George Philipas - License Feature Stories - ADMIN

100281

The Controversial Rise of the Vuvuzela. FIFA World Cup 2010.

The origins of the two-foot long plastic blowing horn, commonly known as the vuvuzela, remains shrouded in mystery. The general consensus is that it was the Zulu Nazareth Baptist Church, locally known as the Shembe Church (after its founder Isaiah Shembe) who first used the instrument during worship from around 1910. It was not until the 1990’s, when Neil Van Schalckwyk saw the vuvuzela in stadiums while playing professionally at a local club in Cape Town, that he saw a business opportunity and patented the plastic instrument. To date, his company, Masincedane Sport, has sold over 800,000 vuvuzelas - 100,000 of them during the first week of the World Cup. The instrument has proved to be hugely controversial and its loud monotonous drone in stadiums became synonymous with South Africa’s World Cup. There were vociferous calls worldwide to see it banned, but FIFA stood its ground. The World Football Governing Body in the end claimed that a World Cup without vuvuzelas would have attempted to take away the very heart of what made this a distinctively South African football event. Only time will tell if the vuvuzela will become a constant feature at future major football events or indeed even at club football level. But for those who thought they had definitely seen the last of the instrument (with some relief it might be added), it is with some concern to note that in Brazil, where the next World Cup is to be held in 2014, there exists an established variation of the plastic blowing horn known as the Corneta.

100282

The Controversial Rise of the Vuvuzela. FIFA World Cup 2010.

The origins of the two-foot long plastic blowing horn, commonly known as the vuvuzela, remains shrouded in mystery. The general consensus is that it was the Zulu Nazareth Baptist Church, locally known as the Shembe Church (after its founder Isaiah Shembe) who first used the instrument during worship from around 1910. It was not until the 1990’s, when Neil Van Schalckwyk saw the vuvuzela in stadiums while playing professionally at a local club in Cape Town, that he saw a business opportunity and patented the plastic instrument. To date, his company, Masincedane Sport, has sold over 800,000 vuvuzelas - 100,000 of them during the first week of the World Cup. The instrument has proved to be hugely controversial and its loud monotonous drone in stadiums became synonymous with South Africa’s World Cup. There were vociferous calls worldwide to see it banned, but FIFA stood its ground. The World Football Governing Body in the end claimed that a World Cup without vuvuzelas would have attempted to take away the very heart of what made this a distinctively South African football event. Only time will tell if the vuvuzela will become a constant feature at future major football events or indeed even at club football level. But for those who thought they had definitely seen the last of the instrument (with some relief it might be added), it is with some concern to note that in Brazil, where the next World Cup is to be held in 2014, there exists an established variation of the plastic blowing horn known as the Corneta.

100283

The Controversial Rise of the Vuvuzela. FIFA World Cup 2010.

The origins of the two-foot long plastic blowing horn, commonly known as the vuvuzela, remains shrouded in mystery. The general consensus is that it was the Zulu Nazareth Baptist Church, locally known as the Shembe Church (after its founder Isaiah Shembe) who first used the instrument during worship from around 1910. It was not until the 1990’s, when Neil Van Schalckwyk saw the vuvuzela in stadiums while playing professionally at a local club in Cape Town, that he saw a business opportunity and patented the plastic instrument. To date, his company, Masincedane Sport, has sold over 800,000 vuvuzelas - 100,000 of them during the first week of the World Cup. The instrument has proved to be hugely controversial and its loud monotonous drone in stadiums became synonymous with South Africa’s World Cup. There were vociferous calls worldwide to see it banned, but FIFA stood its ground. The World Football Governing Body in the end claimed that a World Cup without vuvuzelas would have attempted to take away the very heart of what made this a distinctively South African football event. Only time will tell if the vuvuzela will become a constant feature at future major football events or indeed even at club football level. But for those who thought they had definitely seen the last of the instrument (with some relief it might be added), it is with some concern to note that in Brazil, where the next World Cup is to be held in 2014, there exists an established variation of the plastic blowing horn known as the Corneta.

100284

The Controversial Rise of the Vuvuzela. FIFA World Cup 2010.

The origins of the two-foot long plastic blowing horn, commonly known as the vuvuzela, remains shrouded in mystery. The general consensus is that it was the Zulu Nazareth Baptist Church, locally known as the Shembe Church (after its founder Isaiah Shembe) who first used the instrument during worship from around 1910. It was not until the 1990’s, when Neil Van Schalckwyk saw the vuvuzela in stadiums while playing professionally at a local club in Cape Town, that he saw a business opportunity and patented the plastic instrument. To date, his company, Masincedane Sport, has sold over 800,000 vuvuzelas - 100,000 of them during the first week of the World Cup. The instrument has proved to be hugely controversial and its loud monotonous drone in stadiums became synonymous with South Africa’s World Cup. There were vociferous calls worldwide to see it banned, but FIFA stood its ground. The World Football Governing Body in the end claimed that a World Cup without vuvuzelas would have attempted to take away the very heart of what made this a distinctively South African football event. Only time will tell if the vuvuzela will become a constant feature at future major football events or indeed even at club football level. But for those who thought they had definitely seen the last of the instrument (with some relief it might be added), it is with some concern to note that in Brazil, where the next World Cup is to be held in 2014, there exists an established variation of the plastic blowing horn known as the Corneta.

100285

The Controversial Rise of the Vuvuzela. FIFA World Cup 2010.

The origins of the two-foot long plastic blowing horn, commonly known as the vuvuzela, remains shrouded in mystery. The general consensus is that it was the Zulu Nazareth Baptist Church, locally known as the Shembe Church (after its founder Isaiah Shembe) who first used the instrument during worship from around 1910. It was not until the 1990’s, when Neil Van Schalckwyk saw the vuvuzela in stadiums while playing professionally at a local club in Cape Town, that he saw a business opportunity and patented the plastic instrument. To date, his company, Masincedane Sport, has sold over 800,000 vuvuzelas - 100,000 of them during the first week of the World Cup. The instrument has proved to be hugely controversial and its loud monotonous drone in stadiums became synonymous with South Africa’s World Cup. There were vociferous calls worldwide to see it banned, but FIFA stood its ground. The World Football Governing Body in the end claimed that a World Cup without vuvuzelas would have attempted to take away the very heart of what made this a distinctively South African football event. Only time will tell if the vuvuzela will become a constant feature at future major football events or indeed even at club football level. But for those who thought they had definitely seen the last of the instrument (with some relief it might be added), it is with some concern to note that in Brazil, where the next World Cup is to be held in 2014, there exists an established variation of the plastic blowing horn known as the Corneta.

100286

The Controversial Rise of the Vuvuzela. FIFA World Cup 2010.

The origins of the two-foot long plastic blowing horn, commonly known as the vuvuzela, remains shrouded in mystery. The general consensus is that it was the Zulu Nazareth Baptist Church, locally known as the Shembe Church (after its founder Isaiah Shembe) who first used the instrument during worship from around 1910. It was not until the 1990’s, when Neil Van Schalckwyk saw the vuvuzela in stadiums while playing professionally at a local club in Cape Town, that he saw a business opportunity and patented the plastic instrument. To date, his company, Masincedane Sport, has sold over 800,000 vuvuzelas - 100,000 of them during the first week of the World Cup. The instrument has proved to be hugely controversial and its loud monotonous drone in stadiums became synonymous with South Africa’s World Cup. There were vociferous calls worldwide to see it banned, but FIFA stood its ground. The World Football Governing Body in the end claimed that a World Cup without vuvuzelas would have attempted to take away the very heart of what made this a distinctively South African football event. Only time will tell if the vuvuzela will become a constant feature at future major football events or indeed even at club football level. But for those who thought they had definitely seen the last of the instrument (with some relief it might be added), it is with some concern to note that in Brazil, where the next World Cup is to be held in 2014, there exists an established variation of the plastic blowing horn known as the Corneta.

100287

The Controversial Rise of the Vuvuzela. FIFA World Cup 2010.

The origins of the two-foot long plastic blowing horn, commonly known as the vuvuzela, remains shrouded in mystery. The general consensus is that it was the Zulu Nazareth Baptist Church, locally known as the Shembe Church (after its founder Isaiah Shembe) who first used the instrument during worship from around 1910. It was not until the 1990’s, when Neil Van Schalckwyk saw the vuvuzela in stadiums while playing professionally at a local club in Cape Town, that he saw a business opportunity and patented the plastic instrument. To date, his company, Masincedane Sport, has sold over 800,000 vuvuzelas - 100,000 of them during the first week of the World Cup. The instrument has proved to be hugely controversial and its loud monotonous drone in stadiums became synonymous with South Africa’s World Cup. There were vociferous calls worldwide to see it banned, but FIFA stood its ground. The World Football Governing Body in the end claimed that a World Cup without vuvuzelas would have attempted to take away the very heart of what made this a distinctively South African football event. Only time will tell if the vuvuzela will become a constant feature at future major football events or indeed even at club football level. But for those who thought they had definitely seen the last of the instrument (with some relief it might be added), it is with some concern to note that in Brazil, where the next World Cup is to be held in 2014, there exists an established variation of the plastic blowing horn known as the Corneta.

100288

The Controversial Rise of the Vuvuzela. FIFA World Cup 2010.

The origins of the two-foot long plastic blowing horn, commonly known as the vuvuzela, remains shrouded in mystery. The general consensus is that it was the Zulu Nazareth Baptist Church, locally known as the Shembe Church (after its founder Isaiah Shembe) who first used the instrument during worship from around 1910. It was not until the 1990’s, when Neil Van Schalckwyk saw the vuvuzela in stadiums while playing professionally at a local club in Cape Town, that he saw a business opportunity and patented the plastic instrument. To date, his company, Masincedane Sport, has sold over 800,000 vuvuzelas - 100,000 of them during the first week of the World Cup. The instrument has proved to be hugely controversial and its loud monotonous drone in stadiums became synonymous with South Africa’s World Cup. There were vociferous calls worldwide to see it banned, but FIFA stood its ground. The World Football Governing Body in the end claimed that a World Cup without vuvuzelas would have attempted to take away the very heart of what made this a distinctively South African football event. Only time will tell if the vuvuzela will become a constant feature at future major football events or indeed even at club football level. But for those who thought they had definitely seen the last of the instrument (with some relief it might be added), it is with some concern to note that in Brazil, where the next World Cup is to be held in 2014, there exists an established variation of the plastic blowing horn known as the Corneta.

100289

The Controversial Rise of the Vuvuzela. FIFA World Cup 2010.

The origins of the two-foot long plastic blowing horn, commonly known as the vuvuzela, remains shrouded in mystery. The general consensus is that it was the Zulu Nazareth Baptist Church, locally known as the Shembe Church (after its founder Isaiah Shembe) who first used the instrument during worship from around 1910. It was not until the 1990’s, when Neil Van Schalckwyk saw the vuvuzela in stadiums while playing professionally at a local club in Cape Town, that he saw a business opportunity and patented the plastic instrument. To date, his company, Masincedane Sport, has sold over 800,000 vuvuzelas - 100,000 of them during the first week of the World Cup. The instrument has proved to be hugely controversial and its loud monotonous drone in stadiums became synonymous with South Africa’s World Cup. There were vociferous calls worldwide to see it banned, but FIFA stood its ground. The World Football Governing Body in the end claimed that a World Cup without vuvuzelas would have attempted to take away the very heart of what made this a distinctively South African football event. Only time will tell if the vuvuzela will become a constant feature at future major football events or indeed even at club football level. But for those who thought they had definitely seen the last of the instrument (with some relief it might be added), it is with some concern to note that in Brazil, where the next World Cup is to be held in 2014, there exists an established variation of the plastic blowing horn known as the Corneta.

100290

The Controversial Rise of the Vuvuzela. FIFA World Cup 2010.

The origins of the two-foot long plastic blowing horn, commonly known as the vuvuzela, remains shrouded in mystery. The general consensus is that it was the Zulu Nazareth Baptist Church, locally known as the Shembe Church (after its founder Isaiah Shembe) who first used the instrument during worship from around 1910. It was not until the 1990’s, when Neil Van Schalckwyk saw the vuvuzela in stadiums while playing professionally at a local club in Cape Town, that he saw a business opportunity and patented the plastic instrument. To date, his company, Masincedane Sport, has sold over 800,000 vuvuzelas - 100,000 of them during the first week of the World Cup. The instrument has proved to be hugely controversial and its loud monotonous drone in stadiums became synonymous with South Africa’s World Cup. There were vociferous calls worldwide to see it banned, but FIFA stood its ground. The World Football Governing Body in the end claimed that a World Cup without vuvuzelas would have attempted to take away the very heart of what made this a distinctively South African football event. Only time will tell if the vuvuzela will become a constant feature at future major football events or indeed even at club football level. But for those who thought they had definitely seen the last of the instrument (with some relief it might be added), it is with some concern to note that in Brazil, where the next World Cup is to be held in 2014, there exists an established variation of the plastic blowing horn known as the Corneta.

100291

The Controversial Rise of the Vuvuzela. FIFA World Cup 2010.

The origins of the two-foot long plastic blowing horn, commonly known as the vuvuzela, remains shrouded in mystery. The general consensus is that it was the Zulu Nazareth Baptist Church, locally known as the Shembe Church (after its founder Isaiah Shembe) who first used the instrument during worship from around 1910. It was not until the 1990’s, when Neil Van Schalckwyk saw the vuvuzela in stadiums while playing professionally at a local club in Cape Town, that he saw a business opportunity and patented the plastic instrument. To date, his company, Masincedane Sport, has sold over 800,000 vuvuzelas - 100,000 of them during the first week of the World Cup. The instrument has proved to be hugely controversial and its loud monotonous drone in stadiums became synonymous with South Africa’s World Cup. There were vociferous calls worldwide to see it banned, but FIFA stood its ground. The World Football Governing Body in the end claimed that a World Cup without vuvuzelas would have attempted to take away the very heart of what made this a distinctively South African football event. Only time will tell if the vuvuzela will become a constant feature at future major football events or indeed even at club football level. But for those who thought they had definitely seen the last of the instrument (with some relief it might be added), it is with some concern to note that in Brazil, where the next World Cup is to be held in 2014, there exists an established variation of the plastic blowing horn known as the Corneta.

100292

Life After Rape. Survivor Portrait Series.

“It’s difficult to write this, but I believe it is important. I was raped over 20 years ago by a boy a few years older than me. The first adult I told, told me to keep quiet and forget about it. I listened. I remember crying a lot and being very angry at the world. I remember finding out what a virgin was and realizing that I wasn’t one. When I was 9 teachers were asked why I was acting out. At 13 a doctor thought I was experiencing symptoms from trauma when I was diagnosed with a chronic condition. At 14 I was sent to the first psychologist and over the next ten years saw another three. At 20 I landed in rehab for five weeks…yet no one helped me with the sexual abuse until I was 26 and met Reinette Evans, the lady sitting on the floor in the photograph. At 20 after a failed suicide I made the decision not to make my best friend, Lesley du Preez live through my death. My wish to die never left, but I stuck to my decision. She is the only reason that I am alive today because I wanted more than anything to die. I am holding a picture of her in the photograph. Try to imagine what it is like to live this pain and complication as a young child with no one who knows how to help. When I met Reinette the most I had managed to do was to hide my pain fairly well and get along with the minimum number of people knowing I was depressed, angry at the whole world and making very destructive decisions. She knew how to help me from the very first time I met her. I remember leaving that meeting with hope for the first time in my life. My story and my struggle isn’t over, but thanks to someone finally knowing how to help me, today I don’t have the pain, the anger, the depression or the wish to die – instead I am slowly becoming whole.”

100293

Life After Rape. Survivor Portrait Series.

\" I was sexually abused and raped at a very young age by someone I loved and adored. My whole world fell apart and the only way I knew how to deal with what was happening to me was to push it as far away in my mind as I could. In my early thirty\'s I started having panic attacks and flash backs and suffered badly from anxiety and depression. When I did start to professionally deal with my past I was devastated and a wreck for many years. The only thing that pulled me through it all was my love for my children. I remember my Higher Power saying to me one day,\"Live for your children.\" I focused on them completely and being a Mother, who wants everything for her children, that is what I did. When I wanted to end it all, when the pain got so bad and I felt like I was being ripped apart, I looked at my children. They were my determination to live and to be the best I could be for them. They deserved a sane and loving Mother and a wonderful childhood, not devastation and pain. My Husband was an incredible strength, but I knew if I ended it all he could carry on without me, but my children would never get over losing their Mother and they deserved more than that. Their laughs, their joy, their gorgeous hugs and childish innocence is what has kept me going. I AM a survivor and I will continue to heal, with My Higher Power, my stunning Husband and my 3 gorgeous children, my blessings!\"

100294

Life After Rape. Survivor Portrait Series.

Phumla remembers the great sense of excitement and expectation when her father sent for her to come and live with him at the age of 9. She had never really known him and had been living with her mother and extended family up to that age. It was not long though before she realised he had other more sinister motives when she was subjected to continuous sexual abuse for almost 4 years. As a practicing sangoma (traditional African witch-doctor) he would often threaten to curse her if she spoke of her plight to anyone. When though at the age of 13 Phulma fell pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, it was no longer possible to hide this terrible affair. She was abandoned by her mother and forced to live with her father’s extended family who were physically and mentally abusive and dismissive towards her. Growing up was tough and lonely for Phumla. Her father was eventually brought to justice and sentenced to life imprisonment. But for Phumla this was a hollow victory. While prosecutors celebrated around her, she remembers feeling a great sense of emptiness and even guilt at having instigated the life-long incarceration of her own father. It is hard to challenge the child-father bond, even after such an extreme and sinister betrayal of paternal trust. And yet, through all these years, Phumla has never strayed and descended into a spiral of self-abuse as so many who find themselves in such an unfortunate position often do. From a poor background, she currently works at a top South African media company and has realistic aspirations of becoming a writer. Her creative abilities are nowhere more evident than in the powerful and intricate coping mechanism that she created to deal with events since childhood. All through this time, Phumla has invented 2 imaginary friends, a young African couple, who have been her amazing rock and source of strength. The couple have a healthy, robust and typically African relationship. “The girl is always jealous and the m

100295

Life After Rape. Survivor Portrait Series.

Beautiful and Wonderful Woman. “I am a rape survivor and to me that means I am a powerful woman. A beautiful and confident woman who survives this ordeal in life. He thought I would not survive. He thought he had won. He thought I was finished. He took my virginity, my strength, my power, my love, but most importantly my dignity. When he did that, he thought he had won – taken it all at the end of the day – all the strength, all the power, all the love and especially all the dignity. But who am I to give myself up? To give up my beauty? Who am I to give up my power, my strength and my dignity. I am a wonderful and powerful woman. Women are like trees. They only need to find their strength. A tree can lose its leaves, it’s branches and stems, but the thing about a tree is that its roots remain, where no-one can dig or reach. Because it is the roots that are the essential tool of life. When the rainy season comes again, the roots absorb the water, the leaves begin to show again, the stems appear and the flowers blossom in beautiful colours and the tree shines again. Wow! What a beautiful tree. I see myself as that tree. I see a beautiful, wonderful, stronger woman who has her dignity again. That’s me, myself and I.” Fumana chose to be photographed by the beach where she rarely goes, but always finds comforting. It is somewhere that allows her to feel a great sense of inner peace. She cites her book of poems and her creative outlet as having been a source of strength for her over the years and finds that writing can give her a powerful release of built-up emotions.

100296

Life After Rape. Survivor Portrait Series.

Cindy was raped by her stepfather from the age of 10 and gave birth to 2 children out of the sexual abuse she suffered. After the first child was born when Cindy was only 14 years old, her stepfather forced her to lie and cover up for him by claiming that the father was a fictitious boyfriend who had absconded. After the second child was born though, he was forced to own up to her mother. Instead of protecting her child, Cindy’s mother became jealous of their supposed relationship and distanced herself from Cindy. She considered her to be a love rival rather than a daughter who needed her urgent protection. Not once did Cindy’s mother believe what had happened to be abuse and a terrible betrayal by a man in a position of paternal responsibility. It was left to Cindy’s uncle to try and rescue the situation. He insisted that Cindy and her mother leave the stepfather and encouraged Cindy to bring criminal charges against him. The case collapsed though after Cindy’s mother returned to the stepfather and Cindy was coerced into providing false testimony. Growing up, she never considered what had happened to be at all out of the ordinary. Cindy has suffered from a lot of anger, sadness and loneliness throughout her life. She feels she has no friends. Whenever someone would get close to her, they would become inquisitive as to her situation. “Their typical reaction [when finding out] would always be something like. Oh Wow! You were naughty!” Not once did they consider what had happened to Cindy at such a young age to be rape. In early 2009, Cindy had a nervous breakdown. She feels it was her body telling her that it was time to deal with her emotions and her history of abuse. She now finds that going to counselling and group therapy sessions have helped her start to speak openly about her trauma. She feels she was a hard, emotionless woman but learning to open up has helped put her firmly on the road to emotional and mental recovery. She pa

100297

Life After Rape. Survivor Portrait Series.

“4 months ago, if someone had said to me I would put all the pieces of my life back together, I would have said no way. Now though, I can see a way out.” Jeannine was raped on 9th October 2008. While walking along her local beach, she was grabbed and dragged into the bushes by a man wielding a knife. During an appalling half hour ordeal the man threatened her life and on several occasions plunged the blade into the ground close to her face. She was left half-dressed and in a state of panic but managed to make her way to the local police station where, by her own account, she fell apart. Her family and boyfriend were very supportive, but it could not stop her from descending into a terrible personal plight. She had irrational feelings of guilt and shame and often wondered whether maybe she shouldn’t have been on the beach at the time of the attack. Jeannine worried the effect it would have on her boyfriend knowing that she had been with another man, even if it was a terrible violation. They fought and the relationship eventually dissolved. Her friends distanced themselves from her as she did from them. On both sides nobody really knew how to handle the situation. “There is this assumption that because I have no physical scars, that I’m OK. I had so many nightmares.” Even with care and support, Jeannine fell to pieces. She felt she couldn’t trust her own judgement any more and compared her state of mind at the time to that of an infant learning to do even the simplest tasks again. She suffered from panic attacks and would shake uncontrollably for months on end. Eventually the perpetrator was caught and found guilty in a South African criminal court based mainly on the strong testimony given by Jeannine. This was made all the more important as the forensic evidence (not collated by the police immediately after the crime) was almost non-existent. The court case itself, by her own admission, was a nightmare. The system in South Africa

100298

Life After Rape. Survivor Portrait Series.

“I am a rape victim. In my silence two perpetrators got away. I felt more than shattered, dirty and ashamed. I became numb and withdrawn. I thought no one cared and that all I was good for was sex. For a long, long time I was in a very dark and lonely tunnel with no hope – just suicidal. Then I got raped again for the third time and that morning I had to go to work. I was in such a state I couldn’t think clearly and a very special friend saw something was wrong and asked. I thought I was going to keep it a secret again, but I was honest and told her I was raped. She encouraged me to lay charges, so I did. Later I found out that the perpetrator had raped other people too, but I was the only one who had the guts to take him to court. Now because I did he is in jail. I want to tell all the other rape victims out there who might be silent like I was, that your perpetrator could be raping others. There is hope and life after rape. Stand up and fight, speak out, break the silence and maybe save someone else this pain. Gain your power back, I know you can do it, because I did it. Please remember there is hope.” Elise was photographed on the grounds of her local Church. She finds strength and courage in her faith. “God is my life. I listen to him. I am obedient to him. He’s my heart’s desire.” She also feels that her counsellor Reinette Evans has been a great source of strength and has helped her navigate her past and focus positively on the future. “I don’t want to be the person I was. I want to be the person that people look up to. And only Reinette and God can help me.” Of her cousellor who she met 2 ½ years ago, she says “..she’s the most understanding person I ever knew. She’s not like a mother, she IS a mother to me. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here today.” Elise decided to come forward because she hopes that through her portrait, it will encourage one of her abuser’s daughters, who she suspects was also raped

100299

Life After Rape. Survivor Portrait Series.

June was raped repeatedly by her brother from the age of 4. Her parents discovered what was happening after noticing she was sore in the general area of her private parts while bathing her. It was only after 3 decades that June began having nightmares and intense flashbacks to her childhood trauma. The nightmares subsided for a few years, but were triggered again by the revelation that her niece was being abused by her brother-in-law. “I went ballistic then” June admits. June has lead a fulfilling life and her everyday life have not been so influenced by her childhood ordeal. But a few years ago she began to lose faith in her ability to face and deal with her situation. She began counselling in February 2009 and hasn’t had a recurrence of the nightmares recently. She says that she is now mentally able to pull herself away from a negative and fearful frame of mind that she often slipped into in the past. One of her biggest regrets was not having confronted her brother who she last saw when their father passed away, before he himself passed away as well. June regards the beach at Muizenberg near Cape Town and her acoustic guitar as great sources of strength for her and finds solace and comfort in playing her instrument.

100300

Life After Rape. Survivor Portrait Series.

“I am a survivor of child sexual abuse. I am a male survivor. I lived with shame and confusion through my formative years, believing the abuse was my fault. I came to be unsure of my own sexuality, my own identity. I lived with these shadows, these secrets that were slowly drowning me, destroying me. I could not trust, I could not love. My anger turned to hatred. I hated the world, I hated myself. I drank in an attempt to shut up the voices in my head, the little abandoned boy I left behind in my conscience. I believed the only way out for me was death. Suicide. Silence. Today I can look back at the dark years, and tell a different story. Today I can tell you a story of love, acceptance, healing and hope. I can tell you that there are many of us that stand today, regardless of the past. We have a voice, we have an identity and we have strength. We have overcome and we move forward. The change for us all started with a conversation. It started by telling, no matter when you start, be it the day it happens, or twenty years later. It starts with your voice, breaking the silence. The day you do, you start taking back your dignity. You start living again. Today I am stronger than ever before. People like my counsellor in Cape Town helped me to take back life. She listened to my story, she held me and helped me back up on my feet. If youʼve been affected by sexual abuse or rape, speak out. There is hope, there is life and there is love. It starts with your voice.” Roland chose to be photographed at the Botanical Gardens in Johannesburg. It is a place he can go to find his own inner peace and strength.