ROBERT NORMAN STANFORD
Well I obviously followed closely the reports in the newspaper about the unfortunate victims, far more unfortunate than me, who lost people close to them, dear to them through terrifying circumstances.  I feel that where there has been some substantial suffering and financial loss, if possible, that should be compensated for in some
EAST LONDON  HEARING TRC/EASTERN CAPE
12 R N STANFORD
way. I'm not in a position to say how, why and where, but I'll give you and example.  I phoned up my medical aid yesterday to get some details because I thought you might ask me this question, and they told me that they had paid out between 90 and 95 percent of the medical costs incurred, my share of it according to them is R 7 690, which means that they paid out close to R100 000 in medical expenses alone, and I of course had enormous losses in my legal practice, terrible expenses flying everywhere, I could not recover my psychologist's costs because medical aid don't cover that.  I was sent to a medical institution in Grahamstown, luckily for only one day because when my son arrived the next day he said, "You might be mad but not as mad as some of the people here, I'm taking you out", and luckily being a voluntary patient, he was able to take me out and I was then taken to a psychiatric clinic in Port Elizabeth where I spent a good deal of time, and went back a second time, and that did me a certain amount of good.
 But all in all this was at the time when I was supposed to be running a legal practice, and you can't cut yourself in three pieces and be in three places at the same time.  Luckily I had a competent secretary who managed to keep me going, but from that side my losses were very substantial indeed.  But maybe that's a fact of life, I don't know. It's up to the people who are going to decide whether or not what will be, and I will accept whatever they say, but I do think that where there has been a substantial loss to all the victims, no please, I don't doubt that myself in any way, and I think that if it's possible they should be financially assisted in some way by somebody.