Today I made it over to the District Six area and museum. District Six was a vibrant multi-cultural (few whites) up until the 1950s. Then in the 50s under the Group Areas Act, the area was declared Whites Only. Grand plans were set for redevelopment and "rehabilitation" to make it "fit for white life" but very little actually occurred after they razed the homes, businesses, and churches that were there when it was a black/coloured area. Some apartments (flats) were refurnished and are still there today, and some new roads were built. District Six had fallen into physical disrepair due to deliberate lack of city funding (sounds familiar - North Minneapolis?). But the people who were living in District Six tell stories of it being a very active, community-oriented neighborhood. And even if it was in rough shape, it is sickening to think that people were literally forced to leave and relocate to other parts of the city that the government had earmarked for persons of their race. Many people in District Six were "bribed" into leaving by being made promises of better homes, sanitation, etc. in the places they were expected to move, but when they arrived, they found they had been lied to.
Many of the townships (places for nonwhites) were built under idealized notions of how people "ought" to live instead of gaining insight from the people who were to live there as part of the design process. Eventually, many of the townships or other low-income areas that were built under government subsidy (in the US, think of government-funded affordable housing) ended up looking more like the informal settlements that the people had been originally been forced out of. In other words, the residents made themselves comfortable, and their rebuking of the government's idealized designs could be interpreted as a sign that that design was not "right" for them. (I feel like I am not expressing myself very clearly, but I think my thoughts are much more concise.) Before long, the government and/or dominant white population felt the subsidized housing idea was a failure - which, in many respects, it was - and that the coloured/black people were "incorrigible" in their lifestyle.
Even today, 60 years after the Group Areas Act, and 15 years after the end of the apartheid, vast areas of Cape Town and South Africa as a whole lack sufficient and healthful housing, sanitation, food, and community and civic resources.
The District Six museum I went to was pretty cool. It's in an old church that used to be very active, but after the majority of its congregation was forced to leave the area, the complex was converted to other uses. Today the majority of the land of District Six that was razed under apartheid movements remains blank, a gouged scar that serves as reminder of what once was. Some of the prior landowners have since been able to reclaim their land. But redevelopment remains in limbo, and is a controversial subject between city officials and former residents.
Some pictures...
Old street signs that once stood in District Six now line the stairs in the District Six museum.
A giant map on the floor of the museum shows District Six as it was before it was razed under apartheid agendas.
A familiar sight during the apartheid - a bench where only whites were permitted to sit.
This part of town is a little less "cheery" than where I'm staying. But Table Mountain still looks amazing in the background! Some kids were just getting out of school for the day when I took this photo, you can see them to the left in their uniforms.
On a lighter note, after I left District Six, I passed through Government Way and the amazingly beautiful botanical gardens. These gardens were originally established as a vegetable patch for the Dutch East India Company. There are squirrels here and on Government Way, the first ones I've seen here in Cape Town (in Minneapolis I probably see at least 5 per day!). Apparently they were imported by Cecil Rhodes from North America. Rhodes was a wealthy English businessman (founder of De Beers diamond company and eventual prime minister of the Cape) and had plans to build a railway across the African continent, but his plans failed. Even so, there are many streets/parks/estates named after him here in Cape Town.
A short and light video for you:
(If the embedded video above doesn't work, check it out on Youtube.)
In the park were some young schoolchildren on their way home from school. They saw me taking pictures in the park and begged for me to take their picture, too. They wanted me to get the pictures developed right away, and I felt bad turning them down. But in all fairness, I don't even know where I would go around here to get pictures developed. I left the park shortly thereafter because my memory card was full :( but I plan to get back there again soon and explore more of the park. So beautiful! I'll upload pictures from Government Avenue and Company Gardens in another post.
Miss you all!
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