Twenty Years of Courage and Struggle

Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) is the remarkable story of the South African shack dwellers movement, covering twenty years of courageous struggle. It is the largest movement to have emerged in South Africa after apartheid and one of the largest movements of the urban poor globally, boasting over 180,000 members across four provinces. AbM emerged from the margins of South Africa's cities, where residents faced life-threatening conditions, including shack fires, poverty, and systemic betrayal by the democratic state regarding land and housing. The movement is firmly committed to ethical principles, fighting not only for the right to the city but for the right to collectively occupy land and build occupations collectively. Abahlali insists on a humanist philosophy-"no one is illegal, everyone thinks and everyone must be counted and heard"-and works to build democracy and socialism from below. Abahlali is abolition in action, seeking to interrupt capitalist logic by advocating for the total decommodification of land, recognizing it as a public good allocated based on human need. This commitment has led to significant victories, including securing land, providing services (like water and electricity), and winning a landmark Constitutional Court case against the unlawful Slums Act. However, this quest for dignity has come at a tremendous cost, marked by severe repression, police violence, and the assassination of many activists by state forces and party thugs. Despite these challenges, AbM has persisted, developing occupations into working communes (such as eKhenana) that feature collective production, community halls, and political schools. Their story is a map for movements fighting inequality and authoritarianism globally. The movement continues to build collective power and struggle for a world where land, wealth, and power are shared on an equal basis.

About the Author :
**Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM)** is the largest social movement to emerge in South Africa since the end of apartheid and is recognised as one of the largest movements of the urban poor globally. Founded in 2005, this movement of shack dwellers now boasts over **180,000 members** across four provinces. AbM emerged from the struggle against deep poverty, life-threatening conditions (such as shack fires), and the systematic betrayal by the democratic state concerning land and housing. The movement is firmly committed to ethical and humanist principles, based on the belief that **"no one is illegal, everyone thinks and everyone must be counted and heard"**. Abahlali strives to build **democracy and socialism from below** and insists on the fundamental right to collectively occupy land and build occupations collectively. A central tenet is the **total decommodification of land**, insisting it be recognised as a public good. AbM practices "abolition in action" by building new communal forms of life, such as political schools, food gardens, and working **communes** like eKhenana. This quest for dignity has come at a tremendous cost. The movement has faced severe repression, including police violence, torture, and the **assassination of many activists** by state forces and party thugs. Despite this history of loss, AbM persists, offering a map for global movements fighting inequality and authoritarianism.