Celebrating a Centenary of Freedom Struggle in South Africa

From all over South Africa and the world, people are gathering in an old church in Mangaung/Bloemfontein in the Free State on 8 January to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the African National Congress.

The Freedom Charter

In part the commemoration will hail the political alliance (the ANC, the SA Communist Party and the Congress of SA Trade Unions) elected to govern South Africa since democracy in 1994. But at a deeper level the celebration is of world-wide significance, of the triumph of a hundred year struggle against oppression, racism, apartheid and colonialism, and a unique victory in the last decade of the twentieth century for equality and democracy. It is not only marking the ANC and its current leaders, but all its great leaders of the past, and all its members, activists, and martyrs since 1912. It is an honour to everyone who worked in the mass democratic movement in South Africa and in the liberation movements inside and outside the country.

The ANC, as a liberation movement, strongly influenced APHEDA. Soon after Helen McCue, Cliff Dolan and ACTU formed APHEDA in 1984, the ANC requested assistance to its education services in exile, so that South Africans would be enabled to take leadership when democracy was won. This included sending support and teachers to the Solomon Mahlangu School, and hosting South African unionists, health professionals, sports administrators , cultural & media workers and others in study tours to Australia,

The ANC and its democratic allies inspired not only the peoples of South Africa, but also around the world with the 1955 Freedom Charter, which proclaimed:

"We, the people of South Africa, declare... that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white...

• the people shall govern!

• there shall be peace and friendship!"

Australian trade unions had been major supporters of the struggle to boycott Apartheid goods, trade, sport and investment. The Australian labour movement, along with students, churches, and the peace movement had assisted the ANC and the other liberation organisations in solidarity campaigning. Trade unionists and APHEDA staff, such as Donna Burns, were very significant in helping organise visits to Australia by ANC leaders Oliver Tambo in 1987 and Nelson Mandela in 1990.

After the unbanning of the liberation movements in 1990, APHEDA established an office in Johannesburg, and with Union and government support, implemented many projects helping shape the transition to freedom:

• Developing non-racial sport,

• Repatriation of the exiles and reintegration into education for the children and youth

• Skills grading, adult basic literacy, occupational health and safety and HIV with the trade unions

• Support for cooperatives and livelihoods for women and for former political prisoners

• Training for media democratisation

South Africans such as Steve Tshwete, ANC Treasurer-General Nkobi, Simon Nkoli, Bill Jardine, Sam Ramsamy, Gertrude Shope, Eddie Funde, Phyllis Naidoo, Kay Moonsamy, Allister Sparks, Zackie Achmat, Edwin Cameron, Hugh Lewin, Fr Smagaliso Mkhatshwa, Ata Mkhwanazi, all helped shape APHEDA's work and taught us much.

"APHEDA has a long history of support for the anti-apartheid struggle. Your provision of training programmes for black South Africans who were denied education and other opportunities because of racist policies began during the difficult days of exile. The assistance was not confined to exile or the ANC, but members of COSATU and the democratic movement were also provided with opportunities through Apheda programmes....

Nelson Mandela,
President, African National Congress,
3 February 1993

After the first democratic elections in which Nelson Mandela became president leading a Government of National Unity,
APHEDA- Union Aid Abroad continued to support a range of social change projects:

• Sexual harassment and gender violence in the workplace

• HIV with unions and rural women

• Maternal & child health

More recently, although the struggle for freedom was won by the unions and the mass democratic movement in South Africa, the problems of joblessness, poverty and HIV have become worse for the majority of South Africans. South Africa has overtaken Brazil as one of the most unequal societies in the world. Union Aid Abroad- APHEDA remains committed to the struggle against poverty in South Africa, through projects including:

• Mass education for workers and rural poor through the Workers World community radio programs

• HIV education and support with unions and community organisations

• Food sovereignty with poor farmers in the Breede River Valley

• Child nutrition and youth programs in the Western Cape

• Integrated community development (health, nutrition, education, livelihoods) in Missionvale township in Nelson Mandela Bay Metro

These projects are supported by unions and community groups in Australia (Boomerang, Missionvale, EduCompass, Jabulani) in some cases with funds from AusAID.

APHEDA - Union Aid Abroad is proud to have been associated with the ANC and the democratic movement in the struggle leading up to the historic victory in 1994, and to have learned so much from the unions and social movements in southern Africa who have continued innovative mass democratic struggles for jobs, food, environment, health, education, housing, water, land, electricity and equality.

© Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA 2003.

Last Modified: Friday, 06-Jan-2012 17:41:17 EST
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