Against All Odds

 In the heart of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, a young woman named Alison Botha faced a terrible night that changed her life forever. 

 

Even in the darkest moments, Alison showed incredible strength and courage. 

 

Her difficult journey from being a victim to becoming a survivor was unbelievable and made us wonder how she survived something very scary and became a symbol of hope for many people.

 

This is a story not just of survival against the odds but of bravery so fierce that it reminds us all of the indomitable power of the human spirit.

 

Alison Bother was born on September 22, 1967, in Port Elizabeth, to parents Brian and Claire. Sadly, their family split early, and Claire, Alison's mom, took on the responsibility of caring for both Alison and her older brother Neil, who was 18 months older.

 

She had a pretty regular childhood. Later, she went to the Collegiate High School for Girls in Port Elizabeth. She wasn't super into academics or anything; school wasn't her big thing. But, surprise, surprise, she became the head girl at school. After graduating, she spent a year doing secretarial studies before embarking on a four-year adventure traveling around the world.

 

Port Elizabeth, with around 900,000 people, is a city known for its fantastic beaches and attracts loads of tourists. It's a top holiday spot and has been rated as South Africa's safest city, earning it the nickname "The Friendly City."

 

On Sunday, December 18, 1994, Alison Bother was 27 years old at the time and had a day full of joy with friends at the beach. Later, they gathered at Alison's apartment, hanging out till 1 a.m. 

 

Around 1 a.m., Alison drove her friend Kim home. When she returned, her usual parking spot was taken. Undeterred, she parked up the road, close enough to walk home. Little did she know that this ordinary night would take an unexpected turn.

 

It was December 18, 1994, a Sunday. Alison Bother, who was 27 at the time, spent the day with friends at the beach. Afterwards, they went to her apartment to hang out. 

 

Around 1 a.m., Alison drove her friend Kim home. When she returned, her usual parking spot was taken. She decided to just park up the road, a short walk from her house. 

 

However, after parking, a man with a knife forced his way into her car, compelling her to shift to the passenger seat. He opened the driver's side door, held a knife to Alison's throat, and uttered, "Move over, or I'll kill you." Taking control of her car, the attacker assured her, "I don't want to hurt you; I just need your car for an hour." 

 

As the man drove, a small talk ensued. Alison, desperate to survive, shared that her name was Susan and mentioned a boyfriend waiting at home who would likely grow concerned about her absence soon. Her kidnapper revealed his name as Clinton. Alison pleaded with Clinton, promising not to report him to the police if he would just release her from the car. However, he declined, insisting he had no intention of hurting her. Instead, he drove her to another spot, where he picked up an accomplice. Together, the two men transported Alison to a secluded location just outside of Port Elizabeth.

 

At that time, Alison had no idea where she was, but it turned out to be a place called Nordhook. The men informed Alison that they intended to rape her, asking if she would resist. Feeling powerless, she just wanted to do whatever she could to protect herself, so she said no; she wouldn't resist. They then made her take off her clothes, and the man who called himself Clinton forced her to perform oral sex on him. After that, he subjected her to the same, and then he proceeded to rape her.

 

After finishing what he had done, he asked the accomplice to do the same thing. The accomplice also raped Alison and held her tight around her neck while doing it. Then both of them suffocated her and made sure Alison couldn't breathe anymore until she passed out.

 

Afterward, they cut open her stomach, stabbing her at least 30 times in her belly and private area. The actual count might be more than 37 times. Miraculously, Alison managed to survive all of this brutality.

 

But the men didn't stop there. They then cut her throat 17 times. When they finished, one of them asked, "Do you think she's dead?" The other replied, "Nobody can survive that."

 

One of the men who attacked Alison was really fixated on mutilating her private parts. It was evident that this guy just had a strong dislike for women.

 

After the attack, the two men drove away, throwing Alison's clothes out of the window. Little did they know that Alison had somehow survived this brutal assault. When Alison regained consciousness, she had no idea where she was.

 

She was naked, lying in the sand, in the middle of nowhere. Despite her injuries and everything she had endured, she managed to write what she thought her attackers' names were in the sand. If she didn't make it, she hoped these men would face some kind of consequence.

 

The names she wrote were Frans du Toit and Theuns. Beneath their names, and this is truly one of the most heartbreaking details, she wrote in the sand, "I love you, Mum."

 

After writing the men's names in the sand, she just lay there for a while, given how severe her injuries were. After some time, she mustered the strength to get up. Seeing car headlights in the distance, she thought, "If I can reach that road, maybe I have a chance." Initially attempting to crawl, she realized it wouldn't work. Trying to stand up, she then understood the gravity of her injuries; her head flopped back as she had been nearly decapitated. Holding her head with one hand, she walked towards the headlights. Not only that, but she felt her organs coming out of her abdomen. With a denim shirt, she used the other hand to hold it against her organs to keep them inside her stomach.

 

What's really unbelievable is that her windpipe has been crushed. Usually, she wouldn't be able to breathe, but the slashes across her throat created an opening that allowed her to breathe. Her vision was also fading in and out; at times, she could only see black. This made it even tougher for her to reach the road. It was a long and painful journey, but when she finally got to the road, she just collapsed in the middle of it. She couldn't go any further and lay there, hoping that someone would stop, find her, and offer help.

 

At around 2 a.m., she reached the road. Luckily, there were still cars passing by. One of them drove towards her and stopped in the middle of the road. At that moment, she wondered if it was a bad idea and if these could be the men who kidnapped her. Despite the doubts, she decided to take the risk because it was her only chance. The car stopped in front of her, a bit away in the middle of the road. No one got out, so she raised her hand and waved. 

 

However, the car just drove off, leaving her there. It was a tough situation because she really needed help, but there was also the fear of it being a setup—someone pretending to need assistance but planning to harm you when you approach.

 

At about 2:45 AM, another car arrived, and Tiaan Eilerd, a young veterinary student from Johannesburg who was on vacation in Port Elizabeth, noticed Botha lying in the road. He stopped to help.

 

She had been abducted for about an hour and a half and could hardly talk due to her serious injuries. She seemed really scared, and her eyes were red. 

 

Eilerd used his veterinary skills to put Botha's exposed thyroid back inside her body. There were several other people in the car with Tien, and luckily, one of them had a mobile phone. They called emergency services for help. It was fortunate that someone had a mobile phone because, back in 1994, they were not as common as they are today.

 

Until emergency services arrived, Tian was offering emotional and medical support to Alison. He tried to keep her awake with small talk, even though she couldn't speak or respond. She could squeeze his hand once for yes and twice for no. Tian was there to help her stay conscious and communicate through these hand squeezes because emergency services took a long time to arrive. It took four phone calls and one hour and 45 minutes until they finally arrived.

 

On the way to the hospital, they were driving really slowly. Tian asked them to go faster, saying, "She's dying back there," but they refused. Apparently, there was no sense of urgency. It's unclear if they thought her injuries were too severe to save her, but there was just no urgency. It seemed like they didn't care, driving at such a slow pace.

 

Finally, they reached the hospital, and her injuries shocked the doctors. 

One of the doctors named Dr. Alexander Angelov, who took care of Alison, mentioned that her injuries were the most severe he had seen in his 16 years of practicing medicine. When they examined her, they found that she had been completely disemboweled, with loops of her small intestines on top of her stomach. Her abdomen was contaminated with beach sand and charcoal. After further inspection, they realized she would likely never be able to have children. 

 

Botha was really close to dying, but she somehow pulled through, and amazingly, she remembered everything about her attackers. Even while she was still in the hospital, she identified them from police pictures. This quick identification led to the arrest of the "Ripper Rapists," as the press called them.

 

The following "Noordhoek Ripper Trial" caught the attention of people all over South Africa. Both Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger confessed to eight charges, which included kidnapping, rape, and attempted murder.

 

They were both found guilty and sentenced to life in prison in August 1995. 

 

However, after serving 28 years, both were given parole in July 2023 and put under supervision. On her Facebook page, Alison Botha wrote, "The day I hoped and prayed would never come. Whenever someone asked me, "How would you feel if they ever got parole?" my immediate response was always, "I am hoping I'll never find out."

 

Even though the worst was over, Alison Botha still had both physical and emotional scars from the ordeal. 

 

To heal, she felt the need to confront what had happened to her.

 

Alison Botha started traveling around the world, sharing her story in at least 35 countries.

 

Alison Botha was among the first women from South Africa to openly talk about rape, both in her home country and internationally. She played a role in encouraging other survivors to speak up and share their own stories.

 

"The attack led me to travel the world and inspire others," said Botha.

 

In 1995, Botha received the Rotarian Paul Harris Award for her extraordinary courage and the "Woman of Courage" award from Femina magazine. She was also acknowledged as the "Citizen of the Year" in Port Elizabeth.

 

But for Alison Botha, the most precious gift has been the birth of her two sons. 

 

During her attack, Frans du Toit tried to damage her reproductive organs.

 

"That was what he wanted," Botha said after her first child was born in 2003. "That's what makes this news so good."

 

Today, her story is an example of both the worst in people and the incredible strength of the human spirit.

 

"Life can make us feel like victims sometimes," Botha once said.

 

Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. 

 

Even though it's a difficult story to talk about, I think it's an important conversation to have.

 

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