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‘How I was raped at 16 by a gardener’ – Ghanaian actress, Gina Mensah’s shocking experience

Ghanaian-Nollywood actress, Georgina Oseiemensah, simply addressed as Gina Mensah, recapped her bitter experience, ordeal in the hands of a gardener who raped her at 16, how she got her groove back after developing phobia for sex for years. She unwrapped her advice for rape victims and mothers, her personal movie and much more in this interview with ENCOMIUM Weekly on Friday, January 20, 2017, at a movie location in Lekki, Lagos.

What’s going on now in your career?

This is new year, new life, new beginning and new everything. So, my career has also taken a new life and beginning. I appreciate God for taking me this far and making me see the end of 2016 and the beginning of this year.

What’re you working on at the moment?

Actually, I am working on a project right now, a very big movie project to be precise. It’s actually a multimillion naira flick which has to do with the journey between Nigeria and Ghana, the borders, what goes on in Africa. Things that are really happening within the African continent.

It’s a real African setting. I don’t need to disclose the details of the project now, but it’s really going to set the records straight in the industry and beyond. Recently, I just did a little video clip, it’s called a teaser. It’s a kind of clip you send everywhere, including radio and television stations, social media platforms and all that just for awareness that something big will come out soon.

Are you the one bankrolling the project or there is a man somewhere footing the bill?

It’s a personal thing. But surely, sponsors will come in when they realize what you’re doing is sensible.

Are you saying nobody has stepped in to invest in the project?

For now, I wouldn’t want to say anything about that. Let’s just leave it as it is.

How would you describe the journey so far now that you’re planning to come out with a project to call your own?

I would say it has not been all that easy. Many people can testify to that. But so far, I thank God. It’s something worth the while.

In your resolution for 2017, you said you’re going to dump Alaba movies for the cinemas’. How?

Yes, dumping Alaba Movies doesn’t mean I am not going to be participating in the movies going to Alaba out rightly. In fact, Alaba Movies of a thing is Nollywood itself. Almost all the movies we shoot usually land in Alaba. But what I am trying to say is that I want to be really selective this year. It’s not all the movies you have to take part in for you to get there.

You only need to shoot the good ones so that when they come out, they will speak well of you. Also, as you grow, things will be changing. Change is constant and if you refuse to acknowledge that, you will discover that suddenly you’re just overtaken by events. So, for you to grow, you need to change some certain things in your life, including your way of reasoning, dressing, even the people you move around with. There are some jobs you do, they tarnish your image.

So, one needs to think about these things. It helps a lot. So, that has been my decision this year. And I pray God will help me uphold it.

Would you say you have grown to that level, career wise?

By God’ grace, I have. I know I even passed that level.

Now, how much do you charge as artiste fee per script?

Definitely, a good production will want to pay you well so far you’re sure of what you have upstairs. Even, if it’s not 100 percent at least 70 percent will still be okay. So far that’s done, I am okay. It’s not a kind of production where the producer doesn’t even care about the stress his or her artistes are going through. All they’re after is just use the artistes, exhaust them and dump them or give them peanut, especially the up and coming ones.

And one thing is that, when they say stars, they always forget that no established star can act alone without the support of upcoming ones. So, they should also realize that growing stars also need to be taken good care of. They also need good cash to move on.

So, this year, I am not out to work for free or peanut. It’s better to stay off and do your own thing than to be wasting my precious time, energy, costumes and all that, jumping from one movie set to the other for nothing sake. Working for free or peanut is not an easy thing, my brother. I have to stop that this year, and I believe God will help me out.

In your journey of life, not career this time around, has there been a profound memory of any incident that remains a bitter pill, difficult to swallow?

The only bitter experience I had, and any time I remember it, it makes me feel somehow, though I have outgrown it now was when I was raped as a virgin. A virgin being raped! You can imagine how horrible and painful that would be.

Oh! That’s defilement and rape at a time?

Yes, I was defiled and raped. It’s a terrible experience. But that has become history now. It can’t happen again.

But how did you feel that time going through that kind of a horrible experience as a child?

Of course, I felt so bad. As a teenager, it’s very painful. As a virgin, you’re raped. No, no, that’s so terrible. It’s not pleasant at all. May be I wouldn’t have known how painful it’s to be raped if I wasn’t a virgin. Since that happened to me, I became scared of men. I couldn’t go close to men for years. But later, when I started meeting people, understanding life better and all that, the whole thing was then put behind, and I  moved on.

How did the whole thing happen?

To me, it’s a planned work between my step mother and a gardener. She sent me to collect money from him. And as an innocent child, I just went straight to the man where he was working. It’s was a quiet garden where he was wetting flowers.

And on getting there, I called him. He now said I should come in which I did. But before I knew what was happening, he was over me. That’s how I started shouting, crying and screaming for help, but there was nobody to rescue me.

Before I knew it, he had already raped and defiled me, leaving blood all over my body. It’s a painful experience. And the saddest thing was when I reported to my step mother, she only calmed me down, petting me. She told me I should let go the whole thing. After all, anyhow, one day, I would be defiled by a man. She even promised to get the man arrested.

Was the man arrested?

For where? Which kind arrest. That’s the end of the story. Just like I said, it’s like a planned evil between my step mother and the gardener for reasons best known to them. But whatever it’s, I have moved on.

Where were your mom and dad when the incident happened?

That’s a long story. Right from time, my dad and mom never lived together as husband and wife. My dad stayed with my step mom.

Do you know if the man is still alive now?

That aspect I don’t know.

Did he apologize what he did to you?

I don’t know about that also. I only know he regretted what he did because he was an older person, far older than me.

Can you guess his age?

I can’t really pick that, but I think he should be around 40. He was a very mature man.

How old were you then?

I was still very young, a teenager.

About 16 or 17?

Yes, around that range. I couldn’t be more than that then.

Each time you remember the experience, how do you feel?

Anyway, just like I said, I have put it behind me. I believe anyhow, somehow as a lady, you must be defiled one day by a man. So, I don’t really allow that to really bother me again. But still, it’s not a good experience being raped and defiled as a young girl.

Did the bitter experience create a kind of phobia for sex for a long time?

Yes, it really did. I was always scared of men.

But remember you told us recently that you were once married and heart-broken by a Nigerian lover. Was that the time you got rid of the phobia?

Yes, I think the whole thing happened gradually after meeting the man I married then. The thing died off as time progressed. Everything is cool now.

What’s your advice for those out there who have also gone through similar experience?

My advice for the ladies and teenagers with such experience is, I am sorry for what you might have gone through, but you shouldn’t allow that to rob you of your heart of forgiveness. Try and forgive and forget so that you can move on. Then, try as much as possible to remain positive.

Does that mean you have also forgiven the man and his accomplice?

Yes, I have forgiven them finally. I don’t even have that in my heart any more.

What’s your advice for parents out there, concerning their female children?

They should just be vigilant about their kids generally. They shouldn’t leave them in the hands of their maids or neighbours. There are been many stories of girls of seven, eight being raped and defiled by all these wicked neighbours. So, it’s a very good thing for parents to put eyes on their children as they grow up.

Fine, they may not be there with them in the school or wherever they go, yet they can still monitor them. Also, talk to them and let them know the reality of life. The major problem these days is that most parents don’t ever think of their children, all they think of is money, money and nothing else but money, forgetting that money is not everything. And when children get back to the house from school, all they meet is the maid.

And there’s no way a maid can be like a mother or father. And some parents go to work early in the morning and come back late in the evening. And the next day, they’re off to work again before their children wake up.

It’s just crazy. Parents should try and have time for their children, no matter the kind of job they do. You may be a banker, a lawyer or an entertainer. Whatever you’re, just create time for your children and be close to them.

Do you have it in your plan to float a foundation for rape victims as a result of your ordeal?

Yes, I will surely do that. I am also planning to create a foundation for the less privileged and another for youth empowerment. I really like to help and serve humanity. I want to take the roaming youth off the street. I believe with God, all the dreams will come true.

  • TADE ASIFAT
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