My name is Komlan Eyram Mensah Dossou, and I am from Togo — a country where speaking out can cost you your life.
My name is Komlan Eyram Mensah Dossou , and I am from Togo — a country where speaking out can cost you your life. For years, I lived quietly, like many others, afraid of what might happen if I said what I really felt. But fear is a prison, and I’ve chosen freedom. I will not stay silent, because silence only serves the oppressor. When I joined the ANC, it wasn’t for personal gain. It was because I saw how deeply broken our system is. I saw families starving while the ruling elite lives in luxury. I saw children who couldn’t attend school, and doctors who couldn’t afford medicine. I saw elections stolen and protestors beaten. I began writing. I began posting. I marched. I called out corruption and repression by name — and the name at the top was always the same: Faure Gnassingbé . Soon after, the threats began. Anonymous messages. Warnings. “If you come back to Togo, we will find you.” Then they went to my home and threate...