Into the Silence

“We need to speak, if we can, so others can.” (Sara Ahmed)
Let me speak as much as I can. And bear with me…

A colleague harassed a student in one place.
Harassed and raped a student in another.
He had to leave … and got a job somewhere else.

Faculty knew but was asked to stay silent
and keep the institution’s reputation clean.
To cope with this horror many people whispered.

These omertà whispers came to me.
Now, my own silence turns me into an accomplice.
And that’s how the system works

in Germany – and elsewhere.

How is she doing?
I keep asking myself
into the silence.