Marikana: A View From the Mountain and a Case to Answer PDF
Preview Marikana: A View From the Mountain and a Case to Answer
Dubbed the Marikana Massacre, the Marikana miners’ strike was the single most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since the end of apartheid. Those killed were mineworkers who were in pursuit of a pay raise to R12 500 per month. The workers had occupied a mountain and were demanding the right to speak with their employer about their pay when the massacre occurred.
The heart of Marikana: A View from the Mountain and a Case to Answer is a series of interviews conducted with workers who survived the massacre. The interviews were often conducted at the foot of the mountain because that is where workers continued to meet. In addition, there is a narrative of the massacre and preceding events written from the perspective of the strikers. A list of all those who died at Marikana is included in the book, along with illustrations and maps.
‘The book is an attempt to provide a bottom-up account of the Marikana story, to correct an imbalance in many official and media accounts that privilege the viewpoints of governments and business, at the expense of workers.’
– Prof. Jane Duncan – Highway Africa Chair of Media and Information Society, School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
‘A moment in South African history that... may come to be seen as having been as significant as “Sharpeville” and “Soweto”... well written, extremely scrupulous in its research and forceful in its argument.’
– Prof. John Saul Professor Emeritus of Politics at York University, Toronto
This unique book provides rich details and tells of police murders, sadness, bravery and pride. Royalties from this book will go to families of Marikana victims through a trust fund held by the South African Council of Churches.
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