MelaninQueen
1999-2025. My journey ends here.
- Feb 19, 2024
- 17,341
My attackers kept an online tally of assaults
Solo traveller Annie Makeeva fought off two attackers while hiking in Vietnam.
www.bbc.com
My 'incel' attackers keep an online tally of their victims
When Annie Makeeva set out from London on a solo trip to Vietnam in December 2022, she never imagined she would be sexually assaulted by a pair of violent "incels" - men who blame women because they are unable to find a sexual partner.It happened on the first day of her holiday, after Annie had cycled 10km (six miles) into the remote Cat Tien National Park, in the south of the country.
"I decided to cycle along the jungle track and then hike to Crocodile Lake which is their star attraction. I stopped at the end of the track and I saw two guys there - fellow tourists, I assumed."
But minutes later they followed her into the jungle and attacked her.
Warning: This articles contains distressing content and images
'I was shouting but realised no-one could hear me'
Annie went on a guided tour of the Cat Tien National Park on the morning of the day she was assaulted
"As they walked past me the first man reached out and grabbed me.
"He then said something in Vietnamese to his friend who was on the other side of me. And I looked to see if this friend was coming to my rescue, or was he also going to attack me. And it turns out, yes, he wanted to attack me as well.
"They were both groping me. I shouted for help and realised no-one could hear me."
Annie, who is from west London, said she got "really scared" when the men began to restrain her and tried to push her down to the floor. She managed to break free and hide behind a tree.
When one of the men again caught hold of her and looked back to his friend for a moment, she punched him hard on the back of the neck, disorientating him.
Some of the bruises on Annie's arm after she was grabbed and restrained
At this point Annie got out her phone to take a photograph of the men, and this prompted the other man to offer her money to keep quiet.
When she wouldn't take the money, the power balance shifted and the men began to back off. They made off the way they had come.
Annie then had to decide whether to go in the same direction as the men to where she had left her bike, and cycle 10km back to the hotel, or try to go another 5km onwards to where she knew there would be a park ranger and potentially other tourists who might help her. She decided on the latter.
