Special Report Transcript Episode 21, Section 1, Time 00:19

‘State of emergency’. Three simple words that recall bitter memories in South Africa. This week East London’s Duncan’s Village relived the 14 days of war between residents and security forces after the declaration of the 1985 state of emergency. In tonight’s programme we’ll show you the shocking scenes and let you listen to the eyewitness accounts of the Duncan Village massacre. We also remind you of the brutal terror waged by right wing thugs in the Western Transvaal of the late eighties and early nineties. We start with the Truth Commission’s Human Rights Violations hearings in Klerksdorp. Many black mothers and widows told the Truth Commission that they would only be able to make peace with the loss of their husbands or children if they could give them a proper burial. Many thought this was a black cultural thing but this week those at the Truth Commission hearings in Klerksdorp were reminded of how similar we are in our basic emotions. ‘Motho ke motho kabatho babang, ’n mens is ‘n mens deur ander mense.’ This was Jaap van der Merwe’s declared philosophy. He disappeared 18 years ago. For his wife Susan time has not brought healing.

Notes: Max du Preez