I'm not defeated!

Photo: Nicholas D. Kristof/The New York Times

I do not want you to feel sorry for me,
I just want to live in peace.
My wounds will heal.
I just want to go back home.

I feel no shame,
I just want justice.
My voice is my strength;
I'm not defeated!

I do not want charity,
but solace.
Where there is only violence,
will I find compassion?

(ES)

Chance Tombola, 9, and her aunt, Jeanne Birengenyi, 34, both among the innumerable rape survivors in the war in eastern Congo. Chance's parents were killed in the war, as was Jeanne's husband. Given the stigma surrounding rape in Congo, they showed tremendous courage in speaking about their experiences.