Human Rights Violation Hearings — Soweto — 1996-07-23

YASMINE SOOKA: I wonder if I could recount a little bit of his evidence for you.  What Dan said was that when people were marching, when the march started, it was very peaceful and the students were in a very jubilant mood.  In fact, even some of the testimony from the policemen who came to the Cilliers Commission, in fact, confirmed that the students were in incredibly high spirits.  However, once the attack by the police had taken place, one must remember that when the march passed, they passed the Municipality offices and they did see a white person and nothing happened.  Immediately the attack had taken place, suddenly it had become a battle zone and any person who was of a white race, was a legitimate target.  I do not think that that is a very satisfactory explanation, but it certainly what changed and what then allowed your father to be killed.  I think that, in a sense, it did not matter that he was Dr Edelstein.  People probably did not recognise him.  He was simply a target because he was a white person.  How do you feel about the fact that there was nothing personal about the fact that SOWETO HEARING GAUTENG PROVINCE
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he was killed in that particular way?

JANET GOLDBLATT: Well, I think it is terrible.  We, subsequently heard, there was a gentleman by the name of Hopkirk.  I do not know if he is still alive today.  He worked with my dad.  He went to visit my mother about a week after my dad died and he indicated that they did know it was my dad.  I do not know if he was just stirring up at the time or he was just very angry himself.  We never got to see him again because he came with another gentleman, a black gentleman who also worked very closely with my dad.  He phoned my mum the next day.  He said that he had been warned not to contact her again.  So, you know, it is something that, obviously, we will never know unless you were really there, what actually happened.  If these people actually knew that it was my dad, and I am sure, from what I have seen in pictures and on the various TV shows, etc.  I know that these people were very, very angry at the time and filled with rage.  So, I know, I can imagine when I actually met with Dan and that is exactly what his answer was to me.  Is that it was any white person, just would have had no chance.  He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

YASMINE SOOKA: I would like to ask you another thing, another question which is that the part of our past and part of what we are here to do is to look at our past and, although, we may not belong to political organisations, although we may not be members, in a sense, what apartheid has done, it has forced us to all be political.  By the simple fact of being born either black or white you are cast into the politics of the day.  Would you accept that, in a sense, this is what apartheid has done to us?

JANET GOLDBLATT: Yes and no.  I feel over the last years or
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since the new Government has taken over, I do not think, personally, I do not think that it should be a matter of politics and black and white anymore because it is now a democratically elected Government that we have in place.  Obviously, personally, I feel very strongly about violence and in my statement that I made to you the chap asked me what would I like to say to the Commission.  I feel very strongly that in those days there was almost a reason, there was a reason for all the violence and there was a fight, but today we have a democratically elected Government in place and I know that there are a lot of problems in terms of poor people, you know, the economic problems, etc, but I feel that now that the country is, the Government is democratically elected we should, as a country, we should look after our people of all nations and all races.  When I say that I mean violence that takes place, should not be allowed.  There should be no more violence in this country and no more crime.  It should be stamped out.  I do not know how.  
 I know it is very difficult, but, I mean, my best friend's father was murdered exactly one week ago senselessly and currently the murderers were out on amnesty, you know.  I just, obviously, I feel very strongly about that because I grew up with them and he was, actually, like my second father.  I actually relived going to that funeral, I relived what had happened to my dad, but when I sat back and I looked at the whole situation it was, it is a horrible thing to say that my dad died for a reason, he died for a cause, and he did, but this is no cause and I just feel that we should all make an effort to look after one another now because we are all one.  We are one nation. 
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YASMINE SOOKA: I think that the violence that we are living in is one of the major problems of this country and I do think that it requires a special effort from Government because everybody lives within the shadow of violence these days.  The crime levels are, certainly, much too high, but one must remember that we come from a legacy of violence and brutality and, in a sense, the fabric of our society has been eradicated.  Part of a new South Africa is about rebuilding a sense of family, rebuilding a sense of worth in all of us, but also creating a moral society because that is the only way to overcome violence and, of course, that must go hand in hand with programmes to establish respect for the rule of law, to make the courts more effective, to make the correctional services work more effectively.  They are not things which are going to come right in a short period of time, but I think we all share your hurt, your sense of frustration and it is terrible to go through it a second time.
 All we can say is that if it is, what we will need to do is to try and follow up if there are more people who can come forward and, possibly, today you may hear more about whether people did recognise your father and, if they did, perhaps the rage against white people was so enormous that what happened did happen.  We have taken note of what we say, of what you have said and we hope that we can be of assistance in getting you to some of the answers.  Would your sister like to add something to this?

MS EDELSTEIN: I was very young at the time.  I was 18 months younger than my sister.  My father actually died a day before my birthday and so for me it has never ever been a happy birthday.  It has always been a remembrance and a
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mourning, a day of mourning.  I have not come forward as much as my sister has.  She is the threshold of our family and I think that what she has done is phenomenal to have made a statement about my father being an important man in our history and a man that should be remembered for what he did.  I think that is why we are here today.  We would like for him to be remembered.

YASMINE SOOKA: Thank you very, very much for sharing your story with us.  I will hand you back to Commissioner Hlengiwe Mkhize.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you Janet.  I am sorry, I did not get your sister's name.

JANET GOLDBLATT: Shana.

CHAIRPERSON: Shana.  Thank you Shana as well.  I will ask other Commissioners to ask you questions.  Joyce, have you got any?  You.

RUSSELL ALLY: Janet, until that fateful day when your father so tragically lost his life, did he ever express any fears about working in Soweto, about coming into Soweto, about interacting with people in Soweto?  What was his perception of the place?