Runaway~

“Now little Lisa’s only nine years old
She’s tryin’ to figure out why the world is so cold…

…Part of her is missin’ and nobody’ll listen…

Lisa’s stuck up in a world on her own
Forced to think that Hell is a place called home
Nothin’ else to do but get some clothes and pack
She says she’s ’bout to run away and never come back”

These lyrics from “Runaway Love” by Ludacris remind me of the women’s stories in Ruined by Lynn Nottage. The only difference here is that the women in ruined couldn’t run away. Some like Josephine wanted to escape but were never given the opportunity to, while others like Mama Nadi had chances to escape but chose not to leave their home behind. She didn’t want to leave her home even if it was hell. Instead she turned her life around and provided a safe shelter for herself and other women. Granted this shelter was a brothel, the women here were much safer than being out on their own and they had somewhat of a say over their own bodies.

This play really opened my eyes to a world I really didn’t know much about. It would have been really painful to read if Lynn hadn’t added a bit of her own comedy and style into it. Although it is such a sad story, Lynn made a smart decision of making this entertaining. By doing so she made it easier for people to read and watch the play. Unlike War by Lars Noren that begins and ends on sad note, Ruined has a somewhat happy ending. Happy in a sense that they will make it through even though their life could be a lot better.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to be in these women’s’ situation. It’s horrible and it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. After reading this play I wanted to learn more so I looked up some videos on YouTube and came across this.

It talks about how these soldiers justified the rape. I thought it was simply ridiculous and hypocritical. When asked what they would do if this happened to their mothers or sisters they immediately said they would kill that person but at the same time they are doing this to someone’s mother, sister, or wife. When one of the soldiers says he does it because it gives them magical powers to fight I just wanted to yell at him. Like really? Raping someone is going to give you the power to fight a war? But it just goes to show how these soldiers were manipulated into doing this by their captains. Ignorance also plays a big role in this too. These soldiers are usually taken from a young age and are fed all these lies, brainwashing them to believe that what they are doing is just and it is for Congo.

Another thing that bothered me was the fact that after these women were raped against their will, their husbands and families rejected them as if they had done something wrong. As if they wanted this to happen to them. I strongly believe that family should always be there for you. If they’re not for you then who will be? But I guess its just goes to show that for some, family doesn’t have to be blood related. In Ruined Mama Nadi and her girls are a family, in the way that they stick together and understand each other.

I find it disgusting that some people have downgraded to such animalistic behavior. We live in a sick world. What has humanity transformed to? I can’t comprehend how one human can do such acts on another human. I really hope this will change or at least decrease in the future. Let’s try to bring humanity back.