imams, lesbians, and rape

The imams they do not condemn us, they know lesbians exist. What they don't like is news of rape and some such.


(This is an excerpt from an interview. See also: http://tumbalatadavao.blogspot.com/2011/11/si-mherz-at-ang-usaping-sogi.html.)

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Mherz: The imams, they do know something, and some they really have a low regard for lesbians. They say that it can't be helped, having lesbians around, because in the old times, in the period before The Prophet, there were already lesbians. They know that lesbians exist, they do not condemn us, what they don't like is when they hear about rape and some such, because last month there was a rape involving lesbians.

Sheilfa: Last month?

Mherz: In September.

Sheilfa: Where is that?

Mherz: At Tanjung. At Zone 3.

Sheilfa: Really?

Mherz: A student.

Sheilfa: Just this last month?

Mherz: Yes. That's why lesbians have such a bad reputation here.

Sheilfa: You know the rapist? What is she like, an addict?

Mherz: No, not an addict. It's like this. The girl's MU got into a fight with this lesbian.

Sheilfa: With the rapist.

Mherz: Yes. With the rapist. They had a fight at one time and the girl's boyfriend got a beating and took it hard. He did not hit back. Just took all the insults spat at him and kept them inside him. Then he said to the girl's boyfriend, one day you will be sorry for all this.

Sheilfa: Then she found an opportunity to get back.

Mherz: Yes. Through the girlfriend.

Sheilfa: Men do that all the time. They do that. That's why during war, say this camp and that camp, or this country and that country, instead of men killing each other, it's the women they turn on, so we have this mass rape each time there is a war. What this tomboy did, it's like that. Hurt the woman to hurt back another man.

Mherz: Yes.

Sheilfa: Because if she fought one-on-one she would be beaten.

Mherz: Haha. He'd be beaten black and blue. He won't score a single point. Zero. So what he did, he took the girl, fetched her from school.

Sheilfa: She had her kidnapped?

Mherz: No. He told the girl the boyfriend wanted her.

Sheilfa: The girl had no idea that she will be...

Mherz: She didn't know about the fight.

Sheilfa: But the girl was not the object of the fight.

Mherz: No. There was another issue. But I don't know what.

Sheilfa: And then? After fetching her?

Mherz: The girl said, where are we going? Wait, I will just get my bag. Then she just noticed that they were already at Zone 3. She said, why are we here? Your boyfriend is here and wants you here because he's got some problems, he'd like to get some fresh air. She believed him. And when they got to this hut, it was a small hut, she asked, Where's.... she looked for her boyfriend. But he wasn't there, of course. Not here, he said to her, your boyfriend is not here.

Sheilfa: And then she raped her.

Mherz: Not right away. First, he beat her. He said to her, listen to what I have to say to you and get all of this to your boyfriend. I didn't ask anymore what he said to her, the patient had difficulty speaking, you see. She was rather traumatized. She was fifty-fifty when she was taken to the hospital.

Mherz: She is from the Port Area. Fourth year high school. They are our friends, the perpetrators. Including the girl, she is also a friend.

Sheilfa: Who told you about this?

Mherz: She herself. She told me while she was at the hospital. At the public hospital. We were there, I chanced upon her because a friend's sibling was also admitted on that day. She is the daughter of an imam. A bit older than me.

MM: Older than you?

Mherz: I mean the face. But I don't know if she really is older than me because…

Sheilfa: She's tall?

Mherz: Yes. She's got a nice body, aha?

Sheilfa: The tomboy that raped her, is she also big?

Mherz: No. Just about my size, but there were four of them.

MM: Tomboys?

Mherz: Yes.

MM: The ones who played basketball with us?

Mherz: Yes. Two of the tomboys are from Busbus, one is a student of Sulu State College, third year high school.

Sheilfa: What did they use, a motorcycle?

Mherz: Yes.

Sheilfa: There were gang rapes before, remember? And no one was really arrested or penalized, right? They got away with it. So these tomboys, they took after these crazy rapists.

Mherz: That's why.

Sheilfa: You don't know their names?

Mherz: I don't know the names.

Sheilfa: These are the same tomboys you see around during practice?

Mherz: Yes. And they're our friends too, but not very close.

Mherz: Took fancy on her.

Sheilfa: Turned on her. Boys do that. If they cannot square it off with another boy, they hurt the girlfriend or the sister. What do people here usually do in such cases, keep it secret, contain it? It shames the woman, the family?

Mherz: No. They also try to talk about it, because the father wanted to ask for help, because at the time when the daughter was at the hospital and he was home, the rapist's uncle visited him and warned him against... what's ipasaplag, M?

Sheilfa: Spread.

Mherz: Yes. To not expose it, not tell people. And especially, he said to him, don't ever think of filing a case because I can finish you anytime I like, even right at this moment. There was nothing he could do. They are poor.

Sheilfa: It's like a repetition of what happened before. It was like this in 2009, right? There was this series of rape. But now, the perpetrators are lesbians. Fuck.

Mherz: The rapists are lesbians.

Sheilfa: What's the implication of that on our work of organizing lesbians. Shiiit.

Mherz: The tomboys in Jolo are shitty fucks.

Sheilfa: That's why, maybe there is a need for us to create an alternative... lesbianhood, right?

Mherz: Some lesbians I know are even into selling girls.

Sheilfa: Is Rhidz among these?

Mherz: No.

Sheilfa: Are you among these?

Mherz: Eeeey! Sipais!

Sheilfa: What's sepais?

Mherz: Nothing. It's like Jesuschrist.

MM: Never.

Sheilfa: So you have never in your language. Is it true that during the series of rapes in 2009, some lesbians were at the service of these rapists, espying after the girls and feeding information to the rapists, like she goes to school at this hour and goes home at this hour. Is it true?

Mherz: Before? They just did not rape girls, they were also selling them into prostitution.

Sheilfa: They really did that?

Mherz: They did that all the time.

Sheilfa: They're the pimps here? In Davao the fags are the pimps.

Mherz: Before, everyone was a pimp. Fags, tomboys, anybody. Men, women.

Sheilfa: Everyone was a pimp?

Mherz: Yes. Sometimes even your own mother pimped for you.

Sheilfa: True.

Sheilfa: You know of many cases like that here?

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