Shack dwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo rallies against Operation Dudula’s anti-migrant march
Abahlali baseMjondolo defends the Socio-Economic Rights Institute against Operation Dudula's accusations, calling for unity and compassion in the face of anti-migrant sentiment.
Image: Independent Newspapers Archives
As Operation Dudula prepares to march on the offices of the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI), accusing it of being “unpatriotic” for defending migrants’ rights, the shack dwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo has come out strongly in defence of SERI and of human dignity for all.
“This is an all-out and cowardly attack on vulnerable people,” the movement said, condemning Operation Dudula’s recent actions, including blockading public hospitals and denying healthcare to people accused of being foreign nationals.
The organisation stated it would join civil society organisations on the streets in solidarity with SERI, an organisation it described as “genuine movement lawyers” who have “worked with respectful, principled and dedicated commitment year after year.”
“SERI is our comrade, and we will stand with them, as we stand with all people and organisations under attack from Operation Dudula, or any other expression of fascist politics,” the movement stated.
The movement criticised the targeting of migrants as a deliberate distraction from the real causes of the country’s suffering. “Scapegoating migrants for this crisis, and aggressively denying them access to hospitals, is not just cowardly and cruel. It is also a form of public political miseducation that diverts attention away from the real causes of the crisis.”
Abahlali pointed to years of austerity, mismanagement, and looting in the public healthcare system as the root cause of the crisis. “Our public healthcare system is in crisis due to years of austerity and massive looting by politically connected operators, some of them operating as violent mafias.”
The movement, which has a long history of working with migrant communities, said it had requested a meeting with Operation Dudula to discuss common frustrations and the need for unity among the poor. However, the request was rejected. “They refused to meet us, saying that we are also ‘unpatriotic’ and that we have taken them to court.”
Reaffirming its founding principles, the organisation said: “A person is a person wherever they find themselves: Unyawo alunampumulo.”
Abahlali concluded, “We must not allow right-wing forces to justify violence against the people in the name of the people. The political forces that try to divide the oppressed, to turn people against their neighbours, are always the enemies of the oppressed and the struggle for justice.”