MR. RAPIST

I met her my first day of college. I was 18 and she was 15. Her parents sent her off to the states when she was 9 to set her on the path of becoming a Dr. We immediately bonded-My curiousity of Africa and her fascination with the fact that I was so outspoken in an all girl, mostly white college. It didn't take me long to discover that her family was very wealthy...Very wealthy.
Her father was a well known lawyer in his country. She didn't talk much about him and my only contact with him was a telephone conversation.

"Hello, Sir."
"How old are you?"
"I'm 18 years old."
"You're awfully old for a first year college student. Are you Black?"
"Yes, I'm Black."

She snatched the phone from me. Our college years were spent de-mything each other's perceptions/culture. We got into heated debates about misconceptions of each other's culture, but, we remained friends long after college. She taught me all the dirty swahili words and schooled me on the trickeries of Nigerian men. We even transferred out of that college to another one and were suite mates. After we graduated, she moved to the east coast to do her residency, but we still talk everyday and we're convinced that we were meant to be in each other's lives.

Recently, I decided to google her father. He has a distinct name. Immediately many results popped up. He was in the middle of a scandal in his country. Accused of stealing millions from his country and transferring the money to Swiss accounts. His law firm had clients that consisted of many parliament members, the eletricity company and the water company. He was a multi-millionaire, but my google search results deemed him a rapist of his country.

I never spoke to her about my findings, but it bothered me. It was obvious that he was a white collar crook without monetary limitations and no remorse for his actions. Another article popped up about his winning bid for parliament and his flopped plans to contstruct a water system in his native village. Somehow the millions of dollars raised for the project went missing. Another article was his representation of two European men on vacation in his country, who killed an African woman and ditched her body in a river. He got them off scotch free. The picture showed him shaking their hands, with a large smile across his face as the family of the killed woman crying off to the side. The one that really pissed me off was of a statement he made when he was asked about the plight of HIV/AIDS in his native village. I won't even bother to quote him because it's just sickening.

I'm a bit torn because I consider her a really good friend, but it's just sickening to know that I have a friend who is related to someone like him. He probably thinks his three children are perfect with their American education and African roots.

I wish I could tell him how his beautiful daughter, the Dr. to be, has had three abortions and is twice divorced before the age of 26.

I want to tell him that his eldest daughter, who holds a law degree, can't find a job because she's never worked a day in her life, so she spends her time living off the money he robbed from his country and her latest crisis was deciding on which rinse jeans she should waste $200 on.

I would like to tell mr. rapist that his only son is an alcoholic who beats his girlfriend and has done jail time.

I want to tell my good friend that I know what her father does and it's sick and she should be ashamed. But I know this will never happen and I'll continue to pretend that I have no idea how is it that she manages to spend money so freely without worry.