DEAR Editor,-
Just two weeks ago, my better half and I found ourselves destitute with nowhere to turn. We had been evicted from our home because my fiancé lost his job.
My fiancé came across the number of a caretaker at a homeless shelter in Izotsha and we contacted the number. We were collected at 5pm that evening as promised and taken to a place that I could only describe as hell. I feel sadness and sorrow for the people I left there the following day.
The first night, we were ‘thrown in’ a small closed-off box in a barn where we had to sleep and it is the dirtiest place I have ever seen. Being grateful that at least we had a roof over our heads, I calmed myself and tried my best not to expect too much. It was a homeless shelter after all. That night I was so scared I barely slept.
The next morning, I begged for some hot water to wash with, but was refused. I also asked if my cellphone could be charged, but they took it from me and refused to give it back. We were then told that we were not allowed to leave the property as there would be dire consequences and punishment if the rules were broken. Threatened with ejection if we were not obedient, I found a way out to call the police and this caretaker sent her ‘men’ to come and find me, to no avail.
After the police left, her cruelty did not stop and she basically informed us that no one would believe me if I spoke out. This caretaker is a cruel woman who puts the fear of God into poor homeless people’s hearts at that ‘shelter’. She said that ‘she will break me and it would not take much’.
The poor homeless are too scared to do or say anything. We asked around for a physical address, but everyone said they knew nothing. Some of the people at the shelter have been stuck there for a year and have no way of getting out. Their cellphones were taken away and never given back. The caretaker isolates and brainwashes them. There is no lighting or warm water at the shelter and people are only allowed to wash once a week. No person should or can live in these conditions. Please someone, somewhere, help.
LUCKY ESCAPE
