Sad Tale Of A Deserted Child

By Pini Botlhoko
Correspondent | Monday February 22, 2010 00:00

 

He has been subjected to torture and abject poverty throughout his teenage life.

His mother deserted him when he was only a few years old. His paternal uncle, who subjected him to ruthless abuse, brought him up. 'I grew up under the care of my uncle without knowing who my real parents were. My uncle just told me that my mother abandoned me when I was young and that she was now staying in Masunga village,' said Alfred, adding that ever since his mother abandoned him, he has seen her only once. While other children his age enjoyed the love and care of their parents, Alfred said he never got the opportunity to enjoy his childhood. Growing up under the care of his uncle has been a nightmaare for him together with his two elder brothers. 'My uncle treated us badly in front of his own children. We were forced to carry out all the household chores while we were supposed to be doing our school work,' he said.

At times, Alfred claims that they were expected to push wheelbarrows and fetch river sand while the other children were at school. He said if they tried to refuse they would be threatened that they should never come back home.

He said the torture went on at home for some time almost every day. At times he and his brothers would be battered for no apparent reason.

Because of the abuse, his school work deteriorated. At school, teachers started questioning his poor performance and reasons for his truancy. He said when he tried to explain that he was being ill-treated by his uncle at home, the teachers would brush off his claims as lies. 'They started calling me a naughty boy who did not take his education seriously,' said Alfred.

As if that were not enough, he said he was also mistreated by the teachers in the school. At one point, Alfred said he suffered injuries at the hands of his teacher while he was doing Standard Seven.

He claims that his teacher, whom he only knew as Ernest, inflicted much pain on his groin when he was spanking him using a car fan belt.Although he received treatment, Alfred said he has not completely recovered. 'I have been living with this pain since then, it pains me a lot when I think somebody did it deliberately. Every time when it gets cold the pain recurs,' said the irate young man.

He then decided to quit school at Form Two level in 2008. The oldest of his brothers ended up resorting to crime, for which he was soon arrested. He is now serving a six-year jail term for robbery while the second brother is working as a herdboy at Vukwi settlement in the North East District.

'Imagine having to push a wheelbarrow full of sand at that age,' he said with a sullen face.