Call to action! Keep an eye on your neighbourhood
Ever heard of the Ariel Castro horror story?
Between 2002 and 2004, Castro abducted three women and held them prisoner in the Tremont neighbourhood of Cleveland, Ohio.
Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Georgina “Gina” DeJesus were held against their will in his house on Seymour Avenue until May 6, 2013, when Berry escaped with her six-year-old daughter and contacted the police.
Knight and DeJesus were rescued by responding officers and Castro was arrested within hours.
On May 8, 2013, Castro was charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape. One month into his sentence, Castro committed suicide by hanging himself with bedsheets in his prison cell.
Ever heard of Josef Fritzl (73), the Austrian who imprisoned, beat and sexually abused his daughter in a windowless cellar for 24 years, during which time he fathered her seven children?
Fritzl forced his daughter Elisabeth into the basement of the family’s home in Amstetten, north-west Austria, on August 24, 1984, when she was 18.
Ever heard of Natascha Maria Kampusch?
She was an Austrian woman notable for her abduction at the age of 10 on March 2, 1998. Kampusch was held in a secret cellar by her kidnapper Wolfgang Piklopil for more than eight years, until she escaped on August 23, 2006.
One might not have heard of these cases because they happened overseas, even though books and movies have been made about these “monsters”.
But what about the recent case of a mother who was sentenced to 12 life terms in the Rustenburg court for sexual offences against her own children while she also allowed her husband to abuse her daughters.
These sexual abuse according to the court happened since 2007.
What about the House of Horrors in Springs, where a man is in in hot water for allegedly keeping his family captive for more than a decade?
So yes, horrendous cases of sexual abuse against children are not isolated to beyond the borders, they are happening around us, in our own neighbourhoods.
Who really knows what happens in houses right next door to you, even in what may seem to be the most peaceful of neighbourhoods? After all, those with a tendency towards psychotic episodes appear to be everyday normal people, hardly drawing any attraction.
And many times the abuse might not be so severe as kidnapping or torment spanning over years, but the reality is a lot of children these days are being molested, many times by those who know them.
It is, therefore, no wonder that the Suid-Afrikaanse Vrouefederasie has lamented the lack of community involvement in order to expose such atrocities.
After all, after the Castro case, a lot of questions were asked how was it was possible for a man, known by the community, to keep three women in his home for a decade.
Questions were raised as to why nobody raised questions when he for example brought food for four from takeaway franchises, when clearly he only fed himself.
This is also the case of the House of Horrors. Where was the community in all of this? Were there no suspicious activity to warrant questions raised?
Kidz Clinic recently stated that child abuse is a crime and as such should always be reported.
According to Kidz Clinic, the law states that if you are aware of any form of child abuse you must report this to the police, failing to do this means you may be charged.
The public in general, therefore, should educate themselves on the types and signs of child abuse in order that we may better protect our children.
This then begs the question, when has society become so inclusive, only concerned about one’s own life, yet to the determinant of the safety of others?
And we are not talking here just about reporting possible crime abuse, but helping people in need in general.
Think about it. If you hear a child constantly screaming, coming from your neighbour’s house, will you investigate or leave it alone?
This is not just a problem in SA, but across the globe. There are plenty of video footage floating around in cyberspace showing a victim being attacked, yet bystanders will not raise a finger to help.
The police in this country, for all their faults, at least is right that the community remains the eyes and ears of public order, and this applies to child abuse and to any other form of criminal activity.
But it will not help much if we see and hear, but fail to act.
It remains me of the quote by John Wooden who said: “Failure to act is often the biggest failure of all.”
Sure, we all want to consider our own safety first, but there is a place and a time that we can act to save lives.
Imagine being in the situation of being held captive for years, yet those who could act on your behalf to release you from suffering failed to so because of a pervading nonchalant attitude.
Always keep in mind ‘monsters’ like Castro, Fritzl and our own local brand of abusers, and then also think of their victims. A proactive community can save a lot of heartache, pain and suffering.
Author Patrick Ness wrote in Monsters of Men the following: “To say you have no choice, is to relieve yourself of responsibility.”
We all have a choice, and we all have a responsibility to help those in desperate need.
