I found joy in people’s
suffering
When Nicole Takavarasha’s family got involved in the occult, she had no prior
awareness of the obligations that needed to be made. It became part of their
culture, and they understood it to be a way of having protection and a better
life. Little did they know what effects this would bring to their lives.
My family and I would visit
witchdoctors regularly. I didn’t
really understand what was
going on, but I would go because
I was told to. We were told to
pay a certain amount of money,
otherwise some kind of disaster
would follow. We hung on their
every word because we were afraid.
So, if they gave us something to
eat or drink, bathe with, or wear,
we followed without question. We
thought that, by doing this, things
would get better, but it was quite
the opposite.
Due to financial difficulties,
my parents migrated to
the UK, but my brother
and I remained with my
grandmother, who continued
to turn to the occult. This went
on for four years.” Eventually,
Nicole and her brother moved to
the UK to join their parents. “When
I started school, I realised that I was
different from the other children. I was
reserved and felt really self-conscious.
I wanted to interact with them, but I
wasn’t able to. At home – especially
Addiction failed
to satisfy me!
at night – things were equally as bad.
During the night, I would feel a presence
in my room on top of me. It was like
something was strangling me. I never
turned off the lights, and I hid underneath
the blankets because I was so afraid. I
would go to school feeling tired because of
the horrible nights I had. I didn’t know how
to describe what was happening to me, so,
although my mother was there for me, I
never told her what I was going through.
This helplessness led to me feeling empty
and