ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the case of the former residents of District Six, a former multi-cultural, mixed social class neighbourhood in Cape Town, South Africa. Housing in District Six has been a mixture of owner-occupied and ‘tenanted’ multiple occupancy dwellings inhabited by all racial groups in the city. The chapter analyses how the District Six residents have been able to sustain and generate world media attention to their plight. It examines specifically the role of memory and material memorabilia in providing a focus for the community to further articulate their demands for adequate restitution for their displacement from District Six. The chapter considers the issues that the District Six case study highlights which are of universal relevance to other ‘unempowered’ communities who suffer political, socio-economic or other disadvantage. It describes the scenario in which District Six was left before the forced removals took place in 1966.
