Special Hearings — Children's Hearings — 1997-05-22

RIEFAAT HATTAS: This is the list of my forgotten Comrades.  The first one Celeste Naidoo.  I have the greatest respect for her, because she was the one who trained me.  She was my mentor and all things that I achieved in life was because of what she taught me and I want to tell the whole world that the principles that Celeste taught me, it is still with me and I will never forget those principles and one of those principles was that you stay loyal to your Comrades.  No matter where you go one day or what you become, you do not forget your roots where you come from and you serve your Comrades.
 The other Comrade, Katheem Neethling, his former name was Cecil.  He was detained with me and he was part of our Action Committee at school.  He was detained in Victor Verster.  He is today a nervous wreck and a drug addict.  Kevin is also a nervous wreck and a drug addict.  Deon Brink, he was detained with me and whilst I was interrogated I managed not to name any names, but as I was beaten and as I, the things they did to me I do not want to name that, because I do not want it in the press, I told them I do not know, they were looking for Comrades Kevin Patel, Paul Doemat, Celeste Naidoo, I told them I do not know, because I was on the run and I was not in Mannenberg or in Surrey Estate or wherever for a long period and I told them why do you not ask Deon, but I never knew Deon was also picked up, I never knew.  I thought he was still on the run.  They brought him in and they beat and they attacked and brutally beat Deon in front of me and I can never forgive myself for that.  I never knew.  
 The other Comrades is Earl September, he was also in Victor Verster.  All of them went through the same things we did as well as Isaac April.  Karriem Adams, Medaat Adams they were arrested, they also went through the same trauma.  They did not want to come forward, because they want to forget everything that happened.  They want to write it off as something bad which happened in their lives.  Shahied Petersen is also a nervous wreck today.  Shahieda, all these Comrades were all part and Celeste played the major role in our lives.  Robert, today I do not even know where he went.  He is so disillusioned and is messed up just like all of us.  Aziezoedien, Jacky Hefele and Genevieve Zeeman, they are all traumatised.
 These are only the Comrades that were, worked close with me.  There are thousands of other Comrades, I call them the forgotten Comrades, nobody took notice of us, nobody took notice of them.  I would like the TRC to remember those people and I hope one day all the street children that must still attend school and those people who are sitting here who is coming from high schools, you have a responsibility towards us to try to reach your full potential and you must make the most of your normal lives that you have, because we are not able to do it.  We have been messed up by the National Party.  Please, I beg of you, to make the best of your lives.  You owe it to us.  Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Ladies and gentlemen, I can understand why you are moved to applaud, but it really is not appropriate in these proceedings so can I ask you to refrain from doing so.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: Riefaat, you have touched us very deeply.  Before I thank you for coming to us I just wonder whether the other panellists want to, perhaps, make a comment or ask you a question of clarity.  We will not be interrogating you at all.

CHAIRPERSON: Riefaat, I just have one question.  How old are you now and how old were you when you were detained?

RIEFAAT HATTAS: I am 29 now.  I was 15 when I started getting involved in the struggle and I was, I think I was about 17 when I was detained.

MS GOBODO-MADIKIZELA: Thank you Madam Chair and thank you Riefaat.  You are speaking on behalf of your Comrades, your, the people you call forgotten heroes, but I think you are also speaking about yourself.  I think it is important for us to understand that, that you are finding your voice through speaking about Comrades and that means, for us, that it is really difficult for you to recall what happened to you and to talk about it.  Therefore, you find it easier to talk about your other Comrades than about yourself.  That in itself shows us the intensity of what you have gone through and I think it is important for us to understand that.  Repeated trauma, I think it is a well known fact, that repeated trauma on adults leads to an erosion of personality, of an already formed personality, but repeated trauma on children like yourself forms and deforms a personality.  I think we have not yet established what the affects of violence, of exposure to violence and exposure to continued amounts of trauma is to children.  There are not any theories that have shown us how much that there is, how much effect this continued trauma is, but you are evidence, you are clear evidence that children are affected by trauma in their adulthood.  There are no answers.
 Some children are resilient, but I think that resilience is difficult in light of the total traumatic life, traumatic environment that you had to go through and I just want to say this, we understand the difficulties that you are going through and we also understand the sense of helplessness that you had to face when your friends were abused in front of you.  It is very difficult to adapt in a situation that is terrifyingly unpredictable and you are telling us, sharing this with us today, what you had to go through.  It is hard to give you words that will strengthen you, because that is your reality, that is the reality you are going through, but thank you for sharing your experiences and our hearts go to you.  Thank you Madam Chair.

MARY BURTON: You have taken a courageous step in coming.  I hope it will be a step forward, also, in your own healing and self forgiveness.  What I would like to just tell you is that when the National Party came to make a submission to us just this month, among the things they said was that they would be meeting to examine their responsibility towards the reparation process and I hope that they will hear your words today when they come to do that.  Thank you very much.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: Thank you very much Riefaat.  As we said earlier on you have touched very deeply into our hearts and, I am sure, into many of the hearts of people who are listening to you today.  Thanks for making the decision to come and being the first one, as it were, trail blazer, and, in fact, you are, to set the pace for today.  Thank you very much.

CHAIRPERSON: Ladies and gentlemen, we will now have a 15 minute tea break, but can we stand as the witnesses leave and reconvene at 20 past 11.