TRC Final Report

Volume 5

Chapter 9

Subsection 11

39 Ms Beth Savage gave this evidence to the Commission:

Beth Savage: On the 28th of November 1992, I attended our annual Christmas Party. It was our wine tasting club… We were seated at one long table… David did his usual thing by coming around and greeting us all, and he was squatting, chatting to Bob and me when I suddenly became aware of something that sounded like firecrackers. I saw Rhoda Macdonald throw back her arms and die, and I did exactly the same thing. I swung around to look at the door to see what was happening, and I saw a man there with a balaclava on his head (but not over his head) with an AK-47, and my immediate reaction was, "Oh my goodness, this is a terrorist attack!" After that I blacked out, and I don’t remember anything else until I was on the helicopter being flown to Bloemfontein…

I spent a month in ICU [intensive care unit]. It was quite traumatic. I had to learn to walk again. [When] I came home, my children were unbelievable. They used to fight over who is to bath me, who was to dress me, who was to feed me. I don’t know whether I could ever have made it without them.

I had open-heart surgery, I had a hole in the aorta, and I actually stopped breathing but, through the work of Dr John Pennel, they managed to get me to live. And I also had half my large intestine removed. I’ve got really very ugly scarring up the middle, and I have a damaged thumb from the shrapnel. I’ve still got shrapnel in my body, but all that means is that all the bells ring when I go through the airport; that makes life exciting. And I have an injury on the knee.

But all in all, what I must say is, through the trauma of it all, I honestly feel richer. I think it’s been a really enriching experience for me and a growing curve, and I think it’s given me the ability to relate to other people who may be going through trauma…

The bomb blast took its toll on my family. I believe I’m a very strong person, [but] I did have a complete breakdown after six months. My daughter also had a breakdown … she was … well all the children tried to be mother, father, sister, brother, husband, everything to me. They really carried me. They picked me up and carried me.

My son has had his problems as well. I think psychologically it affected my family in terms of them just being able to believe that it could actually happen to me… I had really a wonderful childhood, and my parents actually put a lot of young African people that worked for them, four that I can remember, that they actually educated, and my father was a person that was really antiapartheid. I think of all the people affected by the bomb blast, it affected my dad the worst. He just went into a very deep depression, and he died about six months ago. When I was ill, he just used to sit next my bed and cry and say, "You know, I can’t believe this".

I feel bad because you know I’m not the only victim, but that is how it affected us … and then my mum, she couldn’t carry on without him, and she died two months later. Basically, it just broke his heart.

Ms Crichton: Beth, what are you actually feeling towards the perpetrators at this time?

Ms Savage: It’s a difficult question, but I honestly feel that, there but for the grace of God go I. I really don’t know how I would have reacted if I had been in their situation. I know … that’s about all I can say.

Ms Crichton: Is there – and this is my last question to you – is there anything that you were hoping the Commission will do for you?

Ms Savage: Really there’s nothing in particular that I would like the Commission to do for me. I think it’s fantastic that we’re having the Commission. I think the idea that speaking out causes healing – I think that is really a wonderful idea … and I really hope that healing comes to everybody. You know there are people here who have had far worse problems that I could ever have.

Panel Member: Is it important for you to have the identity – if the Commission can assist you to do so, to find out – is it important for you to have the identity of the people who are responsible?

Ms Savage: It’s not important to me, but – and I’ve said this to many people – what I would really, really like is, I would like to meet that man that threw that grenade in an attitude of forgiveness and hope that he could forgive me too for whatever reason. But I would very much like to meet them.

Archbishop Tutu: Thank you, I just want to say, we are, I think, a fantastic country. We have some quite extraordinary people. Yesterday, I had spoken about how proud I was to be black in seeing the kind of spirit that people showed in adversity, and now we’re seeing another example, and I think it just augers so wonderfully well for our country. We thank you for the spirit that you are showing and pray that those who hear you, who see you will say, "Hey, we do have an incredible country with quite extraordinary people of all races".

40 Ms Savage’s wish was fulfilled in April 1998 at the amnesty hearing of Mr Thembelani Xundu, the former Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA) commander responsible for her injuries. In a newspaper interview, she said that, after meeting with Xundu, currently a major in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), she no longer had nightmares about the attack.