Amazon’s Cape Town base: The battle to save South African culture

14 September 2021

Campaigners in the South African city of Cape Town are trying to halt the building of the African headquarters for Amazon. It’s a battle that pits cultural concerns against economic interests, as the BBC’s Vumani Mkhize writes.

It is an overcast day in Cape Town and the scenic Table Mountain is shrouded in a ghostly cloud that silently cascades down the rocky green slopes.

At the foot of this historic landscape, a small group of activists from the Khoi and San communities have gathered near the entrance of a huge building site known as the River Club.

The communities are seen as some of the earliest inhabitants of southern Africa.

Dressed in traditional animal skins, the activists burn sage and call upon their ancestors for cleansing and protection.

They chant in an ancient language as the sage smoke fills the air…

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