Last Thursday in Marikana, South Africa, 34 miners were shot and killed while 78 were hospitalized. What really happened that day is unknown, considering that there are two different sides of the story. One side, the miners' side, claims that while protesting, the police attacked and started killing off the miners. The miners were told to stop running, but they were too overwhelmed by the tear gas to listen to the polices' warnings. That was when the shooting started. The other side of this incident, the polices' side, involved the police claiming self defense. Most of the miners wielded a variety of weapons including machetes, spears, clubs, and even pistols off of fallen police officers. These miners have been protesting for better working and living conditions. "According to the report released Tuesday, workers often live in deteriorating shacks without electricity. Some children suffer from chronic illnesses due to sewage spills caused by broken drainage.(The Huffington Post)"
There are videos online showing the police shooting the strikers but also show no violence on the strikers behalf. Basically, the videos show the cops killing off the strikers. But did the videos catch everything? Did the strikers start this brutal fight? Were the cops the heroes or the enemies?
This article was written by Thomas Phakane and Michelle Faul on the Huffingtonpost.com. The article is called "South Africa Police Say They Killed 34 Miners".
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/17/south-africa-police_n_1796082.html?ir=World
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