At first, I am posting the newspaper article links and a brief video media interview based on our story. I am also jotting down a detailed version of our story, which i tried making as brief as possible. Please anyone who able to lend us, some nifty advice or anything, do get in touch. Any sort of help would be appreciated.
news paper links on our story :
http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2011/02/20/fleeing-from-home-fighting-for-freedom-pakistani-sisters-seek-religious-asylum-in-sri-lanka/http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/20/pakistani-sisters-get-unhcr-protection-in-lanka.htmlhttp://ko.offroadpakistan.com/escapees-from-the-land-of-the-pure/brief media video interview on our ordeal :
http://www.newsnow.lk/index.php?option=com_jomtube&view=video&id=63&Itemid=75
DETAILED VERSION OF OUR STORY
We are two sisters on the run, to save ourselves, from the very people , that in the conventional society would be referred to as ''Family''. We were born in an ultra-conservative Muslim family in United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. My younger sister was born in the year 1994, and I in 1988. Our family is originally from Pakistan; hence, that makes us Pakistanis.
I was a victim of severe childhood abuse till the age of 13, my parents being the abusers. My mother was an extremist and always wanted control of our lives and if things weren’t done her way, if we didn’t oblige, we’d suffer the consequences through beatings. Just to quote a few of her beating rituals; she’d dunk my little brother and my face in the toilet, threatening to kill us at that very instant if we didn’t promise to abide by her rules. At another instance , she grabbed my tongue and held a knife in her hand, and told me that she’d cut if off and peel off my face to the extent that no one would be able to recognize me , if I were to ever have a bite of food again. We are three siblings, and we all got our beatings for different reasons. I was beaten, just because I was overweight as a kid and that to them was not acceptable because according to them, it meant, that I’d have a hard time finding a suitable partner, which by the Islamic law they would find for me. My sister on the other hand was beaten for having a sharp tongue, even though she was the youngest, nevertheless she was aware of what was going on. My brother would be beaten up because he aspired to be a soccer player instead of becoming an Engineer or a Doctor or any profession that was respectable in their eyes. Us sisters would never get beaten by our father, instead he would stick to verbal abuse, in public , as well as at times like family dinners. My mother had three brothers and three sisters. One of the brothers and one of her sisters had molested, three of my first cousin’s, and I became aware of this when I was 14, as my cousins had warned me to stay cautious for myself and my sister.
Both of us never got molested from the family, but we got molested by people outside the family. I never discussed my case with our parents, and these were the last people I could rely on. My sister’s case on the other hand, was reported to the police and I believe the case is still on-going.
Now I want to jot down the most current events that came into play, leaving me no choice but to flee the country. After being a victim of severe childhood abuse at home, sexual harassment in public and at my university back in Pakistan, at the age of18 I got my chance to go to Royal Holloway University of London, England, to graduate. By the year 2010, I had completed 2 years of my Computer Science course. Spending time away from my parents helped me discover myself and things I truly believed in. I was no longer a Muslim, rather an Agnostic. My little sister on the other hand, started questioning the idea of God at the very tender age of 12 and gave up religion and stopped believing in God at the age of 13. This was something we kept discreet, as if our family was to find out about any of it, they would have locked us up. Moreover by this time, how our parents treated and dealt with both of us, and our brother had completely changed. They now support him with his dream of being a cricketer , whereas, our dreams are futile and meaningless to them , as at the end of the day all they care about is for us two to be wedded to wealthy families.
After having completed 2 years at the University, I had decided to take a gap year, before graduating, in order to pursue my dream of becoming a performer (singer, songwriter) instead. I had planned on using the tuition fee for the third year, provided by our parents, and strictly saw it as a loan that I would return overtime, to enroll myself in a music college. Our family is one of wealth and I couldn’t come forth with this desire of mine as in our family’s eyes it was sin and something that would completely devastate the family’s honor. Also over the time spent in England, I had met a Polish man, Lukasz Sitkowski , and we had planned to elope soon, though when I mentioned it to my mother, she didn’t find it acceptable as he was an Atheist and wanted him and his family to convert to Islam first , if I was to marry him. I was no longer a virgin and this was something again my family was and still is unaware of. If they were to find out that I no longer was a virgin, I’d be stoned to death. My sister and I would always communicate with one another through e-mail, and Skype. Our mother hired a computer guy to find out what it was that we discussed most of the time. Through him, she found out about my future plans, along with the fact that I was an agnostic, and my sister an Atheist. She never uttered a word of it to anyone.
During the summer of 2010, I didn’t want to come back, thus I didn’t. I worked as a waitress at Nandos instead. I didn’t tell our parents about my job as a waitress at Nandos, because to them, again, it was something that was condescending and scorned upon by the family. Therefore, I told our parents that I was doing an internship in the I.T department. My mother convinced me to visit for 2 weeks, using our fathers’ made-up illness as a mere excuse to visit. I expressed to my sister that my instincts lead me to believe that something unfortunate awaited me in Pakistan. Regardless, I silenced the voices in my head, and chose to visit, because I wanted to see her.
During this period of time, our brother, who too was studying in London, had come to visit our parents, as well. My sister arrived in Pakistan on the 4th of September,2010. After a week, she realized that her passport was missing. Our mother made us believe that it was stolen at the airport, or that my sister was a victim of black magic, and that ‘’Jins’’ (spiritual beings known to Muslims) had misplaced it. After two weeks, since the disappearance of the passport, my sister, was convinced that our mother had the passport, and had us almost believe a lie. Our mother had gone to the extent of advertising for the lost passport in the newspapers. As to my sisters’ suspicion, we found the lost passport, in her storage space. She called my brother right away, and let him know that our mother had stolen it. He believed us right away. We had had thought that our father wasn’t involved in the whole situation, thus, we planned on telling him that we had found the passport. When they returned from the airport, we told him. He ended up strangling me, because I wouldn’t give up my passport. They managed to take away the passport anyhow. I had suffered several minor bruises. My mother told us that “Allah” had lead her to all of this and not her nosiness. My father told me sister dishonored the family by merely being a waitress at Nandos. Our mother on the other hand told us that she desired to kill both of us; me for wanting to become a performer and being an Agnostic, as that was seen as a sin and something ‘’haram’’ (Impermissible) in Islam, and my little sister, for being an Atheist. She said it would be the right thing to do to save us from the fire of hell, and also to help us avoid the committing these so-called sins in her eyes.
For two straight months, we were on a curfew. They had 6 servants working for them, and they were all strictly instructed that none of us was to be allowed to leave the house. During these two months, we didn’t leave our room. After two months, one of our first cousins’ named ‘’Osama’’ came for a visit. After a short period of time, in his presence, they allowed us to go out, and we availed this opportunity to the maximum. I applied for a new passport, and received it. Over the next month, we kept planning our escape, including our source of funds, all the documents we needed such as our birth certificates, passports etc. Over time, we found exactly where each document was placed in her room. My sisters’ boyfriend tried getting a loan for us, but it didn’t work out. Being desperate, as nothing seemed to fall into place, we planned to steal her gold jewelry. We discussed the fact that if countries for their freedom kill and plunder, because our means justified our end; that being freedom of speech, expression, and thought. We managed to sell the jewelry and receive enough money to escape. We knew we wouldn’t have enough time to apply for the visa once we were out of the house, because they would track us down. My mothers’ brother knew a lot of politicians, and the head of the police department. They had bribed them before, and had asked them for many favors previously, and the police would do so, again without question.
We decided to go to Sri Lanka on a one month tourist visa that would be given to us on arrival. We escaped on the 28th of January, and now reside in Sri Lanka. As we suspected, our mothers’ brother contacted the head of the police department, and the head of the ministry of interior, and, convinced them to put us on the Exit Control List (ECL). This meant that we wouldn’t be allowed to leave Pakistan, if we even tried. Fortunately, it was issued the day of our escape, so it was too late. They have sent us a threat to contact them, and told us that if we do, they will help take our names off the ECL list. We still have the mail as proof. Our visa for Sri Lanka expires within less than a month.
Once I received the mail, I had no option but to contact UNHCR and seek for asylum, as I though that being on the ECL wouldn’t allow me to get approved for any sort of visa for, any foreign country. Our case at the moment with UNHCR is pending, though due to undue pressure from the Pakistani government, brought on, because of my uncle being influential with the Pakistani government; our application was made a priority. The UNHCR usually takes about 5 to 6 months to call in for an interview, and we were called within a month. I don’t know whether that is in our favor or not, as I am aware that there exist a comradery between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, hence I fear, that I application might get rejected. Now the current situation is that, my uncle and my mother, arrived in Colombo, looking for us on the 4th February. The contacted the tourist police, and made up the story that me and my sister came to Sri lanka for touring purposes and are now missing. The police managed to track us down, but after having shown them the asylum seeker certificate issued to us by the UNHCR, they backed off. During this period, we were forced to confront our mother at the police station, and she denied to have done anything and threatened me that I would never be able to leave Sri lanka and that she would stay here until I am here. My younger sister is 16, a minor, and my parents are her legal guardians. My mother now wants to take my sister back and use her as a bargaining chip to get me back to Pakistan as well, as that is the only card she has left to play. She will torture her, and her knowing how much I love my sister, would come back to save her and so they will have both of us back in Pakistan. At present there is a court case going on where me and my mother are fighting for my sister custody. The next date is on the 14th of march. My sister and I , just want a chance at life , at freedom, and the opportunity to be able to make something of our lives. We need advise on what should we do and if there is a possibility , that me and my sister can somehow settle in the UK , without declaring asylum either in Sri lanka or in the UK. We are capable enough to make something out of our lives , if given a chance. We are fighting hard for our freedom and we really need help. We have limited funds, but enough to spend a few months in the UK, until we manage to get jobs. But the real problem is how do we get to the UK?.
Please for all who would be reading this, we need a helping hand, advice , anything that can help us. Any response from any one of you would be appreciated.We need to be heard by all governments, and we need help with spreading out the word. I’m trying to get hold of news channels like CNN and BBC, but it might take time.
I've created facebook a group and a page, briefing on our struggle. Please, do join the group and LIKE the page, I am pasting the links below. We really need the media's support.
again please to LIKE the page : http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=528997345#!/pages/Two-girls-fighting-for-freedom-in-desperate-need-of-help/131194006951690?sk=wallthe group:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_160278834027275&ap=1
ISLAM IS A RELIGION OF PEACE from Intelligence Squared US on Vimeo.
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