We started our second day in Cape Town by going to the open market to do some shopping. At the open market there were hand crafted bracelets and necklaces, paintings by local artist, African mask, purses, and African clothing. While we were at this market I was told by Sedick our driver, that majority of the people selling the things at the open market were not South Africans, they were people from other African countries. I found that interesting and I began to wonder, why South Africans were not partaking in this business. After shopping at the open market we went to the District Six Museum.
We were given a tour of the museum by Linda Fortune. Mrs. Fortune is the author of a book titled The House on Thyne Street which talks about Mrs. Fortune’s childhood in District Six. District Six was a neighborhood in Cape Town that was diverse in race, religion, and labor. It was a community with close relationships. District Six was destroyed during the time of apartheid and families were removed from the area and placed in townships or other areas in Cape Town. Once District Six was destroyed it became a white’s only neighborhood. In the museum Mrs. Fortune told us about how she remembered District Six and why it was destroyed, she also took us to the area that District Six was located and described what was in the area.
After seeing District Six, Mrs. Fortune took us to Oudekraal to see the caves that many people lived in during apartheid and the area where her family had their getaways. It was very nice to be able to see Ms. Fortune talk about District Six. To be able to hear her talk about District Six and see her emotion as she was reminiscing about her time at District Six and Oudekrall is something my classmates and I will never forget. We were able to see certain things she talked about in her book with our own eyes which was fascinating.
-Gloria
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