LOW’S CREEK – It is still a traumatic time for the families of the three workers trapped in Lily Mine. It has been almost two months since a lamp-room container plunged into a giant hole caused by a rockfall at the mine.
Efforts to recover the mineworkers have not been successful so far. Their families have also been demanding answers from mine management about the mystery surrounding the disaster that has attracted local and international attention.
Ms Pretty Nkambule’s four children spent Easter without their mother. Her partner, Mr Christopher Mazibuko said what hurt most was that his youngest kids did not understand the gloomy circumstance they are faced with. The youngest of the four is eight months old.
“We used to take them shopping and buy them clothes for Easter but with their mother away, that tradition has to be broken,” he said.
For most families, Easter is a time where families gather and enjoy their meals, but for the Nkambule family the period reminded them of the void in their hearts – created by all the pain and anguish they have experienced.
He added that the elder two who attend primary school are the ones who understand what is happening. However, the situation has affected their education.”They are not doing well at school. This situation is weighing heavily on their hearts,” he said.
According to Mazibuko, rituals have been performed at the mine to appease the spirits believed to be behind the disaster. He said they remained hopeful that their loved ones would be found.
He works at the nearby Barbrook Mine and said the thought of the terrible disaster that met his partner, still haunts him. He was also very frustrated by the secrecy surrounding the rescue activities.
Lowvelder paid the devastated family a visit at a commune where Nkambule and her family of five are sharing a rented room. What the paper discovered were desperate workers struggling to make a living, although they are employed by a mining company. A line of mud houses surrounded by muddy walkways that are difficult to navigate on foot or car are the daily environment of the community members.
Little children were playing in the mud and on mounds of waste and litter, because services are few and far between. Neither government nor the mine have even considered building a playground or crèche.
Mazibuko mentioned that there is a tough job ahead when he has to explain to his eight-month-old daughter what happened to her mother.
Mineral resources minister, Mr Mosebenzi Zwane, said the families of the three trapped miners would each receive R200 000 compensation. The families were told that they would need to apply for the compensation and would receive the money in R10 000 instalments.
Last week Cosatu said it would ensure those responsible for the Lily Mine tragedy would be held to account. The union also suggested mine management was withholding key information about the cause of the collapse.
