The story of a girl

Hello again CRISPAZ family!

I want to share with you one truly amazing thing that happened recently.

In a workshop on self-esteem, my women’s group in San Rafael opened up to tell personal stories of violence. In a group activity to create a story, either real or based on real events, one woman told us about her personal experience and how it has affected her. Here is her story, titled “Story of a girl that was raped,” translated into English.

“One day, Margarita went to work really excited because it was payday. When she was walking down the path, she was distracted because it was late. When suddenly, an armed man came out of the bushes, stopped her and told her to take off her clothes. Heartbroken, Margarita started crying, but no one heard her because it was in the middle of nowhere and hardly anyone passed by there. So, the man sexually assaulted her, and then left Margarita crying and desperate. She got home and told her mom what had happened. They decided to tell the police, but since she didn't know the man and there wasn't a witness, they couldn't help at all. Due to this situation, Margarita was left pregnant. She had been abused and didn't want to keep her baby. She cried bitterly without being consoled, but her parents supported her and she moved forward and had her son. Today, she loves him and values him, but never forgets this bad experience.”

Now, although the events in this story don’t seem wonderful at all, like I may have led you to believe, it shows that these women are beginning to trust and confide in their community members (and me)! It shows that through difficult situations, they can overcome, and they have. Little by little, telling stories like these will help them to heal and build confianza within their community, so that if something like this ever happens again, the community will rally behind that individual and support her. And THIS is amazing!

I will close by saying that stories like these are not uncommon, even today, and although I wish I could eliminate violence, I can’t. I can, however, empower women in Suchitoto to have confidence in themselves and their community and to know that they are not the only ones carrying these heavy stories, they are not alone. 

Emily Engel  CRISPAZ LTV