WE WILL SUE YOU
PG swearing
i guess i'm meant to care. given the threat made to me i realized the cord i had hi,t and what was at risk, was enough to be threatened over.
I sat there with my labour lawyer who had been poached by the Cardinal to represent the children's home, at the last minute. I wasn't going to need him. my case was too strong. but i had to, given he may have accepted their offer at the last moment.conflict of interest or not, i could not take the chance. at first he was "busy" that Friday for my CCMA hearing and when i asked how much he charged i said fine to R7,000. he managed to get out of the other appointment in Richards bay.
I had a file of information and he probably did not relish the idea of me catching him on not knowing something in there.
When i first went to him about 2 years precious to this, he listened with disbelief.
it was probably more not believing me because it was too bazaar. it was like an action/drama/love/hate and soap opera mixed together to form a sick twisted tail. it was when another staff member went to see him, that he thought there was something more to the bazaar events.
I had been to a doctor with nausea and he asked if i was under stress and my immidiate rsponse was "no". stress harassment and threats had become common place at work. Then i remembered "oh yes, i was threatened anonymously, am a whistle-blower so the director and chair of board hates me or maybe fears me and is making my ability to do my job almost impossible. i think i was followed after being threatened that something world happen to me, after we refused to stop the investigation and drop charges and i managed to dodge the car that could have been paranoer even though the person was speeding with me when i put foot and he speeded up to a totally red light.i had been advised by the detectives to take different routes and do nothing as habit.
it had become a way of life. my answer was no before i said yes.
at first they (people you tell) look with disbelief until you go "seriously, I've never met a bunch like this before, that profess to be good little Catholics."
My psychiatrists face was the best. I could see it ticking in his mind "oh dear, its got worse, what medication must i try." he just had to listen until i brought in the other 7 whistle-blowers into the mix.
a couple of us were threatened and two of us reported it to the police.
back on the day of my CCMA hearing, i tried to contact my mother since she owned property here and knew a case could cost before we even got to court. she had also been threatened to be sued.
was a threat by a priest, cardinal, children's home, with their lawyer standing by, actually a threat? yes.
after finding out how much money they were spending on lawyers, i had been taking great delight in wasting their money. what more proof do you need when a bunch of people that are meant to be intelligent enough to run a company, cant handle me. what they couldn't handle was my ability to use the truth to my advantage and their lies to my advantage as well.
i think my lawyer had been planning to take the afternoon off to see his kid play something and i thought like hell was he going to get the afternoon off at R7,000.
i changed my mind, talked rubbish, tried to contact my mom, continued to change my mind and be confused and then finally, with it being obviously a threat and consistently so, we started talking money.
why? to see how far they would be prepared to go and how much power they believed they had in their threat. it was a threat that was meant to make me quiver in my high heels.
i sent my lawyer back and forth to negotiate. when he came in i would ponder and then make a decision. it was 16:00 and i was beginning to get bored.
i said to my lawyer, go tell them to fuck their money, in those exact words. he was taken aback. I said i paid you R7,000 the least you can do is tell them in these exact words "jacqui says to go fuck your money."
if there was going to be any further problem, since i certainly had no intention of being held to the signing of a non-disclosure clause under duress, the one thing i wanted to make certain, I told them to go fuck their money. they couldn't make the excuse that the cardinal had in another situation, when he said "with us being the catholic church and everything and people trying to threaten us and want to make money from us..." i didn't bother to listen while i was thinking "blabla bullshit, we have a problem, he is definitely involved. Hes acting stupid and i'm not stupid enough to not realize he is not stupid.
before leaving CCMA, with my threat signed and a choice of fired, resigned or retrenched, my lawyer said he can quite understand if i don't want to go say goodbye to them. I said oh no, i definitely want to.
i walked out of the room and they walked up to me and i said "i will see you again". and shook each of their hands. i looked them straight in their eyelids.
the lawyers were overheard saying, "this isn't finished"
when you are caught and taken on as a hypocrite, it is not easy to look that person in the eye once there is nothing more to say than my "go fuck your money". they waited for the next elevator.
i walked out, knowing my lawyer had missed his kid's match and decided to get a back-up plan.
i didn't need labour any longer i needed civil.
i racked my brain.
which lawyer could i trust that won't be bought off?
which lawyer would take it on pro bono with pleasure?
why would a lawyer want to fight a losing case, since the only thing would have the truth revealed?
who would give the time to do that?
i had every intention of exposing this, at my convenience and my safety. my other was applying for British citizenship and i wasn't sure what the consequences would be.
i needed a case that an advocate would take on, realizing he can only prove duress.
Of course i was under duress. i had been threatened anonymously, i had been intimidated, i had been victimized, i had been belittled and now the final "you don't leave here until you sign this or we will sue you." there wasn't a gun to my head, but it was not difficult to predict the outcome.
after the anonymous phone call i went to the chairman to ask him to tell the ex-director to stop his goons.
His indirect threat "well you know you should take any threat very seriously. he can't be held responsible for the actions of his supporters. you know these days with crime like it is, something could happen and it could just be seen as normal crime..."
refer to [BOOB TALK] to understand, do you need me to add numbers to this?
I had a brainwave.
Muslims.
Muslims would do it for free.
this is too good a trial to take on, to be swayed by bribes. They have their own money.
they would love going face to face with accusations against a priest, a cardinal and some sanctimonious Catholics. This would be a battle in a court room. people would probably not even know my name.
i went to the mosque in Sydenham.
not knowing the rules, i walked in to find some men cleaning themselves and others bowed down in payer. i took my shoes off and sat down waiting for end of prayer. i got a few dirty looks, some confused.
well? at least i knew about the shoes.
they finished and i started asking for the leader of the mosque. firstly, i was escorted out very quickly. (it seemed to have become a habit). then i was pointed to the leader. I asked if anybody was a lawyer because i may need to take on the catholic church in court. his eyes popped and said he is an advocate. i started telling him and he said he can't really hear this but his son is a lawyer, then the son will pass me on to him if necessary.
i told him i needed it pro-bono. he didn't flinch.
i went straight to his son who listened and laughed and said they would never take this chance. the lawyer asked why them (why had a go to the mosque, and i said bluntly,"i need a strategic partner that will band their community together, (their strength) and know you would appreciate the days in court referred to catholic vs Muslim because it wont be catholic person vs another "catholic person sick and tired of the corruption and mafia tactics she has come across".
I bet the threats against me would take on a more sinister note. they were willing to threaten for less, before.
i walked out smiling. when my enemies want to testify in court, what would they do
"i swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God"?
lie or lie? the truth has too many consequences.
I wonder how heavy their eyelids would be, to look me in the face this time.
what was the worst thing that could happen to me? if i were them, i would have assigned body-guards. on any attack or "mishap", everything will be released. you can't sue a dead person for releasing recordings"
they may have threatened my mom and I but they won't be able to out-strategies a court case. if i could catch them admitting in a couple of lies, imagine what an advocate could do. they would be so giddy they would be wobbling off the stand like a bunch of drunks.
they only have one choice left, lie on the stand or lie about their actions. the one thing i can be sure of, they wont tell the truth.
they have had 4 years to rectify the situation, to apologize to their victims. do you honestly think i care about their happiness.
court isn't such a smart move as a i considered the lawyers amusement. the advantage of court is the ability to subpoena.
i could subpoena a blood test to prove he was the father.
i could subpoena the mother just in case she feels the need to disappear with her child.
as a nun once said "she (not the mother, i talk about here), won't lie. shes not catholic". a slip of the tongue in a pondering thought.
perhaps a little less confession and hail marys should be replaced by a a couple of psychiatrist appointments. after all, our catholic leader is not really up to date with the psychological advancement of treating mental dis-orders.
personally, confession is useless, unless you apologize to them person you hurt. all the confession becomes is a dirty little secret followed by a sense of self righteousness.
AA has it right.
admit it.
admit it to others
have a sponsor to guide you, who is not bound to a promise to God.
admit it each time you fall off the wagon.
proudly admit how long it has been since your last offence
apologize to the people you have affected.
the apology is not meant to make you feel better. you had no conscience in the first place.
the apology is accountability.
have the balls for someone to judge your character and actions instead of whimpering into a confessional.
