[imagesource:ashrafhendricks]

The Bo-Kaap features prominently on the City of Cape Town’s website, inviting tourists to visit the historic area, which was home to many Muslims after the abolition of slavery, and remains home to many Muslims today.

The City wants people to visit the “distinctive colourful houses, cobbled streets and calls to prayer that provide a unique Cape experience”.

I had the privilege of being a resident of the Bo-Kaap for just over a year, and I can tell you that the constant influx of tourists and sight-seers was irritating at best, and disruptive at worst.

At least the area was left for the most part to the community – a close, wonderful community made up of the most welcoming people that I’ve encountered in all of my years living in Cape Town. It’s a community that has been protesting the gentrification of their home since June this year – protests that, judging by the events of this week, have fallen on deaf ears.

News24 reported back in June on the plight of residents – some who have lived there for generations – who, unable to pay the exponential rates in the area, are forced to move to the outskirts of the city. It’s a way to forcibly remove people from their homes and their communities, thinly veiled under the guise of the law. The construction of high-rise buildings further impacts the culture and heritage of the area, slowly erasing it.

Residents of the Bo-Kaap gathered this week to peacefully protest construction company Blok, who plan on erecting a major development on 40 Lion Street.

On Tuesday, five people were arrested after an altercation with police and private security following the escort of a crane to the building site against the wishes of the community.

The protest descended into violence when police and private security used force, including rubber bullets and stun grenades, to disperse the crowd, reports News24.

On Wednesday, a handful of elderly people waited peacefully for hours for the removal of the crane, which was eventually forced to leave.

“Allah has granted us a short victory. Our fight is going to continue,” Bo-Kaap Collective leader Shafwaan Loubscher said.

“Our fight is not going to stop here, we will continue with our fight for the liberation of Bo-Kaap. Our fight against anti-gentrification will continue.”

The Muslim Judicial Society has expressed its shock at “the blatant display of police brutality toward the elderly residents of Bo-Kaap”.

As you can see, emotions are running high:

The community has called for the area to be declared a heritage site, but have thus far been unsuccessful. The Muslim Judicial Society says that “it is for this reason that the residents have decided to peacefully protest – a right enshrined in the Bill of Rights – against gentrification in the area”.

The violence inflicted on the protesters, coupled with the write-up about the Bo-Kaap on the City of Cape Town website, sends a message loud and clear – the City is more concerned with the acquisition of wealth than the well-being of the people, the history of this country, or its heritage.

[sources:news24&news24]