Silent gatherings to make a change in the community

Primrose residents are taking back their community one silent meeting at a time.

Robbie Venter, a resident who is concerned about the deterioration of the area, is rallying the community into taking a stand.

Venter started the hashtag #notinmycommunity as a way of making a statement and taking a stand against crime and drugs in the area.

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“The crime in Primrose is getting worse and by-laws are not being enforced.

“People are drinking in public and the crime has increased.

“As residents we are concerned about our safety,” said Venter.

A group of residents, together with security companies, held a silent gathering at Howe Circle on March 6.

Venter said the reason they decided to gather for a silent meeting at Howe Circle is because of the social ills that have been happening there.

“We are starting there because a lot of public drinking and drug dealing takes place at Howe Circle.

“We wanted to show the people who are doing this that we are tired as the community,” said Venter.

Community development manager for Fidelity ADT Melisande Barnard said as a security company they were happy to support the cause.

“#notinmycommunity is a great campaign because it’s taking a stand and fighting for the neighbourhood.

“We support it as we service this community, but also because we are part of this community.

“As a security company we want our clients to be safe 24/7, but if there is a threat we worry and want to find solutions,” said Barnard.

She said this campaign will make a difference when the community comes together and supports these silent gatherings.

“We urge the community to join us in this campaign of taking back our neighbourhood.

“We need to unite as the community and fight for our area because if we let this get out of control it also affects property values,” said Barnard.

Venter said they will try to get the SAPS and metro involved.

“We also wanted the community to be educated on what to do when they want to report something and where to report it.

“Some problems are by-law issues and need the metro to enforce the laws,” said Venter.

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He said if the community can unite and stand together it will make a difference.

“Together we can achieve more and make a difference in our community.

“Crime affects us all and we have to unite to win the war against crime and drugs,” said Venter.

He added that they plan to host these silent meetings as regularly as possible.

“We want to build momentum and maintain that momentum.

“Consistency is important and we also plan to do some cleaning up in the time we are there,” said Venter.

The next silent meeting will take place at Howe Circle on March 20 at 6pm.

For more information visit the Facebook page #notinmycommunity.

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Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za, Leigh Hodgson (News Editor) leighh@caxton.co.za or Busi Vilakazi (Journalist) busiv@caxton.co.za.

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