It's one thing to be learning about the atrocities from history and reading it on the current news. Children being raped, Women being raped, Slavery, Torture... It breaks my heart. I feel guilty for the luxuries I have had the fortune of experiencing while there are women out there who have been indoctrinated into a society where suddenly the notion of being raped by and man, getting pregnant, and have him leave you, being... normal. It is just utterly ridiculous and maddening.
' Another woman tells us she had to flee to Guinea during the war along with her daughter. "She was clever. We are Muslims and she went to Arabic school in Guinea. The imam said he'd help her but in fact he raped her. She was 16. So then she had this boy," she says, nodding towards a shy child in the doorway. "I was so angry I went to the authorities, but the man ran away," she says. "A lot of things happened to us as women. We can't tell them all." '
- An extract from http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/aug/02/liberia-women-rape
- An extract from http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/aug/02/liberia-women-rape
' When the police arrived, the girl's mother told them to take her daughter away and not bring her back because she brought shame on the family by saying she was raped.
"Nothing has happened to my daughter. Nobody has touched my daughter," said the mother who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of her daughter.
The child's older sister said she only has herself to blame.
"I said to her: It's not good for you to be following guys because you're still little," she said. "She always bring trouble." ' - From an article about a rape of an 8 year-old in Arizona ,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/31/liberian-arizona-rape-immigration
It's awful. Just plain awful.
... that sheer thought of never-ending suffering for them, it's no longer just pity, I feel anguish and anger. I feel hopeless. It's sad to grow up and realise just how bloody messed up the world has been and how there are still so many voices that are unheard of; alone & in pain. I shudder at the very thought of it all.
The blood shed, the screams, the tears, and the broken spirits, I really don't know how else to express the turmoil of emotions that I'm experiencing right now; I just hope one day I'll be able to, to reach out my hand and to comfort and to love. To give them what I can so that life isn't just a nightmare. To understand and be sensitive to it all. To let them know what an impact, and what respect I have for them.... My problems and worries don't seem to be of such importance anymore.
It just makes me want to make my mark more than ever, become a voice, make a difference.
Tonight, I found myself being moved in more ways than one.
I was hurt & lost and in an attempt to find a distraction,
I found inspiration.
I have found new courage and reason to work harder.
I am dead-set on making it out there.
I WILL become a voice,
Create change to work towards a better world...
... and I will work my ass off to get there.
Much love always,
kim.