And we are still constantly surprised

Written Mars 2007
Tick... tick... tick... tick...I awake very slowly and realise that the ticking is not the sound of the clock I was dreaming about but that it are raindrops falling from the gutter.“At last” I think: “rain, nice cooling”. I get up and go to the kitchen for a cup of tea and a toast. Joanne, a visitor of the High School in Amsterdam who stays with me during the three days she studies our projects, comes sleepy into the kitchen and mumbles “good morning”. After half an hour, when we are finally clearly awake, we go through the programme of the day, i.e.:
- there is a meeting planned with The Dream Centre and with a volunteer who wants to discuss some things;
- after that a visit to Blue roof;
- picking up a new volunteer in Durban at 17.00, “somewhere at a backpackers place”

It all looks very promising, especially for Joanne to whom this is all new and who is excited by everything we do here. And by way of joke I say to her “Don’t laugh too hard, every day brings a new surprise and you never know where the day ends.” We start with a lot of courage and drive into the direction of Pinetown, to The Dream Centre. The visit goes very smoothly and the meeting ends pretty fast. All things are explained and everybody goes back to work happily.Then on the road to Blue Roof. Also here everything goes smoothly though we have to wait a long time because Geraldine is called away unexpectedly, but nevertheless. Again Joanne is surprised by the work that is being done there.It is 13.00 and we have time left, the volunteer only arrives late in the afternoon. So I suggest to drive further to Lower Illovo to pay another visit to Bobbi Bear (we had been there the day before). Joanne doesn’t mind at all as she was really impressed by Operation Bobbi Bear.
We receive a warm welcome, as usual. But we notice immediately that they are all very busy and that new victims have just been brought in. We look at it and don’t feel well at all when we hear that Roos, a girl from Zwaziland, was falsely informed that when she would go to South Africa to work, she would earn enough money to pay her studies in her country. The trustful girl got over the border without a passport, made acquaintance to a man who took her further into the country. He promised her heaven, but once he had her in his house, hell began. At least 5 times he raped her brutally … She could free herself and ran away … fortunately she was found by a police man who brought her to Bobbi Bear.A second girl we meet there was brought in that same morning, raped by her father …
These two stories aren’t digested yet or a phone call comes in. A 13 year old boy has been found at the beach, raped by an Indian. Shaine, a CSO (Child Save Officer) looks at me and tells me what had she had heard over the telephone. An Indian had addressed the boy and promised him food and clothes. The boy was mislead and the Indian raped him in the park at the beach.
Eurika looks at me and says “We need your help!”. They have to find three places now to offer these three victims a safe shelter. All places they had called were full. She asks me whether I can give the boy a place. Of course I can’t say no. As I live here already for a while and have been able to make some contacts in this world, I start making phone calls … I find two places:
- one place for drug addicts who are prepared to offer a stay for two nights but not longer, but the boy has to be older than 16;
- and a place where boys until 14 years are staying.
I get hope !
Meanwhile the colleagues and volunteers are busy with the normal procedure, i.e. have the police make up a statement in order to get a case number. Without a case number, they cannot go to the hospital for medical examination. Then they have to wait their turn in the hospital to have the boy examined, eventually have him administered PEP. PEP is a heavy medicine that breaks down the AIDS virus. This has to be administered within 72 hours after a rape. So time is VERY important. This medicine tears down your entire immunity system and rebuilds it very slowly. The cure lasts 28 days and is no sinecure. But better sick for 28 days than being infected by AIDS. Time goes by and I find no place for him for this evening. Meanwhile I get a message that the volunteer arrives in Durban at 18.00, so we still have some time left. In the meantime I also learn that the boy is not 13 but 17 years old, so completely inappropriate for the two places I found. I do not want to place a boy that has just been raped together with drug addicts. And the second home only accepts children until 14 years.I decide to take care of the boy myself and ask Joanne, my visitor, if she would mind taking the boy home with us for 1 or 2 nights. Of course that is no problem for her.But suddenly I realise that also the new volunteer has to stay overnight because he arrived too soon for the start of his project. Well, that’s a problem for later, eventually he can sleep in the house of the volunteers in Agape.I tell Shaine and Eurika that I will take care of the boy. Meanwhile I found two other places for the two girls, so everything looks right. At 17.00 we still do not have any news whether they can bring the boy to Bobbi Bear. They are still waiting at the police station for a statement … and the time that is so precious for that boy goes by … the longer you wait, the greater the risk that the AIDS virus attacks.
Of course we do not know at that time how the boy has been raped, with or without a condom. But you always have to be prepared to the worst. At 17.15 we fly to Durban leaving the message that we are going to pick up the volunteer to bring him to Waterfall and then come back to pick up the boy.When the volunteer, named Tobias, steps into the car, I immediately put him a multiple choice question and give him a summary of what has happened. He can choose: come along with us, follow me and stay overnight at my place and pass the rest of the evening on his own, or stay at the volunteers’ house and go out to the disco with the young people.His choice is made quickly, he wants to experience it all. I warn Tobias and Joanna that it may become a long evening and maybe night. No problem they say unanimously. Meanwhile I stay in contact with Bobbi Bear by telephone. There I am told that everyone is about to leave the centre and that I have to come to Doonside. Ans, a volunteer, had taken on the case and went to pick up the child. She told me over the phone what happened. Ans was no longer present as she was ordered by Bobbi Bear to come home for her own safety.
Vusi – that is the boy’s name – sits in the hospital with a police officer and is waiting to be examined.At 23.45 we get the saving call that we can come and pick up Vusi at the police station in Toti. Packed with a sack of stuff such as underwear, T-shirt and trousers, we rush to the police office.When I see Vusi, I immediately realise that Eurika did not lie when she said: “Gunter, the boy doesn’t look very well and certainly needs a bath”.I don’t care. When I look into his eyes, all emotions come out! “THE BASTARD” I think. Fortunately they were able to catch the man immediately. There were witnesses who had called the police when they saw it happen.This boy needs all the attention he can get now. When I speak to him, we immediately feel that we understand each other. He looks at me with tears in his eyes, says no word. I tell him that he can come home with me and that I will give him a nice bed to sleep in. He nods and shows that he completely trusts me. In the car, on the way home, he starts talking very slowly … about what happened. I am very glad that he is so open, that makes it a lot easier for him to process it.

Once at home I ask him if he would like to take a bath. He gives me a big smile and says: “Yebo,Yebo”, which means “yes” in Zulu.I walk into the bathroom with him and show him where he can find everything. He locks the door and sits on the edge of the bath and starts crying. I sit there too and look at him. And then the story comes…
will be continued … have to rush off now