 Hello and welcome to People's Dispatch. Today we are joined by George Bonono, the Deputy President of Abhala Ali Vasya Majandolo, the Shak Dholas movement in South Africa. And we are going to be talking about the spree of evictions and demolitions of the Shaks, especially in the city of Durban that has been going on for the past few months. Abhala Ali Vasya Majandolo is an organization that mobilizes homeless people, helps them build homes, helps them build an economy. And this movement and its members have been persecuted continuously by the government over the past many years. Thank you so much George for speaking to us. Thank you very much to People Dispatch for giving us an opportunity. And to begin with, I wanted to start out by the attack that happened on the Ekhenana occupation on July 28. And as usual, this has been continuously happening this year, in the previous years, Shaks were attacked, people were attacked. And this has been happening despite the fact that the government announced that during the lockdown period, during the COVID-19 period, there would be no evictions. But this is I think maybe the third or fourth attack that has taken place. So could you first talk a bit about the situation on the ground right now, especially in Durban where there are two or three occupations at least? As the movement of Abhala Ali Vasya Majandolo, especially the people from Ekhenana occupation. People, they've been facing a lot of depression from the state and enforcement. And also seeing an attack that is also coming from the local councilors as well. Also the other members of the ruling party that are surrounding the community. Current situation right now, people are there and are ready to resist because they have no way to go. And they are also, you know, pushing their lives to make sure that they are also human beings, they need to have to survive. But the current situation now, people are there and as a movement we are trying to approach the law again as you know that Ekhenana. We've been in court for several times, but this time around we worked with our tennis to make sure that they must write a letter to the municipality lawyers to address the issue that the mayor himself. Now he must take the responsibility of the attack that has been posed to the people in the crowd. Right, so also in this context we understand that there have been a number of attacks in Durban, especially over the past few months. The Ekhena municipality has been the one executing these attacks. So could you talk about a larger situation with this municipality that has led to these kind of attacks continuously happening? Yes, it's a huge municipality. We've been seeing this in South Africa with all the corners. You know Abashali, they are not only organized in one province, in Tezat and we've been seeing this in Cape Town. Where the red ends are also doing the same thing. We've been seeing this happening in Johannesburg, in Egu Ruleni, in all other areas. But in Kezat, it's a municipality that has an organization. When we see them, we see like they take away the municipality, the problems of Guazulunatal. It's like they are on their own and they are not obeying to the law and the constitution of this country. It's like they are running their own show. Why we are saying that is because of the ongoing evictions that are taking place, especially while the country is facing this pandemic. Also the regulation, that is even the human settlement, she also issued a statement that all the evictions must stop because people need to stay at home. We are seeing this in Kezat and we know that it's not only causing an attack from the ground, from the people. The attack has also been placed by the ruling party because they want to destroy the movement of Abbas al-Basem Cholono. Because they don't want to see people organising themselves from the ground, people gaining the independence without being the beggars from the government. And in this context, we also talk about what are some of the challenges that the residents of these occupations have faced during the COVID-19 crisis. So we know that there have been issues regarding health, sanitation, water. These are issues across the country. So how have the residents of these occupations managed to actually overcome these challenges? Have they gotten help from the government at all or any of the authorities or has it been completely community organised? Wow. People of Kenan occupation, people if you go in the ground, people that they faced a lot of this pain. This government also asked the people that people that they must stay at home, people that must use water and all that. So we were happy enough as an organisation when we were called by human document nationally to address these issues and also asked from us can we give them the list from the areas that they actually don't even have given a single tap of water. One of the branches of the Kenan we have submitted. But we haven't seen even none of these services coming place in the Kenana. But what we are seeing is an attack because we think the people of the Kenana the practice that they are doing from the ground that they also plow and do farming because they want to make sure that their families they have food. We know that because of them they also put a red flag, our Shali flag and also MST flag that itself we know that is an attack because the current government that it tells people that is the government for the black people but it's not they are against from the people. So we know the attack is not only just because people are building their homes there. It's also attacking the ideology and the practical work that people from the ground that they want to live with it. So we know we are clear on that. So that is why we are saying today, no matter what they do about Shali, they will resist and they will continue doing what they believe that is right for them. Absolutely. And you talked about the work that is going on regarding farming a model which also the MST has done. So could you talk a bit more about what exactly the residents of the occupations have been doing? What is the model that is being built with this farm? I was quite, you know, expressed and happy because I'm one of the members of Abathali that had the opportunity to be an MST and visit the occupations and see from the ground a belief when people are living saying we are from this community. When you see a shop, shop not being owned by individually where everyone even you go get a stock but it's made sure that it's for the community. It's exactly what we are seeing in the Kena now that you have a shop that it's a community built, built up a person that is selling in a shop is not doing any profit for himself. We have seen the gardens where they plow, you know, vegetables and everything, where they go and sell and whatever comes out, it's not going for individually. And we have seen the women taking the place and building some small houses for themselves, building some classes of teaching each other that how can we unite ourselves? How can we leave? How can you leave your neighbor when you have food and your neighbor doesn't have food? So we have seen that they also started, you know, farming the chickens as well now that we're seeing that when you're issuing the statement because you are proud of this and then that's where the other things we're seeing now might be the attack as well because we know which area of the world we are and especially in South Africa, the capital system that is still taking place in like, we are in America but we are in South Africa. We are happy to have an alley like MST and some of us, and I remember one of the days I was now starting identifying from the community and saying, no, I look, some of them are, I hope they can get an opportunity to go be an MST and learn a little bit more how to farm and then we can also need to learn more that after they finish do the farming, how can we help them to put the stuff in the market? So what is happening to them? It can build and really build the community and also build the world. Absolutely. And finally George, one last question regarding the aftermath of the attacks. Are there any more legal steps you're planning in terms of approaching the courts or has this already happened regarding a stay in eviction considering that the government itself has said that it should not happen? Right now our legal team are busy working on papers to, already they've wrote the letter to the municipality lawyers to get the answers. Firstly, they must allow our people that they have demolition houses to rebuild and then Mayor Ash, he must be responsible for what has happened. If they don't do so, we are suing the Mayor in court because we feel that that is his responsibility that he should make sure that as government authorities they are not the one they're supposed to be breaking the law of this country. Thank you so much for talking to us. We wish you well and we like to send a solidarity word to the world. You know, the pandemic that we're facing is not on the top of the top. It's a challenge that the whole world is facing. So we're saying all the comrades, they must be strong. We need to face these challenges that we're facing. We need to make sure that we overthrow the system that always want to see us not getting the independent and not having the freedom that we're supposed to be hearing. So thank you very much for the platform that we got. We wish you all the best. Thank you. That's all we have time for today. Keep watching People's Dispatch.