Leaky Roof's Message

Domestic violence doesn’t just hurt the victim. It hurts everyone involved in the victim’s life. The ones who are left unattended and suffer the most are the young children who have to witness it. Recently, Porsha Chang, director and writer, wrote and directed a short film titled Leaky Roof: Tsev Xaw Naag. Its message spread throughout the web and I was one who sat down and watched it. The outcome of it left me feeling hollow and completely helpless. It made me realize how ugly this world can be behind closed doors.

            Our culture has been male dominated for a long time. Women were voiceless and walked where the elders pointed. If a daughter came back home to tell a tale of domestic abuse, she was lectured and then turned over to her husband. Its violence was swept under the rugs where it was kept hidden and secret. No one knew the sufferance she went through and no one knew the pain she lived. This ten minute clip showed the truth of what decisions like this led to. It led to the sound of a heart beating its last beat.

            Many people were quite offended by the graphic disturbance it show cased. But the truth is that domestic violence isn’t pretty. It’s hidden underneath layers of tears; hidden under clothes; and hidden under a lost soul. Unless you have walked the shoes of a domestic violence victim, you’d be offended. But the person who you forget is the person who is sitting next to you, who talks sweetly and looks like an angel. Perhaps she is a victim of domestic abuse and creates a façade so no one knows her pain. Perhaps she cries silently in the middle of the night as she counts how many bruises will surface. Perhaps she mourns the pitter of little feet that run to hide in closets.

            I want you to take a moment and sit down to watch this clip. Each day we spend hours on the internet surfing things that dirty our minds, spoil our lives, and ruin our relationship. This ten minute clip will change your life and give you a wakeup call.Leaky Roof: Tsev Xaw Naag