Bonded by pain and suffering

Madala Hostel residents and members of the Alex Peace Movement met recently with community representatives, priests and youth activists from Marikana to share a bond of pain and suffering due to the government’s neglect.

Marikana in the North West province is a site of disgrace to the democratic dispensation after 34 miners were killed by the police while striking for living wages. Madala Hostel and the Helen Joseph Women’s Hostel nearby, are some of the many, which government has reneged on, in its commitment to maintain, revamp and convert into family dwellings.

The groups toured the hostel, shared experiences and sought solutions to the challenges they said linger due to the denial of the Constitutional right to secure lives and decent homes, family unity and work. Also, they said the challenges invoke memories of the inhumane treatment and denial of rights experienced during apartheid, but this time at the hands of a democratic government.

One of the facilitators, Simon Motoagae of NPO Action Support Centre said the movement was set up in these communities to address their challenges and curb violent reactions. “It gives them the tools to analyse and understand the cause of their suffering and contribute to finding solutions for sustainable peace without conflict. This conflict is often fanned by poor communication between victims and those in authority who are seen as unaccountable and insensitive to the community’s urgent need for intervention.”

This, he said, degenerated into violence directed at authorities and the looting and destruction of anything linked to authority and power. “When the violence on public facilities fails, the anger is redirected to weaker targets resulting in xenophobic attacks on migrants. In the end, the focus is diverted away from poor service delivery and turns communities into criminals with a destructive element leading to the abuse of the rights of others.”

He urged communities in distress to also use the movement to change negative attitudes and encourage consultation and collective decision making between them and government.

Pretty Mncube of the centre, commended the movement as a strategy for community advocacy, problem-solving and engagement with government. “It provides them with civic education and awareness on rights, promotes social cohesion, helps to change a violent mindset and stops the potential conflict. They should use it to also resolve disputes in families and diffuse tension and fear said to still exist between Alex residents and hostel dwellers.”

Mphangi Kwenge of funding agency, Freedom House, urged communities to use the movement’s skills and knowledge in problem-solving, government’s budgeting systems and a process of accountability to communities to solve social and economic problems that flare up occasionally around the country.

Details: Simon Motoagae, Action Support Centre 079 732 3415.

Read: WATCH: Alex residents block N3 over newly built flats

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