Guinea

Barry Alpha is a livery-cab driver for Arecibo Car Service based out of Park Slope, Brooklyn on 5th Avenue. He arrives a couple of minutes early and the two of us try to throw everything in. He looks at me and I look back. We shake our heads. It's cold as hell and the luggage won't fit in the back. He's in his late 30s, originally from Guinea and spends 8-12 hours of his days, six days a week, glued to the leather seats of his Dodge Ram, tied to the radio where a guy in his early 20s decides whether or not he will have a customer.

Most of us cannot fathom what it is like to live with violence or political strife. We are governed by laws, morals and democratic rights that afford us the protection we require during times of crisis and upheaval. Though our rape statistics in North America continue to go under-reported, rape as an act of war is heavily prevalent in many regions of the world, especially Africa.