A young Palestinian woman Baraa Mehlem was locked in dark rooms by her father for ten years. She’s only 20 year old &this young woman has survived this ordeal by listening to radio, & dreaming about sun. She was rescued by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank town of Qalqiliya on Saturday after an aunt notified police. I wonder why did the aunt take so long to notify the authorities. Beyond any doubt, life must have been hell for her but she seems a courageous soul as she said, 'I have joy now. My life has begun.'
She used to live with her father & step mother & both of them are locked up at the moment. She was barely fed but tortured by her father almost on a daily basis. At one point, they even gave her a razor blade so that she may end her life.
'I don't hate my father. But I hate what he did to me. Why did he do it? I don't understand,' she said.
How can anyone understand abnormal behavior by family members? They very conveniently physically torture or emotionally abuse for years & the victim is the one who’s trying to understand the oppressor. Oppressor moves on & he/she doesn’t waste time thinking about anything I guess.
Baraa Melhem is now living with her mother, Maysoun, in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem.
'This is heaven. Because you have always been free, you don't appreciate it. But for somebody like me, who has tasted the bitterness of a prison, this is heaven.'
I think all those who think their problem is the biggest one need to ponder over such cases but they won’t ever cause they want everyone to pity them. People all over the world are suffering in some way or the other & I can’t understand why some people only think about themselves & keep on brooding forever.
Baraa also said that her father even threatened to rape her until she became pregnant if she ever tried to escape. He also warned he would kill her and justify the crime by saying that she had shamed the family - what is known in Arab society as 'honor killing.'
Baraa wishes to study psychology & one day treat people who having similar fates.
'There is no house in the world - look outside the window. In every house, somebody is suffering,' she said.
When asked if she hoped to marry, Miss Melhem was visibly upset. 'If the violence I experienced was between a father and a daughter, what happens between a man and a wife? No, I never want to marry,' she said.
Bad experiences don’t leave you just like that. Although the thing may happened in the past but it continues to haunt you forever. In this case, trust was broken & you can see now she’s scared to get into any relationship. Family is supposed to protect you but sometimes they happen to be the cause of your ruin. People get stabbed by loved ones almost every day. I have met people who don’t ever want to settle down with anyone as their spouse or bf or gf had been one vicious being. As we all know trust is a fragile thing & I suppose people are always scared to get hurt again. But life is not all that bad. Good things happen to good people. I guess we experience tragedy just to know the worth of beautiful things in life which we may have missed while we were inexperienced & stupid.
We wish Baraa Mehlem all the best.
She used to live with her father & step mother & both of them are locked up at the moment. She was barely fed but tortured by her father almost on a daily basis. At one point, they even gave her a razor blade so that she may end her life.
'I don't hate my father. But I hate what he did to me. Why did he do it? I don't understand,' she said.
How can anyone understand abnormal behavior by family members? They very conveniently physically torture or emotionally abuse for years & the victim is the one who’s trying to understand the oppressor. Oppressor moves on & he/she doesn’t waste time thinking about anything I guess.
Baraa Melhem is now living with her mother, Maysoun, in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem.
'This is heaven. Because you have always been free, you don't appreciate it. But for somebody like me, who has tasted the bitterness of a prison, this is heaven.'
I think all those who think their problem is the biggest one need to ponder over such cases but they won’t ever cause they want everyone to pity them. People all over the world are suffering in some way or the other & I can’t understand why some people only think about themselves & keep on brooding forever.
Baraa also said that her father even threatened to rape her until she became pregnant if she ever tried to escape. He also warned he would kill her and justify the crime by saying that she had shamed the family - what is known in Arab society as 'honor killing.'
Baraa wishes to study psychology & one day treat people who having similar fates.
'There is no house in the world - look outside the window. In every house, somebody is suffering,' she said.
When asked if she hoped to marry, Miss Melhem was visibly upset. 'If the violence I experienced was between a father and a daughter, what happens between a man and a wife? No, I never want to marry,' she said.
Bad experiences don’t leave you just like that. Although the thing may happened in the past but it continues to haunt you forever. In this case, trust was broken & you can see now she’s scared to get into any relationship. Family is supposed to protect you but sometimes they happen to be the cause of your ruin. People get stabbed by loved ones almost every day. I have met people who don’t ever want to settle down with anyone as their spouse or bf or gf had been one vicious being. As we all know trust is a fragile thing & I suppose people are always scared to get hurt again. But life is not all that bad. Good things happen to good people. I guess we experience tragedy just to know the worth of beautiful things in life which we may have missed while we were inexperienced & stupid.
We wish Baraa Mehlem all the best.
