Failure to do so would lead to the resignation of the government.

But this is an abnormal country in which all the fancy laws are enacted and the Constitution is hailed as the best on earth. All the right noises are made and yet the value of human life, especially that of the African, continues to be meaningless.

That's what Marikana means. It has raised this unmitigated crudeness as if to awaken us to the reality of the time bomb that has stopped ticking - it has exploded!

Indeed, the life of an African is expendable. We are trying to expose the full extent of the tragedy - with the hope that it will arouse enough outrage to stop such mayhem - by publishing an image of this nature on the front page, but we wonder whether there isn't a numbness that comes with the death of an African.

It has happened in other parts of the world where wars reduced human beings to nothing more than physical particles. It has happened in this country before where the apartheid regime treated black people like objects.

It is continuing in a different guise now. Africans are pitted against each other over who is the rightful representative of workers. They are also fighting for a bigger slice of the mineral wealth of their own country. In the end the war claims the very poor African - again.

The economic problems do require a war. But, a different kind of war - a war of ideas. Not a war that dispenses with human life in as cheaply a manner as we have seen in Marikana.

It also calls into question the capacity of those who run the country. Something drastic must be done - lest we see a snowball effect of this massacre.

Comments

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Wed May 22 18:59:50 SAST 2013 ::

Aug 17, 2012

RobinH

This is a terrible, man-made tragedy. What is wrong with South Africans that we do this to one another?!
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Aug 17, 2012

somaartakeit

There is no need to complain, Africans vote for African gov who does nothing to better/value their lives, so life goes on basically!!!

And also, why were the marchers armed to teeth as they embark on the protest? Were police expected to wrap them up in the cotton wool as they destroy property and possibly more lives? yesterday blood bath could have been worse had the police no stood their ground against violent protestors who were brandishing machetes, I could also venture further and say, those ppl cheapened their own lives by not upholding laws of the country as they embark in the violent protest, the union bosses must held accountable for everything that has transpired, people have a right to protested as enshrined in the constitution, but they must always do so within the constraints of the laws of the country, now you will all agree that its illegal to threaten police with machetes in the process of airing your grievance? Those miners rights do not supersede rights of other civilians who did not participate in the protest and those of police, we'd have been counting more bodies had the police not prevailed on those violent marchers, I was so sad and angry that those ppl would reduce our liberties to a bloodbath and total disregard of rule law.

My standpoint on this is that the police must always prevail over would be violent and criminal behaviour. after-all we pay them to uphold and enforce laws of the country.


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Aug 17, 2012

Tobby

Really, people's lives are very cheap, i still say something should have been done than people being shot like flies.
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Aug 17, 2012

somaartakeit

@Tobby, what would you have done when confronted by a machete brandishing violent protester if you were a police? if the police showed signs of being weak, those ppl would have caused more damage, besides I don't understand what bruhaha is about, those ppl before embarking on the strike said they were prepared to die, so the police believed them, I believed them, really guys we must support our police when they are trying sometimes so hard to enforce rule of law, and to quell the violence the union bosses should have prevented this blood-bath, instead they played power games with live of their members, now if you are a union member please take note, your union masters don't give a fig about your safety and welfare they only care to play power games and many cases lose you a job, there's a right and wrong way to resolve grievances, the intentions of those marches was to cause blood bath unfortunately for them the rule of law reigned supreme,
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Aug 17, 2012

somaartakeit

bottom line those marchers challenged the police they got response accordingly, so what's the problem really?
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Aug 17, 2012

somaartakeit

I know I was against police in the Tatane situation, but his case was different he was unarmed and was hardly a threat to the police who callously murdered him, for that death police are fully responsible and the rule of law must reign on those responsible for his death.
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Aug 17, 2012

MommaC

The big problem is us. My brother has a saying 'if at first you don't succeed, try brute force and ignorance' - of course he is normally talking about inanimate objects (he is an engineer) - but it could very well be the country motto at the moment.

We don't like the DA so "lets make the province ungovernable'
We don't want extra lessons so 'lets burn down the school'
We don't like the councillor that we voted for so 'lets stone a bus'

Nothing PRODUCTIVE comes of any of this it is based purely on DESTRUCTION
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Aug 17, 2012

HisnameisAstro!!!

Let me add my 2 cents worth here, @somaartakeit I agree with you 100%. I was fortunate to be watching the news yesterday and the marchers that were shot were actually charging at the police before they were shot. I feel no sympathy for them as they have distroyed business property and harrassed those who were working. The union leaders should be held accountable (AMCO or something like that) because they encouraged this behaviour last week on publis broadcast. In the end the productivity hours that was lost cannot be recovered, the mine is not operational and some ppl will not be paid. We have to distinguish between right and wrong.
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Aug 17, 2012

HisnameisAstro!!!

@Momma C you are the truth, don't forget WE WILL MARCH FOR THE SPEAR and nothing else. My heart is breaking just thinkikng about this issues!
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Aug 17, 2012

RobinH

MommaC: VERY WELL SAID. Precise and concise!

Astro: Marching or militant behaviour is mindles and unacceptable, no matter whether for your badly flawed spear or for anyone else.
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