“the hardship of the workers made me determined never to give up”
When we first went to Hondeklipbaai and Doringbaai the workers were suffering. People in the fishing industry only work for 4 months of the year. They sometimes have only one meal a day. There were no schools, no hospitals, and no doctors. The hardship of the workers made me determined never to give up. The only thing I wanted to do was to assist and to get people a better life, because they are entitled to a better life. They are human beings. That made me so determined, because our people are really suffering a lot.
There was never a moment in my life that I said, ‘No, it's too much - I'm going to give up'. I feel that I have contributed something, because there are some good things that came out because of our fight – not only me, but also the people with whom I have worked. Of course, the sacrifices were there but I must admit that the burden was not too heavy. If I had to do it all over again to improve people's lives, I would do it – from A to Z.