Black Sash Week of Protest Against Forced Removals

June 20,70th anniversary of THE LAND ACT of 1913, was commemorated by a countrywide Black Sash week of protest against forced removals JOHANNESBURG clusions had to be reached and no CAPE TOWN The campaign was spearheaded in time limit obtruded. This was an un Lunch-hour presentations filled the the Transvaal region where a five- expected plus to the vigil. Trellis Room of St George's Cathed day vigil was organized from 8am to Whatever the impact or lack of il ral each day of the week. 8pm in Khotso House, together with on whites, the leaders of threatened Margaret Nash opened the protest a photographic display. communites treated the vigil very by highlighting the struggles of rural Throughout the vigil Gill de Vlieg seriously as an opportunity to meet people faced with removal. She also fasted on a daily cup of tea and a slice each other, members of the Black wrote a leader page article for the of dry bread, which she had found Sash, the general public and the Cape Times. out was more or less all that some of media. They took tape recordings of the speeches to play to their com On the Tuesday 'The Promised the Dricfontein people could afford Land", the slide-tape show, was to eat while purchasing title to their munities. Their speeches were re ported in the papers and they were shown, with commentary afterwards land many years ago. She slept each by Di Bishop. night in the Khotso House chapel, interviewed by the SABC. (One of supported by other members who the interviews, that of Mr G D Twala Wednesday was something some- joined her there. In a letter to mem of Daggakraal was recently heard on pletely different! The Community bers she explained that she wanted Radio Today, together with Helen Arts Project mime group presented to acknowledge the friendship of the Suzman). 'Die Groot Baas' — a story not of Driefontein people. After each visit forced removal, but of other forms there she said, 'we have come away of oppression and exploitation, with once again feeling enriched by our a happy ending which delighted the contact with the community. We PORT ELIZABETH audience: the 'groot baas' brought brought home with us more than we Vast quanitites of food and flowers, low, an attempt by one of the op had taken.' By fasting she aimed to ordered by a bogus caller, highligh pressed to take his place quickly play her own personal part in draw ted a Black Sash photographic dis foiled, and a jubilant dance of co operation and triumph. ing attention to the crime of forced play in the Port Elizabeth City Hall removal. on June 24. Thursday's programme was John Kane-Berman addressed a another slide show — 'Vulamehlo', In a circular letter the Transvaal lunch-hour meeting there, warning or the Opening of Eyes, presented Region appealed to thousands of that the Government's mass remov by Charles Simpkins, of UCT's people in religious groups, commun als policy 'poses a much greater South African Labour and Develop ity bodies, political organizations, threat to peaceful social and ment Research Unit, and member of the press, trade unions, schools, bus economic development in South Af the Surplus People's Project. We iness organizastions and embassies, rica than anything exiled guerilla or had a last-minute change of venue, asking them to join our vigil and to ganizations may be doing.' He con and joined the Institute of Citizen make a determined effort to per cluded, The outbreak of the 1976 ship in the Cathedral Hall, where Soweto riots awoke South Africa to suade the Government to give up its their schedule speaker had not been the anger and desperation that had able to appear. They were glad to removals policy. been building up here. Is it going to have us, and we were happy to allow The vigil was well supported by take similar violence in the home a larger audience to see the slides press and public throughout the lands before the rest of the country, and hear Mr Simpkins. week and several schools sent pupils black as well as white, wakes up to to listen to the lectures. In an atmos the problems in those poverty-en Keith Gottschalk, of the newly phere of informality, discussion and trapped areas?' formed Political Studies Depart prayer sessions sparked off dialogue ment at UCT brought the week to a between all sorts of desparate Members stood in silent protest at close with an account of the popula people, especially between urban seven strategic points in the City tion relocations which have taken activists and rural leaders. People during the early morning rush hour place in the Cape in terms of Ihe seemed less threatened by each Group Areas Act, as well as the other in a situation in which no con that day, with posters reading 'Re movals destroy Family Life.' Urban Areas legislation, culminat- THE BLACK SASH — August 1983 27 L to r, Jill de Vlieg, Rob de Vlieg, Saul Mkhizt, Josie Adler, Judy Hawarden. Right background, a Driefontein farmer. ing in the threat of transfer of every tearing and verbal hostility — also GRAHAMSTOWN black person in the Cape Peninsula the usual studied indifference: an ac Our Grahamstown members con to Khayelitsha. He concluded with curate picture of overall white re centrated on getting into the schools an urgent plea for all to do what lay sponse to our demonstrations. to outline the facts, and describe, in their power to oppose forced re Bishop Hurley came in for espe particularly, the situation in Ciskei. movals— to be informed, to keep up cial and prolonged abuse, which pro Our speakers visited Kingswood, the pressure, to join active oganiza- voked a lot of correspondence in the DSG, and St Andrews senior and tions. local press. Jo Thorpe, Ann Colvin junior schools. They took with them Throughout the week we had and others were accosted by a thick a mobile display of pictures taken by bookstalls at the Trellis Room, mak set man in a safari suit who tore up Ben Maclennan. Altogether, ing available our own publications posters and said he would have roughly 700 children were thus in and a number of other recom beaten them up and bashed their formed and many responded with mended books and journals. We teeth in had they been men. donations to Operation Hunger and handed out copies of John Kane- requests to become further in Thousands of pamphlets were volved. Berman's article, and of a reading handed out, roughly two hundred of list suggesting further sources of in which were 'confiscated' by the sec formation. urity police. More than 60 people heard John The sub-committee, convened by At the public meeting in St An Suggit address a vigil in the Catholic Beverley Runciman, which was re thony's Church, representatives of Church on Friday June 24. sponsible for the week's organiza threatened communities together Professor Rodney Davenport pro tion, produced in addition to every with 500 members of the public, thing else, a huge poster giving de heard of the destruction of black ag vided background to the protest with tails of the programme, which was riculture and the futility of court ac an article on the Land Act in the put up on the Cathedral's outdoor tions in opposition to forced re Eastern Province Herald. notice board facing Wale Street. moval. Between June 16 and June 24 we Over a thousand pamphlets were held stands throughout the suburbs posted to a wide spectrum of com (in some of the wettest weather we munity organizations and individu PIETERMARITZBURG have had for many years!), with als. Dry bread and tea was served after posters showing an outline map of Commenting on the Natal Coastal Ian Donald had addressed a lunch- South Africa, the Black Sash logo, protest programme Georgina Ste hour meeting in the Pieter- and the words 'One People, One vens said, 'we felt that whatever else maritzburg City Hall on June 24. A land'. we achieved we certainly retrieved member of the Association for Rural M M BURTON some of the inspiration needed to Advancement, he presented slides Cape Western Region galvanise ourselves in the coming which documented recent removals months. And public reaction to the in Natal and focused on com DURBAN stand in Farewell Square put the munities under threat of removal, The day-long vigil in Farewell idea of protest stands firmly back on relating these to the workings of the Square drew waterbombs, poster- our agenda of future activities.* Land Act. 28 THE BLACK SASH — August 1983 .

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