Marikana: A View from the Mountain and a Case to Answer

by Peter Alexander, Thapelo Lekgowa, Botsang Mmope

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.

Genres: History, Africa, South Africa

228 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Thomas Baloyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book's title is pretty much self-explanatory, I got what I expected; an account of what happened in Marikana years ago. What I did not anticipate is how angry this book was going to get me, the authors show us the inhumanity of a profit-maximising firm in "addressing" the grievances of its workers. Due to how this story has been distorted in the South African media, they pay as much attention to accuracy and legitimacy as any model researcher/academic would. The book ends with an amazing analysis and conclusion by Prof. Peter Alexander.

I leave you with this heartbreaking scene described in the book:

"Many fled north; some fled westwards in the hope of reaching Marikana; others just ran as as they could and as quickly as their legs would carry them; and one at least, crawled a long distance across rough ground, hoping to dodge bullets and Hippos. . . . There were armoured vehicles all around; there were helicopters in the sky; horses charging to and fro; police sweeping through on foot; stun grenades making a noise as loud as a bomb; tear gas; water cannons; rubber bullets; live rounfs; and people being injected with injected with syringes. This was not public order, this was warfare."

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good analysis of what happened at Marikana supplemented with invaluable miner testimony not found in the newspapers. However, I would like to see a second edition of this book that adds in an analysis of the official commission. What irritated me about this book as-is was miners repeatedly said they felt the unions had failed them. While I understand on what ways the unions failed them, I don't understand what caused the unions to do so.

[Martin Empson · Rating 5 out of 5]

According to one of the strikers who witnessed the massacre, the first miner who was shot and killed was wearing a Kaiser Chiefs t-shirt. He could have been a worker anywhere in the world, an ordinary person struggling to improve things for himself and his family. This short, but important book has many lessons for all of us, not just workers in South Africa. The role of the trade union bureaucrats, the links between big business and the state (as well as the details of what is currently taking place in South Africa) are all things that workers around the globe need to learn. The struggle for justice for the Marikana mineworkers will continue, but their fight is one that will leave us all stronger and this book is an important part of learning those lessons.
Full review: http://resolutereader.blogspot.co.uk/...

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up in a bookstore in Maseru because I'm interested in both mining issues and labor rights. I didn't quite realize until I started reading it that the majority of the book is straight interviews and transcripts and only limited analysis. There's a lot of value in the explicit centering of workers' voices and given the timing of the research and publication, but I still would've liked more context and more analysis. Maybe best case would've been a second edition that also reviewed the results of the official commission of inquiry in comparison to the workers' testimonies. This book is most useful as a primary source and a look at the collusion between mining companies, mining unions, and the government/ police.