Human Rights Violation Hearings — Durban — 1996-05-08

WITNESS:   Well, I was born in Durban.  I went to St Joseph's School up to standard five, and I had a very good friend who left and went to the Transkei, and went to the Holy Cross Convent in the Transkei.  So I asked the family if I could go to school in the Transkei, and I grew up in the Transkei.  I finished matric.  I qualified as a qualified florist, but I joined a circus.  I've always been a people's person, and I joined a circus, and I was the first South African trapeze artist ever, 35 years ago, and we travelled the country.  And I love people, and when I got married I joined an ice-skating school in Johannesburg and I skated for seven years.  I had three lovely children, which I have.  Unfortunately 18 years ago I got divorced - and worked in hotels.  I have been in hotels for 22 years, working with people, and that is basically my life.

MR NTSEBEZA: Thank you.  Now, I would like you to throw your mind back to that fateful day, the 14th of June 1985.  What time was it that you had begun to work on that day?

WITNESS:  Well, I was night shift, so the night shift starts at six.

MR NTSEBEZA: I see.

WITNESS:   Six in the evening, until midnight - 1 o'clock if we were busy, whenever.  But what I'd like to say first is the overall picture.  I worked at Magoo's, Parade Hotel, for nine years.  In the first five years, which led to that point of June - you've got to know when you work, even if it's in a pub, you get to know your clients.  They become - it becomes like a second family.  They come to drink there, and to relax.  You're their psychologist, psychiatrist, you're their moneylender.  They have tabs and they pay you at the end of the month, and tip you terrifically.  But you get to know them each and every one.  And with me being there five years I knew all these people in Magoo's and the Why Not Bar.  It's a regular bar, and they went there to relax and enjoy themselves.  This is the point that we're trying to make, and this is the reason why I am here.  I knew each and every one of them intimately, with their problems, their personal problems.

MR NTSEBEZA: Yesterday we were told that one of the persons who died was in fact going there to celebrate an occasion.

WITNESS:   That's correct.

MR NTSEBEZA: She was meeting some of her friends, and I am sure you must have known that.

WITNESS:   That is correct.

MR NTSEBEZA: Yes.

WITNESS:   We also had another table of 19-year-old schoolgirls who were celebrating one of the friend's 21st birthdays, and that they'd passed most of their examinations.  We had the usual Saturday night crowd, the usual crew in on Saturday, and we were quite busy actually.  And at about 10 past 10, as my mind goes back, everybody - it was very full and very busy, and what I had to do was run from Magoo's, to the Why Not, to Garfunkels.  There were three bars that I was in charge of, and if they needed help in any one of the bars I would be there.  I was the go-between.  And fortunately for me in the Why Not Bar we have two structures that are concrete, but they're panelled into wooden beams, and it looks like wooden beams.  No one knew that these underneath were concrete, and as I passed one of the concrete beams this is when all hell let loose, and that was about quarter past 10 on Saturday night.

MR NTSEBEZA: Now, it might be painful to do so, but are you able to ... (intervention)

WITNESS:   Yes, I am.  It's still very painful even after 10 years, although I was there.  I was injured slightly.  My ears are not too good today, but I get by - and my legs, but I was one of the fortunate ones, I must admit, and the concrete pillar saved me.  There was this enormous explosion.  What I remember is seeing flashing lights of all colours - red, blue, green, and a horrendous noise that actually went right down into your body.  But there was like a vacuum after that.  There was silence, and then all of a sudden there was this swooshing sound and everything just went berserk.  I don't know - when I spoke to the Bomb Squad afterwards they told me it's an impact.  There's a fraction of a second, or two seconds, before it actually takes everything away in its stride.  It happened so fast, and you actually - we didn't know what had happened.  It was so tremendous that for the moment you don't know what - what had happened.  Then we saw it in its full colours.  It was a massive blood bath, with flesh and blood dripping from the walls.  I remember seeing half a head on an optic.  I remember smelling burning flesh, and dragging people out.  There were people walking round in circles.  They had splinters of glass, enormous, through their heads, through their backs.  They didn't know what had happened.  One minute they were enjoying a beer and laughing to the music, and the next minute there was this chaos.  We had no idea.  Even I never knew it was a bomb.  We had no idea what it was.  But then Mr Davidson, who was the owner of the hotel, told everybody to please leave as fast as possible, and get the victims out in case there was another explosion.  He was scared there was going to be a second one.  We had help from the Holiday Inn, the next hotel.  The police were there very soon.  The ambulances came very soon.  It was two minutes and they were there.  It was incredible.  But it was getting the injured out fast and quick before we thought there would be another explosion.  And it was coming back inside, being hurt myself, but not badly, and looking at this devastation.  I've seen movies, horror movies.  I've experienced horrific things in Rhodesia.  I have never seen this in my life.  The inside of the Why Not Bar is - I cannot explain it to you.  It has lived with me for about 10 years now.  I still have nightmares, because you wake up and you see this in front of you again.  I know how the victims must feel.  I feel for them.  And this all came together, I must admit - we'd forgotten about it, I must admit, and everybody went their own way, until the victims, well, some of them, opened a newspaper reading and they phoned me.  They tried to contact me, and then eventually they got to know where I was, and they said to me, "Helen, how can we allow this?  Read such and such a paper and have a look inside it, please.  We're not going to stand for this."  I must have had 30 phone calls in one day.  And I had gone to the newspaper and opened it, and I understand their feelings.

MR NTSEBEZA: What was the news?

WITNESS:   The heading was, "McBride Chosen as Ambassador for South Africa."  I understand their hurt and their feelings and how they felt, and I suppose because I worked there and I was part of this, I tried to help everybody.  They said to me, "Please, we cannot accept this.  Something has to be done.  We will not accept him in this post."  If we've listened to the Quinn family, as we did today, there is a woman who is actually a heroine.  She was killed for the cause of peace and justice, and a man who is a murderer and a coward is nominated to represent South Africa.  Very two different stories here.  I cannot put them together.

MR NTSEBEZA: Do you still have any links with the Magoo's Bar?  Have you been able to go back there to work there, or ... (intervention)

WITNESS:   No, we went back once before, but I can't bring myself to go in there.  It is horrific.

MR NTSEBEZA: Yes.