The Cape Argus has launched a new collaborative editorial initiative called #TheDignityProject – a 15-part daily series about the homeless people of Cape Town. Homeless person Danny Oosthuizen will be writing a daily column for the duration of the project. Read the seventh entry in Danny’s Diary below ...
The power to forgive… ourselves for the things we did in the past, the choices we made, the people we hurt.
To the point where we would allow the shame and guilt to consume us, to allow it to become the only thing we have left to cling onto and keep us in exile.
The helplessness. The frustration. The violence. The alcohol and drug abuse. The endless circle of self-destruction. The desire to turn back the clock.
The few minutes before we reached our ground zero…
I guess in your world, with the help of a glass of whisky or red wine, Prozac, a sleeping tablet or the odd Valium now and again.
You also have the option of watching Oprah for what it is worth.
The avant garde drug of choice might be cocaine or a line of CAT. Did I forget to mention your joint?
I guess we all have our vices.
When you get to the point where you give up on yourself, you give in to the life and culture of the street, you’re moer and gone!
When you reach the point when you only skarrel for drugs to keep your emotions numb, when you will sell your body or steal your friend’s belongings for a quick R20 fix, you need a miracle.
And if you do not know this, in our beautiful city we have 14-year-old children hooked on heroin. Heroin (I call it “Devil’s Breath”), becomes your everything once you are hooked on it. You MUST have it!
This is the state of our streets. And you must be blind not to be aware of it.
I think the city is not harsh enough on the drug dealers. Heroin in itself is not an addiction, but it is a death sentence. As Celine Dion sang in Call The Man: “Call the man who deals in love beyond repair... “
* To engage with Danny, e-mail him at [email protected].
Cape Argus