A little thread….29 January 2022. I was leaving Blantyre for Lilongwe. As i was passing by Kameza Roundabout i was like let me get matola a little money can’t hurt. Took one lady-Ntcheu, a guy-Llz. As i was about to leave a woman in her 55-65 was like mukupita ku Lilongwe aunt?
Yes i responded. Nditengeleni nsikanayi. She said so while pointing at a young lady i assumed she was 23. She got in as the woman came to my side of the window. Give me your number she said. Nsikanayu sakumva chichewa i said no problem assuming she speaks English.
It was a very silent journey and at 8:40 we were in Llz. Dropped everyone off but the girl i drove to Mugg & bean. I asked her is this place okay to drop you off she ddnt respond. Call your relatives..Silence. She then handed me 2 A4 papers this was an air ticket.
A checked and saw she was supposed to be at KIA however her plane wasn’t that day but the 8th February 2022. She then said something in French. That’s when i noticed she speaks no English nor Chichewa but French. I was like no problem google translator.
I was like so did you book a hotel or lodge to stay as you wait for the 8th. She said nope help me. I was like no problem whats your budget lets look for something online. She brought out K14,000 only. I said this is all you got yaa. Now i knew I’ve gotten myself in a mess.
We spent atleast 2 hours trying to find her an affordable place it was raining badly but since I’m not a Lilongwe person i just said you know what. I just moved to Lilongwe. I’m staying with friends as i look for my own place. So i will take you there but be nice for tonight.
Woke up early made her breakfast as i got ready for work too. Now i was like tell me more about your story. I am from Mali. I went to Mozambique for a holiday on 9th Jan at my sisters house. She is Married and both my parents live there too. To my surprise when i got there they
….had arranged a wedding for me to an old Nigerian man. I refused and said i can’t but they forced me to. So after the introductory i was forced to sleep with him i refused and lied im on my period. I was abused and locked in a room since then. On Saturday i managed to escape.
I had $100 and more which i used on my trip. I got in Limbe surrounded by men then that woman saw me and helped me get a bus after showing her the to ticket that’s how i met you. I don’t have clothes to change or anyone in Malawi.
I took her passport and travel documents and realized she is only 16 not 23 as i assumed. I felt so much pain thinking why would your own family treat you like this. Minute i got back from work i called all my friends like you guys are gonna escort me to the police
We went to area 30 then was referred to 18. The officers were kind enough but they said they can’t keep the girl coz the only place she can be staying in ndimusale. Please get her till tomorrow we will go area3 there they will give her a place. That morning we got busy.
gathered clothes went shopping for more. Then groceries shopping it was like I’m dropping my kid to boarding school. We started off for Area 3 welfare and district council offices. They said there is indeed a place she will be kept at but its were they keep street kids.
The moment i heard street kids i was like no wayyyy. I can’t expose her to anymore danger. Cant anyone keep the girl we all work she wont be with anyone maybe we can be doing shift taking care of her. Everyone said you’ve already been doing a good job mutengeni mukakhale naye.
The following day someone from the welfare picked her up from the house to go to immigration offices just to ensure her details were clear for her to travel back on the 8th. Around 10:30 on Tuesday i got a call to say her Visa to Mozambique wasn’t clear and so were some stamps.
On top of that her return air ticket was fake. She needs an air ticket. My world turned up side down. I asked how much around $860. I left work to go get my kid at the travel agency where she was been kept at the time. She was crying the whole time because of the ticket issue.
I was like kid remember the day we met i mentioned i was coming from school i had written to my university registrar to let me write my exams this year. I owe the university the exact amount for your ticket plus more for my next semester. I haven’t accessed my results since last
year. I can’t promise you i will find the money but I’m gonna try my best and find people. Welfare lady called me to say she will contribute 200K. At the travel agency i met one wonderful lady let me call her Aunt Zi. She said let me call my friend from Congo Aunt Mi. She came
through and was able to talk to the kid while she narrated her condition. She was like let me call my husband and said we will put in another 200k we will call some more people and aunt Zi was like i will chip in the remaining money. I was happy. We were just waiting for more
Wednesday to Thursday it was just us trying to show the kid around and have fun while at it. On Friday i got a call to say someone had bought a ticket. I asked who they gave me no name. Myself aunt Mi & aunt Zi were happy but we were like who bought the ticket for Tuesday meaning
today. How did they know because i haven’t even shared the story with people. They said anthu aku Mozambique. Knowing the kid said the husband they got for her was influential something ddnt sit right with us. But we were like lets not overthink we prayed for a ticket now
Lets tell the kid. That evening aunty zi and Auntie Mi came with so many nice clothes for the girl she was happy and we told her someone has bought her a ticket eeeeeeeeeee excitement. Took her to the saloon mwana was so happy
she never stopped smiling nde kunajambulidwa ma videos. I’m not a tiktok person but if you saw my tiktok you will find so many videos of her she literally made my phone hers😂😂and I’d find myself shading tears seeing her this happy. Now the kid wanted to go home so bad anayamba
kuvuta. I was supposed to travel to Blantyre for classes but i missed to stay with her also basically i had used all my money so no fuel. I called aunt Zi and Aunt Mi to say mwana wavuta. She said you know you have the ticket lets see if we can change it to a day sooner.
Then they called to say you know she cant leave today but Sunday we are late. She was like no problem. I always wake up early than anyone but on sunday when i woke up everything was packed. Young lady was all ready to go. I was like you know Check-in is at 11 right
Its only 6:00am all she did was laugh at me while she took videos. We started off for the hairport watched my little girl leave i was happy and sad at the same time. Ddnt really believe i was gonna miss someone i only talked to using google translator.
Monday morning welfare called saying the police are looking for me and the other ladies for kidnapping a kid. I laughed so hard. I was like who ddnt know the kid was leaving no one. But we have no proof she left. I sent them videos, the ticket said go to the airport ask for the
check in details. You are with the police they will give them access to the cctv cameras. So i kept getting random calls how do you know the girl. The girl is escaping with her boyfriend the one she loves. The man who got her a ticket is a friend to her dad so the dad wants her.
I was like you people know the girl is run away from her parents because they married her to an old rich man at 16. Now you are saying you want her to go to the same father when she clearly said the only person she is safe with is her brother in Mali????
At 5:00 Monday morning i was called to report to the police in the morning to answer charges a kidnapping. They claimed maybe i had agreed with someone to get her in Addis. I was like I’ve talked to the brother her plane from Addis left at 11:40 And will arrive at 3:40 Mali time.
The pressure got real. Here i kept getting calls where is the kid mwamuthawitsa the man who bought the ticket is mad. How much did you pay to change the ticket i was like $100. Then the most important text came through. She has arrived she is home. The niece and brother said
I was like i need proof I’m video calling you and there was my little girl in Mali at home and happy. I was so happy i informed everyone that the girl was home including the officers and who then said we are sorry for everything madam.
I still have to go sign everything at Area 18 this morning that the girl is home and so that they can talk to her for further proof. I had a very peaceful night last night after 9 days of keeping a stranger and almost being arrested. THE END
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