It's a story of so many households on the Cape Flats where the double affliction of drug addiction and mental illness causes heartache and tragedy for parents. Thirteen years after a mother, Ellen Pakkies , took her son's life in a saga that made global headlines, it would appear we've learnt nothing, writes Gasant Abarder in a new SliceofGasant column.
In South Africa, we pride ourselves on being a caring society, one that upholds human dignity and protects the vulnerable. Yet, the lived reality for many families paints a very different picture.
When I worked at the Daily Voice as a reporter, we revelled in covering some crazy stories and were allowed to use the slang and sense of humour of the Cape Flats. But it was no joke covering the Ellen Pakkies story.