To my mind, this brief report (below) by lawyer Jim Nichol sums up the experience and feelings of many ordinary miners who survived the horrific tragedy at Marikana.
by Jim Nichol
Shocking testimony into South Africa’s Marikana massacre has been heard at the ongoing Farlam inquiry.
Miner Siphethe Phatsha gave evidence through a translator. He recalled the day when police opened fire on striking miners with live ammunition last August. They killed 34 and injured 78.
“We ran to escape, but they outpaced us. I jumped over the bodies of fallen, dead and injured colleagues.”
Siphethe said police fired on him from a helicopter. “A toe on my left foot was shot. I had to cut it off with my bush knife so I could run.
“I noticed people being shot as they came out of hiding with their hands raised, surrendering, asking for forgiveness.
“So my toe is amputated, my children are traumatised, but I never attacked any person.”
He added: “I do not read. I do not write” and said he had worked in the mine for 30 years.
He told the inquiry, “I am a rock driller. It is painful hard work. The drills are heavy and jump as you work.
“People’s fingers are cut off. Many have died.”
Cape Town, South Africa-based journalist commentator and author specialising in political and economic analysis and labour matters. 
Terry Bell Writes 
sean
March 13, 2013
Going to be a very interesting inquiry. But is it really going to change anything? Look at what is happening at Xeraro (spelling) at the moment. There has to be an underlying cause besides the conditions. Are we seeing the end of unions as we currently know them?
Terry Bell
March 13, 2013
Interesting, yes. But we can only hope that lessons will be learned — and acted on. One such lesson is for trade union leaderships that have become, to one degree or other, alienated from their memberships. If unions do not return to their essentially highly democratic roots, there is likely to be considerable turmoil as the democratic tradition again asserts itself, but probably in a very messy way. This could give the excuse for such things as states of emergency and a move back to an authoritarian regime. But it could also signal a new and much more democratic way forward. As the old labour movement song goes: Which side are you on/ one’s right and one’s wrong…..