In the I Confess column I read about this 42-year-old woman who said her own father lusts after her even to this day. My own brother (by father and mother), who is almost 60, has been the same way with me for “donkey years”.
I don’t know when exactly it started but he is not secretive about it at all. Some years back he stripped naked and came by my bedroom to tell me what he wanted to do to me. I had to call the police for him but he continued.
Would you believe even along the streets, especially where we live, he harasses me? When I can, I?“duck” into gaps to avoid him. He also decided if he can’t have me then nobody should. So after he starts up a noise, he shouts out for all the neighbours to hear about how my private parts “dry up, stink”, and so on. He also says I have AIDS and other diseases.
Many times he went out in the middle of the road to shout out how I do various deeds with my mouth to all kinds of men. He calls me a whore, paro and other such names, much to the delight of the neighbours.
I am the only female who lives in the house – the other brothers don’t bother to tell him he’s wrong to do what he’s doing. If a man shows interest in me, with whatever intention, the neighbours and family would make sure he knows. All of them know of his depraved intentions towards me.
To all appearances, they feel happy to uphold his deviance. He seems to be the popular one, not me. The neighbours drop remarks to me – not him.
He is involved in witchcraft too. Once he threw a strong liquid on my bedroom door and the smell was there for days.
I also remember a few times when I went to the altar at my church for prayer and the person praying mentioned witchcraft and its symbols when praying for me, and that had me puzzled. But when I consider the very strange things going on in this house and what happened to me, I know it is him.
I can’t get peace in this supposed family house. At night, when I’m resting in my bed, he comes in and stamps by my bedroom door, calling me wicked names and telling me all kinds of evil and nasty things. He doesn’t care who hears him. Yet if I accidentally drop or knock anything, he would “cuss me stink” about making noise.
He used to cut off the electricity and water and wouldn’t pay the bills. But that stopped since the brother who pays them moved back into the house. All the others have their own homes and they could hear him like everybody else.
Some women up here have children from various men and I never heard their brothers ever telling them how worthless they are. But yet my brother slanders me and destroys my reputation. He constantly tells me no man wants me and it has proven to be true.
I once had a small television years ago and he made so much noise though I would turn it down to the lowest volume that I could have hardly hear it, so I gave it back to avoid the stress. But nowadays he watches movies on his DVD?player and keeps as much noise as he could. I do hear the neighbours – they can eat, relax and enjoy themselves, well into the night, but not me.
He chopped down the fencing, took down the paling “so the neighbours could see me” – his exact words. So the little privacy I had he took away intentionally. I can’t afford to leave because I don’t work a full week and only at minimum wage. He has a Government job, works weekends but only has a bicycle and was on a?Canadian contract for over ten years. So, if he doesn’t have a house, how am I supposed to get one?
Someone told me I’m too soft but if I react I know?I would get the short end of the stick. He knows he could get away with his wickedness and he gets encouragement. He curses me every day about how I get up too early and come in too late, yet when I came home slightly earlier from work one time (about 6:30 p.m.), he asked why I came home so early for, why I ain’t stand and pick fares! He can get up and come in anytime, enjoy himself, do anything, but I’m restricted.
I don’t claim to be perfect, but he knows that I don’t trouble him. I go out of my way to avoid him. All I could do is pray to God for release so that I could relax and enjoy home and life like everyone else before I die or get too old.
