This year marks the 37th year that I have been practising in Eastridge, Mitchells Plain.
When I commenced practice in 1983, there was barely a soul in the area. There were a number of empty houses ready to be occupied by new residents, desperate to get into their new council homes.
The houses were mass produced by Besta Recta who made a killing in those years.
Thirty-seven years later, the place is teeming with people of all ages. The area is flooded with unemployed youth, young people, the elderly and hundreds of children, playing on the streets due to a lack of safe facilities. Typical of any area that is bedevilled by unemployment and poverty.
Today, many parts of Mitchells Plain are infested with drugs merchants and gangs.
The trend is spreading fast into the whole of Mitchell Plain, including the well-established areas like Westridge, Rocklands and Portland.
The Town Centre was such a delight to visit in the ’80s. One could sit on the benches in the sun in winter and have a sandwich or go up to the restaurant, in the Inn on Plain and listen to the crooner, the late Frankie, perfectly impersonating Frank Sinatra.
All that has changed, and how. The centre has become one big glorified flea market with low-end retailers sharing the limited space with foreign traders and the pathways crowded with flea market stalls.
"Gangs, crime and drugs might grab the headlines, but it is not reflective of some of the most amazing people living in the area." Picture: Angus Schlotz/African News Agency (ANA) Archives
In the mix are desperate addicts trying to grab hold of your phone, wallet or bag for their daily fix.
Law enforcement is almost non-existent. The description paints a bleak but narrow picture of an area I have become part of and fond of.
Gangs, crime and drugs might grab the headlines, but it is not reflective of some of the most amazing people living in the area.
I have had the pleasure of treating and meeting some of the loveliest people one could find.
I frequently meet bright youth with smart minds. We have some of the most stimulating conversations that make my day.
It irks me when people scoff or
look down at people who live in Eastridge, Beacon Valley and Tafelsig, because of what they read in the media or Facebook.
Social media and some print media do not focus on positive stories as much as they do on crime. The people from these areas are no different from anyone or race in Cape Town in intellect and manners.
They might be struggling financially, but when it comes to respect and humility, they are far wealthier than people from many in the suburbs, who can be arrogant, fake and full
of themselves.
MITCHELLS Plain is flooded with unemployed youth, young people, the elderly, and hundreds of children playing on the streets, due to a lack of safe facilities, the writer says. Picture: David Ritchie/African News Agency (ANA)
People who visit me from far often ask why I work in Mitchells Plain. My simple answer is because they are people, just like everyone else.
Poverty does not make them any less, and what is so admirable about them is that in spite of their struggles, they can smile.
I can’t say the same of the complaining rich. I have had some of my best years working in the community.
I chose to be in the heart of the community, away from noisy, dirty, crowded shopping centres.
I was always opposed to the idea of practising from expensive private hospitals because I do not enjoy being controlled or dictated to by these institutions when it comes to patient care. I love my freedom to treat patients the way that I see fit; something I cannot do if I am forced to pay heavy rentals to hospitals for tiny spaces.
Medical practices should be within communities, where people live, in order to be easily accessible and affordable. The government should take heed of this point when it decides to roll out the NHI.
The challenge in 1983, at the height of apartheid, was for me to deliver a service equal to the services offered in the expensive suburbs. I am pleased that I have accomplished that because my practice has patients coming from all over Cape Town.
They attend my rooms without any qualms because they have come to realise that Mitchells Plain is full of good people.
The poverty of the people doesn’t make them any less human compared to people who drive 4x4s.
It’s been a privilege to work
among them.
I look forward to, one day, writing about the memoirs of my experiences while working in Mitchells Plain.
* Doctor EV Rapiti is a general practitioner in Mitchells Plain.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
Cape Argus
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