Review: We are going to kill each other today: The Marikana Story

by Felix Dlangamandla, Thanduxolo Jika, Lucas Ledwaba, Sebabatso Mosamo, Athandiwe Saba and Leon Sadiki (Tafelberg)

What really happened during the Marikana tragedy of August 2012 and, more importantly, what were the causes of the illegal miners’ strike that led to the death of more than 34 people?

This book of 172 pages, of which 32 contain dramatic pictures, vividly details the deadly strike from journalists on the scene and tells of the effects on the surviving family members of the miners.

There is an unwritten, but clear disbelief by the writers of how such an incident could happen, but a clear note by them of the poverty and indignity still faced by black people 20 years into democracy.

There is interesting text on muti practices and the military-like stance of the miners, as well as equally necessary details about the police’s actions in what turned out to be the single most lethal use of force by security personnel against civilians since the Sharpeville massacre in 1960.

The writers, who received the 2013 Standard Bank Sivukile Journalism Awards for their coverage of the Marikana strike, generally leave analysis to the ongoing Farlam commission of inquiry, but the book does contain an enlightening paper on strikes in the mining sector by an industry player at the end.