With South Africa's first democratic election less than two months away, solidarity with the people of South Africa is urgent. MARC NEWHOUSE and ANGIE HARTWIG, two long-time activists in the Australian anti-apartheid movement, have just completed a two-month tour of South Africa to prepare solidarity projects for Western Australian-South African Solidarity (WASAS). Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly's NORM DIXON spoke to them in Johannesburg prior to their return to Perth.
"WASAS was formed in late October in response to the transition in South Africa and the need to start preparing and implementing programs to assist the reconstruction and development process", Marc explained.
"The Australian government, just before we left to come to South Africa, announced that the budget for aid projects in South Africa was to be slashed." Most funds would no longer aid directly grassroots community initiatives but would be spent on the services of Australian consultants and advisers.
"They are looking at government-to-government projects that go through the bureaucracy, so the community level groups are going to miss out. That's where the need to build WASAS projects comes in", Angie added.
The emphasis of WASAS is on people-to-people links at a grassroots level, they emphasised. WASAS is also committed to maintaining solidarity with the new democratic government's attempts to uproot the terrible legacy of apartheid.
"It is very important to maintain the pressure, both inside Australia and in the international community, to combat the view that because South Africa has chosen to have elections, apartheid is over. After the elections, the struggle to uproot apartheid is in reality just beginning."
That view is given extra weight by the war talk emanating from black and white far right-wing organisations. South Africa will also face incredible odds in trying overcome the results of apartheid, which left the majority of the oppressed without decent housing, health care and education and with an unemployment rate well in excess of 50%.
The new government, almost certainly to be led by the African National Congress, will come under enormous pressure from hostile international financial bodies, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and many Western governments, should it embark on a radical program to transform South Africa.
"There needs to be lots of pressure on the Australian government to direct aid back into South Africa's grassroots community organisations, because that's where the implementation of the reconstruction and development process is going to take place. When we went to the ANC Youth League conference, and other forums, it became clear that focus of the reconstruction process is to declare war on poverty and unemployment", Marc said.
WASAS is set to organise a work and study brigade program in which Australians who have useful skills, and a political commitment, can visit South Africa and work with community organisations.
The visits would not only help the South African people's organisations but also strengthen the solidarity movement in Australia, Marc and Angie pointed out. "It will expose activists to the material conditions here and the struggles of various organisations and community groups. They would then take that experience back to Australia, spread the word by talking to their trade unions, their community groups, churches and a broad range of organisations", Marc said.
Angie reported that WASAS has met with many community groups to find out their priorities and what sort of skills they require. "Women and rural areas have come up time and time again. That seems to be a priority especially with water purification in rural areas, nutrition. Developmental projects aimed at women, to get their self esteem up, and develop their own projects in the communities. They are the most disadvantaged and marginalised sector, and they are a majority in the rural areas."
Both Angie and Marc emphasised that WASAS saw the key task of the visits as sharing skills with South African activists.
Among the organisations which WASAS would like Australian activists to work with are: the Centre for Community Development, a community development organisation formed by ex-political prisoners, ex-combatants of the ANC's Umkhonto we Sizwe and returned exiles; an organisation dealing with AIDS education in prisons; Concerned Nurses Group of South Africa, health workers who are trying to organise into one federation which is both a professional association and a trade union; and the South Africa Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights.
The most pressing are projects dealing with women's needs, Angie stressed. "An advice desk for abused women, which is operating at the Durban-Westville University and initiated by Anshu Padayachee, a criminologist, is doing marvellous work. They've managed to get two shelters running in the area. There's only five in the whole of South Africa, and two of those are specifically for white women. They hope to develop more shelters and greater access for black women. The need is most pressing when you consider that one in four women in South Africa are battered."
Angie and Marc also met with the ANC Women's League. "They are very keen for us to try to bring over half a dozen women by the middle of March to assist with voter education for women in rural areas and their campaign against violence against women."
The ANCWL wants solidarity activists from Australia who can help take care of office administration so that the ANCWL leadership can be freed to concentrate on electioneering and political campaigning.
WASAS hopes to hold a public meeting in Perth in March. Marc assures those interested that participation in the work and study brigade will not be disappointing. "The situation in South Africa is extremely exciting and will give people a renewed political commitment and new skills. It provides them with the opportunity not only to assist; it also gives them experience in working at the grassroots level in a highly politicised environment."
It is hoped that specific groups, especially women and Aboriginal people, can use the brigades as a way to link up with the organisations in South Africa and build mutual solidarity.
Marc also hopes that the experiences gained can strengthen Australia's community organisations. "We can provide people with ways of organising and new ways of viewing things so that the organisations in Australia don't continue to be just an extension of the state, cheap labour providing social services. They can actually become a force working collectively, which is what you can learn working in this environment."
WASAS can be contacted c/o Marc Newhouse, Murdoch University Guild of Students, South St, Murdoch WA 6150. Ph (09) 360 2158 or fax (09) 310 7334.