WATCH | Children living with Down syndrome call for justice for murdered teen Natheniël Julies

Children living with Down syndrome, and their families, have come together to share a video calling for justice for 16-year-old Natheniël Julies, who was shot dead, allegedly by police, in Eldorado Park on Wednesday last week.

Julies, who had Down syndrome, was killed while playing on the street.

The video was posted by Jess Roberts, the mother of a four-year-old with Downs syndrome and chairwoman of Downside Up, a KZN organisation that offers support, awareness and education to communities and families living with people with Down syndrome.

“Obviously as parents, we were completely heartbroken. It hit close to home for us. A lot of our children are non-verbal and that for us is one of the biggest worries, that they won't be able to protect themselves with their words in the big bad world we find ourselves in,” said Roberts.

The video features various children holding signs which read “Justice for Nathaniel” and was shared on Roberts' Instagram page “Learning from Luke” which she started when her son was born.

“It started as a blog. It was a platform for me to put pen to paper the emotions I was feeling. It was a way for me to deal with the myriad feelings when Luke was born. We did find out that Luke had Down syndrome when I was 23 weeks pregnant. When he was born there was instant all-consuming love that I hadn’t experienced before,” she said.

Roberts said she hoped the video, which has more than 2,000 views and features Pink’s rendition of the song Dear Mr President, would be seen by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“The further it reaches the better. That is the end goal. He is the leader of our country and the one who can affect the most change,” she said.

TimesLIVE