Sunday, May 17, 2015

Saving Bo-Kaap Heritage

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Each of the following poses a Threat to the Bo-Kaap Heritage

1. Some Tour guides and the Red Bus tape recordings mis-represent Bo-Kaap (descendants of slaves, who when they were freed were so happy that they painted their houses bright colours - Plascon technology only succeeded in these bright colours in the 1990's !.)
2. The Many Euro-centric Film Crews  negotiate with self-interest individuals and organisation, against residents wishes, the use of the area as a cheap film location to shoot ads and movies that are contrary to Bo-Kaap Islamic Culture - with deliberate, yet subtle background (obscure distant minarets of mosques) in murder scenes. Often oppressive individuals of the Bo-Kaap community are used as "security" for film shoots in Bo-Kaap - to keep the residents away. The congestion of traffic in the small Bo-Kaap due to film shoots that block areas of access to schools and homes
3. Cape Town City and Heritage Council dragging their feet in declaring Bo-Kaap a heritage site, because of the increasing property market values of Bo-Kaap houses.
4. The fast influx of foreign buyers and renovations for sale purposes, thus Bo-Kaap becoming  progressively empty of residents that stay (Ghost Investment Houses)
5. The increase of wine bottles dirt of non-Muslim residents
6. Increasing music played by non-Muslim residents during prayer times
7. Consistent change of renting occupants that leave their moving dirt in the street
8. The newly South African colourful painting of houses to draw attention of film crews and tourism that allows anti-Muslim, stereotypical individuals to continue their stereotypical agenda of Bo-Kaap people being :"Colourful" their pun for "coloured, uncultured, mixed people"
9. The Slave Route Run that succinctly projects all Bo-Kaap people as descendants of slaves - which can historically and currently be proven that the majority of Bo-Kaap people's ancestors came as Free Burgers, brought in as Craftsmen and women to be employed by the Dutch to build the houses and make their clothes. This allowed them to become property owners, a privilege slaves did not have. It thus currently stands to reason why the property owners can now sell for millions, because they possessed a business sense - unfortunately to the detriment of Bo-Kaap Heritage and the sublte slow removal of the older generation through high rates - thus forcing them to sell - often to foreign bayers who get a good foreign exchange deal.
10. The split in the community caused by those who override property rights due to the issuing of filming permits in Bo-Kaap without the affected residents signatures.
11. The Film office not abiding by the no-filming red areas agreed upon with mosques and private property representatives.
12. Bo-Kaap has recently been used to promote a film that promotes "gayism" with a low-level, skollie element dialect in it , subtly giving Bo-Kaap the "desired image" that stands against the Islamic Culture from which Bo-Kaap originated.