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Kolmanskop
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Kolmanskop Kolmanskop-the name itself stirs emotions deep inside me that cannot be described in any tongue known to man. Had you come to me several years ago I would have been dubious to the verge of disbelief that anything could hold compassion for my torn life in such a way as this magical place could. Me, the only male descendant of a family ripped apart by war, distrust and disloyalty. My mother gave birth to me and promptly exited my life as quickly as I had entered hers. She left me in the care of an alcoholic criminal, wanted for various offences. He did everything in his power to make life a living hell for me. My only companion was my older brother William, who would comfort me at night as I lay quivering in bed weeping at the sound of my fathers drunken raving downstairs. As soon as he reached the age of 16 my father sent him away to fight and die for his country. I was 13 when the neat officer arrived at our doorstep. I was walking back from school one afternoon and I saw a sleek black automobile draw up outside our ramshackle house. A soldier dressed in his formal uniform stepped out and knocked on the door. I saw my father open the door and the officer moved forward to proffer his hand to be shaken. My father glanced at the hand then turned his bloodshot gaze to the face of the officer. The soldier stiffened at this open show of disrespect then handed my father a crisp white envelope and turned back to the car. I heard my father call out. The soldier turned back. “Did he die quickly?” He asked. The officer hesitated then replied, “He died well.” My father snorted contemptuously and muttered something before slamming the door. It was then that I realized. I couldn’t go on like this. I had to get away, to find somewhere where I could be away from all this, where I could turn my back on the madness of the world. I cried that whole night and prayed for my brother’s soul to find safe deliverance into the hands of god. I managed to find peace in 2 hours of sleep before waking at half past six. There was no danger from my father; he would not wake until at least nine when he would roar for me to take him his coffee. I took my tog bag down from on top of the cupboard in my room and stuffed it with the few things I could call my own. I also took a plastic bag of food and filled a water bottle. As I was about to leave I realized I had no money. I noticed my father’s wallet lying neglected on the table. I stared at it for a moment and then grabbed it on impulse and ran from the house. We lived in a neighbourhood where you minded your own business, and as I ran down the street towards the nearest train station people in gardens carefully ignored me. I made the station just in time to catch the train to Cape Town at 8. I spent the 3 hour journey staring out the window reflecting on what I had done. I had left my life behind me, fled the sins of my family that had been passed onto me. The actions of those around me had tainted my life, and somehow this justified my flight. We arrived in Cape Town and it was as I stepped off the train onto the bustle of the platform that I realized how vulnerable and lonely I was. I had almost no experience in the ways of the outside world, and I wasn’t much to look at physically. I decided then and here that I would never again do something without sorting out a plan beforehand. I then turned my thoughts to my biggest problem-Shelter. I still had a lot of food from the house as I had not been hungry on the trip. I had never been to Cape Town before, but the boys at school had always boasted about how they had seen a street fight or the like. I headed for the exit of the station and found myself on the sidewalk of a busy road. I decide to just walk along and try to find a good place to sleep. My luck being what it was the heavens opened and let all hell loose. I resigned myself to a wet day and an even wetter night. I spent the remainder of the afternoon walking the streets miserably looking for something to occupy me. As the sun set behind the hulking skyscrapers I managed to find an unused street corner under shelter.
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