When construction first started in an area where there was a genocide of the Khoi people in the 17th century by colonialists, #SliceofGasant columnist Gasant Abarder was concerned this part of our history would be erased. He was happy to learn last week, during his first visit to the site, that the indigenous people have been remembered in a significant way.
The area of Hartleyvale was on the doorstep where I grew up and always reminded me of going to football matches or lining the Black River Parkway, along the Liesbeek River, to watch the minstrels usher in another new year.
It was only when the land was purchased for redevelopment (the Liesbeek would be a base for Amazon, and new housing and a retail complex would be opened) that protests taught me of the bloodshed and land dispossession that happened on these banks.
I didn’t know what to think. In my mind, a golf and leisure space was giving way to a place people would call home and an area that would provide much-needed jobs. On the other hand, I was keenly aware of the descendants of our indigenous people’s protests of the development.
So, it was with some trepidation that I visited the area last week for the opening of a new Nando’s store, or casa as they call it, at the new Riverlands Mall. My friend Reaaz Ahmed, who co-owns two of the best stores in the franchise in Athlone and the V&A Waterfront, was opening this store.
Driving into the complex, I could already see great effort had been taken to pay homage to the Khoi who used to live here in the 17th century. I was a bit starstruck when I noticed a few of my favourite TikTok content creators on the opening night. I was probably the most OG content creator of the lot.
Sidebar: Can someone tell Donald Trump about his real and bloody act of land confiscation without compensation? Or that it was the Khoi people who discovered the platanna – an amphibian indigenous to the river area with medicinal properties and this later made a colonialist wealthy?
In an amusing coincidence, Reaaz is a qualified pharmacist who once worked at Red Cross Children’s Memorial Hospital and now serves on governance structures there in a voluntary capacity.
My trepidation gave way to goosebumps as I was greeted in the Nando’s store by a massive painting by talented artist Robyn Pretorius as I entered. She had been commissioned by Reaaz to celebrate the Khoi people, and the intention was for the painting to create a talking point that celebrated their heritage.
‘I was approached by Reaaz and commissioned to do the piece. It was very evident in our introductory meetings that this Nando’s was to commemorate the memory of the Khoi. My studio works around multiculturalism and what that looks like,’ she says.
‘That experimentation came from my lived experience as a so-called Cape Coloured. It goes beyond our classification and what we self-identify as, but the importance of solidifying history and acknowledgement. This space is contentious with all its conversation, and I wanted to contribute another layer of who the Khoi were. If I was going to commemorate, I also wanted to educate in this space.
‘There are so many areas in this space that tell you who the Khoi was. I’m happy … I do understand the generational trauma, and I wanted to learn more. The traditions and what kept the culture that it kept it alive was what was lost.’
Robyn’s work with Nando’s was facilitated by the Spier Arts Trust. They have commissioned artists, in partnership with the brand, to adorn the walls of stores all over the world for the last 21 years. Ironically, Reaaz’s new store is one of the few in the brand’s native South Africa to carry such artwork.
Reaaz’s family acquired a butcher not too far away before he was born. It’s called Good Hope Meat Hyper and is an institution amid the gentrified Biscuit Mill. His mom and dad literally worked their fingers to the bone to supply halaal meat to the people of Salt River and surrounds with quality products at affordable prices and became known as ‘the butcher who cares’. It’s a tradition that lives on.
Reaaz, a Liverpool fan, grew up on the butchery floor and walked around as a kid as the little boss, always side-eyeing me when I walked into the space wearing Manchester United shirts. We have become lifelong friends since, despite our football rivalry.
When Reaaz had the chance to give back like his father, this time by staking a claim in Riverlands as a Son of Salt River, he could not say no.
‘When I saw this development taking place, the one thing that pained me a bit was looking at who was involved here and what opportunities existed, and I thought, ‘Why can’t someone from the community also participate in this establishment? Why can’t we also share in this?’
‘It’s important that when these things happen, we must try our best, even if it’s in a small way, to look for the opportunity to participate and not be excluded. We also looked at people who were indigenous to this land and how to honour that. Honouring and respecting that legacy in that way, we were very fortunate to have Robyn get on board to produce a masterpiece.’
It’s not just a Nando’s store. It’s a conversation piece that helps me understand the people who first called this their casa and how a brother of mine, who looks like me and in our mixed masala of heritage, and an artist, was able to pay tribute to their lives.
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Picture: Supplied
