Conviviality in Bellville

Ingrid Brudvig

Description

This book provides insight into the experiences of mobility and migration in contemporary South Africa, contributing to a field of literature about multiculturalism and urban public space in globalizing cities. It takes into consideration the greater international political and local socio-economic factors that drive migration, relationships and conviviality, and how they are intertwined in the everyday narrative of �insiders� and �outsiders�. The Bellville central business district demonstrates the realities of interconnected local and global hierarchies of citizenship and belonging and how they emerge in a world of accelerated mobility. The book further demonstrates how the emergence of conviviality in everyday public life represents a critical field for contemplating contemporary notions of human rights, citizenship and belonging.

Sujets

• Anthropology

Informations

• Publié par: Langaa RPCIG
• Date de parution: 25 juillet 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789956792863
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

CONVIVIALITY BELLVILLE in : An Ethnography of Space, Place, Mobility and Being in Urban South Africa

Ingrid Brudvig

Conviviality in Bellville: An Ethnography of Space, Place, Mobility and Being in Urban South Africa Ingrid Brudvig Langaa Research & Publishing CIG Mankon, Bamenda

Publisher: LangaaRPCIG Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon [e-mail] www.langaa-rpcig.net Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective [e-mail] www.africanbookcollective.com

ISBN: 9956-792-50-0 ©Ingrid Brudvig 2014

DISCLAIMER All views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Langaa RPCIG.

Table of Contents Acknowledgement................................................................................... v Figures & Vignettes.................................................................................vii 1. Introduction.......................................................................................1 1.1 Mobilities and Social Life in Bellville............................................. 2 1.2 Theorizing Conviviality: In Attempts to Understand the Convivial................................................................................................... 7 1.3 The Anthropological Concern: Why Study Conviviality in Bellville?.................................................................................................... 10 1.4 Reflections on the Criticality of Bellville....................................... 11 1.5 Mapping the Way – Direction Bellville..........................................12 2. Exploring “Somaliville”.................................................................15 2.1 My Methods and Experiences of Meaning-Making.....................18 2.2 Ethical Considerations..................................................................... 26 2.3 Of Pavements and Pathways; Networks and Neighbours..........28 3. Social Histories of Migration........................................................31 3.1 Addressing South Africa’s Reactions to Migrants through Narrative................................................................................................... 32 3.2 “In Bellville, you see, many of us are refugees”........................... 33 3.3 The Paradox of Protection.............................................................. 40 3.4 Mobility and…Freedoms?............................................................... 45 4. Convivial Spaces, Social Places....................................................47 4.1 Localizing Bellville............................................................................ 48 4.2 Theorizing, Mapping and Historicizing Bellville..........................51 4.3 Economic Conviviality in Bellville................................................. 60 4.4 Emerging Cosmopolitanisms.......................................................... 63 4.5 Intimate Strangers and the Politics of Inclusion in Bellville….. 65 4.6 Arising Insecurities and Places of Disinterest.............................. 69 iii

4.7 The Influence of “Community” on Conviviality......................... 72 4.8 Dynamics of Gender in Bellville: Seeking a Woman’s Perspective................................................................................................82 4.9 Sociality and the Territory of Convivial Space............................. 85 5. The Boundaries of Citizenship....................................................89 5.1 Opening Markets and Closing Doors............................................ 89 5.2 Liminal Urbanity and the Challenges of “Belonging”.................93 5.3 Autochthony as “Authentic” Belonging........................................95 5.4 The “Imagined Entity”.....................................................................101 5.5 Addressing the Urban Problematic of Belonging........................ 102 5.6 The Convergence of Conviviality and Cosmopolitanism........... 103 5.7 Capturing New Cartographies.........................................................105 6. A Destination Reached?.................................................................107 References...............................................................................................111

iv

Acknowledgements The research that originally facilitated the data collection that led to this book benefitted from various sources of funding, including: the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the South Africa- Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD). Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the funding organizations. I would like to thank Francis Nyamnjoh for the inspiration and support in conceptualizing this research and publication. His knowledge and guidance have led me to discover my true interest in topics related to migration, citizenship and belonging. I also express tremendous gratitude to the staff of Scalabrini English School in Cape Town who have helped me become more active in the migrant community in Cape Town and were instrumental in helping me build relationships with the Somali Association of South Africa in Bellville. Deepest thanks and respect also extend to the Somali Association of South Africa, students at Scalabrini English School and Bellville Education Centre, Abdillahi Qorshe for his contribution to the photos included in this book, and countless other research participants whose conviviality I acknowledge with utmost appreciation. I would like to thank my family across the world for their eternal support, interest in my research and patience towards my academic commitments. Thank you to mom especially for your insight and daily wise advice.

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Figures & Vignettes Figures Figure 1: Map of Bellville in Relation to Cape Town Metropolitan Area............................................................................................................4 Figure 2: Map of Research Area............................................................5 Figure 3: Wilshammer Street, Connecting the Main Roads..............6 Figure 4: Map of Train Transit Routes in Cape Town...................... 6 Figure 5: Contrasting Durban Road through Imagery...................... 17 Figure 6: International Call Centre in Bellville....................................50 Figure 7: Fashion Pants.......................................................................... 53 Figure 8: Women’s Clothing Store........................................................54 Figure 9: Western Plaza.......................................................................... 55 Figure 10: Hanging out in Bellville....................................................... 58 Figure 11: Vendor Stall on Charl Malan Street................................... 62 Figure 12: Kruskal Avenue on a Quiet Day........................................ 64 Figure 13: Road Leading to the Taxi Rank..........................................73 Figure 14: A Mosque in Bellville........................................................... 79 Figure 15: Loudspeakers Projecting Daily Rhythms.......................... 98 Figure 16: Rasco’s Restaurant and Music Ensemble..........................100 Vignettes Vignette 1 Many refugees experience periods of perpetual liminality, characterized by waiting, endurance, fear and hope...........................39 Vignette 2 Bellville’s migrant networks and informal economy highlight the significance of migrant and refugee entrepreneurs and business owners to South African job seekers....................................................64 vii

Vignette 3 Their story is one of conviviality - of mutual benefits arising from innovatively sidestepping away from tensions broiled in rhetoric of the “outsider”........................................................................................... 66 Vignette 4 The taxi industry represents a site of relatively more hostility and uncertainty in particular for non-nationals.......................................... 71 Vignette 5 Music in Bellville provides a metaphor for the idea that identity is circumstantial, spontaneous, even surprising at times....................... 99

viii

1 Introduction This book takes place in a milieu characterized by human mobility, a global trend that is expressed through daily life in South Africa’s urban public spaces. It sets out to examine the extent to which conviviality emerges amongst the diverse migrant and mobile population that frequents Bellville’s central business district surrounding the train station, an area located approximately 25 kilometres from Cape Town. The Bellville train station and central business district, which are adjacent to the main Durban Road (see maps below), hosts a large and diverse population of both South Africans and foreigners - from countries including Somalia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania, Angola, Mozambique, Kenya, Jordan, Pakistan and Bangladesh amongst others - who have migrated to the area seeking work and income generating opportunities, such as informal trading, shop keeping, and other ad hoc livelihoods. Many migrants have settled in Bellville to avoid negative attitudes and discrimination by South Africans in township areas in the aftermath of the 2008 xenophobic outbreaks. Recent unrest and violence towards non-nationals thus constitutes the backdrop for research at Bellville’s central business district (CBD). While many South Africans who frequent Bellville come from the Western Cape Province – including Cape Town and surrounds – there is also a significant population of migrants from within South Africa who have moved to Cape Town from other provinces such as Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. Bellville is, therefore, a fitting site for this research, as it hosts similarly constituted migrant populations to other areas of Cape Town. It is in this context that I question what makes Bellville more accommodating to foreign migrants than other areas, such as township locations where many migrants face violent threats, daily insecurity and diminishing livelihood opportunities. What makes this particular zone in Bellville, and the South Africans that frequent