Last week, I had two intruders in my home. For a woman alone at the time, it was a traumatic experience, which I don’t wish on my worst enemy.
When I came to my senses and ran outside, trying to scream, about six people working in the house on the other side of our complex fence, were standing on their balcony staring at me as though I was mad.
They saw the perpetrators running away, but not one of them bothered to call the police.
Thankfully, my husband and children arrived and we called Wolf Security, who were on the scene in a flash and quickly caught the perpetrators.
We received incredible support from the security company and are very thankful that we could rely on them in this difficult time. Our immediate neighbours, complex management and the police were incredible too.
However, there is one thing that concerns me and that’s the apathy of the people in our town.
Yes, we were also laid-back until it happened to us. Yes, God sent his angels to be with me – how else do you explain two robbers with a huge cleaver running away from a woman so weak with fear that she could barely scream?
I want to implore you, my fellow South Coasters, to please start looking out for your neighbours. When an alarm goes off while you’re home, or smoking on your balcony and if you see someone in the next yard, phone a security company or the police. If you hear screaming, don’t hesitate – just call for help! Imagine for once that you were the one who needed help – what would you want your neighbours to do?
It’s through the apathy of those people who could not care less when they witness a crime, seeing it as a bit of fun or sensation in their working day. By not helping your neighbours, you are just as guilty as the perpetrators, because you are helping them to get away.
I also thought it would never happen to me. I also thought that I would be so tough if it did, and that I would beat them senseless, but in that moment, you are frozen. You become weak. You can’t even scream. I pray that you won’t ever be in a situation like that; that you won’t have to explain to your children that their possessions are stolen, or that a criminal invaded the sanctuary that should be their bedrooms; that they would not have to come to the realisation that they could easily have lost a parent.
During this ordeal, I have learned that there are a few good people though – mostly my immediate neighbours and complex management, everyone who works at Wolf Security and Margate community policing forum. They look out for you and work very hard to make our area crime free. If you have not yet done it, join hands with them and let’s take back what has been stolen from us – our freedom.
Let’s do our bit to clear the vermin off our streets by being the eyes and ears of the law enforcement authorities.
ANONYMOUS
