South African Workers Mobilize for Communist May Day here ♦ Spain: Spread Communist Ideas on May Day here ♦ Los Angeles: New Leaders Organize Inspiring May Day BBQ here ♦
South African Soldiers, Workers, Youth Mobilize for a Communist May Day
SOUTH AFRICA, April 15— “We are constantly communicating with other comrades who don’t have cellphones,” reported a mass organizer of ICWP. “We visit them and give them Red Flag. We are organizing for a May Day to show that communism is the only way to smash xenophobia, racism, and wars.”
Another long-time comrade said, “I am self-critical, I was away for two years. But I am here with ICWP. I am home again. ICWP is my home.” Many welcomed her back.
A soldier said, “We are ready with our tool (Red Flag). We need a change in the system. We are organizing other soldiers. We hope some will come to our May Day.
“I will bring my whole neighborhood,” the soldier continued. “People are fed up with deteriorating conditions all around. People are desperate. There is gang violence. At least twelve people were killed in this township this year alone. Many young people join these gangs, but we have to start teaching our values of community. I am so glad ICWP is here to organize.”
A security guard we met at our Toyi protest dance is reading Red Flag. He said, “I am distributing Red Flag to the workers at the Volkswagen Plant during their shift change. I will be there with some other comrades.”
A community organizer said, “We need to make a change. It is now or never. Communism can make it happen. I will keep on recruiting more comrades. It will be a big turnout for May Day.”
These are some of the comrades in one township who have been deeply affected by imperialist wars in Gaza and racist violence against people from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. When we explained the situation in Israel/Palestine to the masses with our pamphlet on Gaza, people recall the days of apartheid in South Africa.
“Not a thing has changed in South Africa. They abolished apartheid, and now we can go anywhere but our conditions are worse than before. I want to let the Palestinian comrades know that they will never gain anything by supporting Hamas. It is capitalism that needs to be destroyed,” said a comrade who works where many immigrants live.
“We have been able to talk to young comrades from Mozambique and Zimbabwe,” the comrade continued. “ICWP has opened our homes to them. They are learning Xhosa. When there is a racist attack on them, we are there to defend them.”
A comrade who joined ICWP last year summed up the enthusiasm and lively spirit of organizing for May Day. She said, “The life of helping each will change humanity. It will build a new way of life, new songs, new languages, and a new culture of caring and supporting life. Capitalism is the opposite of communism. It is brutal, greedy, and deadly.
“I dedicate my life to the cause of communism,” she concluded.
This May Day will be a big opportunity for us to consolidate these new and old comrades into party collectives. We plan a braai (barbeque) after May Day. We expect the bosses to try to disrupt or create obstacles to our organizing plans. But with many new comrades around us, we are learning new ways of carrying out our struggle.
Spain: Let’s All Go Out to March on May Day and Spread Communist Ideas All Over the Planet! Long Live May Day!
Farmers’ protests and struggles against the government for better working conditions and against poor living conditions continue throughout Spain. Housing rents are skyrocketing. Wages have never been enough to have a dignified life.
In Spain and many other countries, entire towns are turning into ghost towns because workers can’t find a way out of this “globalization.” So, they have to migrate to the big cities and find that “normality” of being a wage slave. Thousands more workers are fleeing their countries, seeking refuge or a decent job in Spain or any other European country.
Capitalism is a cancer that only serves to keep the working class in a more and more precarious situation in order to enrich a few. This May Day, we have to take to the streets and tell all workers that we can and will defeat this system!
Here in Spain, we are ready to do that again, armed with Red Flag to spread communist ideas! The growth of our International Communist Workers’ Party (ICWP) is unstoppable! From South Africa to El Salvador, from the US to France, we continue to grow and mobilize workers to develop communist ideas and fight directly against the capitalist system that keeps us only as slaves.
Let’s take to the streets to tell workers that Communism and the study of Dialectical Materialism is our real alternative. That’s how we can develop communities where health, education, housing, and food will not be tools of slavery. Instead, the working class itself will solve the problem of providing these necessities. We will build communities where work will not be a bargaining chip to enrich a few, but the way forward to raise the standard of living and quality of life of our own class! Join us!
New Leaders Organize Inspiring May Day Barbecue
LOS ANGELES (USA), April 13– “Let’s march for communism this May Day with the International Communist Workers’ Party!”
With this slogan, a collective of young Party leaders extended an invitation to comrades and friends (old and new). We watched a video with many photos of our comrades in Spain, South Africa, Mexico, El Salvador, and USA marching, handing out Red Flag, and talking with workers about our communist line.
A comrade was saying goodbye to her house, a space used for many years to carry out political activities of our party. It was the ideal moment to meet and make this invitation. Comrades and friends brought food and took books the comrade was giving away. We caught up with each other as meat cooked on the grill.
We listened to the speech of a transit worker comrade from MTA. He said, “I’m glad I am a member of the ICWP. I’d rather be surrounded by comrades than to put my trust in those that have and will continue to murder and attack the working class of the world.
“ICWP has helped me to clarify my vision, thoughts, and direction of things that have seemed blurry,” he continued. “To further understand the direct attacks on the working class. It has been very pleasing to be able to learn the fundamentals of Communism. Just the ability to apply the knowledge to everyday thinking and decisions is priceless.”
After that, we sang Bella Ciao and heard a beautiful poem which lit the fire in our revolutionary minds and hearts.
Our shared responsibility allowed us to make this May Day “carne asada” (barbecue) possible. We were successful in our planning stage and implementation of our plans. Not even the rain could stop us from enjoying our time in person with our comrades. Plans were made as to who would make it to May Day, but that work is not finished just yet.
Our leadership collective is growing and learning, and the work will continue as we prepare for May Day. Our goal is to organize our friends, coworkers, and families. To do this, we must continue talking with them and following up with those who made it to the carne asada.
With World War III on the horizon, communist leadership is needed more than ever to organize the workers of the world to end all genocides and capitalist exploitation. This is our plan: to meet future war efforts with communist organizing. Our party is growing around the world, and here in Los Angeles, the development of new leadership is on the horizon, too.
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