![]() In the midst of this chaos, I was aware that no cars were passing by, and I felt powerless to act.Īnd then they arrived. As I stood frozen, he started slapping me in the face and across my upper body. My voice began to strain and fade as the driver, who ran more quickly than I, caught up with me. I screamed for help until the inside of my throat felt as if it were ripping away, fleck by tiny fleck. I bolted from the taxi, sprinting as fast as my sandals would take me back in the direction in which we had traveled. In that moment, I recalled a long-ago episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in which a guest had advised the audience members that if they are ever kidnapped, attacked or feared for their life in some way, never allow the perpetrator to take them to a second location. “Get in the front seat,” he repeated and then he added, “I like it that way.” I heard him, but I responded as if I needed to clarify my destination for him: “No. He switched off the engine and turned out the headlights. We continued for a few minutes more, when the driver suddenly parked the car in front of a hotel in an area that was eerily dark, because the structure was being renovated. ![]() It occurred to me that it was 10pm on the second day of the extended national election perhaps people were still standing in queues or awaiting the results at home. I began looking around to figure out a way to escape the vehicle in sight of witnesses if need be, but the pedestrian and street traffic was minimal. “Is he going to rob me?” I thought, as we crept toward the university. I looked up at the rear-view mirror again to make sure the driver was not watching me anymore, and my eyes met his unfriendly gaze. I always tried to head off such situations at the pass the nagging fear of being assaulted was terrifying. From childhood, I had been cautioned by numerous elders that unwanted attention from certain men could escalate to violence. It’s thrown people for a moment during my repeat visits.īut beyond those occasions, the curiosity can signal imminent trouble. I was used to being observed as a bit of an oddity there: I likely appear Ghanaian, or at least of African descent, but then my accent and manner reveal me to be an American.
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