Shakirah Dramat, 26, is one of the youths involved in the anti-gentrification movement in the Bo-Kaap. She is the spokesperson for Bo-Kaap Rise, one of many groups co-operating to retain Bo-Kaap’s heritage and prevent over-encroachment by development.
"Bo-Kaap was a feeling; Bo-Kaap is a feeling. It’s the feeling of community and, ultimately, love, writes the fourth-generation Bo-Kaap resident.
"Outsiders adore our community, and we adore each opportunity to show and teach them our culture, our religion and our quirks. But everyone wants a piece of our pie and we’ve been generous with sharing – sharing is our nature. But the pie is only so big and there’s almost nothing left for those who baked it. Development and property are part of life, especially in the CBD, but what the Bo-Kaap offers, what the Bo-Kaap offered, no amount of money will ever be able to replace.
The people here are the culture, are the heritage, are the feeling, and that feeling is being sold out, a million rand at a time. And when that feeling has completely disappeared, will we still be left with the Bo-Kaap? Or will we just be yet another gentrified suburb?"
She shares her story
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