‘The River Remembers It All’ was co-written with social anthropologist Steven Robins and reflects upon the role of private developers and the City of Cape Town in commodifying and thereby destroying natural resources, namely the Two River Urban Park where the ecological resilience of the wetland and the Liesbeek River are being ‘sold off’ to the highest bidder.
We went for a walk along the Liesbeek River and went back to write in Steven’s garden. We jotted down notes, played the xylophone and guitar, and we wrote this song.
Blocks 24-47 meters tall will be placed onto the floodplain, on land that hasn’t yet been graded for its heritage significance. Once it’s covered in concrete, the lost intangible heritage will never be recovered:
“This is a ground zero precinct where the wounds of South Africa’s past are seen today in the transgenerational trauma that sits on the Cape Flats and felt across the Southern African landscape. This ancient terrain is of the last natural open space habitats with a specific genius loci of Khoi spiritual cosmological well-being”
– Tarig Jenkins
Supreme High Commissioner, Goringhaicona Khoena Council.
See more about the campaign to counter property development around the River Club and Two Rivers Urban Park here: www.obs.org.za
#cowritewithmartin #Stevenrobins #Liesbeekriver #Blackriver #Trup #Tworiversurbanpark #Heritagewesterncape #SDG1 #SDG6 #SDG13
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