And Justice Is Served
Without Prejudice
It's funny when nothing happens for a long time and then everything happens all at once. For my daughter Alena, justice has been a long time coming and as her Mother I have been so worried about her.
Alena was attacked by a gang of women, yes women, a little over 12 months ago. The ring leader was a former friend?. They broke her fingers, scratched her breasts and arms and one tried to break a bottle over her head. It all happened in an instant. She had no chance to defend herself. She was coming out of a stall in a hotel, washing her hands at the basin. She ended up in hospital.
It's been a long journey for justice for Alena. She had to fight most of the battle on her own. Most horrifying was that her own foster sister backed the ring leader, a charismatic assaulter, who had assaulted before and always seemed to get away with it. The foster daughter was attacked by the same women some months later. She loves the word Karma, and it seemed like she had just been served a slice.
Alena battled depression and ennui, post traumatic stress, hospital visits and counselling sessions. She also took out an I.V.O. On the foster sister and her boyfriend this year. I love her bravery, I love that she just kept keeping on when people grew sick of hearing about it. My own family stated she was a drama queen and that hurt her, a lot. But she pushed for justice and in the end when nothing happened, she grew despondent.
And then today a call from the Policeman that wouldn't give up. The ring leader was given six months jail, suspended for 12 months. And if she so much as breathes air, he said, she will go straight to jail. A mother of 4. She had tried to keep putting the court case off but they persisted in the end. Alena wasn't there. She gave up eating weeks ago and has severe depression. She didn't even realise the court case was on.
Everyone said the woman would get away with it, just like she and her gang had gotten away with it before. All hefty women, large, bulky, 10 in all. One guarded the door and the rest just laid in. The hotel had no footage from the doorway on. The hotel took no responsibility. Hell, even her Father said,
"what's a woman of 36 doing at a pub anyway,."
no sympathy for his daughter, there.
But then there never has been, he suffers from some strange illness, called extreme self absorption.
But in the end she got her justice and Yvette and I raced around to tell her. She stopped answering the phone about the same time she stopped eating. The kindly Policeman wanted Alena to know. She smiled a little when we told her. Her beautiful face made more stunning by the extreme wright loss, nights without sleep, tears shed silently. No one wanted to know in the end. George, my brother helped out, as ever.
She should have been over it, lots of people said. Only one friend and Yvette and I stuck by her. Understood what post traumatic stress can do. How long that scene can last in your head, played over and over and over. We let her talk and we let her cry. She is still not out of the woods, far from it. But she's a fighter, just like her Mother. Abd from now on will trust no one except herself, also just like her Mother.
Love Janette
It's funny when nothing happens for a long time and then everything happens all at once. For my daughter Alena, justice has been a long time coming and as her Mother I have been so worried about her.
Alena was attacked by a gang of women, yes women, a little over 12 months ago. The ring leader was a former friend?. They broke her fingers, scratched her breasts and arms and one tried to break a bottle over her head. It all happened in an instant. She had no chance to defend herself. She was coming out of a stall in a hotel, washing her hands at the basin. She ended up in hospital.
It's been a long journey for justice for Alena. She had to fight most of the battle on her own. Most horrifying was that her own foster sister backed the ring leader, a charismatic assaulter, who had assaulted before and always seemed to get away with it. The foster daughter was attacked by the same women some months later. She loves the word Karma, and it seemed like she had just been served a slice.
Alena battled depression and ennui, post traumatic stress, hospital visits and counselling sessions. She also took out an I.V.O. On the foster sister and her boyfriend this year. I love her bravery, I love that she just kept keeping on when people grew sick of hearing about it. My own family stated she was a drama queen and that hurt her, a lot. But she pushed for justice and in the end when nothing happened, she grew despondent.
And then today a call from the Policeman that wouldn't give up. The ring leader was given six months jail, suspended for 12 months. And if she so much as breathes air, he said, she will go straight to jail. A mother of 4. She had tried to keep putting the court case off but they persisted in the end. Alena wasn't there. She gave up eating weeks ago and has severe depression. She didn't even realise the court case was on.
Everyone said the woman would get away with it, just like she and her gang had gotten away with it before. All hefty women, large, bulky, 10 in all. One guarded the door and the rest just laid in. The hotel had no footage from the doorway on. The hotel took no responsibility. Hell, even her Father said,
"what's a woman of 36 doing at a pub anyway,."
no sympathy for his daughter, there.
But then there never has been, he suffers from some strange illness, called extreme self absorption.
But in the end she got her justice and Yvette and I raced around to tell her. She stopped answering the phone about the same time she stopped eating. The kindly Policeman wanted Alena to know. She smiled a little when we told her. Her beautiful face made more stunning by the extreme wright loss, nights without sleep, tears shed silently. No one wanted to know in the end. George, my brother helped out, as ever.
She should have been over it, lots of people said. Only one friend and Yvette and I stuck by her. Understood what post traumatic stress can do. How long that scene can last in your head, played over and over and over. We let her talk and we let her cry. She is still not out of the woods, far from it. But she's a fighter, just like her Mother. Abd from now on will trust no one except herself, also just like her Mother.
Love Janette
