When: Saturday, May 25, 2013 @ 1PM
Where: Room 5-280, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE Building)
252 Bloor Street West (at St. George Station)
The Mining Injustice Solidarity Network and the Network for Pan-Afrikan Solidarity invite you to an Afrikan Liberation Day Discussion featuring:
Rehad Desai (Spokesperson for the Marikana Support Campaign, and documentary filmmaker, currently making a film about the the Marikana Massacre)
Sankara Leach (Activist, formerly involved in Azanian Anti-Apartheid Struggle)
Guest Speaker (Researcher and Activist on mining injustice in Sub-Saharan Africa)
In August last year South Africa was rocked by a wave of strikes that ended with state police forces massacring 44 striking mineworkers at Marikana. The incident received widespread condemnation from around the world, including from activists in Toronto who held a protest outside the South African embassy. It also hearkened back to the darkest days of apartheid, where security forces routinely gunned down protestors and jailed activists. Since the massacre an inquiry commission has been launched to uncover the truth of what occurred at Marikana, although it has recently been plagued by killings of those who were scheduled to give their testimony to the commission. The massacre and its aftermath raises crucial questions for international solidarity activists interested in building links with South African workers. How can we support the struggles of those miners who face violence from both police, the mining bosses, and the ANC government? What can we learn from the international anti-apartheid movement of previous generations to inform this struggle? How are Canadian mining companies complicit in violence against workers and communities in Southern Africa (Azania) and beyond? Join us for an update on the situation in South Africa since Marikana, and a discussion of how we can build international solidarity with South African workers.
Endorsed by: CUPE Ontario International Solidarity Committee, Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, Network for Pan-Afrikan Solidarity