Page 43 - Shahrvand BC No.1251
P. 43
English Section
43 “We walked through the houses, One of the girls they did it to bled so
through broken walls, broken doors, badly she died.”
and gardens. The resistance army The prison guards hound her still. She
helped us,” she says. “The girls being moves every few months because the
raped were screaming ‘God, we have man who ran the D amascus detention
nobody but you.’ No one could help centre found out her address in
them.” Amman and has sent men to threaten
Eventually, Huda’s family reached her. He was not pleased that one of
Damascus, then Jordan. the guards helped free her in February
It is difficult to independently verify 2012 when all the others were ordered
her account because access to Syria to quell a demonstration elsewhere in
1392 دادرم18 جمعه- 1251 شماره/ سال متسیب is restricted. However, in early March Damascus, she says. The guard who
2012, Homs, a major battleground helped her escape must have felt
in the war, was under heavy siege remorse because he was also one of
as pro- and anti-government forces her rapists.
fought for control of the city. “ He said on the drive, ‘I was forced to
Huda has not reported the attacks to do this. I did not want to,’ ” she says.
anyone. She still has two daughters “I stayed in his house in Deraa for
In touch with Iranian diversity stranded in Homs city and is scared three days with his wife and mother,” being detained by Syrian authorities misbaha prayer beads and auctioning
about what might happen to them if she says, referring to the S yrian town and tortured last year, treats 200 them at charity events in Saudi
she tells anyone what she saw. close to Jordan’s border. “A Bedouin patients in two clinics he runs with a Arabia. In a spare room of her house,
Besides, she adds, “Who can help family smuggled me to Jordan.” team of counsellors. Their traumas are bolts of cloth are stacked against the
them?” Humanitarian agencies are severe but none has admitted personal wall.
There is virtually no hope of any overwhelmed, struggling to provide experiences of rape, he says, although Sayed estimates at least 4,000
international intervention in bringing even the basics of life to the 470,000 plenty say their neighbours or friends women and girls have been raped
the attackers to justice partly b ecause S yrians who have crossed the border experienced sexual violence. by government forces, based on
the UN Security Council has so since the war began in March 2011. “We think the regime, when they figures from her contacts with anti-
far refused to refer Syria to the Zaatari, the largest refugee camp, arrest women and put them in jail, the regime activists across Syria. If a
International Criminal Court in T he is at risk of running out of water. rapes happen in jail. But I do not think girl is detained at a government jail
Hague. Nour doesn’t believe she will UNICEF may stop its vaccination it is systematic like in Bosnia,” he her family automatically assumes she
ever see her torturers in prison, no program. The UN’s refugee agency says, referring to the rape camps of the was raped and that assumption puts
matter the pain those g uards inflicted constantly pleads for more help from Balkan wars in the 1 990s. He believes her life in danger.
on her and the other girls. the international community but less sexual assaults are concentrated in “Unfortunately, there is a lot of
Sometimes the guards used rats as than 25 per cent of the $1.5 billion mixed sectarian areas such as Homs ignorance. But there are a lot of
a rape instrument, she says. “They (U.S.) pledged last year at a donors where it is e asy for opposition groups these families in Syria where, after
would bring a rat tied with a string conference has arrived. or the regime to demonize the other the daughters are released from
and put it, well, you know where,” Dr. Mohamed Abo Hilal, a Damascus side. prison, they are killed immediately
Nour says. “They did this to me too. psychiatrist who fled to Amman after “But there is no real documentation or forced to commit suicide,” she
so we do not know for certain,” he says. Sometimes the victims are
adds. pressured by fathers or brothers to get
Abo Hilal’s wife, Dr. Hala al Ghawi, a married quickly to rehabilitate their
surgeon, treats patients at the Zaatari reputations, she adds.
camp and says two women told her “ They marry to cover their shame but
they had been raped but later recanted. it is wrong,” she says. “I know two
One told her that she had been gang- cases of women who got m arried but
Lawyers ICBC ﻭﻛﻼ raped by soldiers w ho forced their then divorced because they could not
Claims ٦٠٤- ٩٨٢- ٤٠٥١ way inside her house as her husband accept a man anymore.”
604 - 982 - 4051 ٦٠٤- ٩٨٠ -٨٥٧١ was taking part in demonstrations in The unmarried victims are more
604 - 980 - 8571 Homs. anxious to have hymen reconstruction
“She was very emotional and crying surgery to restore their virginal status
to me,” says al Ghawi. “But the next than psychological treatment, she
Vol. 20 / No. 1251 - Friday, Aug. 9, 2013 day, she said it did not happen. She says. A single girl who is not a virgin
was scared if her husband or brothers will never have offers of m arriage.
found out her husband would divorce Sayed gently coaxes the victims to
her and her brothers would kill her confide in her, sometimes giving them
ﺑﺮﺍی ﻣﺸﺎﻭﺭﻩ ﺣﻘﻮﻗﻰ ﻟﻄﻔﺎ ﺑﺎ after the divorce.” religious books to read for strength or
The women who are trying to help a notepad with a lock to write down
ﺁﻗﺎی ﻛﺎﻣﻴﻞ ﻟﻄﻔﻌﻠﻰ rape victims are also at risk. their feelings. One young woman
Maimona Sayed, a Syrian citizen, she is currently trying to reach was a
opened a small shelter where she university student in Homs who was
. ﺗﻤﺎﺱ ﺑﮕﻴﺮﻳﺪ،ﻭﻛﻴﻞ ﻓﺎﺭﺳﻰ ﺯﺑﺎﻥ has helped 15 women, including held hostage with her parents for a
N our, receive medical treatment and month.
counselling. Her network of friends “She was taken away from her
and relatives in Syria sent the v ictims parents daily for questioning by one
to her. man,” she says. “The mother of the
Kamil Lotfali, lawyer Sayed, 44, whose husband taught g irl is understanding and says if her
judo to the bodyguards of Jordan’s daughter was raped she will not be
ﺳﺎﻝ ﺗﺠﺮﺑﻪ ﺣﻘﻮﻗﻰ٣٠ ﻣﺆﺳﺴﻪﺣﻘﻮﻗﻰ "ﻧﻮﺭﺕﺷﻮﺭﻻ " ﺑﺎﺑﻴﺶﺍﺯ- King Abdullah, received death threats ashamed.”
after images of the outside of the Hiba’s family lives in a small
ﺩﺳﺘﻤﺰﺩیﺩﺭﻳﺎﻓﺖﻧﺨﻮﺍﻫﻴﻢﻛﺮﺩ، ﺩﺭﻳﺎﻓﺖﻧﻨﻤﺎﺋﻴﻢICBC ﺗﺎﺧﺴﺎﺭﺕﺷﻤﺎﺭﺍ ﺍﺯ- shelter were broadcast on a major apartment in an eastern suburb
Arab satellite channel. Her son now marked by dusty olive trees. Selwa,
ICBC ﺩﺭﻳﺎﻓﺖ ﻫﺮﮔﻮﻧﻪ ﺧﺴﺎﺭﺕ ﺟﺎﻧﻰ ﻭ ﻣﺎﻟﻰ ﺍﺯ- drives her to every appointment. But her m other, warmly greets Sayed at
she is not afraid, she says. the door. Hiba, hovers behind. She
43 NORTH SHORE LAW LLP “I am playing a role in freeing my has long brown hair and wears b right
country,” she says. Sayed raises red lipstick.
6th Floor, 171 West Esplanade, North Vancouver, B.C. money by sewing dresses in the Selwa says in January 2012 eight
c olours of the Syrian flag, or stringing shabiha kidnapped them from their
klotfali@northshorelaw.com
43 “We walked through the houses, One of the girls they did it to bled so
through broken walls, broken doors, badly she died.”
and gardens. The resistance army The prison guards hound her still. She
helped us,” she says. “The girls being moves every few months because the
raped were screaming ‘God, we have man who ran the D amascus detention
nobody but you.’ No one could help centre found out her address in
them.” Amman and has sent men to threaten
Eventually, Huda’s family reached her. He was not pleased that one of
Damascus, then Jordan. the guards helped free her in February
It is difficult to independently verify 2012 when all the others were ordered
her account because access to Syria to quell a demonstration elsewhere in
1392 دادرم18 جمعه- 1251 شماره/ سال متسیب is restricted. However, in early March Damascus, she says. The guard who
2012, Homs, a major battleground helped her escape must have felt
in the war, was under heavy siege remorse because he was also one of
as pro- and anti-government forces her rapists.
fought for control of the city. “ He said on the drive, ‘I was forced to
Huda has not reported the attacks to do this. I did not want to,’ ” she says.
anyone. She still has two daughters “I stayed in his house in Deraa for
In touch with Iranian diversity stranded in Homs city and is scared three days with his wife and mother,” being detained by Syrian authorities misbaha prayer beads and auctioning
about what might happen to them if she says, referring to the S yrian town and tortured last year, treats 200 them at charity events in Saudi
she tells anyone what she saw. close to Jordan’s border. “A Bedouin patients in two clinics he runs with a Arabia. In a spare room of her house,
Besides, she adds, “Who can help family smuggled me to Jordan.” team of counsellors. Their traumas are bolts of cloth are stacked against the
them?” Humanitarian agencies are severe but none has admitted personal wall.
There is virtually no hope of any overwhelmed, struggling to provide experiences of rape, he says, although Sayed estimates at least 4,000
international intervention in bringing even the basics of life to the 470,000 plenty say their neighbours or friends women and girls have been raped
the attackers to justice partly b ecause S yrians who have crossed the border experienced sexual violence. by government forces, based on
the UN Security Council has so since the war began in March 2011. “We think the regime, when they figures from her contacts with anti-
far refused to refer Syria to the Zaatari, the largest refugee camp, arrest women and put them in jail, the regime activists across Syria. If a
International Criminal Court in T he is at risk of running out of water. rapes happen in jail. But I do not think girl is detained at a government jail
Hague. Nour doesn’t believe she will UNICEF may stop its vaccination it is systematic like in Bosnia,” he her family automatically assumes she
ever see her torturers in prison, no program. The UN’s refugee agency says, referring to the rape camps of the was raped and that assumption puts
matter the pain those g uards inflicted constantly pleads for more help from Balkan wars in the 1 990s. He believes her life in danger.
on her and the other girls. the international community but less sexual assaults are concentrated in “Unfortunately, there is a lot of
Sometimes the guards used rats as than 25 per cent of the $1.5 billion mixed sectarian areas such as Homs ignorance. But there are a lot of
a rape instrument, she says. “They (U.S.) pledged last year at a donors where it is e asy for opposition groups these families in Syria where, after
would bring a rat tied with a string conference has arrived. or the regime to demonize the other the daughters are released from
and put it, well, you know where,” Dr. Mohamed Abo Hilal, a Damascus side. prison, they are killed immediately
Nour says. “They did this to me too. psychiatrist who fled to Amman after “But there is no real documentation or forced to commit suicide,” she
so we do not know for certain,” he says. Sometimes the victims are
adds. pressured by fathers or brothers to get
Abo Hilal’s wife, Dr. Hala al Ghawi, a married quickly to rehabilitate their
surgeon, treats patients at the Zaatari reputations, she adds.
camp and says two women told her “ They marry to cover their shame but
they had been raped but later recanted. it is wrong,” she says. “I know two
One told her that she had been gang- cases of women who got m arried but
Lawyers ICBC ﻭﻛﻼ raped by soldiers w ho forced their then divorced because they could not
Claims ٦٠٤- ٩٨٢- ٤٠٥١ way inside her house as her husband accept a man anymore.”
604 - 982 - 4051 ٦٠٤- ٩٨٠ -٨٥٧١ was taking part in demonstrations in The unmarried victims are more
604 - 980 - 8571 Homs. anxious to have hymen reconstruction
“She was very emotional and crying surgery to restore their virginal status
to me,” says al Ghawi. “But the next than psychological treatment, she
Vol. 20 / No. 1251 - Friday, Aug. 9, 2013 day, she said it did not happen. She says. A single girl who is not a virgin
was scared if her husband or brothers will never have offers of m arriage.
found out her husband would divorce Sayed gently coaxes the victims to
her and her brothers would kill her confide in her, sometimes giving them
ﺑﺮﺍی ﻣﺸﺎﻭﺭﻩ ﺣﻘﻮﻗﻰ ﻟﻄﻔﺎ ﺑﺎ after the divorce.” religious books to read for strength or
The women who are trying to help a notepad with a lock to write down
ﺁﻗﺎی ﻛﺎﻣﻴﻞ ﻟﻄﻔﻌﻠﻰ rape victims are also at risk. their feelings. One young woman
Maimona Sayed, a Syrian citizen, she is currently trying to reach was a
opened a small shelter where she university student in Homs who was
. ﺗﻤﺎﺱ ﺑﮕﻴﺮﻳﺪ،ﻭﻛﻴﻞ ﻓﺎﺭﺳﻰ ﺯﺑﺎﻥ has helped 15 women, including held hostage with her parents for a
N our, receive medical treatment and month.
counselling. Her network of friends “She was taken away from her
and relatives in Syria sent the v ictims parents daily for questioning by one
to her. man,” she says. “The mother of the
Kamil Lotfali, lawyer Sayed, 44, whose husband taught g irl is understanding and says if her
judo to the bodyguards of Jordan’s daughter was raped she will not be
ﺳﺎﻝ ﺗﺠﺮﺑﻪ ﺣﻘﻮﻗﻰ٣٠ ﻣﺆﺳﺴﻪﺣﻘﻮﻗﻰ "ﻧﻮﺭﺕﺷﻮﺭﻻ " ﺑﺎﺑﻴﺶﺍﺯ- King Abdullah, received death threats ashamed.”
after images of the outside of the Hiba’s family lives in a small
ﺩﺳﺘﻤﺰﺩیﺩﺭﻳﺎﻓﺖﻧﺨﻮﺍﻫﻴﻢﻛﺮﺩ، ﺩﺭﻳﺎﻓﺖﻧﻨﻤﺎﺋﻴﻢICBC ﺗﺎﺧﺴﺎﺭﺕﺷﻤﺎﺭﺍ ﺍﺯ- shelter were broadcast on a major apartment in an eastern suburb
Arab satellite channel. Her son now marked by dusty olive trees. Selwa,
ICBC ﺩﺭﻳﺎﻓﺖ ﻫﺮﮔﻮﻧﻪ ﺧﺴﺎﺭﺕ ﺟﺎﻧﻰ ﻭ ﻣﺎﻟﻰ ﺍﺯ- drives her to every appointment. But her m other, warmly greets Sayed at
she is not afraid, she says. the door. Hiba, hovers behind. She
43 NORTH SHORE LAW LLP “I am playing a role in freeing my has long brown hair and wears b right
country,” she says. Sayed raises red lipstick.
6th Floor, 171 West Esplanade, North Vancouver, B.C. money by sewing dresses in the Selwa says in January 2012 eight
c olours of the Syrian flag, or stringing shabiha kidnapped them from their
klotfali@northshorelaw.com
