Hello
readers.
Thanks for your comments on my last
write up on rape. Rape is a deadly act that leaves its survivor empty and void.
I listened to the news reporting the dead bodies of two girls: ages 2 and 3
found in a dilapidated building. Reports showed these girls were strangled
after being raped. Also a formerly outgoing, bright,7-year old girl has been
forced to recede into a cocoon of extreme shyness after being raped four times;
and efforts to bring the culprit to justice has been futile.
The statistics
is alarming. In South Africa, older women of age 60 and above are being raped
every week. A community of these women was sent an outcry to the department of
police and community welfare. This is what they said “these men are young enough to be our sons and grandsons. They come in
drunk and high on drugs and rape us over and over again. We are too weak to
fight back, so we just do as they say each time. Please we need protection to
live the remainder of our days in peace before we join our ancestors.”
A 21 year
old lady approached my counseling group and asked for help. In a bid to
buttress her ongoing sessions, I decided to publish her story. I am going to
share it in segments and I would love productive comments along the way. Remember,
this website was designed for us to speak up and help in our own little ways. All
names and places have been changed to protect the identity of the characters.
P.S: I am
going to share the story in segments, because it is fairly long.
The beginning
Hi. My name
is Alexandra, I am 21 years old. I was born in Kenya, but I relocated to
southern Africa about eight years ago. I am the first child of my father, and
the only child of my mother. My parents were dating when I was born. Things
didn’t turn out the way they expected, and they never got married. The truth is
this: my father walked out of the relationship because he had chains of other
girls he was dating at the time which my mother got to know. My mother’s
education stopped at high school. She was working when she met my dad. She was
instrumental in the finance of my dad’s first degree in the university. Despite
all these, my father cheated on her, walked out on the two of us and blamed it
on my mother’s half education.
My mother practically slaved herself
to see me through high school. I had to take odd jobs during holidays to help
out. On one occasion when I was working as an on-call maid, to help my mother
raise money for my school fees; I was
raped by the man of that house. The man was too big for me to overpower,
because I am petite. He said if I told his wife or anyone, he would tell on me
that I seduced him. I was naïve and too young at the time to know what to
do. He overpaid me, and told me never to
come back again. I couldn’t tell my mother because I didn’t want to add to her
problems. I felt so worthless and empty on the inside. It was a gruesome act. I
had nightmares for a long time, as it replayed in my subconscious repeatedly. Because of this that had happened, i felt cursed. First, i grew up without a father, secondly, a man preyed on my innocence and took advantage of me. I hated men, and decided not to get close to any man for a long time. oh!! the pain i felt was beyond description. I dont wish it on any living being. i hated myself and wanted to give up on life, but I thought of my mother and all she had been through raising me single-handedly. i decided to move on with my life and become somebody in life.
My life has been a bittersweet one...
....to be continued
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