A friend of hers offered to accommodate her in Johannesburg until she
could stand on her own two feet. Initially filled with zeal and
determination to work Alicia soon became despondent and depressed at
the difficulty in finding a job and particularly the resentful attitude
of certain locals towards her because of her nationality. After meeting
an old acquaintance from Zimbabwe she found herself spending less time
looking for jobs and more time partying in the vibrant night life of
Johannesburg.
We would go to the trendiest night spots hang out with celebrities and
there was always so much money flying around. I couldn't have cared
less where they got the money from. I was just glad to have these
people as my friends, Alicia said.
She soon found out though that they were drug dealers who preyed on young women.
They would ask me to befriend a girl they spotted in a club and get
her to hang out with us. Then they would give her ecstasy for free just
to get her hooked. When she had developed a dependency they would begin
extorting money out her and then offer her even stronger drugs for free
then after some time make her pay for these too. I was the facilitator
for so many people getting into the drug scene but I felt no guilt or
remorse whatsoever because I figured they should have been mature
enough to make sensible decisions. If someone told me to jump off a
cliff I wouldn't do it so why were they so naive?
Things came to an abrupt end one weekend when Alicia decided to try some ecstasy and cocaine.
It was a complete light bulb moment for me like I was seeing myself
from above and I realised that I had to get out before I became
addicted or arrested or even killed. Surely my parents had raised me
better than this? I decided I would rather starve in Zimbabwe than
throw my life away like this so without any word to my drug dealing
friends I changed my number and moved to a distant relative in
Pretoria. I was now living with a no-nonsense Christian family that
believed in the motto of he who does not work shall not eat' and they
made it clear that I was no exception to the rule.
Alicia was lucky to get an opportunity at a restaurant and registered
with working for Zimbabwe in the hopes that if an opportunity arises
for which she qualifies she can be considered. Sharing her story with
us is her way of warning young girls out there about the unscrupulous
characters lurking in our midst whose aim is to take advantage of
vulnerable people. It is so easy to be caught up in a web of deceit and
luxury but it comes at a price of either one's integrity, health or
life and is never worth it.
If you would like to register with working for Zimbabwe visit: www.workingforzimbabwe.com.
We are currently building a comprehensive database of Zimbabweans with
various skills and qualifications, if you have any opportunities for a
Zimbabwean or have any human resources needs email
sandi@workingforzimbabwe.com.
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Post published in: News