Beautiful Bontas being battered: Stop destroying what belongs to all
|Published
SHOCK: Smashing the hall’s windows.
The video of kids vandalising the White House Sports Hall in Bonteheuwel traumatised me.
Watching them gleefully throwing stones at the windows and destroying what little they have, filled me with such anger and confusion, that I feel I need to address the issue again.
So if you know those kids, please call them and read this article to them, because I really need them to hear me.
Bontas is close to my heart, because it is where I did most of my growing up.
I know all the schools, all the shops, all the streets and most of the recreational facilities.
That includes the centre where I would close the library during the week, and spend all the money I earned working in a babbie shop, on matinee movies at the local cinema over weekends. And if not that, then I would while away my time at the swimming pool, or the tennis court across the road.
Bonteheuwel shaped who I am today, and I treasure the fond memories.
So you can understand how upsetting it is to hear how these facilities are being destroyed by the very kids who are meant to benefit from them the way I did.
Kids, if you are listening, please understand that these things are there for you to enjoy and to give you a place to go and just be kids.
It’s where you can go to relax and enjoy yourself safely.
What you must understand is that it belongs to you and all the other kids in Bontas.
We have all paid for it and every time you destroy it, then we have to pay for it again.
And if we don’t, then it will remain broken and you won’t have it anymore. But it’s not just about you, it’s also about other kids who might want to use it.
I’m also talking about the ones that haven’t even been born yet.
They should also be allowed to enjoy these things and you should actually be looking after it for them to also enjoy one day.
Let me explain to you why it is important. Bonteheuwel and other areas just like it, don’t have many nice things for us and our families to enjoy.
Whenever anything new and nice is built, then it gets vandalised, damaged or destroyed.
It ends up having a terrible effect on the community and erodes away our self-belief and stops us from progressing.
You and your friends end up with nothing nearby to entertain you safely and cheaply.
This means you end up doing things that are bad for everybody, but mostly yourself, like running with gangs, doing drugs or becoming parents at a very young age.
It doesn’t mean that having a nice park will prevent all of this from happening, but it does help. Plus, it’s just really nice to know that we can look after our stuff and even encourage our friends to help.
What you are doing is not fun or funny. It’s like taking a stone and breaking the window in your mother’s house.
You would never do that, because you would get into trouble, but also because it’s your house and you don’t want it to look bad.
The parks and community facilities also belong to you, and your neighbour and everyone else in the area.
It’s an area that I grew up in and where I started dreaming of what I was going to do with my life one day when I was big.
I used to dive into that pool and sink to the bottom, to see how long I could hold my breath for.
Then I would lie on my back on the warm tiles and daydream about the future.
Most of my dreams have come true; and I want the same for you. But it starts with making smart choices now already.
One of those choices must be to not destroy the stuff that’s there to help you realise those dreams. Trust me, it’s a good place to start.