I live in a street where my neighbours are somali, ghanaian, malay and from countries as far afield as Djibouti.
As much as the Bo Kaap used to be called the 'malay quarter', there is fair amount of people from other african countries living here. Cape Town has always been a vibrant mixture of traditions, cultures and influence which was supressed during Apartheid. I love watching the social landscape of the city evolve as cape town embraces its 'africaness' once again.
Great portait,
the sentiments of your story come through
in the composition, the boys expression and the South Africa T.
However I don't share the same positive attitude; I don't think we are truly embracing our Africanness or our African brothers and sisters. Maybe in BoKaap, yes. But we have a long way to go.
I agree we have a long way to go - but things are changing nontheless...
Lovely portrait.
I agree with Buchu, Cape Town still turns its back to all these other african cultures, it might be changing but in a very conservative way and at a very slow pace. As for the Bokaap, I think they embrace people from other african countries as long as they are muslim, the whole malay cultural richness has been reduced to a religious group, if they were to defend their culure it would probably be a good start to embrace change and external influences, not by isolating itself from the city lika an indigenous reserve, closed in itself, trying to defend traditions and values that clash with their own past and history.
@ buchu and uno
I hear what you're both saying and can't disagree - esp @ uno's comments about bokaap's residents only accepting people into their community who are muslim.
I don't want to defend the bokaap community here, but wonder whether some of the reluctance to accept 'outsiders' comes from the threat of gentrification....
But isn't the threat of gentrification coming from both muslims and non muslims? Maybe even more from some of the wealthy local muslims, because perhaps they feel they "own" the place or because of their economic power and religious influence?
Good example of gentrification: the hotel targetted at wealthy muslims on the corner of Wale and Buitengracht.
*looks up "gentrification" …
*got it.
*jumps in
my 2¢:
… I don't know anything 'bout a BoKaap or the current status quo of cultures and diversity of Cape Town, I've only seen a bit, so if my argument sounds wack, I apologise for my ignorance.
So, here is the thing: I do not think it is possible to "accept" other cultures whereas one is not yet in tune their own. South/Africans are, still, separated by what is defined as "tribes, ethnicity" (aside: I don't subscribe to these notions, I find them colonial).
I do think the first wave will be South/Africans being South/Africans and accepting that — but it is also possible that South/Africans might actually only be willing to accept that they are in fact not South/Africans but Africans — and there lies my hope that South/Africans (as defined by, once again, colonial borders) will focus on defining themselves as Africans that live in the South of Africa.
*disclaimer: I know nothing of anthropology — but I'll tell one thing: meeting a South/African outside of South/Africa (ipso facto: meeting anybody from Africa whilst outside of the continent) is a beautiful thing (I don't know if this adds meat to my dialogue or not, but sharing is caring no?)
*returns to eating.
*bow
beautiful portrait
