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Special Report Transcript Episode 30, Section 3, Time 10:46August 1985 is etched deep in the memories of hundreds of people from the Cape Flats. The United Democratic Front was growing in strength and the levels of repression with it. On the 28th of August thousands of people joined a march to Pollsmoor prison to demand the release of Nelson Mandela. For many this was their first taste of political activism. Some of them must have thought it a virtually risk free action because it was essentially an act of peaceful resistance. They were wrong. The police at the time did not recognize the concept of peaceful resistance. Notes: Max du Preez Crossroads, February 1985 109 The African population of Cape Town more than doubled between 1980 and 1985,8 leading to a proliferation of squatter camps. In response to this influx and in an effort to sift out the ‘illegal’ Africans for deportation back to the homelands, the government ... |