I would be the only person she spoke to on the record about what happened to her, she said. It was just too harrowing \u201d\u201d and \u201cas a publicist,\u201d\u009d inadvisable \u201d\u201d but she felt it was necessary, to show how \u201ccrazy\u201d\u009d her situation was, how her punishment simply didn\u2019t fit the crime.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cried out my body weight in the first 24 hours,\u201d\u009d she told me. \u201cIt was incredibly traumatic. You don\u2019t sleep. You wake up in the middle of the night forgetting where you are.\u201d\u009d She released an apology statement and cut short her vacation. Workers were threatening to strike at the hotels she had booked if she showed up. She was told no one could guarantee her safety.<\/p>\n
Her extended family in South Africa were African National Congress supporters \u201d\u201d the party of Nelson Mandela. They were longtime activists for racial equality. When Justine arrived at the family home from the airport, one of the first things her aunt said to her was: \u201cThis is not what our family stands for. And now, by association, you\u2019ve almost tarnished the family.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
As she told me this, Sacco started to cry. I sat looking at her for a moment. Then I tried to improve the mood. I told her that \u201csometimes, things need to reach a brutal nadir before people see sense.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n