Anguished farewell

2003-05-11 21:16

Kimberley - The keening of hundreds of grieving relatives was heard on Sunday afternoon when 49 coffins were lowered into the red earth of a Kimberley cemetery.

Women, children and men of all ages started wailing simultaneously - voicing shared anguish over the abrupt loss of so many members of their small community.

All the caskets were filled with the bodies of men and women from the town - all drowned within one early morning hour on May 1 when their bus plunged into the Saulspoort Dam, near Bethlehem in the Free State.

All were workers from the local Sol Plaatje municipality, blue-collared men and women who were often the sole breadwinners for extended families.

They were on their way to a Workers' Day rally in Qwa Qwa when their journey ended in tragedy just outside Bethlehem.

The day of their mass funeral started on a grey note, with overcast skies and driving rain.

An estimated 15 000 to 18 000 people converged on the Galeshewe stadium for the funeral service, braving the cold and even light hail.

Bereaved family members and clergy from a range of denominations clustered around the 49 draped coffins on the stadium lawn.

'Never again'

"Never again", President Thabo Mbeki promised them.

"What happened at the Saulspoort Dam should not happen again.

Our government will do everything necessary to ensure that we achieve this result," Mbeki vowed.

Acting minister of transport Jeff Radebe promised a national initiative to improve road signs. He called for proper emergency exits in public vehicles, particularly buses and minibus-taxis.

The still pouring rain did not deter the mourners from following the coffins to the cemetery, many walking the few muddy kilometres from the stadium to their loved one's final resting place.

Then, shortly after the 49 coffins were off-loaded and ready to be lowered into the ground, the clouds cleared and the sun shone for the first time.

The bereaved families were sitting under tents heavy with rain, their shoes wet, their feet in pools of muddy water.

At least they could bury their loved ones under the clear blue sky, for which their province is famous.

- SAPA