Important places associated with Apartheid in South Africa
Copied directly from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robben_Island
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_Six
http://www.districtsix.co.za/
Robben Island
Robben Island (Afrikaans: Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 km west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km².[1] It is flat and only a few metres above sea level, as a result of an ancient erosion event. The island is composed of Precambrian metamorphic rocks belonging to the Malmesbury Group. It is of particular note that it was here that Nobel Laureate and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela and former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe,[2] alongside many other political prisoners, spent 27 years imprisoned during the apartheid era. Among those political prisoners was current South African President Jacob Zuma who was imprisoned there for ten years.
Since the end of the 17th century, Robben Island has been used for the isolation of mainly political prisoners. The Dutch settlers were the first to use Robben Island as a prison. Its first prisoner was probably Harry die strandloper in the mid-17th century. Amongst its early permanent inhabitants were political leaders from various Dutch colonies, including Indonesia, and the leader of the mutiny on the slave ship Meermin. After a failed uprising at Grahamstown in 1819, the fifth of the Xhosa Wars, the British colonial government sentenced African leader Makanda Nxele to life imprisonment on the island .[3] He drowned on the shores of Table Bay after escaping the prison.[4][5]
The island was also used as a leper colony and animal quarantine station.[6] Starting in 1845 lepers from the Hemel-en-Aarde (heaven and earth) leper colony near Caledon were moved to Robben Island when Hemel-en-Aarde was found unsuitable as a leper colony. Initially this was done on a voluntary basis and the lepers were free to leave the island if they so wished.[7] In April 1891 the cornerstones for 11 new buildings to house lepers were laid. After the introduction of the Leprosy Repression Act in May 1892 admission was no longer voluntary and the movement of the lepers was restricted. Prior to 1892 an average of about 25 lepers a year were admitted to Robben Island, but in 1892 that number rose to 338, and in 1893 a further 250 were admitted.[7]
During the Second World War the island was fortified and guns were installed as part of the defences for Cape Town. It was also used as a prison.
Maritime peril
Robben Island as viewed from Table Mountain. The view is roughly to the north-northwest. The distant sandy shore beyond disappears towards Saldanha Bay.
Robben Island and nearby Whale Rock[8] have been the nemesis of many a ship and its crew. The surf of the open Atlantic Ocean thunders continuously at its margins and any vessel wrecked on the reefs offshore is soon beaten to pieces and disappears. In the latter half of the 17th century a Dutch ship laden with gold coins earmarked for the payment of the salaries of employees of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia) disintegrated on these reefs a short distance offshore, in relatively shallow but very restless waters.[citation needed] The gold today would be worth tens of millions of pounds sterling or U.S. dollars. A few coins have washed ashore over the centuries but the treasure itself remains in the ocean. It is protected largely by the almost ceaseless and violent surf. Many other vessels have been wrecked around the island.
Jan van Riebeeck first set a navigation aid at the top of Fire Hill (now Minto Hill), the highest point on the island. Huge bonfires were lit at night to warn VOC ships of the rocks that surround the island. The current Robben Island lighthouse, built on Minto Hill in 1864,[9] is 18 metres (59 ft) high and was converted to electricity in 1938. It is the only South African lighthouse to utilise a flashing light instead of a revolving light. Its light is visible for 24 nautical miles.[10]
Former prison cells on Robben Island
Rock pile started by Nelson Mandela and added to by former prisoners, one rock each, at reunion
List of former prisoners held at Robben Island
Dennis Brutus, former activist and poet
Patrick Chamusso, former activist of the African National Congress
Laloo Chiba, former accused at Little Rivonia Trial
Eddie Daniels , author and activist
Jerry Ekandjo, Namibian politician
Nceba Faku, former Metro Mayor of Port Elizabeth
Petrus Iilonga, Namibian trade unionist, activist and politician
Ahmed Kathrada, former Rivonia Trialist and long-serving prisoner
Langalibalele, one of the first Activists against colonialism
Mosiuoa Lekota, imprisoned in 1974, President and Leader of the Congress of the People
Mac Maharaj, former accused at Little Rivonia Trial
Makana, one of the activists against colonialism
Nelson Mandela, African National Congress leader and former President of South Africa (first black president)
Gamzo Mandierd, activist
Jeff Masemola, the first prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment in the apartheid era
Amos Masondo, current Mayor of Johannesburg
Michael Matsobane, leader of Young African Religious Movement. Sentenced at Bethal in 1979; released by PW Botha in 1987.
Chief Maqoma, former chief who died on the island in 1873
Govan Mbeki, father of former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki. Govan was sentenced to life in 1963 but was released from Robben Island in 1987 by PW Botha
Wilton Mkwayi, former accused at Little Rivonia Trial
Murphy Morobe, Soweto Uprising student leader
Sayed Adurohman Moturu, the Muslim Iman who was exiled on the island and died there in 1754
Griffiths Mxenge, a South African Lawyer and member of the African National Congress
Billy Nair, former Rivonia Trialist and ANC/SACP leader
M. D. Naidoo, a South African lawyer and member of the African National Congress
John ya Otto Nankudhu, Namibian liberation fighter[16]
John Nkosi Serving life but released by PW Botha in 1987
Nongqawuse, the Xhosa prophet responsible for the Cattle Killing
Maqana Nxele, former Xhosa prophet who drowned while trying to escape
John Nyathi Pokela, co-founder and former chairman of the PAC
Joe Seremane, current chairperson of the Democratic Alliance.
Tokyo Sexwale, businessman and aspirant leader of the African National Congress
Gaus Shikomba, Namibian politician
Walter Sisulu, former ANC Activist
Robert Sobukwe, former leader of the PAC
Andimba Toivo ya Toivo, Namibian politician
Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa and leader of the African National Congress
Achmad Cassiem
District Six
District Six (Afrikaans Distrik Ses) is the name of a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. It is best known for the forced removal of over 60,000 of its inhabitants during the 1970s by the apartheid regime.
The area was named in 1867 as the Sixth Municipal District of Cape Town. The District Six neighbourhood is bounded by Sir Lowry Road on the north, Tennant Road to the west, De Waal Drive on the south and Cambridge Street to the east. By the turn of the century it was already a lively community made up of former slaves, artisans, merchants and other immigrants, as well as many Malay peoplebrought to South Africa by the Dutch East India Company during its administration of the Cape Colony. It was home to almost a tenth of the city of Cape Town's population.
After World War II, during the earlier part of the apartheid era, District Six was relatively cosmopolitan. Situated within sight of the docks, it was made up largely of coloured residents which included a substantial number of coloured Muslims, called Cape Malays. There were also a number of black Xhosa residents and a smaller numbers of Afrikaans, whites, and Indians.
Government officials gave four primary reasons for the removals. In accordance with apartheid philosophy, it stated that interracial interaction bred conflict, necessitating the separation of the races. They deemed District Six a slum, fit only for clearance, not rehabilitation. They also portrayed the area as crime-ridden and dangerous; they claimed that the district was a vice den, full of immoral activities like gambling, drinking, and prostitution. Though these were the official reasons, most residents believed that the government sought the land because of its proximity to the city center, Table Mountain, and the harbor.
ANC election poster linking rival parties to the history of forced removals.
On 11 February 1966, the government declared District Six a whites-only area under the Group Areas Act, with removals starting in 1968. By 1982, more than 60,000 people had been relocated to the sandy, bleak Cape Flats township complex some 25 kilometers away. The old houses were bulldozed. The only buildings left standing were places of worship. International and local pressure made redevelopment difficult for the government, however. The Cape Technikon (now Cape Peninsula University of Technology) was built on a portion of District Six which the government renamed Zonnebloem. Apart from this and some police housing units, the area was left undeveloped.
Since the fall of apartheid in 1994, the South African government has recognized the older claims of former residents to the area, and pledged to support rebuilding.
Area
The District 6 area is situated in the city bowl of Cape Town. It is made up of Walmer Estate, Zonnebloem, and Lower Vrede (the former Roeland Street Scheme).[1] Some parts of Walmer Estate like Rochester Street were destroyed and some parts like Cauvin Road were left but the houses demolished. In other parts of Walmer Estate like Worcester Road and Chester Road people were evicted but only a few of the houses destroyed. Most of Zonnebloem was destroyed except for a few schools, churches and mosques. A few houses in the old Constitution street (now Justice Road) were left but the homes sold to white people. This is the case with Bloemhof flats (renamed Skyways). Most of Zonnebloem is owned by the Cape Technikon (which also is built over 50% of the land).
Return
Land claimants at a "hand back" ceremony in District Six, 2001
Arts
Tatamkhulu Afrika wrote the poem "Nothing's Changed", about the evacuation of District Six, and the return after the apartheid.
The District 6 area is situated in the city bowl of Cape Town. It is made up of Walmer Estate, Zonnebloem, and Lower Vrede (the former Roeland Street Scheme).[1] Some parts of Walmer Estate like Rochester Street were destroyed and some parts like Cauvin Road were left but the houses demolished. In other parts of Walmer Estate like Worcester Road and Chester Road people were evicted but only a few of the houses destroyed. Most of Zonnebloem was destroyed except for a few schools, churches and mosques. A few houses in the old Constitution street (now Justice Road) were left but the homes sold to white people. This is the case with Bloemhof flats (renamed Skyways). Most of Zonnebloem is owned by the Cape Technikon (which also is built over 50% of the land).
Return
By 2003, work had started on the first new buildings: 24 houses that will belong to residents over 80 years old. On 11 February 2004, exactly 38 years after the area was rezoned by the government, former president Nelson Mandela handed the keys to the first returning residents, Ebrahim Murat (87) and Dan Ndzabela (82). About 1,600 families were scheduled to return over the next three years.[2]
The Hands Off District Six Committee mobilized to halt investment and redevelopment in District Six after the forced removals. It developed into the District Six Beneficiary Trust, which was empowered to manage the process by which claimants were to get their "land" back (actually a flat or apartment residential space). In November 2006, the Trust broke off negotiations with the Cape Town Municipality. The Trust accused the Municipality (then under a Democratic Alliancemayor) of stalling restitution, and indicated that it preferred to work with the national government, which was controlled by the ANC. In response, DA Mayor Helen Zille questioned the right of the Trust to represent the claimants, as it had never been "elected" by claimants. Some discontented claimants wanted to create an alternative negotiating body to the Trust. However, the historical legacy and "struggle credentials" of most of the Trust leadership made it very likely that it would continue to represent the claimants.
Museum
In 1989 the District Six Museum Foundation was established, and in 1994 the District Six Museum came into being. It serves as a remembrance to the events of the apartheid era as well as the culture and history of the area before the removals. The ground floor is covered by a large street map of District Six, with handwritten notes from former residents indicating where their homes had been; other features of the museum include street signs from the old district, displays of the histories and lives of District Six families, and historical explanations of the life of the District and its destruction. In addition to its function as a museum it also serves as a memorial to a decimated community, and a meeting place and community center for Cape Town residents who identify with its history.Arts
With his short novel A Walk in the Night (1962), the well-known Capetonian journalist and writer Alex La Guma gave District Six a place in literature.
South African painters, such as Kenneth Baker, Gregoire Boonzaier and John Dronsfield are recognised for capturing something of the spirit of District Six on canvas.[4]
In 1973, Adam Small and Chris Jansen combined to make coffee table book with Jansen's photographs of District 6 and the demolition of it, with moving poems by well-known poet and writer, Adam Small. The book was published by Human and Rousseau.
In 1986, Richard Rive wrote a highly-acclaimed novel called Buckingham Palace, District Six, which chronicles the lives of a community before and during the removals. This book has also been adapted into successful theatre productions which toured South Africa.
In 1986, District Six – The Musical by David Kramer and Taliep Petersen told the story of District Six in a popular musical which also toured internationally.[5] In 1997 Pamela Jooste wrote her wellknown book,"Dance with a poor Man's daughter". It is the story of District 6 as experienced by an intelligent little girl who lived there. District Six also contributed mightily to the distinguished history of South African jazz. Basil Coetzee, known for his song "District Six", was born there and lived there until its destruction. Before leaving South Africa in the 1960s, pianistAbdullah Ibrahim lived nearby and was a frequent visitor to the area, as were many other cape jazz musicians. Ibrahim described the area to The Guardian as a "fantastic city within a city...", explaining, "[W]here you felt the fist of apartheid it was the valve to release some of that pressure. In the late 50s and 60s, when the regime clamped down, it was still a place where people could mix freely. It attracted musicians, writers, politicians at the forefront of the struggle. We played and everybody would be there." [6]
South African writer Rozena Maart, currently resident in Canada, won the Canadian Journey Prize for her short story "No Rosa, No District Six". That story was later published in her debut collection Rosa's District Six.
South African singer/songwriter Warwick Lobban wrote about District Six in his song "The Town".
District Six was also the album title of industrial group Amphibious Assault. The lyrics "You can take the people out of the heart of District Six but you'll never take District 6 out of the heart of the people" were used in the album on the title track.
District 9 is a 2009 science fiction film produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Neill Blomkamp. Although set in an alternate Johannesburg, it is inspired by the events surrounding District Six.
District Six Museum
District Six Museum
