Human Rights Violation Hearings — Johannesburg — 1996-04-29

MARINA GELDENHUYS: Yes I requested compensation from the President's Fund.  They replaced material things, for
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instance loss of handbag and contents, clothes, and an amount of R300,00 was paid to my mother for fuel expenses.  I lived in Springs at the time and I was treated in Pretoria Hospital so I received about R765,66.

MR MALAN: Initially you said it was an act of cowardice, have you been able to place this whole incident in a bigger context?  Have you asked yourself what the point of it was and what the consequences of it were?  How do you feel about this now, the conflict which took place in the last 30 years, what are your views on this?

MARINA GELDENHUYS: I still feel that it was a cowardly act.  We all know who were responsible for it.  I can quote the newspaper reports, dates and give you those details.  On the 22nd of May 1983 in the report the ANC leader Oliver Tambo had said earlier in that year before the incident, that they would target soft targets, namely the public, and that means innocent people would be involved,  not defence force people or people involved in politics, people like myself we had just left school, we had no political involvement, we didn't know about the political situation in our country really.

MR MALAN: May I ask you a last question.  You are aware that the inquest in this case found that the two people who were killed were the people who had planted the bomb but no further information came to light about the origins of the bomb and so forth, are you still keen to find out what happened, who these people were who had given the orders or are these details not relevant to you anymore?  Do they not bother you?

MARINA GELDENHUYS: About four years ago in a Sunday newspaper I read that Mr Joe Slovo had been behind this explosion and
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after that nothing came of it.  The whole thing was just squashed.

MR MALAN: I will say thank you to you for now.  Some of the other Commissioners might have questions and the Chairperson will handle it.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you very much.  Are there any other questions from any of the other Commissioners?

MS MKHIZE: Miss Geldenhuys if I may ask you you emphasise the fact that you were robbed of your youth can you just maybe share with the Commission briefly as to your understanding of what was happening in the society at that point in time if you had any understanding, especially politically, just in brief?

MARINA GELDENHUYS: I can't say that politically anything happened to me because as I said earlier I wasn't really politically aware at that time.  From a very early age I was confused as regards politics. We didn't really know what was right and what was wrong and as far as society was concerned the way I was handled and treated is that people stared and asked questions and you had to tell the same story over and over again.  Many people had already forgotten about it and couldn't even recall such an incident.

CHAIRPERSON: Piet Meiring.

PROF MEIRING: Miss Geldenhuys just a simple question.  After having gone this very difficult and traumatic experience which happened years ago and you are still struggling with the after effects what do you think, where could the Truth and Reconciliation Commission help you, in what way?

MARINA GELDENHUYS: I would like to say that the guilty parties must be brought to justice and they must reveal their
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reasons and motives for this attack, and if the State could perhaps assist me with my medical expenses I would appreciate it.

CHAIRPERSON: Dr Magwaza.

DR MAGWAZA: Ms Geldenhuys you have made mention of the fact that you suffered severe emotional trauma, have you had some form of treatment for the trauma and do you think it has helped you in any way?

MARINA GELDENHUYS: It was only about two years ago that I really went for psychiatric help.  It did help me to some extent to really get over the worst of it.

CHAIRPERSON: Yasmin Sooka.

YASMINE SOOKA: What are you doing at present, are you married.

MARINA GELDENHUYS: No I am not married.

YASMINE SOOKA: Are you employed?

MARINA GELDENHUYS: Yes I am working as a creditors clerk.

YASMINE SOOKA: Do you feel that - are you unable to deal with a relationship because of what happened?

MARINA GELDENHUYS: No I wouldn't be able to say that.  No I think I am able to relate to people quite normally but I do feel that I am now in a position which I wouldn't have chosen for myself.  I want to become a beauty therapist and I couldn't.

YASMINE SOOKA: How do you feel about the political situation now?  At that point in time you said that you were an innocent bystander caught in the conflict, how do you feel now 13 years later about the fact that there is a new government in power?  And you also said that nobody in government listened to you and took care of you, how do you feel about that situation now?

MARINA GELDENHUYS: The new government is of significance to me JOHANNESBURG HEARING TRC/GAUTENG
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because it means that I can sit here today and tell my story.  Earlier this would not have been possible.

YASMINE SOOKA: Thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: To all the people from Gauteng who were injured in the same kind of incident as you were we are deeply sorry, we are so sorry that so many atrocities were committed in our country on both sides of the struggle, and we really hope and trust that this Commission can make some contribution to the reconciliation of our people, to the healing of our nation.  We really hope that you will be able to put this experience behind you and that God will help you to heal these wounds.
 Now that we have a new government in this country we hope that all of us will try to forget the past and put it behind us.  Now that it is possible to come and give testimony in front of the Commission and we hope that perhaps somebody in authority will be able to express his regret for this kind of incident in which you were injured.   On behalf of this Commission I would like to repeat once again that we are deeply sorry that so many innocent victims were injured and we hope that God will bless you.  Thank you very much.