By Gillian Schutte

On 7 January, the Palestinian New Federation of Trade Unions (PNFTU) sent a poignant letter of solidarity to the miners and communities affected by the crisis at Margaret Mine in Stilfontein, North West, South Africa.

The letter expressed profound empathy for the miners trapped underground and condemned the conditions imposed on them by South Africa’s government. It also laid bare uncomfortable parallels between the treatment of the Stilfontein miners and the ongoing oppression of Palestinians under Israel’s apartheid regime.

The PNFTU highlighted the historical bond between Palestinians and South Africans, forged in their shared struggles against apartheid, colonialism, and systemic exploitation. They thanked South Africa for its vocal support of the Palestinian cause, including the government’s efforts to hold Israel accountable under the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice.

Yet, this solidarity was accompanied by a critical examination of South Africa’s domestic failures, particularly its handling of the miners’ crisis. The letter drew attention to the methods employed by South Africa’s Operation Vala Umgodi, in which police and military forces have sealed off the entrances to Margaret Mine, leaving the miners underground without access to food, water, or basic necessities.

This punitive action mirrors tactics of deprivation and collective punishment used in Gaza, a connection explicitly made in the PNFTU’s statement: “Denying access to food, water, medicine, and basic supplies is always wrong, whoever they are, wherever they are.” The letter also denounced South Africa’s post-apartheid courts, which it accused of failing to prevent or resolve such tragedies.

The PNFTU condemned a system that prioritises the interests of corporations over the fundamental rights of workers and communities, questioning why the judicial framework has not held mining companies accountable for unsafe and unregulated operations. This critique brings into focus the long-standing complicity between the South African state and the mining industry, a relationship that continues to prioritise profit over human life.

“South African workers have been viciously exploited and killed in the mines across the country to line the pockets of international and apartheid capital,” the letter states. During apartheid, much of South Africa’s mineral wealth was sent to Israel, supporting its apartheid economy. Shockingly, this relationship has persisted into the present, with coal exports by companies such as Glencore continuing to “fuel Israel’s ongoing genocide and crimes against our people.”

The PNFTU’s words highlight the continuity of exploitation in South Africa’s mining sector. While apartheid officially ended, the structures of extraction and corporate impunity remained intact. Mining companies, including Harmony Gold, Anglo American, and Sibanye Stillwater, have accumulated immense wealth, yet their operations leave behind devastated communities, unrehabilitated mines, and workers abandoned to cycles of poverty and desperation.

The crisis at Margaret Mine exemplifies these systemic failures. The mine, a water-pumping facility operated by Harmony Gold, has been left unsecured, enabling syndicates to lure impoverished workers into its disused shafts. These miners are not criminals but victims of a collapsing economy, exploitative recruitment networks, and a state that has failed to address the root causes of illegal mining.

Rather than tackling these structural issues, South Africa’s government has opted for a militarised response. Operation Vala Umgodi is presented as a solution to illegal mining, yet it targets the most vulnerable while shielding the corporations and syndicates that profit from this exploitation. This calculated act of oppression, which punishes miners for their desperation, reveals a state more invested in protecting corporate assets than in safeguarding human lives.

The PNFTU’s solidarity letter also exposes the moral contradiction in South Africa’s foreign and domestic policies. While condemning Israel for its violations of international law, the South African government employs similar tactics against its people. This hypocrisy erodes the credibility of South Africa’s human rights advocacy and raises pressing questions about the nation’s commitment to justice and equality. The treatment of the Stilfontein miners reveals deeper systemic issues within South Africa’s governance.

The Constitution, often lauded for its protection of human dignity, life, and equality, has proven ineffective in protecting the most vulnerable. The judicial system, which should act as a safeguard against corporate and state abuses, has failed to enforce mining regulations or hold companies accountable for their neglect. This failure is not just an institutional shortcoming; it reflects a broader prioritisation of wealth and power over the rights of workers and communities. While the state has turned its back on the miners, local communities in Stilfontein have stepped in to provide support. Families and neighbours, even while facing their hardships, have organised food and supplies for those trapped underground. This grassroots solidarity stands in sharp contrast to the government’s indifference, highlighting the humanity that persists among ordinary citizens even as it is absent from official policy.

The PNFTU’s letter is both a testament to the bonds of solidarity between Palestinians and South Africans and a challenge to the South African government. It demands immediate action to rescue the miners, hold corporations accountable, and address the systemic inequalities that drive workers into illegal mining. It calls for South Africa to reconcile its international rhetoric with its domestic realities, to honour the principles of justice and dignity it so vocally defends on the global stage. The tragedy at Margaret Mine forces South Africa to confront uncomfortable truths about its priorities and governance. How can a nation that fought so fiercely for liberation abandon its own people to the cruelties of economic exploitation and state repression? How can it condemn the deprivation of Palestinians in Gaza while enforcing similar conditions against its miners in Stilfontein? Justice, as the PNFTU reminds us, must begin at home.

If South Africa is to reclaim its moral authority, it must act decisively to rescue the miners, reform its mining sector, and dismantle the structures of exploitation that continue to harm its most vulnerable. Only then can it truly stand as a beacon of solidarity and resistance, both at home and abroad.

* Schutte is a film-maker, and a well-known social justice and race-justice activist and public intellectual. Follow Gillian on X - @GillianSchutte1 and on Facebook - Gillian Schutte.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.

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