It was 1982 in Perth, Western Australia. I was 15 years old and in the Australian Naval Reserve.
My mother had a very hard life with drawn-out agonies from lupus, cancer and abusive relationships; she was tired from all that had happened to her. She just wanted my younger brother and me to hurry up and grow up and alleviate her of the hardships of parenting and motherhood. The best way to obtain this was to marry me off, giving me an early jump start on the path of my own life.
With the American Naval personnel arriving in Perth on aircraft carriers for R&R, there was intermingling of American and Australian troops. This worked well for my mother’s need for me to start a relationship and leave home.
I met a U.S. sailor who was 25 years old and found myself being coaxed by both him and my mother into a relationship that I was in no way, shape or form ready for.
By November of that year, I was in the United States at Whidbey Island, Washington. I was now 16 years old; he was 26. I am still in disbelief at how easy it was for my mother to get the assistance of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Consulate in order to get me a fiancé visa. I arrived in the U.S. knowing only him.
I was married on December 23rd, 1982. We remained married until 2004, when I was finally able to divorce him. I endured 23 years of horrific abuse, and so did my four children. Nearly two decades later, the damage is still there, due to him exacting parental alienation against me. I have not seen two of my sons in over 13 years. I am also disabled with an autoimmune disorder and PTSD. Our medical community now understands that extreme stress and abuse contributes to autoimmune disorders. Like many others, my multi-layer damage is forever. I now fear what kind of contributing conditions my children will end up with.
Too many rules lacking morality leads to too many broken people, which leads to an unhealthy, drained society.
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