Living in hope for the safety of kidnapped children
We need to jointly drive out these hooligans out of our communities, we are also pleading with the security sector to tighten their grip in ensuring that our streets and neighbourhoods are a safe haven for our children.
This week marks five years since the Nigerian jihadist terrorist organisation based in northeastern Nigeria, Boko Haram, kidnapped 276 girls from boarding school.
To date, 112 girls are still in his captive while their families live in the hope that they are still alive and that they will make a safe return home.
Only after negotiations and international pleas, 107 of the kidnapped girls were released in exchange for prisoners or recovered with the help of the army.
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As the Continent, we look back to these events and continue praying that they are all alive and would one day return to their families unharmed.
The scourge of kidnapping young people has over the years grown in leaps and bounds to the point that each day we learn either through the media or social media about a new girl who has gone missing across this country.
Moving closer home, last Saturday we received the shocking news of the kidnapping of eight-year-old Amahle Thabethe of Tsakane.
The little and vibrant girl’s only crime was to offer to help a stranger with direction, and that was the last time her little friends she was playing with saw her.
The police say the motive for her disappearance is still unknown, and they continue to investigate.
Again, in the same period, in Skoonplaas another little boy went missing. To date, he has not been found.
This is a worrisome trend because at this point we are afraid to allow our children to be out of sight because we fear they might be next in line to be kidnapped.
We wonder who is kidnapping these children and what the intention might be. Do they kill and sell their little bodies on the black market?
Recent reports have revealed that there is a growing market for human bodies and one cannot help but wonder if these evil civilians carry out these deeds for the purpose.
The community of Tsakane and neighbouring areas have since joined in the search, living no stone unturned – conducting searches in trenches, streams and
abandoned buildings, to find her. There has been no success so far.
I believe and support this move because joined together, we will be able to find a solution to this trend of abducting young children.
These are our children and they should not live in fear or be scared of playing in the streets of their own neighbourhoods.
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Community desperate to find missing girl (8)
We need to jointly drive these hooligans out of our communities. We are also pleading with the security sector to tighten their grip in ensuring that our streets and neighbourhoods are a safe haven for our children.
