Marikana

A view from the mountain and a case to answer

Peter Alexander, Luke Sinwell, Thapelo Lekgowa, Botsang Mmope and Bongani Xezwi, Bookmarks, 159 pages, paperback, £7.99

On August 16 2012, the South African police massacred 34 strikers participating in a peaceful gathering on public land outside the small town of Marikana. The workers’ demand was simple.

They wanted their employer, Lonmin, to listen to their case for a living wage. The massacre involved the largest number of killings of South African civilians by the security forces since the end of apartheid.

The workers had occupied a koppie (small hill) they called “the mountain” and were simply demanding the right to speak with their employer when the police attacked.

 The core of the book is a series of interviews with workers who were present at the massacre.

Many of these were conducted at the foot of the mountain because that is where the workers continued to meet.

In addition, the book includes a narrative of the strike and the massacre, written from the perspective of the strikers; an analysis of context and political significance; and a list of all those who died at Marikana.

Reviews contributed by the Bookmarks socialist bookshop. Order online at www.bookmarksbookshop.co.uk