I would like to take a moment to thank friends and family for their support in the difficult time my family and I have faced. We could not have been strong without you. A MASSIVE thank you to the HUNDREDS of randoms who found me on social media and reached out to me to make sure my family and I were safe, giving us their wishes. I will forever be grateful and never forget you. I had heard of the ‘Apex Gang’ and their encounters in recent times; I thought they were really messed up, and got on with my life. I didn’t think too much of it until it happened to me, facing them UNINVITED inside my home. I woke up yesterday morning at 5:20am to loud voices and banging. As I walked towards the noise, I was confronted by a dark skinned, black young boy less than one metre away from me. I froze and I couldn’t speak or move. I didn’t know what was happening. The boy pulled my mother’s phone off its charger, put it in his pocket and ran downstairs. This was the moment that shocked me and I realized my home was broken into. I followed the boy downstairs and saw the glass sliding door shattered to a million pieces on the floor and my parents surrounded by 3 other black men, armed with metal poles and rods in their hands. They screamed, “Give me the key, give me the key.” My father remained calm and said, “Take it and go. Take it.” In this time, the boys located some car keys close to where they were standing. They ran out the front door and got into the two cars they had found keys to. I ran upstairs to my bedroom and retrieved my phone to call the police. My little brother came out of his room and was confused at the commotion. I pulled him close to me and told him what happened. He, too, froze and lost emotion in his body. Phone to my ear calling the police, my family and I huddled and stood together as we watched our two cars being driven around the bend from the balcony window. The value of ‘life’ will never be taken for granted ever again. A short time after, Police, detectives, forensics, and the CIU taped up our home and labeled it as a crime scene. All day, I continuously told the same story to whoever called, messaged, or came to see me. They kept me busy with their questions, keeping my mind off my thoughts. It wasn’t until I went to bed that night, that it finally hit me. All alone in my bed and unsafe in my own home, I broke down into tears and cried for hours. I couldn’t get the image out of my head of coming downstairs and seeing my parents being threatened by these disgraceful, crime-addicted boys. I kept asking myself, ‘What the F*CK.” I didn’t care what they took. I cared about my family. I have other cars and can replace the cars and phone that were stolen, but I can never replace my family. The kids committing these crimes are young; they aren’t being punished adequately due to their age, giving them more self-confidence. These people don’t deserve the wonderful life this country provides us with. I want to know where their parents are? What are they raising? Our country does NOT need people like them. Not being racist, but I don’t believe such people are worthy of living in our absolutely wonderful, multi-cultural nation. Just like them, my parents are also immigrants. They have worked SO hard day and night to provide my siblings and I with the best education and life, making us the people we are today. We are successful and happy because we are law-abiding citizens who appreciate the quality of life and privileges Australia has given us. I can’t do much but I would like to express how I feel and spread awareness on this serious issue in society. I wish no one ever experiences what my family and I went through. It hurts and it has really traumatized us. I don’t know how to control my own thoughts, let alone be strong for my parents who were threatened, my younger brother who is suffering serious post traumatic stress as the criminals are his age and even younger, and my younger sister who lives interstate, worried sick she couldn’t be around to cuddle us and take some of the pain away. Please be careful and love your family to your best ability. Be the best human you can and thank you once again to everyone who showed they care. God bless you all ❤️ ~ Richa SIGN AND SHARE THE PETITION. Express your safety concerns to local member of parliament and police. Immediate actions to be taken to ensure our families are feeling safe and away from these nightmares.