Last night I dreamed about you, my Baby Girl.
With tears in my eyes, I remember Your sad story that you have told me.
You were born last year on Christmas Eve, in a small village, right next to the mountain Kilimanjaro. Your mother, the daughter of a poor family, got pregnant unintentionally. She didn’t even know Your father’s name.
On the last day of the year, just a few days after You were born, Your grandmother arrived at Your hut. She brought a small and extremely sharp knife. You could feel Your mother’s fear.
She held You tightly in her arms. She wanted to protect You, but she was powerless against the will of the old lady. Your despairing cries made Your mother feel Your indescribable pain. When Your wound wouldn’t stop bleeding, Your mother took You to the next hospital by foot, two hours away from Your hut.
On the way to the hospital You, Baby Girl, bled to death in the arms of your crying mother. The doctors could not help you. They just determined Your death.
Like the majority of the girls in Africa, neither Your mother nor any other of your family members could visit a school.
Especially those girls, that never got the chance of school education, are under intense pressure of elderly family members and village inhabitants, that refuse to get rid of terrible rituals like FGM, despite all campaigns.
My Baby Girl, You haven’t even gotten a name, when you departed from us as a little nameless martyr. You became a victim of a cruel and senseless crime against humanity.
Every day You are on my mind. Especially today, on the international day against FGM I am thinking of you and light a candle for You in my house, that remembers me and my children of You and Your sad fate.
I promise You, I will never forget YOU, my Baby Girl, and I will never stop fighting against FGM.
LOVE
Waris Dirie
PS: If you want to save a little desert flower on this special day from her terrible fate, please support our sponsorship program
