MACUA (Mining Affected Communities United in Action) Message of Support on the occasion of the commemoration of the MARIKANA MASSACRE As we commemorate the first anniversary of the massacre of 34 people on the Koppies of Marikana , and the deaths of 10 others during this historical period, we take a moment to bow our heads in silent memory and admiration of those who chose to claim their right to dignity and social and economic justice rather than to passively remain the victims of a system, that by its very nature is exploitative and oppressive. Marikana, and the events that unfolded in August last year, was born out of the reality of the structural and systemic collusion of Capital and State. The rejection of this unholy alliance by the workers and their organic formations of workers committees represent not only the rejection of the systemic exploitation and oppression of the working classes in South Africa, but also represents one of the most important challenges in the history of post apartheid South Africa ,to the system of exploitation . The determination to control their own destiny through the formation of the workers committees has inspired those living in poverty and has presented the broad movement of exploited with a model of people centered participatory democracy that has shaken the foundation of invincibility of the ruling classes and has exposed the fallacy and short comings of representative democracy, where representative democracy has come to mean the enrichment of the elite and the continued and increased exploitation of the people. The courageous and brave action of the miners who occupied the Koppie during August 2012 has forged a new consciousness among the working classes in general and the mining communities in particular. For many years now communities have been struggling to present a formidable opposition to the mining houses and the super exploitation of our natural resources, our land and our communities. Despite the huge profits made by the mining houses poverty levels in mining areas affect as many as 72% of all households. Our struggles have had questionable success in producing real change for communities but have been particularly effective in raising the awareness and consciousness of the communities affected by mining and last year saw arguably the biggest and most representative gathering of communities. This was by any standards a huge step forward and needs to not only be celebrated, but must be turned into a vehicle for real change. The mobilization of communities and other organized forces such as labour has always been our most potent weapon, and one which has a long history within the South African context. It is this weapon that must form the backbone of our struggle to free our people from poverty and exploitation. We call on Workers and Mining Communities to Unite around their common struggles, to engage in democratic formations and to resist the strategy by Capital and the State to divide workers and communities. Our increased unity, across sectors and constructed social barriers, offers the opportunity to intensify the contradictions inherent in the system of exploitation and presents Capital and the State with a new dimension of working class unity that will further isolate their narrow agenda of accumulation at the expense of the people. The lives of those valiant workers who faced up to the might of the State and Capital and who have laid the foundation for the advancement of the working classes must not be sacrificed in vain. Their sacrifice must nurture the seedlings of unity which has emerged from their heroic struggle for dignity and equality. Let us make their Struggles, Our Struggles. Let us make Our Struggles, One Struggle. Amandla ngawethu MACUA CC.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 08:55:16 +0000
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