Chorus to declare District heritage site

Cape Town-160211-Former residents f District Six place memorila tags with their messages on the fence at the CPUT building where Hanover Street used to be. Fatima Voterson (58, white scarf) and Fareedah Phillips (72) used to live in the area. Picture Jeffrey Abrahams

Cape Town-160211-Former residents f District Six place memorila tags with their messages on the fence at the CPUT building where Hanover Street used to be. Fatima Voterson (58, white scarf) and Fareedah Phillips (72) used to live in the area. Picture Jeffrey Abrahams

Published Feb 11, 2016

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Lisa Isaacs

FURTHER calls have been made to declare District Six a heritage site and to fast-track restitution.

Yesterday, former residents, officials from the District Six Museum and Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Gugile Nkwinti marked the 50th anniversary of the site being declared a whites-only area.

The commemoration celebrated stories of life in District Six, poetry and music. Former residents wrote on tags why the area should be declared a heritage site and hung them up near the Moravian Church, where the old Hanover Street was.

Nkwinti said the elderly would be prioritised in finalising land claims.

The third phase of the District Six redevelopment projects is being built and scheduled to be completed by February next year. About 108 flats and houses will be built.

“The problem is that we are dealing with a different landscape now. When people were here, this was open land. Today we are talking about a space that has shrunk considerably. Infrastructure has been built,” he said, adding that plans would have to be made to build upwards in order to accommodate claimants.

Museum director Bonita Bennett said the call to make District Six a heritage site |was to protect it from |any further commercial development.

“Today, we need to think about all those people who have not had restitution. We want to acknowledge that |they still are living lives of displacement.

“All the resentment, all the hurt, everything that went with people – that is still part of their lives,” she said.

Fareda Moosa, of the District Six Reference Group, said the group was creating a new proposal to fast-track development.

Moosa said the former District Six stood for tolerance and respect.

“It’s easy to take bricks and build houses, but it’s very difficult to build the fabric of this community again,” she said.

Returned resident Annie Bam said many older residents of District Six had lost hope of moving back.

The 92-year-old, who moved back into District Six in 2004, gave birth to her eight children in their family home in McKenzie Street.

“District Six for me was a very pleasant place.

“But when we were evicted, I cried. They told me to move to Manenberg, and we didn’t know that kind of life.

“We knew the city life, we could walk from our house to the city. Life was easier,” she said.

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