Living and growing up in Athlone, an area widely known for having a presence of gangsterism, violence and deviance, I was delighted to find that residents demolished a year-long vacant house; a house that was used for illegal activities, such as prostitution.

With recent crime statistics revealing a 9.18% increase in drug-related crime in the Western Cape – specifically the Cape Flats region – I felt it pointless to have hope in my community that would someday flourish. But I have certainly forgotten that Athlone residents constitute a tight-knit community; one where a tolerance of deviant and immoral behaviour is not easily accepted.

Experiencing and witnessing sectors of the Cape Flats’ unsafe environment for several years, I consider taking the law into one’s hands to undoubtedly take a great deal of courage, and so, I applaud those residents! Although my community has many more serious issues to tackle and resolve, the gleam of hope has been rejuvenated – I spy a new era of tweaked-anarchy rising, and I like it!