While chanting “Killers, killers leave our children alone”, the community of Eisleben Road Primary School in Rocklands formed a human chain that spread from Eisleben Road to Spine Road on Friday May 26, to raise awareness about the murders of children in the province since the start of the year.
Principal of Eisleben Road Primary School, Greg Maarman, said the human chain followed various other events hosted by the school in recent months.
“There are more that 1 000 parents and pupils from Grade R to Grade 1 here today. We cannot sit still and watch this happen to our children.”
Mr Maarman said from a parent’s perspective, more needs to be done to stop the killing of children.
“If my child’s school hosted an event like this I would attend. We have been silent for too long and we need to make our voices heard,” he said.
An aunt of a child at the school, Priscilla Hendricks of Rocklands, said she is saddened by what is happening. “I am so scared for the rest of our kids. Anger is not even a word I can use to describe how I am feeling.”
Another parent, Lameez-Rajie Darries, said she is heartbroken to hear about children being kidnapped, raped and killed.
“Unfortunately, we live in a society where the justice system is failing us. I feel perpetrators who commit these crimes should not be granted bail. My husband drops my daughter at school but I get worried when she has to wait for transport because children go missing in a split-second,” she said.
Grade 2 pupil Kirraan Elijah, 8, said it makes him sad to hear about the children who are being killed. “I feel like crying every time I hear about the latest case. The first time I heard about a child being kidnapped in Mitchell’s Plain I started crying,” he said.
