Of henious crimes….. where nothing is ever enough:(

Something has touched my heart ever so deeply…. The story of one girl… Most of my readers are from the UK… Most of you are women, or are associated with women- maybe a father, a son, a husband or a boyfriend….

This story…. will touch you.. I do not intend for this to be a piece of art…a news article..or something that one reads and forgets. I am writing this today the 4th of March… But will post it only after it’s in the news…

[Heck I typed out the entire post but it somehow got overwritten and I am retyping it out today- 7th March- am so bummed]..

How many of you read The Daily? I reckon most of you do… If you go back to December 2012, you may recall an article about a girl in Dubai- a British girl who was apparently out clubbing and was raped as she was a drunken clubber……. But having spent the amount of time I have with her…. I know this is not true…

Early this week, as I sat with her while she poured out her heart to a reporter… my heart broke for her… I held her hand while she shuddered and told her story… that of a 29 year old girl who was just helping her boyfriend and offered to pick up keys from his sister- what ensued is unimaginable..

She went into a bar at the other end of the city, and sat waiting for the ‘sister’ to come- she never turned up- In the interim she ordered a glass of wine.. On have a sip she felt weird, and realized something was strange- and immediately made for the door. A guy came up to her and asked her if she wanted to go to an after party- Declining him- she got into a taxi, and asked the cab to take her home… Now, instead of taking her home they took her to a nice touristy place in Dubai.. the JBR (mind you she had blacked out by then and only remembers snippets of conversations). Some guys came up stopped the cab, paid him off (including a tip.. so it basically was a bribe) and then wondered aloud what to do with the girl- she heard one of them say that she was British and was it ok to take her since she was British ?(Makes me believe that they had done this with other women before). They then tried to get her to come with them into their car telling her to come for an after party (note the same term used here too- makes us realise it was per-mediated) but she refused and blacked out- they finally carried her into their car- while the taxi driver looked on- this is how it is… in a city where the cabs are all government cabs and are supposedly safe

How many times have I traveled alone at 3 am after a night out- while the guys in our gang have been pissed drunk or too lazy to drop us back?… this could have been any one of us- what guarantee that we are safe in this city?? And this is one of the safest countries in the world….

The rapists later said that this girl came away with them- but mind you- this is a girl who has her own business.. deals with prominent business woman- and is oh so pretty- why would she run off with men who look like scum and are so filthy… And they live in a place that literally looks like a slum (by most standards)- in the shady part of Dubai..

Continuing the sequence of events- they took her to Naif- a part of Dubai in Deira (yes if you come to Dubai please don’t stay here- you will get good deals on hotels but please…), into their one room flat, and continually raped her.. I do not want to write down what they did- but oh so grotesque- torturous Unfeeling scum……and to top it off they filmed her- she doesn’t remember everything but has a few flashes- she remembers the pain, and trying to get out of trying to open doors but the doors wouldn’t open- of the men laughing, and pushing her down– 20 year old guys (2 were 20 while the one who disappeared was 16), is this what they were taught? I doubt they ever went to school in their own country- let me now not badmouth their country- but we all know what these guys are capable of). They left her bleeding on the mattress in their room- at 6 am when she tried the door knob it opened and she rushed down… leaving most of her belongings behind. She was bleeding-  hysterical and was screaming when a passerby stopped her cab and let her get in- the cab guy finally dropped her off at her friend’s place, after which she went home to her housemate and together they went to the police station and then to the hospital. (If she was just drunk- she would have been fine by now- not blacking out still which ascertains that her drink was spiked). Why didn’t any neighbours come to her rescue when she was being raped? They definitely must have heard her screams… was this a common occurrence- something they were used to in the rundown neighbourhood?

Without going into details, I’d really like to commend the CID in Dubai- thanks to the many cameras along the streets of Dubai, they tracked down the culprits within 48 hours. This never would have been possible in any other country- the police here are an awesome bunch and unlike any other… The rapists were still in the apartment when the police got there- the girl’s stuff was still there- how confident I tell you- did the rapists think that they would never get caught? The 16 year old was missing by now, while the others were taken into police custody immediately…

When this happened, the girl was immediately advised by a great many people to just run away- to go back to the UK and not come back to Dubai- but this girl would have none of it…. especially when she was innocent. Moreover breathalyser tests as well as blood reports for alcohol,  were all clear – so ‘drunken clubber’ no way……. really- people should do their due diligence before they decide to write crap, or bring up personal issues in print.. after the trauma she has been through- it’s not just frustrating, but the inconsideration angers me..

7 months later, as I sat with her in court awaiting judgment on February 27th, 2013, we were relieved that 2 of the 3 rapists were convicted and jailed for 10 years plus deportation (the 16 year old must have just taken the first boat out of the country to his own)- but is this really enough? I’d rather they be stoned to death or let the victim wring their necks with her bare hands.. Moreover though the taxi driver came up as a witness, he was not convicted- why I ask why???

To top it off- one of the defendants brother started calling her a few hours after the judgement telling her that she ruined n his brother’s life and to sort matters- she finally diverted him to us where he agreed that yes it was a horrible thing that his brother had committed. Some people are just so shocking- it was his brother who has ruined this young girl’s life………… and now- they will  appeal(or may have already appealed as we speak). How can one’s sentence be reduced, especially when it is for rape?? I really hope that it is increased………

This girl- is not just a survivor but is a warrior – she is the strongest woman I have ever come across.. An inspiration to every woman out there… No one deserves to be treated this way… and though she is definitely emotionally scarred for life (anyone in her place would be), her initiative now is to help other women in need- she is one person who stood up- how many women are raped, and have to leave the country or simply stay quiet because they do not have the strength or the resources to fight? This is a word of advice to everyone- the law will protect you and the government and the courts are efficient- it doesn’t matter who you are- they are all here to lend a helping hand and see that justice is met out-  but all we ask is that you come forward…….

[What is it with rape- first the post on the Delhi rape case and then this one closer to home and close to my heart.. what is this world coming to…..?? I wanted this story to be unbiased- but we all know- that is impossible……..].