Rape Surges Amid Anarchy in Liberia
|
|
||
|
By ALEXANDRA ZAVIS
Associated Press Writer
August 9, 2003, 12:45 PM EDT
MONROVIA,
Liberia -- Clutching her daughter's photograph to her breast, Rebecca throws
back her head and wails. Gunmen burst into her home and raped the child on her
10th birthday, leaving her lying in a pool of blood and vomit -- dead.
Every time fighting surges in Liberia, women are raped, aid workers say. But
this time, the scale is incalculable. Wild-eyed men are going door to door,
ransacking homes, beating and killing people, and raping any women -- or girls
-- they find.
Both sides in the battle are implicated -- the fighters of warlord President
Charles Taylor, as well as the rebels trying to overthrow him. Women used to be
most at risk fleeing through the bush, aid workers say. Now they are not safe
in their homes either.
"Those people are not human beings," sobs Rebecca, now sheltering in
a friend's yard. She, like other victims, doesn't want her surname published
for fear of reprisals.
July 20 began with Rebecca, 42, waking the sleeping child with a chorus of
"Happy Birthday." She gathered her son and a friend's 14-year-old
girl with them for Sunday prayers.
Then government fighters pounded at the gate.
A young man smashed Rebecca's head with a hammer and tore off her clothes,
while her 10-year-old clung to her, crying "Mommy! Mommy!" When the
man realized Rebecca was menstruating, he kicked her.
Another fighter, who called himself Black Dog, ripped the child from her mother
and threw her to the floor.
"When he got through with her, I saw blood, I saw vomit, I saw
toilet," Rebecca says, moaning rhythmically. "He raped her to
death."
As her daughter lay on the floor, another man grabbed the 14-year-old and raped
her, too.
"He was holding me," whispers the child, sitting bolt upright, knees
pressed together and hands twisting in her lap. "I was fighting, kicking
him."
Rape has always gone hand in hand with war in Liberia, where Taylor's first
grab for power in 1989 ushered in nearly 14 years of strife.
"Every time there is an incursion going on, it is the same thing,"
says Miatta Roberts, a counselor with the Liberian-run Concerned Christian Community
-- the only group remaining here that works with rape survivors. "When
there is war going on, no woman is safe."
Figures are impossible to track, because most victims are either cut off by
fighting or feel too humiliated to seek help. But the few counselors left after
international aid groups pulled out foreign staff say they've never seen so
many cases.
"It's more rampant than ever before," said Mariama Brown, the group's
founding director.
The attacks are usually linked to looting sprees by drunk, drugged and
disaffected fighters. Many feel abandoned since Taylor bowed to mounting
international pressure and pledged to hand over power, so they have launched
what they call "Operation Pay Yourself."
With no functioning court system at the moment, they act with impunity.
Some 1,500 women participate in the Christian group's trauma programs at a
teeming refugee camp in an athletics stadium. Of these, 626 have been raped.
In better times, the group gave the women food, clothing, medical treatment and
skills training. Now they can do little more than provide a safe haven and keep
them busy. The women play games together in a bamboo and tarpaulin enclosure
and sing traditional songs to remind them of home.
Joining a circle of clapping, singing women, 20-year-old Alice breaks into a
rare smile.
Three years ago, she was gang-raped in front of her whole family as they fled
through the bush ahead of a rebel advance. Last month, pro-Taylor militia
fighters caught up with her on the outskirts of Monrovia, pulling her from a
group of refugees huddled in an abandoned home.
The repeated rapes have shattered her dreams of marriage and children.
"I feel shame before men," she says. "No one approaches me
now."
Violence against women is as widespread in rebel-held areas, aid workers say.
While fleeing the insurgents' latest advance, Kula's family stumbled into a
rebel ambush. Her husband, mother, aunt and brother were killed on the spot.
When she finally reached a refugee camp outside Monrovia, she thought she was
safe. But soon the rebels were back, moving from hut to hut in search of women.
"They shared us among themselves," says Kula, who is 47 but looks
much older. "Everyone was crying."
Four days later it happened again. Rebels with stockings over their faces burst
into the house where she was sheltering and grabbed all the women.
Two fighters raped Kula this time, one of them so young he could barely hold up
his machine gun -- no older than 10, she guesses.
"I think the women who can say they haven't been raped are very few,"
she says sorrowfully. "It pains my heart."
As for Rebecca, the fighters stripped her house and even took the family album.
Rebecca has only one picture left of her daughter, taken when she was 11 months
old -- a solemn child with bright bows in her hair, standing unsteadily with
the help of a piece of furniture.
Falling to her knees, Rebecca sobs: "Just kill me. I want to die."
Copyright
© 2003, The Associated Press
Some things
about the black apes never change:
What was he
thinking? Did he think that this fine (white) 19 year old girl, from a fine
family, whose life has been traumatized forever by this insidious act, was some
"black hoe" from LA or sub-saharan africa where such would greeted
with a "Reginald-Denny-like thank you for the violence, I know you're just
a black ape that was born that way"?
Click here http://peia.250free.com/americananimals.htm.
Or did he think that his brutal act was less in magnitude than the brutal rape
and murder of that little girl, who struggled to her last breath at the
hands of alejandro avillar?Click here http://albertlpeia.owns1.com
I think not. Lest you desire the same for yourself, family, and friends, the
time is now to support the State of Colorado, the victim and her family,
and thwart the "clintonian-california- american" effect and send a
message indicative of a will to survive by sending "media
fraud" (I personally don't watch zulu apes jumping around on a
hard-wood floor)
and
criminal, kobe bean bryant to jail.
Parenthetically,
I would not have been surprised if the uncivilized ape bryant had sought
hillbilly clinton (whoops, hillbilly was suspended for perjury, but should have
been convicted for many crimes including sexual assault, rape, etc. - an
unconflicted pathological liar and psycopath) who also should be in
jail. Or might he call upon
"johnny-the-ape-play-the-race-card-cochran" as in the city of apes(LA) where
the guilty murderer, oj the ape, with the help of disbarred liar francis
lee bailey, among others, walked free. Not surprising in the
mismanaged state of california which "sports" the worst
leadership in the nation; viz., davis, feinstein, and boxer, clintonian
hypocrites all, and which pander to the
clintonian "bryant/simpson/avillar" voting blocks to perpetuate
their incompetent reigns, but to their financial benefit and california's
financial ruin.
I
feel confident that the beautiful and desirable State of
Colorado will not countenance uncivilized beastiality, will convict and
jail the los(t) angeles product bryant, and show the world that the
civilized will not sucumb to the uncivilized.
Kobe
Bryant, with attorney Pamela Mackey at his side, makes his first court
appearance in his sexual assault case. (ABCNEWS.com)
Cheers Amid
New Details
Kobe
Bryant Makes First Court Appearance; Details About Alleged Tearing
Aug.
6
Kobe Bryant made his first court appearance in his sexual assault case today,
as ABCNEWS was told that examiners found evidence the NBA superstar's accuser
had "vaginal tearing."
Bryant, 24, is accused of sexual assault for allegedly raping a
19-year-old woman who worked at an exclusive resort where he stayed while he
was in Colorado for knee surgery in late June. The Los Angeles Lakers guard,
who is married and has an infant daughter, has admitted committing adultery
with the woman but insists the sex was consensual. Today, Bryant, dressed in a beige suit, was greeted by a few cheers as he
entered the front of the Eagle County, Colo., Courthouse for the procedural
hearing Judge Frederick Gannett ordered him to attend. Bryant's wife,
Vanessa, was not with him. Pamela Mackey, Bryant's attorney, waived the formal advisement of the
sexual assault charge he faces. Bryant sat quietly with his hands folded
during the hearing, which lasted approximately seven minutes. He was not
required to and did not enter a plea. Gannett scheduled a preliminary hearing for Oct. 9. Asked whether he
objected to the scheduling of the hearing, Bryant said, "No, sir." The judge also said he would appoint a special investigator to look into
leaks to the media about the case. Bryant was cheered again as he and his lawyer left the courthouse and
entered his waiting sport utility vehicle. Sources:
Woman Says She Tried to Leave Room Bryant's appearance today came as ABCNEWS was
told examiners found evidence that the alleged victim had vaginal tearing.
Prosecutors could argue that this is not consistent with consensual sex,
legal analysts say. But the defense could rebut this in several ways,
including that vaginal tearing could be sustained during consensual sex, or
was not incurred during sex with Bryant. Several sources familiar with the case also
told ABCNEWS the accuser has alleged that she tried to leave Bryant's hotel
room and he blocked the door. The sources said that the sheriff's original
arrest warrant included a misdemeanor claim of false imprisonment. The prosecutor did not ultimately include a
false imprisonment claim in the charging document. One reason may be that
prosecutors prefer not to give the jury the option of finding guilt on a
lesser offense as a way of compromising. That does not mean that prosecutors cannot
include the allegation at trial. PR Struggle Despite the cheers outside the courthouse,
Bryant's public relations struggle will continue after the hearing, as he
faces the question of how to appear innocent without appearing callous or
unconcerned, or worse guilty. "It's kind of a Catch-22," defense
attorney Chris Pixley told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America. "After
today's hearing, if Kobe Bryant is holed up by his defense team, then the
suggestion is made by the media that he's hiding behind his attorneys or that
worse, he may be showing signs of guilt or that he's guilt-ridden. "The flip side is when he's out in the
media or out in public as he has been recently, there are a lot of attacks
made against him for maybe being cavalier about the charges against
him," Pixley said. "It's a lose-lose. At the end of the day, you
can't tell your client they can't go about their life. This is someone who is
a celebrity. He's going to be followed whenever he's out." He Said, She Said Bryant met his alleged victim on June 30,
when he stayed at Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in Edwards, Colo. He flew
back to Colorado to turn himself in to authorities for his arrest on July 4 and
was freed after posting $25,000 bond. The woman was allegedly attacked after she
gave Bryant a tour of the facility's hotel and spa, sources have told
ABCNEWS. The tour ended at Bryant's room, sources say, where he allegedly
invited her to come inside and she accepted. According to the sources, there
was some consensual contact between Bryant and his accuser, but the woman
says she did not consent to intercourse. Under Colorado law, a rape can still occur if
the victim consents to some sexual activity, but later withdraws her consent
or refuses to give consent to other sexual activity, including intercourse.
Bryant faces probation to life in prison if convicted on the single felony
count. Some courtroom observers have said they do
not expect a plea bargain in the case. If Bryant pleaded guilty to a lesser
count, he would have to register as a convicted sex offender. "From the prosecution point of view, you
don't really plead those cases down or plead them anyway," Court TV
reporter Vinnie Politan told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America on Tuesday.
"From the defendant's point of view, any sort of admission to doing
anything wrong here is just suicide for him." Weary of But Cashing In on the Media Glare
Authorities at the Eagle County Courthouse
had been preparing for days for the media onslaught accompanying Bryant's
first court appearance. Prosecutors received threats after Bryant was
charged, prompting court officials to post sheriff's deputies around the
courthouse today. Seats in the small courtroom had to be assigned to certain
members of the press and a tent was set up outside the courthouse to
accommodate the overflow of reporters. Residents of Eagle reportedly have grown
weary of the media focus on their small town. But that hasn't stopped them
from trying to cash in the spotlight. Hundreds of reporters and dozens of satellite
trucks were in town for today's hearing. Hotels and restaurants were fully
booked. Several signs advertising temporary office space were posted, and
children were seen selling cold drinks and snacks around town. A sign posted
outside a local pharmacy said, "Nothing to Say, Lots to Sell." NBA star
facing sex assault counts in
Some things about the black apes never
change:
By ALEXANDRA ZAVIS MONROVIA, Liberia -- Clutching her daughter's photograph
to her breast, Rebecca throws back her head and wails. Gunmen burst into her
home and raped the child on her 10th birthday, leaving her lying in a pool of
blood and vomit -- dead. Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press |
