District 6, sad but true reality of Cape Town.

It's the place where many lived and more than 60 000 residents were forcibly removed in the group areas act.

District 6 was named the sixth municipal district of Cape Town in 1867. District 6 also referred to by some as kanaladorp (meaning help one another, a malay word).

The communities lived in harmony and it was a happy place where individuals were close to places of worship, work, school, markets and also entertainment. People were forcibly removed from this area when the apartheid government was in control, at the time the group areas act came into place and District 6 as well as many other areas was forcibly removed from their homes. Many who lived here were placed in areas which they never knew existed.

Certain groups were placed in the Far East who lived previously more west in the past. Today, not much has been done with the land.

The Cape Peninsula University of Technology was built and many old residents was offered part of their land after the apartheid area. However, many could not claim their land as many people could not read and write in the past and property was sold verbally.

"Growing up in District Six" (Anonymous)

Growing up in District Six was very pleasant. We as children were free to play in the streets without being harassed.

We were too poor to buy toys and we playing games with stone or tree branches was an everyday thing for kids. Houses were all attached to one another and there were lots of flats. Practically on every corner was a shop, in those days we used to buy bread and peanut butter in tins, we could buy any amount and the shop owner would put the peanut butter in lunch wrap for the amount you needed. Fish oil was also bought in drums so we would buy it and put it into jars.

Shop keepers knew everybody so they would sell on credit and it was paid for weekly. Gangsters would fight one another but would never intefere with people in the streets. When they would see old people with bags they would carry the bags for them without any hassle. People would have lots of respect for each other.

We were mixed namely coloureds, blacks, whites and Indians and lived side by side peacefully. People would share and help one another with food and basic needs. People were very poor but happy. Anybody could scold a child if the child did wrong and the parents would never get upset as they would say an adult would never reprimand a child if it wasn't needed. (Anonymous)