The growing collective of media professionals engaged in a hunger protest against the STARVATION OF LOCAL CONTENT by the SABC is recording their protest via blogs on the website www.hungerprotest.wordpress.com.
Each of the protesters has committed to go at least 21 days without food. It is a rolling action, with new people joining on a regular basis.
They are doing this to call attention to the sustained starvation of South Africa’s identity at home and around the world by the SABC. Their intention is to activate the community in this way to take action.
They have called on the SABC to start by making its turnaround plans transparent and work with public stakeholders in partnership, to guide the company back to health in a manner responsible to its mandate.
They will continue their hunger protest until their demands are acknowledged and addressed by the SABC in a transparent and humane manner.
However, the hunger protest coalition announced on 18 September that three of the hunger protestors had started eating again at the beginning of this week, leaving two protesters active on their water fasts in support of ethics, transparency, and partnership with the SABC in delivering local content to the public.
Gwen Britz (14 days), Aluta Mlisana (8 days), and Thabiso Mafane (14 days) all had to stop their fasts for different reasons. And all three plan to continue to support the action strongly, although while eating instead of fasting.
Michael Lee, the producer who started the action with a 30-day water fast, and has now begun to eat, says that they had all learned from the experience and this would strengthen the action going forward.
All three of them started their fasts before following the rules – as did I,’ Lee admits. “That was irresponsible of us. We now understand that there are important procedures that anyone wanting to join in need to do first, up front.’
Lee says, “People keep asking us what we want, why it is worth starving. And we keep saying, we’re not starving, we’re just taking a break from food to see what it’s like, and to make a statement. The statement is in short that the SABC belongs to the nation and the nation needs to be consulted.”
Meanwhile two protesters continue. Production coordinator Zamambo Tshabalala was on day 11 last Friday. “It’s amazing,’ she writes on the blog. “I just don’t need food. People can’t understand it, but it’s like, I have all the energy, all the focus, and no food. My lips have gotten a little dry, so I’m upping the water.’
On day 9 Keitumetse Qhali, the director of the documentary Aluta said she was having trouble sleeping, feeling dizzy some mornings, and dealing with concerns from her mother, to whom she is very close. In her blog she wrote: “I myself am starting to doubt if I can do the full 21days, but…this strike is about regaining what is rightfully ours…people need to wake up and realize what is happening.’
