Human Rights Violation Hearings — Helderberg Tygerberg — 1996-08-07

CASE NO: CT/03201

VICTIM: SARAH VAN WYK (daughter)

CHAIRPERSON: Can you switch it on thank you - good afternoon ma'm. Can you hear me?

SARAH AUGUST: Yes I can.

CHAIRPERSON: Good afternoon and welcome.

SARAH AUGUST: Good afternoon sir.

CHAIRPERSON: There is a gentleman accompanying you, who is he?

SARAH AUGUST: It's my husband Mr August.

CHAIRPERSON: Good afternoon and welcome to you Mr August, thank you very much for accompanying your wife and welcome to you as well. Ma'am please relax I know that it's been a long day, and we would like to thank you for your patience and your tolerance. If I understand this correctly you are the only one that will be giving evidence is that correct, and your husband is just here to lend you some moral support, is that right?

SARAH AUGUST: Yes sir.

CHAIRPERSON: Good, ma'am I am now going to ask you to take the prescribed oath, since you are the only one who is going to be giving evidence. Could you please stand, thank you very much.
SARAH AUGUST Duly sworn states

CHAIRPERSON: Glenda Wildschut will assist you and facilitate your evidence, I now hand over to her.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT: Good afternoon Ms August.

WITNESS: Good afternoon.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT:  Are you comfortable where you are seated?

WITNESS: Yes ma'am.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT:  Maybe I can ask you just to move a little bit closer to the mic, because it's important that people in the audience hear your story as well. We know it has been a long wait for you today, you've been with us since the weekend and I know it's been a very long wait and we really want to add our thanks to that of Denzil for you being so patience and waiting for so long to tell us your story. Maybe I can ask you now to start by introducing yourself and then to move on to tell us about your story which is about your daughter, your daughter was also Sarah van Wyk, and I would like you to start now.

WITNESS: I am Sarah August, I live in Bellville South. It was a terrible year for me the year of 1985. On the 29th of August well there were riots, on this particular day my daughter was still working, she had always worked. And on this particular day she was on her way back from work while it was still so active there, she was coming down the road and there were Casspirs riding in convoy down the road. And I still told them there at home that you people shouldn't go out to go and watch these things because you could get hurt. But then they said to me no they were going - they just wanted to look - they just wanted to see how these things looked and they then - when the Casspirs drove past they went out and they went to go and watch. And when they got outside to - in the street, the policemen started shooting tear gas. Half the people ran away, and they also ran away. But in the time it was so dark with this - with smoke and they started shooting bullets after that and the one bullet struck her. But we did not know then that she was - she had been shot and Dina Baron brought us her scarf and her shoes and told us that the children had been shot, her daughter as well. At the time we went to the police for information to find out if they hadn't been locked up or anything and we phoned the hospital, the hospital said that there were children, wounded children who were admitted. But at the time we didn't even think that she had been killed. My husband and a friend of his went to the hospital by car. At approximately 730 the Thursday evening she was shot, but it took so long before the ambulance was called and the ambulance arrived, that it was very dark by the time they came. My husband and then could only leave at about eleven o'clock because we were terrified. And when they got to the hospital they were told that one had died, so they should go to Salt River and then left and when they got there, they were shown her clothes. And I had already told him what she had on, so they showed him her clothes and he knew that she has been shot dead. And up until now nobody has come to us - none of the perpetrators have approached us. All we know is that our child has been shot dead and that we have buried her, and nothing has happened as far as this case is concerned.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT:  Ms August how old was Sarah when she died, when she was shot, how old was she then?

WITNESS: She was 21 years old ma'am, she had just turned 21 on the 2nd of August in that year, on the 3rd of August we celebrated her birthday and the 29th of August she died.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT:  So this month in fact is a month that you will remember her death as well.

WITNESS: Yes, the 29th of August it will be 11 years since she died.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT:  You said that she was working and she had come from work that evening and just settled down at home before she was curious and wanted to go outside and see what was happening.

WITNESS: Yes.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT:  Was she at all involved in any political activity, was she engaged in any activity or riot activity outside?

WITNESS: No ma'am she was not a politician - she was always just with us, we always use to go to church, she was the main singer in church, the lead singer.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT:  Ms August since your daughter died, how has that affected your family and yourself, what impact has this death had on your family and on your life?

WITNESS: It has affected us a great deal, to think that she was a healthy person, she wasn't someone that use to go to dances or she didn't lead a very outgoing life that the police could just come and take her life. It was very painful for us, but what can we do, we had to accept it and it was the hardest thing for us to do. The worst of all was that nobody came to us to tell us that your child was there and I shot at her. Nobody did that, she was just shot and that was that. And that really hurt us. If they had injured her it probably wouldn't have been as painful as them having shot her dead. Today is the first time that I can actually talk about her, in almost eleven years but I am just grateful that I can just talk and I am so happy that there is a Truth Commission, I really want to thank you, for listening to this case and we decided, we had initially decided to just let it be, but we appreciate the fact that there are still people that care about us, for us people that suffered and our people - our loved ones that were killed.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT:  We feel very humbled by the fact that you and your husband have come to tell us your very-very heart sore story today. And to share your grief with us, we are really very honored that you have come, we also want to acknowledge the fact that you feel that your story has been heard and acknowledged today. It is very difficult when you have lost a child, you've lost your daughter and then at the same time that nobody has come to come forward and said to you I am the person that has done this and I want to ask for forgiveness and I want to ask for forgiveness, I want to say sorry. I know that it's very-very hard to accept that.

WITNESS: Ja - ja.

GLENDA WILDSCHUT:  Maybe while we are talking about that, we can find out from you what it is that the Truth Commission can do, how is it that we as a Commission can respond to your story, what would you like us to do?