Growing up, both my parents had good jobs and we lived in a nice house. My parents decided to give life in the UK a go and this is when I really saw what was going on between them.
My parents got a flat and we all had to live in one room. I started to see my parents arguing over anything and everything. They could never sit down and resolve their issues. As soon as they would return home from work, they would start arguing. There was never a time where we would sit down as a family.
One day, when I was around 7 years old, I saw my dad take the belt he was wearing and beat my mum with it. As she turned away to protect herself, he hit her again on the back, but this time with the buckle, leaving her with a deep bruise.
There were many times that he would shout at me and my brother and also beat us with his belt for the smallest of mistakes. However to see him beating my mum in the same way was so painful. It was degrading and I was truly terrified of my father.
Another time, he punched her in the mouth so hard that her tooth cut right through her lip. I thought that anything I said to my dad would make him hit me. It would hurt so much when I would hear other children talking about good things their parents did. I definitely couldn’t say the same things about my family.
I’d always been a good student getting straight As. My parents amazingly had managed to solve all their issues as they had started attending the UCKG. However, although I should have been happy about that, all I felt was bitterness inside.
They never once asked me how I felt after witnessing all the arguments and violence. They just wanted to continue as normal. I doubted whether they cared about me. They got busy with their businesses and then decided to move me to a good school and that’s when I started to rebel.
Growing up, both my parents had good jobs and we lived in a nice house. My parents decided to give life in the UK a go and this is when I really saw what was going on between them. 