Breaking: Nafissatou Diallo speaks out at press conference July 28, 2011 Anoushka The video, via Reuters.
I am bothered by the way that media has and is reporting on this case but good for her for being public and unashamed. I hope she can get enough attention to force this case to trial.
Here’s a transcript of the video. Errors are mine. I’ve indicated with question marks where I couldn’t make something out. Feel free to circulate. Nafissatou’s lawyer, Kenneth Thompson: First of all we want to thank everyone for coming to Christian Cultural Center today. We want to make it clear for everyone, not only in the US but around the world, that we not only stand up for Nafissatou Diallo – we take a stand for every woman around the world who has been raped or sexually assaulted and has been too afraid to speak out. Diallo is speaking out not only for herself but for all of those women as well. Now I want to introduce you to someone who is a leader – not only in New York but around the world. The pastor of this beautiful church – Pastor Bernard, who has shown support of Diallo since day one. Pastor AR Bernard: First let me thank the members of the press, media, for coming out this afternoon. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where too often justice is held captive by falsehood. And that falsehood when proclaimed is too readily accepted by our society. Such is the case for Diallo, who had no recourse but to seek an alternative platform to speak the truth. She is here today to thank those individuals and organizations who supported her, who were willing to listen to her story. I commend her, I commend her for her courage and her faith. Because she represents not just herself but women who have been victims around the world. It is my privilege to present her to you today as well as these individuals behind me and the organizations they represent, to show their support. I present to you, Nafi Diallo. Nafissatou Diallo: (during this speech, she is visibly choked up and emotional) Hi, my name is Nafissatou Diallo. I am here today to tell everybody how…I’m going through for these past two months. I’m going through a lot. My daughter…we going through a lot. We crying everyday. We can’t sleep. Me and my family – we are going through a lot. I am here because I have people calling me a lot of bad names – a lot of…I hear a lot of bad things people calling me. That’s why I have to be here and let people know a lot of things they say about me is not true. These past two months, like I said, I go through a lot. I was crying, my daughter was crying…one day my daughter told me, “Mom, please! Promise me you gonna – you stop crying! People call you bad names, people tell you bad things about you because they don’t know you. You have to remember this guy is a powerful man. Everybody knows that, but for you, only the people you work with or neighbors or people back home know you – but they say good things about you, because they know you. Please Mom, stop crying. Be strong for me.” Then I promised her I’m gonna be strong for you and every other woman in the world. What happened to me – I don’t want that to happen to any other woman. Because this is just too much for me, it’s too much for me and my daughter. And I am here to thank everybody…all these people who has been supporting me…I thank everybody…sometimes I think, God, why me! Why me! But – I just want to thank everybody. Pastor Bernard: [Reassuring her] That’s all right. That’s all right. [turning to the mic] I have been asked why and how my involvement – besides the fact that her attorney is a member of my congregation. I was approached by the United African Congress – their leadership – and they asked how I felt about the case. And I said you know what? I think the best thing for you to experience is to hear the story, hear the facts, from the attorney. And I organized a meeting between Mr. Thompson and these leaders. And these leaders stepped up to the plate, engaged in support for naff, and I think it is only fitting that they come forward and express themselves. Let me introduce to you the chairman of the UAC. The chairman of the United African Congress (UAC): Thank you, thank you Reverend Bernard. Thank you to all the members of the press for coming, and I’d like to thank Reverend Bernard for making this forum available for Nafissatou to come out and express her gratitude to all the New Yorkers of all stripes who have been supporting her and expressing their solidarity throughout this ordeal. And I’d like to thank the Reverend for your support, your friendship and for reaching out to the African community – so we thank you for that. The UAC has been mobilizing support and solidarity groups for this sister of ours from the beginning. And when her name has been dragged through the mud through an orchestrated media campaign we felt it was necessary for us to come out in support and demand that she have her name [?]. That’s why we had the first news conference on July 7 which was well-received. Throughout this time Nafissatou has maintained her composure and has held herself with dignity, and yet never lost her faith that justice would be done at the end. I would like to quote the eminent Brazilian educator Paolo Freire – who says washing your hands in a [here the sound/video cuts out for me!] …and to speak out. She has broken the mold for rape victims by coming out and having her own story told, and to correct all the misinformation that has been said about her. I think she’s an inspiration to all women around the world. We applaud her, we salute her, we [?] her for her courage and determination. And at some point, when history of the law regarding rape victims is written […?] future generations of law students will learn that Nafissatou has helped write some of the most important chapters…and Nafissatou, this is to express our solidarity with you, and we applaud you…thank you. Pastor Bernard: I think one of the important things is to understand the cultural context of this whole experience – Suleman is a leader of the community of Africans in NYC that represents the country from which [? Nafi?] comes from. Suleman: Thank you. I am here today to thank all of you – all the communities today. On behalf of the [Indian?] community, my organization, and my own behalf – to thank this community for standing up to support our sister. […?] I am glad to know we are not alone. We have the reverend, the UAC, and all the other organizations who stood up here to support our sister. I particularly want to commend our sister. Knowing my culture, knowing how hard it is to stand up and speak out about an ordeal as big as being sexually assaulted – it is a big strength for her. I really commend her for that. I also want to thank all the people in other countries, not just the US, who have been sending letters, sending emails, sending flowers – I want to thank them also for standing up for what’s right. This case is about justice. We don’t ask for anything less. I want to let our sister know that we are here standing with her. We want her to be strong – be strong for other women who have been sexually assaulted who don’t get a voice, for her daughter, for all the communities – particularly the immigrants in this country. Thank you very much. A female speaker is approaching the mic next, but Reuters cuts it off there.
saurus: Here’s a transcript of the video. Errors are mine. I’ve indicated with question marks where I couldn’t make something out. Feel free to circulate. Nafissatou’s lawyer, Kenneth Thompson: First of all we want to thank everyone for coming to Christian Cultural Center today. We want to make it clear for everyone, not only in the US but around the world, that we not only stand up for Nafissatou Diallo – we take a stand for every woman around the world who has been raped or sexually assaulted and has been too afraid to speak out. Diallo is speaking out not only for herself but for all of those women as well. Now I want to introduce you to someone who is a leader – not only in New York but around the world. The pastor of this beautiful church – Pastor Bernard, who has shown support of Diallo since day one. Pastor AR Bernard: First let me thank the members of the press, media, for coming out this afternoon. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where too often justice is held captive by falsehood. And that falsehood when proclaimed is too readily accepted by our society. Such is the case for Diallo, who had no recourse but to seek an alternative platform to speak the truth. She is here today to thank those individuals and organizations who supported her, who were willing to listen to her story. I commend her, I commend her for her courage and her faith. Because she represents not just herself but women who have been victims around the world. It is my privilege to present her to you today as well as these individuals behind me and the organizations they represent, to show their support. I present to you, Nafi Diallo. Nafissatou Diallo: (during this speech, she is visibly choked up and emotional) Hi, my name is Nafissatou Diallo. I am here today to tell everybody how…I’m going through for these past two months. I’m going through a lot. My daughter…we going through a lot. We crying everyday. We can’t sleep. Me and my family – we are going through a lot. I am here because I have people calling me a lot of bad names – a lot of…I hear a lot of bad things people calling me. That’s why I have to be here and let people know a lot of things they say about me is not true. These past two months, like I said, I go through a lot. I was crying, my daughter was crying…one day my daughter told me, “Mom, please! Promise me you gonna – you stop crying! People call you bad names, people tell you bad things about you because they don’t know you. You have to remember this guy is a powerful man. Everybody knows that, but for you, only the people you work with or neighbors or people back home know you – but they say good things about you, because they know you. Please Mom, stop crying. Be strong for me.” Then I promised her I’m gonna be strong for you and every other woman in the world. What happened to me – I don’t want that to happen to any other woman. Because this is just too much for me, it’s too much for me and my daughter. And I am here to thank everybody…all these people who has been supporting me…I thank everybody…sometimes I think, God, why me! Why me! But – I just want to thank everybody. Pastor Bernard: [Reassuring her] That’s all right. That’s all right. [turning to the mic] I have been asked why and how my involvement – besides the fact that her attorney is a member of my congregation. I was approached by the United African Congress – their leadership – and they asked how I felt about the case. And I said you know what? I think the best thing for you to experience is to hear the story, hear the facts, from the attorney. And I organized a meeting between Mr. Thompson and these leaders. And these leaders stepped up to the plate, engaged in support for naff, and I think it is only fitting that they come forward and express themselves. Let me introduce to you the chairman of the UAC. The chairman of the United African Congress (UAC): Thank you, thank you Reverend Bernard. Thank you to all the members of the press for coming, and I’d like to thank Reverend Bernard for making this forum available for Nafissatou to come out and express her gratitude to all the New Yorkers of all stripes who have been supporting her and expressing their solidarity throughout this ordeal. And I’d like to thank the Reverend for your support, your friendship and for reaching out to the African community – so we thank you for that. The UAC has been mobilizing support and solidarity groups for this sister of ours from the beginning. And when her name has been dragged through the mud through an orchestrated media campaign we felt it was necessary for us to come out in support and demand that she have her name [?]. That’s why we had the first news conference on July 7 which was well-received. Throughout this time Nafissatou has maintained her composure and has held herself with dignity, and yet never lost her faith that justice would be done at the end. I would like to quote the eminent Brazilian educator Paolo Freire – who says washing your hands in a [here the sound/video cuts out for me!] …and to speak out. She has broken the mold for rape victims by coming out and having her own story told, and to correct all the misinformation that has been said about her. I think she’s an inspiration to all women around the world. We applaud her, we salute her, we [?] her for her courage and determination. And at some point, when history of the law regarding rape victims is written […?] future generations of law students will learn that Nafissatou has helped write some of the most important chapters…and Nafissatou, this is to express our solidarity with you, and we applaud you…thank you. Pastor Bernard: I think one of the important things is to understand the cultural context of this whole experience – Suleman is a leader of the community of Africans in NYC that represents the country from which [? Nafi?] comes from. Suleman: Thank you. I am here today to thank all of you – all the communities today. On behalf of the [Indian?] community, my organization, and my own behalf – to thank this community for standing up to support our sister. […?] I am glad to know we are not alone. We have the reverend, the UAC, and all the other organizations who stood up here to support our sister. I particularly want to commend our sister. Knowing my culture, knowing how hard it is to stand up and speak out about an ordeal as big as being sexually assaulted – it is a big strength for her. I really commend her for that. I also want to thank all the people in other countries, not just the US, who have been sending letters, sending emails, sending flowers – I want to thank them also for standing up for what’s right. This case is about justice. We don’t ask for anything less. I want to let our sister know that we are here standing with her. We want her to be strong – be strong for other women who have been sexually assaulted who don’t get a voice, for her daughter, for all the communities – particularly the immigrants in this country. Thank you very much. A female speaker is approaching the mic next, but Reuters cuts it off there. Thank you for the transcript I was so caught up in another post that I missed over this one! She’s soooooooo very brave for speaking up and standing her ground publicly. It’s fucked up that it even got to that point.
Cecil Pelchat: The big news medias are not showing in this case the “fairplay“attention they should have displayed in such a seriousaffair. By downplaying Diallo’s press conference they areshowing instead a bias unwirthy of a democratic press.
saurus: “Thank you. I am here today to thank all of you – all the communities today. On behalf of the [Indian?] community, my organization, and my own behalf – to thank this community for standing up to support our sister.” Guinean, rather than Indian. Nafi Diallo is from Guinea. Understand the confusion though b/c when pronounced “In-dee-in” and “Gin-ee-in” do sound similar.
@Cecil Pelchat: Has this really been ignored by the MSM? I have not been following US media that closely, but I was under the impression that this was just a part of a media offensive from her. Eg http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/dominique-strauss-kahn-accuser-tells-story-exclusive-abc/story?id=14148298 As to this press conference itself, it did not present any new information as far as I could see. I do not think this media circus is helping either side. It would have been so much better if this could just have been left to the courts…