Human Rights Violation Hearings — Queenstown — 1996-07-22

AP VAN WYK: Thank you very much.  Just to give you some background as to where I come from and as to why I am present today.
 In August of 1989 we moved from the Northern Province.  Everything we have ever acquired we brought with us to Queenstown, this was in order to start a business, and I mean everything.
 I had a very good job in Pietersburg, I had a very bright future ahead of me.  They were very disappointed when I advised them that I was now going to open a business in Queenstown.
 It was most certainly not easy.  It was equivalent to moving countries, we did not know anybody in Queenstown, it was our first time ever in Queenstown.
 The business that we took over was about six months old, it was financially on a very stable footing.  My wife and my two children accompanied me, I warned them beforehand that we were going to work very hard, that we're working for ourselves, that the hours are going to very long.
 So the first three months which was August, September and October of 1981, I planned to work in this business all by myself.
 And I was now going to attempt to make a great success of this business.  My daughter at that stage was in standard QUEENSTOWN HEARING TRC/EASTERN CAPE
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1, my son was in standard 4.
 And we put in a great deal of effort into this project, it was hard work, the hours were long, we worked day in and day out.
 At that stage myself and my family had given work opportunities to approximately 24 to 25 workers, we employed quite a few students and scholars who worked over weekends and who worked during the school holidays. 
 And there was approximately about 25 of them as well.   So at that stage and even today, we have always created a lot of job opportunities, particularly in this town.  In those years and even today still, things are tough in Queenstown.
 We realise that myself and my family were not able to look after the business ourselves, and therefor we realised that we needed the scholars, we needed the students.  We realised that a whole lot of people have to work together for a common cause.
 And initially we battled, it was difficult and I can remember very clearly that within the first three months, we never ever thought we'd make it.
 There were just no clients.  If we had 10 of 15 customers for lunch, we were lucky.  So I started doubting myself, I started wondering whether I actually made the right decision.  I said to myself that I had a bright future ahead and I had everything going for me at the time, and I wondered if I ever did make the right decision.
 But we persevered and three months later my wife and children joined me.  And this is how we gradually built the business.
 And subsequently the bond between the students, the 
QUEENSTOWN HEARING TRC/EASTERN CAPE
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scholars and all of us became tighter, closer and in a very short time, we as a team found that we were held in very high esteem in this town of Queenstown.
 And at all times we had opened our business to all races.  Any person was welcome, nobody was ever turned away on the basis of colour or sex or skin.  And I think that on the grounds of this, we have had a very successful business.
 And so that fatal day happened.  It was in December and we were preparing for a very good festive season.  
 We were preparing for a record season in December.  At the end of November and beginning of December, it is known to be a time of festivities and people often would book well ahead of time to celebrate the festive season.
 On that fateful day in December it changed the life of me and of many other people at Spur.  It was a very, very traumatic time for me.
 And as you can gather I wasn't personally present on the day that the explosion occurred.  My wife together with the manager of the Spur at the time, and was also accompanied by a whole lot of customers.  It was a busy time, it was Christmas time.
 You know, it was a festive time, everyone was in a festive mood, because it was the build up to Christmas, the schools closed and children were all looking forward to their vacations.
 On that specific night we actually had children from local schools present.

ADV POTGIETER: What night was that?