The Sovereign Voice issue 4 | Page 42

Reflections by Mario of Proudly Manenberg, Co-Founder of the United Democratic Front, which paved the way for the ANC in the 1994 transition: “Apartheid has and continues to cause damage to our society — we have become a dysfunctional community in which there is a breakdown in human relations between adults and children. The social fabric of our society has been torn apart. ” “Our demise has been planned — it’s not by accident that we are killing each other and that our people are going hungry. ” “We have made mistakes along the way leading to a breakdown in the organisation. We ran after money instead of caring for each other. ” “There is a lot of pain. This process is emotional, and Proudly Manenberg has had a positive impact on other communities to take responsibility and ownership in organising themselves. ” “Proudly Manenberg has been the base to bring together other proud communities, however there has been an attack on these communities by the state to cripple self-governance. ” “The behaviour of the South African Police Services and city law enforcement is one of violence and criminalising of the community, fueling anger and more violence. ” “The gathering on 17 September 2015 saluted those who have laid the foundation in building a new Manenberg over the last 10 years. ” “Manenberg, like other communities on the Cape Flats, is a dormitory in which people come home to sleep and leave to serve the bosses every day. Now people are faced with no jobs, leading to rampant crime and social disorder. TheSovereignVoice.Org ”