Question

Which community that were affected by force removal

Answer 1

For those families that were evicted from lower Claremont to the Cape Flats, the hostile environment that welcomed them contrasted sharply with the camaraderie and sense of community that they had felt living below the railway line. Far from places of work, those living on the flats had to pay increased transport costs to get themselves to work as well as for their children if they continued to attend school in Claremont. Attendance numbers at Livingstone High and Rosmead Primary, as well as the Church-run schools dropped sharply after the removals. In addition, many families were crippled by unnecessary new expenses associated with moving such as the cost of moving their household goods and installing new telephones for example. Rents were also much higher in the housing estates that were created for them, which became breeding grounds for crime as a result of the high unemployment & poverty that existed there. The breakdown of the social networks and friendships that had been built up over many, many years was keenly felt and many contributed the rise of violent gangsterism in these new residential areas to this feeling of dislocation on the part of the younger generation. The emotional and psychological costs of the removals have indeed been severe, but despite the adversity faced, many of those affected have been able to rebuild their lives and start anew.