Search for the truth

It's been a month and 15 days since the Marikana killings and it is still emerging every day that the tragedy where 34 miners died can never be fully quantified and comprehended.

As the commission of inquiry starts public hearings in Rustenburg today, the remnants of the losses caused by the Lonmin tragedy unfold.

While the nation celebrated with the miners for the 22% hike of their salaries, the ramifications of the wage negotiations remain with us. We report elsewhere in this paper about contract workers who were part of the strike - many who formed part of the mining workforce, who will not benefit from the wage increase.

As a potential employer, the Marikana compound used to be a place of hope for job seekers, but that too has dimmed as there are no more jobs available for them after the strike.

Understandably, the mining company has redirected its resources to resolving the wage deadlock and it remains to be seen when they will financially recover the losses incurred during the more than month-long strike.

The contract workers, who were part of the vicious strike, some of whom were even shot on the day of the massacre, have become the forgotten heroes of Marikana.

Many are now said to have packed their bags and headed back home to Eastern Cape. This means the burden of poverty for many of these families has become much greater as more breadwinners have to stay home and start looking elsewhere for jobs.

The commission of inquiry is a first step to healing the nation of the trauma of Marikana.

A lot is expected from the commission, headed by retired Supreme Court of Appeal judge Ian Farlam.

The public still needs to know how the conduct of Lonmin, the police and the miners escalated to such high levels that it resulted in strikers being mowed down, as seen on national television.

The terms and conditions of the commission have already been criticised as too vast and vague.

As the hearings go under way, we hope this is a beginning to find the truth of what happened on that fateful day.

The commission must unearth the truth and shed light on who was responsible for the deaths of the miners.

The public need to be assured that striking workers must not be a menace to society and know that the government is equipped to deal appropriately with unrest without being heavy-handed.

We need to know that a black life in SA is still valued.