By Sarah Evans
This was the message delivered by evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson at the Farlam commission, who urged against “normalising” the tragic massacre.
After two years of studying every possible detail, from autopsy reports and police operational plans to the macro-issues surrounding the union environment, the Marikana commission must not lose sight of the human faces of those who died at Marikana on August 16 2012.
This was the plea from evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson SC to the Farlam Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday.
“Think of the miner who bled to death for an hour while the SAPS [South African Police Service] did nothing. Think of individuals. Every victim was an individual human being with a family.”
Chaskalson said it was easy for people to become “numb” to the human tragedy because it was human nature to try to “normalise” the events as a coping mechanism. This was part of the police’s strategy at the commission, said Chaskalson.
He said the commissioners should remember the effects of the two-year investigation “and our capacity to be numbed to events that are truly horrifying”.
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