Bristol Indymedia & Permanent Culture Now presents: Abahlali baseMjondolo

bristol | protests | event notice Saturday September 22, 2012 12:17 by imcvol

this is a bristol indymedia story

Tuesday November 6th 8pm. The Cube Cinema, Dove Street, Bristol  Entry £3/£4 (But nobody turned away due to lack of funds)

We are pleased to welcome to Bristol a representative of Abahlali base Mjondolo (or Shack Dwellers).  This grassroots movement was begun in the squatter camps around Durban, South Africa in 2005.  Akin to the landless peasants movements around the globe such as the MST in Brazil, the group now has tens of thousands of supporters from more than 30 settlements and as a result have found themselves under attack from the forces representing the state.  The movement has organised a highly contentious but very successful boycott of the March 2006 local government elections under the slogan ‘No Land, No House, No Vote’. Amongst other victories the Abahlali have democratised the governance of many settlements, stopped evictions in a number of settlements, won access to schools and much, much more.

Recently Abahlali base Mjondolo have been vocal and active in their support of the striking miners, the deaths of some which had made this headline news around the globe.

Join us at the Cube to find out more about the struggle of poor and working people in South Africa and where we can make common cause as the 1% continue their attempts to lock-out the 99%. 

Short intro to Abahlali base Mjondolo with links:http://www.abahlali.org/node/16
A more detailed write up from 2010:http://suedafrika.habitants.de/?p=15

The talk will be followed by the film "This Land is Our Land"
For more than three decades, transnational corporations have been busy buying up what used to be known as the commons -- everything from our forests and our oceans to our broadcast airwaves and our most important intellectual and cultural works. In This Land is Our Land, acclaimed author David Bollier, a leading figure in the global movement to reclaim the commons, bucks the rising tide of anti-government extremism and free market ideology to show how commercial interests are undermining our collective interests.
http://www.permanentculturenow.com/