Hundreds of family
members of the victims from the Marikana mine shootings marched on South
African government buildings Thursday to protest the lack of state funding for
survivors of shootings at the Marikana mine. On August 16, forty-four miners
were killed and 270 were injured or arrested by the South African Police
Service for protesting for better work conditions. This incident was the most
lethal use of force by the South African security forces against civilians
since the Sharpeville massacre during the apartheid times. Controversy arised
after the discovery that most victims were shot in the back and many were shot
far from police lines when the massacre occurred. The issue for government officials to provide funding
for family members of the victims is going to be very important for next year’s
elections.
Most of these families depended on the income that they received
from their loved ones who were killed at the mines where they were protesting
for being exploited. Now that these
family members are not receiving that income, they are more than ever depending
on the state funding to make ends meet. If something is not done soon, these families
will not have financial means to survive especially since there is already a lack
of employment in their area. This
problem is also due to globalization because the workers were being paid at
very low wages in order for the owners to make high profits. Although this is unfair to those families and
workers affected by the violence, there is still nothing being done for them.
Karina Velazquez
9/13/13
4:50
No comments:
Post a Comment