Durban chef gets real about GBV: "Don't ever take GBV lightly"
Chef Yuri Moodley shares how his mother survived an attack, and he now encourages people to stand up and speak up.
Raising a hand to a lady speaks nothing of your upbringing but your personal beliefs and ideology. Don't treat others how you want to be treated; rather, treat them how they want to be treated.
Today marks the last day of the 16 Days of Activism, and we hear from Yuri Moodley, a private chef based in Durban, about his experiences and thoughts on gender-based violence.
Moodley is a private chef and freelance culinary consultant from Pinetown.
At the beginning of November, he made the bold choice of sharing a personal story about his mother, who experienced gender-based violence two years ago.
Moodley explained that he was at work when he received a call from his mother, who sounded distraught, and asked him to come home. All she had said was, "Yo, I need you, come home now!" and he left work to go home.
The stress and urgency in her voice took him back to when his father had passed away.
"On arrival, I see mum waiting in our sunroom, dishevelled and disoriented. She informed me there was a break-in and she was assaulted," says Moodley.
My body went cold but my blood was boiling.
Moodley described his mother as a compassionate, kind, loving and caring woman. He found it challenging to understand what could motivate someone to hurt another person over a few items, such as a phone and a radio.
"She had to defend herself against someone looking for an easy steal, a quick sale opportunity for another fix of drugs? Alone at home without anyone to help her," he says.
The perpetrator was eventually caught, but that doesn't mean that his mother feels less traumatised. Following the attack, she has had recurring health issues.
Now, one of my life's purposes and the most important one is to ensure she is safe above all else. This could happen to our sisters, mothers, daughters, nieces, cousins, friends and even random strangers. Be compassionate enough not to be oblivious. What sick people we have living amongst us. Don't ever take GBV lightly. You have no idea what they went through, and they are still going through it.
Moodley has a message to perpetrators of violence:
"Our earth is referred to as Mother Earth, why? Just as she gives us life, love, nurturing, and safety, so do the ladies in our lives. Take care of them, treasure them and remember never to take them for granted—the magnitude of positive impact and influence they have on our lives and our choices."
His words ring true in our community and should be spoken out loudly and proudly amongst all.
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