On Boeberaand Cape Town’s Muslim community marks the halfway stage of Ramadan by sharing a cup of boeber with the neighbours. On Sunday, boeberaand was one to remember as the delicious hot, milky drink was shared with our homeless neighbours, writes Gasant Abarder in a new #SliceofGasant.
Abarder, who recently launched his book, Hack with a Grenade, is among the country’s most influential media voices. Catch his weekly column here, exclusive to Cape {town} Etc.
“It’s a long story,” Tasleem of Mitchells Plain tells me as he bows his head. I realise asking him how he ended up living under the bridge was a dumb question. I quickly change tact and compliment him on his cool dress sense. The 35-year-old breaks out into a smile.
My rookie move was surprising because my late homeless friend Danny Oosthuizen, who became my colleague at the Cape Argus as a columnist and the voice for the homeless, taught us so much about life on the street. “I’m just like you … but I’m homeless,” he said.
Also read: Our city needs a dose of Danny to give the homeless dignity
A group of people forged together through social media tried to get to know our homeless neighbours better on Sunday, the 15th of Ramadaan, Passover and Easter Sunday with an event simply called #BoeberUnderTheBridge. Now, for the uninitiated, boeber is a delicious, milky hot drink served on boeber night – the halfway mark of Ramadan. Those fasting are oppie berg (on the mountain) and the remaining 15 days of the month will see them descend down.
What makes boeber night special is the custom of sharing this wonderful treat amongst neighbours. It’s not a religious custom but more a Cape Town tradition shared by all religions. Tonight, our neighbours are the folks who live under the bridge in Ebenezer Road, Green Point.
Actor, radio personality and comedian Soli Philander, with the help of Bryan Torien, started #ChristmasUnderTheBridge last December. They treated the residents of Ebenezer Road to a decadent sit down lunch.
The point of the engagements, Soli and Bryan remind us, is less about the serving of food or a handout. It has everything to do with looking a homeless person in the eye, asking their name and making them feel loved and welcomed as part of our city.
Cape Town has been particularly harsh to its homeless over the last three years or so. Preceding COVID-19, the City of Cape Town introduced by-laws that criminalised homelessness and saw them being fined for … well … being homeless. During the lockdown, they were rounded up and dumped in a tented area in Strandfontein resembling a concentration camp. For this, the city was roundly criticised by the Human Rights Commission.
Under the bridge, there is very little to go around. The dwellings are makeshift and made out of cardboard, large pieces of fabric and plastic. Others have tents. In one dwelling, no larger than four square metres, lives a family of five. The residents of Ebenezer Road may have very little but there is a sense of community here.
Chevonne is five months pregnant with her fifth child and lives with her husband. Roshe had his leg broken in three places and had to put his homeless soccer world cup career on hold as he is confined to a wheelchair which he uses to navigate the traffic, selling braided leather bracelets. Austin has cerebral palsy and needs help to be fed. Hummies looks after partially sighted Moosa. Moosa tells me he can regain 75% of his sight but can’t afford the procedure needed.
The residents here are fiercely protective of each other. But tonight, they’re entertaining us with an impromptu concert by their trumpet players Samier and Adeeb.
Soli, Bryan, community activist Ashraf Allie and I couldn’t have put together this event without the help of some generous folks and organisations. They gave money for the ingredients for Aunty Moena, of District Six, to make her famous boeber dished into containers supplied by the Century City Convention Centre and Hotel.
Gift of the Givers supplied a massive pot of piping hot chicken akhni as well as savourily treats like samoosas and pies. My dear mom Aleweya Abarder made chilibites, better known as daltjies. Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages provided bottles of Coke. The Good Party sent juice boxes, Robin Adams supplied several litres of soft drinks and Kelly Hendricks and Reaaz Ahmed conspired to make the most beautiful bouquets of flowers. Dr Richard Noor brought box-loads of party packs filled with delicious sweets and chocolates.
The volunteers sprang into action to feed the Ebenezer Road residents in a production line while others got to know the residents better after a prayer by IOL editor-in-chief Lance Witten and a duah by businessman Reaaz Ahmed.
“Where are the pets?” I ask Louise. She replies with a delivery and timing that could match a top stand-up comedian: ‘We have plenty. Too many for our liking. The rats out here visit us every night.’ The group of us listening look at each other before the awkward silence is pierced by Louise’s laughter and it cues us all to have a big laugh.
#BoeberUnderTheBridge was a massive success. We won over this community and entered their circle of trust under the full moon of the 15th of Ramadan. Now begins a longer relationship. Can we assist Chevonne through her pregnancy? Can we help Roshe heal and play football again? Can we help Moosa get some of his sight back?
You see, they’re just like you and me. They have dreams and ambitions and care as much as we do about family and community. The only difference is, they’re homeless.
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Picture: Gasant Abarder
