In an interview with the Guardian, Patrice Evra explains how he works with the World Health Organization to protect children around the world, particularly in Africa. The former captain of the Blues, born in Senegal, revealed last year that he suffered sexual abuse at the age of 13.
After the confidences, the mobilization. Patrice Evra revealed last year that he was sexually abused by a teacher when he was 13. A painful memory that the former defender of the France team shared in his autobiography, before touring the media to talk about it at greater length. While he has stopped his football career since July 2019, Evra is now fully invested in the fight for the protection of children around the world. Last week, he spoke on the subject at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where his speech was widely applauded. The former Manchester United left-back, born in Senegal, works with the World Health Organization and regularly travels to Africa to meet victims, whom he calls.
“I have met many survivors. I am in a learning process. It is not because I suffered sexual violence at 13 that I know everything (…) I went to a school, the teacher asked the children: ‘Do you think that a black man can be mistreated?’ They all said no. Then I told them my story. They couldn’t believe it. For them, it was impossible for a man.”
He explains in an interview with The Guardian
“I am a different man”
“Abuse is taboo, but I love anything that is taboo. In African culture, for a black person, it can even be difficult to talk about love. seeing my mum kissing my dad. So to see an African having a successful life and then talking about things like that, they were in shock.”
Continues the 41-year-old star
Since the end of his career and his personal revelations, Evra admits to having changed his mentality. By splitting its shell.
“It would have been too difficult to show emotion when I was still playing. I remember once, we were on a plane with my team. A player was watching a movie and he was crying. I asked him: ‘Why are you crying?’ He said to me: ‘This movie, I’ve watched it five times and it still brings me to tears. My first reaction was to turn to my teammates and say: ‘This guy can’t play a football game , he’s a weakling. But now, I’m a different man, I would watch this movie with him and we would cry together”.
He says.
Source: Alexandre Jaquin
