I landed a few days ago!! Thank you all for everyone who supported me during this, because I was so busy I was unable to respond to everyone, but I am truly thankful for all your support.
I know that there must be some confusion and I am HERE to clear it up.
The Nigerian "Rape" festival was actually supposed to be ::
a fertility and harvest festival (often referred to as the Oghu or Ozoro cultural festival).
Historically, the festival was designed to celebrate the end of the farming season for us and offer thanks for a successful harvest. It involved religious and cultural sacrifices for the community's fertility and the continued prosperity of the land.
Now I know it may seem strange that I refer to it as a "Rape" festival, but genuinely I have lost respect for all the men in my country and previous community that abused this..
Okay, Here's what happened :
The fertility part encouraged married women and their husbands to go out, go to places of worship to pray for happy marriages and as you know, fertility.
Our cultural leaders said that this festival wasn't for women that weren't married, so they advised those women not to go out during this time. Now this is fine, it's a cultural practice, it may be questionable to some, but it was nothing serious. This was all it was supposed to be, all that should have happened!
NOW, what SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED WAS MEN TAKING THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO OPENLY ASSAULT, HARRASS AND RAPE WOMEN AS THE GUISE OF TRADITION. THAT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN, YET IT DID. AND SO MANY MEN GOT AWAY WITH IT. THE WHOLE PURPOSE WAS FOR CULTURAL BONDING TO STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITY AND REJOICE FOR PROSPERITY AND PRAY FOR MORE OF IT, AND THE MEN TOOK IT, FUCKED IT UP (Please excuse my language!!), AND RUINED THE COUNTRIES IMAGE, AND WORSE RUINED LIVES!!!! IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO YOU DOES IT? PRAY FOR FERTILITY DOESN'T TRANSLATE TO RAPE ANY WOMAN YOU SEE BECAUSE SHE WAS TOLD TO STAY INSIDE AND SHE DIDN'T. YOU EVEN DID IT TO THOSE THAT WERE WITH THEIR PARTNERS SO WHAT WAS THE POINT HUH??
And unfortunately only 15 people as of now have actually been arrested for this, out of multiple crowds, up to more than 100+ men, you could only catch 15. 15??? TRY, PLEASE, TRY FOR US, WE ARE PEOPLE FOR FUCKS SAKE WE WANT RO LIVE HAPPY LIVES
I'm going to be truthful and very honest. My country is corrupt. Poverty, theft, rape and sexual assault, yes it happens everywhere. My family was already planning the move, but this pushed not just mine, but other families to move, some not even from my area. And personally I don't think ANYONE at all has to live with the fear that if they step out of their homes they could get gang raped and forcefully stripped, REGARDLESS of who you are.
I'm making this post now, because out of my rage a few months ago, I noticed how vague my first post was. I know I have a pretty tight community, and I don't necessarily want to paint my homeland in a bad light, but I seriously can't forgive those men for what they did to so many innocent people. The situation is being controlled and as of now government officials are being involved, and I don't want to discourage anyone from visiting Nigeria. I hope one day, I'll go back to my country, see my homeland and PRAY on everything that we have AT LEAST changed, that we won't abuse long time cultures that have existed since the ages of our ancestors, to get away with disgusting acts like this.
Once again thank you all for your patience, I'm not one to just share all my personal information, but after all you guys have done for me, I think I owed you all a good explanation.
My father is browsing through houses we could get or at least try getting, and I'm currently typing this in a hotel room, (honestly the view is very nice here.) I won't mention the exact country I'm in for safety purposes, but I'm happy for a fresh start. I may be back in a few months, after we have truly settled down. I'll try to interact with my moots and everyone as much as I can, I'm genuinely sorry for my absence and thank you all SO, SO, SO MUCH for everything you've done for me.
I love you all from the bottom of my heart xx
