Heritage row rages over Durban market

Heritage row rages over Durban market

SANTHAM PILLAY | 24 October, 2010 00:00

Celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Indians in the country at the 100-year-old Early Morning Market in Durban this week were marred by criticism that the market is not a national monument.

The fresh produce market in Warwick Avenue, Durban, has been at the centre of a legal battle since April last year between the eThekwini municipality - which wants to demolish it and build a multimillion-rand mall on the site - and traders.

Traders opposed the development and sought legal action to continue doing business.

At the anniversary event on Wednesday, Roy Chetty, the market traders' spokesman, described the market as a "living history that should be preserved".

"We cannot turn a blind eye during the 1860 celebrations. That which the indentured labourers struggled to build up then should not be destroyed now," he said.

The 1860 Commemoration Council chairman, Seelan Achary, who also addressed traders, agreed that the market should be declared a monument.

Achary's organisation has drawn up a list of sites, including Curries Fountain in Durban, it believes should be considered for monument status.

Achary said it was not too late to place the market on the list. "We believe the market can stand and be developed."

The chairman of the Early Morning Market Traders' Association, Harry Ramlal, said the KwaZulu-Natal heritage watchdog body, Amafa, had last year recommended the market be declared a historical site.

However, the municipality disputed the recommendation, saying it was not possible as the site had been earmarked for development.

The matter was submitted to the KwaZulu-Natal premier's office for resolution.

Ramlal said: "We definitely want that. The market is a standing tribute to the fruits of the indentured labourers."

He added that the only thing holding back the market was the three court battles in which the association was engaged with the municipality.

"We are not difficult people. We just want the government to acknowledge that a place that has been standing and functioning for 100 years should be considered."

The court cases have been adjourned until early next year.

Durban deputy mayor Logie Naidoo, who was also a guest speaker at the event, admitted that the municipality had "mishandled" the situation.

"I agree that we could have taken a better route in terms of how the situation was handled," he said, adding that he believed the issue could still be resolved out of court if the parties were willing to "come together".

"I still believe that, without a judge, we can reach a resolution if we just talk to one another."

Social commentator and author Prithiraj Dullay said Naidoo should be commended for his bravery in admitting to a mistake, but said traders should hold Naidoo to his words.

Heritage row rages over Durban market - Times LIVE

Heritage row rages over Durban market - Times LIVE: "

Heritage row rages over Durban market Times LIVE The chairman of the Early Morning Market Traders' Association, Harry Ramlal, said the KwaZulu-Natal heritage watchdog body, Amafa, had last year recommended ...

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154 items of SA art go under hammer in London - Weekend Post

154 items of SA art go under hammer in London - Weekend Post: "

154 items of SA art go under hammer in London Weekend Post ... and as such it will not be allowed to leave the country as the South African Heritage Resources Agency (Sahra) has declined a permit for its export. ... and more »

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Two new UCT fellows welcomed to the fold

Two new UCT fellows welcomed to the fold: "

Next generation: The College of Fellows presented its Young Researcher Awards at the College of Fellows dinner. Here with vice-chancellor Dr Max Price (centre) were honoured Dr Shadreck Chirikure, Dr Gina Ziervogel, Dr Elmi Muller, Assoc Prof Genevieve Langdon, Dr Jo-Ann Passmore and Dr Amanda Weltman.

If being inducted into the ranks of UCT Research Fellows is a mark of scholarly stature, then perhaps Professor Dan Stein's research-minded responses to all of Monday Paper's questions - no matter what that question - on being named one of two new UCT Fellows for 2010 is understandable.

The interview, conducted at the College of Fellows' Annual Dinner on 14 October, went something like this.

Monday Paper: 'What does it mean to you to be elected a UCT Research Fellow?'

Stein: 'Brain-behaviour research is so exciting; it would be wonderful if more students and more postdoctoral and clinical research fellows became involved in this area.'

MP: (Flustered but resolute.) 'Do you feel honoured at being named a UCT Research Fellow?'

Stein: 'We are fortunate that in Cape Town, brain-behaviour students and fellows now have access to state of the art neuroimaging and neurogenetics facilities.'

MP: (Reaching by now.) 'What do you think of the table setting?'

Stein: 'Psychiatric disorders are now the third-largest contributor to our national burden of disease; we really need to advance basic and clinical research in order to make a difference.'

And so on.

The responses, it could be argued, were in keeping with an occasion where scholars and scholarship took pride of place. Stein and Professor Timothy Egan were joining 43 other fellows - there are also 12 Sometime Fellows and 63 Life Fellows - on UCT's College of Fellows, which brings together academics singled out for original and distinguished academic work.

An A-rated scientist, Stein, head of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health and director of the Brain-Behaviour Initiative, a UCT signature research theme, has been hailed for his contributions to the study of the psychobiology of anxiety disorders. Stein collaborates widely in his attempts to develop integrative approaches to these conditions; his publications include work with neuroscientists, brain imagers, neurogeneticists, neuropsychologists, epidemiologists and philosophers.

(Stein's wife, Professor Heather Zar - pictured below with her husband and Dr Max Price- was named a fellow in 2007.)

Likewise Egan, of the Department of Chemistry, is a much-cited authority in the study of the bio-inorganic chemistry of the malaria parasite. His original paper on haemozoin - or malaria pigment - and its role in the development of malaria ranks among the 10 most cited papers on the subject, and his work has prompted renewed interest in haemozoin. As such, his research has influenced pharmacology, medicinal chemistry and biochemistry, among other fields.

Stein, for one, believes his field is still flush with opportunities. Thus his repeated rallying cry for more research and researchers.

'I'd really encourage students to consider working on brain-behaviour studies; this is an immensely exciting interdisciplinary area, and so relevant to the challenges facing the country.'

(Monday Paper could unfortunately not reach Professor Timothy Egan for comment as he is on sabbatical.)

The College of Fellows also presented its Young Researcher Awards at the dinner. Six up-and-coming researchers were honoured on the night - Dr Shadreck Chirikure of the Department of Archaeology, Associate Professor Genevieve Langdon of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dr Elmi Muller of the Department of Surgery, Dr Jo-Ann Passmore of the Division of Medical Virology, Dr Amanda Weltman of the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, and Dr Gina Ziervogel of the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science.

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Eskom sticks to nuclear site - Daily Dispatch Online

Eskom sticks to nuclear site - Daily Dispatch Online: "

Eskom sticks to nuclear site Daily Dispatch Online The minister confirmed that the project had been vetoed by the heritage impact assessment undertaken by the SA Heritage Resources' Agency (Sahra). ... and more »

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Grave relocations 'disrespect human dignity'

Grave relocations 'disrespect human dignity'

KAREN VAN ROOYEN | 10 October, 2010 00:00

Hundreds of communities around South Africa stand to lose their connection to their ancestors as traditional graves are relocated to make way for development.

Ancestral graves are protected under various laws and, in the case of those older than 60 years, a permit is needed from the South African Heritage Resource Agency to exhume the remains for reburial elsewhere.

Benjamin Saccaggi, a master's student in archaeology, knows of at least six sites in Limpopo - with between 50 and 150 graves each - that have been identified for possible relocation.

At one of these, in Sekuruwe, the remains of 149 people were exhumed two years ago to make way for a mine dam and have still not been reinterred. Saccaggi said the company tasked with the initial exhumation did so without the necessary precaution required when dealing with such delicate graves. In the process, some remains were lost and archaeologists are now piecing together hundreds of bits of bones before finally laying the remains to rest.

"This is sheer disrespect for human dignity. In one case they exhumed the body and put it in a black bag and gave it to the daughter," said Saccaggi.

Saccaggi, who is presenting a lecture on the topic at the University of the Witwatersrand's Origins Centre this week to raise awareness of the problem, described traditional graves as those found in rural areas.

The graves are not as deep as conventional ones. They are not clearly marked - bodies are buried under trees or next to stones; there are no coffins, and the bodies are not buried in the east-to-west position.

In the Sekuruwe community, some of the remains recovered were up to 150 years old - and there are still descendants who tell stories about those ancestors.

One community leader, James Shiburi, pointed out his forefathers' remains, but those went missing during the initial exhumation process.

"He's a very traditional person who once said to me that it's his church, he goes there to pray," said Saccaggi.

Shiburi, named after his grandfather, who was buried in the 1940s, said he was "lost" since their remains went missing.

Shiburi, 65, told the Sunday Times it was part of his culture to visit the graves during certain rituals to communicate with the ancestors, the "messengers to God".

"They have to protect us from bad luck, from sickness, from accidents. They must give us luck and rain. Since these things have been happening, we don't know where we are," he said.

Sven Ouzman, a senior lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Pretoria, said grave relocation was common around the world - including a grave in Pretoria of a white family that had to be moved because of the Gautrain - but that rural communities seemed to be getting the "short end of the stick".

"Ancestors are believed to be around but stronger in certain places, one being graves. Your conduct to them influences how they intervene or not in your daily life," Ouzman said.

Saccaggi said those who agreed to have graves relocated would need to conduct ceremonies upon reburial to appease the "very depressed" ancestors who were "lost because they don't know where their bones are".

Peace Pillar unveiled in KZN - BuaNews Online (press release)

Peace Pillar unveiled in KZN - BuaNews Online (press release): "

Peace Pillar unveiled in KZN BuaNews Online (press release) We also acknowledge the support given by the United Nations, Amafa Heritage Council, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, President Jacob Zuma, Prince MG Buthulezi, ... and more »

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