Cape Town is not my city of birth and for some that will eternally mean I am not a ' real' Capetonian. In the words of Simba from the Lion King " Ha ha ha I laugh in the face if danger" :)
But Jokes aside, there is a richness and sadness to the History of Cape Town in particular which falls obviously into the wider and greater History of our beautiful and sad country. Much of this history rich with tales of slavery and war I read from the pages of my biased History book at school. So it is thrilling to me to be living here now and so being able to try and discover for myself the richness and, aroma the colours and beauty of Cape Town and some of its history.
Distict Six lies at the foot of the famous Table and is a prime and greatly situated piece of land. Each time we drive to the Waterfront the scar where once homes and hustle and bustle of a very rich life lies open like the wound it created in the hearts and minds of so many who once lived there. In the 1950's , when the then
Apartheid government decided to pass the Group Areas Act in so doing with the stroke of a pen created a monster . We live with that monster lurking and laughing as it is dragged and scratched from the law books but sadly not so easily from the tragic experience of those who used to live there.
Some jolting reminders of the reality of the country of my birth. A land I love very deeply. A country I feel ashamed because of the past. A country with so much beauty and hope for the future. During the 90's Doug and I were very much politically minded and he was involved in the then ANC. It was a very, very exciting time for us. The old days were on the way out and we stood on the cusp of the birth of a new country. Freedom and democracy stood tall and proud and it was a glorious day indeed. We gathered with thousands in Pretoria to experience the incorporation of President Nelson Mandela and we wept and sang for joy. Long gone were the days of bombs and death. Days were prejudge and segregation ruled and brought with them brutality and murder. Gone were the days where the state killed its citizens and people lived with terror and fear. We had passed from politically darkness into political light and it felt and seemed so good. Indeed it was good!
But I am diverging somewhat. My son in grade 5 is learning about population and in his studies there was a section on District six and the Group Areas Act. We decided to Google some stuff about District Six and this set me off. The old activist was back and I was once again in that place where those very deep reminders of the country I grew up in loomed so large again. In some ways I am grateful for these reminders. Like when Doug and I watched The Bang Bang Club last week. A great movie full of history and reality and yet so enormously painful to watch. We were transported back to that time and once again we said , " we just forget how absolutely awful this country was"........... It disturbed us for days afterward.
I end with this. This week our new democratic government passed a new bill on information. It is a difficult bill to understand and so I will not lay claim to being clear on all its ins and outs. I have listened to the debate and tried to glean form ANC stalwarts like Ben Turock what he does not feel comfortable with. I have listened to the voice of reason from Doug who sees past all the emotion and cuts to the core. I am still confused about the bill but am clearer on what should happen.
That is we should rejoice and be glad. That might sound strange to some because should this bill be implemented it does not bode well on all fronts and it was indeed a black Tuesday and yet.... and yet we should be glad. Over that week we had some great debate and people were able to voice their concerns. ( Hopefully not for the last time;) ) I rejoice because we no longer live in a place where laws exist to divide us and break us . We do not live in a country where civil war rules in Soweto and Kagiso and Thembis and Alex. We do not live in a country were people are forcebly removed from the foothills of the Table to the Cape Flats just because they have a dark skin. I realise this is simplistic but sometimes I wonder if we remember where we were..
South Africa is not a perfect Democracy. It has enormous problems which are depressing and concerning. But I thank Jesus for his mercy on us. While we were still sinners he died for us so that we could be reunited with him. Because he rules we are able to experience relative peace and gain some real healing in relationships where the past broke and Jesus has healed.
Nkosi Sikele IAfrika - God Bless Africa..... hear our cry.
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