The incident at the Marikana mines in Rustenburg on 16 August 2012, which resulted in the loss of 44 lives, is an incident which marks a sad day in the post-apartheid history of South Africa.

As Christians, we, of the Community of Sant'Egidio believe that "Costly in Yahweh's sight is the death of his faithful"(Psalm 116:15). For this reason we have has since our beginning, in 1968, spoken up against incidents which disregard the value of human life. We echo our past sentiments; violence and death are not a solution to the challenges we face today. 

As the Community of Sant'Egidio in South Africa, we regret the loss of human life and the events surrounding the incident at the mine. Human life is precious and we cannot accept violence as an answer, especially in our already fragile society.

The Community of Sant’Egidio will gather for prayer, in memory of those who died, and pray for peace and reconciliation for their families and our country. Anyone who would like to join us is welcome to meet us on Sunday, 26 August at St Martin de Pores Catholic Church in Sunnyside (Pretoria) at 14:30 or on Tuesday, 28 August at 18:30 at Holy Trinity Church in Braamfontein (Johannesburg).