Photographing Sharpeville
Ian Berry's pictures are a graphic record of the massacre of demonstrators in South Africa
In March 1960 photographer Ian Berry found himself in the midst of the Sharpeville Massacre, where demonstrators against South Africa's Pass Laws were fired on by police and more than 60 died. His pictures provided the most graphic record of the massacre.
"Suddenly the shooting started... People started to fall as they were running. There were boys running towards me, holding their coats above their heads as if to protect themselves from bullets. I don't think they were fully aware of what was happening. I could see people dropping all over the place. The shooting paused briefly. I saw the police standing on the Saracens reloading their Sten guns. So I dropped down again and the police started to shoot again. This time they were just shooting into the backs of people fleeing."
