A book about the early history of Mitchells Plain has been released and is available to read for free.
The book called Welcome to Mitchells Plain dives into the rich history of one of Cape Town’s largest communities, where more than a million people live.
It was written by Ludmila Ommundsen Pessoa, a senior lecturer at the University of Le Havre-Normandy in France and member of GRIC (Groupe de Recherche Identités et Cultures).
Pessoa, who is also a former director of Alliance Française Mitchells Plain, says she started collecting information when she arrived innie Plain 24 years ago.
“My ‘special relationship’ with Mitchells Plain started in 2008 when I became the alliance’s first female director,” she explains.
“I was struck by the fact that I was constantly warned ‘you’ll get shot’.
“[But] I met wonderful people in Mitchells Plain; for example, Janine Overmeyer, the performing artist known by her stage name Blaqpearl.
“I could even say that I felt ‘at home’. Why? Because I came from parents with mixed nationality who, too, identify as coloured.
“My father, a Brazilian national, also listed his race as coloured on his ID card, which made a powerful statement for me.”
Pessoa says she immediately wanted to know more about the Plain, after not finding much information on the area except for the few surveys on education or socio-economic conditions.
In her book, she broadly discusses how and why Mitchells Plain came into existence.
Pessoa says: “I then began consulting and gathering documents at the Rocklands Library, and then at the National Library in Cape Town.
“I realised that Mitchells Plain had a history of its own. Not a boring one.”
For example, did you know that this ‘model township’ was planned in the 1960s and designed in the 1970s by the apartheid government, specifically for coloured mense? It was much publicised at national and international levels.
Pessoa says the book took her almost five years to complete.
The author also included the voices of current and past residents: “I am not denying the problems that Plainers have to cope with.
“Mitchells Plain ranks among the top five in community-reported serious crimes and the worst precinct for drug-related crimes. That is very sad indeed.
“For most people, Mitchells Plain is synonymous with gangsterism and drugs, yet it has more to offer than sensationalist stories of violence. Mitchells Plain has a history of its own.”
The book has been published in the collection Africae of the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS- Research) in Johannesburg and the PDF can be found online at: https://books.openedition.org/africae/pdf/3939.
tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za