This is No Paradise

When I say I live on an island, what would come to your mind first?

Palm trees?
White sand beaches?
Drinking out of a coconut?
Tropical fish swimming to and fro?
Tanning yourself into an early stage of melanoma?

How about drug use?
Teen pregnancy?
Poverty?
Robbery?
Rape?
Domestic violence?

Before I go on, let me be the first to say that I really do love my island home. I have never felt in danger or at risk whilst living here. Instead I feel engulfed in a community of love and support. I live not in fear here, but with a use of caution. (Basically just don't make stupid life choices and you should have no problem).

Though, tonight caused some of us to be quite shaken up.

In back of my living quarters is a park. Well, by day it's a park. By night it's a mass of land that many of us try to avoid. From drug deals, to sex, to what happened tonight: abuse.

From the inside of my sealed apartment all I heard was a prolonged horn honk and the piercing screech of tires. From those who witnessed the violence, a more blood boiling story occurred.

O told me that apparently there were loud noises (as if to be a bat bashing itself up against something) and voices were coming from said location. Many gathered at the back fence to see what the commotion was about. Soon a female's voice was heard.

"Why are you hurting me?"
"Why are you doing this to me?"

It was as if the words coming out of her mouth were a broken record.

The noises continued.
Soon tires screeched and the voices stopped.
Hearing such things gave me (and still does give me) an eerie, livid feeling.

(Again, keep in mind I heard it second hand, so some details may be missing)

O continued with saying that JW and R went to check everything out once the abuser and abused had departed.

Cement bricks lay freshly smashed into pieces on the ground.

Perhaps you're wondering, "Well where was the police in all of this? Someone should have called them!"

As everything happened a phone was picked up, the appropriate digits were dialed, and the anticipation of the police's arrival grew.

They never came.

An irreplaceable human life being damaged by another person happening right before our eyes and all we can do is watch as her bruises grow.

Sometimes I forget how broken we as people (not just here, but everywhere) really are.

Please pray.

For the island
For its people
For the human race

Things like this don't just go away.