Rebirth of a neighbourhood

By Richard Hamilton
In Cape Town

More than 30 years after it was knocked down, one of South Africa's most famous communities is starting to be rebuilt.

District Six was Cape Town's most multicultural neighbourhood until it was declared a whites-only area by the apartheid government in 1966.

Four years later, it was razed to the ground by bulldozers after the forcible removal of its 60,000 inhabitants.

District Six was razed to the ground

But now the foundations are being laid for homes that will house some of the district's original residents.

Stanley Abrahams drove me round what remains of the district, the once proud quarter whose fate was sealed by the notorious Group Areas Act.

After years of political and bureaucratic delay, work has finally started on the first new buildings - 24 houses that will belong to residents over 80 years old.

"People are actually looking forward to coming back into it, being in the city of Cape Town, being able again to enjoy the life within the bosom of the mountain instead of being behind the mountain," says Mr Abrahams.

Everything had to go so what you saw was a heap of rubble Former resident Stanley Abrahams

"But it's the scale of the way it was done in District Six with 60,000 people - not only were they removed but the place was actually bulldozed so it was an exercise of erasure, of obliteration.

"And not only of the houses, but the very networking of streets. Everything had to go so what you saw was a heap of rubble - red rubble which signified almost a bleeding sore against that incredible landscape."

'Too cosmopolitan'

Noor Ebrahim can remember the day he was walking into work in February 1966 and read a newspaper headline saying that his neighbourhood had been declared a whites-only area:

We had blacks, Indians, Hindus, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Christians, Muslims - one big happy family and we proved to the apartheid government that it can work Noor Ebrahim

"I think one of the main reasons was because District Six was a very cosmopolitan area. A lot of Jews lived here and all kinds of whites," he says.

"We had blacks, Indians, Hindus, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Christians, Muslims - one big happy family and we proved to the apartheid government that it can work. They didn't like that and I still believe that was one of the reasons they declared District Six a white area."

"Honestly I can't wait to move back because District Six was my home. I was lucky I moved to a place called Athlone, a so-called 'coloured area', but it was never my home."

Piece of history

The District Six jazz band is trying to keep alive the rich musical traditions that came out of the quarter's unique mix of cultures.

District Six is not only a story, but it has become a microcosm of the South African experience Valmont Layne

One of the players in the band is former resident Valmont Layne, now the director of the District Six Museum.

"District Six is not only a story, but it has become a microcosm of the South African experience," he says.

"We can hold onto what we have - which is our memory of the area and mobilise that memory. The museum is a testament to the power of that mobilisation and that memory and the way ordinary people's stories have become the catalyst for the process that you see now.

"It starts with memory - just the simple act of acknowledging that my story is important. And if you multiply that act by 10,000, suddenly it's a groundswell.

"We were absolutely taken aback by the public response from the people who lived in the area. So in a sense we not only tell the story of apartheid, but we live the story of the reconstruction of this country."

Apartheid has gone, but in its place it has left ghettos of different races who still eye each other warily sometimes, across high walls and security fences.

In this fragmented society, District Six and the example it set is not only a piece of history, but perhaps an inspiration for the future.