Irrespective of age or gender, the impact of sexual violence goes far beyond physical injuries. The trauma of being violated can be devastating, leaving you feeling all kinds of emotions or even overwhelmed by nightmares, flashbacks, and unkind memories.
19-years old Anathi Kom author of “THE TREE LIFE” was inspired by her life experiences and her inspirations about life, having lost her mother at a tender age and being raised by her grandmother, and being challenged to fight the greatest battle of being sexually at the of eighteen and conceiving. “ I learned to forgive and let go so that I could love and care for my daughter,” she says.
“I wrote poems because I discovered that I could write, I did not aim to publish my book now but one day. I won a sponsorship for publishing at Publish’d Afrika’s Adopt an Author Programme and the co-founder of the publishing company Sukoluhle Mdlongwa saw my talent and belied in my poems,” she explains. She adds that a collabo between the publishing company and the institution she’s currently attending the University of Fort Hare made means to pay for the printing of her first copies.
The book is a poetry book that aims to tell stories through poetry, heal souls, ignite hope, and teach people the importance of forgiving and letting go as there is so much light and peace in starting afresh. “I named the book THE TREE LIFE because I compare life to a tree because of all the stages life has, life starts as a seed just like a tree and ends with death while trees end by falling or being cut,” she says.
The University of Forth Hare student learned that words are powerful and meaningful and that she should use them wisely to touch souls and make a difference. She believes that God gave her this gift to impact the lives of others to uplift and bring hope to people through her writing.
“The experience has positively affected me because of how people are willing to support me to grow and develop. Touching lives was not my aim I was only telling a story, but I’ve learned that when you have a powerful story to tell you to affect other people.”
Answering the question of what suggestions she must make it safer for victim-survivors to come forward she says: it is hard because once victim-survivors start to speak, they get judged and become shamed. She believes that societies need to do better and be a safe space for people to speak about their stories.
“My own is that women must not be defined by their sexual abuse experiences and they must rely on justice and karma for them to move on because if those fail they will automatically remain miserable for the rest of their lives and won’t ever find peace,” she concludes.
