Women Comrades Help ICWP Take a Big Step Forward with Toyi-Toyi here ♦ From Algeria to South Africa, History of Toyi-Toyi here ♦ Post Toyi-Toyi Zoom meeting Advances the Struggle here ♦
Women Comrades Help ICWP Take a Big Step Forward
QEBERHA (South Africa), September 30— “We showed togetherness and oneness and discipline,” reflected Khaya. He is a new comrade who participated in the communist toyi-toyi at the shift change at Triton Industries. Three ICWP comrades recently lost their jobs there. The company is known for harsh working conditions and discrimination.
“I thought we would fight and vandalise that Triton property”, Khaya continued, “but all of that did not happen.” He already understands the importance of revolutionary communist discipline.
“It was the first time for me involved in a toyi-toyi”, said Bonga, another new comrade.
And it was the first time that ICWP had organized one.
“We really showed our determination to fight for what we want,” Bonga went on. “Our banner said, ‘Abolish wage slavery.’ We showed collectivism. No individual was doing her or his own thing. It showed the opportunities for ICWP to grow. Especially if it is involved in everyday struggles of the working class and the masses, putting communist solutions and the Red Flag at the forefront of this struggle.”
Comrade Esihle said, “What I experienced on the toyi-toyi at Triton was the harmony we showed. And we didn’t allow police to bully us. It was good that way.”
“The experience was amazing,” said Thandiwe. “It was my first time with ICWP and my first time attending a toyi-toyi as I always see them on TV.
“I didn’t even know that ICWP exists,” she continued. “But upon seeing comrades in their reflectors helping small school kids in the morning, I started to wonder what they are about?”
Some ICWP members help kids cross streets during morning rush hour traffic. They do this with our banner visible for every passing car and individuals to see ICWP.
Thandiwe went on: “After chatting with the comrades when I was accompanying my child to school, they explained ICWP. They said, ‘We are mostly men, and we need more women members and comrades. As you are unemployed and living under this poverty-stricken system, how about you join our party, that wants to eliminate all of that’.
“They explained that the party fights for workers. I was interested, even though I don’t work. I was convinced that I should not sit idle and do nothing, especially as a woman. That’s why I participated in the toyi-toyi”.
Her experience shows the need to recruit more female members and follow their leadership in the struggle. In that way we will live the fight against sexism and put it into practice.
Comrade Lwazi is a relatively experienced party member who distributes Red Flag. “The toyi-toyi at Triton was the most amazing experience,” he said. “We came in numbers, especially the new comrades.
“We went there with our demand for the company to stop with discrimination and harsh treatment of workers. They listened and we promised to visit again if they don’t stop. The police presence didn’t deter us. They weren’t hostile. They were surprised that we fight for workers even though we don’t work there”.
Comrades continue to discuss whether revolutionary communists make demands on bosses, or do we just organize to overthrow them.
“My joy is that we did this toyi-toyi ourselves,” concluded comrade Anathi. “It is not that difficult to organize it. Male comrades, me included, learned a lot especially from female comrades, as their perspective is different in some ways, and refreshing. Their hands-on approach and careful, detailed organizing will help us better organize the next one. This also shows that we must fight sexism every day amongst ourselves and in our collectives.”
The toyi-toyi was a learning curve and a welcome experience even with its shortcomings that we can learn from. It was a big step forward in putting communist ideas forward in a new way.
It showed the need for ideological growth among the new and old comrades. A communist is never complete but must constantly learn and put communism at the forefront, even when the circumstances and environment change.
The growth of the party presents new challenges and opportunities. The way we organise now that we are growing will not be the same as when we were few. But what doesn’t change is that the revolutionary communist line of ICWP to fight directly for communism must be at forefront of what we do and say. It should be reflected in every toyi-toyi we organise.
The Red Flag remains our key weapon in this.
Building communist relations and transparency among comrades will overcome some contradictions in our collectives. We will continue to struggle and spread communism to the working class and the masses around us. We have the world to win —and we will win it.
From Algeria to South Africa: History of Toyi-Toyi
The toyi-toyi is a rhythmic, foot-stomping dance. It is punctuated by a call to protest with military discipline. The masses in South Africa perfected it.
Toyi-toyi originated in Algeria. It traversed down to Tanzania, Angola, and Zambia, It found widespread popularity and acceptance in Zimbabwe.
Toyi-toyi originated in the Arabic language as a military drill. During the colonial and apartheid era, it was transformed into a call for ending oppression. It was sung at political funerals as well as at protests where the masses faced tear gas, bullets, and killer dogs. In South Africa, it was like a time bomb when millions of Black and other protesters danced in defiance.
The comrades in Gqeberha are dancing under the banner of communism to abolish wage slavery. This is a historic event as more and more comrades around the world will popularize the fight for communism as the only solution to centuries of oppression and violence.
Post Toyi-Toyi Zoom Meeting Advances the Struggle
This morning we had a very good Zoom meeting with the people who participated in toyi-toyi. They are enthusiastically thinking about toyi-toyi at the gate of another big factory and leading up to the May Day March.
They are thinking big. Now that they have 50 or 60 members at different levels, they are expanding the struggle with a goal of a thousand people. The struggle is just starting. They repeatedly say they have learned so much from the Party. I said, “We are learning from you. It’s one party and one fight.”
Comrade A responds: “Thank you. Having a zoom meeting with you makes us explore many more things that we need to do, especially with the workers here on our side.
“Tomorrow, we have another meeting to address the report. We will do everything we can to involve the people I met in the streets. We would like to continue having meetings with you so we can be on the same platform.”
Comrade B adds: “Thank you for opening everything to us and always waking us up to everything. Please send me all the dialectics. Most of the time we are sitting together, and we can study dialectics, so that we can learn more, know more, each and every corner of ICWP. I thank all the comrades all over the world.”
—Comrade in South Africa
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