Maybe people just don't understand the pain, says Florence Masebe on her son's drowning

Veteran actress Florence Masebe has reflected on the “unkindness” she experienced after her child accidently drowned two years ago.

Florence described her son’s death as the most painful period of her life, adding that people didn’t understand her pain.

During an emotionally-charged interview with Azania on 702, Florence said she was “hurt” by the media and other people after her child’s death.

“It was shocking and not shocking. It taught me to remember who is who and who isn’t who. At that moment what mattered most to me was the truth,” she said.

The actress said that she was “truly hurt” by some of the reports around the drowning accident.

“The most hurtful thing was a journalist who had gone and decided there was a party at my house when he didn’t even know what had happened. That was truly truly hurtful and wrong,” she said.

Florence explained that she continues to see other people receive the same treatment that she and her family received. She added that African people need to remember to show compassion and be sensitive to other people’s pain.

“Maybe people just don’t understand the pain of being bereaved. You never want to wish that kind of pain on anybody or on any mother. As Africans, we must just take a step back and remember to respect and be sensitive to the pain that other people are going through,” she said.

Florence’s 18-month-old son Masakona drowned at their house in Bramley in 2015.