Johannesburg – Residents of Eldorado Park, who have been besieged by drug abuse in the community, especially nyaope, have poured their hearts out to the country’s first citizen.
President Jacob Zuma, accompanied by several Cabinet ministers, on Tuesday took time out to hear the daily struggles of the people of Eldorado Park and surrounding Kliptown, south of Johannesburg, where drugs, high levels of crime and violence have driven residents to live in fear.
President Zuma’s visit was sparked by a letter by one Dereleen James, who wrote the letter documenting her struggle of trying to get her 17-year-old son off tik (crystal meth).
James’s son, who is now in rehab, will be taken to a place of safety when he comes out to prevent him relapsing.
The letter has since gone viral. It has reached many who were moved by the mother’s anguish, and community members added their own stories to it. In the letter, the community detailed how a wave of drugs has taken over their lives, with many having lost their children to it.
“The term ‘future generation’ is non-existent, meaningless to us. Sending our children to school is like sending them to the lion’s den. Drug peddlers parade and sell daily to our kids… Our children in turn sell for them to get a free ‘gage’ or two. Our community is flooded with ‘Lolli lounges’,” reads an excerpt from the letter.
The community, which says it doesn’t trust anyone, pleaded with Zuma to, among others, set up a special court for all drug related crimes; help build a rehab centre; dismiss all corrupt police officers; have compulsory drug testing at schools and develop recreation centres to keep the youth busy.
Amid a heavy police presence, where several hundred officers from the metro and the national department scoured the area, Zuma first held a meeting with the families who wrote the letter, then proceeded to meeting with the community.
James, who could not hold back her tears, said drugs, which she refers to as 'demons', shared her frustration with President Zuma.
"Mr President, we need your help. You can be the symbol of hope for this community, dad. We need you...” said an emotional James, who strongly appealed for action to be taken after the President’s visit.
Local community leader and pastor, Xavier Hendricks, who also pleaded with Zuma for change in the area, said he was afraid that if action was not taken fast, people might take matters into their own hands.
Officials from a local drug and rehabilitation centre told Zuma that a lack of funding complicated the challenge of saving the drug ridden community.
Recovering drug addict, 20-year-old Kelly-Anne, shared her life story about how she used to prostitute herself for a fix, her time in jail for possession of drugs, her struggle as a teenage mother and dropping out of school. She pleaded with the young girls in the crowd not to go down the same route she did.
Many children, according to the community, are addicted to nyaope, dagga, cat, tik and alcohol, which are easily available even at schools.
A hit of nyaope -- which is a mixture of heroine, dagga, battery acid, rat poison, ARVs and other dangerous ingredients -- costs about R30. As a result, crime has spiralled as the desperate youth will do anything to feed their habit.
A community member, who only introduced herself as Fatima, told SAnews that it will be a long road before the community wins the war against drugs, as police operations only saw individuals getting arrested, and did not get the drugs off the streets.
“We know these drug dens but it is difficult to stop them because they are working with the police. It is well known that the syndicates pay the police officers a ‘protection fee’, and that is why they never get arrested,” she alleged.
Another visibly frustrated resident said the addicts went to extremes to finance their habit, from stealing metal sheets, taps, copper, electric cables and aluminium, which they exchange for cash at scrapyards.
“They can steal anything – from household items, clothes, food and tormenting their parents and grandparents in the process.”
The impassioned man said young girls were mostly found at "Lolli lounges” – rooms where men traded sex with addicts.
Most of the community members refused to be on record, saying the dealers had ears all over.
Zuma vows to act
A concerned President Zuma told the hundreds of residents, some of whom were carrying posters venting their anger over drug lords, that when he read the letter, he was overcome with shock.
"Having listened to your pleas, we understand the situation and we now have to decide what to do with it."
Zuma said the situation called for drastic measures to be taken swiftly. He committed to lead the turnaround strategy for the community himself.
He told the cheering crowd that over the next few days, government will meet with community members to decide on the action they need to take.
"We won't make promises and not act. We will act. I will drive the programme myself," he said, adding that time frames for the turnaround strategy would be announced soon.
He vowed to close down the Lolli lounges, which he referred to as "rotten houses" that were destroying children's innocence. He said they would work with young people in the community and support initiatives to create employment in the area.
"We will work together to stop this rot... Government won’t be acting alone. We will act with the community to save this community."
President Zuma was accompanied by the Ministers of Police Nathi Mthethwa; Social Development Bathabile Dlamini; Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Collins Chabane; Basic Education Angie Motshekga; Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane and Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau. - SAnews.gov.za
