Shell’s seismic survey endangers a whole way of life
For communities along the Wild Coast, the ocean is much more than a resource from which they get a sustainable harvest to feed their families. It is also their nurturing healer and partner.
Stories by: Nomfundo Xolo
UPL was only there to kill us, say shack dwellers
Residents of a shack settlement in Cornubia on the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal continue to suffer from ill health after a toxic chemical spill. And the company responsible does not seem to care.
Theatre giving voice to the oppressed
Theatre, besides being a form of entertainment, can be a powerful medium of protest too. Residents of a land occupation in Tembisa recently staged a participatory play to illustrate the point.
Commission exposes how the police failed in Durban
The national police commissioner said there were not enough officers to respond effectively to the July riots while victims are left dealing with indelible scars on their psyches and lives.
Seeking justice, Phoenix violence victims testify
Witnesses to the attacks carried out by so-called neighbourhood watch groups in the north of Durban during the July riots have told the human rights commission the bloodshed was racially motivated.
Trouble in the promised land
The socialist commune Abahlali baseMjondolo built from the eKhenana land occupation in Durban has won international admiration and solidarity, but it now faces a new wave of repression.
Briardene residents are out there ‘on their own’
Residents in the shack settlement in Durban North are caught between an apathetic municipality, a government they say wants them to ‘remain this way’ and greedy landlords.
Voting in the aftermath of Phoenix violence
Bruised and battered after a murderous July some residents of Phoenix and the surrounding townships mustered a little optimism as they voted but others listed under a pall of depression.
Bhambayi is ‘in the middle of nothingness’
Residents of the shack settlement in KwaZulu-Natal feel used and abandoned by the government. Some of those who are voting in the local elections say this is simply because of their responsibility as citizens.
Madala Kunene tells his story through his guitars
The maestro’s music is tied to his lifelong connections to the places in the city where he was born and raised, learnt to play his beloved instruments and still makes a living.
Freed activists vow to hold the state to account
Members of Abahlali baseMjondolo arrested and in some cases held for six months plan to launch a civil suit against the state for unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution.
Wrongfully accused Abahlali three set free at last
The shack dwellers’ movement says it feels vindicated that the case against three of its members has been dropped, but warns it remains under siege by the state.
Community at the heart of hunger struggle in SA
Communal gardens and farming enterprises are the beginning of sustainable food sovereignty in South Africa, but a basic income grant is essential to address hunger in the shorter term.
Long Read | Past and present push Phoenix over edge
Decades-old unresolved racial tensions fuelled anew by the killings in Phoenix in KwaZulu-Natal are threatening a fragile relationship between the township and its neighbours.
‘I don’t want food parcels, I want justice’
The family members of loved ones killed by vigilantes in Phoenix, north of Durban, during the week of unrest are demanding justice as they bury their relatives.
‘Are we meant to struggle until we die?’
Without the caregiver top-up and the social relief of distress grants to soften Covid-19’s economic blow, impoverished households, especially those headed by women, are floundering.
Overwhelming support for activists released on bail
The arrest of Abahlali baseMjondolo members on ‘trumped-up charges’ generated significant national and global support for the movement.
Egudwini residents live in water limbo
Water is a scarce and often unaffordable commodity for rural communities on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal. They feel deeply neglected by uncaring councillors who never respond to their pleas.
The herbal remedy in the city of Durban
Warwick Junction’s herb traders and market sellers are calling for more support and dignified work spaces from the eThekwini municipality.
‘How am I free if I still go to bed hungry?’
The triple threat of inequality, poverty and unemployment means more than 18 million South Africans depend on social grants to feed their families, try to find work and travel for healthcare.
Engen explosion latest in line of grievances
Environmental activists and residents in South Durban have long been asking for stricter environmental policies to clear the polluted air they breathe every day.