A rise in kidnapping attempts have led many parents fearing for the safety of their children and loved ones recently. Residents have come out in their numbers on social media platforms, expressing their concern over the dangers of leaving children unattended and some have even offered to avail themselves during peak school times in an effort to provide protection to children walking home. Tabloid Newspapers reached out to their readers to get their take on how the community should work together to combat this issue.
Lerise Reddy
If we stand together as a community we can protect each other. I think that a great way to combat the rise in attempted kidnapping should be to create a WhatsApp group and use it as a platform to post suspicious activities. We need to carry pepper spray and be more alert of our surroundings, as well as more police vehicles patrolling our areas.
Kimashia Naidoo
Children should not be left unsupervised. Parents should be aware of where their children are and who they are with at all times. Community police forums should also be made more mobile so that they may better protect our future generation.
Sadhia Ahmed
I feel like as a society that claims to be democratic, it is really not evident. In terms of the current issue with kidnappings and rape, I feel that we are living a lie and harbouring the rapists and kidnappers. It stems from the mentality of men being in control or dominating and often is the local stigma. Submission comes almost naturally to most South African women because it is what we see in our homes. If the future parents do not change their way of thinking and households, this issue will never end. We must equip the young with the tools to survive. The introduction of sports and continuous development must be implemented and also extension of school hours so students remain students.
Nikyla Tamlyn Naidoo
I think that police should patrol more often, be more vigilant and take their jobs seriously. People should also take this seriously and watch their surroundings carefully. People of the community should come together and create a forum to which they dedicate their time to stop the kidnappings around our community.
