District Six Museum in Cape Town is at the verge of shutting its doors has lockdown restricts its visitors from coming in.
The renowned Museum in Cape Town that houses the memories of the forced evictions of District Six residents during apartheid have disclosed that it is out of funds to keep it running.
The museum’s acting director, Chrischené Julius said “the lack of feet through the door has affected us”.
“We no longer have the operational funds to sustain staff salaries and administrative expenses.”
She disclosed that the museum receives funds from the government but it is not enough to cover its operational costs.
“We went from hosting more than 69,000 self-guided visits and 7,500 guided visits to zero visitors to the museum since the announcement of the lockdown in March,” she says.
The museum has called on all via the use of email to help save the museum from going into oblivion by supporting the museum with funds.
“We urgently need your support and solidarity. When District Sixers were handed their eviction notices, in true District Six fashion they renamed these notices ‘Love Letters’.”
“We are asking you to send us a Love Letter, but this time, with real love and care,” reads the e-mail.
Julius believes that the younger generation will be robbed of essential history if the Museum shutdown.
“When younger children visit the museum, they assume that where they live now — in Mitchells Plain, Gugulethu and the Cape Flats — is where their family has always lived in Cape Town.”
“Young people have an epiphany when they are at the museum by realising where they live now is because of a policy of forced removals,” says Julius.
