Synopses & Reviews
Early in 2007, hundreds of families living in shacks in Cape Town were moved into houses they had been waiting for since the end of the apartheid. But soon they were told that the move had been illegal, and they were kicked out of their new homes. They built shacks next to the road opposite the housing project and hundreds organized themselves into the Symphony Way Anti-Eviction Campaign, vowing to stay on the road until the government gave them permanent housing. This anthology of stories of justice miscarried, of violence domestic and public, of bigotry and xenophobia, is both testimony and poetry. This book is a means to dignity, a way for the poor to reflect and be reflected. It is testimony that there's thinking in the shacks, that there are humans who dialogue, theorize, and fight to bring about change.
Review
The Symphony Way occupation was a real attempt at an insurgent and tenacious solidarity against an increasingly exclusionary and brutal society. It was an experiment at the outer limits of the innovative and courageous grassroots militancies that have emerged in South Africa in recent years. This book is also an experiment at the outer limits of radical publishing. All the tenacity, beauty, pain, desperation, and contradictions that breathe their life into any popular struggle haunt the pages of this searing book.” Richard Pithouse, department of politics and international studies, Rhodes University, South Africa
Review
A magnificent and moving account of a long and hard-fought struggle . . . . a clarion call for basic human rights and for human dignity. A powerful insiders view into the landscape of poverty in neoliberal South Africa.” Michael Watts, professor of development studies, University of CaliforniaBerkeley
Review
An extraordinary collection of writings from the spirit of resilience and strength of the collective which lay bare the betrayal of the people in post-apartheid South Africa.” Sokari Ekine, author and award-winning blogger
Review
This book carries not only the suffering of the Symphony Way communities but of the millions of poor people of the world. . . . It is through this courage that we can all hope for the real struggle that intends to put human beings at the center of our society.” Sbu Zikode, president, Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement, South Africa
Review
As middle-class African journalists and activists, we thought we were telling the tale of the poorest, but here we are surpassed. Their truths, spoken in their sharp vernacular tongue, fly straight to the heart of the matter.” Michael Schmidt, journalist and author
Synopsis
Early in 2007, hundreds of families living in shacks in Cape Town were moved into houses they had been waiting for since the end of apartheid. But they were soon told that the move had been illegal and they were evicted. They built shacks opposite the housing project and hundreds organized the Symphony Way Anti-Eviction Campaign. This anthology is testimony and poetry. There are stories of justice miscarried, of violence, bigotry and xenophobia. But amid the horror there is beauty: relationships between aunties, husbands, wives, and children; daughters named Hope and Symphony. This book is a way for the poor to reflect and be reflected, testimony to their fight to bring about change.
About the Author
Symphony Way Pavement Dwellers are shack-dwelling families in Cape Town who were moved into houses but soon afterwards evicted again. They organized the Symphony Way Anti-Eviction Campaign and write about their experiences and their struggle for justice.