IN THE TRADITION OF STORYTELLING~ OR MAYBE NOT SO TRADITIONAL, MY STORY BEGAN.
STREAMS OF RANDOM THOUGHT:
AS I BUMPED AND STUMBLED INTO THE CONCRETE WALLS OF LIFE MY BRUISES WERE NOT ALWAYS APPEAR ANT. SURFACING ONLY TO NOTIFY OTHERS OF MY BLINDNESS.
FALLING, OFTEN, INTO THE PIT-HOLES WHICH WERE COVERED WITH THE FALSE AND UN STURDY GROUND OF LIES...
THE ROAD MAPS WERE ILLEGIBLE AND THE DIRECTIONS MISLEADING.... AND I SERIOUSLY WONDERED WHY I WAS CONSISTENTLY LOST AND NO RESCUE COULD REACH ME. TURNING LEFT AND RIGHT WERE NOT OPTIONS.
THE COBBLE-STONED LANE ST REACHED AS FAR AS I COULD IMAGINE, DUE TO MY LACK OF SIGHT AND FORESIGHT, I SLIPPED ON THEM. HEAVY AND MISTY WAS MY WORLD AND SLIPPERY WAS MY JOURNEY.
THE EMPTINESS OF SILENCE GRIPPED MY EARS AND RODE MY SOUL, AS A FIERY BEAST, TO HELL. IN THAT SILENCE, I FOUND NO MUSIC TO FOLLOW OR SOOTH ME.
LABORED WAS MY BREATHING. MY SKIN LONGED FOR THE RELIEVING TOUCH OF HOPES BREEZE, TO NO AVAIL.... STALE WAS THE AIR OF MY WORLD.
SOMEWHERE ALONG MY JOURNEY , IN THE MIDST OF THE DARKNESS AND LIES SEEDS WERE PLANTED IN THE SOIL OF UNCERTAINTY... SO I BECAME A FEEBLE HORTICULTURALIST, TENDING TO THE VESSELS CONTAINING THESE SEEDS. LEARNING TO REAP AS I WENT ALONG.
SOMEHOW IN MY DARKNESS ALONG THE SIDES OF THAT COBBLE-STONE LANE, SHADOWS OF TREES, IN ALL OF THEIR OMINOUS SHAPES, CAME INTO MY VIEW. FEAR GRIPPED MY HEART AND SQUEEZED MY BLOOD, COLD THROUGH MY VEINS. INDESCRIBABLE WAS MY FEAR
SO, I LUMBERED THROUGH THE DARKNESS CARING THE POTS WHICH CARRIED THE SEEDS WHICH CARRIED MY HOPE OF LIFE. FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD WHEN THE JOURNEY HAD WORN OUT MY LEGS AND MY BACK ACHED AND MY ARMS WERE AS LEAD. I CRAWLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND GAVE THE MUDDIED EARTH MY POTTED SEEDS.
MY TEARS ANCHORED THEM IN PLACE. MY BODY SHIELDED THEM FROM THE COLD AND MIST. MY BREATH BECAME THEIR BREEZE OF COMFORT AND THEY GREW. THEY GREW TOWARD THE BLACK SKY.
WHEN THE FIRST SEED TOOK ITS SHAPE I REALIZED IT WAS AN OAK. STRONG AND STABLE. IT PIERCED THROUGH THE OMINOUS VEIL OF DARKNESS.
WHILE I SAT THERE ON THE COLD EARTH, I NOTICED THE SECOND TAKING SHAPE AND ALTHOUGH I DID NOT RECOGNIZE IT BY SIGHT ITS SMELL WAS A COMFORT LIKE I HAD NEVER KNOWN. IT GREW FROM SHEER COURAGE.... CEDAR. SOLID AND PROTECTING. IT TOO PIERCED THE SKY. ITS BRANCHES BEGAN TO INTERTWINE WITH THE FIRST.
THE NEXT TREE WAS IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED... AN ELM. WISE AND SURE. IT FOLLOWED SUIT AND MERGED ITS BRANCHES WITH THE OTHER TWO. WHEN I LOOKED UP I SAW THAT THE THREE FORMED A CANOPY OVER ME. COLLECTIVELY THEY SPREAD THEMSELVES THROUGH THE SKY REPELLING THE MIST AND ALLOWING THE COBBLE-STONE AND MUDDIED EARTH TO DRY. OPENING THE SKY TO REVEAL HEAVEN AND ITS RAYS OF LIGHT.
I STRUGGLED TO PULL MYSELF FROM THE GROUND AND THEY LENT ME THEIR ROOTS AND NUBBY BARK ON WHICH TO PULL AND BALANCE MY WEIGHT. WHEN I HAD RISEN STILL WORN AND NURSING AN EMPTY SPIRIT THEY YIELDED THE FRUIT OF MY SOUL AND REPLENISHED ME.
WITH THE NEW FOUND LIGHT I WAS ABLE TO SEE, SURROUNDING ME, THE SHOOTS OF NEW TREES WHICH ARE WAITING TO TAKE SHAPE AND GROW AROUND ME WAITING TO COMPLETE THE BUILDING OF THE NEW WORLD WHICH MY JOURNEYS STRUGGLES HAVE MADE ME DESERVING.
MY STORY CONTINUES...
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
TO MY siSTARS AND KINDRED I BRING YOU GREETINGS AND THE BLESSINGS OF THE MOST HIGH~
I HAVE BEEN, INTENTIONALLY, SILENT THESE PAST FEW MONTHS, WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO INSPIRE ME, MOTIVATE ME, BACK TO THE THE TOPICS AND ISSUES WHICH ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO ME..... TO US....
IN THIS ABSENCE, I HAVE FOUND THAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING UN-NECESSARILY. THE, HONEST, TRUTH IS, THE VERY THINGS WHICH DRIVE ME/ENRAGE ME/ FUEL MY PASSIONS, ARE ALL AROUND ME. THERE ARE DAILY REMINDERS OF THE ATROCITIES BEFALLING WOMEN. THERE HAS BEEN NO NEED FOR MY SILENCE/ ABSENCE, ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT I FOUND MYSELF IN A PLACE OF HELPLESSNESS. I MUST SAY I FOUND MYSELF IN A PLACE OF SELF PITTY. IN THE WORLD, IN WHICH I RESIDE, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO ROOM FOR THAT MINDST. FOR MY SILENCE, MY INABILITY TO FIND THE STRENGTH IN MY OWN VOICE, I AM DEEPLY SORRY...
WE (AS WOMEN) MUST DIG DEEPER AND DRAW FROM WELLS OF STRENGH, WHICH WE BELIEVED HAD BEEN DEPLETED, IN ORDER TO CREATE ENVIORNMENTS WHICH WILL SUSTAIN, NOT ONLY OURSELVES BUT OUR DAUGHTERS AND ENDOW THEM WITH ENTITLEMENTS WHICH DO NOT MAKE THEM (OR THEIR WOMBS) COMMODITIES. WE, HAVE ENDURED THE TOURTURES AND BORN THE BRUNT OF HISTORYS RESENTMENTS. WE HAVE GROWN IN THE HOPE OF THE PRESENTS WORK. NOW, WE MUST CELEBRATE IN THE LIGHT OF THE FUTURES PROMISE. WE MUST WORK, LIVE AND LOVE HARDER THAN EVER IMAGINED, IF WE ARE TO GIVE BIRTH TO AND NURTURE THE HOPE WHICH WAS BESTOWED UPON US AT OUR CREATION.
IT IS MY MOST SINCERE AMBITION TO CREATE A SPACE IN OUR LIVES (BEGINNING WTH ME) WHERE BY WE CAN FIND THE MEETING GROUND AND BUILD A NETWORK OF STRENGTH FROM WHICH TO BEGIN THIS JOURNEY....
NUT MA'AT ATEN
I HAVE BEEN, INTENTIONALLY, SILENT THESE PAST FEW MONTHS, WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO INSPIRE ME, MOTIVATE ME, BACK TO THE THE TOPICS AND ISSUES WHICH ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO ME..... TO US....
IN THIS ABSENCE, I HAVE FOUND THAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING UN-NECESSARILY. THE, HONEST, TRUTH IS, THE VERY THINGS WHICH DRIVE ME/ENRAGE ME/ FUEL MY PASSIONS, ARE ALL AROUND ME. THERE ARE DAILY REMINDERS OF THE ATROCITIES BEFALLING WOMEN. THERE HAS BEEN NO NEED FOR MY SILENCE/ ABSENCE, ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT I FOUND MYSELF IN A PLACE OF HELPLESSNESS. I MUST SAY I FOUND MYSELF IN A PLACE OF SELF PITTY. IN THE WORLD, IN WHICH I RESIDE, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO ROOM FOR THAT MINDST. FOR MY SILENCE, MY INABILITY TO FIND THE STRENGTH IN MY OWN VOICE, I AM DEEPLY SORRY...
WE (AS WOMEN) MUST DIG DEEPER AND DRAW FROM WELLS OF STRENGH, WHICH WE BELIEVED HAD BEEN DEPLETED, IN ORDER TO CREATE ENVIORNMENTS WHICH WILL SUSTAIN, NOT ONLY OURSELVES BUT OUR DAUGHTERS AND ENDOW THEM WITH ENTITLEMENTS WHICH DO NOT MAKE THEM (OR THEIR WOMBS) COMMODITIES. WE, HAVE ENDURED THE TOURTURES AND BORN THE BRUNT OF HISTORYS RESENTMENTS. WE HAVE GROWN IN THE HOPE OF THE PRESENTS WORK. NOW, WE MUST CELEBRATE IN THE LIGHT OF THE FUTURES PROMISE. WE MUST WORK, LIVE AND LOVE HARDER THAN EVER IMAGINED, IF WE ARE TO GIVE BIRTH TO AND NURTURE THE HOPE WHICH WAS BESTOWED UPON US AT OUR CREATION.
IT IS MY MOST SINCERE AMBITION TO CREATE A SPACE IN OUR LIVES (BEGINNING WTH ME) WHERE BY WE CAN FIND THE MEETING GROUND AND BUILD A NETWORK OF STRENGTH FROM WHICH TO BEGIN THIS JOURNEY....
NUT MA'AT ATEN
Monday, January 4, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Friday, March 6, 2009
Sex Workers In Soiuth Africa....
By Karen Breytenbach
The Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat) has asked the Cape High Court to order the South African Police Service and Cape Town Metro Police to stop its "continued unlawful, wrongful and arbitrary arrests" of sex workers for ulterior purposes such as harassment or sexual favours. Arguing before Judge Burton Fourie yesterday, Wim Trengove, SC, for Sweat, said sex workers had been arrested on charges that had nothing to do with prostitution, such as loitering or traffic violations, for the purposes of punishment, harassment or exploitation. Sex workers were often locked up overnight, in large numbers, and released without being charged or prosecuted, without dockets opened or statements taken, he said.
Trengove said police officers had to be interdicted from making arrests when they knew full well that the arrests would not lead to prosecution. Commenting on the police's point that seeking the interdict was pointless, because they knew they could not arrest unlawfully, Trengove said courts have long issued interdicts to prevent illegal conduct in order to let guilty parties know the "spotlight of the law was on them". An example of this was the prevention of domestic violence. The SAPS and the Metro Police denied the allegations and said Sweat had failed to show the court any evidence of their alleged wrongdoing. Ishmail Jamie, SC, for the police, said Sweat had failed to show that the police had ulterior motives in the examples of arrests they relied on.Even if the court found ulterior motives, an interdict was not the answer. He said the National Prosecuting Authority should have been joined if the issue of non-prosecution was to be addressed. Ashton Schippers, SC, for the city, said once Metro Police officers arrested someone and delivered them to a police station, the case and period of detention were out of their hands. He said Sweat's allegations were vague and they failed to demonstrate what was at the heart of their case: that the force consistently unlawfully arrested sex workers. He said Sweat's past complaints have been dealt with in internal investigations, and no evidence of misconduct was found. Schippers said an interdict would have a "chilling effect on the fight against crime, because it would intimidate (police officers) into not making arrests". This would cause them to "fail in their duty to prevent crime". Trengove, in reply, said the argument about non-prosecution should not be misunderstood: sex workers were not calling for prosecution. "They are not asking for immunity from arrest. What they demand is to be afforded the same respect and dignity as everybody else, including the most powerful in society. They are entitled not to be rounded up as though they are contaminating the streets."Trengove said there was no merit in the argument that the interdict sought would inhibit the fight against crime."There is no greater threat to the fight against crime and the rule of law than police officers who take the law into their own hands, because they are frustrated about the state's unwillingness to prosecute."Judgment was reserved.
This article was originally published on page 6 of Cape Times on March 06, 2009
The Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat) has asked the Cape High Court to order the South African Police Service and Cape Town Metro Police to stop its "continued unlawful, wrongful and arbitrary arrests" of sex workers for ulterior purposes such as harassment or sexual favours. Arguing before Judge Burton Fourie yesterday, Wim Trengove, SC, for Sweat, said sex workers had been arrested on charges that had nothing to do with prostitution, such as loitering or traffic violations, for the purposes of punishment, harassment or exploitation. Sex workers were often locked up overnight, in large numbers, and released without being charged or prosecuted, without dockets opened or statements taken, he said.
Trengove said police officers had to be interdicted from making arrests when they knew full well that the arrests would not lead to prosecution. Commenting on the police's point that seeking the interdict was pointless, because they knew they could not arrest unlawfully, Trengove said courts have long issued interdicts to prevent illegal conduct in order to let guilty parties know the "spotlight of the law was on them". An example of this was the prevention of domestic violence. The SAPS and the Metro Police denied the allegations and said Sweat had failed to show the court any evidence of their alleged wrongdoing. Ishmail Jamie, SC, for the police, said Sweat had failed to show that the police had ulterior motives in the examples of arrests they relied on.Even if the court found ulterior motives, an interdict was not the answer. He said the National Prosecuting Authority should have been joined if the issue of non-prosecution was to be addressed. Ashton Schippers, SC, for the city, said once Metro Police officers arrested someone and delivered them to a police station, the case and period of detention were out of their hands. He said Sweat's allegations were vague and they failed to demonstrate what was at the heart of their case: that the force consistently unlawfully arrested sex workers. He said Sweat's past complaints have been dealt with in internal investigations, and no evidence of misconduct was found. Schippers said an interdict would have a "chilling effect on the fight against crime, because it would intimidate (police officers) into not making arrests". This would cause them to "fail in their duty to prevent crime". Trengove, in reply, said the argument about non-prosecution should not be misunderstood: sex workers were not calling for prosecution. "They are not asking for immunity from arrest. What they demand is to be afforded the same respect and dignity as everybody else, including the most powerful in society. They are entitled not to be rounded up as though they are contaminating the streets."Trengove said there was no merit in the argument that the interdict sought would inhibit the fight against crime."There is no greater threat to the fight against crime and the rule of law than police officers who take the law into their own hands, because they are frustrated about the state's unwillingness to prosecute."Judgment was reserved.
This article was originally published on page 6 of Cape Times on March 06, 2009
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