Juxtaposing the old with the new

Ismail Moegamat Cassiem,Haridresser and shaving saloon

So says the sign stillit's a sin

the little shop has long been nailed up like a coffin.

Finish n klaar! - District Six

The Apartheid system with its staunch purist ideology paled in light of the multi-racial and multi-religious nature of the people of District Six, making it rich in culture and ethnicity.

The Group Areas Act of 1980 saw the removal and eviction of many non-white communities labelling them 'whites only' areas. Over 60 000 residence in District Six alone were evicted and moved to areas such as Hanover Park, Mannenburg and Bontyville. District Six was subsequently renamed Zonnebloem.

In reconstructing District Six, could that spirit and culture in some way be revived? Or, in juxtaposing the old with the new, could one possibly capture remnants of that culture or its spirit and people? Are there traces that would be true to District Six?

---------------------------------------------------------ZONNEBLOEM - DISTRICT SIX

- One, two, skip a few, ninety-nine a hundred... coming ready or not...- No man! You playing wrong. You must count to a hundred man, play

right!'

A trip down memory lane... Perhaps on Zakira Street, Hanover or Aspeling, Blyth or Ashley; where the streets rang with the sounds of an impoverished yet colourful, vibrant and culturally integrated community; where the one-legged skip and jump of Hop-Scotch, the scattering of 'Three Tins' or the giddy excitement of Hide n Seek rippled through the streets of District Six.

In images of District Six, children reflect the vibrancy and gaiety of the community. There being no Play Station or other modern entertainment, children entertained themselves, playing games such as Hop-Scotch, 'Three Tins', Marbles, Bok-Bok, Dodge-ball and the age old, Hide n Seek. The Silver Tree Youth Club kept children off of the streets and away from the ever threatening gangster lifestyle by providing them with recreational facilities. The Panthers Touch Rugby group and the Hanover Marching Band are the only forms of recreation available to the youth today.

'Ultimately, and always, my concerns relate to children. 'Children are the future and that is an 'inescapable fact'. Through children, the future is open. Things depend, of course, on how children are formed by the present things, which means perhaps that tragedy can be discounted.'

- Adam Small, District Six.

While the essence and culture of District Six seems to have been buried under the rubble left in the wake of the Apartheid bulldozers; traces of that time and place; of it's people and their peculiarities may still be found (albeit fleeting).

The Home Coming project set out to compensate those who had lost their homes during the 1966 evictions by providing them with new homes in District Six. The new apartment buildings frame a mass of earth, tall grasses and weeds over what used to be a neighbourhood. Annie Bam (84) was one of the first to move into the new buildings. While Annie is happy in her new home, she complains that it is no longer safe, '...it will never be the same again...’.

Reconstructing District Six is still in progress, while new buildings and communal constructs may be erected, the spirit of a demolished culture cannot be summoned or defined by bricks and mortar.

The forced removals saw some areas in the old District Six turn into slums. The old Rahgmaneyah Primary School is now home to vagabonds and drug addicts who say that they have nowhere to go. Rahgmanyeha Primary School has since moved.

Mogamat Faiq Rabin attended Rahgmaneyah Primary School in the days of District Six, '...those times was good times... I don't know, what can I say? ...We stayed in Grassy Park but we was always here in District Six, never at home. We lost our friends with the removals...’ Apart from the balconies, reminiscent of what may have been an educational institution; the premises of this old school, too echoes the harrowing wails of the forced removals.

Many of those interviewed for this project speak lovingly of District Six, their eyes glazed with the memory of yester-year, their voices often trailing with a sense of nostalgia.

The true spirit of the people and that place in time now rests in the hearts and minds of all South Africans. District Six is yet hailed as a community that survived. The District Six Museum contains photographs and some of the remains of District Six and is set on rebuilding the communal infrastructure of this community. And so...

Freedom and Peace, Peace and Justice, Justice and Equity

and indeed, Happiness. - District Six