WATCH: Ex-convicts plead for second chance
Ex-convicts and drug addicts from Windmill Park are trying to make an honest living against all odds.
Life has been hard for them, due to the high unemployment rate the country is facing at the moment.
And, for the ex-convicts, finding work is not easy, considering their past.
Due to the scarcity of jobs, these young men from Windmill Park seem to have no choice but to reconsider a life of crime, while others continue resorting to drugs in order to forget about their troubles.
According to one of them, Romano Johnson (25), he really wants to change his life for the better because he is tired of his current lifestyle.
“Due to the gangsterism life we are living, there’s a certain border at the railway that we are not supposed to cross, otherwise the gangs from the other side of the railway will kill us. This has limited our freedom in our community,” he said.
Johnson, who has a matric certificate, said he used to survive on criminal activities as he is not working.
The sad thing is that, whenever he goes to look for a job, his criminal record pops up.
The criminal stigma remains attached to him.
“Whenever crimes are committed in Windmill Park the police raid my home, making me the suspect in crimes I know nothing about,” he said.
“I know I have done certain things in the past, but I need the community of Windmill Park to accept me as a human being, not as a criminal.
”I have changed, I have two children who I need to take care of, so I really need to find a job to change my life.”
According to Johnson, he had a positive vision for his life but, due to circumstances he faced, he was forced into a life of crime.
Another affected youngster, Elton Lottering, said he has decided to open a car wash with his friend, Tyren Peterson, because there are no jobs for them.
Lottering has been applying for jobs with no success.
“I really also want to change my life. I am tired of living like a prisoner in my own community,” he said.
Adding to their frustrations, these youngsters said they are tired of police making them suspects in every crime committed in the area.
Among them is Ayoob Paulsen, a qualified accountant, who is unable to find a job due to the fraud he committed.
Pastor Arnald Fortune, from Blessed Assurance Ministry, said: “We are pleading for help, for these guys to be offered a second chance in life, as they are no longer gangsters.
“We are urging the community to not only give them advice, but to take them in for skills development, so they can be skilled in something.
“They are tired of standing on street corners waiting for people to rob, just to get quick cash.
”These young men want to change, so let us, as a community, love and support them and let us not judge them.”
Sandra Pretorius, from Sanca Horizon Clinic, said that those who are addicts should seek proper help first.
“Fighting addiction will help them to focus on improving their lives, rather than taking the money and buying drugs,” she explained.
Anyone who would like to assist these men from Windmill Park may contact Pastor Arnald Fortune on 0745737175.
