Black Staff Members Concerned About the Heavy Securitisation and Militarisation of Our Campuses

We are a group of concerned black staff working at the University of the Witwatersrand and we are deeply concerned about and against the heavy securitisation and militarisation of our campuses.

In the past three weeks, we have witnessed and experienced an unacceptable increase in the presence of heavily-armed police and private security at our place of work. As members of the University community, this escalation in violence in the name of safety is deeply concerning.

The securitisation and militarisation of our campuses has exacerbated tensions and conflict. While management holds the position that everything is normal and should remain calm, it is clear that summoning staff and students to continue with work endangers and risks our lives and psychological well being. We believe that decisions made by the Senior Executive Team do not demonstrate a commitment to our safety.

We are also specifically concerned with the ways that black staff and students are made especially unsafe under these conditions.

Black staff and students including those who are not actively involved in the protests have been treated as suspicious and potential criminals:

• Black staff are specifically targeted to provide proof that they are legitimate staff members and are often addressed with aggression by private security.
• Staff members who have shown concern for the safety of students have been accused of going against the university’s mandate to reopen.
• Even when assurances have been offered that staff will not be victimised through formal channels such as disciplinary hearings, in the current state of institutional culture at the University, many of us already experience subtle yet pernicious forms of victimisation when we speak up about discriminatory practices.
• Black students have been specifically targeted by security and police. We have witnessed black students being denied access to the class, or being physically removed by private security because they pose a threat of "bringing protesters” into lecture halls.

The Senior Executive Team has designated two “protest areas” on East Campus. This decision bears large consequences for members of staff whose offices are in or near these areas, the majority of whom are in the Humanities.

• When conflicts begin, we have seen stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas being thrown into buildings such as Umthombo and the Matrix. Students, whether they are protesting or not, flee into these buildings and along with students, staff are caught inside while the chaos follows.
• These actions further endanger the lives of those working and attending classes in these buildings and sometimes students that have taken refuge since their classes have been disturbed.
• Administrative staff are told to lock their doors during this time, which does not prevent them from inhaling teargas.
• Campus Health was attacked with stones and rubber bullets, threatening the lives of patients receiving health care and staff members. This violates the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law and while such cases usually set the ground for immediate ceasefire, the Senior Executive Team has remained silent on the matter.

It has become increasingly impossible to conduct lectures due to the noise levels on campus caused by the hovering helicopters, stun grenades, gun shots and the commotion between students and the police. At best, these events have instilled emotional and psychological trauma in students, affecting their ability to concentrate and learn. This is especially the case for black students who continue to be targeted with police brutality.

Students have expressed concerns of sexual harassment and threats of rape by private security. Students who were sexually harassed last year are concerned that the same security who harassed them are now back on campus. We also continue to witness accounts of the police harassing women on campus.