Suzan Chala
Five years ago, at the top of a mountain, Scotch Madhlophe realised his potential. He understood there was more to him than being a murderer and an alcoholic.
Madhlophe (28) was on a wilderness therapy trail suggested by a psychologist. He and nine other people climbed a mountain together, helping each other overcome the obstacles. Today, he does the same for other people.
Madhlophe joined a self defence unit (SDU) in 1990 when there was conflict between the Inkatha Freedom Party and the African National Congress in his home suburb of Katlehong. Two years later, at the age of 19, he was elected commander and his duties changed from shooting and stoning people to death to ordering murders at kangaroo courts.
”I was what was called a ‘real comrade’, always carrying out orders, brave, trustworthy and not afraid to kill. I would kill a person like he was a fly,” he explained.
In the process of killing people including police informers and common criminals Madhlophe also destroyed the lives of his fellow comrades. ”I gave them orders to kill. Sometimes they volunteered but I don’t think they realised what killing a person meant.
”I remember one boy who was a member of the SDU. He was about 14 years old and was a good soccer player. He had been selected to play for the Kaizer Chiefs under-23 team. He volunteered to kill an informer and I gave him a gun. He blew the man’s head off. I could have stopped him but I didn’t.
”After that, his life changed. He became a drunkard and a drug addict and stopped playing soccer and dropped out of school. Who knows? He could be playing for Bafana Bafana if it wasn’t for me.”
After the conflict ended and SDUs were no longer needed, the heroes turned to drugs and alcohol.
”We were no longer respected. Everyone had forgotten what we had done for the community and all we had left was our alcoholism and frustration,” Madhlophe said.
”I started having nightmares people I killed had all teamed up to kill me. I would see faces of the people I had killed. I kept having flashbacks of the war scenes.”
He became angry, irritable, fearful and violent. His mother’s friend introduced him to a psychologist at Ekupholeni, a community centre in Katlehong. Madhlophe was reluctant to seek psychological help, so he would lie to the psychologist, arriving late and drunk for appointments.
”I only went there when I was bored or when I felt like I wanted to speak English with whites. Despite the fact that I came up to eight hours late for my appointments and was drunk, she listened and made time for me. That made me feel important like I matter.”
The psychologist suggested wilderness therapy. It helped him take the first step towards recovery accepting that he had a problem and trusting and allowing other people to help.
”One day I just broke down and cried. For the first time I told my psychologist the truth. I started taking my sessions with her seriously and that changed my life. I started looking at life positively.”
Madhlophe, now a wilderness therapist, has organised and guided a group of former SDU and IFP-supporting self protection unit members on a wilderness trail.
”The two groups had been enemies since the wars and had never been in contact since.
”They were difficult to work with. First they had to work on their attitude towards each other. They had to help each other climb the mountain. Their lives depended on each other, so they had no choice but to work together.”
The two units now jointly run community projects in Kathorus (Katlehong, Thokoza and Vosloorus). ”They learned that they had a lot more in common than their differences and they have now forgiven each other and understand why what happened in the past had to happen.”
Madhlophe’s story was one of the many told at the first annual conference of Wilderness Therapy Community Based Initiatives held last weekend. Other stories included those of former convicts who now run community projects, children who have been abused and neglected helping others, rape survivors who now fight against rape and for women’s rights and people living with HIV caring for Aids sufferers.
NGOs and government officials attended the conference to officially launch the Wilderness Therapy Training Forum. It will identify potential job creation and small business development by wilderness therapy, network therapists and certify and register therapy guides.
Wilderness therapy is a process where people go into an uninhabited natural environment to learn about themselves. As a physical and psychological journey it engages the whole body, allowing interdependence between the nervous, immune and endocrine systems that allows the healing of the mind.
People are forced to work together and persevere, teaching them trust and giving them a feeling of personal empowerment that assists to counteract trauma.
The trails range from three to seven days in length. They are designed for specific needs and guides are trained by the South African Wilderness Therapy Institute, a division of the National Peace Accord Trust.
Potential guides are identified during the therapy delivery and offered personal training in the experiential learning framework of wilderness therapy training.