Dear Mandela (2012) – movie review
January 20th, 2013 by Mr. C
Directors: Dara Kell & Christopher Nizza
Genre: Documentary on South Africa’s housing movement
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I couldn’t find a better way to celebrate Martin Luther Ling Jr.’s legacy other than by serving this film writeup as food for thought! Keep dreaming everyone! Dear Mandela is having its U.S. Broadcast Premiere on January 29th streaming on Afropop.TV for the month of February.
Dear Mandela centers around a shack dwelling movement in South Africa known as the Abahlali BaseMjondalo and their fight against the government in regards to their lack of commitment in building new homes and provide adequate housing for the poor as the ANC (African National Congress) had promised. Much to the dismay of the South African people, the Kwazulu-natal province enacted the Slums Act law which basically gives them the authority to eradicate Informal Settlement homes aka Shacks/Shanty homes and prevent new ones from being built which leaves a BIG conflict with the residents like WHERE are they going to LIVE? There are no roads, not enough running water, and no support from the ANC. The South African government wants to bus these temporarily displaced residents to what they called Transit camps which is located many miles away from the city center until new homes are erected. Transit Camps were described as something more or less like a prison.
Dear Mandela is a good documentary if not a bit clinical as the film highlights the grassroots of activism with a young generation of politically aware individuals willing to fight for their rights for something they were promised by the government – adequate housing. We are introduced to 4 main characters in the film that soldier on with the struggles against a two faced leadership in South Africa: Mnikelo is elected as one of the spokespersons for the movement. Zama works at the food distribution program at the community center. Mazwi is a student and one of the more promising leaders of the cause and S’bu Zikode is the president and inspirational leader of the Abahlali baseMjondalo movement. This group is fighting to abolish the Slums Act Law based on the Constitution of South Africa that states: “no-one shall be evicted from their home or have their home demolished without an order from court.” Despite the Shack Dwellers who peacefully protest the housing conditions in their area, the ANC still uses bullying tactics & violence to demolish their homes and terrorize the neighborhood.
The film raises good questions and yields a double edge sword of conflict to the young generation of South Africa. You see, the ANC led the fight against apartheid, slowly broke the door down, and finally abolished segregation as the ANC went into full power with Nelson Mandela elected as president in 1994. Since then, the African National Congress never looked back. Fast forward to the present times and ironically, inequality rears its ugly head in another form against its own people and instituted by the same group that led the fight against inequality to begin with. The elders of the nation are stuck in between a rock and a hard place because some of these folks who almost died fighting for ANC during apartheid are finding it difficult to agree with the present generation who are criticizing ANC which in turn means that you are also criticizing Nelson Mandela. Inequality still exists in South Africa and the history of the ANC is weighed upon the shoulders of the new school. What the Abahlali group is trying to do is exactly what ANC was doing before they got into power in 1994. It’s just that the ANC forgot where they came from. One side of the city is still living in shambles while the other side is living in a lap of luxury. The new generation of educated individuals in South Africa are fighting for what they believe in and their rights as stated in the Constitution. Will they succeed in the courts of Johannesburg to abolish the Slums Act? Either way there has to be better communications between ANC and the urban housing group so they can provide better living conditions for its own people.
“Being poor in life doesn’t mean that you are poor in the mind.” – Mazwi
“No land – no home – no vote” – Mnikelo
I think Dear Mandela would make a great teaching tool and educational piece in our High Schools to open up dialogue between our youths to discuss about constitutional rights, social issues, & politics. I know that it certainly opened up my eyes about the urban housing struggles in South Africa that I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
Tags: dear mandela, documentary, south africa
Posted in movies, mr. c | Comments (0)
