AWC CULTURAL DAY AGAINST THE OCCUPATIONS

Nerisha Baldevu* reports on the Anti-War Coalition Cultural Day.

The Anti War Coalition – South Africa hosted a cultural day against the occupations of Iraq and Palestine on 27 September 2003 in Newtown, Johannesburg. The daylong festival included discussions, videos, live music, poetry, drama, a children’s art exhibition and a photo exhibition by Indymedia SA.

The festival was part of an international weekend of protests against the continued US and British occupation of Iraq and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Between 25 and 28 September, organisations across the world held activities to protest the occupations. The weekend of protests was timed to coincide with the third anniversary of the second Palestinian Intifada, which began on 28 September 2000, and still continues.

Approximately 400 people attended the Joburg festival from surrounding communities – largely young activists and students. Discussions at the festival focused on raising awareness around the issues of occupation and US imperialism, and on drawing links between local and global struggles.

Topics covered included the following:

The Occupations

The Nature of the Occupations

The Resistance

What next in Iraq and Palestine? The Legacy of Dr Edward Said

Phansi Coca-Cola: The Multinationals and the

Military (American Product Boycott)

Can Bush rule the world: Imperialism Today

Building the Anti War movement The Politics of Global Terrorism What are martyrdom operations?

A Slide show and discussion on the Israeli

Apartheid Wall

Videos screened included:

Why War? Produced by supporters of the Anti War Movement in the UK, the documentary examined why Bush and Blair went to war, and looked at the future of the Anti-War Movement globally.

Israel’s Secret Weapons. Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli citizen who had been employed at the Dimona Nuclear Power Plant in the Negrev Desert, gave evidence to the London Sunday Times newspaper that Israel was developing nuclear weapons. He wanted to inform the world. It was an act of conscience. He was convicted of treason and sentenced to 18 years in Israeli prison. He spent the first eleven and a half years in solitary confinement. He is still in prison. This BBC documentary investigates Vanunu’s evidence, and uncovers the existence of weapons of mass destruction and chemical nature, and was performed by local activists. Performers included the Anti Privatisation Forum’s (APF’s) drama group led by Dodo, the Evaton West Theatre Company with Cedric, poets, Tumi, Shameeya, Samantha and Zweli, dance by the Evaton West Gumboots Crew and Aka’s Hip Hop Set, and live music by Rasta Zwele and the Ambassadors and the socially conscious protest band, The Mavericks.

The day also included fun activities for children such as a jumping castle, games like “Knock down the coke cans”, story circles and letter writing to the children of Palestine.

The festival successfully brought together anti war activists in an event that was culturally and intellectually rewarding.

* Nerisha Baldevu is a member of the Palestinian Solidarity Committee, the Anti War Coalition, and she works at Khanya College.

Weapons in the Middle East – all in the hands of the Israeli military, funded by the US and tested on Palestinians.

The Fourth World War: From the front-line of conflicts in Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, Palestine, Korea, ‘the North’ from Seattle to Genova, and the ‘War on Terror ’ in New York, Afghanistan, and Iraq, “The Fourth World War” brings together the images and voices of the war on the ground. It is a story of a war without end and of those who resist. The product of over two years of filming on the inside of movements on five continents, directed by activist Rick Rowley, and produced through a global network of independent media and activist groups, it is a truly global film from the global movement.

Frontiers of Dreams and Fears: The film explores the lives of a group of Palestinian children growing up in refugee camps. It focuses on two teenage girls, Mona and Manar. Although living in refugee camps miles apart, the girls manage to communicate and become friends with each other despite the overwhelming barriers separating them. The film reveals their lives and dreams and their growing relationship, at first through email, then culminating in their dramatic meeting at the fence that separates them at the Lebanese/ Israeli border.

Drama, poetry and music

The drama, poetry and music were anti-war in nature, and were performed by local activists. Performers included the Anti Privatisation Forum’s (APF’s) drama group led by Dodo, the Evaton West Theatre Company with Cedric, poets, Tumi, Shameeya, Samantha and Zweli, dance by the Evaton West Gumboots Crew and Aka’s Hip Hop Set, and live music by Rasta Zwele and the Ambassadors and the socially conscious protest band, The Mavericks.

The day also included fun activities for children such as a jumping castle, games like “Knock down the coke cans”, story circles and letter writing to the children of Palestine.

The festival successfully brought together anti war activists in an event that was culturally and intellectually rewarding.

* Nerisha Baldevu is a member of the Palestinian Solidarity Committee, the Anti-War Coalition, and she works at Khanya College.