ROUGH AUNTIES – Dialogue List With Timecodes

10:00:27:20

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it

treats its children”                        Nelson Mandela

10:01:14:20

TITLE

10:01:47:09

OPERATION BOBBI BEAR

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

10:01:54:03

Mildred:   You can take this bear home with you

It’s a friend you can talk to and sleep with

If you remember anything, just write on it

Now tell me your story

10:02:13:24

Pinky:   Can I draw here?

M:  Yes, please

10:02:19:10

Let’s start by naming the body parts

10:02:24:21

MILDRED  “SBO”

M:  What’s this?

 

P:  Head

 

M:  These?

 

P:  Ears   Eyes   Nose  Neck  Arms  Legs  Tummy 

M:  And this?

 

P:   My thing!

 

M:  I know it’s not easy to name our private parts...

...but we need to know what happened to you

10:03:02:15

Show me what Sifiso did using this plaster and pen

Draw what he did to you

 

10:03:13:14

P:  He broke into my house by smashing a window

Then he got me by the throat

M:  Alright, let’s use the rubber band

Let’s put it round the neck

10:03:43:23

P:  He held me by the neck and took off my pants...

..then he took off his clothes

Then he pushed his penis in here

He was pressing really hard and then he put it in my mouth

M:  Put a plaster there

P:  When I tried to bite it, he punched me

10:04:41:01

M:  Now that Sifiso is out on bail...

...how do you feel about it?

He’s out now

How do you feel?

P:  I’m too frightened to go to school

10:05:01:12

M: Sifiso is not allowed to be anywhere near you

He shouldn’t be living there anymore

I’m going to talk to the Police so that....

10:05:40:12

AT BOBBI BEAR, MILDRED WORKS WITH A SMALL GROUP OF WOMEN

WHO FIGHT TO BRING CHILD RAPISTS TO JUSTICE

10:05:53:15

Eureka:     Inspector Kanilye, I’m extremely concerned about a case of ours

It’s a case from last night

Where you went to arrest the perpetrator and he was released

because he said the case was withdrawn against him

10:06:06:14

EUREKA

Operation Bobbi Bear

Ok, but what about the second case?

What about 18 of 8 / 06?

That case is going forward, hey

10:06:15:07

There was penetration

There’s a J 88,  there was penetration

Because in the meantime, we’ve got a little victim out there who’s

...been raped by this man

He’s living next door to her, he’s threatening her

This child is petrified.  She keeps coming back to Bobbi Bear

I walk in here in the morning and this child is sitting here

She’s petrified, she’s too scared to be in her own house

‘cos this little man that raped her is running around the community

and threatening her

Now he’s acting the big man and saying

“There’s no case against me, it’s withdrawn”

One case is withdrawn, but the second one is definitely not withdrawn

10:06:56:16

How long ago did the docket go to court?

Ok, I will track this docket

I will find out what is going on with this docket

I want that man inside

Honestly, I need to have that man arrested

Because he’s harassing the victim

So I’ll phone Umbumbulu now I’ll get someone to work on this case

and get someone to help us

Thank you, Inspector Kanilye, good bye

10:07:23:09

Mildred:  He was supposed to stay at Kwamashu

10:07:32:21

E:  And he’s living back in the same area right next to the child

Sheini:  Breaking bail conditions

E:  I’m not quite sure who’s protecting who and

who’s covering up for who, and what’s going on, Mildred,

I don’t  -   I can’t answer you

I just can’t lose my temper with the wrong people

in the wrong departments, because future help won’t be given

They’re all running around trying to find docket 18 of 8

Nobody’s got the docket

It hasn’t come back from court yet

10:08:00:11

M:  We’ve ended up doing the police job

And even if you do....

E:  Two years ago, a child was raped

10:08:06:09 

Two years and we’re still looking for a docket

10:08:11:02

Two years, and we still haven’t got anywhere

10:08:26:16

Police Woman:   Who’s going to drive the Chev?   Zata.  

10:08:32:12

We’ve got 12 suspects, we’re not leaving until we have 10

We work as a team

Everybody got torches? 

 

10:0842:03

Bullet-proof vests?

Got your vests.   Have you got your firearms, most important?

10:08:53:13

BOBBI BEAR STAFF OFTEN WORK WITH THE POLICE ON RAIDS,

BRINGING VICTIMS ALONG TO IDENTIFY THEIR RAPISTS

10:09:03:20

Police:   Where is he?

Is that him?

Man:  What’s going on?

Man:  He’s been asleep

P:   Wheres’ your ID?

10:09:21:10

Woman:   What are you police doing here?

Didn’t that girl’s father do it to her first?

Why didn’t you arrest him?

 

P:   Switch off the TV!

 

W:  You never arrested her father!

And now you want my son

He wasn’t the first one    Her father was!

You never got him!   And now you want my son!   Why not her father?

 

PW:   Here, Dad, come stand here by me while I’m in the room

 

Man:  Why?

 

P:  Stand here!

10:10:12:05

W: Why my son?

10:10:14:07

Mildred:  You don’t talk like a parent, old woman

 

W:   I am a parent!



M:   You’re not acting like one!   

If it had happened to you, how would you feel?

Why are you defending him?

 

W:   I’m not. I know the father did it!

 

M:  Did you see it?

 

W:   I just heard

 

M:   If you only heard, shut up!

10:10:39:12

W:  You never arrested the father!

 

M:   If you don’t shut up, you’ll be arrested

 

P:  Listen, old woman....

 

M:   She’s crazy!

 

P:   Keep quiet or we’ll arrest you!

10:10:58:19

P:   Is he here?

Are there more people sleeping here?

10:11:12:03

When did you last see Nkosikhona?

 

P:   Where is he?

 

Girl:  He often comes here, but sleeps somewhere else

He’s got a room over there

 

PW:  Nkosikhona?



G:  He never stays here long

 

PW:    There’s someone in their underwear there!

 

G:  That’s just my friend!


P:   Where does Nkosikhona sleep?

 

G:  Down the road

10:11:43:12

PW:   Police!  Open up!

 

P:  Open up or we’ll break the door down!

 

PW:  Stand there!

10:11:53:22

P:   Wake up!

 

PW:   Can she see him?

Which one?

 

W:   Is he here?   Point him out to me

10:12:12:13

Girl:   Can you light their faces?

That’s Nkosikhona

 

P:  Which one is Nkosikhona?

 

Nkosikhona:  It’s me

10:12:43:08

Motorist:    They’ve got you now, you bastard!

 

 

10:13:55:23

Grandmother:   My heart burns for my granddaughter

I need to prove she’s been raped

10:14:02:07

I want justice for her, I love her so much

It’s so painful, Sbo

10:14:12:04

Her mum entrusted her to me

10:14:14:20

Jackie:  How many children did you have?

10:14:22:21

G:   There were two.      He’s sick too,  ma’am

 

J:  So you’ve lost one child .

 

G:   Yes, and the other one is very sick

 

J:  Have you been for counselling?

 

G:    No, ma’am

 

J:    To lose a child is terrible

 

G:   I know

 

J:  I don’t know, I thank God, I don’t know

But I’m looking at you and I think, you need help

 

G:  Please, ma’am

 

J: You need counselling  You need help. 

You’re trying to look after these 5 children

Nobody is helping you.  One has been raped

10:14:57:15

JACKIE

FOUNDER, BOBBI BEAR

You’re wondering if they’re HIV positive....

If they’re going to die

Are you not wondering these things?

10:15:03:22

G:   And my son is very sick, ma’am ‘cos he’s got AIDS too

He’s got trouble with his feet now

10:15:10:04

J:   You fought very hard for freedom and

for the rights of women

You fought  - and when you fought for the rights of women

you fought for my rights too, even though I’m white

And I want to thank you for that, Mum,

I want to thank you for my rights

Because you fought for them, for me

Now it’s my time to pay you back

And I need you to think about what we’re telling you

Because we can’t help like that

10:15:43:23

G:   ok

 

J:   We can try   But we can take your two children

for a week or two, until he’s arrested

10:15:52:20

You need to share your problems, my friend

You need to share with a counsellor

That I can tell you I can do, I can get a counsellor for you

So that you can share

And you can talk about the loss of your child

I thank God I don’t know what that feels like

I don’t know

 

10:16:57:00

Mildred:   That’s nice!

 

Sheini:    I just spoke to the lawyer, I said:

“What the hell’s happened with the sentencing?”

I asked what happened to the girl’s mother

he said “She got 5 years”

 

Mildred:    Yes!   In prison?  Thank you

Then my kids are free to walk around.  I’m happy

10:17:21:08

Eureka:   I haven’t even left, Mildred

 

Mildred:  I thought you’d gone

I thought :  “How can she leave without saying goodbye?”

 

E:   I would never do that

 

M:  And I have good news

 

E:  What?

 

M:  Tobile’s mum got 5 years in prison

10:17:34:22

E: Tobile’s mum?   Little Tobile?    You’re joking!

5 years

 

M:  Yes.   Sheini called August and he said she got 5 years

10:17:46:18

E:  For what?  What was the charge?



M:  Indecent assault

For pushing a pipe up the child’s vagina

 

E:  So for indecent assault she got 5 years

M: I was screaming, I was so happy

The kids are going to be happy now

Now I can call the granny

10:18:07:14

E:  That’s fantastic

Well I’m going on holidayin half an hour.....

What’s wrong, Mildred?   Eh?

Are you going to say goodbye to me when I leave?

 

M:   I don’t want to talk about it now

 

E:  What’s wrong, Mildred?

 

10:18:56:11

Mildred:    I remember my first day, Jackie said,

“Are you ok?”

10:19:01:22

And I said  “No, I’m not ok”

And I started crying

Because it took me 8 to 10 years to get counselling

For me, it wasn’t easy, I cried and she calmed me down

Then we went to the car, we sat, we spoke

For the first time, to find someone to listen to you

To give love.   She’s a mother, she’s my Mum

It’s only that when I told my mum

I told her that I was raped and she did not believe me

10:20:10:21

It was painful for me that my biological mother doesn’t believe me

But a stranger can believe me   

She can listen to me

She wanted to know more about what happened

But my mum did not

It took me a long time to realize that maybe she did not understand

Or she did not know how to help me

If it wasn’t for her, I’d have gone long ago

I was going to hang myself because..

10:20:50:20

while I was dealing with that, I was doing the training

And I asked if I could go home, I had a headache

When I went back home, I found my husband sleeping with my sister

In my house, on my bed

Then if it wasn’t for her, the course that I did

10:21:18:23

And realizing that there are challenges outside

I was going to hang myself

But I didn’t do it

I just looked at them  I said   “Oh fine,

Go ahead, do whatever you want

It took me a long time

Because I thought my husband would change one day

And.. he never changed     He never changed

10:21:49:04

I think  ....I don’t know, he never changed

And I never thought that one day I would start again

I thought   “Oh, everything is ok

Though I was raped, I’ve got a husband, I’ve got kids

I’ve got a house.”     I didn’t realize that one day I would

Break up with him.  Because I didn’t grow up with my parents

I didn’t want that to happen to my children

10:22:28:23

Because when I was 8 I used to stay in a family

And I’d never been a child

Wake up 2 o’clock  No, 4 o’clock in the morning

Do breakfast for everybody

And I’m the last person to go to school

My school was miles away

I used to run every day to school

Come back home 4 o’clock

I had to cook for the people

I’ve never been a child    I never had a chance to be a child

And that’s why I ....

 

10:23:58:00

Thuli:   Ok Martin, should I translate, or should I do what?

10:24:01:10

THULI

OPERATION BOBBI BEAR

 

Martin:   Ok, Thuli, where is the suspect in this case?

 

T:  They phoned the police and he’s in there  ...  in the holding cells

 

M:  These other people, are they all witnesses?

You’re the eyewitness?

10:24:23:18

MARTIN

CHILD PROTECTION OFFICER

DURBAN POLICE

 

M:  This is the mother of the victim?

 

Vuysile:   She’s my neighbour

 

T:   She’s accompanying her

10:24:32:19

V:   I’m the eyewitness

 

M:  I just want to sort out before I lose witnesses

 

V:  I‘m the eyewitness, that called the police

 

T:  She’s the one who called me, she knows all the story

10:24:45:12

Don’t worry about that man or these ladies

I’m going to ask you some questions and the

police officer will write it down

Do you understand?

 

Namsile:  Yes

 

T:   My name’s Thuli

Call me Auntie Thuli

Now, tell me what happened to you today

10:25:14:21

N:  He took me and laid me on the bed

 

T:   Wait, what did he do before that?

 

10:25:24:19

What did he do?

Then he undressed me, he took off all my clothes

And then what did he do?

He kissed me....

And then?

When I tried to escape, then he held me

And then?

Then I screamed

What did he do first, kiss you or undress you?

He first kissed me.....

And then?

...then he undressed me all the clothes

What next?

10:26:22:10

Namsile:  Then he dressed me when he’d finished

 

T:   Listen, don’t worry about the people here

Tell me what he did

Don’t even worry about me,

just tell me exactly what he did

Tell me what you remember

Listen, you’re not in trouble

no-one’s going to punish you....

....You didn’t do anything wrong, just

say what happened so the police can write it down

10:27:08:12

If you don’t speak up,

he won’t be arrested

You’ve done nothing wrong, don’t cry,

 just tell Auntie, ok?

10:27:21:16

Did he say anything to frighten you?

 

N:    He told me he’d kill me

 

T:   What did he say?

 

N:   He said he’ll kill me if I told anyone

 

T:   He said he would kill me if ever i tell anyone

10:27:47:06

Martin:   Does Namsile go to school?

 

T:    No

10:27:58:06

M:   Never gone to school?

 

T:   No, I have never been to school

10:28:02:15

Is that enough Martin?

Is that what you wanted?

 

10:28:13:04

Eureka:    The day you all stop crying for these children

Pack your bags and go build jigsaw puzzles

At the old age home.

Because then you’ve lost your heart

Never ever stop crying

Never stop crying for the children that we work with

10:28:29:04

Sheini, don’t look at me like that!

If I phone one of you,

10:28:35:22

and your phones are on voice-mail

 

W:    You’ll shove it up our bums!

 

E:   Where?

You will hear it ringing and we won’t find it!

I will shove those phones

There’s no excuse.    No excuse!

Sweetie, no excuse!

10:28:55:00

I used to be very quiet, hey

 

Mildred:   You’ve never been quiet, Eureka!

 

Eureka:   Mildred, when I came here

10 years ago, I used to sit....

...I’d say:   “Yes Jackie, No Jackie”

10:29:07:22

You!  And the first perpetrator we chased

through the streets with Thuli !

The one that escaped

He went into the sugar cane...

and I had to run after him, I dropped

my cell phone.  I said:

“Come here you fucking bastard!”

Thandeka:   Who taught you that?

 

E:   You!   Thandeka!

You people said to me:  “It’s the

Zulu culture to use the F-word!”

I will never forget it!

When I came here,

10:29:45:23

I used to go to Sunday school every week!

Every week!

 

Thuli:   That means we taught you not to go to church,

is that what we taught you?

 

E:    I’ve become a rough Auntie

since I’ve been at Bobbi Bear

 

Thuli:    Eureka, it’s not because of us,

it’s because of the work we do

we, also, we are very good people,

...it’s the perpetrators!

they are pushing us!

10:10:25:24

E:   You taught me the Zulu language

You said:   “The Zulu language is something like this!”

You...

10:30:19:00

Thuli:   But, Eureka, when you get to this job...

....you see the perpetrator, you just fume,

10:30:31:17

and you feel like strangling this stupid thing

So that’s why, we didn’t teach you -  it just came...

 

E:   Oh, but Thuli, a couple of years ago

you didn’t even peep!

You used to walk in here and say “Good morning”

Now, it’s got the biggest mouth at Bobbi Bear!

10:30:55:07

I came to Bobbi Bear a real business woman

you remember, Mildred,

with my high heels, I was a lady

 

Thandeka:   An innocent lady!

 

Thuli:   You were a lady and a half

 

E:   Yeah, what happened, Thuli?

 

Thuli:    I don’t know what changed you, like you

don’t know what changed me

It’s through the work we’re doing

You become so angry that

you want to kill somebody!

 

10:32:00:19

Women:   Hello.   Welcome

10:32:03:05

Thuli:   That is Nane.  Sindi.

Vuysile:  They’re cousins

10:32:13:05

Thuli:    Nami’s cousins

10:32:17:05

Nane:    Anyone else would have said:

“I didn’t see anything!”

But this lady came out and said:

“I saw it”

 

T:   Yes, if she hadn’t spoken up,

we’d still be in the dark

We’ll support you, don’t be scared,

as long as I’m around, we’ll fight on

We’ll carry on even if we have

to take our shoes off to fight him!

We’ll bash him on the head with them!

That’s what we’ll do

So, Nami....

why are you so quiet?

What’s up?

 

Nami:  Nothing

 

Thuli:   How are you feeling?

10:33:07:06

Nami:   Alright

 

Thuli:   I’ll sit next to you

What’s up?

Do you want to tell me anything?

 

Nami:  No

 

T:  There’s nothing you want to say?

What did Grandfather say yesterday

about what happened?

10:33:26:08

Nami:  Grandfather said that man was guilty

 

10:33:40:18

Men:  Come on, Stop the car!

That’s the girl who was raped!

10:33:48:22

Vuysile:    ... It was the old man

 

Thuli:   The old man?

 

V:   Go on, tell Thuli!

 

Thuli:   Has something else happened?

 

V:  The grandfather did it to her!

 

T:  You’re kidding!

 

Not the old man?

Has he done it before?

Nami, Nami, look at me!

Has the old man done something to you?

10:34:17:04

Nami:   He slept with me

 

T:   When?

 

N:  Yesterday

 

T:  During the day or night?

 

N:   Day

 

T:  Why did he do it?

10:34:28:11

N:  He didn’t say anything

 

T:  Did you tell Auntie?

 

N:   No

 

T:   What happened?

 

N:    I told my brother, Mdazi

T:  What did your brother do?

 

N:   He came into the house and raped me

10:34:42:11

T:   Who did?

 

N:   Mdazi

He caught me while I was putting on my pants

 

T:   Wait a minute

Was it Mdazi or the old man?

 

N:     Mdazi

10:34:57:15

T:   So it wasn’t the old man?

 

N:   No

 

T:  Were you too frightened to tell Auntie?

 

N:    Yes

 

T:    Was it your brother or your grandfather?

 

N:   I don’t know

 

T:   There’s been another rape here.  

She’s been raped again.

By a family member

 

Martin:  When was this?

 

T:   Yesterday

10:35:25:02

Was it your brother or your grandfather?

 

N:  The old man

 

T:    Don’t cry

It was your grandfather?

 

N:   Yes

 

M:   What kind of abuse, Thuli?

10:35:44:19

T:   It’s the grandfather who raped her

The one that has gone away

 

M:   For fuck’s sake!

Did this happen yesterday?

 

T:   When did it happen

10:36:02:10

N:   Yesterday

 

T:    Wait, Nami

Are you sure it was the old man?

 

N:   Yes

10:36:30:24

T:  What’s his name?



N:   I don’t know

10:36:38:10

M:   Has he done it before?



T:   Was it the first time?


N:    The first time

 

M:    Just yesterday

 

Girl:    Her brother told me what happened

 

T:   With the old man?

Mdazi knows?

 

G:  He says he saw it

I can call him

10:37:06:08

T:  Will Mdazi talk to us?

 

G:   Shall I get him?

T:   Get him!

10:37:23:11

Mdazi, I’m Thuli

I work for Bobbi Bear

Can you help us? 

Don’t be shy to talk to us

Are you related to this girl?

 

Mdazi:    She’s my sister

 

T:    Nami, who is this man

 

N:   My brother

 

T:  You’re brother and sister

Did you see anything

or did she tell you what happened?

10:37:54:15

Mdazi:    I went to the clinic

to get the old man’s pills

When I came back,

Nami was putting on her pants

When I saw her I said “Oh!”

I backed off

 

T:   Where was she?



M:   In the bedroom

T:  Who else was in the house?

 

Mdazi:   The old man, he lives with us

 

T:  What’s his name?

10:38:28:02

Mdazi:   Mnai

 

T:    Did you suspect anything?

 

Mdazi:   I don’t know, I was just

coming back from the clinic

 

T:   You just found the old man there?

 

Mdazi:    Yes, with my Sister

10:38:43:15

T:   How did she get there?



Mdazi:    I don’t know

 

10:39:19:10

Thuli:    Is there anything else you want to say?

 

Nami:   No

 

T:   What do you want to happen to the old man?

What do you want done to him?

 

N:   I want him arrested

10:39:41:11

T:   Why?

 

N:   He was wrong

 

 

10:39:50:00

Thuli:     She says he called her when he

was sitting on the sofa

Then...

10:40:00:07

Martin:   ... then he called her back again and told

her to lie down on the sofa

He pulled off her clothes and pulled off

10:40:07:16

my bra... and the other parts I’m not going

to say ‘cos Andrew’s sitting here.  Ok?

10:40:17:20

How is she feeling, alright?

It’s terrible, man....

 

T:   Yes, it’s very terrible what’s

happened to her, Martin

Very, very terrible

And happening for the second time

10:40:45:14

Martin:    I’m Inspector Booyens from

the Child Protection Unit

10:40:49:09

This is the letter to give permission

to the Doctor for the examination

I just need your signature there....

10:41:05:22

Doctor:   This child is tired, she’s

10:41:08:06

and she’s not co-operating at all

She’s more relaxed now

she’s having a meal

From there she’ll go for HIV counselling

When my staff finish there

then she’ll come to me.  Alright?

 

Thuli:   Ok, Doctor, thank you very much

10:41:27:10

THULI

I don’t know what has got in to peoples’ minds

Why are they doing this?

10:41:35:01

Dr:   I’m getting blue in the face now with

this rape, rape, rape, rape

I want to hide under the counter now

Can I run away somewhere?

I don’t know where

 

T:  No, Doctor, you cannot

 

Dr:   I’m really frustrated

 

T:   We need you, Dr Mahomed

 

Dr:   There is so much chaos and confusion everywhere

 

10:42:12:16

Thuli:   People in our communities

They don’t talk about this because

it’s seen as a family matter,

something that should not be discussed

10:42:22:16

because it involves the private parts

of a human being

A little child in our nation,  our Zulu nation,

...a little child can’t say the private parts openly

to an adult person

So the child has got to try and go round the word

to give an outline of what she wants to say

10:42:47:00

The elderly people always say:

“You brought this on yourself,

you wanted to be raped”

So then others say “ I’ve been raped,

so what?    Let me live with it”

But then, it’s not a matter of living with it

You need some help

10:43:06:12

My son, Lindane,

10:43:08:19

I love him to death

Though sometimes you find it very difficult

to raise a boy without a father

It’s very difficult

But, my son, he’s my friend

We talk a lot and if he ever has a problem

he comes to me and says  “Mum, I’ve

got a problem”   I say:   “Ok, let’s sit down

and talk about it.”   He’s like my friend

I’ve said to him:  “There’s no friend like your Mum

You come to your Mum with your problem,

your Mum will try and help you

Though I don’t understand men,

but I’ll try and advise you

10:43:53:15

Because I’ve had some lessons about men,

so I’ll just give you some advice”

But at one stage, when he was shot...

I thought:  “ Now to have only one child!”

I did not like it.    I thought I had lost him

I thought he was going to die

He had a major, major operation

10:42:18:00

He was shot as he was coming from his temporary job

He survived

I’m very proud of him

I’m a very proud mother

I love him and he respects me a lot

Because I always tell him

“I’m your Mum, I’m your Dad”

10:44:47:08

Jackie:    No, stop, where are the babies?

10:44:56:00

Ok, ‘cos we’ve got the whole team on stand-by

10:45:01:01

You’re at the centre

Who else is there with you?

It’s only you?

10:45:09:22

Ok, let’s rock and roll!

10:45:13:16

Have you got scissors?

 

Eureka’s in quite a state

10:45:20:07

It’s part of her family

10:45:23:19

This morning at 4 o’clock

robbers shot the father, the father was

taken to the private hospital,

he had no money so the private hospital

have sent him to the hospital you’ve been to,

that you wouldn’t want anybody to go to   

He won’t make it in that hospital

so we’ve got two objectives:

clean up the house, sort the kids out

and find 20,000 rand to get him back

into the private hospital

And then get the newspapers to shame

the private hospital

10:45:59:00

Where?   

Bobbi Bear!

Is this where the robbery was?

10:46:24:01

Oh, shame

Oh, my goodness

Ok, Ballistics has been here

Just see we don’t tamper with anything

Oh, shame, shame

Oh the poor kids

10:47:05:00

The guy had good blood-clotting qualities

It ought to save him a bit

10:47:39:05

Daughter:   Kingsway hospital want

50,000 rand deposit

We don’t have 50,00 rand deposit

so we’re going to try to transfer him to Mc Courts

 

Jackie:   How much is Mc Courts?

10:47:53:13

D:   3,000  ....

 

J:    Ok I’ve got 3,000 in my bank account

 

D:   No, my sister’s took out a 20,000 rand loan

to put him in Kingsway but it’s going to cost her

150,000 rand for Kingsway so she said

I must get bank details now to transfer all the money....

 

J:   But I’ve got cash if you need cash

10:48:20:14

Jackie:   Is he ok?   tell me about him

 

Girl:    He’s on drips, he’s white-ish

he’s in the other hospital, it’s very dirty

My Auntie’s going to try to

transfer him to Kingsway

 

J:   We’re going to try and do that

Alright?

Are you scared?



G:  Yes, because they got the house keys

10:48:50:24

J:   Well we’ve got the guys here, changing everything

How’s that?

What’ll happen is we’ll get the house keys

and everything changed changed, ok?

Do you want a cup of tea or something?

 

G:    No, thank you

 

J:  Are you sure?

10:49:09:13

I’ve got a beautiful lady called Hanneker,

she’s psychologist, and I’d like you to

talk to her, what d’you think?

How’s your mum?

 

G:   Mum’s fine, she’s with my Daddy

and my sister’s with my Daddy as well

10:49:35:07

J:   Ok.   We’re just cleaning everything up, ok?

Do you mind?

 

G:    No

 

J:    We’re going to clean everything up

and we’re going to do your laundry for you

How’s that!   So you don’t have to do it!

Shame, my baby, you’re being so brave

You’re so brave

I’m very proud of you

10:49:58:00

G:   Thank you

My sister opened her eyes

this time when they broke in

I was sleeping and then I heard shots

and my Daddy was shot

My Daddy was going outside

My Daddy wanted to come in there by the passage

And they come and they shooted my Daddy

and he took his gun and he shoot one of them here

10:50:28:08

Then they pinned him down and they

shooted him here and in the hand, my father.

And there was lots of blood on the floor

And then one of them went over my Daddy

and my Mummy tried to strangle them but

he pushed her away and he tried to shoot

Mummy but there was no bullets left in it

10:50:57:01

J:    God is good, hey

And your mum fought him

 

G:    Excuse me?

 

J:   Your mum fought him!

 

G:   Yes

 

 

10:51:30:02

Eureka:     The first time I heard who it was,

and that it was family

was when Michelle phoned and said:

“Mum, Dick’s been shot”

10:51:38:22

Now 4 o’clock til 10 past 9 last night,

when he died, it’s a long time

And all he kept telling his kids was

“I love you, I love you”

And then I speak to his daughter, Alzette,

and she says:  “Aunty Eureka, I don’t want

my Dad to die”   What do I say to the kid?

What do I say to her?

And he suffered, he really suffered

He was in pain for the entire day

He didn’t deserve it

He just didn’t deserve to die like that

 

Thuli:    This is what they do at Kingsway

With my son they did that too

10:52:30:23

They said to me I should pay 10,000 rand,

on the table, before they even start operating

So I said:  “ I don’t have that much”

So he ended up coming out to Prince Myshieni

I had to pay 4,000 rand cash

10:52:47:05

E:   Those two kids are devastated

His kids are devastated

That their Dad suffered the whole of yesterday

He actually suffered, Jackie

I was on the phone every half an hour to

the hospital.  He was dying

and he was dying a cruel death

And it’s not fair.   It’s just not fair

He just didn’t deserve to die the way he did

That’s what hurts me.....

he just didn’t deserve it

And all because they couldn’t

put money up front

They didn’t have the money,

they just didn’t have 150, 000 rand

If you don’t have the money, you just die

10:53:39:08

Thanks, Jackie

 

J:  Please don’t thank us, we’re your family

 

E:   If it wasn’t for you guys yesterday, Jackie

I couldn’t go into that house and clean up that mess

 I couldn’t do it

I’ll help a raped child,

I’ll cuddle a child that’s been raped or abused

but I would not have been able

to walk into that house yesterday

I’m telling you now, I couldn’t do it

10:54:34:00

Sdudla:    We’ve come to see you

 

Woman:   Why?

 

S:   About the baby

10:54:41:02

W:  All I wanted was the mother to take

the baby away...

I didn’t want to be involved in dumping the child

S:   No way is that baby being dumped!

When she opened her thighs,

she should have thought of the consequences!

10:54:56:06

W:   Over here, hurry up!

10:55:04:16

S:  This lady lives around here

so if things like this happen

she tells Bobbi Bear

 

Man:   You’re doing a great job!

 

W:   It would have been terrible if the baby had died

10:55:19:22

M:   Why did you dump the child?

 

Girl:   I never said the child

was a nuisance

We just put the baby

under the tree

I just left it lying on the grass

 

M:  Wait a minute!

It’s against the law

You abandoned the baby

Why leave it in the bush

when it’s got a home?

10:55:47:21

Sdudla:    Whatever you say,

it’s your baby

10:55:52:19

He didn’t choose to come

into this world

10:55:55:06

SDUDLA
OPERATION BOBBI BEAR

This child is more important

to you than anyone

He’s here because of you

 

10:56:03:13

If he dies,

you’ll suffer most

A mother should always

look after her child

It’s a woman’s duty

not a man’s

10:56:15:18

Men are hopeless,

they’re like babies themselves

10:56:19:24

I’m not fighting,

I’m pleading with you

If you have problems with the baby...

Call me:   “Sdudla,

I need help with the baby”

If I hear you’ve dumped it,

you’ll be arrested

I’ll make sure you’re nailed!

 

10:56:59:19

Mildred:   Come and sit next to Auntie

Why are you crying?

My name is Aunty Sbo,

what’s yours?

 

Nonhlanhla:    Nonhlanhla

 

M:   We’ll talk later

I’ll talk to your uncle first

 

10:57:23:22

Mildred:   How old is Nonhlanhla?

 

Uncle:   This one?

 

M:   Roughly?

 

U:   12 years old

Nonhlanhla’s 12 years old

 

M:   She seems a troubled kid

 

U:  Nonhlanhla is so clever,

she could put you in prison

She’s got criminal action in her mind

 

M:   Let’s work out why

10:57:52:00

she keeps running away

U:   Try to find out because

I don’t understand why

I provide everything for her

Food, shelter, everything

to make her happy

She eats whatever she wants

I buy six yoghurts for myself....

She eats them all, then puts them

back empty as if they haven’t been touched

10:58:24:18

Can I sit in when you talk to her?

 

M:   No, I need to talk to her alone

She won’t feel free

if you’re there

 

10:58:38:10

Mildred:    Do you trust me enough to talk to me?

Tell me your problems?

Tell Auntie Sbo!

 

Nonhlanhla:   I was at my friend’s house...

...and I was watching TV

....it was at Toby’s house

and we were watching TV

Then Toby said:

“Hide,  your uncle’s coming!”

So I hid from him

But my uncle found me

and started hitting me

He hit me with a big club

10:59:27:00

M:   Why do you run away from home?

 

N:  Because my uncle’s always beating me

 

M:   So this isn’t the first time?

 

N:     No

 

M:   Are you telling me everything?

Why do you do it?

10:59:44:23

N:   I’m scared he’s going to beat me

 

10:59:53:11

Mildred:    Look after yourself, OK?

You’ll go with your uncle to Social Services..

...and they’ll find a new home for you

and I’ll come and see you

Be good, OK?

Be good

 

11:00:55:14

Thuli:   Where did you cross the river?

 

Boy:   Over there

 

T:   Where it’s shallow?

 

B:  It’s not usually deep there

 

T:   You could drown if you cross there again

 

B:   Yes

 

T:   Better go round by bus in future...

.. or what’s just happened will haunt you

11:01:22:17

SDUDLA’S SON HAS DROWNED CROSSING THE RIVER

11:01:38:17

A MINING COMPANY HAS BEEN DIGGING SAND ILLEGALLY

MAKING DEEP PITS IN THE RIVERBED

11:01:48:24

Sdudla:    Oh my Shubaba, why did you leave me?

You’ve left me, my child

You’ve left me, my only child

I accept, my Lord

Let your will be done

I accept

Oh, Sister Thuli, why Shubaba,

why not me?

I wanted to see him grow up to be a man

Nothing’s turned out the way I’d hoped

Nothing’s worked out the way I wanted

11:03:19:15

What did I do to deserve this?

You should punish me in a different way

You should have punished me in

a different way, not take my son

You’ve taken away all my hope

11:04:25:19

Oh my Shubaba, what happened?

Oh, my Lord, why did you betray me

with my only child?

All my hope is gone,

he won’t grow up to be a man

Oh, Shubaba!

11:05:05:04

Mother:    Where’s my daughter?

 

Police Woman:   Sdudla’s over there,

do you want to go to her?

 

Jackie:   I’ll stay with him

11:05:34:00

It looks like he’s been sleeping

 

Eureka:   I want to see his face, I do

Just too much death this week, Jackie

 

11:07:10:05

Sheini:    I don’t know what to say at the moment

I just feel for all of you

11:07:16:00

And we love you all

and the Bobbi Bear team are all behind you

Sdudla, your loss is our loss,

I just feel so much for you

I’m so sorry

11:07:35:15

Martin:   Sorry for the loss

 

11:08:44:14

Mother:   I’ll never forget him

How will we live just the two of us?

We were three and now we’re two

11:12:25:00

Jackie:   Shubaba was a very special child

Very special child

Because he has a special mother

Sdudla is my child

I only want to speak to Sdudla

Shubaba is like a ship now

We are standing here crying, saying goodbye

But on the other side

people are standing, clapping, saying:

“Come, come, we will meet you

we’re waiting for you!”

Sdudla, you are an amazing young woman

who had an amazing child

11:13:35:22

Sdudla, we love you

and thank you for letting us

be a part of his life

 

11:15:17:09

Jackie:   What was the battle you’ve won?

What is the battle you’ve won?

 

Sdudla:   To accept what

happened,  that’s it

 

Eureka:   Have you accepted it?

 

S:  Yes, I have to

 

E:   So you’ll be back at work Monday?

No playing, eh?

 

S:    Yes, I will

 

E:   You want to come back?

11:15:41:00

S:  Yes, I am

 

E:   But if you can’t come back..

I’m only fooling with you, Sdudla

 

S:   No, I want to come back on Monday

I told my family already:   “On Monday, I want

to go back to work”

11:16:01:02

J:   I’m very proud of you, Sdudla

 

S:  I want to talk to Hanna, she went to

court for the victim’s visit

 

J:  Yes, she did,  come

 

E:   She’s back!

She’s back!

 

11:16:37:10

Jackie:     I want to talk about the river

11:16:40:21

People tell me there are 6 other children have died

And we tree women are sitting!

These are our children!   Our children!

While this man makes money

with our children’s blood!

11:17:17:00

Is there clean water there?

11:17:20:22

Are there bridges for you to cross the river?

Where’s your nearest clinic?

11:17:36:20

I am talking to women!  Women!

Who fought for freedom for this country

Women!  who killed apartheid!

Where are these women to fight

for the children of for their community

Where are the women?

11:18:14:08

Are we going to sit and wait

for the men to do it?

 

11:18:32:23

Eureka:   Are you happy now you’ve got

your Sdudla, Chloe?

‘Cos I said to Michelle this morning

I said:  “Maybe Sdudla doesn’t want to have

children around her”

 

Sdudla:   oh no, no

This doesn’t change anything

 

E:  Eh?  

11:18:48:20

S:  It’s the way I have to admit that

Shubaba is gone

That he won’t be back

 

E:  But it’s not worrying you that she’s with you now?

 

S:  No

 

E:   Because she cried yesterday

She said:  “I want my Sdudla!”

She really missed you, Sdudla

11:19:11:22

And I wasn’t sure

I didn’t know if you’d be alright with her

What you doing?

 

S:  Come, Chloe, it’s your turn

 

11:19:33:15

Jackie:   When we were talking,

you know at the break-in when

 

11:19:36:15

that man got killed...

...and I heard you talking ...

I didn’t realise how much you’d been through

when your son was shot

And we just didn’t have the money

at that time to help you out

And I must admit I had a couple

of sleepless nights over it,

I really did

And I wanted to know if you realised

that we didn’t have the money at

that time

 

Thuli:   I did realise that, Jackie

 

Jackie:   You know, amongst the white people

11:20:04:12

we talk all the time about our problems

And I know the Zulu culture is

to talk about it once, then finished,

get on with your life

Which, I’m not saying is bad, Thuli,

it has its good points

But you and I have been together

for a long time

And we’ve fought this culture of silence

 

T:    I think I’ve learnt more with you and

your culture because, if we say we are

not going to talk about a thing,

11:20:36:17

it’s killing us inside

11:20:39:09

J:   There’s Thuli, her son is shot

she hasn’t got a vehicle,

she has to catch about 20 taxis

to get to her son

Then fight the hospital for her own child

like she fights the hospitals for

the Bobbi Bear children

All with the trauma of knowing he could die

and:  “where are we going to get the money?”

Please forgive me, Thuli

Say it

11:21:07:07

I want you to forgive me, Thuli

I really do

I had sleepless nights over it

‘Cos it must be terrible, seeing

everything that was done for Sdudla,

and we did nothing for your son

 

T:  Oh no, no, Jackie

No, no

You don’t have to say that

11:21:27:20

Because Jackie when I went there

I went with the strength of Bobbi Bear

Inside me

I went with that strength

Because when they couldn’t change the sheets

in the hospital

My son, they couldn’t bath him,

I said to myself :  “I’m working for children,

this is my child.   Why should I keep quiet?

I must speak”     

11:21:50:05

So that is why I said

“Take off your sheets, I don’t need them.

 

11:21:53:12

Please take them away!”

Then I brought my sheets and

I put them on the bed and I cleaned him

I had to do it

11:22:01:01

J:   I just want you to know that

I have an idea of what you were

going through

Yet you always came to work

You always did your best for the children

All the problems that we were going through

at the time  ...I never had the chance to sit down

and tell you how much I respect you,

I admire you, and you inspire me

I never had the chance to do that

11:22:37:18

And I need you to know it

I really do

And on behalf of all the children

I have to thank you, Thuli,

Because you never let go

 

T:    I would never

 

11:23:19:02

Jackie:    So your name is Nonhlanhla? 

So you’re lucky!

 

Mildred:   Last night, at about half past nine,

11:23:27:03

two ladies came to my house

“There’s a child here looking for you!”

“How old is the child?”

“We think she’s 10 or 9”

“Where is she”

“She’s with us, the family is calling you

to come and see her

because she’s looking for you”

I went to the neighbours

When I got there, I knew her

11:23:49:04

Two weeks ago

I was with her at the Police Station

I said:   “Why do you run away from home?”

Because her uncle works at Toyota

“You don’t starve, why run away?”

She said:  “I don’t want to stay with the uncle

11:24:05:00

He’s horrible, he beats me

I can’t stay with him”

Guess what the Social Workers did?

11:24:11:15

They said to the child:

“You must go with your uncle

Off you go”     Gave them a lift

Back home

 

11:24:30:08

Jackie:    Very deep scarring

My goodness, my girl!

Give me your foot

 

Nonhlanhla:   He did that with a knife

 

J:   A knife!

11:24:59:00

OK, we’ve run out of tissues

This is hair cream

Why are you crying, my baby?

Hey?   It’ll be alright

She’s got a fever as well

 

11:25:18:00

Jackie:    Sweetie, you’re staying with me tonight

In here, with the children

OK?

11:25:32:00

Auntie Mildred and I will take you

to Welfare tomorrow

But we won’t leave you there

11:25:43:22

You’re safe!

You’re staying with Ellina and children

while Auntie Mildred and I talk a bit

and do some work

 

11:26:03:23

Jackie:   That scarring on her legs

is very bad, Mildred

A lot of them needed stitching and

never got it

So she’s been through some terrible abuse

 

Right, so how’s your life?

11:26:23:00

The last talk we had was in the corridor

You told me about your husband

and you were wanting to leave...

11:26:35:18

Mildred:    I don’t want to stay in that house any more

It’s enough

15 years ...

 

J:   I think you’ve tried hard enough

11:26:44:22

M:   I have to now,  I’ve made up my mind

11:26:48:16

He was not beating me

but emotionally, he was hurting me too much

That’s why I’ve decided to pack my bags

It’s enough now, too much for me

11:27:03:02

J:  Right, I believe there’s a man

interested in you!

 

M:   Yes

 

J:   Well, he’s got good taste!

 

M:   If my Mum says so, then it’s OK!

 

J:  I’ve met this man

But I wanted to know how you felt about him

11:27:24:16

You’ve worked for this independence

Yourself

And you’ve taken this independence

So we don’t want to lose it

with another relationship

This man, I think he’s very proud of you

and he would let you be yourself

However, he is an African male

and it doesn’t matter what colour they are

Or what language they speak

They always like women

barefoot, pregnant, at the kitchen sink!

We know this

11:27:59:03

M:    He said:  “I want you to be independent

First of all, I don’t want children with you

You’ve got enough children of your own

I’ve got mine

I want you to be happy

I’m not going to tell you what to do

You told me you’re not happy where you live

but I can’t take decisions for you

You go and talk to your Mum”

That’s why I wanted to talk to you

but you didn’t have time

 

J:   We all know

11:28:32:06

that things are so hard

Any other young woman would have

moved in with him, just to make

things easier.   But you haven’t

And you’ve got to be so proud of

yourself, Mildred, for that

I’m proud of you

You’re a role model now

You really are

Any other girl would have just

moved in with him like that

 

M:   I know I’ve got a Mum like you!

You’d kick my bum!

11:29:06:15

J:  I’ll kick your arse from here

to Cairo, man!

 

11:29:44:19

Eureka:   Sheini, phone my family

and ask them to come fetch the food

out of my car, it’s going to be a long night

11:29:55:00

Jackie:   He just got dumped?

 

E:   The father was drunk, Jackie

He came past here with this pram

Up and down

The father was falling all over the place

The guy upstairs will give you

the whole story

11:30:15:09

The father is either drunk or high on something

He abandoned him here and ran up the street

11:30:22:23

Allan:   You don’t know where he is?

ALLAN

JACKIE’S HUSBAND

E:   No he’s just left him

Left him here in front of the restaurant

The people upstairs saw it

11:30:33:07

There’s a pot of porridge

11:30:43:04

I’ve got his trust now....

 

J:   Where’s he going

your house or my house?

 

E:  Your house

 

11:31:06:07

Byron:   Nice     Nice

 

Jackie:  I wonder why he can’t stand women?

11:31:16:22

BYRON

JACKIE’S SON

B:   I don’t know, you tell me

No worries

No, no, come, sit down

Yes, nice

 

11:31:33:09

Jackie:    Have you been to the doctor?

Where’s your truck?

11:31:55:01

Hello, yes

 

11:32:00:20

Sindi, I’ve got a baby!

Sindi!

11:32:13:10

Look what I’ve got for you

This is my daughter, Sindi

 

Police Woman:   Hello Sindi

11:32:35:08

J:  And this is Fred

And... shame, we don’t know his name yet

 

PW:   It’s a boy

11:32:44:00

J:   Yes,  we thought he was Renea,

but that’s not right

11:33:03:16

Right!  What happened?

 

Fred:   Physically he’s alright

11:33:07:04

but he’s been sodomized and probably

frequently because there’s still a wound

It was recent

So they want him on PEP

because he tested HIV negative

 

J:  Ah, beautiful!

11:33:40:05

How are you feeling?

 

F:   Well, I’m fine

It’s just sad

 

J:  You don’t want to go looking

for his father?

 

F:   I don’t think anyone wants to know

what we would do to the father!

 

J:  Don’t you worry,

Uncle Allan’s coming now!

 

11:34:03:21

Allan:   Where’d you get that one from?

Not another one!

You want some juice?

 

Boy:   Coke

 

A:   Have we got Coke?

 

J:  No, not for him

 

A:  What then?

 

J:  Some water and some juice

11:34:25:17

A:  You want Coke?

 

J:  She’s not very well, hey

 

A:  What happened now?

 

J:  She got abandoned in a toilet

 

A:   There you go

“Thank you”

11:34:42:23

B:   Thank you

 

 

Jackie:   The surgeon says

11:34:51:10

his anal passage is very enlarged

The recent tearing is Friday, Saturday’s.

11:35:01:08

Whenever he was sodomized,

the male would reward him

The Police and the Welfare,

11:35:08:20

when he was abandoned at the police station,

gave him back to the father

 

Allan:    But where did they find him?

 

J:  He’s a hobo   He doesn’t stay

in one place at one time

 

A:    Just pathetic

 

J:   Shame, little boy, hey

Little boy!   Shame!

 

11:35:36:10

Man:    Good morning everybody!

 

Woman:   Good morning

11:35:39:16

See you this afternoon

 

Woman:   Give her a kiss

Bye, see you this afternoon

11:35:52:14

W:  Bye

 

Jackie:  I think she’s such a beautiful

and a lovely girl

 

11:36:09:21

I can’t keep her, but I want to

So much

She’s been so good

I’m so proud of her

Tell her she must listen to me

11:36:42:11

I’m very sad

I want to keep you and I can’t

Not now

11:36:57:05

I’m asking you to be brave

I’m asking you to trust us

That we won’t forget you

We’re looking for wonderful parents

for you.  

11:37:20:22

We’re not leaving you

We will be there

11:37:50:00

You’re very precious

You’re very special

We won’t leave you, I promise

Very professional!

11:38:25:02

Oh man!

 

Mildred:   It’s not easy

 

J:  Alan won’t let me adopt another one

He just won’t!

11:38:38:05

Jackie:    I tell you what,

your Dad’s so used to me asking

and he’s gonna say “no” and all his

reasons will be valid...

 

11:38:53:12

Sindy:   Even if it’s just for a year,

I don’t care.   Or just for a month

 

J:   Why this little girl after all the others

we’ve had in the house?

 

S:    She’s never ever, ever, ever

felt a love

 

J:  Is that why?

 

S:   Some of the children have had

at least one experience of love...

....or kindness

But she hasn’t at all

 

J:   Nothing

11:39:26:14

Allan:   What are you doing in my chair?

 

S:  Keeping it warm!

 

J:   How was your game?

 

A:   Good, but I didn’t win

 

Jackie:   But did you have a good time?

(mouths silently)    Coffee!

11:39:43:00

A:   Don’t make it too strong, my love

11:39:50:00

What’s happening?

11:39:51:05

S:   Dad!   I feel

 

11:39:53:22

like a lonely child

Can we keep Nonhlanhla?

 

A:  I’m getting far too old to make

decisions like this....

I can’t make the decision

Your decision

11:40:14:22

J:  She was here a week and

she was beautiful, man

 

A:  You know her

11:40:20:11

better than I do...

 

J:  I know she’s a sweetie,

you would just love

 

A:  From what I saw of her, yes,

She was definitely a sweetie

But there wasn’t any interaction between

her and me.  I don’t know how

she would take to me

 

J:  Shall we go visit her?

 

A:   It would be worthwhile to visit her, yes...

 

J:  I just love you

 

A:  It’s a big decision, hey!

It’s not just something you can...

 

J:  I know....

 

A:  Will you let me play golf every day?

And go fishing every day?

 

J:  I will,  I will

 

A:  And you don’t mind if I don’t work!

 

11:41:23:20

MILDRED IS FINALLY LEAVING HOME

HER BOYFRIEND, PHILLIP, IS HELPING HER MOVE

11:41:33:12

Mildred:   This is killing me!

 

Phillip:   You’re as strong as any man!

11:42:07:03

Jackie:  A good day today, is it!

 

Mildred:   I’m so happy!

11:42:14:21

J:   It’ll be lovely and it’s yours!

You can do what you like to this house!

11:42:34:05

Phillip:   You can plant here...

... and right down there

11:42:59:06

THIS FILM IS DEDICATED TO

Mdumiso “Shababa[JB1] ” Maphumulo and Dick Van Den Berg

11:43:07:13

END CREDITS