Migrants’ Deaths: Fascist Capitalism is to Blame here ♦ End Capitalism’s Racist Divisions in South Africa here ♦ Fighting Sexism, Practice What We Preach here ♦ You Strike A Woman, You Strike a Rock here ♦ Communist Struggle Energizes New Comrades here ♦
Greece, June 15— Thousands in Greece marched in solidarity with migrant workers. Some chanted “We Are All Foreigners!” Others carried banners saying “Open Borders! Open Fences!” “Mutiny!” “Rebellion!” and “No Borders!”
They condemned the deaths of hundreds when a fishing boat packed with migrants capsized in the deepest part of the Mediterranean. The Greek Coast Guard was monitoring the boat. Over 300 people from Pakistan died, along with Syrian, Egyptian, and Palestinian workers and children.
Marchers throughout Greece angrily blamed the European Union’s racist crackdown on migrants, the murderous Greek Coast Guard, and the European Border and Coast Guard (Frontex) for their deaths.
These deaths show again capitalism’s fascist worldwide attack on our global family. Only communist revolution will end it. Help spread Red Flag and build ICWP everywhere.
Read Our Pamphlet
“Fight for the Day No Worker Will Be Called Foreigner” here
End Capitalism’s Racist Divisions
GQEBERHA (South Africa), June 6— “Bosses divide us as workers,” remarked a new comrade. “For example, at work I had trained a Coloured female intern. However, because of the retrenchment after the war in Ukraine, the bosses divide workers on the basis of ‘race.’ They pit us together. They want to cause conflict between us because she is Coloured and I’m Black. They want me to say she took my job. They don’t want us to unite.”
“Yes, comrade,” another commented. “They don’t want us to unite at all. They divide us based on gender and race. They want us to fight each other and not fight them,” she continued. “I am glad this party wants us to unite because there is no way we can win when we are fighting each other.”
More experienced comrades were encouraged by this exchange. It is a communist future we want to fight for and establish: a society where people are not seen on the basis of race. Rather, we’ll see each other as comrades, brothers and sisters fighting for a common goal. That is, delivering the needs of the working class and the masses based on the different capabilities.
We want a society where sexism and all forms of division are fought collectively, and communist relationships are forged and strengthened.
Capitalist society will have us believe that’s impossible, but it’s a lie. Racism is fairly new, especially all these racial classifications. In South Africa it was only with the 1950 Population Registration Act that people were officially classified as Coloured, Asian, Black, white. Before that, the Land Act of 1913 created two categories: non-whites and whites.
Both capitalist measures were intended to divide people as Apartheid (apartness). They further exploitation and make sure that no unity is forged by the exploited working class in South Africa. Even the physical development of urban areas in Gqeberha and elsewhere followed these policies of segregation and division.
These divisions were man-made by capitalists, not by a God. They are not natural. They weren’t always there, whatever capitalist propaganda might say. They can be reversed by the working class through a communist revolution for a society that forges integration and collectivism.
The working class must unite all over the world. We must overcome sexist, racist, nationalistic divisions created by capitalist exploiters. We only have our chains to lose! Through ICWP and the struggle for communism we fight racism and sexism. Join the party and fight for working class liberation.
Read Our Pamphlet:
To End Racism: Mobilize the Masses for Communism
Fighting Sexism: Communists Must Practice What We Preach
Comrades in South Africa discussed the sexist violent behavior by the Indian police towards the women athletes protesting the sexual assaults by a leading politician.
“Sexism is everywhere and is normalized by capitalism,” said a comrade. “You could easily replace India with South Africa and you will get the same thing.”
Another comrade agreed. “Sexism is everywhere where there is capitalism. We must fight it and the ideology behind it, and we must fight it now, even among ourselves.” How do we do that? “By practicing what we preach,” he continued. “We as men should always be mindful. We should treat female comrades with respect. We must allow and want to be led by women comrades. We must listen to them and do away with the idea that our words are the last or must rule. “
A third agreed wholeheartedly. “I also want to say that sexism has been so normalized that even some so-called traditional values and behaviors encourage it, and even our religion. We grew up being told that men and boys don’t do certain things expected of women, like washing dishes, cleaning the house. Even though those are basic necessities for any household We must do away with this mentality and re-educate ourselves through communism.”
“Sometimes you even have women who work, and their male partners work too, but it’s the woman who is expected to do all the house chores,” another said. “This we must stop and fight.”
Capitalism directly and indirectly encourages sexism to justify exploitation, as with the girls who make sneakers in Asia and get paid peanuts while capitalists are getting richer.
The Red Flag and winning people towards communism and the party can help change people’s outlook for the better. Let’s fight for a better future, a communist future without sexism, where fairness is the order of the day, women and men treated the same with no one dividing them in order to exploit them.
—ICWP Collective in Gqeberha, South Africa
You Strike a Woman, You Strike a Rock!
We were discussing sexism, the situation in India how the female athletes were being sexually abused by someone in “power.” Because of his money and position, this capitalist feels the need to mistreat and sexually abuse woman whenever he feels like it. This has to end, and the time is NOW. Females are not objects. Their voices matter too.
One of our comrades sells fish bones to make ends meet. It was disturbing that her supplier wanted her to take a picture of her private parts to get more stock (fish bones that she was going to pay for). That was disrespectful. This kind of treatment needs to come to an end NOW.
Comrades shared a lot about sexism in their homes, workplaces, and in the community. Cultures too have a role in sexism. In communist society we are to eliminate that mindset that Men are superior to Women. We are to be treated equally and respected the same way.
—Red Salute from South Africa
Youth Day in South Africa: Communist Struggle Energizes New Comrades
Another day full of struggle! Seventy percent of us were women. Many expressed their desire to build a communist world, talking about sexism in capitalism. Women and men spoke about how detrimental sexism is. But the real struggle started after the meeting.
A new female comrade spoke volumes about how shy she had been about distributing Red Flag where most workers were men. She had felt she didn’t have a full grasp of ICWP. Now she has more confidence from our meetings. She is very clear about how important RF is in developing new communists.
Our meeting, in Xhosa and English, gave more confidence to the new female participants. After the meeting there was a new opportunity to struggle with new attendees as everyone knew each other in the neighborhood. But communist struggle really made the difference. Comrades are bonding in a way they had not experienced before.
—Experienced Comrade
Read Our Pamphlet:
The Communist Fight Against Sexism here
Read More Materials on Sexism
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