Dear Mr President, Jacob Zuma
I write this letter to you, with the utmost respect for yourselves and your position as leader of this great nation.
I first would like to introduce myself as Kevin Gordon Richard Williams as a member of the coloured community, born in Oudtshoorn in 1966. I was born from a dear lady, Caroline Williams and my father was Virgil Williams. I was born and raised in the Bridgton community where we could play and run and just do freely as children like to do. My father was a well-known electrician of our town, and my grandfather was the principle of a small school at the time, called St Simons Primary School. I was raised a very good home, where we were chased up to church and Sunday school.
This is my story: I was an excellent scholar up to the age of 14 years, a boy who won most of his tennis matches and always made the top five academically in class. I used to work with my grand father where he was a working as a manager of a second hand furniture store, after he retired from teaching. I kept his books, sold furniture, made deals that many adults could not, and that at age 13. I was a growing success story. My goals were high. I wanted to become a pilot, but then one dreadful afternoon I made the one mistake that would change the course of my life forever.
As a hard working kid, wanting to earn more money because I wanted to buy myself a new tennis racket, I made my way to a nearby bottle store where people would go to drink and throw their bottles in bins. I always used to do it and nothing ever happened. This day was different, completely different. As I made my way to the bottle store’s bins, I was taken by surprise by a gangster with a knife as long as my forearm. I was forced to a nearby toilet. This is where my new life stared, as sexually abused child. I walked for weeks with pain where there were not suppose to be pain. I thought of telling my father, but the fear of him killing someone with his gun made me decide to keep my secret to myself.
No one guessed why this boy who was once such a good scholar, suddenly started to loose his appetite for school. This boy, with the big dreams flipped grade 11 and just made the grade to do a degree course. My mind, my emotion, my pain, my confusion, my whole being was in chaos and I had to bear all by myself. I had to carry the burden that drives some people crazy, make others commit suicide, which makes other become prostitutes, who does not respect their own bodies, because someone thought it all right to snatch the life out of them. I was fortunate that I had parents for whom I have great respect. This boy’s course of life was never again going to be the same. It does not end there, though. Not long after that incident I was forced to feel a grown teacher’s private parts, while she was visiting in our home. A teacher three times my age wanted me to play with her vagina deep in the night. I still feel her today, after more then 30 years. Me and my brother slept I one room, and I thought if I make alarm I would be the trouble maker. This all happened before the age of 14. Then after going to University and really just wasting my parent’s money, I started working at Sasol while staying with my sister.
I experienced first hand what alcoholism could do to a human mind. I was exposed to the worse abuse a person of 19/20 can see and experience. I had to sleep outside many times with my sister and her siblings in winter times in Mpumalanga. Abuse that never get’s forgotten. It always comes back in one form or another.
Mr. President, I was fortunate to find a source of hope in my life that would keep me sane till this day. If it never were for the saving grace of Jesus and his love he has for me, I do not know where I’ll be. Even though I had this love in my life, it still was hell to walk with this secret, but I made it till here and I vowed to myself that one day I will be doing, what I am doing right now, to be a Voice crying in the wilderness, cause it felt like I was an animal and always hears with voice “Help my little children”. I am currently 45 years, and I thought it would be easy writing this letter. But time and time again I find my eyes tearing up, knowing I am not alone, knowing that at this present moment someone is raped yet again, and again, and again.
To you Mr. president, I would like to pose a very loving, but very serious question: What have you done in your short term in office to prevent this from happening to our little one’s again? Mr. President, our children is crying out, our women are crying out – “Please help us, Please help us”. I refer you, sir to a case of note. On the News24.com website of 4th February 2011, I read the following heading “7 year old girl raped repeatedly by father while mom is looking on”. This case made me realize, that if someone can be so callous, ruthless, brave and barbaric to rape his own daughter, and that while the mother is watching and doing nothing, we might just as well take all our children, put them all in a row and shoot them, cause it would be a far better, far easier way to destroy their lives than taking their future, their souls, their everything, and say, Go live. The mere fact that something like this can happen in our country tells me we need a radical overhaul of our mindsets, our laws and the bench. None of these cases was suppose to have happened, none of the cases of rape, child abuse and women abuse should have happened. Our society needs you to stand up and be counted. We need you to march the streets with us. The leader, leading.
I write this letter because I was fortunate, and not insane, blessed and not mental. I write this letter because I believe in my heart of hearts, this state of affairs is not negotiable, and it needs to change. Mr. president, for all the respect I have for you, I expect nothing less then change. I cannot advise you how, where, and who, but all I can tell you is why and when. If we do not stop this scourge of abuse, mistreatment of women, we might just as well welcome nothingness. I am but a single individual and I am sure there are tens of thousands out there like me. Most of us do not talk, most of us have been taught “from abuse” to keep quiet, to keep it to ourselves or we will be blamed, to be insignificant, and just to be.
I kept this secret with me for over 23 years. I lived this hell for 23 years and again I was fortunate and blessed to be who I am today. This country is breeding a generation of rapists, because we are taught that the victim becomes the hunters. The mind of a victim of abuse, especially sexual abuse is being so distorted and dysfunctional, it is impossible to be human and live a full life if one does not find that special thing to keep you human and normal.
Mr. President, this is my plea: Please consider this letter in the light in which it was written. I wrote this letter for the Voiceless, the Beaten, the Abused and the Forgotten.
I pray that God gives you the grace to do what is right in His sight. I hope to receive a reply on my letter, please. I need to know that you, Mr. President have read my letter personally.
I hope sincerely that this letter have desired affect it was intended for. CHANGE.
I am reminded of Mr. Nelson Mandela’s speech during his inauguration, and I quote:
We are both humbled and elevated by the honor and privilege that you, the people of South Africa, have bestowed on us, as the first President of a united, democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa, to lead our country out of the valley of darkness.
We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom.
We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success.
We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world.
Let there be justice for all.
Let there be peace for all.
Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.
Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.
Quote in quote: Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world.
Let freedom reign.
The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement!
God bless Africa!
I am aso reminded from the text in the Holy Bible :
"And they brought young children to Him, that He should bless them: and His disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God"
(Mark 10:13-14).
I thank you so much
Yours, the abused and forgotten ones -
Kevin Gordon Richard Williams and the unnamed.
I pray:
Father God, I come to you in the name of Jesus and I pray that you would touch whoever reads this letter, in a way only you can. I pray that this letter would break the barriers, the hurt, the emotional as well as physical scars that abuse is installing in our communities. I pray for radical change in our leaders thoughts on abuse. I pray for our President that you would give him the courage to stand tall and remove all burdens from his shoulder, so he can make the correct decisions in this matter. I thank you. Amen.
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