In a comparison that is not entirely accurate, Townships are to Cape Town as Soweto is to Johannesburg. In fact, if you remember back to our visit to Soweto, the name stands for South Western Township. It is the largest and best known township area. Within Cape Town, there were also townships created and, as elsewhere, they were living areas for the non-white population under the apartheid regime. And, like Soweto, they remain although they are no longer legally restricted to non-whites. And much of the area consists of shantytowns as a living reminder of the continuing housing problem in South Africa. In Cape Town, most of the townships are in the area known as the Cape Flats which is to the east of Table Mountain.
As with so many things, it’s important not to look at the townships with American (at least middle / upper class) glasses. And it’s good to remember that while the glass may be either half-empty or half-full, at least there is a glass and some water today.
Let’s start by taking a look at some of the housing that we came across while traveling in Cape Town. In some areas the housing looks fairly new and in good condition although certainly crowded.
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| Decent albeit Crowded Housing |
In another area the housing is not so good, but at least meets the very basic definition of a house although not necessarily to our first world eyes.
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| More Basic Housing |
And then there is the area where the housing really is just walls and a roof, if that.
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| Below Basic Housing |
In some of the places there will be a very basic store.
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| Extremely Basic Neighborhood Store |
If you look at the far right side of the photo, in the middle of the edge, you will see what looks like and is a portable toilet – one of about 8 in a row here, indicating that none of what passes for houses in this area are equipped with toilets. I don’t know if there is electricity or running water.
The current status of housing in Cape Town remains a pressing issue.
See my earlier post on Soweto where I discuss the overall housing issue in South Africa and quote a bit from an opinion by Justice Albie Sachs of the Constitutional Court – perhaps with even more meaning now that you’ve met him.
One of the places which we passed in the area contained two monuments.
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| Monuments in the Townships |
The more colorful one is a display for the Rock Girl Mission which, among its other goals, is to reduce violence against women and girls through the creation of safe spaces, empowering girls to stay in school and encouraging women to become economically independent. The existence and work of such groups as Rock Girl show that many people in South Africa take seriously the reduction of the violence that does exist in the country and is most certainly a legacy of the apartheid history.
The other monument is a memorial to Amy Biehl, a white American student, attending school in South Africa on a Fullbright Scholarship, who was killed in black-on-white violence on August 25, 1993 when she was pulled from her car and stabbed and stoned to death. The four people who were convicted of killing her were given amnesty by the South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission after noting that their actions had been politically motivated. And the decision of the Commission was supported by Biehl’s family. Her father shook the hands of the killers when they were released stating “The most important vehicle of reconciliation is open and honest dialogue … we are here to reconcile a human life which was taken without an opportunity for dialogue. When we are finished with this process we must move forward with linked arms.”
Biehl’s parents, Linda and Peter Biehl, founded the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust to empower township youth to discourage further violence. Two of the men given amnesty by the Commission work for the Foundation Trust. For more on this see: http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-amy21-2008oct21-story.html#page=1
The work of the Commission is generally—although not universally—supported. And it is important to remember the two descriptive words in its title: truth and reconciliation. Part of the work of the Commission, chaired by Archbishop Tutu, was to hear testimony by people of what had happened under the apartheid regime. And the Commission also heard applications for amnesty for past acts – which included both members of the apartheid regime and others.
In evaluating the effect of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I can best refer you to chapter 3 of Albie Sach’s book, The Strange Alchemy of Law and Life. This is a marvelous book for many reasons and is very much like meeting Albie (see previous post). It is especially interesting because (1) Albie is a lawyer who brings his legal mind to the issues involved, (2) Albie was a Constitutional Court Justice who had to consider a case involving the Commission, and (3) Albie had lost an arm and an eye in a bombing engineered by the apartheid regime, and the person who carried out that bombing applied for amnesty from the Commission. The book contains a riveting description of when the perpetrator of the action came to talk with Albie. A similar version of the story also appears in Abby Ginsburg’s documentary Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter.
And not entirely unrelated is a story about where we staying in Cape Town, the Protea Hotel Breakwater Lodge. It is located just above the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (which you actually just go downstairs to get there), pictured below in a photo taken on the boat trip to Robben Island.
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| Victoria and Alfred Waterfront |
The V&A Waterfront is the located in South Africa’s oldest working harbor and is now principally a shopping center with over 450 retail outlets. It is named for Queen Victoria and Prince Alfred, Victoria’s second son, who began construction of the harbor in 1860, and not her consort Prince Albert.
The curious thing about the hotel is that it is in a converted building that once was a prison. The building is now shared with the University of Cape Town business school. If you want proof of both of these facts, see the photo.
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| Protea Hotel Breakwater Lodge / University of Cape Town Business School / Former Prison |
I have been unable to find out further information about the prison. The main restaurant in the hotel is named Stonebreakers but whether that is in recognition of the activity of some prisoners or the action of the incoming ocean surf on the coast is unclear.
Now, onto several programs that we visited in the townships.
Link to Full Resolution Photos
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