A day before the last day in 2019 ...

#World_ArabicLanguage_Day (WALD) (يوم اللغة العربية العالمي). 

I missed it was on the 18th of Dec. On this occasion, I would say Arabic is the language of the masses that extended out of its native frontiers to new non-native speaking communities. Its significance stems from its richness and meaningful heritage. This language is the mantle of our identity that we are proud of at all spheres. It's not only a spoken language but also the original language of the Quran. Therefore, learning this language will open up horizons, by which a new world with its cultural, social, historical components will be easily understood. As one of the UN's six acknowledged languages, it's incumbent upon us to pursue learning it and apply the vision of the UN that recognized this language believing in its significance in bridging understanding and fostering diversity.

The Arabic cultural heritage is valuable maintained in magnificent literature, poetry, inscriptions, and manuscripts done by great and genius linguists, scientists, poets, authors, and writers. You won't figure out that's going on and enjoy the meaningful lessons and pearls of wisdom inscribed inside unless you learn the language that I've been proud of teaching it over the past years, I then ended up doing so over an online company. Through this experience, I got to know not only prolific students, researchers, professionals, and knowledge seekers from various communities around the globe, but also, I thoroughly understood their culture and more importantly I managed through the cultural exchange to overcome lots of misconceptions and stereotypes from my side and theirs as well. Such negativity in our life won't fade away as long as there are media outlets inform people in an off-balance way as they don't approach people and talk to them in their language, which gives a twisted image on these societies in another hemisphere. That's why I keep encouraging people to talk to people around to clearly understand them and their culture better than just relying on other sources.

Cultural difference is sometimes a problem ... 

Never give up! Cape Town ... 

Abahlali baseMajondolo (AbM) Movement in South Africa: Realities and Challenges

   Introduction

    Even though the democracy established in 1994 in post-apartheid era South Africa has managed to accomplish some reform in housing by building three millions houses, the country is still considered to have one of the most troubled societies in the world, with inequality apparent in many walks of life. Additionally, unemployment is estimated at 25 % and millions live without urban housing. Many South Africans continue to reside in slums, which indicates to the significant amount of unemployed people who were dispossessed of land, do not own property, or were left in the streets homeless. They therefore use slums as sanctuary while desperately seeking safety, job opportunities, services, and so on (Chance, 2018:4). The country has seen “protests in the poor, working-class townships and informal settlements in every city and in many small towns across the provinces.” These protests were organized for the purpose of gaining adequate services and voicing opposition to local councils and the state in general (Bezuidenhout and Malehoko Tshoaedi, 2017:111).[1]  The country is also grappling with other human rights concerns left by the apartheid regime, like protection from forced eviction, race-based discrimination in access to housing, land grabbing, and restitutions, including the right to clean water and sanitation (COHRE, 2008: 26-27).

    These South Africans have resorted to living in slums and are called “shack dwellers.” As a result of their frustration under the pressure of the government and their harsh conditions, violent confrontations have erupted between the state and the shack dwellers in Durban multiple times within the past two decades. This led to establishing Abahlali baseMajondolo Movement in one of the settlements. Abahlali baseMajondolo (AbM) is an isiZulu phrase meaning “residents of the shacks.” It has become one of the strongest national movements in South Africa and claims to have 35 thousand members at present. It is also aligned with international and transnational groups of lawyers, human rights defenders, and domestic grassroots movements, all of which are empowered by media advocacy (Chance, 2018:5). The movement devotes its efforts to democracy and has democratized its discourse and practices, essentially creating an autonomous environment away from the influence of political parties (Pithouse, 2006:7).

    When I come across statements of fact like, “Children have been found eating worms that grow in the shit in portable toilets,” (Ibid.: 21), I can deduce that shack dwellers have a real reason for battling for full human rights, secure urban housing, and a dignified life. I also believe that human rights movements like AbM deserve support, appreciation, and research to expose the harsh circumstances under which shack dwellers suffer. In this essay, two issues will be elaborated: the root causes of the housing crisis and the role of AbM in defending shack dwellers.

What are slums, and what is shack dwellers’ lives look like in them?

     The world has been challenged by the phenomenon of “slums:” densely-populated places with a high rate of urban poverty, which often exacerbate the spread of life-threatening diseases due to lack of services like medical treatment and sanitation. According to James Hardy Vaux’s 1812 Vocabulary of the Flash Language, the word “slum” is synonymous with “racket” or “criminal trade.” Cardinal Wiseman, in his writings on urban reform, states that “slum is a room in which low goings-on occurred.” The US Department of Labour, in the first scientific survey of American tenement life (The Slums of Baltimore, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, 1894), defined a slum as “an area of dirty back streets, especially when inhabited by a squalid and criminal population.” The authors of The Challenge of Slums present a classical definition of a slum as being “characterized by overcrowding, poor or informal housing, inadequate access to safe water and sanitation, and insecurity of tenure”[2] (Davis, 2006: 21-23).

     One of the main factors for the increase of slums in South Africa is the urbanization process by which individuals move to cities en masse from poor rural areas, seeking better job opportunities and services. But when cities are not prepared to absorb the enormous influx of migrants who cannot afford pricy housing, they resort to living in slums (Karuri-Sabina, 2016: 24-25). The poor and working classes in the periphery of South African cities are concentrated in these slums, where they are marginalized by the service sector. Thus the residents encounter many obstacles, such as high costs of transportation due to the long distance to schools and difficulty accessing other amenities (COGTA, 2016) (Ibid.:30).

     The housing policy in South Africa after apartheid has been plagued by the neo-liberalism that controls the market. It is characterized by “financial deregulation, export-oriented growth, privatisation, full cost recovery and a general rolling-back of the state.” As a result, the prices are controlled by wealthy business owners that raise the price of housing (McDonald and Laila Smith, 2004: 1461). Privatization has swept many sectors. For instance, municipal services are managed by corporations, which are sometimes international. Consumers are at the mercy of the pricing set by these corporations. International organizations played a remarkable role in enhancing privatization policy in South Africa as well. The World Bank in particular has overseen many projects like the Urban Management Programme, which promotes private-sector involvement in providing services (Ibid:1464-1465). One of the implications of privatization is that private providers can be inflexible with their regulation of payments. For example, if a payment is not received in return for sanitation services, the sewage will end up running down the street. That is why low-income groups cannot grapple with these market-based policies (Ibid:1468).

     Land ownership is thus a complicated issue and is being deliberated at the market by private sectors which heighten prices and weaken the opportunity of creating areas for urban housing. This historical issue began with the dispossession of black people from the land under the apartheid regime created by white colonizers through the Native Land Act of 1913. Black individuals were forced off their land and ended up living in over-crowded areas. Even at present, people still suffer gravely from unequal land distribution which also increases the likelihood of individuals resorting to slums (South African Human Rights Commission, 1997-1998: 9).

     Later on, different legislative acts concerning race were enacted, like the notorious Group Areas Act 36 of 1966 that led to evicting people from their homes and relocating them to remote and racially segregated areas without receiving compensation (Ibid.:18). Consequently, massive numbers of blacks were displaced and forced from cities to live in the small, underserved areas surrounding them. This migration from rural to urban areas was a key factor in the housing crisis, as those affected found themselves homeless and were forced to live in settlements of shacks due to the lack of urban housing (Vartak, 2009).[3]

    This situation has worsened in the post-Apartheid era, leading to the united, rising voice of ignored shack dwellers demanding better services. Abahlali baseMjondolo, a civil rights movement, began its work in Durban city in the Kwazulu Natal province, defending the rights of shack dwellers and advocating for better services, housing, and protection from the forced evacuations by the municipality that had been occurring on a regular basis since then (Ibid). Durban has historically been a refuge for migrants from across South Africa seeking job opportunities and better services. However, the available urban housing units could not absorb this influx, which led to establishing hundreds of shack settlements in Durban and the surrounding area. Certain statistics from 2009 show that approximately “800,000 lived in inadequate housing out of 3.5 million of the whole population in Durban.” This number has undoubtedly increased given the increasing rate of population and the unwillingness of the municipality to build new housing units.

     In an attempt to eradicate slums in Durban, the city council set up the “Slum Clearance Project” in 2001 for resettling shack dwellers to an area outside the city. To enforce this project, the council cut the electricity from shack dwellers, causing a large number of residents to live under a constant blackout and to use “candles and paraffin lamps,” which have caused shack fires and resulted in casualties on multiple occasions. Those dwellers were concerned that moving to a new area would distance them from urban services, workplaces, and job opportunities. They then accused those in charge of the evacuation of using apartheid policy (Ibid). In this regard, the African National Congress (ANC)-aligned city housing official said, “We have adopted a zero-tolerance attitude to control the amount of informal settlements and we are trying to eradicate such settlements.”

     Therefore city council decided to wipe out all slums by the year 2014 in order to implement the United Nations (UN) strategy of alleviating poverty by resettling shack dwellers in urbanized housing (Chance, 2018: 6). Abahlali staunchly rejected “The Prevention and Elimination of Re-emergence of Slums Act” that was passed in KwaZulu-Natal in 2007 and which aimed to “eliminate and prevent the re-emergence of slums” by the year 2014. Abahlali and their legal team proved that removing slums contradicts the post-apartheid protection against coercive evictions. The legistlation was successfully nullified after a legal battle managed by AbM in South Africa’s Constitutional Court (Ibid, 2018: 12). After this blow, the municipal council in Durban revitalized the apartheid policy of considering the attempts of establishing new settlements as illegal land invasions. Thus, people faced criminal convictions if they built new shacks. The council often tears down shacks that are being developed or extended and the police systematically force dwellers to keep their settlements informal and temporary. They also hope to keep them overcrowded so they can thus be marked as dangerous areas (Pithouse, 2006:17).

     Shack dwellers realized that the city council and government did not pay close attention to their interests when they did not fulfil their promises of reformation. This exacerbated their anger, pushing them to block off streets with protests against the government’s policies in 2005. It was a reaction to the misleading promise of allocating a land for shack dwellers on which to resettle. However, it turned out that an ANC-affiliated councillor had handed over the deal to a brick company to build a factory on the same land supposed to be allocated for those dwellers (Patel, 2007: 20). The outrageous incidence on Kennedy Road was the starting point of establishing AbM–one of the most outspoken human rights movements in South Africa. This movement rapidly grew in members and proponents “at more than 30 settlements.” AbM grew within an environment characterized by frictions between the governmental policies implemented by local authorities and citizens struggling against disastrous housing conditions ignored by most of these authorities across South Africa. AbM uses their positions in this environment to argue for better housing conditions.  

     Unfair policies did not end with the collapse of the apartheid regime, and it left destructive consequences in housing. The poor were forced from the city to remote areas where schools, jobs, and etc. were almost nonexistent. What impedes the process of developing urban housing units is the sky-high prices of real estate. This makes the authorities unable to establish new liveable housing (Neocosmos, 2012: 229). AbM therefore claims that “There is only one human race,” believing that “The real struggle is to put the human being at the centre of society, starting with the worst off” (ibid: 231). Indeed, such actions reminded shack dwellers of what happened during the apartheid era. One resident recalls the 1960s: “They act like it is still apartheid,” referring to when security forces demolished Mendini shacks, leaving her family “in the open bush like animals!” It is also reminiscent of when Indian residents were forcefully displaced under the 1950 Group Area Act. Later, the area was allocated for “whites only!” These actions were the continuation of previous race-based legislation implemented since the 1920s that were aimed at restraining the movement of Africans from getting into major cities like Durban (Chance, 2018: 6-7).

     This rhetoric reflects how AbM associates its battle with Nelson Mandela’s own struggle. “They consider Mandelas’s struggle as a political inheritance” that they must build upon. In their memorial speech after the passing of President Mandela, they said, “The struggle we are facing today, we were facing it even when Mandela was alive. The evictions, beatings, arrests, torture, assassinations, corruption and violation of our rights were taking place when Mandela was still alive. … Nelson Mandela fought for justice, democracy and freedom for all. He did not say that the poor were excluded. … We will continue to take Mandela’s struggle forward. … The ruling party is fighting for membership and sustainability of the party rather than addressing the people’s concerns. … Today people do not volunteer for the party because they want to join the struggle for justice, equality, and democracy. Today people join the party to invest in the party so that tomorrow it will be their turn to eat our future …” (Ibid.: 139).

     The rights to adequate housing and protection from forced evictions are enshrined in the South African constitution. According to section 26: “1-Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing 2- The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures within its available resources to achieve the progressive realisation of this right 3- No one may be evicted from their home or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances …” (COHRE, 2009:6).[1] AbM believes that these rights must be given to people on equal footing. The reality however reflects that the harsh conditions shack dwellers have experienced on a daily basis at their settlements are due to a lack of adequate services like sanitation. They also believe the shack fires resulting from the use of candles as a consequence of the blackouts is a political issue. Therefore, their role is to address this situation legally and politically in order to pressure those in power according to each citizen’s documented constitutional rights for housing.

     Meanwhile, the movement refused to be part of any political party. S’Bu Zikode says, “Political parties have a role to play but we should also be given a chance to play our role.” (Vartak, 2009). Indeed, AbM fought a battle with the ANC party in order to stay away from its dictations and achieve a kind of dependency in its struggle against prejudice. This position was to ensure that all shack dwellers, given their different ethnic and political orientations, felt that they were well-represented. “AbM has created an on-going ‘living politics’ grounded in the active participation of the poor in their own struggles. Insisting on their autonomy, AbM has since been accused of being reactionary and counter-revolutionary” (Gibson, 2008:704). 

    Paradoxically, instead of cooperating in some way to solve the crisis, residents of wealthier neighbourhoods surrounding shack dwellers’ settlements have pressed for evicting the dwellers, as they are concerned that their presence significantly affects the prices of property or real estate. As Lindela Figlan claims, “It is our neighbours who ask the municipality to evict us. They suspect us to be criminals. If there are shacks close to houses no one would want to buy the houses.” (Vartak, 2009). In the face of this, AbM plays a crucial role in making the voices of homeless and shack dwellers heard on formal platforms through the various methods it applies, including demonstration and advocacy on media outlets aimed at the government and its institutions. It also aims efforts at the private sector in order to hold them accountable for the suppression of constitutional rights (Zikode, 2008:114-115).  

    The atmosphere inside the shack settlement is disease-prone, given the shortage of medical treatment and hygienic procedures. Sexually-transmitted diseases are especially a problem, and in particular, HIV/AIDS. “Most of us are not working and have to spend all day struggling for small money. AIDS is worse in the shack settlements than anywhere else. Without proper houses, water, electricity, refuse removal and toilets, all kinds of diseases breed … our bodies itch every day because of the insects. If it is raining everything is wet- blankets and floors. If it is hot the mosquitoes and flies are always there … When the evening comes – it is always a challenge. The night is supposed to be for relaxing and getting rest, people stay awake worrying about their lives. You must see how big the rats are that will run across the small babies in the night” (Patel, 2008: 99).

     Such experiences not only give the dwellers motivation to speak out, but also to back up a movement like AbM that has the capacity to challenge those in power, as distrust toward the government is apparent. In this regard, Zikode (2006:186-7) says, “Those in power are blind to our suffering. This because they have not seen what we see, they have not felt what we are feeling every second, every day. My appeal is that leaders who are concerned about people’s lives must come and stay at least one week in the jondolos. They must feel the mud. They must share six toilets with 6000 people …” (Ibid, 2008:99). The shortage of toilets causes serious diseases that affect the dwellers’ health. This is especially a problem for women and children whose safety is constantly at risk; they often have to use the toilets at night to avoid harassment and attacks (Pithouse, 2008: 21).

    This movement has encountered violent attacks by the police and occasionally by other groups whose acts are condoned by the police. These groups are said to have been recruited by the ANC in an attempt to prevent AbM from carrying on their fight for a better life for shack dwellers. People have been expelled from their shacks and have had their shacks destroyed. Additionally, individuals have been killed for their political practices in this environment, making the matter all the more grave and severe (Bishop Rubin, 2009).

    On 26^th Sep, 2009, 40 armed men raided a meeting organized by the Kennedy Road Development Committee and killed two members. It turned out that those armed men had ties with ANC and chanted anti-Mpondo slogans. Such events have led to displacing thousands of shack dwellers (Pithouse, 2009).[2] “They wanted S’bu Zikode (AbM president) because they wanted to know why he was selling Kennedy Road to amaPonde,” said Zodwa Nsibande AbM youth league general secretary. “They kept saying, ‘Kennedy Road is for the amaZulu, not for the amaPonde,’ she added (Abahlali baseMjondolo, Sekwanele, 2009).[3]

    The protests of shack dwellers organized by AbM to speak out for a dignified life has resulted in uncovering acts of police brutality and situations of corrupt politicians condoning such brutality in an attempt to silence protesters (slum dwellers international on the Kennedy Road attacks). One of the corrupt actions that AbM activists discovered is that housing delivery policy is not managed according to governmental regulations, something that resulted in forcing people out of certain cities unfairly. These attempts at exposing corruption led to the assassination of some of AbM’s members, an attack is said to have been spearheaded by certain groups with economic interests in areas surrounding the shack settlements. “AbM, which tries to life communities out of the shacks and into formal housing, they maybe interfering with someone’s access to a lucrative government tender. Bullets guarantee silence …” said Haywood (Joseph, 2015: 82).

    Furthermore, the government does not pay close attention to the ongoing violence caused by forced evictions and the ensuing relocations to new places which are far away from the amenities of the city. Xenophobic violence has been an obstructive dilemma at settlements and has somewhat hindered the endeavour of AbM. It weakens the unity within this multi-racial community that should be united for one cause. Many of new shack dwellers have been attacked and their businesses and shops have been set on fire and looted (Gibson, 2008:684). Those dwellers have lost a great deal consequently; they have had to go back to their overcrowded shacks in a desperate attempt to receive services and find job opportunities in a city under insecure circumstances and within a realm of increasingly fierce xenophobia, essentially putting them under two constant threats: on the one hand, the authorities seeking to evacuate them, and on the other, the xenophobic attacks perpetrated by other dwellers (ibid.:701).

     This phenomenon is basically triggered by the media and the official political discourse that conceives foreigners or migrants as a threat to “national stability” and job security, as South Africa has encountered enormous waves of migration from other African countries. In addition, this discourse is flavoured by “exceptionalism” that contends that South Africa should not be considered as part of the African continent, but should be excluded due to the advancement in industry and other fields which distinguishes it from other African countries that they still conceive as primitive. Based on this discourse, the attackers are incited to persecute migrants. This explains the constant attacks on foreigners at their properties in the settlements as well (Zikode, 2006:10-11).  

     Those that attempt to report what is going on -such as journalists and researchers- are threatened with violence and have their cameras confiscated. At the same time, police turn a blind eye to the encroachment committed by other police officers who assault shack dwellers though. However, the Intelligence Agency seriously investigates activists engaged with AbM in an attempt to thwart their endeavour to speak out and expose police brutality (Pithouse, 2006: 42). Despite these attempts, AbM has received more media attention than any other political group in Durban to such a degree that the elections may have been affected by it. This has irritated ANC. They have felt threatened by this momentum and have only decided to do more to curb AbM and reduce its presence (Ibid: 44).

Conclusion

     To sum things up, the most important political outcome of civil rights movements in South Africa is that they represent the interests of poor people and have had the possibility to challenge the government on several occasions in order to regain rights ignored but ensured in the constitution (Bond and Shauna Mottiar, 2013: 290). The protests, at which Abahlali have shown collective strength and unity against the state, “have demonstrated that being a shack dweller is not a source of stigma, and indeed that a recognition of ‘jondolo consciousness,’ with its cultures of resistance, can itself be an event. People are created through Abhalali protests” (Patel, 2008: 108). As these demonstrations show a large gap between the poor and the rich, I can agree with one author who asserts: “It is time to ask serious questions about why it is that money and rich people can move freely around the world while everywhere the poor must confront razor wire, corrupt and violent police, queues and relocation or deportation … Let us all educate ourselves on these questions so that we can all take action.” This reflects how painful shack dwellers’ lives must truly be in a country where they suffer from forgetfulness by the government (AbM, 2008a) (Gibson, 2008: 706).

    I could argue that AbM’s struggle has been emancipatory and rejectionist to the political power, as it has contradicted the government on several occasions. For instance, they have shown that constitutional rights are not being uniformly applied, as the constitution stipulates the preservation of the rights of all citizens in South Africa to have proper housing and services. Therefore, AbM may not have achieved a remarkable triumph for shack dwellers, but it is still important to point out that it could make the voices of the poor and homeless heard not only domestically but also internationally through the solidarity movements abroad that share the same cause. They could enhance the identity and culture of struggle marking the reality where there are still many South Africans attempting to pave their way towards a stable and dignified life no matter how painstaking it is. The movement could also, despite being challenged by the government and xenophobic attacks internally, prove that the voice of the poor cannot be underestimated. Likewise, it could challenge systemic marginalization (Neocosmos, 2012: 236). Moreover, it has managed to stay away from political influence and other civil society organizations “through self-generated process of political subjectivation,” which they have shown in their unified attitude towards the oppressor irrespective of his/her ethnic and political background (Ibid:237-238).

    There are stereotypes about slums which impede the potential of cooperation by locals living in urban housing in the surrounding areas. This cooperation could be useful to alleviate the suffering of shack dwellers, but it does not exist because these stereotypes cause people to avoid approaching slums out of concern for their personal safety. Indeed, this was confirmed to me when some of my friends from Cape Town warned me that such places are dangerous when I asked if there was a slum in or near the city I was in, as I was curious to visit it and share in the experience. Therefore, the term “slum” is associated with the national panic over organized crime. The “Breaking New Ground Policy” document articulates “combating crime” and “promoting vision” as some of its goals while ignoring the fact that crime is racialized in South Africa and that stereotypes towards shack settlements in the cities are racialized and demonized as being the home of criminals, prostitutes, and etc. Needless to say, the media have played a large role in vilifying the image of shack dwellers (Chance, 2018: 95).

    As long as shack dwellers reside on a land they do not own without a sustainable solution, the fight over their presence will continue. This means violence is inevitable and will continue to affect the lives of those inflicted innocent residents. “When your life is illegal, living on occupied land, hawking without a permit, illicitly connecting water supplies, and protesting on city streets where poor are not meant to be seen, violence is part and parcel of the struggle,” said one of the Abahlali members (Ibid.:137).

  Privatization of local services created massive opportunities for private accumulation and ownership, and this subsequently led to inadequate investment in public goods. Meanwhile, underprivileged people were restricted by their poor capabilities and ended up being neglected from developmental projects. Even the government could not control privatization under the dictations of international organizations. Hence, it could not solve the housing crisis in the slums. 

Bibliography

-Bond, Patrick and Shauna Mottiar (2013). Movements, Protests and a Massacre in South Africa. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 31(2), pp.283-302.

-Bezuidenhout, Andries and Malehoko Tshoaedi (2017), ed. Labour beyond Cosatu: Mapping the Rupture in South Africa’s Labour Landscape. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.

-Chance, Kerry Ryan (2018). Living Politics in South Africa’s Urban Shacklands. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

-Davis, Mike (2006). Planet of Slums. USA: Library of Congress.

-Economic &Social Rights Report: Sangoco’s Report on Poverty and Human Rights (1997-1998). South African Human Rights Commission, Vol. V.

-Gibson, Nigel (2008). Upright and Free: Fanon in South Africa, from Biko to the Shackdwellers’ Movement (Abahlali baseMjondolo). Social Identities, 14(6), pp.683-715.

-Joseph, Natasha (2015). NGOs: Under Fire, Under Surveillance. Index on Censorship, 44(3), pp.80-82.

-McDonald, David A. and Laila Smith (2004). Privatising Cape Town: From Apartheid to Neo-liberalism in the Mother City. Urban Studies, 41(8), pp.1461-1484.

-Neocosmes, Michael (2012). Thinking Freedom in Africa: Toward a Theory of Emancipatory Poltics. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.

-Patel, Raj (2008). A short Course in Politics at the University of Abahlali baseMjondolo. Journal of Asia and African Studies, 43(1), pp.95-112.

-Patel, Rajeev (2007). Electing Land Questions: A Methodological Discussion with Reference to Abahlali baseMjondolo, the Durban Shackdwellers Movemnt.

-Pithouse, Richard (2006). “Our Struggle is Thought, on the Ground Running” The University of Abahlali baseMjondolo. Centre for Civil Society Research Report, No.40.

-Sabina, Geci Karuri (2016). State of South African Cities Report. SACN-Johannesburg.

-Vartak, Malavika (2009). Experiences of Abahlali baseMajondolo and the Kennedy Road Settlement, Durban, South Africa. A report for the Development Planning Unit of the University College London.

-Zikode, S’bu (2008). The Greatest Threat to Future Stability in our Country is the Greatrst Strength of the Abahlali baseMajondolo Movement. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 43(1), pp.113-117.

Photos

-Kockott, Fred 2013. Beyond the Carnage: The Life of Sanele Goodness May, viewed 13 Sep 2013, https://rovingreporters.co.za/the-life-of-sanele-may/

Prepared by: Nasser Al-Qadi, University of Cape Town (UCT)

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[1]- “N2 Gateway Project: Housing Rights Violations as Development in South Africa.” Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE). Accessed on http://abahlali.org/files/090911%20N2%20Gateway%20Project%20Report.pdf

[2]- Provincial government and police endorse attacks on Abahlali baseMjondolo,” Richard Pithouse, 2009. Issue 450, Pan-African Voices for Freedom and Justice Pambazuka News. Accessed on https://www.pambazuka.org/activism/provincial-government-and-police-endorse-attacks-abahlali-basemjondolo

[3]- Malavika Vartak “Experiences of Abahlali baseMjondolo and the Kennedy Road Settlement, Durban, South Africa: A report for the Development Planning Unit of University College London,” Dec 2009. Accessed on http://abahlali.org/node/6122/

The semester is almost over at UCT

   I don't usually like the end, but I like things to go on endlessly. But, this is illogic because everything has an end, each task has an end, each episode we live in will reach to an end one day, no mission will last forever though unless this mission or that thing is inherently ever-lasting. I do believe in the end, it doesn't concern me, but what concerns me is what will come after the end. Moreover, the end might lead to forgetting the amazing moments that were spent during a journey beforehand due to a new experience I just embarked on. That's why I keep documenting whatever I pass through in order to keep on the viability of those moments. I'm kind of appreciating life and time that have to be saved for the next years because these moments are lessons in life that can be learned from later on.   

Over the past decade, I have had endings in various walks of life, some gave and impetus to move on breaking down the barriers, and some let me down, so I felt that hope was lost and became irretrievable because the feeling of frustration is not that easy to resist sometimes. But I could overcome the challenge, this how we always should be. 

At UCT, a new academic experience that I can't deny how important to go through such experience, not because the nature of curriculum or materials are given as they can be simply found somewhere else, but the new environment and its elements where UCT is the knowledge itself, is the material to learn from. New culture and new society, from which lots of things to be learned, the way people experience life either in the academy or outside this loop teaches a lot.

After today's presentation, public speaking is direly needed more than ever

A new incident against our fifth GSP colleague ... 

The second term just began at UCT ... 

The first term is gone at UCT ... The hope is floating for new a start ... 

Overwhelmed by the academic loads at UCT 

My argument isn't shaped correctly this time at the seminar... 

The third day in Cape Town ... 

    After spending the first semester at Albert-Ludwigs Universit Freiburg, we are fulfilling the program's requirements to spend the second semester at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and the third semester at the University of Bangkok in Thailand. 

Freiburg as such a charming city the green scenery covers features it everywhere giving it tranquil landscape with the plenty of running springs penetrate it from almost every corner. The Seepark gives it a more attractive natural scene, which enriches it with greenery and mixture of nature and artificial manifestations as some people still consider it as an artificial scene even though the water flooding into leaking out of natural resources.

My understanding to this fascinating lake of Seepark not only because I lived close to it, but also, peaked in the modest joint research that I took part in with my colleagues, which revolved around the nature of the relationship between this green scenery and runners specifically and why do they run there. It was an enlightening academic experience granted me a great deal of knowledge.

Leaving Freiburg was a sad step due to unforgettable memories that it left in my mind, especially when this experience was embellished with engaging with amazing friends! Those friends who make these memories incredible.

At Frankfurt airport, I got stuck after my entry was denied because I hadn't return ticket, which I still reject it as a policy by governments, not because I don't respect or abide by the rules, but the matter of booking a return ticket is put at risk of losing it, because we are not all the time sure if our plan will go as planned,

Thank god my colleague quickly grabbed her mobile and booked a return ticket to Thailand for me. Otherwise, I would have been able to pass, I would really have lost my flight, had I not been able to book it. I recalled what happened to me three years ago when I was denied entry at Amman airport because I found out that the travel agent in Kosovo had mistakingly entered my mother's name before my name according to passport.  

We landed in Cape Town with the other two colleagues. It was a great long journey. I found the city is beautiful, quiet. But I could say this was totally in contrast with what was being said about Cape Town or South Africa in general that it is not a safe place especially for foreigners given to thieves and organized crimes. However, when I got to some local people, they warned me of not dealing with any person unless everything around him/her is verified. Indeed, my landlord kept warning me all the time saying that safety is violated, don't go walking after 9:00 o'clock our country has this dilemma with security.

I was really astonished to find out that there are no many police vehicles or cops roaming the streets. I asked why there are no police? "Sadly, we don't have enough police due to the deficiency in the public budget, which weakens the government that can't employ cops as a result.

At the end of the first semester ... 

Cultural diversity might lead to misunderstanding among heterogeneous groups 

Bureaucracy in Munich ... 

Challenges can lead to success ... Never give up!

Multiculturalism in Freiburg 

Newspaper in Freiburg 

After 9 days in Freiburg ... 

In the last few days ... 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern impressed me!

Today's mass shooting in New Zealand at the mosques is a horrid crime

New Zealand, a new growing partner in the EU

Today, I felt dire to talk to somebody to give me some hope 

Bourto Rico 

My attempts went unheeded to uncover with which a driver I went to Bethlehem

I moved back to Ramallah ... 

The camel in Jericho ... 

I grew up learning the Islamic narrative during our prophet Mohammad (PBUH)'s era. I touched upon how challenging the reality where he and his companions lived. This peaked when he showed the people his prophecy and the religious message that he excruciatingly got across to them. Some welcomed this message and believed in while other defiantly rejected attempting to prove its falsification. 

Our prophet didn't give up and set out on a long journey to Madina and sent his messengers abroad to show the Islamic message. 

At that time, the way the transportation used was remarkable. It was quite traditional as there was no kind of mechanical advancement. Therefore, camels were used to move to different areas inside and outside the Arab Peninsula. That image of the camel loaded with goods walking on the burning sand in the desert, became an inferential icon as a tool of transport and travel that our prophet (PBUH) took advantage of, and also Arabs, in general. 

Cartoon clarifies how camels were used to travel. Source:
Wikipedia

This, indeed, what I sew in our curriculum, a cartoon image shows a line of camels loaded with goods walking in the desert and people sitting on their curved backs driving them. This objectifies the lifestyle of Arabs until 20th where camels used to move across the desert given to their capabilities to walk for long distances and stamina; they can stay for much time without eating and drinking water. That's why it's called "the ship of the desert" in Arab societies. 

During my cultural exchange activities, I realized that there is a stereotypical image in the West that we in the Eastern Arab societies still use cames as a methods transport and live in tents. It stirred my attention up to uncover why do westerns thing so? And what do they think about riding camels?
I found out that their media outlets convey such stereotype to their peoples who end up thinking that Arabs still don't have technological advancement, no cars or other modern ways of transport. 
How come?! Aren't we in the 21st century where social media revolutionized databases making it accessible to all peoples around the globe?  Isn't this sufficient to see that there are even very luxurious cars in Arab countries being imported from the original companies? How funny!

A general scene of the camp, where shacks and barns

Anyhow, during 9-10th of this Jan, my German friend invited me to celebrate his 70th birthday with his friends from Germany in Auja, a small village in Jericho district, where we were hosted by a Bedouin family at camp, we slept over there and enjoyed our time chatting and narrating different stories. They cooked a dish of chickens and vegetables underground in a place called "Zarb." It's being heated up by burning firewood inside. 
I pondered the Bedouin nomadic lifestyle and how they manage everything. I had questions about their lives, circumstances, and other social issues. "It's the lifestyle that can't give up on one day. I grew up here and have spent my years here at this camp and in these shacks. So, I can't imagine how unbearable my life will be if I move to a cosmopolitan area away from this charming nature," said one of the residents.
I observed that children have responsibilities at the camp, too, they feed the cattle, take care of them, and organize the whole process under their family's supervision though they do so independently, which impressed me seeing them at this barn especially this cute kid who is estimated be at age of 3 watching his sister put the fodder into the iron pot for the cattle to come and eat it up, and hugging the little sheep. It's interesting that those children are learning to be responsible for their duties and developing stamina in order to overcome the challenging situation that the future doesn't give them a clear answer whether this situation would be easier or harsher as Bedouins have never had stability in their life, which restricted under the unsteady political status quo surrounding them.  

A girl and her little brother with the sheep at the barn

The next day, we had a tour in the Old quarter of Jericho that contains amazing monuments that go back to different civilizations long centuries ago. So, it's one of the oldest spots in the world that archaeological documents clarify. 
What I had unexpectedly is the chance to ride a camel that I had been looking for to do. It was my attempt to take a photo of me riding a camel and show it off that if it's considered something uncivilized or unadvanced to ride a camel instead of using a car, I would say, there is no problem using it and if it's really symbolizing our culture in the eye of the Westerns, I would say it's a proud.
Why not, every society has certain tangible items or things to do reflect their culture which is appraised. 

Me, riding the camel for a short distance 

Therefore, riding camels isn't a justification to stereotype or look down on a certain group. Our ancestors used animals to travel and even in the battles like horses, not only in the East but also, in the Wast.
By this, I want to show that every human society was established on various traditions are inherited from the ancestors who had managed their lives and social values accordingly. As a result, their grandsons maintain on as a valuable part of their identity. Even though camels aren't significantly used as a means of transport anymore due to the technological advancement, it still represents as an icon Arabs, especial in the Arabian Peninsula, perceive it as part of their heritage, which can't be discredited.