Download PDFThe residents of Orange Farm are urged to look after the elderly people in the area who live alone. The elderly folk in the area have a lot of struggles and many are victims of different types of abuse.
There have been accounts of the elderly being raped, robbed, and threatened with fatal violence. Jabulile Shabangu, an elderly from Orange Farm, offered one example of what they go through in the community. 66-year-old Mathapelo Maruka, also from Orange Farm Ext 2 near Lapeng Pub, was strangled and assaulted by an intruder at her home in 2019. Closer to her home, some of the ‘senior citizens’ are emotionally abused by the people they come into contact with everyday while others are tormented day and night by some men in the neighbourhood.
The elderly are also often accused of practicing witchcraft. Most do not enjoy their pension money due to family members taking it.
The elderly women, in particular, are sometimes forced to raise grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, while their mothers are out looking for entertainment. They leave them to be a burden to the elderly. Some of the elderly are sick and not properly taken care of, they are not taken for medical attention because their money is being spent by family members. Some are hidden from neighbours because they are disabled or have developed mental health challenges.
It is up to the community to help the elderly by reporting any form of abuse against them and to make the right reforms. When such things happen in Orange Farm, the people choose to look away, they only act after someone has died.
The abuse of women and children is also another common social ill in South Africa. The statistics show that there are many abuse cases registered with the police this past month, but the number is far more since many other cases are not reported. Very few cases are reported. It is always good when perpetrators are punished by the law. It is scary to see how children and women are not safe in this country.
Down with abusing women and children!
This article is an opinion piece submitted on 14 December 2022. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of Karibu! Online or Khanya College. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za ), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
