"They killed us with hippos" Eyewitness account (interpreted from SeTswana): 'They killed us with Hippos. These Hippos arrived here, ran over people. People ran the opposite side (gestures towards 'Killing Koppie')...and the police still went and shot them. When they...
mineworkers
What the Marikana Massacre Highlights
by Shawn Hattingh The sight of policemen gunning down striking workers at Marikana was truly galling. Reports too have now emerged that on the day of the shooting some workers may have been executed far from the view of the press’s cameras; and allegations have also...
Discussion with Charles Abrahams: Class action suit on 100 years of mineworker neglect
Silicosis lawsuit filed against South Africa's gold miners. After decades of chronic and systematic neglect of mine-related diseases, a bold class action suit was filed in August on behalf of up to half a million black mineworkers, who had been worked to death or sent...
Cape Town Marikana Solidarity Committee Press Statement
05 September 2012 We, the members and representative of 19 community organisations based in the greater Cape Town area; Condemn the massacre of the Lonmin mineworkers and the continued efforts by the state and the Lonmin bosses to smash the strike. These efforts...
The rabbits of counter-revolution
by Jared Sacks To those of us that know revolution and understand the manner in which the composition of forces are repositioned and counter-hegemony is asserted by the revolutionary left, it is becoming increasingly clear that a new counter-revolutionary threat...
The brutal history of South Africa’s platinum industry | by Gavin Capps
Gavin Capps looks at how platinum has taken centre stage in South Africa's mining industry—and how workers have paid the cost Platinum mining is a big part of South Africa's economy. South Africa holds 88 percent of the world's platinum reserves and accounts for over...
South Africa does not support the death penalty, or does it?
The groundWork team Almost a week after the Marikana Massacre and in the midst of a week of mourning for those who were tragically killed at the Lonmin mine, the groundWork team sends their condolences to the families of the deceased and reflects on what this series...
The Marikana Massacre reveals the depths of the fault lines in South Africa | by Sahra Ryklief
On Thursday 16th August, 34 striking mineworkers were shot dead by police at LONMIN's platinum mine in Rustenberg. It is not yet clear why the police were using live ammunition, nor whether a warning was issued. Audio-visual depictions of the event demonstrate a...
Marikana and the New Politics of Grief by | Jon Soske
In July 1981, 1,700 workers at the Penge asbestos mine in the Northwestern Transvaal struck after a bitter, two year struggle for recognition by the Black Allied Mine and Construction Workers Union. After four days, the mine owners fired all of the workers, who then...



