Injustice with traces of indignation

After the crisis, in 2008, I had to leave university and try to get a job. Since I didn’t have a driver’s license and no experience, I didn’t get any decent job. After getting some money for selling books, and got my license, still I was unemployed. With a few gigs, I was at the age of 22, entering into a Secretarial course because of being unemployed. It was at that moment that this happened.

Some weeks passed since we started the course. Everyone was trying to achieve their objectives and beliefs of a better life. It was a lot of young women since it was a course for young people less than 23 years old. The men were attached until all the situation occurred. Don’t forget that these are the memories of a witness, that happened in 2012 or 2013. Some perceptions could change real events. But, anyway, this is what I remember.

I was a witness of the moment, even when I was a little far. It was in front of the school. I will not say the true names since they are in their lives. But Tony was always a little over himself with some kind of sentences that we would say. He was a huge and big man, that we noticed that seemed that was sleeping in his car – even when he said that he lived with her grandmother.

On a fateful day, some kind of bad comment he made to Tina had a response. She said that he couldn’t talk to her like that, with that lack of respect since she didn't do the same to him. What she didn’t know was what was about to unfold.

He continued speaking badly and naming her very bad names, almost all kind that he could think of and their voices started to be louder. She was trying to tell him that he should respect people even if he didn’t respect the members of his family. Her empowerment was something that until today I thought was her strength. And I think that, into that arguing, had made him crack. And I wasn’t expecting any of what happened next. Their voices were getting louder, and it was off-tune. Harsh words. But it didn’t stop there.

He was a big man, as I was saying, and he decided that this fight wasn’t enough, and she was fighting too much. He was losing, so he decided that it was time to shut her up. Not only that, but he squeezed her neck with just one hand, and lifted her off the ground, pushing her against a car behind her that was parked near the school entrance.

Some people froze from the shock and others ran to try to separate them, while he continued to crush her against the car while his hands were on her neck. I do not remember what I did, because until today I am still thinking about their movements and not mine. It was kind of a shock to me the way that escalated quickly, it still is.

In the end, they were separated, and she was taken to the hospital. Police and some journal were called to the spot. In the end, the story that the journal told was about two lovebirds that were fighting and that got out of hand. Nothing true, I felt that it was some trash journalism that was trying to portray that it was just normal lovers fighting. I hated that.

They were suspended from school for some days. She was alive because her back muscles and fat made her survive the crushing. She had bruises on her neck, and back. I don’t recall exactly, but I think that those bruises lasted for at least a month and I could see in her face that it hurt like hell.

Worst, she was a victim of violence unprecedented, and they were both suspended. Tina was crushed into a car by a worker in that school. The woman sued her for the damage to the car. Tina was injured, traumatized, suspended from our classes, and still had to defend herself in a court case because of the car her body dented.

The school director seemed that it was harsher with her than him. Like they were both culprits. The woman who was the owner of the car was also insane. She had to battle to come back to the course and getting it done. The director didn’t want any involvement and was eager to end any relationship with them. E even said a lot of sexist words that made Tina waver. Such a hard time. He continued in suspension and I don’t know or care anything about that vicious man. She had even found out that he wasn’t with his grandmother because he already had a court case against him, because of the violence that he did to her.

At last, she could go back to the classes, and we were glad that one injustice was resolved. She passed, just like I did, and she got a job at the final internship. I was glad that she was better about all the ordeal and got a job – it was one of the most wanted objectives for us all: getting a job in those hard times.