After the abolition of slavery many Muslims and free slaves moved into Bo-Kaap, the centrality of the city made it easy for people to move within the city. The houses have a distinctive pastel color scheme making the area a beautiful sight. Our tour guide was a wonderful woman who made you smile when she smiled. She explained that despite the apartheid the Cape Malays were not forced out of the city. The explained how it is a tightly knit community and they could remain in their town and was labeled as a colored area.
Our tour guide mentioned how the area was being gentrified because of the rising costs of living. Property owners must pay property taxes on the rising values of their homes which makes it difficult for the people whose houses have been passed on to them through generations to continue living in the area. Destroying the tightly-knit community Bo-Kaap has formulated, and creating more of a mixed income area where people of higher class and other ethnicities have begun to move in.
The cooking class with the Cape Malayan woman, was an amazing experience. The woman had such a great attitude and taught us how to make the food of her culture. Cooking a meal was diving deep into the culture of the area, explaining the use of all the spices, cumin, masala, fennel, cinnamon, and how to make the traditional dishes. It was my first time attending a cooking class, and I thought it was one of my favorite activities on this trip so far. With such high unemployment rates in South Africa, I found the cooking class to be an effective way of receiving an informal income. These women are not only able to teach others about their cultures, and tell the stories of their rich history, but they are also able to have a sustainable income to maintain their families.
The District 6 museum was an interesting space tome upon entering. I realized that it was unlike any museum I had ever been to. There was no beginning or end to the place, nor were there many explanations to what everything was, or a story line behind everything. It was several artifacts and stories of those who lived in District 6, and it was not until we spoke with the guide, that I realized that the museum was not originally intended for tourists. It was made by the people of District 6, for the people of District. It was a space that was made for healing and memory. During the apartheid regime, not only were homes destroyed, but friends, families, and lives were as well. Our tour guide called it an ethnic cleansing. Ridding the city of all black people. It was not until our tour guide mentioned ethnic cleansing, that I realized that the apartheid was exactly that. Although there were not death camps as there were in Nazi Germany, it was very much a similar concept. People who were racially different were forced out of their homes simply because of their ethnicity/race. Townships that the government created were like the ghettos the Nazi’s created for the Jews, the only difference being the townships did not have barbed wire around them. People were still brainwashed to believe that the townships was their area and where they belonged, unable to live in mixed towns. Till this day you see that effect still resonates on people, especially with the urban planning of Cape Town. It was created to keep black people from moving into the city center and it is still seen here today. 
Comments
Post a Comment