Monica joined Douglas the following year and he helped
her settle in. Life was difficult but
they both struggled through to the end of that year. Douglas was a cab driver to supplement his income to help pay for his upkeep. They went out for drinks at least once a month. Unfortunately Monica's dad passed away after
a burglary at their house in Kiambu. The
burglars kept asking for pounds as they thought that because the family had a
daughter based in the United Kingdom, she must have been sending them
money. When Monica’s dad didn’t give
them the money, they shot him and took a few electronics that they could
sell. With Monica’s dad gone, there was
no one to pay her tuition fees. Monica
struggled to pay her fees and bills and had to take up 2 jobs while attending
lectures everyday. She finally graduated and found a job to help support both
herself and her mother.
Every month the financial demands grew. Monica had to take on 2 full time jobs to
make ends meet; one job as healthcare assistant in the care industry and the
other waiting tables in a restaurant. To save money, she moved into a double
bedroom in a shared house so that she could send her mother more money. Two years later Monica decided that she
needed to make more money, and discussed this with a friend called Scarlet whom
she had met at a party on Jamhuri day. Monica told Scarlet about all her money worries
and the struggles she had trying to support her mother and make ends meet. Scarlet owned a silver BMW sport and lived in a
very posh house in Mill Hill, London.
Scarlet told her she knew how she could make more money than she was
making. Monica was eager to know and Scarlet suggested they met up the
following day, which was Saturday.
Monica went to Scarlet’s house early that afternoon. Scarlet told Monica that she would show her the best way to make more money. Scarlet
gave Monica a Lycra dress that was a bit too short and tight for Monica's taste
and some very high heels. That evening
they went to a Mansion in Chelsea for a party. Scarlet introduced Monica to a few people,
one of whom was an African lady known as Ginger (a nickname given to her for
her fiery Ginger dyed hair). Scarlet
outrageously flirted with all the middle aged men at the party and disappeared
a few times in the evening with various men.
At the end of the evening, Ginger gave Scarlet an envelope with
£2,000. When they got back to Scarlet's
house, Scarlet told her how she made the money and gave Monica £500 for being a
sport and talking to a few men. The
following morning Monica left and went back home. When she got home, she was very disturbed by
what she had seen. She decided
prostitution was not an option. She
continued to struggle to make ends meet.
Two months later, her mother phoned urgently requesting funds for her
cousin's daughter who had been sent home for lack of payment of school
fees. Monica told her mother that she
did not have any money to spare and would only have some on pay day which was
25 days away. Her mother explained that
the situation was dire and that the child was sat at home. Monica tried to get some extra money but to
no avail. She decided her last resort
was to take up Scarlet’s offer- just once to get the cash she needed. She called Scarlet who was happy to hear from
her. Scarlet took her to Ginger who
called some clients. Ginger gave Scarlet
a wad of cash and told her to take Monica shopping for clothes that
were fit for purpose. After 3 weeks, Monica quit her job and became a high
class escort. She learn ed that the
‘extras’ were where the money was. She
struggled emotionally with what she was doing, but the money was good and she
could fully financially support her mother and give her a better life. She built her a big house and even exported a
car from the United Kingdom for her. She
decided that her mother could never know what she did, and especially because
she was the head of the women's guild at their church. Monica rationalised to herself -at least she
was making good money unlike those that do it for pittance to buy drugs or waste it on designer clothes. She
bought herself a C-Class Mercedes to match the house that she had moved into
Her mother started bragging at Church and in the women's
chama's, about how well her daughter was doing.
She started to question other mothers with children abroad as to why
their children were not financially supporting them by building big houses and
buying them big cars. That year, Monica invited her mother to the UK for a
visit. She treated her mum to a
fantastic time and took loads of photos everywhere they went. When Monica’s mother got back she continued
bragging about how well her daughter was doing and this time she had photos to
prove it.
A few years later, a couple who were church friends with
Monica’s mother went to the United Kingdom to visit their daughter Wambui. When
they saw where their daughter was living they started asking questions. They
kept referring to Monica and how Monica had built a house for her mother among
other things. Wambui decided to take
them to Monica’s house to visit. They
could not believe their eyes. She was
living very well, but appeared cagey in discussions regarding what she did for
a living. When they got back to Wambui's
house, Wambui’s parents asked her to be honest about what Monica did for a
living. Wambui told them the truth. Wambui's mum told her that if she were to
ever find herself in a situation where she couldn’t afford to make ends meet
anymore, she would rather go back home to Kenya than become an escort. Wambui's father told her, that she could
build herself a house at her own pace on a piece of land adjacent to their
property that he had put aside for her.
On her return home, Wambui's mum went to the monthly
meeting for the women's guild, and as usual Monica's mum was bragging. After the meeting Wambui's mum told the
ladies what she had found out about what Monica did for a living. Her daughter Wambui had decided to help
educate the other women by telling her parents the truth. In a matter of days, the whole town knew what
Monica did for a living and Monica's mum found out. She confronted her daughter who confirmed it.
She sank into depression and wouldn’t leave her house due to the shame she felt
in the community. The relationship between Monica and her mother was never the same. Monica became ill some months later and after several tests the doctors confirmed that she was HIV positive. At first Monica went into denial, but later accepted to start a course medication. Two years later Monica
died of AIDS in the United Kingdom.
Sometimes the pressure to send money back home can mount
and lead people to do things they are ashamed off. People in the diaspora and people back home
can find a way to move forward without those in the diaspora doing things they
are ashamed off.
Meanwhile Douglas had fallen in with a wrong crowd and
started getting involved with fraud (419) scams. (Find out about Douglas in the next article).
No comments:
Post a Comment