Unfinished business

It has been 14 years since the May 1993 Highgate Massacre in East London, but survivors still suffer from the pain and profound trauma.

This is largely because the attackers - who killed five and injured scores more - have never been identified.

During a public dialogue, The Healing Journeys: The Highgate Massacre Survivors Group, which took place at UCT on 19 October, Lyndene Page wept uncontrollably as she tried to relay how her brother, Deon Harris, was killed. Page was nine months pregnant at the time and gave birth a day after Deon's funeral. The only communication her family had with the government were papers to claim the clothes Harris had worn on the day of the attack.

“My greatest wish is to find out who did it, and forget about it,” she said.

The dailogue was organised by Associate Professors Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela and Chris van der Merwe as part of their project on narrative and trauma, in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, the Spirals Trust and the Lyndi Fourie Foundation.