May 28, 2022
To Abahlali baseMjondolo,
To the Sixth,
To all people, collectives, organizations, and formations that resist from below and to the left:
In recent months, we have been holding our collective gaze on that painful geography called South Africa, as word reaches us that members of the shack dwellers movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM), are suffering attacks and assassinations. That the legal authorities show no urgency for justice signals to us a profound malaise in post-Apartheid South Africa’s democracy.
We, the collectives and individuals of Sexta Grietas del Norte, stand in solidarity with Abahlali baseMjondolo and their ongoing struggle from below and to the left for land and dignified housing.
We condemn the assassinations, police murders, and killings of 23 members of AbM since 2009, which in the last few months have come to include Ayanda Ngila, Siyabonga Manqele, and Nokuthula Mabaso.
We deplore the use of counterinsurgency tactics by governmental forces that spread lies and misinformation in the mainstream media, harass protestors, assassinate with impunity, and sow fear among them.
We hold with strength and love the courageous activists, led by AbM who, despite harassment and arrests, continue to stand up against the invasion of their homes.
We celebrate the struggles of Abahlali baseMjondolo and all who organize autonomously from the dominant organs of political power.
In the other United States,
from below and to the left,
toward a world where many worlds fit,
Sexta Grietas del Norte
***
For Abahlali baseMjondolo’s word: http://abahlali.org
Abahlali asks that you call your local South African Embassy and let them know that the repression of Abahlali baseMjondolo is an affront to the democratic rights of all people. In the U.S., contact details are here.
To donate to the movement, go to this link and specify Abahlali baseMjondolo as the recipient.