US-based Cameroonian professor, Sirry Alang has narrated how a longtime victim of domestic violence she offered to help turned her down because of her sexuality.
Prof. Alang, who’s a lesbian and has a Nigerian lover, took to micro-blogging platform, Twitter, to share her experience with the woman on Tuesday, April 12
The 41-year-old University professor revealed that the woman declined her help because she doesn’t want her 8-year-old daughter to be exposed to a lesbian and her religion is against homosexuality.
Read her full post below,
“Today was wild. A friend called me b/c she’s rallying folks to help a woman & her 8 y/o. Husband beats her, recently emptied bank account, sold car, didn’t pay rent & left them. I called the woman. We’re both West African.
She’s crying, telling her suffering, I offered support—to house/feed them for a while so she can find a job, at least while I’m still in my current house. She seemed relieved. Kept talking about her evil husband.
Then she remembered something… “Are you Professor Sirry? The one who teaches at Lehigh University?” I said yes. “You’re from Cameroon. Hmm…Okay.” Then silence. I asked what/why. She hesitated. Then said she knows about me. Someone had told her that she should connect with me. Then someone else told her about my “lifestyle”. I said “you mean about me being a lesbian?” She proceeds to say she doesn’t judge. But she lives according to her “faith & how the Bible instructs” her to live. Said she really needs help & if it was just her, she’ll consider my offer. Said she’s worried about “exposing” her kid to my “lifestyle.” That she wants to protect her child, hence she “cannot compromise like that.” At this point, she was no longer crying. I could hear the disgust in her voice. She said some folks from her church were also rallying to help her. I wanted to ask her where they were when her STRAIGHT CHRISTIAN husband was beating her. I wanted to ask what she implied about me when she says she has to protect her child from me. I wanted to say you could’ve protected your child from your abusive husband a long time ago but you failed that little girl.
I wanted to say many things. But I was just hurt. Hurt that a Black woman & child might end up in a shelter because of Christianity-driven homophobia. Hurt that in this year 2022, people still believe that we, gay people, are bad for kids. I wished her good luck & hung up. And for a minute, I thought it was a dream. Except that she texted Bible passages to me, asking me to read them “prayerfully and with an open heart because with God, nothing is impossible.” I replied: “Sis, I’m not the one who is in need of a miracle right now.” She’s unlike the homophobic folks who still accept gay people’s money and support. I respect that. 😃”
See her tweet,
Today was wild. A friend called me b/c she’s rallying folks to help a woman & her 8 y/o. Husband beats her, recently emptied bank account, sold car, didn’t pay rent & left them. I called the woman. We’re both West African. She’s crying, telling her suffering, I offered support—to
— Sirry Vaccine Equity Alang, PhD (she/her) (@ProfAlang) April 13, 2022
