Love it or hate it, Matric Rage is currently raging in Ballito and Umhlanga, those coastal magnet zones for school leavers and their pals looking for the mother of year-end celebrations.
Those on the “love it” side are normally in the entertainment and hospitality industry, after all it provides work at concerts and show and in pubs (small businesses possibly also benefit), while those in the “hate it” category are often long-suffering residents who have to put up with loud, intoxicated, but mostly happy teenagers.
Having said that, hotels have found themselves on the wrong side of the year-end bashes before, with rooms wrecked by overzealous and rather sozzled teens. One unimpressed roleplayer in the Umhlanga tourism scene said they wanted “nothing to do with it”.
Councillor for Northern Umhlanga, Umdloti and La Mercy Geoff Pullan of the DA, said that all reports indicated that in the first week of the festivities the school leavers had been pretty well behaved. “Thereafter, not quite so good. There was one incident where a hotel manager in Umhlanga had to order the individuals involved to leave. In on incident a young man had a damaged hand after punching a vending machine,” said Pullan.
“On the whole though, not too bad. I think that there are benefits to local businesses and we have to be a bit understanding. The matrics are kept in ‘straight jackets’ throughout school and are just looking to vent off steam. If it’s good clean fun, which it is in most cases, we don’t mind too much.”
It’s believed that the majority of revellers who flock to Ballito are Durban school leavers, while those who choose to party in Unhlanga are from upcountry.
This would make sense, as even in my day (that’s many, many moons ago), long before year end parties had a name and had been commercialised, matrics and standards nines from Durban used to congregate in Salt Rock and Ballito for a week of camping, braaing and of course, partying . . . the highlight being a major bash on New Year’s Eve, (OK, the lucky ones could afford a nice flat with a pool, but camping was a blast anyway).
Today there’s even an organisation dedicated to assisting teenagers who find themselves in difficulty during the two-week long festivities. Called the Red Frogs, they’re on hand to assist when the party gets out of hand and youngsters are unable to cope.
I spoke to Jess Basson, who filled me in on the organisation’s background and the work they do: “Red Frogs was started in Australia about 14 years ago. There they traditionally have a huge party for about 30 000 school leavers each year on the Gold Coast. The Red Frogs was started by concerned individuals to protect the youngsters who are vulnerable at this stage when they have their whole lives ahead of them. Basically the idea was not to ruin their fun, but to have some care available for those who needed a helping hand.”
Positive presence
Basson said the Christian-based organisation first started operating here about four years ago. “We build relationships with the youngsters so we can provide practical support. We aim to be a positive presence among the sometimes chaotic celebrations. For some of the kids it’s the first time they’ve been away from their parents for an extended time and they just need someone to talk to.”
Help can mean a lift home or someone responsible to walk you home, or the delicious pancakes they’re whipping up to make sure the party people have a meal in their stomachs. For the first time this year Red Frogs have been active in both Ballito and Umhlanga.
There’s a helpline those in need can call for Red Frogs assistance: 076 762 6817.
“This year in Umhlanga we’ve had fantastic feedback and the managers of venues have reported that this has been the most incident-free season in a while.”
Basson believes some of the more serious cases such as alcohol poisoning and sprained ankles etc have involved university age revellers, who’ve come to join in the jollifications. – Garth Johnstone
For more info on the Red Frogs contact Jess Basson at jess@grace.za.org; see www.redfrogs.co.za