Miners' leader Mgcineni Noki, one of the 34 workers killed on 16 August 2012
On 16 August 2022, I went to a protest in London marking the 10th anniversary of the massacre of organised mineworkers in Marikana, South Africa - gunned down by police just for organizing strike action against oppressive work conditions.
About 40 people were there, including campaigns about other countries and issues like Colombia Solidarity Campaign, and black activists from the Caribbean, and black trade unionists like Glenroy Watson from the RMT (UK transport workers’ union). Different people of different races, different political opinions, very diverse turnout.
These protests happen every year at the South African Embassy in Trafalgar Square in London on 16 August as that’s when the massacre took place.
How did I find out? I learnt about the massacre from other fellow socialists I personally know plus the internet and decided to search on google for upcoming protests in the UK, however much time and effort that took.
Why did I go? Because any decent human being (regardless of race, or nationality, or job, or whatever) who cares about their fellow human beings will go to a protest against people getting murdered by police just for having a say about their workplace conditions.
What is my observation on the event itself? The ANC despite doing some good things like abolish apartheid and decriminalise homosexuality, has always been a party of capitalists and rulers. That means they’ll do whatever it takes to keep themselves in power. If that means murdering innocent people, then so be it. That said, the abolition of apartheid, rights for oppressed black people, rights for workers are not only a human issue but also a class issue, as class is the explanation – not the only explanation but the main one.
What next? We need more left-wingers, socialists, trade unionists and even ordinary apolitical people out there to stay in touch with these campaigns and others related to human rights to stand in solidarity with the oppressed and help the movements get stronger and win their goals for justice. This won’t be completely explained in this one article: but for this kind of working-class solidarity and basic human compassion to be successful, we’ll need to not only involve yourself as much as possible. If you’re left-wing and a socialist, focus on the working class all over the world, in all kinds of different countries and states, including in states where the ruling class claim some kind of anti-imperialist legitimacy.