Young mother shares her horror tale
The trauma of having your child abducted is something that leaves permanent scars and a sense of mistrust as Andrea* (34) can attest.
POLOKWANE – Review had the opportunity to talk to a mother who went through hell after her son was abducted by someone she trusted.
Andrea grew up in Johannesburg in a troubled family and she became addicted to drugs at a young age.
Fortunately by the age of 25 she managed to kick her drug habit and get clean. She moved away from her family and out of the city to live with a family on a farm where she fell in love with one of the family’s sons.
She soon found out she was pregnant and subsequently she and her boyfriend’s mother became close friends.
However, this same close friend had ulterior motives. After the birth of her son, her new ‘friend’, Susan*, woke her one morning to tell her that she would take her son for his vaccinations.
When Andrea woke up and looked for her son, she found that Susan had not returned.
Several hours passed with no sign of Susan or her son.
Soon hours turned into days and Andrea began to panic because there was still no word or sign from Susan or her son and she suspected Susan of abducting her son.
She reported her son missing at the police when she realised he was abducted.
She also appealed to the community to assist her in finding her son but since Susan was well-known in the community, she received no assistance in her plight.
After four days of no word, social workers arrived at the house and told Andrea that she is not fit to be a mother, the place she was living in was not fit to raise a child, and that she has been accused of abusing her son.
“There are no words to describe how I felt after the visit from the social workers and still no word of my son. She found out that Susan stole her son’s documentation from the hospital and registered him as her own son.
She sought legal assistance and the help of a friend who was a social worker and after what she said felt like forever, they managed to find her son after months of searching.
Her son was three months old when they finally found him. She and her son were moved to a place of safety and when her son was around one year old, Andrea relapsed and became addicted to drugs again.
Her social worker suggested that she gives her son up for adoption to offer him the opportunity to grow up in a healthier environment than she could offer him and suggested that she put him in foster care.
“After some trouble with the adoption and him initially being placed with an abusive family, we finally found the perfect family to adopt him.
“That was around four years ago. I still have contact with the family who adopted him and I visit him often.”
Andrea managed to get her life back together and is now in a happy and healthy relationship.
She is pregnant again and ready to give her second child the loving home she was unable to give her son due to her circumstances.
“Even though it was several years ago I still have trust issues. I am cautious of everyone, especially women, because of the tragic circumstances of my past. It has left lasting scars for both me and my son but I know everything happened for a reason.
I am in a happy and healthy relationship with a man I love and who loves me dearly and we are about to start a family.
It was heartwarming to see the community come together during the recent alleged abduction in the city, I just wish my son and I could’ve received the same support from the community we lived in when we went through our ordeal.”
*Not their real names
maretha@nmgroup.co.za
