Tag Archive: survivor

1. Facing facts and living life: A brief profile of a Colombian soldier and landmine survivor

   September 14, 2009 8:14 pm 1 Comment

   During patrol for the Colombian military, James took a step which would alter his life forever; onto a mine so deafening he could only hear a high pitched peal.  As the smoke cleared, James looked down at the splintered bone and mangled muscle of his right leg. In disbelief,  James began to laugh.

   Was it this incredulity that led him to learn how to walk with a prosthesis faster than any of his peers in rehabilitation?  That seems paradoxical.  James himself can’t really describe what made him get out of bed and start practicing walking day and night.  “It was a very long process learning how to walk with a prosthesis.  I don’t know what made me get up and do it.  Yo tenía ganas,” he said.  “I just felt like it.”

   Leaving the military rehabilitation facility in Bogotá, he was very self-conscious of his new limb.  He would hear people in the street say, “pobrecito” or “poor guy” and he couldn’t stand it.  He’s learned to overcome that as well.  On Sundays in Bogotá, the busiest street-Avenida Séptima- is shut down for pedestrians and cyclists only.  These days, James dons a pair of shorts and he and his wife ride up and down Séptima assuredly.  “I just don’t care anymore” James explains, referring to other’s thoughts on his prosthesis.

   At 21 years old, James has shown great resilience in the two years since that life-changing encounter with the landmine.  His motivation to study and move on, along with the support he receives from Fundación ArcÁngeles’ job development department, will help James go far.  Hopefully James’ resilience rubbed off in the rehabilitation center or on Avenida Séptima because it’s inspiring how James has faced facts and chosen life so fast and so young.

2. “I have been silent too long now”

   August 24, 2009 1:30 am Leave a Comment

   A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview Julien, a 30-year-old survivor of an abusive relationship.  I have deliberately chosen to use her story as my last substantial blog post, for two reasons.  First, because it is the most direct profile that I have been able to put together.  I have interviewed several professionals that work with victims and survivors of domestic violence, and two people who lost loved ones to domestic abuse, but Julien is the only person I have interviewed who actually went through the abuse herself.  And more importantly, because I think it is the most hopeful interview I have done.  I think it’s almost miraculous that the person who has had the most direct experience with domestic violence is also the most hopeful and positive about not only her future, but the future of all those who suffer this kind of violence.

   Julien was married in her early twenties.  Unbeknownst to her, her new husband was already married, and had never divorced his first wife.  He started abusing her when she found out that their marriage was not actually legal (polygamy is illegal in Namibia, despite the fact that some tribes practice it traditionally).  He beats her and often threatens to kill her.  He has a gun which he sometimes points at her.  He does all this in front of their two sons, who are only 4 and 5 years old.  In this video, Julien tells us about one instance in which he used the gun to frighten her:

   httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U1hoodT6uc

   She told me this story before I actually video-taped her, and she started giggling a little bit when she told me that after he brandished the gun at her by the side of the car, she started running, and he couldn’t catch up because he is “a little bit fat,” in her words.  I think that’s why she smiles when telling this part of the story in the video.  I loved that she could still laugh, could still find things funny, even while telling me this horrifying tale. She has an undeniable joie de vivre and enjoyment in life.  Talking with her, I found myself filled with admiration for her bravery, and also anger that someone would try to repress her joyful spirit the way her husband did.

   I got to interview her because she took her kids, left her husband and her home, and came to Windhoek to find help.  She is working with Rosa Namises (I profiled Rosa in a previous blog post) who is helping her to find a safe place to live and work through the legal side of things.  Julien has taken out a protection order with the police, and as she put it, knocking on every door that could possibly help her, because ultimately, she does believe that her husband will eventually try to kill her.  She was not at all shy about being photographed and video-taped, and immediately gave me permission to use her name, because:

   If there are women out there and they are are scared what their husbands are gonna do to them, if we don’t speak out no one is gonna hear us and know how we are suffering.  So really I’m willing to take a stand and make a change.  I might impact somebody else’s life, some other lady who cannot speak out.  So I’m willing to go that route.

   After I was done asking all my questions, I asked her if there was anything else she wanted to say.  She thought for a minute and then said this:

   httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4KJS_W6u5A&feature=channel

   I am so grateful that I got to meet Julien.  She reminds me that even after undergoing trauma, women can change their own lives for the better, and that they can even emerge with their spirits intact.

3. Survival Profiles – part III

   August 18, 2009 10:56 am Leave a Comment

   When you first meet Selena you notice the sparkle in her eyes, if you look a little closer you can see a girl wiser and more mature than most her age. In many ways Selena Romero is like any other 13 year old girl I’ve met. She likes to hang out with her friends, play basketball, listen to music and loves fashion. She always makes sure her earrings match her shirt and spends more than enough time fixing her long dark hair before school. What you don’t notice right away when you first meet Selena, is that she uses a prosthetic leg.

   

   Last year after complications from thrombosis (a severe blood clot), Selena lost her left leg. Doctors were forced to amputate above the knee after severe damage due to oxygen loss from the clot. She spent just over three months in the hospital recuperating and several months in physical therapy. After receiving continued peer support from Dimas Gonzalez, outreach worker for the Red de Sobrevivientes, she was determined to get back to life and finish the school year with her friends.

   Selena received a prosthetic leg from the Red de Sobrevivientes just four months ago. They say that children learn fast, they bounce back, they’re resilient. In Selena’s case nothing could be more true. She practiced for hours every day with her new prosthetic leg until she was strutting like a model on the catwalk. She doesn’t use her crutches anymore and hasn’t sat in a wheelchair since the day she received her prosthetic leg. She started playing basketball again with her friends, and two months ago she picked up her old rusty bike and re-taught herself to ride.

   “I fell a lot and scratched my arms,” she said, “but now its easy. I ride to school everyday and can still beat my little cousin in a race.”

   Selena will be in seventh grade this year. She is excited about going to middle school, her favorite subject is math, and she aspires to be a medical doctor one day. A typical teenage girl with a very special personality trait. Selena is a survivor. She took the trauma from her amputation and turned it into motivation