13 February 2004

Wednesday marked an important day for thousands of families who were forcefully removed from their homes in Cape Town's District Six 37 years ago.

Ebrahim Murat (87) of Retreat and Dan Ndzabela (82) of Gugulethu and their families were the first to receive symbolic keys to their new homes amid celebrations marking their return.

An estimated 4 000 families will return to the area over the next three years.

Former president Nelson Mandela handed the keys to the two octogenarians. "I am happy to be here and to be able to give you keys so that you can now settle in peace and permanently in your homes, without any threat that you will be removed from your houses as happened many years ago," Mandela said.

District Six was established in the 1800s as a mixed community of freed slaves, labourers, immigrants and merchants.

The apartheid government declared District Six a whites-only area, forcefully removing an estimated 4 000 families from their homes in 1967. By 1982, about 100 000 people had been relocated to the Cape Flats, their former homes flattened by bulldozers.

The District Six Museum Beneficiary and Redevelopment Trust Fund have so far built 24 houses in Chapel Street for the first batch of returnees.

Terrence Fredericks, a former District Six resident and chairman of the District Six Museum, described the return as "waking up ... the nightmare of families being ejected from the District.

"But the candle which was snuffed out before is beginning to glow as the community returns to its rightful home."

Fredericks said the return was an important step in healing not just for the people that were removed but also for the city as a whole.

The day-long celebrations included musical performances, feasts and a 45-minute tour of the area. The District Six Museum held an open day, and screened a video depicting life and the struggle for restitution in District Six.

The returnees will become honorary members of the museum, which will entitle them and their families to free entry at any time.

Source: BuaNews

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