Hazel’s pain and triumph

These are the words with which Marlene Hazel ends her book, A Piece of Me- A true story of Abuse and Triumph. The book is a tell-it-all story of her life. A life full of abuse, which she “suffered at the hands of her father, stepmother, grandfather and her father’s drunken friends,” as stated in the preface of the book.

It also tells the story of the many struggles and heartaches that she has had to face.

Hazel is the mother of 14-year-old murder victim Aneisha Simon.

The young pannist was killed while practising at Simple Sound panyard at Arima when gunmen opened fire. That incident was yet another chapter in Hazel’s life of pain and suffering.

With chapters titled “Abused by a Stranger,” “Lies and Deceits,” “My brother dies of AIDS” and “A piece of Me,” Hazel bares her life story. From her days as the exotic dancer, “Monica,” to the murder of her beloved daughter Aneisha, almost a year ago, Hazel has been through it all but in the midst of all of this, she has somehow been able to find peace.

She began writing the book while living with a drug dealer in Antigua nearly two years ago.

The drug dealer, the father of her six-month-old son, Ability, had locked her in a room and abused her repeatedly. Writing, therefore, became a means of escape for her. However, on receiving a letter from one of her children begging her to come home, she decided that she needed to find some way to get out of the type of life she was living.

She realised that she was continually putting men, who neither loved nor appreciated her, before her children and that it was time to come home and be a real mother to her children.

She fled Antigua and returned home to Trinidad the day before Arima Borough Day celebrations last year. On her return, she decided that she had to make positive changes in her life. However, in the midst of all this new-found hope came the death of Aneisha on August 30. She was killed by a bullet which pierced her left eye. This tragedy took Hazel back to the days of abuse that she suffered in her earlier life.

“My whole life seemed like a circle —with bad things happening over and over again and Aneisha’s death confirmed all of that for me. I questioned God a lot and wondered why this happened to such a bright girl who was going along the right path. I started going to church and praying for answers. The only answer that I got, however, was that God wanted me here for a reason,” Hazel said.

That realisation was inspiration for Hazel to complete the book, which she dedicated in memory of Aneisha and also to Hazel’s brother, Anthony who was also killed by gunmen five years ago. Hazel wants to use her life and all that she has been through as a testimony to all others.

“I hope that the book will pass through the school system and that it will inspire young girls to make the right choices. I also hope that it will get into the hands of women who may be in abusive relationships and that it would make them realise that there is hope and that they can get out of it. They have to realise from my experience that when men hit women, it is wrong and that it is not love,” Hazel said.

“I want this book to also reach mothers who may be forsaking their children for men and that it would encourage them to stop and be real mothers to their children.”
Although Aneisha’s case remains open as there are no leads or suspects in the case, Hazel remains hopeful that by the grace of God, her daughter’s killers will be brought to justice.
The book, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs, will be launched on Wednesday at the Simple Sound Panyard where a memorial and thanksgiving service will also be held for the one-year anniversary of Aneisha’s death. It will retail in stores for approximately $45.