Born and raised in East Germany in 1968 growing up in a nation that had been living under the dark cloud of communism for over two decades - behind the concrete curtain "THE BERLIN WALL." A dictatorship and the secret police - the Stasi kept her and her fellow countrymen and women behind a concrete curtain known as the famous Berlin Wall. An iconic symbol of the Cold War, to her it was all she ever had known, hard and oppressive; she knew little of freedom of choice and movement. But for her parent's generation who knew of a different life before, but dare not to speak against the regime for fear of imprisonment or worse, theirs was a consuming depression that led many to try and blot out reality by whatever means they could. Conditions were hard for her parents, living standards were cut to its' very limits to prevent the ever growing decrease of the population and put into military expenses to prevent people from leaving to the other site of the Berlin Wall.

Living in a tiny village many of the fathers' turned to alcohol to blot out their reality to drown out the cold and harsh mentality of the dictatorship, so did Malaika's Father - drink to the extent of passing out most of the times. Women were forced to work, struggle between household, children and work at the same time, the superwoman of the East.

At nights as she and her only two year older sister lay sleeping in bed, her mother would come into her room and wake them, saying she was going out to look for her father as it was late and he was not home. Always saying there was no need to worry before leaving, but Malaika did worry. Scared of being left alone in the house would terrify her, in silence she would lie awake waiting to hear the door downstairs open and hear her mother's voice. Usually, her mother found her father sleeping in the pub or lying on some roadside of the village, unable to find his way home. Malaika nurtured a dream from very early age - a dream of happiness that spelled a perfect family - a fairy tale marriage, beautiful children - and all away from the smallness of the village where she lived. However, her very own reality was far of her dream. Her sleep was filled with fearful dreams, fed by her insecurity. She battled nightly with monsters trying to imprison her against her will, never finding the safe haven of parental love.

Her Mother and Father never told her that they loved her and her heart cried out for something more than her insignificant village with its drunken men and unemotional, secretive women; for some reciprocal love that would fill the huge aching gape inside her. Sometimes she recalled of the God an old aunt from her village has told her about- who apparently knew her, her every thought and need- and she cried out to this God if he was there, to give her some happiness and beautiful children of her own she could love in the way they were meant to be loved, being angry with her parents but especially her Mother; for never talking to her about human relationships, about love, anger, frustrations, hopes, dreams and the expectations and downfalls of life. Learning at school was not something that came easily to her, always being anxious about her home life she could not concentrate on anything for long. She struggled with an inner sense of failure that was reinforced by a total luck of encouragement from her parents', who were constantly dealing with their own shortcomings. Malaika and her sister did not get on well. Whether it was the strained atmosphere created by her parents' constant quarrelling and violence that influenced their acrimonious relationship, she didn't know at the time. Alongside our physical needs, inside all of us are basic emotional needs that cry out to be met. If we grow up with these needs unmet, our human nature will strive to find another way to satisfy those needs, she was no exception. Starved of love and attention at home and growing up in an environment that allowed bullying and cruelty to reign, she looked for every opportunity to attain her deepest desire: a loving family home shared with a loving and caring partner, where children could grow up without fear.

Fear was all she ever known. In an attempt to escape, she hastily married a man who was an alcoholic. Inability to speak her mind out of fear, lack of self-confidence, and low self-esteem, were the long term effects she suffered. By copying her mother, and drawn always to what she knew, she continued the cycle of abuse, and subjected her own children to a repetition of her childhood. For many years, Malaika and her children were continually subjected to drunken outbursts and insane behaviour, including stalking, by her husband, without any intervention from the German authorities. Domestic Violence was not then acknowledged as a serious crime. Consequently, her children witnessed things they should not be exposed to.

It is only now she realise her children never had a say in the daily choices she made, they were silent victims with no voice. Witnessing and experiencing physical, mental and financial abuse, and being made homeless, left with nothing but the clothes they stood up in, has left her children with deep mental scars.

"Abuse cast a shadow the length of a lifetime over children!"

Although now free from Domestic Abuse for 7 years, her children are still profoundly effected through all the abuse: sleepless nights, fear of the dark, fear and distrust of men, difficulties in forming and maintaining friendships with their peers, see-sawing between overachievement and poor attendance in school. These are just some of the effects of domestic abuse on all three of her children are still living with today. Malaika wants to see generational abuse broken and innocent children set free from this destructive cycle. Following recent visits to prison to help with a Restorative Justice scheme, where perpetrators of this crime are confronted with the consequences of their actions, she has been busy seeking sponsors to place a copy of her book in every prison in the United Kingdom.

Today, Malaika Cohen is a strong and well-adjusted woman, despite the traumatic life she experienced at the hands of an abusive and alcoholic father and husband and a subsequent long-term abusive relationship. A single mother of three daughters, she proudly refers to herself as a survivor of domestic abuse, not a victim

"God gave me the strength to break free and I believe sent people and angels to help me at precisely the moment I needed them. I trust him to uphold me in that freedom." ~Malaika Cohen