“If you happen to be reading this, I’m on your trail, just know that.”
Afrikaans pop star Karlien van Jaarsveld recently took to Instagram to share a troubling incident she witnessed last week, where two parents allegedly mistreated their young daughter at a restaurant in Pretoria, where Karlien and her husband Joe were dining.
Karlien, in two separate posts, detailed how the incident had occurred, along with a ‘selfie’ that she and her husband Joe had snapped before realising what had been going on just one table away from them.
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“I am saddened to my core. I feel the pain in my body. I feel nauseous. I think of her every now and then, and I cry. Last night I was angry, today I’m just hurt for her.”
van Jaarsveld goes on to describe the mistreatment of a little girl – who, by Karlien’s estimate must be around 6 years of age – at the restaurant where van Jaarsveld and her husband had been dining at. She writes:
“I estimate that she is 6 years old. She sits at the table in Moreletta in a restaurant with her mother and father, I sit just a table away from her. I’ve noticed her mother acting strangely. Every now and then, she makes an ugly remark towards her child.”
van Jaarsveld describes the tone in which the mother addresses the little girl.
Sly, like the villainous “stepmother from Snow White”, she taunts her daughter by asking her what she will “do with her” before adding that she is ashamed of the young girl, likening her to the ‘ugly princess’ in the movie Shrek.
The little girl listens, but says nothing back. “I only see big, scared eyes looking at a cruel adult who tries to break her with every sentence.” writes Karlien.
According to van Jaarsveld, the mother goes on to sway the father to get upset towards the quiet little girl – who, all this time, has been quietly playing with 2 items in her hands, stopping to look up at her mother in fear every now and then.
Karlien continues:
“The mom keeps saying things like how disappointed she is in her daughter, and how she really doesn’t know what they are going to do with her. When the little girl looks up and says she is sorry, the mother violently grabs her by her arm and drags her across the table.”
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“She looks at her with hate. The little girl starts to cry.” says Karlien, who after witnessing what had just happened, decides to intervene. “It’s when I jumped out of my chair and ran to their table and grabbed the mother by the shoulder and said ‘that’s enough, you don’t do this with your child!'”
According to Karlien, after she had approached the family, the father piped up that he ‘had everything under control’, while the mother acted innocently, blaming the daughter for ‘upsetting’ van Jaarsveld:
“Look how you’ve upset the tannie, no my bokkie, this is not right. Look at what you’ve done to us. You’ve disappointed us again. Come, let’s go.” Karlien interjects: “She did not upset me, you did! The little girl gets the blame for things she should not feel guilty for!”
In her post describing the incident – which ended after the couple promptly left with their daughter – van Jaarsveld addresses the mother in writing, urging her to seek help, adding that she would be “on her trail.”
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The following day, van Jaarsveld took to social media again, reassuring concerned followers that she had taken the necessary steps to address the matter legally and secure help for the girl.
“The greatest love that lives in my heart is my love for children. I have already lost a child, we almost lost our little girl to death a few times, she is a miracle! Thank you to everyone who has a sincere heart towards children. That you look out with me for another child. Other children are also our children.”
“I am always going to stand up for a child that is destroyed by an adult. Those people sleep peacefully knowing that small children cannot fight for themselves and are hurt. I can’t sleep. How should a child fight an adult? I will fight for them. Over and over, for the rest of my life. This is part of who I am. Adults need to sort out their own shit. I will look after the kids.”
Karlien addresses the little girl in her post, writing:
“Little girl, you will live in my heart and mind forever, I will keep fighting for you doll, you are beautiful and you don’t deserve to be scared and mistreated. You deserve to be loved and safe.”
van Jaarsveld ends by noting that she has taken the correct steps to deal with the matter. The post accompanies an image of a police document.
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Feature Image: Instagram / @karlienvanjaarsveld
