June 2001 – 26’27’’

Script

It’s the first day of term at Ethokomala reformatory...a detention and care facility for hardened young criminals. For the young inmates, this is their last chance. If they don't reform, they go to jail. Among the boys: brothers Jurie and Erich Peach, both heroin addicts.

Under strict supervison, 17-year old Eric and 14-year old Jurie have been off heroin more than four months now.

Old habits die hard, and before the start of each schoolday, the boys

are allowed a smokebreak…a substitute for their former fix of heroin, crack or mandrax.

TITLE

In February this year, Special Assignment witnessed the arrest of Jurie and

Erich, two of Pretoria's youngest and most notorious drug addicts.

Eric and Jurie come from a broken home. Their alcoholic father left a long

time ago. Their mother tries to make a living as a car-guard or by begging on

Pretoria's busiest street corners.

Eric and Jurie are well known to Pretoria's Narcotics Bureau. They’ve been

arrested several times before. The Children's Court had previously

sent them to an Industrial School, but they escaped 15 times. They

were also in a drug rehabilitation centre - but ran away four times within three

days. No amount of medication could help them get through withdrawal.

Drugs have stunted their growth. Both are small for their age. They started

smoking dagga and mandrax – even sniffing thinners - when Jurie was 8.

From the police cells Jurie and Erich were transferred to a youth

detention facility… until the court could decide what to do with them.

FLAT

Their mother and her boyfriend clearly can’t cope with the boys’ addiction

and manipulation. The family lives in one small room. They can hardly afford

the rent...and while adults beg, the boys roam the streets. They've also been involved in prostitution and armed robbery to get money for drugs.

VINCE

The Court refused to send the boys back to their mother. If they were older, it

would have been prison for them. But they were given one last chance.

VINCE

This is Ethokomala reformatory near Kinross in Mpumalanga. Jurie and Erich have been sentenced to two years here. This is the very last effort by the State to rehabilitate the boys.

Ethokomala is one of just two remaining reformatories in the country. The boys who come here are between the ages of 13 and 17 and have been sentenced by a juvenile court.

KIDS

While they stay here, the boys' criminal sentences are suspended. When the

state eventually releases them back into society, they have a clean slate. If

they run away, they may go to jail – all prior convictions counted.

The new intake arrives at Johannesburg’s Park station. They come from all corners of the country.

These nine boys awaited trial at Noordeinde Prison in Port Elizabeth. Among them: two 14-year old rapists, a 16-year old murderer and several armed robbers.

Each of these boys have missed out on a normal childhood, and at least two

years of education.

These boys spent time in an adult prison while awaiting trial. In that

time, they missed out on school and were exposed to gangsterism, sodomy and drugs. They encountered criminal minds more sophicticated than their own. Today they bring these skills with them. On the 22nd of March, Erich and Jurie arrived. This will be their home for the next two

years.

All the new boys have to be searched when they first arrive. Doctor

Mahamba is the chief child care worker at Ethokomala. He makes sure that

the boys don't smuggle in drugs, tobacco, sharp objects or money. But these

efforts are often in vain. Dagga gets in, tobacco gets in, money gets in. As for

sharp objects...kitchen spoons are smuggled from the dining hall and pens are taken from classrooms.

All personal belongings are taken in and reported in an Occurrence Book.

The boys get it back when they leave.

Like in any prison boys cannot wear their own clothes. They come from all

walks of life and the idea is that here, everyone is the same.

The school caters for 160 boys, but at the moment there are 184. It

costs the government almost R3 million to run the school every year, not counting staff salaries.

There are 60 staff members...about one for every three children. This

includes child care workers and admin staff.

On arrival the boys sign an agreement with the Reformatory that they will abide by its code of conduct.

Corporal punishment has been abandoned. Bad behaviour results in privileges being taken away. Pocket money or smoke breaks might be suspended.

Placing boys in appropriate classes is difficult. They have to make up for time in jail and most attended school erratically. Many lack the basic life

skills that other kids learn from their families and parents.

Ethokomala has a policy of constructive criticism. In fact, no child ever fails. If

a boy doesn't do well in the class where he's placed, he's simply moved to

another that fits his educational needs and coping skills. Both Eric and Jurie

are better at maths than at spelling and reading. They are placed back in the

grades they left two years ago.

It seems to be much harder for 14-year old Jurie to reform his ways. The

boy's physical and mental ability have been badly damaged by drugs. The

reformatory says his chances are limited of ever developing the mental

strength to discern right from wrong. So is his potential to develop real insight

into his drug problem. He might be safe for now, but will probably return to his former ways if given half a chance.

Hard drugs may no longer be on hand, but the school provides a daily fix of

two cigarettes to those over 16. To get their smokes, the younger boys often give favours of one kind or another. Dagga is frequently on the menu, brought in by those who have been home for a visit.

At first, Jurie showed few signs of co-operating. Soon after admission, the

brothers tried to escape. Their stepfather also smuggled cigarettes and tobacco in during a visit. They were therefore not allowed to go home for the Easter holidays.

The reformatory encourages home visits to build family ties. During the

Easter holidays, a handful of problematic boys had to remain behind. The staff decided to take them on a nature adventure excursion.

This is the Development Training College at Waterval Boven in Mpumalanga.

The Centre offers games and challenges to help kids realise their potential

and build self-esteem.

Piet Uys has a remarkable story to tell of abuse at Ethokomala. Today he takes care of a young boy who was sodomised and assaulted at the

reformatory...This is the boy: Vicky Mabuza, a convicted housebreaker who

grew up in Waterval Boven. Uys and Vicky met even before the boy was

sentenced to the reformatory.

With a drunk careworker in charge and totally outnumbered, Vicky was overpowered. He was raped.

In his hour of need, Vicky phoned the one man out there who he knew would help him: Piet Uys. Uys decided to intervene. He drove to Ethokomala

and offered to take care of the boy. The reformatory decided to release Vicky

into the care of the Uys family. Uys took Vicky to all the families he had

robbed in Waterval Boven where the boy apologized. Today, he is

like one of the family's own kids. But as Uys soon discovered: raising a

problem child is difficult. It wasn’t long before Vicky ran away.

Uys is now Vicky’s guardian. In a stable, supportive family, he’s excelling at school and his life of crime is behind him. But he was confronted with his past when the Ethokomala boys visited Waterval Boven. He came face to face

with one of his rapists.

Back at Ethokomala, the beginning of a new term. Some of the boys will have returned to crime during their break at home. The sanctuary of these walls will be a welcome respite from fending for themselves...

For Jurie and Erich, the Ethokomala experience is the best chance they can hope for. It's already a small miracle that they are still in

the reformatory after four months and that they have given up hard drugs.