''No Land! No House! No Vote! Voices from Symphony Way'' is an anthology published in 2011 of 45 factual tales written and edited by the

Symphony Way Pavement Dwellers Symphony Way Informal Settlement was a small community of pavement dwellers (shack dwellers who live on the pavement) that lived on Symphony Way, a main road in Delft, Cape Town, Delft, South Africa, from February 2008 until late 2009. They were ...

. The foreword to the book is written by activist and author

Raj Patel Rajeev "Raj" Patel (born 1972) is a British academic, journalist, activist and writer who has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United States for extended periods. He has been referred to as "the rock star of social justice w ...

and the introduction is penned by Miloon Kothari, former

United Nations Special Rapporteur Special rapporteur (or independent expert) is the title given to independent human rights experts whose expertise is called upon by the United Nations (UN) to report or advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. De ...

on Adequate Housing.

Summary

The book follows hundreds of shackdwellers in the township of

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. The stories are real-life accounts of the struggle of the

. In early 2007, they were moved into houses they had been waiting for since the end of

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

but soon were told that the move had been illegal and they were removed from their new homes. In protest, they occupied Symphony Way, a main road opposite the housing project. It soon blossomed into a settlement of hundreds of shacks inhabited by organised protesting families. It became known as Symphony Way and was the home ground of the Symphony Way Anti-Eviction Campaign, whose membership vowed to stay on the road until the government gave them permanent housing. The community was eventually evicted after almost two years occupying Symphony Way. They were moved to the

Blikkiesdorp Symphony Way Temporary Relocation Area in Delft, Cape Town, better known by its nickname Blikkiesdorp, is a relocation camp made up of corrugated iron shacks.

temporary relocation area where they are still struggling for land and housing. In his forward,

says that the book is "both testimony and poetry" and contributor Conway Payn "opens the door to a world of compassion, of fellow-suffering, that holds you firm." The introduction is contributed by Miloon Kothari, who was

on adequate housing between 2000 and 2008.

Themes

The overall theme in the book is the shackdwellers' struggle for land, housing and dignity as human beings. However, the stories also cover many general issues within poor communities including relationships and physical abuse. The authors' concerns range from safety on "their" road to the impending eviction because of the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. Another recurring theme throughout the anthology is how the struggle enabled the pavement dwellers to build a strong community on the road.

Reception

Journalist and author

Naomi Klein Naomi Klein (born May 8, 1970) is a Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses; support of ecofeminism, organized labour, and criticism of corporate globalization, fascism and Criticism of capitalism, ca ...

said that the book is "A beauty, extraordinary in every way." Critical geographer

Michael Watts Michael or Mike Watts may refer to: *Michael Watts (geographer) (born 1951), English geographer and professor at the University of California, Berkeley * Michael Watts (journalist) (1938–2018), British journalist *Mike Watts (record producer), Am ...

, called the book "a clarion call for basic human rights and for human dignity". Historian and anti-apartheid activist,

Martin Legassick Martin Legassick (1940–2016) was a South African historian and Marxist activist. He died on 1 March 2016 after a battle with cancer. He was one of the central figures in the "revisionist" school of South African historiography that, drawing ...

, says in his review of the book for '' Amandla! Magazine'': "I wish I could bury the noses of

Tokyo Sexwale Mosima Gabriel "Tokyo" Sexwale (; born 5 March 1953) is a South African businessman, politician, anti-apartheid activist, and former political prisoner. For many years, Sexwale was imprisoned on Robben Island for his anti-apartheid activities, ...

and Bonginkosi Madikazela in its pages. Everyone should buy this book and read it". In his review in '' Red Pepper Magazine'' he says that the book is "a remarkable and moving volume, charged with emotion and satiated with reasonableness".Review: No Land! No House! No Vote! Voices from Symphony Way
Martin Legassick, ''Red Pepper Magazine''

Reviews

Street people book their place on library shelf
by Jeanne Hromnik, published in the Cape Argus, 25 May 2011
Review of No Land! No House! No Vote! for Amandla! Magazine
by Martin Legassick, 1 June 2011
Book review: No Land! No House! No Vote! Voices from Symphony Way
by

Michael Neocosmos Michael Neocosmos is a South African Marxist philosopher. He is an emeritus professor in humanities at Rhodes University, Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute and a fellow at the Centre for Humaniti ...

, ''Journal of Asian and African Studies'', October 2012 47: 580–582

References

External links