Journal entry 4 / Occupation of the Cissie Gool House:  by https://padlet.com/annazweifel/bpjufl72y19e7f2z It is a residence, but as a resident, you are part of the movement en-us 2022-04-23 13:58:35 UTC 2025-10-18 10:54:12 UTC hello@padlet.com Links for more informations on the topic annazweifel https://padlet.com/annazweifel/bpjufl72y19e7f2z/wish/2154581720 https://twitter.com/ReclaimCT

https://nu.org.za

https://www.newframe.com/cissie-gool-residents-want-a-place-to-call-home/


]]> 2022-04-23 14:02:48 UTC https://padlet.com/annazweifel/bpjufl72y19e7f2z/wish/2154581720 Political claims, goals of participation, and development annazweifel https://padlet.com/annazweifel/bpjufl72y19e7f2z/wish/2154582251 In a "professional report" ordered by the city, the conclusion was that this was not a site to be demolished but had the potential to be redeveloped with the community. The occupants, therefore, had hopes that such cooperation with the government for the development of the site would come about. At the moment, however, this wish of the residents, as well as the report ordered by the government itself, is being ignored and a court case against the occupants is underway, which is pushing them into the dangerous position of possible eviction again. However, the community is not giving up. They want to cooperate and show what they have done with this place and how they could develop and improve it. That's why they do these tours, they let researchers and visitors in, they want members of the government to come too, to get in touch and to develop the place in a collaborative and participatory way. Because of the danger of eviction, they have been in contact with architects and are currently working on a counter-proposal on how this place can be developed. For this, they have created a model, which they are very proud of and in which the community together with urban planners have collected and drawn ideas on how the place could be developed. Bevil does not assume that this proposal will be accepted without changes, but it aims to enter into a dialogue and work out compromises in a participatory way. 

]]> 2022-04-23 14:03:51 UTC https://padlet.com/annazweifel/bpjufl72y19e7f2z/wish/2154582251 Life today, the community and the internal organization annazweifel https://padlet.com/annazweifel/bpjufl72y19e7f2z/wish/2154584376 The community grew, and today, according to Devil, around 900 residents live in the settlement, and this growth was also associated with challenges. Finding an internal organization was a process and various issues had to be solved, as well as mistakes were sometimes made, as Bevil Luca tells. But overall he sees the community as strong and he says that it is a different kind of residence because you live here but at the same time you are part of a political agenda. If you agree to live here you are automatically part of the movement and agreed to contribute to the community. For example, they have different teams where you can contribute. He for example as a trained cook is part of the kitchen team. In the settlement there is also a maintenance team, which consists mainly of people who know how to install and repair services, there are people who work in the garden, as well as there is a children's care. In general, they want to create a safe place, many walls are painted to make the place more child-friendly. With violence, they generally have few problems, but if this does occur, they have a kind of punishment through increased attendance and work shifts. In serious situations, it could also happen that someone had to leave the community. For Bevil, it was important to emphasize here and also important for those individuals to understand that this is a reprimand for unacceptable behavior and this is to be separated from eviction, as many in the community have experienced at the hands of the state. 
The community also contributes a certain amount of money, especially for maintenance funds, which are mostly used for the cost of upcoming repairs. 
In certain areas, the former uses as a hospital are still well noticeable and the corridors are still labeled, but they have renamed the corridors and rooms after streets from the city or have also named certain areas after the regions from which many of the residents living there were evicted. Thus, one can sense the political agenda even in the naming of the sections of the building. 

]]> 2022-04-23 14:07:47 UTC https://padlet.com/annazweifel/bpjufl72y19e7f2z/wish/2154584376 Beginnings of the occupation annazweifel https://padlet.com/annazweifel/bpjufl72y19e7f2z/wish/2154585406 At the beginning of the occupation in 2017, about 30 people were involved. To gain access to the property, they said that they were interested in using the building as a film set, so the security let them into the building. Some stayed behind and inspected the infrastructure, the sanitation system, and accordingly how the building could be suitable as a living space and what all needed to be repaired and completed to make it habitable. Especially at the beginning, it was a lot of work for everyone, the empty and dirty rooms had to be cleaned. Bevil Luca told us that the occupants were a group of activists and homeless people and that during the occupation there had also been some vandalism, which he did not appreciate. In certain parts of the building, taps made of zinc, copper, and other saleable materials were expropriated and needed services were destroyed. This kind of vandalism he did not welcome at all and he found it very problematic that people who would inhabit these parts of the building were disadvantaged by it. Because of these incidents, they soon had to think about an internal organization, a kind of hierarchy and order, and this was a process. They organized security patrols to stop cases of vandalism and also found people responsible, these had to leave the place and the movement accordingly.

]]> 2022-04-23 14:09:49 UTC https://padlet.com/annazweifel/bpjufl72y19e7f2z/wish/2154585406 Vacant buildings during great pressure on the housing market annazweifel https://padlet.com/annazweifel/bpjufl72y19e7f2z/wish/2154586645 The former hospital was standing still, it was very dirty, birds and rats lived there. It was used now and then for movie shoots but was otherwise unused during a time when evictions and the displacement of the urban poor to the outskirts and townships of the city were the norms. Bevil Luca joined the "Reclaim the City" movement to do something about these evictions, as well as to pressure the government to support affordable housing for the lower-income in central locations in the city. "Reclaim the City" has and continues to oppose the sale of land for profit, evictions, and the fight for affordable housing. The occupation of the Cissie Gool House was also part of this movement and a reaction to the sale of the Table Mountain property in Sea Point to a private buyer, although a project with social housing had actually been planned on this site.

]]> 2022-04-23 14:11:48 UTC https://padlet.com/annazweifel/bpjufl72y19e7f2z/wish/2154586645 Introduction annazweifel https://padlet.com/annazweifel/bpjufl72y19e7f2z/wish/2154587536 As part of the City Immersions course, we had the opportunity to visit the occupied Cissie Gool House, a former hospital in Woodstock, on Thursday and meet some of the residents. Bevil Luca, a man who is very active in the Cissie Gool community as well as in the Reclaim the City movement showed us around the place and gave us background information about the beginning of the occupation as well life today and their future goals. He emphasized several times that this is not just about residential, that this is clearly an occupation, a political fight, and a claim. It is a place to live, but as a resident, you are part of the movement and because of this clearly formulated political agenda I see this occupation as an inspiring example of protest and reclaiming and I would like to dedicate this journal entry to it. 
The information I use here comes from my notes during the tour with Bevil Luca. Similar to the way Bevil structured his tour, I will briefly give some background information about the former hospital and the beginnings of the occupation, then give some narratives about current living and the internal organization, and finally tell about their goals for the future. Here, above all, to point out is the desire to work participative with the government for the development of the place that does not involve the eviction of the people and the destruction of the buildings.

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