Reports
Discussion Papers
No.351 Casting a Voice for Rural Struggles during Apartheid: The Case of AFRA
by SATO Chizuko
March 2012
ABSTRACT
This
paper
explores
the
attempts
to
co-ordinate
rural
resistance
and
struggles
in
South
Africa
during
apartheid
through
a
case
study
of
the
Association
for
Rural
Advancement
(AFRA),
a
land
NGO
established
in
Natal
in
1979.
It
was
a
small
group
but
had
a
significant
local
and
national
impact.
The
paper
addresses
three
key
questions
concerning
the
character
and
works
of
AFRA:
(1)
What
was
the
character
and
strategy
of
AFRA
in
the
politicised
context
of
the
late
1970s
and
1980s?
(2)
Was
there
any
historical
continuity
and
discontinuity
with
early
attempts
by
Natal
liberals
and
African
landowners
to
organise
anti-removal
campaigns
in
the
1950s?
(3)
How
and
to
what
extent
could
AFRA
negotiate
the
increasing
influence
of
the
Inkatha
and
KwaZulu
government
over
Natal
rural
communities?
The
paper
aims
to
serve
as
a
critical
evaluation
of
AFRA’s
strategies
and
activities,
and
its
relationship
with
rural
communities
up
to
1990
when
land
movements
became
nationwide.
Keywords:
South
Africa,
land
struggles,
land
NGO,
forced
removals
Please note that discussion papers are works in various stages of progress and most have not been edited and proofread and may contain errors of fact or judgment. Revised versions of these papers may subsequently appear in more formal publication series. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). The IDE does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included and accepts no responsibility for any consequences arising from its use.