Picturesque Bo-Kaap was for decades the home of Muslim residents. Now,as some cash in on soaring house prices, others want to hold on to their historySunday morning in Cape Town. Two days of rain have washed the dust from the air. Table Mountain is etched against a clear blue southern winter sky. Seagulls wheel on an ocean breeze. In the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood of the city, and the famed painted houses shine postcard perfect. Children play on cobbled streets. Men in prayer caps watch,deep in conversation, prayer beads clicking.
Yet the obvious calm is misleading. In recent weeks angry young men have burned tyres in the streets of Bo-Kaap. There have been marches and demonstrations. The immediate spark for the enrage? Plans to build hotels, or luxury apartments and shops. The deeper cause? anxiety that gentrification will end the community.
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Source: theguardian.com