Molo: In the heart of the city by Cape Town Partnership

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december 2016

A PROJECT OF THE CAPE TOWN PARTNERSHIP Molo | Hello | Goeiedag o

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TASTE Map

Around the world in a city block PAGE 8&9

Straight talk

Do we still believe in the rainbow nation? PAGE 12

story of a square Yesterday, today and tomorrow

In the heart of the city Meet Church Square

Author Sean Christie discovers a portal to another world

10 things to do on your lunch break in Church Square

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PAGES 4&5

Sleepless in Cape Town

What is it like to spend 24 hours on the square? PAGES 11

www.capetownpartnership.co.za

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MOLO december 2016

EDITORIAL

Molo. Hello. Goeiedag. Molo is a free community paper, focused on the people of Cape Town, and published by the Cape Town Partnership. Created by: Ambre Nicolson, Kaylon Koeries, Dave Buchanan, Nadia Krige, Maxine Case, Quasiem Gamiet, Alex O’Donoghue. Published by: Cape Town Partnership 34 Bree Street T: 021 419 1881

SEND US YOUR STORIES If you or someone you know has an interesting story to tell, mail us at molo@capetownpartnership.co.za (no press releases, please).

WHERE TO FIND MOLO If you or your organisation would like to receive or distribute the print publication, please mail us at molo@capetownpartnership.co.za. Include your postal address and the number of copies you’d like to receive. Every month, we’ll continue the conversations we start in the print edition of Molo online at www.capetownpartnership.co.za.

Contact the creators of Molo:

@CTPartnership #Molo

Email: molo@capetownpartnership.co.za Tel: 021 419 1881 www.facebook.com/molocapetown Molo, Cape Town Partnership, 10th Floor, The Terraces, 34 Bree Street, 8001

a sense of connection

hen I first moved to Cape Town in 1999, I encountered Church Square as a rundown parking lot. Thankfully, the City of Cape Town was already in the process of recognising the importance of placemaking in public spaces, and acknowledging the heritage value of the square’s troubled history. In 2005, the Cape Town Partnership officially began discussions with various City departments on ways to regenerate and reclaim the space. With the intent to create a multi-functional greenspace for public gathering and socialising, preparations for physical improvements began. The Partnership played a role in communicating with local stakeholders. Forums and individual meetings were arranged, and Old Mutual came on board as a key private-sector sponsor. On 24 September 2008 – Heritage Day – Cape Town’s then-Executive Mayor, Helen Zille, unveiled a memorial on Church Square, commissioned by the City to honour the contribution made by slaves to the culture of our city, and to remember their suffering. The memorial comprises 11 polished black granite blocks, engraved with names of several hundred slaves who were brought to the Cape from 1658 onwards. Looking at these pieces by Gavin Younge and Wilma Cruise, I am at once reminded that this square was said to have originally served as the graveyard of the church that gave it its name. I don’t know what the future holds for Church Square. What I do know is that future iterations and enhancements will come about through collaboration. I suggest that as in the

Where the city’s tangled history and its unknown future can exist side by side.

past, these changes will be the fruits of publicprivate partnerships, made in consultation with the people who use the square daily: the Congolese nationals who meet there to share news of home; locals who trace their roots back to the very slaves sold there; those whose ancestors toiled in the silk factory that gave neighbouring Spin Street its name; the residents and workers nearby; and of course, the officials and congregation of the Groote Kerk – the oldest church and congregation in the country. When I think of my hopes for this space in our city, I think about Abdullah Ibrahim’s transcendent performance on Church Square in January this year. While Abdullah’s agents only allowed us to let the cat out of the bag the day before, I was humbled by the nearly three hundred Capetonians and visitors who gathered there early to hear him play. For 45 minutes, office workers, pedestrians, car guards, tourists and music lovers were united in an almost silent appreciation of the maestro’s talent. For me, the true diversity was in the range of ages represented on the square that day – from babies in prams and toddlers, to the octogenarians who shared with strangers their memories of the first time they saw him play. This, then, is my true vision for the square: as a meeting place, a connecting place; where the city’s tangled history and its unknown future can exist side by side, in accord and appreciation. Finally, thank you to Urban Lime for their support in producing this issue of Molo Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana

shorts

10 things to get done on Church Square Here are nine errands – and one mini-adventure – that you can tick off your to-do list; all within sight of the Onze Jan statue.

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Post a letter

Courier services, stationery supplies, internet access, printing and copying can all be found here. This can be a lifesaver when hardware fails, or when you run out of copies of your CV while job-hunting; or when you just need to access your email in a hurry. PostNet Shop 1, Mostert Street 021 426 0136

Get your eyes checked

Mullers Optometrist is one of the oldest family businesses in the city. They have been going for 125 years, and the company is still run by the descendants of Joseph Muller, who arrived in Cape Town from Germany in 1890. Mullers Optometrist 104 Longmarket Street 021 461 6254

Take care of your dirty laundry

Nannucci Dry Cleaners was founded by Oreste Nannucci from Florence in Italy, who opened the first branch in Long Street in 1879. These days Nannucci offers laundry, dry cleaning, shoe repair, garment repair and alteration, and dyeing. Nannucci Dry Cleaners Shop 2, Parliament Towers, Plein Street 021 465 5127

Discover a vintage gem

Read for a worthy cause

This little store is full of interesting vintage finds like clothing and other second-hand odds and ends. What’s more, all the profits earned go towards supporting youth centres in rural areas. Help The Rural Child 39 Adderley Street

The Bookery is a non-profit that not only sells books but also accepts book donations, which they use to pursue their goal of putting a library in every school in South Africa. Let go of those dusty novels you haven’t touched in years, or find new worlds to escape to on a lazy afternoon in the square. The Bookery 69 Plein Street, Cape Town, 8001 021 461 4189

IN SHORT

COLUMN

From Cape to Dar in Church Square Church Square might look like a European piazza but according to author Sean Christie, the city’s squarest square can still take you places.

visit to any of Cape Town’s historical squares tends to put me in mind of the Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks of my youth – in which the reader becomes the protagonist, electing at the end of each passage whether to continue the story on page 9, or 99, or 139. Cape Town’s squares, likewise – crucibles of characters, cultures and economic activities – contain a multitude of narrative options, many of which lead beyond the nation’s borders to little-known corners of the African continent. At first glance, Church Square, lying below the feet of Parliament, would seem the exception. With its cool grey cobbles (more properly called ‘cropped granite setts’), and its border of historical buildings, Church aspires to the picturesque platzes, plazas and piazzas of Europe. For this reason, the area has proven popular as a location for film shoots and TV ads; but it lacks the intricate social ecology of counterparts Greenmarket Square and the Grand Parade. Long gone are the days in which Cape Town slaves congregated here under the ‘slave tree’, watching the Dutch East India Companyappointed hondenflager (dog whipper) set about ravening packs of wild dogs. A few restaurants and cafés

opened off the thoroughfare a few years back, but high winds and a dearth of parking soon closed their doors. But on good-weather days folks congregate over the lunch hour, drawn by free Wi-Fi and comfortable public seating. Make no mistake though, Cape Town’s square Square can still take you in some interesting directions. One of the richer portals lies on the western edge, alongside the Groote Kerk: a small hair and beauty salon called ‘Cape To Dar’. On entering, my first impression is of political chit-chat amid the buzz of hair clippers. A female Democratic Alliance MP is engaged in a three-way conversation with her stylist and an African National Congress backbencher. The topic? Tanzanian president John Magufuli, who was elected to office in 2015 and wasted no time in clamping down hard on endemic corruption; though not without constraining some civil liberties. A better analysis of the merits and pitfalls of his bulldozer approach I am unlikely to hear. “We get a lot of politicians in here,” explains Yusuph, the salon’s 42-year-old owner. “Some of them know Tanzania from when they were in the camps there in the 60s and 70s; but most come because they like the wigs and extensions I import from home, which are different

Long gone are the days in which Cape Town slaves congregated here under the ‘slave tree’ from what others sell. They also like our imported khangas and shukas,” he says, pointing to a wall hung with Maasai clothing items. A cool cat, is Yusuph – he observes people closely, and with great self-containment. He left Tanzania at the age of 20, travelling overland through Malawi, Zambia and Namibia. At the Noordoewer border post on the Orange River, he was told that Cape Town was the nearest major city, and for this reason alone he continued on to the southern edge of the continent, where he survived for many years doing odd jobs in the construction industry. He opened Cape to Dar in 2011, and today employs seven people. Ibbi is his longest-serving stylist – known to clients as ‘Rasta’, on account of his slender will.i.am dreads. Like Yusuph, Ibbi grew up in the vast Dar es Salaam township of Magomeni; though Yusuph was from the posher parts of Magomeni Mapipa, in which

Church Square, known by some as the “Masabo Picnic Centre”.

Julius Nyerere lived for a time, whereas Ibbi lived nearer to the unplanned and extremely violent slum of Mburahati. Between ’99 and ’03, Ibbi had tried his hand at cinematography, helping to produce the film Usia (‘dying wish’), which didn’t do anything; and for a few years after that, he cut some musical tracks with a young relative of Fido Vato, lead rapper for the Arusha-based Vatoloco Soldiers. This didn’t do anything for Ibbi either, but it wasn’t the end of the world. Hairdressing (a skill Ibbi had picked up in ’04) paid the bills then, as now. What is Church Square to you,

I asked him; and does the place have any significance for the broader Tanzanian community in Cape Town? “It’s my place of work,” he said. “For others, Church Square is a place to come and chill. Some even call this place ‘Masabo Picnic Centre’, after a famous bar in Tanzania which has open space like this, and some trees.”

Sean Christie is the author of Under Mandela Boulevard: Life Among the Stowaways published in 2016 by Jonathan Ball Publishers.

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buy some midnight meds

Be a tourist in your home town

make a meal with some art

stock up on storage

braid your hair

Litekem started out as Nitekem Allnite in the early fifties – back then, it was the only 24-hour pharmacy in the city. They are now open until 11pm every day of the year, and offer free delivery on weekdays until 6pm. Litekem Pharmacy 24 Darling St 021 461 8040

The Iziko Slave Lodge is one of the city’s oldest buildings, and has had a diverse range of uses. It now serves to educate, highlighting the harsh lives of slaves in the colony and raising awareness on human rights. Iziko Slave Lodge Corner of Adderley and Wale Streets 021 467 7229

This hard to define space is a gallery by day and a swanky eatery by night. The gallery has played host to a diverse range of artists, you are sure to be inspired no matter your taste. 6 Spin Street 021 461 0666

This family owned store stocks homeware items, storage containers and furniture. Perfect if you have just moved in or if you want to spruce up your place. They have been open for just over a year and have a variety of interesting items and decor. Queen Home 115 Longmarket Street 0616757389

This aptly named informal, little hole-in-the-wall space offers a variety of beauty and nail services, including weaves and braids in every imaginable colour. Nail & Beauty 111 Longmarket Street 078 042 2849

MOLO december 2016

in history

The making of Church Square

Author Maxine Case traces the history of this public space – from garden plot, to slave market, to city square. Images: Urban Lime

hen I was a child, I enjoyed digging in my grandmother’s garden for treasure. Back then, my finds consisted largely of glass, and fragments of crockery. Still, in my eyes the glass became diamonds, and the crockery hinted at greater riches to be found – a whole cup, a teapot. It’s fair to say that I’ve always been interested in excavating the past, probably well before I knew what this meant. More recently, I wrote a book on slavery, which meant that Church Square has been in my consciousness. While I know that the significance of Church Square extends beyond slavery, it is to colonial accounts that we must resort in order to trace the specific history of the area now known as Church Square.

What’s in a name? This piece of land is regarded as one of three tracts of land around which the burgeoning Cape Colony developed, shortly after Jan van Riebeeck arrived in April 1652 under instruction from the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Van Riebeeck’s orders were to build a fort and a hospital, to cultivate fruit and vegetables, including grain, and to procure cattle by trading with the Khoi tribes in and around the settlement. His first ordinance, promulgated at a Council meeting on 8 April 1652, announced the building of the fort.

But first, a fort According to Cape Town: The Making of a City (Nigel Worden et al), “The 1652 occupation was a pre-emptive move to exclude the English, with whom the Dutch were at open war”. Located halfway between Europe and the East, and with the availability of fresh drinking water and the potential for procuring meat from the Khoi, Table Bay was of strategic value to the trading superpowers of the day. But the fort was also intended to keep the Khoi out of the settlement. In the instructions given to Van Riebeeck prior to his departure from Holland, the VOC directors wrote about the need to build a defence post, against both potential trade rivals and “the natives, who are a very rough lot”. Work on both the fort and the garden began within the first month of the colonialists’ arrival, with Van Riebeeck writing to the Company directors in a dispatch dated 31 December 1653 that the fort had been completed. Built largely of clay, the fort was never very stable – nor much of a fortification, for that matter. In 1665, the Company instructed Van Riebeeck to build a stone castle. Construction commenced in 1666, and the Castle was completed in 1679.

the authors (Mary Patrick, Tony Manhire and Harriet Clift) write: “Deeds confirm that the creation of the Square was deliberate, and that granting of so-called ‘huis’ erven took place at the same time that the Church was completed” – in 1704.

Place of residence

A slave carrying water in the shadow of the original church before it was rebuilt.

Church cemetery to city square The Castle was also the location of a church and cemetery. But in 1667, a decision was made to stop burying people in the Castle, and a site – an abandoned garden plot, near the Company’s Garden – was found for a new church to be built. In 1678 the foundations of the new church were laid; while in 1679, foundations were laid for the building of a new Slave Lodge – an imposing edifice, without windows, meant to house the Company’s slaves. This brick building was constructed adjacent to the old lodge, which had been gutted in August 1679.

Parliament Street circa 1920

Meanwhile, in 1682, work began on the Company Hospital, situated at the bottom end of the Company’s Garden. In 1699, part of the unused garden plots at the end of the Company’s Garden were granted to Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel, his brother Frans, and to Samuel Elsevier, a Company official. According to a report commissioned by the City of Cape Town’s Urban Design Unit and completed in January 2006, Church Square was consciously created as an open space that gave access to the Church. In the report,

The Groote Kerk was enlarged in 1781, and the original cruciform (cross) design made way for a rectangular shape. By this time, Church Square was a residential area. Says genealogist and historian June McKinnon, referencing Cornelius Pama’s Vintage Cape Town, “In the north-east corner, the VOC built an impressive house as the residence of the Secunde, Otto Henny, who entertained Captain Cook there with Omai, a Tahitian, who caused quite a stir because the populace had never seen a South Seas Islander before.”

Slave market Given its proximity to the Slave Lodge and other institutions associated with the Company, the history of Church Square is irretrievably linked to slavery. Historians remind us that the Cape was a slave society, in that slavery was not one of a few sources of labour; it was the labour force. Indeed, Van Riebeeck’s first request to the Company was for slaves; and while this request was

The history of Church Square is irretrievably linked to slavery.

feature

On nights when the square is deserted, I imagine the space as it must once have been, long before the first Europeans set foot on the land at the bottom of Africa: where Khoisan herders gathered their beasts for the walk home after a long day’s grazing.

Church Square before the cobbles and the cars.

not granted until five years later, he procured slaves from passing ships in the interim. During this time, 38 male and 37 female slaves were co-opted from a Portugese slaver en route from Angola to Brazil by the crew of the Dutch Amersfoort, and remained at the Cape. Shortly afterwards, the Hasselt landed 228 slaves from Angola, who Van Riebeeck described as “attractive, sturdily built and cheerful”. For the duration of the VOC’s rule – from 1652 to 1806, with a break between 1795 and 1803 during which time the Cape was occupied by the British – more than 65 000 slaves were brought to the Cape, with the Company the largest slave-holder. Slaves were said to have been sold under a fir tree in Church Square. Today, a plaque on a busy traffic island marks the spot where this tree, felled in 1916, once stood. While slaves had little leisure time, they accompanied their masters to church, conveying them in sedan chairs, driving their carriages, or carrying their heavy Bibles. Since the Christian faith was for the most part denied to slaves, in the belief that Christians could not be enslaved, they waited in the rain and sun while their masters worshipped. In addition to slaves, it’s said that Church Square was popular with the town’s dogs – so much so that a dog-whipper needed to be employed. More recently, this popularity has been attributed to the Square’s proximity to the church cemetery, especially during the smallpox plague of 1755, which saw many hasty burials!

Remembering the dead With the site’s morbid history, it’s easy to believe the stories that it was once a burial ground – part of the Groote Kerk’s cemetery. Not so, according to the findings of the Archaeological Impact Assessment undertaken in December 2005 on behalf of the City. Six test pits were dug to depths of between 110cm and 120cm, on various parts of the square. While no human remains were found, material uncovered by the digs included animal bone fragments and incomplete teeth, ceramic pieces, remnants of red bricks, broken clay pipe stems, seashells, “and a single piece of ostrich eggshell”. However, these are thought to have been transported from elsewhere in the city and used as landfill, in order to raise the square above the water level. These days when I think of Church Square, I like to think of it as a place of connection. On nights when the square is deserted, I imagine the space as it once must have been, long before the first Europeans set foot on the land at the bottom of Africa: where Khoisan cattle herders gathered their beasts for the walk home at the end of a long day’s grazing. Perhaps they’d stop of an evening, exchanging news of the masted ships spotted powering into Table Bay, or of debris washed ashore – the Cape had long been known as the Cape of Storms, for a reason. Perhaps they’d discuss family concerns, or cattle sickness and other pestilence. Or perhaps this was a gentler time, when a young man could croon his admiration for a woman who caught his eye. Maxine’s novel, Softness of the Lime, will be published by Umuzi in July 2017.

An illustration of the facade of the Groote Kerk.

A late 19th century or early 20th century view of the eastern side of Church Square.

MOLO december 2016

city map

Who is Church Square? Illustration by Quasiem Gamiet

The Resident Name: Gareth Pearson Job: Entrepreneur and urbanist, partner Thursdays Projects Time on Church Square: Around 3 years through First Thursdays, I have also worked at Spin Street House for two years, and lived a few steps from the square for four months. Duration of commute: 30 seconds “More than anything else, the free Wi-Fi on the square has significantly changed how it is used. Where the square would have been void of life at night, it is now not uncommon to see a dozen people using the Wi-Fi at 11pm at night. It has made the square feel a lot safer late at night. The square should remain a space for diverse groups of people to come together, although it would be nice to see more women and children use the space. If Spin Street was traffic calmed and the square extended right across to the building edge, it would make it a lot more comfortable a space. Cafés and bars in the current vacant spaces on the edge of the square would definitely lead to more vibrant use of it. That said, I’d hate to see the existing shop, hair salon and other existing businesses being priced out of that space. It is these businesses and communities that make this part of town so unique and so active.”

The Tenant Name: Robert Mulders Job: Owner at 6 Spin Time on Church Square: Over 5 years Duration of commute: 30 minutes “I like the unpredictability of the square, and hope it stays this way. I feel like making any sort of permanent installation would spoil this. It’s an open space in which things are possible. It would be nice if one or two of the ground-floor shops in the Piazza or Speaker’s Corner could be activated – maybe with a coffee shop or restaurant. “Since we opened here in 2010, the square has changed mainly in regard to the people who use it. There are many Congolese and Somalians who have businesses in the area. I wouldn’t want to see this area being gentrified, as this would push these communities out – communities who are actually making a good contribution to the economy of the area.”

The Property Owner Name: Jonny Friedman Job: Founder, Urban Lime Time on Church Square: Three years “The history of the square is unforgiving,

The urban theorist David Harvey wrote that “we individually and collectively make the city through our daily actions … in return, the city makes us.” If cities are a reflection of the people who live and work there, then who is Church Square in 2016?

Feature

painful and brutal, which has come through strongly in our research. Interestingly, despite the slave block monuments and Slave Lodge Museum, most people still don’t have any real knowledge of what happened here; but many have reported an overwhelming sense of sadness. We are strong believers that the past vibrates in the present, that this past is part of the complex personality of any place with substance – and that educating, communicating and honouring the past, no matter how shameful or inhumane it may have been, is important in allowing humanity to move forward and continue to evolve towards a better future. We have carefully considered the

sensitive past of the square, which is central to our communications.”

The minister Name: Riaan De Villiers Job: Minister at Die Groote Kerk Time on Church Square: 2009-2014 as Youth Worker and 2014-2016 as Minister Duration of commute: 10 minutes “The church and the square are both public

spaces, for public worship and public gathering – spaces that were not always accessible to all. Spaces that symbolise different things for different people. The Groote Kerk congregation have gathered for worship at the current location since 1704. It has played an integral and central part in the story and development of Cape Town as a city. “It is an open space that needs to be utilised to create opportunities for the people of our city to engage with one another, and tell stories of our past, and dream of our future. We hope that as we journey together as a young democracy, that both the church and the square could become hopeful symbols of unity, justice and reconciliation for a new (and for the older) generation.”

The Commuter Name: Marcela Guerrero Casa Job: Co-founder of Open Streets Time on Church Square: Two years Duration of commute: 10 minutes “When I look at Church Square (and I go past it every single morning, on my bike), I see a beautiful space; often used by people sitting on benches, or congregating to talk. It is those small moments that bring the square to life – and which, I guess, we need to multiply. In that line of thinking, I guess more seating would be helpful; but frankly, what we need is more people inhabiting the spaces nearby, so that ‘spilling’ onto the square is a natural phenomenon. Having said that, the performances that have taken place (e.g. Abdullah Ibrahim’s video shoot, and the many art pieces you guys have organised) really enhance the space. I remember once seeing a group of school children playing games; so orchestrating a bit of activity can also go a long way.”

The Trader Name: Mohammed Abdi Job: Stall owner Time on Church Square: 7 years on the square, two as owner of the stall Duration of commute: One hour “This stall has been here for seven years, and I have worked here for two of those years. In a way, I feel like I see everything that happens here, and I know a lot of people because, every day from 6am, I’m here, on the street. Everyone knows me. They call me ‘Antonio’, because I like the soccer player Antonio Rice too much! I come from Somalia, but really I am from Kenya, because I grew up there, in a refugee camp. My wife is South African, and our three children; but I can’t get an ID, so it’s hard for me to find any other kind of work. I recently asked the owners of the building across the way if I could rent that space that is to let, but they said no – it is only for a coffee shop, not for a convenience store. And I asked them, why? When there are already so many coffee shops here on this square, why would we need another one? But they never answered me.”

The worker Name: Nolundi Cima Job: Manager at Bread, Milk & Honey Time on Church Square: 12 years Duration of commute: More than two hours “This place has been good for me. I like how everyone here is friendly, and it is so

safe here. It takes me a long time to get here though, more than two hours every morning, because I must take a taxi and a bus from where I live in Mitchells Plain.”

The curator Name: Esther Esmyol Job: Curator: Social History Collections, Iziko Museums of South Africa Time on Church Square: I started working at the former South African Cultural History Museum (SACHM) at the top of Adderley Street (today the Iziko Slave Lodge) exactly 30 years ago. Duration of commute: In the past I used to travel by car, but these days I use the MyCiti bus service, which is very convenient, taking about an hour of travelling, including the use of a connecting feeder bus from the Civic Centre to either Darling Street, or the top of Adderley Street. “I think information about the history of the Square is needed, as people don’t know much about the buildings surrounding the Square, or the significance of the memorials in the area. From old maps and photographs of Cape Town, I’ve learnt a lot about the history of the Square and what this part of the city looked like in the past. The Square took its name from the Dutch Reformed Church or Groote Kerk. The Church’s graveyard was situated between the Church and the Slave Lodge, which is the reason for the original name of Parliament Street as Graave or Grave Street. Spin Street was named after the short-lived zijde spinnerij or silk spinning works housed in a building at the corner of Spin and Plein Streets during the early 18th century. It is believed that slave children from the Lodge worked there during the afternoons. After serving as a parking area for motor vehicles for just over a hundred years, Church Square was recently paved and turned into an open urban space. The area generally is taking on a more culturally diverse character reflecting in turn the changes in the country. Some seating and greenery has been introduced and on occasion performance art enlivens the Square.”

The agent Name: Joy Millar Job: Commercial Property Broker (CBD), Swindon Property Group Time on Church Square: On and off for a decade. Duration of commute: I drive into Town from home and then walk or cycle all over the City. It takes me eight minutes to walk from my office on Bree Street. “Church Square has gone through waves over the years, from a purely office and commercial node until the mid 2000’s to a massive residential uptake around the square which brought on the demand for an Afro-European style public space activation for everyone to enjoy. This in turn, is now driving the new wave of exciting retailers soon to be occupying the area with the refurbishment of the Speakers-Corner building at the forefront of this change. We are currently negotiating with a handful of restaurants, coffee shops and exciting concept stores to take up the vacant space around the square, which will really bring people out to enjoy this beautiful and under-utilised public space.”

MOLO december 2016

an exploration

telling absences

If cities are the sum not only of everything they accumulate in their development, but also of everything that they have lost – whether intentionally abandoned or accidentally misplaced – can we describe a public space not only by what is there, but also by what is not? Text by Ambre Nicolson, Illustration by Quasiem Gamiet

A haunted city Softness, greenness If we travel back further, we can ask what the land looked like before any human settlement took place. According to Dr Pippin Anderson, an ecologist at the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at UCT, Church Square would once have been an expanse of greenish-grey, shrubby veld – except in spring, when it would have been covered in flowers. “These days, the square is lacking in greenery,” comments Anderson. “Ideally, indigenous greenery; and also some soil, to soak up the rain. From an ecological point of view, Church Square is so hard. It offers no place for anything to take root, to sink into soil, to nest, to hide, to burrow.” Zimkita Booi, an artist and activist, agrees: “From my experience of the space, it is not very welcoming. I used the space to screen 5 Broken Cameras last year, and it made me realise that it’s not really a space for people to come together. The paving is not friendly, to lay a blanket, sit and have a discussion.”

In one of the essays written for the book Movement Cape Town, local archaeologist Nick Shepherd describes Cape Town as “a city haunted by the legacies of the past, and by the spectres of unfinished business. More than that, I have come to understand Cape Town as a city characterised by strangely disjunctive temporalities, poised between catastrophic pasts and glibly imagined futures.”

It offers no place for anything to take root, to sink into soil, to nest, to hide, to burrow.

If that is true of Cape Town generally, then Church Square must be particularly well populated by the spectres of disavowed history. Church Square is South Africa’s second-oldest public square, and the site of a slave market; but up until 10 years ago, it was used as a car park. Today, the location of the slave tree – under which human lives were bought and sold – is still, absurdly, a traffic island.

All the other names The current official name of this space is Church Square; but there have been many other names for this site, over the years. Once, the land may have had a particular name for the Khoisan who lived within sight of Hoerikwagga (Table Mountain) – like the name //Hui !Gaeb, a Khoikhoi name for the land where the city as a whole stands now. The first time the land was officially registered on a map was in 1791, when it was referred to as the Kerkplijn. These days the square also has other names, depending on who you ask. Tanzanians refer to this space in the city as the Masabo Picnic Centre, since it looks a little like a place of that name in Tanzania. The Cape Town Congolese community, on the other hand, renamed this space Armand Tungulu Square, for the young Congolese man who died in military custody in Kinshasha after throwing a stone at President Kabila’s car in 2010.

Water Dean Muruven, Programme Manager for Water Source Areas at the WWF says that water may once have flowed over what is now the cobbles of Church Square, “When the Dutch first chose Cape Town as a site for settlement it was less about its strategic location and more about the fresh water to be found on the slopes of what is now Table Mountain. This fresh water fed the gardens that supplied passing ships with fresh vegetables but it also made it possible for Cape Town to grow as a city,” he says. Muruven confirms that once this water would have been visible in the well at the Slave Lodge and in the many canals that used to run along the streets of the growing town. These days, this water is harder to see, but it is still there, underground. “Cape Town has a sophisticated infrastructure when it comes to water catchment but when it comes to water security, we’re going to have to find more ways of getting water to our city. We all each have a role to play in conserving water and in the heart of the city. This should also take the form of building or retrofitting properties with better water conservation measures.”

Lumps of steel There are some absences we should be grateful for. Up until 11 years ago, the open area of the square was used as a car park. Urban designer Bobby Gould-Pratt was one of the people involved in transforming the space from a parking lot to a public space. “The absence of the 'missing' cars has opened up the potential to think about other, more temporal or qualitative aspects of city living. It is now a space for people to gather and interact – not for lumps of steel to take up precious space.” she says. Still, Gould-Pratt believes that the square lacks sufficiently consistent activation on a daily basis. “The square was designed as a blank canvas for the various communities of Cape Town to insert their own narrative, which could be about both the past and the present – and the future. When events like this year’s spontaneous concert by Abdullah Ibrahim are hosted on Church Square, I think, there is potential for the space to support day-to-day interaction – as well as adding a little magic.”

FEATURE

my story

24 hours in Church Square

What’s it like to spend 24 hours – mostly outdoors – in the middle of Cape Town? Alex O’Donoghue finds out. Image by Lisa Burnell

By now, it’s dark; and the CCID (Central City Improvement District) patrols have been stepped up – so many security guards, even though they concede there’s no real crime in the area. Again, I’m uncomfortable in my own privilege – so many cops for a white girl. A friend drops off coffee and a sandwich, and I have a powerful conversation with a security guard about losing one’s father. We have shared experience; although he is in pain, from growing up after having lost his so young. This conversation is raw, and honest, and we both seem to feel better for it.

I feel confident the whole experience will be safe. After all, I have indulgences that homeless people don’t. My access to cash and contacts and even inner-city security immediately slices off a big chunk of the risk (and in that, the adventure) of spending a full 24 hours in the middle of Cape Town. Nevertheless, I feel jumpy, and my mind is skittish when I turn up in the square with my rucksack and a bag of clothes, a toothbrush and a blanket at 10:47 on Monday morning. I kick off with a five-minute meditation, staring at the ground, eyes open, to still myself. By my start time, 11am, I don’t feel any different; but I have the comfort of knowing that home is inside, and the external world can do its thing. I’m fine. I’ve been working around the area for a while, so it’s really no different to any other day – except the killer that is the dreaded anticipatory mindset: 24 hours left …

This confinement is self-imposed, but still. It reminds me a little of the Vipassana ten-day silent-meditation retreat I challenged myself to a few years back, in Worcester. I drove there sucking up takeaway coffee and Marlboro Lights, before everything was taken away. I had that clinging-fear feeling there too, but much more intensely. Then, like now, I knew I was free to go; but I also knew that I would never have been free from the sense of failure if I left. I tell myself that if I stick it out, I’ll have more than just an article recounting my experiences. I will meet new people. I will have wonderful conversations. Story after story will unfold in front of me, in real time. Right?

I realise a few things. Quiet public spaces are quiet public spaces. Today is like any other day. There are people on the square, but it’s not crowded. It’s also an opportunity for me to chill outside, and peoplewatch, on a work day. No-one tells me what to do. I don’t have a laptop. I can lie down on a bench. Except that when I try, I discover these benches are not made for napping. (This gives me a sudden sensory insight into how uncomfortable the city must be if you’re

The statue of Onze Jan, erected in xxxx, is said to be holding his hat as a sign of piety for the Groote Kerk nearby.

homeless.) Likewise, when I need the toilet I have to pay a restaurant for food, so I can use theirs. Privilege is purchased. A friend comes and goes; and after he leaves I’m suddenly lonely, and my mind closes in on itself. I notice I’m feeling very introverted. In fact, I have no desire to talk to anyone. This, I didn’t expect. The only two people I speak to in the daylight hours of my stay approach me, and both want to convert me to the Church of God. I decline – feeling guilty about lying (beneath the forbidding and judgemental face of the statue of Jan van Niekerk, which seems to harden when I say that I’m a Buddhist) to a friendly preacher-ess called Olivia. Next time, I tell the truth; and Oom Jan seems to soften a little. The day takes its time. The trees provide little shade. I’m sunburnprone, and bench space is at a premium. I sit on the ground against a pole. I research my surroundings, and come up against the historical misery of the place. I conclude that for

I tell the truth; and Oom Jan seems to soften a little. the last four hundred years, this has been the site of enormous suffering. Furthermore, this suffering was caused by my settler ancestors. The gentleman who first shot the hippos that used to wallow in the Church Square wetlands, the person who worked the slave children at the Spin Street silk factory – I am everywhere. The church next to me – the first in South Africa – is constructed on top of filled-in burial sites. But the bones they contain belong only to those same settlers; the bones of the slaves lie elsewhere.

Questions struggle hazily through sun fatigue. Why do we do what we do with so little connection to what came before, other than preserving

stories of heritage or suffering? The square has been a car park, a slave auction spot, a meeting place for the genteel – now it’s a concretised public space, in which some people enjoy free (albeit fluctuating) Wi-Fi. Tour guides lead visitors around, and with ice cream efficiency relate the slave/coloniser narrative.

By sunset, I’ve softened into the close of the day, with its gentle light and seagull squawk. I speak to a familiar face – a man from the Congo, who comes to the square regularly. We smoke together; and although it’s not easy (I stand out, he does not), it’s not hard either. By 7pm I’ve seen another group of Congolese men – who come regularly, and debate various issues – chased away by security, who don’t understand that they’re not fighting. The atmosphere feels tense, and it makes me uncomfortable to see people who use the square so often made to leave by fellow South Africans.

Mentally, I’m tired; and over the next few hours, the square starts to empty. By the time I seek refuge in one of the buildings that border the square, it is just me and two students, who are high. I notice that males walk with a confidence that I don’t have. All this overseen by Onze Jan, for whom I now feel a weird affinity. Sitting under the statue now, I feel less lonely; his stone hulk is comforting in its familiarity. The church has been locked since 2pm. The homeless gather in doorways, and I go to my sleeping bag in a retail shop above the KFC. The streets are empty – the only noise comes from pedestriancrossing alerts that sound through the night, traffic lights changing for cars that aren’t there. Occasionally a man walks past the building, shouting at the sky, waking me. But mostly I sleep, appreciating that much more what it is to be without comfort – my hip bones push into the floor, my jersey-pillow hurts my neck.

The first people back into the city arrive before dawn. The street traders are pushing trolleys, setting up their stalls around the square’s periphery. I watch from my window, feeling reflective and closer to a sense of gratitude for a life so easily lived. Images and story extracts can be found under #ChurchSquare24 or Instagram: https://www.instagram. com/churchsquared/

MOLO december 2016

food

Mapping the flavours of Church Square

m t ee

Discover a world of different tastes, all without leaving the centre of the city.

c sq hu u rc a r h ek

Text by Nadia Krige

African food

The Somalian Restaurant 28 Parliament Street 063 266 1748 A subterranean restaurant tucked away between a hair salon and a cell phone shop, with zero signage indicating its presence – The Somalian Restaurant is remarkably easy to miss. Yet if you descend the staircase any time between 7am and 10pm, you’ll find the plastic tables occupied by eager patrons, engaged in passionate conversation. The Somalian dishes – think deep-fried angel fish, chicken stew, Arabian flatbreads, mince, and loads of rice – draw a predominantly East African crowd, ranging from suited-up businessmen to informal traders in jeans and T-shirts. Together with the familiar flavours of home, the restaurant provides a space for conversation, debate and reminiscing. Price of a meal: Between R50 and R70 for a plate that positively groans with hearty food.

restaurant than a homely farm kitchen. It’s a sanctuary for the work-weary, where heartfelt conversation with both friends and strangers tends to flow easily. If you’re craving some comfort, the wholesome lunch buffet – featuring crunchy salads, cheesy pasta dishes, plump quiches, homemade pies, veggies and breads – is the way to go. It costs R16/100g for sit-down, and R15/100g for takeaway. Sandwiches, pastries and other treats range in price from R18–R50. Price of a meal: Sit-down R16/100g, takeaway R15/100g.

Fine dining

6 Spin Street 021 461 0666 7am – 10 pm 8:30am – 11pm, Monday – Friday (also dinner on Saturdays) Immaculate: the word that springs to mind when taking in 6 Spin Street’s high white ceilings, polished wooden floors and tables, tiled fireplace and decorative pillars. Serving as a light-flooded exhibition space and function venue by day and an elegant dining spot by night, this space is carefully curated by owner Robert Mulders, and seems to defy any precise definition. With the recent turn to more mindful eating habits, the dinner menu presents an array of healthy vegetarian, vegan and fish dishes, all containing only the freshest seasonal ingredients. Be sure to try the trademark starter: a cheese soufflé, available for R85. Price of a meal: Mains go for between R95 and R170.

South African cuisine

Cafe fare

Bread, Milk & Honey 10 Spin Street 021 461 8425 7am – 4pm Checkerboard tiles, heavy wooden furniture, the aroma of fresh coffee, and baked goods aplenty all contribute to making Bread, Milk & Honey feel less like an inner-city

Mostert Street boerewors stall On the sidewalk, between Snoekies and Raw Espresso Bar 10am – 3:30pm With an amazing knack for keeping a consistent turnover of perfectly caramelised onions (I challenge you to find even one ring with a charred edge), Phillis Mupfururi has made quite a name for herself among the hungry office workers of Church Square and surrounds. These onions, of course, make their way onto boerewors rolls, burgers and shawarmas – all halaal-friendly – constructed and served up from the tiny, old-school ‘boerie stall’ on Mostert Street. Priced between R19 and R40, the meals are highly affordable, with a loyal fan base of regulars who seem more than happy to queue for their ‘usual’.

FEATURE

If you’re craving some comfort, the wholesome lunch buffet is the way to go.

& chips shop from your childhood. Apart from the usual seafood fare, they also serve an array of comfort-food favourites – from salomies and chip rolls to Gatsbies and bunny chows, as well as home-made pies and coconutcovered koeksisters. Meals range in price from R11.50 (single hot dog) to R100 (Prego Gatsby), so there’s really something to suit every pocket and hunger pang. Price of a meal: R11.50 – R100

– from European tourists keen to rub shoulders with locals, to Muslim families who can happily indulge in the halaal-friendly food. Manager Naresh Rawat says that among the almost endless array of options, three dishes have proven popularity: butter chicken, lamb curry, and shawarmas. Expect to pay between R15 and R55 for a portion you will never be able to finish in a single sitting. Price of a meal: R15 – R55

c k om

b k ar ac k

Whether it’s cake or quesadillas, City Bowl Health Kitchen has it all.

Price of a meal: Boerewors rolls are the cheapest item on the menu at R19, while, at R40, shawarmas are the most expensive. Apparently, the most popular option is the Chicken & Boerewors Combo, at R35.

Coffee

Raw Espresso Bar 1 Mostert Street 021 462 7986 6:30am – 3:30pm “Casual. With good coffee, great music and free Wi-Fi.” A succinct description of Raw Espresso Bar from owner Murray Lloyd himself; but one that hardly touches on the carefully curated aesthetic. With its industrial-tinged, minimalist interior, black accent wall – featuring a white figural cameo of a motorbike – and soothing folk-rock playlist, it’s a slice of hipster heaven in downtown Cape Town. Their coffee is sourced from Native Roasters and costs between R15 and R24 a cup; you can pair it with a filled baguette, pie or pastry for between R18 and R35. Price of a meal: Coffee R15 – R24, pastries/sandwiches R18 – R35.

Seafood

Cape Town Fisheries and Takeaways Plein Street, across from Parliament 021 461 7759 6:30am – 5:45pm Entering this buzzing eatery on Commercial Street is like stepping back in time, right into the neighbourhood fish

South American cuisine City Bowl Health Kitchen 9 Commercial Street 021 461 0334 7am – 4pm With its spacious courtyard, complete with patiostyle furniture and vertical pallet gardens, City Bowl Health Kitchen is an inner-city oasis tucked away in the Waalford Centre, just off Plein Street. Owned by three South Americans – Caterina, Diana, and Mauricio – it’s warm and welcoming, with meal prices so shockingly cheap, the menu will make you do a double-take. Go there over lunchtime to construct your own nineingredient salad for only R40, and wash it down with refreshing Aromaticas tea – a fruit-and-herb-rich Colombian speciality. Price of a meal: R25 – R45 for breakfast/lunch options and smoothies/juices. Coffee R12, cooldrinks R10 for cooldrinks, glass of wine R30 – R35.

Middle-Eastern, Indian and Chinese cuisine Eastern Food Bazaar 96 Longmarket Street 021 461 2458 9am – 10pm If you’ve ever wondered what a definition of ‘melting pot’ might look like, pay Eastern Food Bazaar a visit over lunch time. Stretching between Longmarket and Darling Streets in an extended corridor, this canteenstyle eatery serves up everything from Bo-Kaap biryanis to Bombay curries. The diversity of its cuisine matches the colourful collection of customers streaming through

Classic South African fast food Snoekies and KFC Plein/Mostert/Spin Street intersection Description: Although it’s great to try a variety of bespoke meals, sometimes you may feel the need for something a little more familiar – like a Streetwise 2 from KFC, which at only R31.90 is about as budget-friendly as it gets; or if you want to splash out, maybe a Fisherman’s Basket for two from Snoekies (R134.90). These two franchise favourites are located right across the road from each other, at the intersection of Plein, Mostert and Spin Streets. Price of a meal: R31.90 – R134.90

MOLO december 2016

YOU SAY

STREET TALK

Are we over the rainbow? Church Square is not only one of South Africa’s oldest public spaces – it’s also within earshot of Parliament. We took to the streets that surround the square, to ask people what brought them to the space; and whether they think South Africa is still – or ever was – the “Rainbow Nation”.

Saonders

I only come to Church Square for Wi-Fi; and since I’m from Benin, I don’t really know about the Rainbow Nation.

Text by Kaylon Koeries, Images by Quasiem Gamiet

Diana “Yes, I think South Africa is a Rainbow Nation. There are people from all over the world, it is a mix of different cultures, and everybody feels at home; even someone like me, an Indian who’s been living in Denmark and Dubai.”

Ntobeko “Church Square is a good place, it’s quiet here. I come here to relax my body and mind. I think South Africa is a Rainbow Nation, there is a reason we are all here.”

Lester

Tracey Osmand “Yes, I do think it’s a Rainbow Nation; the cultures are very mixed. I just come here to relax, though.”

I wish South Africa was a Rainbow Nation, but it’s never been one. We are still too focused on the colour of our skin.

“In the past, no; but I’m hoping that it can be. We are losing that human feeling to greed, and trying to get ahead of each other. Church Square, as far as I know, holds a bit of heritage that I’m not aware of. It is a place of remembrance for slavery. I assume the name comes from the church next to it.”

Tasneem

This is a graveyard, for the slaves. It’s so weird that I come to sit in a graveyard during my lunch. No, South Africa never was and never will be a Rainbow Nation. In a rainbow, all the colours are separate – so maybe we are; but all the colours are still separated.

Albert Ndaada “It is a place for remembrance, I think; but people come here to relax and use the free Wi-Fi. Yes, I think South Africa is a Rainbow Nation, because there is freedom – we are all here together.”

“I don’t know the history of the square at all; I work close by, and I’m just getting lunch. I think South Africa is for the most part a Rainbow Nation – we all just want to get along, and make the best of our lives.”