Karamo speaks with someone who was robbed at gunpoint at age three, then placed in foster care where they experienced bullying and neglect. At fifteen they left home for their grandmother's house. Now, fifteen years later, they want to tell their mother everything that's been left unsaid and finally be heard.
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So what was it like growing up?
Growing up, it was up and down. Honestly, it was full of neglect, abandonment, feeling loneliness, depression, suicidal thoughts, all of that.
Yeah. Here you go. I'm so sorry. Why were you put into foster care?
Like about age of 3. My mom and I, we were robbed at gunpoint. I need air. I'm sorry.
No, take a deep breath. Yeah, sometimes bringing up old memories have these emotions on us, so I get it. How old were you at the time when that happened?
I was about 3.
I'm gonna go past that moment. I wanna ask you, What was your experience like in foster care?
I was bullied. My hair was falling out. My grandma took pictures of bald spots.
There's a lot of pain and trauma. So I know you got outta foster care and you finally went back home. What made you leave home at 15?
I left because originally me and my mom had agreement. I sat her down, I said, stuff going on in the house. I can't deal anymore. And I wanna graduate high school. Every weekend I would go over to my grandmother's. Yes. And I would do homework. And this one particular night, my mom called my uncle and told my uncle not to come. Didn't let me know. So I was just sitting there waiting for hours. So I had made up a plan. She didn't care about whether I graduated high school, so I don't give a shit. I bundled up, bought 7 outfits and my laptop and put it in a trash bag and left that night.
Yeah.
And I never came back.
And you moved in with your grandmother at that time. And how was it living with your grandmother?
My mom had distanced me from my grandmother and I didn't know my grandfather was, had cancer.
All right, so it has been 15 years since you've had a conversation with your mom. I wanna know what is the one thing you want from her today?
I want to tell her everything that I didn't get a chance to tell her.
So you just needed her to hear you, that's it?
Yeah.
You don't need anything past that?
And I've struggled throughout my childhood for her to listen to me.
