Volksinspektion in Kliptown

Kliptown, der älteste Bezirk der Großstadt Soweto ist von seiner ganzen Geschichte her eine Spontansiedlung - und noch heute davon gekennzeichnet. Jahrelang ziehen sich nun die Auseinandersetzungen um die Schaffung minimaler Lebensumstände schon hin. Das ewig versprochene Bauprogramm ist auf dem Papier geblieben, stattdessen wird jetzt damit begonnen, Menschen umzusiedeln, um Geschäftsprojekte zu realisieren. Seit 2 Jahren gehen die "Kliptown concerned residents" (KCR) auf die Strasse - und werden die ganze Zeit mit Polizei und Medienkampagnen eingeschüchtert. Jetzt ruft der KCR zu einer Volksinspektion auf: Alle sind eingeladen, sich die Zustände selbst anzusehen: Wir dokumentieren den Aufruf "A CALL TO A PEOPLE'S INSPECTION IN KLIPTOWN" vom 29. Januar 2008.

A CALL TO A PEOPLE'S INSPECTION IN KLIPTOWN

The community of Kliptown (Soweto) will be hosting a People's Inspection into the social and living conditions of the working class in Kliptown on the 06th February 2008.

The people will gather at the Walter Sisulu Square of dedication (historically where the Freedom Charter was signed in 1955 & the African National Congress held it's 50 years celebration in 2005 using millions for the event) at 10h00 in the morning. We will then embark on a field trip into the community and gather back in the square to give our community members a chance to report back on the living conditions.

The Kliptown Concerned Residents (KCR) have in the past five years engaged in many community struggles for housing, exposing the living conditions of the working class who continue to live under squalid conditions despite our country being praised for its sustained economic growth. In the past two years we have seen how the state responds to the community's demands when they took to the street to voice their anger.

The community has been called all sorts of derogatory names like being under the influence of a 'third force', 'anarchist', 'misguided', 'instigators' etc. and yet the situation remains the same for the majority of Kliptownians. The police have being called in numerous times to clamp down on community protest, firing rubber bullets and threatening people with jail if they fight for their rights to housing.

The KCR doesn't want to simply paint a picture of our community - we want people to come and see for themselves the living conditions of the people of Kliptown. It is clear to the people of Kliptown that the poor will continue to live in abject poverty while a few elite live in a heaven on earth because of the failure to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor of South Africa. We know this first hand because the government, while make constant promises to build houses for the people of Kliptown, has now decided to relocate Kliptown residents to a place we do not even know (Lehae or Doornkop) - we know they are doing this because they have promised the land of Kliptown to the rich (businessman) and people who can afford high rental rates. We extend our hand of invitation to the People's Inspection to all.

We want people to see how we live, to explore the situation of the community of Kliptown and start to engage in a collective and meaningful social dialogue in regards to the development of our community.