October 11 2006
Cape Argus
"We all get called 'Baraka' here. I don't know why they do it," said Abdullahi Hassan Ahmed, one of the shop owners in Masiphumelele.
Hanging on the car doors of a Toyota Corolla with tinted windows and an aesthetically pleasing sound system, he and his friends would not look out of place anywhere on the Cape Flats, but for their distinctive looks.
Less than two months ago more than 30 Somali shopkeepers were forced to flee the area when a mob of between 200 to 300 locals attacked their shops.
"You can give us any name. We all look the same," comments the driver of the car, with a smirk on his face shared by his companions.
Bongile Bokwana, a community development worker and resident in the neighbourhood explained that the first Somali-owned shop to open in Masiphumelele, along the main thoroughfare into the township, was called Baraka spaza shop.
"They're all called Baraka. People here say: "Go to the Baraka and buy me some potatoes" or "I saw Baraka going that way"," said Bokwana.
Originally Site 5, Masiphumelele started as a community of migrants from the Eastern Cape, most of whom spent 11 months working in Cape Town, saving to go home in December.
Other people moved from existing townships around Cape Town.
But the shift from "migrant labour" has coincided with a decided shift in perception, with many people now using bricks to build their homes instead of the much cheaper corrugated iron and more people in the area becoming property owners.
Seemingly all the Somalians operating in Masiphumelele rent plots from local landowners who turn a tidy profit from the passive income.
"Somalis make landowners sign slips when they pay their rent and people say that one day these Somalis will say: 'OK, I've finished paying you for the land, now move out'," said Bokwana.
The suspicion and apparently callous terms of reference seem strange among a community who generally appreciate the service provided by the Somali traders.
A community meeting following the negative media reports of the ousting of the Somali traders showed overwhelming support for the Somalis within Masiphumelele.
For most residents, the attacks of August 28 were a shock and today are a source of embarrassment. But a sense of self-loathing is evident among those interviewed.
"This attack was a special thing. Most of us were totally shocked. Because we are the blacks, some of us, where there is trouble, we want to be there to take advantage. To loot," said Siphokazi*, a local teacher.
She, like many of her neighbours, feels the Somali traders provide a great service to the community with their "wholesaler" prices.
But still, suspicion about the Somalis abounds.
"There are a few people who think they are not human. They are good for caring for other people even if it's not their nation," she said.
The question of ethnicity pervades most discussions about Somalis in Masiphumelele, with a near unanimous feeling among locals canvassed that the Baraka are good and that it is only jealous businessmen who are against them.
With a spaza shop, a Wendy house construction business and a shebeen, bra Lundi "D&D" Mguli is regarded as among the most successful businessmen in Masiphumelele.
"As I see it, these Somalians are better than us. They know the business. We just learn these things as we go because many of us didn't have school," said bra D&D, his hands clasped together and head leaning forward as if to add conviction to his statement.
He rummages through a drawer and produces an exercise book which contain the minutes of the last meeting held between the local businessmen on the issue of Somali traders.
The first item on the agenda, according to the minutes of the meeting on April 9, was: "Are people from outside allowed to have businesses here?" The recorded answer is: "Everybody agrees to welcome people from exile to be part of the business community."
But not everybody agreed. Another meeting of dissident businessmen was called which allegedly prompted the attacks on the Somali businesses.
Bra D&D argues that much was done to prevent tempers from flaring, with regular interaction with Somali traders.
A survey among local customers indicated concerns about lack of variety and service, as is most commonly found in other customer bases.
Paramount to the protracted negotiations between Somali and local traders had been the pricing of goods.
For as long as anybody can remember, the countlessly duplicated goods in Masiphumelele had been sold with markups arrived at by consensus, following an unspoken gentlemen's agreement between traders in the township.
Some critics have argued that business is "too integrated" in the township.
"They (the Somalis) said us Xhosa people, when we buy things for R5, we put R2 up. They will only want 50c."
In subsequent meetings between business people and the local community, where there was general outrage against the attacks, it was decided that four Somali shopowners would be "incorporated" into the business forum "so they can also speak".
"At the moment there is no contribution they make to the community. They still employ only their own people," said bra D&D.
Part of the negotiations with the Somali businesses will be that they contribute to activities of the business community, like covering the funeral expenses of a deceased person when the family have no money to do so, said bra D&D. - Independent Foreign Service
*Not her real name
Source: Cape Argus, Oct. 11, 2006