A New Land Occupation Founded on UnFreedom Day 2013

27 April 2013

Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape Press Statement

Marikana: A New Land Occupation Founded on UnFreedom Day 2013

Members of Abahlali baseMjondolo of the Western Cape have occupied a piece of vacant land in Philippi, Cape Town. Shacks have been built and families have moved in to their new homes. The new land occupation has been called 'Marikana'. We called it Marikana because our sisters and bothers organised themselves there and some of our brothers died there and we too are organising ourselves peacefully and are willing to die for our struggle.

We are the community of Philippi East. Most of us are unemployed and don't have a place to stay. That is why we decided to reclaim this vacant and unused land and to make it a place for people to stay.

The DA has a record of violently imposing unlawful and unconstitutional evictions on the poor in Cape Town. The law of the land states clearly that no one can be evicted from their home without an order of the court. Sheldon Magardie, the Director of the Legal Resources Centre in Cape Town, has explained this clearly: http://westcapenews.com/?p=2960

If the DA tries to evict these families without a court order their action will be unconstitutional and criminal. We will use legal procedures and collective action to protect ourselves against any unlawful eviction.

The state is failing to resolve the housing crisis. Therefore it is necessary for the poor to take matters into our own hands. It is up to us to win our own freedom.

ENDS

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