As a part of Apartheid, people were forcibly removed from their homes. Since the government was claiming that different races should not be mixed, they needed to eliminate the peaceful and diverse neighborhoods that already existed. The District 6 museum commemorates this removal and its effects on families and neighborhoods in that area. Our tour guide was Noor, who was removed from his family home as a part of this act. He was one of the founders of the museum to remember this history. He showed us pictures of his family home and told us how he saw it being torn down. I could not imagine. If my home, which my parents built and my sister and I have lived in our whole lives, was taken from us, I would be crushed. How could the government claim the right to kick people out of their homes without just cause?
Noor talked about how their neighborhood was before, bustling and diverse with people of different races getting along. He told a story about how he raised pigeons. He would let them fly and they would always come back to the coup. However, one day, the pigeons did not come home. He was worried about them immensely. Finally, he walked to the old house and he saw a heart-breaking scene. The pigeons were sitting on the rubble of where the house used to be. They had gone home.
The effects of Apartheid are deep and haunting.
It was unfair for the government to take away this family’s and other’s homes. The effects of Apartheid are deep and haunting. I’m glad I’m getting the chance to learn this history but I’m upset that it occurred and I was not taught about it before. The common phrase about history of “how could people let this happen?” comes to my mind. However, I’ve realized that when we let past and current events be brushed over, horrible actions can not only be committed but also people can get away with them.
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