On 25 October 2022, we held a webinar which released the report entitled ‘Everything for Dust: the Collective Trauma of Opencast Coal Mining on Residents in Somkhele, KwaZulu-Natal’, with the content of the report as well as the line-up of speakers, attracting participants from South Africa and around the world.

When we began working with our clients on the border of Tendele Coal mine in northern KwaZulu-Natal in 2016, we could not help but notice their extreme feeling of hopelessness and fear. A sense of brokenness prevailed. There was, and continues to be, a desperate need for awareness of and assistance given to those in psychological need. In many areas of the country and around the world, there have been reports and discussions about the physical impacts of coal mining. What has been less dealt with, and not much at all in South Africa, is the psychological impact of coal mining on mining-impacted communities.

Dr Garret Barnwell, Dr Dineo Skosana, Dr Asanda Benya and Dr Michael Edelstein presented on loss, psycho-social impact, the cultural significance of burial in the Zulu culture, environmental harm and they all agreed that the impacts of mining on communities are extremely harmful, on-going and collective. Dr Barnwell’s report was specific to the people he interviewed and covered the historical and current trauma that the participants had and continue to experience as a consequence of their proximity to open-cast coal mining. One of the causes of the mental distress discussed in detail during the webinar was institutional betrayal where those who are responsible for protecting communities (e.g., Tendele mine, government, traditional leadership and local authorities) are perceived as perpetrating wrongdoings, neglecting or scapegoating those who raise complaints and are perceived as not responding appropriately to the (chronic) traumatic and stressful incidents.

In commenting on Dr Barnwell’ report, Dr Skosana referred to her own research that she did in the same community – the cultural significance of graves and the horror that occurs when deceased loved ones are exhumed and reburied during relocation processes. Dr Benya spoke about her research done in relation to mines (including Tendele), violence and gender – with women being so significantly burdened. Dr Edelstein’s fifty-year career in psycho-social impacts, including his report on Somkhele in 2018, brought the discussion together and concluded with the high praise of All Rise as being ‘out in front’ in the field of psycho-social impact assessments.