This is Alison.
On the evening of December 17, 1994, Alison was a happy, carefree, 27-year old stockbroker, living in the friendly coastal city of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. She spent the day with close friends, first at the beach and then at her apartment.
Alison gave her friend a ride home and returned around 1 am on Sunday morning. The streets were quiet and she had no inkling of danger when she parked her car.
The next moment a man jerked open her car door, held a knife to her throat and ordered her to move over to the passenger side. The events that followed changed her life forever and shocked the nation.
The man picked up a friend and they drove Alison to a remote location where they raped her. Then they decided to kill her.
First she was strangled, which caused her to lose consciousness. She came to later outside the car, where one of the men was cutting her throat. She couldn’t believe that she was still alive, but pretended to be dead so that they would leave. They decided that “nobody could survive that“, threw some of her clothes out the car and drove off.
At that point, 90% of her wanted to die. Her situation looked hopeless. When she felt around her neck, her hand disappeared into her body. She was breathing through her severed windpipe and was bleeding profusely. She was a 100 yards from the road, and even if she could make it to the road, there was no traffic at that time of the morning. She wrote the names of her attackers and a message to her mother in the sand.
But 10% of her felt that her life was not over yet. She decided that she had to try. For her own sake, for her mother’s sake and because those two men did not deserve to decide when her life should be over.
She lifted herself to her hands and knees and made another horrifying discovery. Her intestines were hanging outside her body. She had been disemboweled.
She tried to stuff them back, but there was just so much. She felt around her and found her denim skirt. She bundled her intestines inside the skirt and pressed the gruesome “parcel” to her stomach. Then she began to crawl towards the road. After a while she realized that the crawling was too slow and exhausting. She was going to have to try and get to her feet and walk. When she did, her head fell back between her shoulder blades. The muscles had been cut.
With one hand holding her intestines together and the other holding her head up, she stumbled toward the road. She fell countless times, but each time she got up again. Eventually she made it to the road and lay down on the dividing line, hoping that someone would drive past.
For Tiaan, a young man from Johannesburg, this was his last night of his vacation in Port Elizabeth. At 2:30 am he and his friends were returning from a night club to their camping spot outside the city. They found Alison and called an ambulance.
Tiaan stayed with Alison, covering her with his shirt, talking to her, keeping her conscious and reassuring her for 90 minutes until the ambulance came (Africa!). Because she couldn’t speak, they devised a system where she squeezed his hand once for yes and twice for no. In this way, he managed to gain information about what had happened to help the police.
When the ambulance arrived, Alison would not let go of Tiaan’s hand and he did not want to leave her either, so he accompanied her to the hospital, where he promised that he would wait until she came out of surgery.
The medical personnel could not believe that someone could have survived with her injuries. Yet, before receiving anesthesia, she was able to write her name and her mother’s contact details. She was in surgery for hours. Her intestines had been covered with sand, twigs, leaves and all kind of dirt and had to be washed more than once to get them clean. There were many nicks in them that had to be repaired. Her neck muscles and windpipe had to be reattached. Despite slashing her throat sixteen times, her attackers had missed the carotid arteries, which is why she hadn’t bled to death instantly. Despite one or two small nicks to her uterus, she would still be able to have children.
The police had a fair idea of who was responsible for this attack and Alison confirmed their suspicions when she came out of surgery. They were arrested that same Sunday. The shocking news was that they had been on bail for rape. When they learned that their latest victim had not died, they both made full confessions.
Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger claimed that they had been possessed by demons, but that claim was refuted by experts, who said that their testimonies and statements were very detailed and showed premeditation. Not surprisingly they were found guilty. In sentencing, the judge said that he would be shirking his duties if he did not remove them from society forever. Du Toit, clearly the leader, received 3 consecutive life sentences and Kruger one life sentence and 25 years. Both will never be eligible for parole.
I lived in that region at the time of these events, so I saw the P.E. newspapers every day and followed the story closely. We were horrified, spell-bound and cheered when the judgment came down. Yet, I think deep down we felt that surely the young woman, who had by then been identified as “Alison” and whose picture appeared in the paper for the first time on the day following the judgment, could never recover emotionally from something like this.
Alison did indeed go through a deep depression. In her book, I Have Life, she quotes from her diary:
I really want to cry. I want to cry for the Ali that is lost for ever. I want to cry for the emotional heartache and torment that I have gone through and that I will go through for the rest of my life. I want to cry for my body. I want to cry for the carefree life that I had that I did not appreciate enough when it was there. I did appreciate it, but I never thought it was not always going to be that way. I always believed that tomorrow is another day, never once stopping to contemplate that this day could be my last.
Because she never shied away from telling her story, she was interviewed quite a lot and eventually she started getting invited to speak at events. In time her depression lifted. She knew that she hadn’t crawled and stumbled 100 yards holding on to her head and her intestines to live half a life.
Today she is one of South Africa’s best-loved motivational speakers.
About a year after the incident, she met and fell in love with her soul mate. They married in early 1997 and have two children.
Tiaan, the young man who held her hand and kept her going while they were waiting for the ambulance, was so moved by the events of that night that he decided to go to medical school. It was Dr. Tiaan, still a close family friend, who performed the C-section that produced Alison’s second son.
Both Tiaan and Alison received many citations and awards for bravery and courage. Alison has had trauma centers named after her.
Last week I wrote about staying locked in fear, or choosing life, and all that that entails. Then I thought of Alison and the choice became clear.
I choose Life.
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Unbelievable! I am going to have to get that book.
Thanks for sharing this story with us.
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I’d never heard this amazing story. Wow! Thank you so much for sharing it. I definitely want to read her book.
I hope you are doing well Hanlie.
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I had not heard this story either. And I did make it all the way through your posting – this is not normally something that I can read. It was truly inspirational. And I am glad you posted it.
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Wow. That gave me the shivers. Thanks for sharing!
I read this book many years ago. She is a South African lady who married the man who found and saved her! Incredible story of survival and determination.
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@Gilz: Actually no, her husband is called Tienie. Tiaan, the man who found and saved her, has become a close friend of the family.
Wow! That is a crazy amazing story! It reminds me of one motivational speaker from our church who speaks at BYU education week named Barbara Barrington Jones. The only difference is that her attacker was her (ex) husband and he didn’t do as many brutal things as the woman in the story you posted. But it isn’t a contest obviously. They are both amazing stories that when people hear them they can’t help but get inspired and have a little more gratitude for their own life. I’m glad those idiots were locked up for life! And I’m glad she survived to tell the story!
This story has left me absolutely speechless (but with tears in my eyes). Thank you for sharing!
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Wow. Just wow.
Thanks for sharing this horrifying but inspirational story. And I complain when I have bad cramps! What a survivor.
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Hanlie, this story brought me to tears. What an incredible account of courage and determination.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I’d like to link to it in my blog tomorrow.
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Wow that is unbelievable. Thank you so much for sharing this story Hanlie.
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Are you kidding me? This in unbelievable. I truly cannot comprehend it. What a person to make through such a horrific ordeal! What a life and what a testimony! I know that I have nothing to complain about. Thank you for sharing! Wow!
Ok, on freaking thing though, who would ever, in their right mind, let rapists out on bail? Was the judge thinking? I do believe in capital punishments in such cases.
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Wow. Stunned. Absolutely stunned.
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That sends chills down my spine.
Courage.
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@Elena: 1994 was the year our government changed… Things didn’t work so well for a while. Alison and her dad campaigned for stricter bail conditions afterward and managed to get them passed. Capital punishment was abolished in 1994, otherwise these two men would have definitely been sentenced to death.
What a story – it brings tears to my eyes. Sometimes it isn’t our gifts, talents, or calling in life – it’s simply our will to go on under extreme pressure and circumstances and Alison is such a shining example to us all!
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Wow, what an amazing story and well told to boot.
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I can’t believe that the above events happened nearly 15 years ago – it feels like yesterday that this attack took place and was splashed all over the national news. Thank you so much for reminding us on just how strong the human will can be and what can be achieved given the guts and courage of somebody like Alison. So many of us just give up when things look insurmountable but not this lady!!
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Hanlie
I am speechless. I really don’t know what to say – that is one unbelievable story, and I say that with all due respect.
It is amazing the circumstances some people go through and yes, they choose life. I am with you all the way – I too choose life – a conscious beautiful life, where we create the next day, the next moment and hold each of them in gratitude.
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That totally sounds like an urban legend! What an amazing woman.
If she can do it, you can definitely do it, Hanlie. Get rid of that fear.
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I remember being quite young when this happened, but I never forgot Alison. She was such a hero to me. I cannot believe it is so long ago – it truly does feel like yesterday.
We were all routing for her. And she won the battle. I don’t think I would have survived this ordeal.
I remember being so happy for her when her first baby was born, thinking that her peace had finally come.
A truly awe inspiring woman and a true survivor in every meaning of the word.
I choose Life too.
Now you have to read and tell them about Natalie du Toit – not as gruesome, but still awe inspiring
She truly is insprirational and I have read her book a couple of times. Being from Port Elizabeth it really brings it home that anybody has the power to do remarkable things.
Just to add though, that she and her husband have unfortunately recently divorced. Very sad but I am sure something that she will come through on top off and stronger.
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That is an amazing story. Truly courageous. Thanks for sharing the story. Makes you really think about courage.
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Alison has always been one of my personal heroes. When the going gets tough, I remember her will to survive.
I remember to look on the positive. But oh, it’s difficult sometimes, Hanlie.
Having just heard automatic gun fire a few minutes ago – here, in suburbia! – and having been confronted with the newspaper headlines these past few days, I do despair. How to stay positive, how to stay positive!!
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Oh what a testimonial to the strength of human will & spirit!! Thank you for sharing this story, Hanlie! & what a blessing, that she continues to offer inspiration – as said by others – what do ‘we’ have to complain about??
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Alison is really great. Her story is really awesome. At this juncture, I would like to introduce another fabulous motivational speaker Drew berman. He has a meticulous collection of motivational ideas to share. His ideas can motivate anyone with a positive approach. Drew, I think is a right choice for anyone who aspires for a successful endeavor.