It has since backfired with devastating consequences of the deaths of illegal miners due to hunger. Several zama zamas who survived the conditions underground have provided harrowing tales of the conditions they found themselves in with people dying around them.
The government’s response to the mine situation has also exposed our indifference to human dignity and protecting human life when the lives at stake are those of the poor and vulnerable.
This is not only against the spirit of our constitution which protects the right to life of everyone but also offends our human values and the principle of ubuntu.
Instead of showing compassion and treating the Stilfontein situation as a humanitarian mission, some police officials and politicians saw this as an opportunity to grandstand about fighting crime. The debate about this tragedy has been polarised by views that seek to stoke the anti-immigrant sentiment by blaming criminality associated with illegal mining only on immigrants.
We hold no brief for criminals, but we must accept that we have laws that must be followed when a crime is committed to ensure justice is served. In the desperate scenes that played out in Stilfontein, there could be no justification for the lack of compassion and care for human life.
We cannot allow the authorities to claim that the only way to deal with the problem was cutting off food supplies to the illegal miners. It was an inhumane and ill-considered decision that led us to this tragedy.
SowetanLIVE
SOWETAN SAYS | State should have treated zama zamas differently
Image: IHSAAN HAFFEJEE/ REUTERS
The retrieval of 78 bodies of illegal miners from the closed Stilfontein mine in the North West during a three-day rescue mission is horrific and heartbreaking.
This event serves as a tragic reminder of the consequences of our government’s failure to deal with the illegal mining problem that has been festering for years. The government-backed rescue mission which began on Monday came months after calls for intervention to preserve human life and dignity fell on deaf ears. In fact, it took several court actions to force the government’s hand to act on the unfolding tragedy.
Hundreds of illegal miners who had been stuck underground since August last year with limited food and water had been rescued by yesterday.
As part of its Operation Vala uMgodi, which seeks to stem the tide of illegal mining activities around the country, police reportedly cut off food supplies to the illegal miners in Stilfontein. This move was meant to force the zama zamas underground to surface so they could be arrested.
It has since backfired with devastating consequences of the deaths of illegal miners due to hunger. Several zama zamas who survived the conditions underground have provided harrowing tales of the conditions they found themselves in with people dying around them.
The government’s response to the mine situation has also exposed our indifference to human dignity and protecting human life when the lives at stake are those of the poor and vulnerable.
This is not only against the spirit of our constitution which protects the right to life of everyone but also offends our human values and the principle of ubuntu.
Instead of showing compassion and treating the Stilfontein situation as a humanitarian mission, some police officials and politicians saw this as an opportunity to grandstand about fighting crime. The debate about this tragedy has been polarised by views that seek to stoke the anti-immigrant sentiment by blaming criminality associated with illegal mining only on immigrants.
We hold no brief for criminals, but we must accept that we have laws that must be followed when a crime is committed to ensure justice is served. In the desperate scenes that played out in Stilfontein, there could be no justification for the lack of compassion and care for human life.
We cannot allow the authorities to claim that the only way to deal with the problem was cutting off food supplies to the illegal miners. It was an inhumane and ill-considered decision that led us to this tragedy.
SowetanLIVE
Timeline of the Stilfontein saga
‘I saw people starve to death around me’, says illegal miner
STILFONTEIN IN NUMBERS | Only 26 of the almost 2,000 zama zamas are South African
Mantashe says fight against illegal mining should be intensified
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