district six

Before I write anymore about Friday, I should back up a day to Thursday. I visited the District Six Museum near the City Center of Cape Town. District Six was primarily a community of what the apatheid government labeled "coloureds." Most of the 50,000 people who lived here had ethnic roots in India, Indonesia, or East Africa. Many of these people had lived in District Six for generations (some up to five generations). In 1966 the National Party declared District Six a white European area. Over the next ten years the govenrment evicted and displaced people to the "coloured" townships. They eventually bullbozed the entire community to make way for whites to rebuild and move in. Much of the space still is deserted and open, as very little was ever rebuilt. The District Six Museum is in a previous Methodist Church buildng near the area that spoke out against what was happening and provided a refuge for those who were uprooted. There is a plaque outside the church that reminds all who pass by what happened here and says, "Father, forgive us" (see below). It is quite an moving experience to see pictures and hear stories of this multiracial community that was completely demolished. It also serves as a place of healing for the people who were forced out. Efforts are still being made to rebuild and give back the community to some who previously lived in District Six. The guides are former residents. I met Noor Ebrahim, whose grandfather moved here from India. Noor told the story of his family being forced out. He had several children, including a three-month old son. It occured to me that this son would have been around my age. I wondered what it would be like to begin your life impacted so drastically by this deep racism. There were many school groups coming through learning and soaking it all in, which is so hopeful! (I bought Noor's book where he recounts his story, if anyone wants to borrow it when I get home.)

Sign outside the museum and former church