They say that children are resilient and are a lot stronger than adults know, today I learned first hand that this is very true.
I was nervous for today and had been worrying about it for over a week, but this day and child taught me that it isn’t about how I am feeling or if I am nervous or worried, it is ALL about her and her strength and need for justice!
Today we took a now 10 year old girl to court so she could testify against the man that tried to rape her, this isn’t just a random stranger or someone passing her on the street, this is her uncle.
We enter the office of the judge to do the hearing by zoom call, she is holding herself together, scared and nervous but still making this happen for herself. As we wait she holds my hand so tightly that I realize she is way more scared than she has let on, this I tell her is okay, that she is allowed be scared…she is only 10 years old.
We start by the judge asking her some questions which goes well and then he asks to move closer so he can hear her better. We do this as she is a very soft spoken little girl, before any of us adults in the room realize what is happening she is gripping me so tightly and sobbing that my heart tears into pieces. Only then do we all realize that her uncle is on the computer screen, full screen looking at her.
I instantly move her back to her original seat but its too late the damage is done. From here on in she doesn’t say a single word, we move back to the office of the prosecutor thinking this might help but to no avail. She is struggling just to sit up and at this point we all thought it was over that she wouldn’t be able to continue and get the justice that she so deserves. All I wanted to do was cry with her but how can I cry in font of a little girl who was almost raped by her uncle and yet she is here trying to get justice!
Her and I leave the room as another witness comes in to give their testimony. As we sit and talk, I give her candy she deserves at least one treat, I tell her she is safe, she will never have to be near him or see him again, but she does need to try one more time to tell her story and I believe in her.
So she does, we go back in to the office of the prosecutor and she is talking, at this moment I wanted to jump up and hug her but couldn’t because it would interrupt them and I wanted her to continue on, my heart filled with such pride for her. She manages to get through the prosecutions questions but then on the screen comes questions from the other side…this again breaks her and I am done!
The judge agrees to adjourn for today, she will have to go back to finish the cross-examination, but she will do this in her new outfit knowing that she is the most amazing, beautiful, strongest, smartest, and bravest little girl I have ever known.
Although all I wanted to do was cry as I watched her struggling today, she taught me so much about children. They are resilient and a lot stronger than adults think they are at least this adult anyways. She taught me to not give up, she taught me that everyone deserves justice no matter how hard it can be to get that justice. She is my hero and I will never forget how she is fighting through her struggles to get herself justice!
For now he is in jail waiting for the trial to be over, I know that he will not get out nor does he ever deserve to get out, any human being that can harm a child doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air that the child does!!!