Ruth Marimo a Zimbabwean by birth went to the United States as a teenager after surviving scrapes and heartbreaks from the suicide of her mother when she was a young child...
Finally settled on U.S. shores, she married an American citizen, they had two children but wedded bliss turned into a nightmare as she confronted her sexual identity and he turned on her in physical rage.
Her immigration status was the weak link in the chain and her husband
reported her to immigration and deportation proceedings ensued.
Fortunately the attempt failed but in the interim, she spent time in
detention where she began to jot down her feelings and confront all the
truths and issues our society shuns, from racism, illegal immigration,
and homosexuality to sexual and domestic abuse.
It was a book for her children – Chido and Simba – who could soon be
left abandoned as she was at age 6. She also found hope in accepting
herself as an African woman who is gay.
Those notes from prison and beyond have been compiled in a new book
called “Freedom of an illegal Immigrant: The Untold Story of My Search
for a Place in the World.”
Speaking to Sahara TV’s Fungai Maboreke, Ms. Marimo asserted that she
is one among many African women who are lesbian or have such
sensibilities but cannot come out in the open due to social, cultural
and quasi-political idiosyncrasies.
“I’ve heard endless stories of people who come out to me,” she said.
“Some obviously keep it secretive and stay in their heterosexual
marriages even though they are having other relationships on the side…”
Now in a same-sex relationship, she and her partner are raising her
two girls aged 8 and 4 and her 8 year old is an academic achiever, able
to outwit children older than herself in any spelling bee. They live in
Omaha, Nebraska, where she attends the Metropolitan Church.
The 33-year-old still writes. She writes poetry, which she reads publicly each month.
Maboreke recalled the intolerance and prejudice against gays
displayed by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe when he scorned them as
“worse than pigs.” To this, Ruth Marimo retorted: “He is entitled to his
opinion, but his opinion does not define who I am”
Her book can be found online on :SaharaReporters.com
ZIMBABWEANS PROUD AS ONE!
1)Is it justifiable for someone to claim a homosexual right in Zimbabwe?
2)Is it good to our Society?
3)What does it portray about the Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora ?
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