‘Help my son – or he’ll die’

FATHER’S PLEA: BUT 13-YEAR-OLD DRUG ADDICT RUNS AWAY, SAY AUTHORITIES

Teenager tells of his late mother who forgot him in a shebeen toilet when he was a baby,

Afather from Nyibe near Ermelo in Mpumalanga is desperate to find help for his 13-year-old drug addicted son, fearing he is facing certain death. “I am pleading with Msukaligwa local municipality, social development or any department to assist me by taking my son,” the father said. “He is in my care but he needs to be placed in rehab before he ends up dying from substance abuse or gets arrested.”

The father cannot be named to protect the identity of the child.

The boy started using drugs when he was eight. By 10 he had dropped out of school. He has since spent his days begging to buy drugs for himself and his grandmother, also an addict.

“My son drinks a lot of alcohol and smokes dagga, nyaope and sniffs glue. All my efforts to help him stop using these substances have failed,” the father said.

“I think it’s because he spends most of his time with his grandmother. Talking to my mother about my son’s addiction is really a waste because she is gaining a lot from my son’s addiction. Basically, my son supports her addiction.”

He has another two sons – a 12-year-old who stays with him and a 14-year-old who is in a boys’ home in the provincial capital, Mbombela. The 13-year-old was supposed to also be taken into care, but ran away from authorities.

“I am determined to see my son stop using drugs because I can no longer watch him killing himself and destroying his future,” the father said.

“This constant living in fear and worry for my son’s safety is too much, even though my son always comes home at night.

“I can see in his eyes that he has given up in life. But as a parent, I will never give up on him – and that’s why I am pleading for assistance.”

Nyaope is a sometimes deadly concoction of cheap heroin and dagga, mixed with other solvents – at times even antiretrovirals.

Its use in South Africa has skyrocketed in recent years.

The 13-year-old said: “I am constantly reminded of my late mother’s mistakes and that she didn’t want me. That’s why she forgot me in a shebeen toilet when I was a baby.

“I know I am hurting my father and younger brother, but I really don’t know how stop.”

Pearl Ntuli from department of social development said: “Last year we tried to assist the family by removing the child from his home. But he ran away on the day of the pick-up. We will definitely try again because his current situation is bad and if nothing is done, the boy will end up in jail.”

According to Dumisani Masilela from the Sijulile Creative Group, this was not a matter of having more or less rehabilitation centres.

“The problem is that most of these centres are far from communities, especially in rural communities. In most cases I dealt with, drugs users are addicted to dagga, alcohol and nyaope. Most are using because they are trying to escape from pain or losses in their lives. Their reasons may be different, but they put these dangerous chemicals in their bodies without knowing the harm it can do.” – ANA