Human Rights Violation Hearings — Uitenhage — 1996-08-26

MRS SOYA: My health got affected as a result of the incident. Then one August month, I could not even work and serve the guests at work, so I was given one months' sick leave and I was admitted in hospital and I was treated by Dr Singapi and I went back to work.
 But since then, I have never enjoyed good health. Towards the end of each month, I always have some excessive bleeding and have to consult a doctor. 
 Then in 1992, I was re-admitted into hospital. That was in December on the 8th and I had to be operated upon. After that, I went back to work. That was in February, but I still could not work properly and even my employers did not give me good treatment together with the management because they accused me of being talkative. They were even telling me that I could not enjoy the privileges that were enjoyed by the other staff members and this used to hurt me because they used to warn me repeatedly, even if we would have stayed away from work as a group, as we were members of the union then they would tell us that if we don't report to work they were going to get someone to work for me.
 So, all the time they would call me to their office to reprimand me and I could cry in front of the management. Even the operation gave me some problems and this I reported to the manager but he ignored it. 
 I therefore decided to resign in April to take care of myself.

MR SANDI: So, in short, Mrs Soya you say your employers despite that they were fully aware of the incident of your son, they never showed any sympathy toward you?

MRS SOYA: No, they never showed any sympathy towards me.

MR SANDI: Now, Mrs Soya is that all you want to say to us before I hand over to the Chairman.

MRS SOYA: Lastly, what hurts me mostly, my that my son who is surviving to, got affected badly. The name is Phindile Soya. He is still attending school but he is not doing well, he fails. Because at the time of the incident he used to cry a lot and he could not even go back to school and he would take care of me until I decided to send him to the Transkei to stay with someone there in Transkei by the name of Mr Sebezo, living in Lady Frey. He is the one therefore who helped me and accommodated my son and sent him to school.
 He came back but he was a little bit better.

MR SANDI: Could I intervene Mrs Soya. By the same, you said there is some treatment you are getting some treatment from the doctor at the present moment.

MRS SOYA: No. Now that I am not working, I am not getting any treatment because I used to pay for my medical expenses.

MR SANDI: Now, do you still mean you need some treatment from the doctors because of your condition?

MRS SOYA: Yes. I keep on falling sick but there is nothing I can do until I wait for my husband to give me some money in order to consult a doctor.

MR SANDI: Are there other facts that you may have omitted, if so I will give you another chance later on.

MR SANDI: Mrs Soya, how old was your son when he died?

MRS SOYA: He was 15 years old.

MR SANDI: Was he perhaps an activist? Politically what was he actually doing?

MRS SOYA: He was a member of the COSAS.

MR SANDI: Is it true that your son was the son that you loved mostly?

MRS SOYA: Yes, it is like that.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Mrs Soya. Let us thank you for your report that you have forwarded to this Commission. I would also like to thank you for sharing this story that is so very painful to your life with us.
 The record of this Commission is going to indicate that we have discovered that after this incident, Ivy Soya was greatly affected by the death of her son who was the beloved son and she further got hurt by being ill-treated by the employers even after this painful incident.
 We shall indicate this in the record because she also attempted suicide several times as a result of all this pain and suffering. 
 I also would like that in our record this should be shown because as this Commission we are looking into the conflicts of the past but it is very evident that black women and mothers, although we are dealing with the conflict of the past, we have to deal with that conflict even-handedly. But, our black mothers have endured a lot which perhaps could not have been endured by the other mothers. I therefore think that it should be in your mind that if your son was allowed to live he would perhaps be something in life.
 We thank you for this very painful story, I say it once more that I wish people who were in government at the time should be listening.
 We are going to look into your request and attend them and make a follow-up as much as we can, but I should ask the comment of the reparation to look into whatever assistance they could offer insofar as your health is concerned, because we feel that it needs an urgent attendance. Thank you.