Many Enyobeni survivors — most of whom are still underage — seem to have learnt little from the incident.
A 17-year-old survivor from the West Bank continues to struggle with flashbacks of the traumatic experience.
The survivors the Dispatch spoke to cannot be named as they are still minors.
The Grade 11 pupil from an East London school said she and five other girls went to the tavern after seeing a Facebook post on it.
“When we arrived, we bought a six-pack of cider and a bottle of gin.
“It was so full when we arrived that we had to queue for many minutes.
“After buying alcohol we went to a VIP area upstairs. We drank and it was nice with great music.
“We got drunk. As the night went on, the crowd became uncontrollable.
“Those inside wanted to go out, while those outside wanted to get inside.
“It was chaotic,” said the survivor.
She said she collapsed after struggling to breathe as a result of the chaotic situation.
“I felt like there were people who were trying to help me stand up, but I could not see them because I was dizzy.”
She said one of her friends tried to help her breath.
“We got drunk. As the night went on, the crowd became uncontrollable. Those inside wanted to go out, while those outside wanted to get inside. It was chaotic,”
— Enyobeni survivor
“I was suffocating after inhaling a smoke-like substance.
“I was taken to a healthcare centre and got discharged after I was treated.
“My arms were swollen and painful,” she said.
Asked about how the tragedy had affected her, she said: “I was struggling to sleep because my relative died in that incident.
“I received counselling from state social workers.”
Asked whether she still went to taverns or liquor outlets, she said: “I stopped drinking for about a month after the incident.
“I went back to my drinking ways and I still go to taverns and liquor retail shops.
“No-one is asking for my ID when I visit liquor outlets.
“I still have flashbacks of the incident but that has not stopped me from drinking alcohol,” she said.
Another survivor, now a 15-year-old girl, said the harrowing experience felt like “a movie”.
“We got suffocated and I saw bodies of people lying around. I thought they had fainted,” she said.
“The only lesson I learnt from that incident is to stop visiting crowded places.
“But I have not stopped drinking,” said the Grade 9 pupil from Orange Groove informal settlement, near King Phalo Airport.
She added: “From time to time I drink with friends in the area.”
Another 17-year-old survivor, who lost her friend during the tragedy, said: “I have not been feeling well emotionally ever since that morning.
“It was such a traumatic experience for anyone to go through.”
She said she had felt dazed when there was a commotion of people pushing to get inside the premises and others were desperately trying to get out.
“When I lost contact with my friends, I started to panic,” she said.
The teenager said she had received counselling after the tragedy but the memory of seeing dead bodies piled up still played in her mind.
“It feels like it just happened yesterday, I am torn that my friend’s life was taken like that, it still feels like a dream.”
Though she said she had learnt it was “important not go out during the night or even going to taverns to buy alcohol”, she admitted young teenagers, including herself, were still drinking alcohol.
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