The following is a response to Christine’s reply to the letter Children And I In Hell Hole which was published on Monday, February 28.
In that letter we advised the young woman that, given the abusive circumstances in which she finds herself, she should seek reconciliation with her mother, instead of remaining at her boyfriend’s house.
Dear Christine,
Thanks for your reply. The reason my mum and I don’t get along is because of her boyfriend.
Christine, I have moved out of my mother’s house about four times now because of him. The last time I moved back with her I got the water reconnected, tiled the house, built the cupboards, put in a telephone line and other things.
Everything was great until her boyfriend came out of prison.
When I got a job, things started to get worse because he started to abuse my daughters by shouting and beating them with a belt. I talked to my mother about it and he started to make a noise, so she had put him out.
But he kept coming around because he has two children with her and since I did not want him to hit my daughters when I hit his kids, he started to threaten me.
A day I hit one of his children and he came and poked me in the face and threatened to kill me, so I went to the police and he was charged.
My mum was vex and told me I should not have done that to him, so he told her to put me and my kids out. That’s how I got up by my boyfriend.
Now I am at his mercy.
My boyfriend abuses me because he is 20 years older than I am and thinks I cheat on him.
If I move back with my mum, I would not be abused physically, but my children and I would be abused mentally.
The job I hold now is that of gas station attendant, so I am able to pay rent but I can hardly put food on the table and buy clothes for my daughters and myself.
What I really need is a house and a job. I know it is a lot to ask for but that’s what I really need to provide a better life for us.
It’s not like I am not trying. I am. I am just falling short. So I would appreciate any help you may give to my children and me.
– Nowhere To Turn
Dear Nowhere To Turn,
Yours is indeed a very sad story with few immediate options. Your mum seems more interested in her own fate and that of her two younger children than your plight and the conditions under which her two granddaughters will have to survive.
Your boyfriend seems obsessed with the belief that you cheat on him and is unlikely to stop behaving in this manner, whether he has legitimate reasons to think so or not.
I will call you within a few days to put you in touch with someone who may be able to assist you with accommodation.
– Christine
