They came home to die

THE picturesque village of Lusikisiki, in the Eastern Cape, with its colourful houses dotting the hills, is where Zama Gangi, 60, came to wait for death after working in the mines for 31 years. Sitting in his turquoise rondavel which also serves as a kitchen and feeding area for the family’s chickens, Gangi said he left the Eastern Cape for Rustenburg in 1977 where he worked for Impala Platinum.

From 1980 he worked at South Deep Gold Mine in Johannesburg, but in 2008 he had to stop working and go home with a disease that robbed him of the ability to work.

Gangi had been diagnosed with silicosis, a lung disease caused by the silica dust found in mines.

Silicosis is an inflammation of the lungs that leads to scarring. It is caused by inhaling the crystalline silica dust found in mines.

In the beginning, the scars are small, usually a few millimetres in size. Symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough.

People with silicosis have a higher chance than the general population of contracting tuberculosis. It can also lead to cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

It is estimated that there are about 196 000 current and former gold mine workers living with silicosis in South Africa and about 84 000 in neighbouring countries.

There is no cure for silicosis, but one can live for a long time with the disease.

Gangi is one of the workers tracked down by Richard Spoor Inc Attorneys to be part of a planned class action for compensation on behalf of those who contracted silicosis working in mines.

The firm, together with American law firm Motley Rice LLC, are representing current and former gold mine workers suing mining companies for damages after the contraction of silicosis and tuberculosis while work- ing for them. They have cited 32 gold mining companies as respondents in the case and are in the process of having the case certified as a class action before it can go ahead. A class action is a law suit defended by an individual on behalf of a group.

After a battle of almost a decade, lawyer Richard Spoor reached a R320-million settlement with companies Gencor and Eternit on behalf of asbestos miners who suffered from lung diseases as a result of working in asbestos mines.

There are between 100 000 and 300 000 mine workers who could benefit from the silicosis class action.

The lawyers also want to ensure that dependents of former mine workers who have died will be compensated in their stead.

For Gangi, working in the mines was a good way to support his wife Matshezi, 50, and six children, but now they struggle financially.

He said in 2008 he went to the mine doctor for a “service” – a check-up for miners every time they come back to work from home – and that’s when he found out he had silicosis.

He showed the scar on the right side of his body where he had a biopsy. “Since 2004 his body hasn’t been okay, he was always tired,” Matshezi said, sitting on a mat on the dung floor next to Gangi.

“He almost passed away on New Year’s Eve [December 31 2014].”

She said that day Gangi collapsed on the floor. She splashed water on him to revive him.

Sometimes he coughed up “yellow phlegm and blood”, she said.

The family survives on one of their children’s grants of R330 a month. Sometimes their daughter in Durban sends them money.

Despite Gangi’s health problems and lack of money, the couple finds happiness in small things.

“He’ll be 60 next week,” Matshezi, smiling at her husband, said.

In his bedroom, Gangi showed off his church attire and talked about how much they enjoyed church.