‘Between life and death’ : on land, silence and liberation in the capital city

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Authors

De Beer, Stephanus Francois

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

AOSIS Open Journals

Abstract

This article reflects on the unfinished task of liberation – as expressed in issues of land – and drawing from the work of Franz Fanon and the Durban-based social movement Abahlali baseMjondolo. It locates its reflections in four specific sites of struggle in the City of Tshwane, and against the backdrop of the mission statement of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria, as well as the Capital Cities Research Project based in the same university. Reflecting on the ‘living death’ of millions of landless people on the one hand, and the privatisation of liberation on the other, it argues that a liberating praxis of engagement remains a necessity in order to break the violent silences that perpetuate exclusion.

Description

This article was initially a presentation to the Symposium Social Cohesion 2013, directed by Prof. Dr Johann-Albrecht Meylahn, Department of Practical Theology, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.

Keywords

Liberation, Issues of land, Life-giving theology, Capital cities

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

De Beer, S.F., 2014, '‘Between life and death’: On land, silence and liberation in the capital city', HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 70(1), Art. #2075, 7 pages. http://dx.DOI.org/ 10.4102/hts.v70i1.2075.