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Revolutions

Once a wise person pointed out to me that getting affected by an adverse situation in another's life is more a reflection of one's self rather than a reflection of the other. In other words, in such a situation it may not be a fact that the other person is as happy or sad as you think he/she is but it is a fact that you get affected by the situation you explained about the other person. So I have come to believe that if I get affected by another's 'plight' who I am trying to address is, actually, myself.

I came across an article in the newspapers where six people-five youth and a middle aged man-were alleged to have raped a young girl. My heart went out to the girl.

The girl had been invited to cook by a well-known acquaintance and his friend. They overpowered her and raped her after she entered the house. They warned her not to reveal it to anyone. They, on the other hand, went and revealed it to their friends. Their friends blackmailed her. On different occasions, different people threatened to reveal it to the public if she did not consent to sex with them. She ended up being raped by five of them. After the fifth person had raped her, he asked a middle-aged taxi driver to leave her home. The driver, who had seen them in the act agreed to keep it a secret if he were allowed to have sex with her.  She was so traumatized that she ran away from home. She was found later by her parents and she revealed to them what had happened to her.

The young girl, who was traumatised by shame the first time, ended up being raped by six guys.

I want to help her. I might probably get through to her family. Then what? What would help the girl deal with the trauma that had scarred her life. Almost nothing. Could adequate imprisonment for the rapists help her? A bit-to the extent that some justice was done. How do I tell her that she was still as pure as she wanted to be and that it was not her fault that she had been violated and there was nothing she could have done differently to avoid the assault (with her lack of knowledge)? How does one get the message across to other girls, who may have been raped once and are being blackmailed to have sex with the perpetrators and their friends.

I found myself inadequate to either help her get justice or help her heal. I can feel her pain but I feel helpless. But I can't even imagine what she must be going through. If not all of us, at least I need to seriously give it enough thought and take this ahead without traumatising the girl with insensitivity. Meanwhile I pray with all my heart that God helps the girl and others like her.

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