Stories that will never be demolished

Rows of street names in front of wall-hangings recording
memoriesof the vibrant community which once was District Six

I'm not sure how museums will survive the digital age but I can't imagine that viewing images on a screen will evoke the same emotions that I experience whenever I step into the District Six Museum. For me, it's like settling into an old, comfortable chair and turning the pages of the family photo album and setting off a chain of memories. Perhaps it's the familiarity of the area - situated opposite the Sacks Futeran Building where I remember going with my parents to buy clothes and fabric, around the corner from the Grand Parade and the Castle. Of course, it's also across the road from the Caledon Police Station where many of us got arrested in the "old days". 

The Caledon Police Station

Maybe it's the energy which has seeped into the walls of the former Methodist Church which reminds me of the chapel on the hill in the old Zonnebloem complex, where my brothers and I went to school, me in my green dress with white collar and Panama hat, them in their grey shorts and white shirts. Whatever it is, I love going back and this morning an overseas visitor provided an excuse to for another visit. However painful the memories of living during apartheid may be, the exhibition at the museum humanises the experiences while celebrating the rich diversity of people who once lived in the area. 

When I see the barber's corner, the display case with the games we played in the road, the photographs of the Peninsula Maternity Home where my sister was born, the familiar recipes on the wall, or the wall-hanging with the name of the rugby team my father played for, I feel that our lives mattered. Most of all though, when I walk up the stairs to the wall that bears the names of families who lived there and I scroll down to find mine, I feel that our experiences have been validated and dignified.

                            

As the byline on the museum brochure says: 60 000 stories that will never be demolished.

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