Human Rights Violation Hearings — Heiderveld — 1996-04-23

MS NGEWU: In connection with our children, nobody did this before but how they can be remembered is there were no memorial services done for them in Guguletu.   That is something that we still feel that it should have been done.  We feel that they were not important in the - in the nation at all.
 What I would ask is something - a memory that will be held for them, even if it's just a creche or a building or a school that could be named after - after our children.  Anything that could be named after our children, then we can be satisfied, yes we know they'll never come back.  But at least we want to have something that will take all that - that hurt inside.  We really feel very bad about our children.  I didn't finish talking about this before, but I wonder if I can still go on.
 There was a white policeman who was at special branch that time, who asked me certain question that I couldn't - which I couldn't answer.  But I ended up questioning - answering them because he kept on asking me the same thing.  He repeated it for a long time, I had to answer.  This white man now is in high positions, I don't know if I'll be able to say this correctly but I think it's Trollip.
 Now it was from nine to lunch time when he asked me something like this, why did you ask - why did you allow the ANC to come and take your son's coffin.  Why did you bury him on your own dates, not the date that we gave you.  When I answered him I said, every person has his own people, if there are just too many people a group of people coming to you saying do anything that they say, and you will be knowing that during that time, people would - people would just think of me as an informer.
 And these people didn't come here because they didn't know who he is, they knew who he was.  They knew him, they were with him all this time.  The boers have did - did horrible things to us.  Even today I can't educate my children, how do I  do that, even their father was completely destroyed by his son's death.  I have two children at the university, one at the University of Western Cape, one tried to be registered at Western Cape but because of sufferings of poverty we couldn't continue.
 I am the only one, I am the mother and father in that house, it is this boers fault.  Yes they didn't kill my husband, but it's the same thing because he couldn't do anything since his son was dead, was killed.  My request is these boers must be put in front of us - in front of this Commission so that everybody here can see them.  We want them to be put here so that the people can see.
 They are living with their families happily, our families are incomplete now, we are still crying - we still have this big lump in our throats.  If - if they can be put here in front of us maybe that lump can go away.
 The Truth Commission has really helped us, we are grateful.  To those people who had this idea in the beginning we are very grateful.  People who just used to just look at they didn't know how we felt inside, we are very thankful to the Commission for this whole idea, thank you.

CHAIRPERSON: Mothers we are grateful for the report that you have tabled in front of us, we are also grateful for you to be so brave to come and tell us all these details this afternoon.  We are thankful for you to come over - to come to us to tell us your  hurt.  On our side we will and try and do what we can do as this Commission.  We are also thankful for your gratitude, thank you.