What is happening behind close doors in our neighbourwoods?

Today is a sad day for me, yet it is a day filled with hope. A contradiction you say?

Crime is usually happening to other people and although you may find it horrible, it does not really concern you until it hit you near to home. My dad phoned me during the week to inform me that his neighbour, Mrs Apollis has been assaulted last Sunday afternoon inside her house. Immediately I was taken back to my youth when I was growing up in front of Mrs Apollis and what a fantastic lady she is. At any age it must be difficult, but to have to go through such trauma at 81 is horrific and it will probable be difficult to recover.

The fact that fills me with resentment and some stronger emotion that I do not know how to verbalise, is that the person that did this to her was her own son! It really hits me in the pit of my stomach. Yes, the person responsible for Mrs Apollis assault is her son. Let me rephrase that as this is in the public domain and lawyers is also bound to read this. The person allege to have done this to Mrs Apollis is her son. I am a few years younger than him( Rodderick is 51-according to the article in the newspaper-The Voice,10th February 2009, page 1,6 and 7) but I know him and I know his mother taught him about the ten commandments, one of them being, Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God has giving you.

It is allege that he was under the influence of TIK the drug so prevalent in Cape Town and that he did not know what he was doing because of the effect of the drug on him. Well the fact is that he is still running from the Police so he knows what he did.

Mrs Apollis only came home from the hospital this week. She is a born again Christian and when she recovers she will forgive her son, and so it should be. His actions were wrong but he is still her child and the child of Jesus and he needs our help and prayer as do thousands of TIK users. It is because we can reach out to people like him that I say I am sad but also filled with hope that there is help for him and others like him.

What is so depressing for me is that while this was happening last Sunday afternoon, my family and I was having lunch and spending the afternoon in a happy mood with my father next door to where this assault was happening and we did not hear a thing. How sad that while we were enjoying a fantastic meal and a tranquil afternoon in each others company, only 10 to 15 metres away in the house next door such a despicable act was taking place and poor fragile 81 year old Mrs Apollis was suffering and we could not even reach out and help because we did not know about it.

This really is indicative of our society today and acts like this assault and worse is taking place on a daily basis. I once again want to advocate the reality of living a biblical centred life and it is not the responsibility of the government, but of each and every parent to give their lives to Jesus and to instill biblical values in their children. It is the only way to bring up families that are balanced and can contribute to a healthy, wealthy and stable South Africa. Take heed parents, the well being, rescue and regeneration of the South Africa that we desire to live in, is in our hands, and yes we can make a difference, a big and significant difference.



I am filled with hope though because Mrs Apollis has proven over the years that she is a strong lady, bringing up her children as a single divorced mother, when it was not fashionable to do that, and her reliance on our God has always been total, and therefore I believe that with the help of God, her daughter, and her neighbours, she will come out of this incident stronger, praising God as this could be the catalyst needed to bring heeling to her son, and that the Glory will belong to Jesus.