Masiphumelele, Cape Town
Encyclopedia
Masiphumelele is a township in Cape Town
, South Africa
, situated between Kommetjie, Capri Village
and Noordhoek
.
Initially known as Site 5, the township was renamed Masiphumelele by its residents, which is a Xhosa
word meaning "We will succeed".
About 400-500 people first settled in the area in the 1980s. During apartheid residents were continually removed to the suburb of Khayelitsha, over 30 km away, but the numbers began to grow as apartheid began to unravel from 1990.
In 1990, about 8000 residents lived in the area, mostly in shacks, but by 2005, over 26000 people live there, many in brick homes. Many are from the old Ciskei
bantustan
in the Eastern Cape.
Amenities are scarce, with an overcrowded school, no police station, and an understaffed day clinic, while it's estimated that 30-40% of the community are infected with HIV
and/or TB
. . SHAWCO
, the University of Cape Town
Student's Health And Welfare Centres Organisation, runs weekly supplementary clinics from the Masiphumelele clinic.
(in the north-eastern part of Johannesburg
) when locals attacked migrants from Mozambique
, Malawi
and Zimbabwe
. Many African nationals were threatened, assaulted and displaced in the wave of Xenophobic violence
that swept through South Africa, and in the following weeks the violence
spread to Cape Town. Thousands of foreigners were displaced from Masiphumelele in the attacks of May 2008, most landing up at Soetwater refugee camp. Several days after immigrant-owned shops were looted and foreigners attacked, Masiphumelele residents publicly apologised and asked them to return.
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, situated between Kommetjie, Capri Village
Capri Village, Cape Town
Capri Village is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa, situated between Kommetjie, Fish Hoek and Noordhoek....
and Noordhoek
Noordhoek, Cape Town
Noordhoek is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, located below Chapman's Peak on the west coast of the Cape Peninsula, approximately thirty-five kilometres to the south of the city itself. The name "Noordhoek" was taken from Dutch and literally means "north corner"...
.
Initially known as Site 5, the township was renamed Masiphumelele by its residents, which is a Xhosa
Xhosa language
Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said...
word meaning "We will succeed".
About 400-500 people first settled in the area in the 1980s. During apartheid residents were continually removed to the suburb of Khayelitsha, over 30 km away, but the numbers began to grow as apartheid began to unravel from 1990.
In 1990, about 8000 residents lived in the area, mostly in shacks, but by 2005, over 26000 people live there, many in brick homes. Many are from the old Ciskei
Ciskei
Ciskei was a Bantustan in the south east of South Africa. It covered an area of 2,970 square miles , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian Ocean....
bantustan
Bantustan
A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa , as part of the policy of apartheid...
in the Eastern Cape.
Amenities are scarce, with an overcrowded school, no police station, and an understaffed day clinic, while it's estimated that 30-40% of the community are infected with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
and/or TB
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. . SHAWCO
SHAWCO
SHAWCO, the Students' Health and Welfare Centres Organisation is a student-run NGO based at the University of Cape Town, that seeks to improve the quality of life for individuals in developing communities within the Cape Metropolitan area....
, the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
Student's Health And Welfare Centres Organisation, runs weekly supplementary clinics from the Masiphumelele clinic.
Protests
Masiphumelele has been the site of numerous protests over the years. Most of the protests have been connected to service delivery and anger over corruption in government housing projects.Xenophobic Attacks, May 2008
On May 12, 2008 a series of riots started in the township of AlexandraAlexandra, Gauteng
Alexandra or Alex for short, nicknamed Gomora is a township located in Gauteng province, South Africa. It is part of Johannesburg, close to the wealthy suburb of Sandton and is bounded by Wynberg on the west, Marlboro and Kelvin on the north, Kew, Lombardy West and Lombardy East on the south...
(in the north-eastern part of Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
) when locals attacked migrants from Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. Many African nationals were threatened, assaulted and displaced in the wave of Xenophobic violence
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
that swept through South Africa, and in the following weeks the violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
spread to Cape Town. Thousands of foreigners were displaced from Masiphumelele in the attacks of May 2008, most landing up at Soetwater refugee camp. Several days after immigrant-owned shops were looted and foreigners attacked, Masiphumelele residents publicly apologised and asked them to return.
Masi Fire
On May 2, 2011 a fire that started around 1 am engulfed and burned down an estimated 1500 informal and formal residences. The fire killed 1 and displaced an estimated 5000 people.See also
Masiphumelele High SchoolMasiphumelele High School
Masiphumelele High School is a publicly owned secondary school in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, in the Western Cape region of South Africa. As of 2005 it had some 942 students. The school has piped indoor water....
External links
- Pictures of Masiphumelele made by Alan AubryAlan AubryAlan Aubry is a French photographer. He graduated from the Art College of Rouen, France, in 1998.His artistic process is to work by series, by accumulation of objects and places of the every day life...
, a french photographer.