A review by Xoliswa Skomolo In 1990, South Africa crossed the rubicon of apartheid, and all babies born thereafter are referred to as "born-frees". One of them is the author of this book. It is an elaborate and rich narrative - a roller coaster of a journey that has...
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20 Years of democracy: The State of Gender
Free to do the heavy lifting: after 20 years of democracy South African women remain exploited, brutalized and devalued . Has 20 years of democracy given black rural and urban poor women land, housing, health, jobs, freedom of sexual exploitation, safety and...
Solving gangs one life at a time
Before we send the army in to 'solve' the crime problem in Cape Town's troubled townships or appease politicians and nervous shop owners with a police crackdown, we need to remember that we're targeting a city's adolescents, who have reason to wreak revenge on an...
Chris McGregor and the Brotherhood of Breath
The morning of our father's 82nd birthday dawned with the news of Chris's death. We had known for some time that he was desperately ill and so had already booked a flight to France to go and visit him – ironically the flight was due to leave that very evening. Chris...
“The strength of Cosatu still lies in its members”
Interview with Eddie Webster, director of the Chris Hani Institute Edward Webster is Professor Emeritus in the Society, Work and Development Institute (SWOP), at the University of the Witwatersrand. He was recently appointed director of the Chris Hani Institite (CHI)...
“The women of Marikana are marching because they want to see justice…” | by Lauren Paremoer
The vivid images of the Marikana Massacre and its aftermath are strikingly different from those capturing previous strikes by South African mineworkers. What is noticeable is the presence of large numbers of women – not all of them mineworkers – acting in support of...
It’s time for the real fight | by Harmony Goldberg
The re-election of Barack Obama represents one of the most important political opportunities of our time. I know that many people on the left will read that opening line, dismiss me as a hopeless radical-turned-liberal and refuse to read any further. They'll be wrong....
Marikana shows dangers of populist leaders | by Carol Paton
Joseph Mathunjwa, leader of the Association of Mining and Construction Union, and Julius Malema, the expelled leader of the African National Congress Youth League, have several things in common. Like Mr Malema, Mr Mathunjwa was expelled from the National Union of...
Economics for the 99% | by Centre for Popular Economics
1. Introduction The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement has brought about a remarkable change in public consciousness. Until the movement began in September 2011, it was rare to hear politicians or the mainstream media acknowledge such huge problems as the gap between...




