Darrian Amaker is a talented photographer, singer and creator.
She says of herself:
“I am a singer, a photographer, a writer. I make things. I give things away”.
She is also a victim of domestic abuse.
In a post that has now gone viral, Darrian wrote:
“A few days after thanksgiving this past year, my Love went straight psychotic and beat me brutally for ten hours. He had planned it out; I was supposed to die. I survived or escaped, whatever you want to call it, and spent four days in the hospital, eyes swollen shut, wondering why, wondering why.
I am physically safe now; my Love-no-longer has been formally charged by a grand jury with six felonies and faces many years as a prisoner.
I asked my doctor why I look different in the mirror, assuming it's a psychological consequence of savagery. Softly she remarked that all of my bones are bruised, quarter-inch ridges that I can feel - my face is different, it's one-half inch wider now”.
The singer is no stranger to sharing her voice
online. She posts her photos
here.
But for the first time, she decided to turn the camera on herself to raise awareness of the effects of domestic abuse.
Darrian writes:
“I don't generally record videos of myself but it was the only thing I wanted to do in the hospital. I insisted - it felt important and a small triumph to make something, salvage anything from my shipwrecked heart.
Domestic violence is not a faraway issue. It affects people you know, cheerful people, people who sing, people who love. We the humans must be better, kinder, stronger. We the loving must not tolerate abuse. We the living must facilitate life”.
At the time of publishing the video had been viewed over 53,000 times.
Hello - my name is darrian. A few days after thanksgiving this past year, my Love went straight psychotic and beat me brutally for ten hours. He had planned it out; I was supposed to die. I survived or escaped, whatever you want to call it, and spent four days in the hospital, eyes swollen shut, wondering why, wondering why. I am physically safe now; my Love-no-longer has been formally charged by a grand jury with six felonies and faces many years as a prisoner. I asked my doctor why I look different in the mirror, assuming it's a psychological consequence of savagery. Softly she remarked that all of my bones are bruised, quarter-inch ridges that I can feel - my face is different, it's one-half inch wider now. I have spent my life thus far collecting human stories: I am a singer, a photographer, a writer. I make things. I give things away. For the first time I have brushed up against an inhuman story and am deeply shaken. I don't generally record videos of myself but it was the only thing I wanted to do in the hospital. I insisted - it felt important and a small triumph to make something, salvage anything from my shipwrecked heart. Domestic violence is not a faraway issue. It affects people you know, cheerful people, people who sing, people who love. We the humans must be better, kinder, stronger. We the loving must not tolerate abuse. We the living must facilitate life.
Posted by Darrian Amaker on Saturday, 16 January 2016
