack on Abahlali baseMjondolo in Kennedy Road Informal Settlement

A series of armed attacks took place at about 11h30 on the night of 26 September at the Kennedy Road Informal Settlemen, and carried on with impunity for at least 23 hours. Although police are claiming two people died, it has been confirmed by Abahlali baseMjondolo that at least four people have been killed. It is reported that the houses of around 30 AbM members were burnt or destroyed by a mob, shouting things like "The AmaMpondo are taking over Kennedy. Kennedy is for the AmaZulu". Hundreds, if not thousands of Kennedy Road residents have fled the community, some seeking refuge at nearby churches.

"The Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) notes with disgust the attacks on the Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) affiliated Kennedy Road Development Committee (KRDC) by a heavily armed gang near the AbM office in Kennedy Road informal settlement in Durban, KwaZulu Natal. We hereby extend our sympathy and solidarity to all those who have fallen victim to these cowardly attacks, and call for both national and international mobilisation and solidarity in their defence."

[Ελληνικά]

Deel I van "Vier instrumenten voor gemeenschap controle"

Wederzijdse hulp is een belangrijk en relevant anarchistisch concept. Het laat zien hoe aspecten van een betere wereld al overal bestaan, waaronder in Zuid Afrika, en hoe we deze wereld kunnen bereiken, waarbij we voortbouwen op bestaande culturele praktijken, en die uitbreiden.

Het Zulu woord masakhane, wat "laten we voor elkaar bouwen" betekent, verwijst naar het gemeenschappelijk bouwen van huizen.
Izandla ziyagezana (Zulu) betekent letterlijk "als men zijn handen wast, wast de ene hand de andere hand", en omgekeerd. Iedere hand helpt de andere hand om schoon te worden. Daarom zouden we als mensen elkaar moeten helpen zoals onze handen elkaar helpen.

In de Xhosa cultuur betekent dibanisani "laten we samenwerken voor een betere toekomst". Het is een algemene term die verwijst naar mensen die samenkomen en elkaar helpen. Bijvoorbeeld inwijdingen vinden elk jaar ergens anders plaats en mensen op een plek bereiden er alles voor voor. Als hutten verbranden helpen mensen elkaar ze weer op te bouwen. Bij begrafenissen of huwelijken helpen mensen elkaar, bijvoorbeeld om schoon te maken en te koken.

[English] [Ελληνικά]

Much printers’ ink has been shed by pundits and politicians in attempting to explain, excuse, laud or condemn the rise of Jacob Zuma to the ANC Presidency from where it is just a short hop, skip and jump to the South African Presidency following the 2009 General Election. The rest of us, the people, are reduced to either disgruntled witnesses or ecstatic cheerleaders of “JZ” shifting the weight of his gut from foot to foot in his monotonous mshini-wam song. He knows it doesn’t have to be a particularly energetic dance, for it is pretty much guaranteed that the ill-gotten gains he allegedly sought so assiduously for so long will soon be his when he holds the keys to the Treasury.

Just how did arguably the world’s most famous liberation movement implode so rapidly into a venal kleptocracy, a cabal of back-slapping thugs? Did it in fact implode? Did it descend from great ethical heights or was the rot there all along?

Only 14 years after the end of apartheid some say that this is a new apartheid. Only 14 years after the genocide in Rwanda some say that this is a genocide South African style. But this time it is not just about the still existing economic gap between South Africans of different skin colours, nor about a war between different ethnopolitical groups like in Rwanda.

It is about nationality and the fight between those who have the minimum security of being born in South Africa, and the unlucky ones who have no such security – who have, in many cases, had to flee to South Africa from violence or starvation elsewhere. The events of May 2008 show a deep xenophobic sentiment in South Africa that is largely due to social and economic circumstances. It is a poisonous cocktail of nationalism mixed with lack of service delivery.

[Italiano]

We welcome and support the decision by the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union for their workers neither to unload nor transport the shipment of Chinese-made armaments destined for Zimbabwe. This is a very encouraging sign of working class solidarity and internationalism, and we hope that such actions will indeed prevent this weapons consignment from reaching its destination - the Zimbabwean Defence Force.

At the same time, if the transport workers should fail, if President Robert Mugabe's friends should find a way to bypass their resistance, all who stand with the Zimbabwean people should be ready to take a stand. Should the action taken by Satawu fail to prevent the armaments from being transported across South African territory to Zimbabwe, we call on all progressive elements across the country to intervene.

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