Nanythe Talini

I didn’t really know what it means to be a survivor before coming to TASSC.

Here, I first understood how meaningful the psychological torture I went through was, how significant the psychological scars I’m bearing are, and how powerful I am as a survivor. TASSC broke down the loneliness and the silence I was confined in. I was introduced to its great diverse community - my new family - where I always find somebody to listen to me, to laugh with me, to smile with me, to hug me, to ask about my family, and to suffer with, sharing my pain.

To me, being a survivor equates to living with a permanent physical and psychological wound; which will never, maybe, heal; but also with the hope that the torture and its causes (oppression, dictatorship, etc) will be defeated. That is why being a survivor means to continue living, not only to achieve my own goals, but also for those who didn’t survive and for those who have been silenced because they are in prison, they are living in hiding or they have been killed.

Being a survivor means speaking aloud to denounce torture, to fight oppression, to combat atrocities, to break down injustices and to subdue and destroy dictatorship.

By doing so, we will prevent all of these calamities from spreading and from happening again. Then, our pain will alleviate; our wounds will diminish.

Nanythe Talini is a journalist and human rights promoter, who was persecuted for denouncing corruption and criticizing the dictatorship in her country. Nanythe came to the US for school. After publishing investigative articles which exposed corruption in the electoral process and mass killings committed by the government, in which two of her brothers were killed, Nanythe was warned by a friend that her name was on the black list of journalists to detain upon her return. As a result, Nanythe filed for political asylum in the United States and is still waiting for a decision on her case.