Decontee Sawyer and patrick’s three daughters |
In response to the open letter written by blogger Peace Ben Williams and published (HERE) yesterday, Patrick Sawyer’s wifey, Decontee, has out sent an apology to Nigerians.
In a mail exclusively sent to Peace Ben Williams, hours ago, she said thus:
Hello my dear sister. Are you the same
Peace Ben Williams that wrote me an open letter stating the magnitude of
Patrick’s actions on Nigeria?
If so, I want to thank you for your
letter. I took the time to read it, and it really opened my eyes. You
see, my dear, Patrick and I have been separated (not yet divorced) for
the past one year and seven months. He left me when I was seven months
pregnant with our third child. We already had a 3-year-old, and a
4-year-old together, with a third on the way.
He left us all and started a new family
in Liberia. I was left by myself to now raise three children alone, one
of which (my 3-year-old at the time) was diagnosed with autism. That in
itself was a challenge (and still is). Patrick left us, and he never
turned back. We only communicated occasionally regarding our children.
I was under so much emotional stress
during my labor that I almost lost my last child, Bella. Thank God she
is now a healthy 18months old girl. Patrick and I now have a 6yr old, a
5yr old, and an 18months old together (all girls). He and his mistress
have a 2-year-old daughter together in Liberia. They lived together in
the house that he and I built together. Can you believe the idiot named
the child he had with his mistress after me?
The man was deeply confused and
troubled. So, my dear, my letter I wrote was not to defend my husband
(the man that abandoned me with two small children while I was pregnant
for the third). My letter was to shine light on the beyond broken
healthcare system and bad governance of Liberia under President Sirleaf
and previous presidents. Ebola didn’t start with Patrick in Liberia, as
we both know. Ebola was in Liberia from a traveler from Guinea since
February of this year. The government knew about it and did nothing.
Many Liberians, including myself, called out to the government then to
close the borders. They didn’t do so until one of their own, Patrick,
died in July.
Screen shot of her apology |
Many people died before Patrick and
their lives were just as important. That is my frustration. Ebola didn’t
have to go to Nigeria, Africa’s most populated country, had the
Liberian government taken drastic actions sooner. I too, have family
members and friends in Nigeria, and now they are at risk because of
Patrick’s actions. In spite of my anger and disappointment with him, I
don’t believe that he did this with evil intent (I could be wrong). I
believe his actions was that of a desperate man. And sad for everyone
involved, Nigeria was closer than the U.S. This is just my take on what
he could have been thinking (of course, I could be wrong).
My regret is that I was so caught up in
my own pain and frustration, that I neglected to see the pain of the
innocent people both in Liberia and Nigeria who are affected by
Patrick’s actions. For that, I am deeply sorry. The last thing I wanted
to do was to cause them pain. It is a pain I know. It is a pain I don’t
want them to have. The interesting thing is, I didn’t even know Patrick
was in Nigeria until my sister living in Boston (USA) told me the day
before he died.
Patrick barely talked with me. He was
too busy being a Liberian government big shot. Power, if not used to
glorify God, can bring down a nation. It brought down my family. I
finally had a lawyer in Liberia serve Patrick with divorce papers
exactly a week before he died. He never signed it. Now I’m left as his
widow taking the heat while his mistress sits in peace. I just read your
open letter this morning.
Below is an open letter I [Decontee] wrote last week after I wrote my first letter:
I cannot apologize for Patrick’s
actions because I didn’t cause them. He did a lot of things I didn’t
like; going to Nigeria was one of them. His act was one of a desperate
man. Many Nigerians and Liberians are affected because of that act of
desperation.
I want to reach out to them and express
how deeply saddened and sorry I am for their loss and their pain. I do
apologize if my words have cost anyone who is grieving more pain. I fall
on my knees and ask God for his healing power for all of those who are
still infected with Ebola. I pray for all of the families who loved ones
were taken away by this merciless killer Ebola, especially those
affected by Patrick’s actions.
I pray for the people of Guinea,
Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. I pray for the people of Africa. We
are all affected by Ebola. It will take all of us working together to
eradicate Ebola. Ebola must go, and we must kick it out together. The
God in me wouldn’t allow me to go and hide. He strengthens me to stay
and fight. I’m fighting to help bring aid to my brothers and sisters in
Africa. I am committed to this fight. But I cannot do it by myself. I
need all of your help.
The good people of the world, not just
Africa, need to come together, and fight together. We can either do it
together and win, or we can tear each other down and loose. This is not
just my fight, or Africa’s fight. This is the world’s fight.
Thank you, and God bless you all.