Disturbing news

I have recently been bothered by the many tales that have shocked me and bathed me with sorrow. As some of the tales hit me between the eyes, I blink back the tears of the mournful, the sorrowing, as sadness envelopes me and leaves me stranded.

I have searched deep and wide for the reasons one person is more charitable than another, why the plot to commit evil abounds and how kindness is often paid back with wickedness. We are all a chant away from being of help. We walk past a hungry child, a sorrowing friend, a poor neighbour and a broken soul. It’s amazing how determined we are to exterminate another, falsely accuse another and choose to detonate the truth whenever we find it. What exactly is the definition of wickedness? Is it when you bury a man so you can stand or is it when you try to kill a helpless child?

A couple  of days ago, the Trust Newspapers published on its front page a twenty one month old boy whose two step mothers had broken both his legs and arms. I can’t even wish this on my worst enemy. Let’s take a look at the story

The father of this boy, Musa, divorced his third wife who left her little boy behind. The baby was handed over to Zainab, the first wife who together with the second wife Hafsatu attempted to commit murder. I have wondered over this story and have many questions. Let me share.

What benefit would they derive from the broken leg and arm of a 21 month old child? What is their prize if they had killed him?

My third question therefore is; should this boy be like the biblical Joseph who was sold by his brothers and then became King? What would happen to these two step mothers?

Could the police please give us a sneak preview of these women’s confessional statements so we can know why they did what they did?

Can someone please avail us of the instrument of torture? What did they use-a knife, a club?

What could he have ever done to deserve such wickedness? He is only 21 months old.

This is not me speaking. This is my anger speaking. I am totally outraged. Here then is my final question-parental advisory required here please- Is it possible to put these women through an equal amount of torture just for a week? I am following this story closely. It certainly looks like something from a sixteenth century torture chamber.

As disturbing news goes, rape continues to occupy the world’s media everywhere you turn. Stop press. Brazil! The story is stronger than fiction.

“With less than two months to go before the world’s top athletes and hundreds of thousands of sport lovers head to Rio de Janeiro for Olympics 2016, the city’s image has taken a severe beating with a gang-rape of a 16-year-old girl by more than 30 men in an impoverished favela (slum) of the city. The girl’s nightmare began last Friday night when she went to stay at her boyfriend’s house on the western fringe of the city. She woke up on Sunday morning and found herself surrounded by 33 men, many of them carrying pistols and rifles.

The case, which has sent shock waves across the biggest South American country, came to light this Wednesday after more than 800 people contacted a hotline in the state public prosecutor’s office to report about certain tweets in which a couple of men were bragging about assaulting a girl. Filled with obscene description of her body, the tweets had photos and videos of the girl, who is apparently drugged, naked and struggling to regain consciousness.

As the victim now undergoes treatment and counselling at the hospital, her poor family is completely devastated. “They messed up my daughter. They almost killed her. I am in pain. She is traumatized,” the 16-year-old’s father told local media. The girl’s grandmother too spoke to a local radio station, saying the girl suffered a blackout during the assault. “The video is shocking. I watched it. She’s completely off,” the grandmother told the radio.

After a massive outcry against the crime, the police have detained four persons, including her 20-year-old boyfriend who is suspected of direct participation in the crime.

Relationship advice to all teenagers worldwide-

It is possible now more than ever before that that boyfriend of yours is the enemy. The 20 year old boyfriend of this Brazilian girl set her up to be raped by his friends, 33 of them.

Returning to the advice-

At 16, you really should be studying your books. Trust me I am a woman who is over 50 and I still cannot understand boys/men. At 16, you are too young to understand anything.

Never go anywhere with anyone that you find suspicious.

Watch your drink, it may be spiked.

Make friends only with your family for now, and even then, if you don’t trust one uncle, never go anywhere alone with him, because that uncle can set you up.

These stories are all very disturbing and I am truly sorry but it shows increasingly that man has not fully evolved from his stone-age days.

Let us pray!

 

Eugenia Abu