Keeping the memory of Constantia’s forced removals alive

Charles Jaftha, who runs a flower farm with his brother Malcolm, led a heritage walk in Constantia on Wednesday. Photos: Matthew Hirsch

Families forcibly removed from Constantia in the 1960s and 70s were honoured during a heritage walk through the suburb on Wednesday.

The Jaftha family, who run Jaftha’s Flower Farm in the suburb, organised the walk to mark Heritage Day.

The family has been growing flowers in the Constantia Valley since the 1800s. They were forcibly removed during apartheid, but with the help of a white business owner, were able to lease land from the municipality in 1985. They have run their flower farm there ever since.

The walk on Wednesday was led by Charles Jaftha, who runs the farm with his brother Malcolm. The walk began at the farm and passed landmarks such as Peddlars restaurant, which used to be a farm stall where Charles’ father worked, and Keysers River. It ended along Strawberry Lane, from which families were removed.

Participants walk along Keysers River before reaching Strawberry Lane, from which many families were forcefully removed during apartheid.

Claire-Anne Lester, whose father’s family was forced from Strawberry Lane when he was five, joined the walk. “It is about allowing people to remember these stories … if we don’t speak about them and remind the public what happened, it will just be lost to history,” she said.

“I can see ripplings of a new generation that’s really inquisitive about the past, who are also struggling from the housing crisis, from the cost of living, and really taking umbrage at the persistent inequality, which is very much rooted in the apartheid past,” she told GroundUp.

Claire-Anne Lester, whose father was removed from the area when he was five, took part in the walk with her daughter, Rosa.

Jaftha explained that before apartheid removals, the community was closeknit. “When they were living down here, everybody was within walking distance of each other. Most of them were flower growers. A lot of families didn’t even have a proper fence … you could move around,” he told participants.

The Jaftha family plans to raise funds for a heritage museum on the farm.

There were flowers on sale as well as pictures of families who used to live in Constantia. The area is now one of the most expensive suburbs in Cape Town.

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