Randy Suits

Building on the Side of the Mountain

Missing you Eva, wish you were here,

Capetown South Africa has a muslim community built on the side of Table Mountain in an older section of the city. The well maintained homes are painted, eye pleasing, bright colors. The neighborhood is clean, orderly and crime free. Muslims, Christians, Jews and all the other faiths co-exist peacefully. Another anomoly is the acceptance and willing choice, even insistence upon three distinct nationality divisions of identity. There are blacks, colored, Chinese, East Indian and white native africans. Colored are distinct from black and each group is proud of their heritage. Blacks insist upon being called black and colored insist on being called colored. Capetown was established to provide a mid voyage (from Portugal to India) stop to replenish supplies and procure limes, for prevention of scurvy which killed crews on long voyages at sea. The settlers found Bushmen who referred to themselves as “San”. They are the first known inhabitants of South Africa, and the colored are descendants of marriages of those natives and the white settlers. Thus colored is the accepted and expected term to identify this group of people. The South Africans have a common sense approach to religion and racial differences which is impressive. Capetown was built on the side of Table Mountain and the city lights in the late evening shine like diamonds in the night. South Africa exhibits the works of the hand of God in the many spieces of plants and its’ indigenous people.

Thinking of you tonight, Kochany