Woman with skin condition shares discrimination she faces in church during ‘sign of peace’

A Nigerian woman with a genetic disorder that reflects on her skin has shared what she faces in church during the ‘sign of peace.’

Eseoghene Susan Oghenekevwe is living with neurofibromatosis. It is a genetic disorder that cause noncancerous tumors to grow along the nervous system, skin, and bones. 

According to Susan, who is a Catholic, whenever she’s in church and it’s time for members to offer each other the sign of peace by shaking their neighbours’ hands, people avoid shaking her hand. 
 

Narrating her experience, she wrote on Facebook: ‘The reason I stopped looking left or right during the Sign of Peace in church.

‘Before Holy Communion, whenever they say, “Let us share the sign of peace,” I used to stretch my hand to the person beside me. Sometimes, they wouldn’t even bring their hand out. I would try the other side, and the same thing would happen.

‘And honestly, it used to hurt.

‘These are people I see every Sunday. People who know my parents, my siblings, and my family. We are not strangers. But somehow, the things on my skin have made something as simple as shaking my hand become a problem for some people.

‘So I stopped looking left or right.

‘When they say, “Let us share the sign of peace,” I simply stand, make the sign of the cross and remain calm. If someone I’m familiar with stretches their hand to me, of course, I will gladly share the peace. But I no longer stretch my hand first unless I know the person will receive it.

‘Because I’ve learned that sometimes, it is better not to extend your hand and have it rejected than to keep putting yourself through that pain.

‘Peace is already with me…’

In another post, she shared how her husband accepts her as she is.
 

She wrote: ‘When I first started posting pictures on Facebook, I hardly posted my pictures without editing. 
‘I always had to edit because so many people are frustrated online. So many people are not happy and here I am posting pictures when I’m trying to be happy, only for someone to bring their unhappiness to stain my white. 
‘You can imagine how frustrating that can be sometimes. 
‘So, I hardly post pictures. 
‘When I got married, I still didn’t post much, but my husband kept posting me. 
‘He was like, I can’t hide you. I have to post my wife now. 
‘He would post and I would still be there editing my pictures. If someone wants to see my real picture, they just go to my husband’s profile. 
‘Because on my own profile, na edited pictures you go see. 
‘But recently, I started posting little by little. 
‘Sometimes my husband would just tell me, “Why can’t you just share your story about this skin tag. 
‘And honestly, I’m beginning to understand what he meant.’