Amazon, ancient tribe Khoisan face off over Cape Town office

Bloomberg

On the outskirts of Cape Town, at the base of Table Mountain and set back from a tangle of freeways, the Liesbeek and Black rivers meet in a small stretch of marshland. The 37-acre plot isn’t pristine — it lies next to a railyard and was until recently home to a golf course — but for centuries, this land has been sacred ground for the Khoisan, a southern African tribe that traces its lineage back more than 100,000 years. In the near future, if all goes to plan, it will be the site of Amazon’s next regional headquarters.
To many local First Nations peoples, news of the project came as an unhappy surprise. Since approval for the e-commerce giant’s $250 million office complex on the 150,000 square-meter site was granted, groups aligned with the Khoisan to oppose the project have tried to derail construction.
On a near-monthly basis, dozens of protestors have gathered on the steps of the High Court in Cape Town with signs reading “Concrete will never be our heritage,” and “No means no.” They’ve filed petitions and lawsuits, appealed to media and lawmakers, and forced Capetonians to reckon with the uncomfortable question of whether they’re willing to prioritise economic development over the fight to recognise indigenous land rights in South Africa.
“It’s almost a case of history repeating itself,” said a Khoisan chief Bradley Van Sitters,
who also goes by the name Hyi!Gaeb!Gorallgaullaes, the exclamation points representing the clicks in the tribe’s language. “A lot of our people’s blood has been spilled here.”
For its part, Amazon has been working with the developer to accommodate the Khoi and San tribes, which are often referred to collectively. In collaboration with Khoisan members who support the project, the company has announced plans to build a heritage center which will include a garden, a media area, and roads and pathways with Khoisan names.
With the economy stalling, Amazon also brings the promise of jobs and development in a city that desperately needs them. Unemployment is above 30% in South Africa, and nearly 27% in Cape Town. City government representatives say that the project will indirectly create jobs for 19,000 people, including more than 5,200 construction workers.