Our plane, originally scheduled to land in the morning, was delayed, and we did not arrive in Capetown until late at night. The guide who picked us up took us straight into the city,
and we checked into our hotel around 11:30PM. The drive in was in the dark, of course, so we saw nothing of the city on our initial approach.
The next morning, she picked us up around noon, and we drove around the city, then left to explore the surrounding environs. While still within the city limits, we passed a large cleared
area, on which stood nothing but a church. It seemed oddly out of place- both the church and the large, otherwise unoccupied tract of land.
I asked her about this place, and she told me it was all that was left of District 6.
Please bear with me, because it is essential to give a little history if you are to understand what you are about to read:
Capetown was flooded with new immigrants early in the 1800's, many of whom were blacks, freed from slavery by the British in the 1830's. Most of these people migrated into an area that
came to be known as District 6, a vast, sprawling slum area, ultimately home to more than 150,000 people.
During the period of governmental insanity- known as Apartheid, the white politicians of Capetown decided they didn’t want so many blacks living so close to them. In a scheme under
the contrived label of urban redevelopment, in reality just another way to achieve racial segregation, the white government came into District 6 and ordered everyone to leave. Immediately. Or else. |
