James is just one of the many parents who have lost their children to the seemingly overwhelming scourge of drugs. When mothers are forced to lock themselves in their bedrooms to escape their own drug-crazed children, the problem can no longer be ignored.
At the time, the President arrived with his entourage and the very next day task teams, places of safety, counsellors and the police were dispatched throughout Eldo’s. A wave of hope swept through the community – here was the help, the resources, the power and the interest that they had been crying out for. Excellent. So how is Eldo’s doing now? Well sadly, like the tide, the aid and interest in Eldo’s and it’s children has been swept back out to the sea of apathy. Eight year old’s are addicts, lolly lounges are still very much a reality, and life in Eldo’s very closely resembles the memory of what it was before any intervention.
However, all is not lost. Mothers such as James refuse to be silenced. She and others march the streets, engage with the dealers, the addicts and their families, and try to find a way to rid this community of the demon that is tik. These women are changing their community one person at a time.
James’ son is now in rehab for the seventh time and he is only 19 years old. James will never stop believing that her son will beat his addiction, or that her community will recover from the devastation of its dependency and rise from its ashes. Instead of escaping the horrors in Eldo’s she is determined to fix them so that when her son comes home it will be a safe homecoming.
Garry Hertzberg is a practising attorney at Dewey Hertzberg Levy attorneys and the host of The Laws of Life on cliffcentral.com
