I got the shock of my life over the weekend when I went to Low’s Creek with a friend and came across a family that is living way below the poverty line.
The poor mother with four young children, the oldest being 11 years, live in a one-roomed stick-and-mud house. The floor is just soil, and there is only one bed which the mother shares with the unemployed stepfather of her children.
Working at a nearby citrus farm, the mother never suspected any foul play by the stepfather, who is reported to have turned the 11-year-old into his sex slave each day the mother left at early dawn to fend for the family at her workplace.
They live near a tavern, and fortunately one of the patrons noticed this alleged dastardly act and reported it to the local police. The police acted swiftly and arrested the the man. I was pleased that the community member acted wisely and reported the case.
This is what every citizen in the country should do. Report crime in your vicinity, irrespective of age, gender, race and stature. As we speak, crime is escalating in the country because people do not regard fighting it as part of their responsibility.
All of us should rally together to fight the scourge of crime and drugs in our communities because they are destroying the nation, especially the youth. What is even more annoying is the fact that drug peddlers are adults. One wonders if they are also feeding their own children these drugs. The answer, most probably, is no.
Recently the residents of Matsulu arrested criminal elements in their community and handed them over to the police. What’s even more pleasing here is the fact that seven of those criminals were handed over by their own parents.
That’s a very good sign. If Matsulu could do it, why cannot all other communities follow suit? Drug peddlers are well known in communities. Why can’t communities rise up against them and put them behind bars?
We need to unite against crime, so that we can live peacefully in our communities.
