’Marafaele Mohloboli
FAMILIES of the 31 Basotho illegal miners who died in a disused methane-filled shaft in Harmony, Virginia, about a month ago say they have lost all hope of recovering the bodies of their loved ones as they were not getting much help from the government. They accused the government of “operating in silos”.
But Foreign Affairs and International Relations minister Mr Lejone Mpotjoane said the government was still working on the issue.
One of the representatives of the families, who did not want to be identified for fear of victimisation at this stage, said they had been waiting on a response from the government, “but to date nothing has been said to us.
“Some of the families have lost more than one son and their mothers are working in South Africa as domestic workers. They can’t go back to their jobs now as they are stealing waiting to bury their loves ones. They don’t have a clue about what is happening and what the government is exactly doing with the retrieval of their sons’ bodies,” said the representative.
He added: “We are so disappointed with the government; they are not saying anything to us and have failed to even assist us with money to pay people who are going to help us retrieve the bodies of our sons. Our government is not doing enough to help us, and it is obvious that they don’t feel our pain. What they seem concerned about is for the relations between them and South Africa to remain cordial.
“Government is not telling us anything and we have since learnt that they have long been told that the mission to retrieve those bodies is an impossible one. If only they could tell the truth, we would cushion ourselves and know that we will never get to see our sons’ bodies again.
“Some of the illegal miners on site have told us that they have since managed to retrieve three bodies which were positively identified, and they couldn’t retrieve more as they were busted by security officials. The equipment they had used to go down and get the bodies was also confiscated by the security.
“If only government could tell us the truth, then maybe we could find means to get counselling and deal with our trauma once and for all. We have cried and our tears have dried up, we are confused and don’t know what else to do.
“We have also been told some of the zama-zamas (illegal miners) who were on site to try and help retrieve the bodies, should the South African government give the green light, have also gone back to their respective sites to resume their mining activities. What this now means is that we are on our own.”
He said their other dilemma was that they could not claim on life cover policies because they had no death certificates to prove that their sons had indeed died.
“We are going through a valley of darkness and despair. We just wonder what state the bodies are in now because when the news first broke, those people had already died a week earlier. They surely are decomposed beyond recognition, and we are just wondering if government is still going to help us conduct DNA tests as promised.”
Contacted for an update, Chief Peete Lesaoana Peete, said he was told last week that only three bodies had been retrieved and positively identified.
“We are still waiting on the government to update us on a way forward and how far their talks with their SA counterparts are,” he said.
The deceased men, most of whom are said to be from Bela-Bela, Berea District, are said to have perished during an explosion whose cause is yet to be ascertained.
A source who has worked closely in dealing with illegal mining accidents told this publication that the retrieval of those bodies was not going to be easy at all.
“The only thing that can help us out of this situation is the government’s political will to assist, if any. It’s for them to engage some of the zama zamas by giving them resources including food to go underground in the estimated two-kilometre shaft to retrieve the bodies of their fellow comrades. They know the shafts better.
“The government could also help the families with some counselling and prepare them for the worst, in case the bodies never get to be retrieved just like those which were left to decompose in St. Helena in 2012.”
Contacted for comment, Foreign Affairs and International Relations Minister Mr Lejone Mpotjoane, could only say “things are tough, we are still engaged in talks with our S.A counterparts.”
The deceased men are said to range between the ages of 19 and 30.
