ACOA action news, No. 29

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Alternative title ACOA action news Author/Creator American Committee on Africa (ACOA) Publisher American Committee on Africa (ACOA) Date 1990 Resource type Newsletters Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) United States, South Africa Coverage (temporal) 1990 Source Africa Action Archive Rights By kind permission of Africa Action, incorporating the American Committee on Africa, The Africa Fund, and the Africa Policy Information Center. The photograph of RAN Chairperson Dr. Wyatt T. Walker with Desmond Tutu is used by kind permission of Edward Davis. The photograph of Rev. Clive Neil and Rev. Ron English pictured with migrant workers in front of the ruins of bulldozed homes is used by kind permission of Perry Hopper. The photograph captioned "Sister Bernard Ncube briefs the RAN Delegation in her offices" is used by kind permission of Perry Hopper. The photograph captioned "A mother and her children carry water in plastic containers from a faraway communal tap" is used by kind permission of Wyatt Tee Walker. Description Religious Action Network Delegation Visits South Africa. New RAN Coordinator. Vote for Sanctions. Format extent 4 page(s) (length/size)

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http://www.aluka.org AMERICAN COMMITTEE ON AFRICA

AMERICAN COMMITTEE ON AFRICA 4)IIT/ON SPEClD %L ISSUE: SUMMER 1990 Number 29 . New York, NY 10038 o (212) 962-1210 RELIGIOUS ACTION NETWORK DELEGATION VISITS SOUTH AFRICA April 20, 1990, RAN Delegation at Mr. Mandela's home in Soweto. Left to right standing: Dr. Samuel McKinney, Rev. Orris G. Walker,Jr., William Smith (SACC), Dr. Peter Paris, Rev. Clive Neil, Rev. Amos Brown, Rev. Wendell Anthony, Rev. Bruce Southworth, Rev. Samuel Ray, Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, Rev. Kenneth Ulmer, Mr. Nelson Mandela (Deputy Pres.,ANC), Rev. "Fuzzy" Thompson, Rev. Samuel Mann, Dr. M. William Howard, Rev. Edward Davis, Dr. William Jones, Rev. B.W. Smith, Saki Macozoma (SACC), Rev. Willard Ashley. Left to right front: Rev. Ronald English, Rev. Mangedwa Nyathi, Rev. James Holley, Canon Frederick B. Williams, Rev. Perry Hopper. by Dumisani Kumalo In April twenty-two pastors of some of the largest churches in the United States visited South Africa at the invitation of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Prelate of the Province of Southern Africa (Anglican) and Rev. FrankChikane, General Secretary of the 15-million member South African Council of Churches. This historic consultation was organized by the Religious Action Network (RAN), a project of the American Committee on Africa (ACOA). Its purpose was to consult with South African religious and political leaders about the dramatic events that have taken place in the country over the past months. The delegation arrived in Johannesburg just after Easter and met with a cross- section of people-from Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Tutu and Rev. Chikane to trade union leaders and human rights activists. They saw (continued on page 2) 198 Broadway

Two RAN founding members, Canon Frederick B. Williams and Rev. M. CROSSROADS-A mother and her children carrywater in plastic containers William Howard, look on as Rev. Frank Chikane (center), General Secretary from a faraway communal tap. of the South African Council of Churches, signs his Vote Democracy ballot. BISHOPSCOURT - RAN Chairperson Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker and other members were hosted to a dinner by Archbishop Desmond Tutu at his official residence. JOHANNESBURG - Rev. Ron English consults with members of the SACC during a reception in their office. RELIGIOUS ACTION NE Q- (continued from page 1) the horrors of apartheid first-hand-visiting Soweto, the Crossroads and Khayelitsha squatter camps, a so-called homeland, Bophuthatswana, and many other areas that continue to be the battlefields for freedom in South Africa. Wherever they went, they were welcomed and briefed by local activists. In his greeting Rev. Chikane said, "We don't just expect your support in our struggle for freedom. We expect your full participation. Help us destroy apartheid completely and not try to make it livable. Fight for more sanctions and don't stop pressuring Pretoria." Some highlights of a packed agenda: * A meeting with Nelson Mandela, Deputy-President of the African National Congress, took place at his Orlando West home. Mr. Mandela told the RAN Delegation: "I want you to continue putting pressure on the Pretoria regime. Continue to fight for more sanctions. It is because of your continued pressures that I am here to talk to you. Apartheid is alive and well. Nothing much has changed. I am home but many of * my friends and comrades are still in jail." o In Pretoria the delegation was taken to the Central Prison, (D where 300 Black South Africans await execution on death W row, many for resisting apartheid. T The delegation met with the entire executive of the internal ANC leadership, led by Mr. Walter Sisulu, at its newly opened office in Johannesburg. They presented Mr. Sisulu with copies of sanctions legislation passed by their respective cities. * In Winterveld, a reservation near Johannesburg, they met with women and children who are legally separated for months at a time from their husbands, brothers and fathers, who work as migrant workers just hours away from home. The only child care center for a forced settlement area of more than 300,000 people is under constant harassment by the security police. Winterveld residents told the delegation that the police frequently detain staff members in an effort to shut the facility down. - Archbishop Tutu joined the delegation for lunch in a Soweto church that has become the center for activists working in the area. He later hosted a reception at his Soweto home.

CROSSROADS - Migrant workers separated from their families sit near the rubble where their JOHANNESBURG-Sister Bernard Ncuhabriefs shacks used to stand before they were bulldozed by the police. RAN Delegation member Rev. the RAN Delegation in her offices. In the foreClive Neil in foreground; Rev. Ron English is third from left. ground is RAN delegate Dr. Peter Paris IT WORK DELEGATION VISITS SOUTH AFRICA * Representatives of The Soweto Civic Association explained life in Soweto to the delegation before taking everyone on a tour of the sprawling township, including a visit to the socalled single-sex workers hostels where thousands of men and women are forced to live apart from their families. " In Cape Town, each member of the delegation was invited to preach in a church on Sunday morning and join the congregation and community members in ecumenical consultation meetings afterwards. " There was a trip to the notorious Crossroads squatter camp, where thousands of people live illegally in makeshift housing. Sanitation and living conditions are appalling and residents are constantly subjected to brutal police raids. There is no doubt that Crossroads is hell on earth. Of the many experiences the delegation had, some of the most unforgettable were their meetings with local activists: Join the VOTE Campaign for strnger sanctions against apartheid. Contact The Africa Fund, 198 Broadway, New York, MY 10038 (2121 962-1210 " The young fearless preachers in Cape Town, including one dragged off his pulpit by the police during a Sunday morning worship service and taken away to jail, " The Human Rights Commission, which has the unenviable task of documenting the human rights abuses of apartheid when so many want to proclaim the arrival of freedom, * People like Sister Bernard Ncube and Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa of the Institute for Contextual Theology, who have been detained without trial, tortured and charged with treason for doing their church work, " Dr. Tim Wilson of Alexandra Clinic, the only medical facility for 250,000 people. The clinic has continued to operate despite a bombing and constant harassment of the security police. Everywhere the delegation went they found strong support for sanctions. When the RAN Delegation told people about the U.S. End Apartheid Vote For the People Carfipaign launched by The Africa Fund in New York to win stronger sanctions, many South African people also wanted to vote. Rev. Chikane said, "1 am ready to sign my ballot and everyone at SACC will vote too. We want people in America to knowwe demand democracy and sanctions too." NEW RAN COORDINATOR Aleah Bacquie joined the Religious Action Network as Coordinator in April. She was born in Jamaica, New York and earned a degree from Cornell University majoring in Government and Africana Studies. "1 became attracted to RAN because of the unique experience I had growing up in New York. I attended different religious schools operated by Protestants, Catholics, Jews and Quakers. As a result, I learned about the power and value of working for a common goal with and within various groups. In college, I was very active in the anti-apartheid movement supporting the fight for divestment and sanctions as a way of totally isolating the apartheid regime," she said. Ms. Bacquie is a member of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in Roosevelt, Long Island, where the Rev. Dr. Arthur L. Mackey, Sr. presides.

Vote For Saw ncons; The walls of apartheid may be crumbling, but the pillars of oppression remain. And until Archbishop Tutu, Nelson and Winnie Mandela and 30 million other South Africans of color have the right to vote, America should increase the pressure for change. That is the simple, compelling message of the Vote for the People Campaign, a national referendum on freedom for South Africa that gives Americans the chance to vote against apartheid racism and for the stronger U.S. sanctions that are needed to bring true democracy. In congregations, union halls and community centers across the country, activists have already collected thousands of ballots to support their South African brothers and sisters in the freedom struggle. But many thousands more are still needed. Already there are voices in Washington calling for repeal of the weak sanctions currently in force. They say the United States should reward the apartheid government for releasing Mandela and lifting the ban on the freedom movement. Heed Mandela's Call They should listen to Nelson Mandela. On the day of his release from almost three decades in prison, he called on the world to intensify the pressure of JOHANNESBURG - ANC leader Walter Sisulu, center, casts his vote for stronger sanctions by signing the Vote for Democracy ballot at his headquarters. On the left is Rev. Frank Chikane, General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, and on the right is Saki Macozoma, Director of Publicity for SACC. RAN chairperson Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, holding camera, is seencollecting the ballots. Another RAN delegate, Rev. Kenneth Ulmer, has his back to the camera. sanctions. "To lift sanctions now," he warned, "would be to run the risk of aborting the process toward the complete eradication of apartheid." You Can Help Collect Vote Campaign ballots in your church, synagogue or mosque. Encourage other religious, trade union and political activists in your community to get involved. You can also contact your representatives in city government, the state legislature and Congress to sign ballots and pass resolutions supporting strong sanctions and genuine democracy for all of South Africa's people. For a Vote Campaign Organizers Kit, send $5 to The Africa Fund, 198 Broadway, New York, NY 10038. Executive Board: M. William Howard, President Elizabeth Landis, Vice President Gail Hovey, Treasurer Dorothy Hibbert, Secretary Elombe Brath, Robert S. Browne, Josephine Buck-Jones, Ralston Deffenbaugh, Jerry Herman, Stanley Hill, Leonard Jeffries, William Johnston, Tilden J. LeMelle, Gay McDougall, Aubrey McCutcheon, Timothy Smith, Stephanie Urdang, Wyatt T. Walker, Peter Weiss, Frederick B. Williams. National Committee: Bella Abzug, Burgess Carr, David Dinkins, James Forman, Carlton Goodlett, Donald S. Harrington, John L.S. Holloman, Sophia Yarnell Jacobs, David Lampel, John Marcum, Howard Metzenbaum, Frank Montero, Paul Moore, Jr., Paul O'Dwyer, Sidney Poitier, Charles Rangel, Cleveland Robinson, Frederick A.0. Schwartz, Jr., Patricia Schroeder, George Sheperd, Jennifer Davis, Executive Director George M. Houser, Director Emeritus. American Committee on Africa 198 Broadway New York, NY 10038 Address Correction Requested WATCH