Teen pleads for help from possible honor killing

[MaybytheBay]

Rafqa Bary 17 year old converted her religion to Christianity and fears repercusions of death...
She needs help immediately if you want to email Florida Governor Charlie Christ and express concerns.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,541205,00.html


There was a recent 'honour killing' in Canada....the parents murdered their three daughters and an Aunt. So sad and scary....listen to this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXZNXhkw-b4

[n/t]

I hope someone helps her. Sadly, her fears are very real.

Here is the link to the Canadian case when it was discussed here.

http://boards.insessiontrials.com/showthread.php?t=356371

[incidentally]

I feel Ohio CPS should take over and when she turns 18, she should do her best to disappear.

[juliekan]

I feel Ohio CPS should take over and when she turns 18, she should do her best to disappear.

I agree CPS should step in. On the news this am, though, the newspeople were a little concerned because they had tried to find out something about the christian church these other people belong to, and were not able to find anything(I looked and their site is down). They also stated that there have been 5000 honor killings in the US, and that the threat of her being killed should not be taken lightly.

[juliekan]

5,000! How awful! Do you know over what period of time?

I think they misquoted the stat. Here's what I've found


The United Nations estimates that as many as 5,000 women are murdered in such honor killings each year for offenses like immodesty or refusing an arranged marriage. They may be on the rise in the U.S., as seen anecdotally in Kanwal's death and a handful of other prominent attacks.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,391531,00.html

[Details]

From all I can find online - it's extremely few honor killings in America - sounds like it's single digits.

None are acceptable, and they need to be prosecuted loudly and visibly to make the message clear to anyone who comes here - you can keep most of your customs, but not those that involve killing others, taking away the freedom from anyone.

It's a serious thing though, and if she's threatened, they need to protect her. It's probably something we need to make a few new rules on, so kids in this situation know they can appeal to CPS and be protected, so we can have methods in place to establish when a kid needs protection, find them a safe place, decide when you need to keep the kid in a new family, when the kid will be safe going home again. And something for the adult teens too, although I think there, it's got to be about enforcing the law.

In this case - it's tricky. She's not a citizen. And the questions are - is this a church, or a 'christian' cult? Is she really at risk, or is she doing the teenage thing of exaggerating her parent's reactions? Muslim girls are sometimes killed for this - but not always, not everywhere - and teenagers are inclined to drama, sometimes a church that is excessively interested in PR or gaining souls (some churches consider this a competition), will exaggerate the issues.

It's something we'll have to look at in general. Plenty of teens say their parents will kill them when they go against them - by getting pregnant, changing religion, seeing a girl/guy the parents don't like, dropping out of school, etc. Some of those teens are right. Most of them are wrong. If we took the teen out in every case, a lot of families would be broken up unnecessarily.

[♫Rock*Star♫]

snipped


In this case - it's tricky. She's not a citizen. And the questions are - is this a church, or a 'christian' cult? Is she really at risk, or is she doing the teenage thing of exaggerating her parent's reactions? Muslim girls are sometimes killed for this - but not always, not everywhere - and teenagers are inclined to drama, sometimes a church that is excessively interested in PR or gaining souls (some churches consider this a competition), will exaggerate the issues.



It's not tricky at all.

Honor killings are happening.

CPS needs to err on the side of caution & keep this girl away from her family.

[Details]

It's not tricky at all.

Honor killings are happening.

CPS needs to err on the side of caution & keep this girl away from her family.Girls are murdered for getting pregnant by Christian families too. It does happen - extremely rarely - but then honor killings in America are extremely rare too. Should we take every pregnant girl away from her family too? A Jehovahs Witness family beat their daughter to death for being disobedient - do we take all disobedient children's words that their parents are going to kill them, and split all those families?

Protect her - but keep an eye on reality too. See if it is a real threat, or if the family can stay together, with them respecting her right to a free choice.

Be cautious - of course - but I wouldn't take either side of the story as absolute truth. You can point to far more Muslim families that have NOT killed their newly Christian daughter, than those that have committed murder under the lie of "honor killing". We have many thousands of Muslim families living here - and simply because they are in a majority Christian culture, many of them have had children convert as they became adults. And honor killings in America are incredibly rare. Searching online, I find only a few - single digits - that have EVER happened - and none for a conversion (although those that are about attire may effectively be that - or they may be part of the usual reason for an honor killing - sex).

While it's not impossible this would be one of them - given those numbers, you have to weigh breaking up a family over a false fear, versus the odds that the fear is real. Be cautious because it is a girl's life - but look to both sides.

If the news story was a family whose underage daughter was stolen by a cult (claims to be a Christian church, but is an extremist branch), and is claiming her life is in jeopardy to stay with her brain washers - sympathies would be going the other way.

[juliekan]

Details, are you saying the Global Revolution Church is a cult? I haven't been able to find any info on this organization.

[sinagua]

I don't know what to think about this one. I wouldn't be happy if my 17 YO went to FL. to live with a Christian group and I am Christian.

What kind of church would condone this?

And she met the group over the Internet.

I thought that there was a FL. court date today. I would think that she would be returned to Ohio as a runaway.

I mean, she could have contacted DCFS and been removed from the her home, but she hopped a Greyhound and went to FL.

I wonder how close she is to being 18?

[Details]

Details, are you saying the Global Revolution Church is a cult? I haven't been able to find any info on this organization.A cult is often a matter of perspective. The fact that there is so little information on them, the name of the church itself, suggests that this is not an ordinary church. There are cults that masquerade as Christian (and any other religion you can name), churches that are predatory, that go overboard in attempting to steal children, convert them with lies and tactics that should not be used on children, churches that consider converts to be a scorekeeping method, and do all they can to get and keep converts - ethical or not.

This applies no matter what the religion - looking here and around the world, you can see the same - wherever there are people, wherever there is an organization, someone will pervert that organization, no matter how good the intent is.

[juliekan]

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/rifqa-bary-slow-motion-honor-killing/

Rifqa has been given a reprieve. She will not be sent back to her home in Ohio, at least not for now. Next hearing September 3rd at 2:30 p.m.

[withay]

I don't know what to think about this one. I wouldn't be happy if my 17 YO went to FL. to live with a Christian group and I am Christian.

What kind of church would condone this?

And she met the group over the Internet.

I thought that there was a FL. court date today. I would think that she would be returned to Ohio as a runaway.

I mean, she could have contacted DCFS and been removed from the her home, but she hopped a Greyhound and went to FL.

I wonder how close she is to being 18?

From what I have read, she did her research before she went to Florida, just not enough. Ohio does not have an emancipated minor law, so she went to Florida because they do. The problem is that her parents must approve her becoming emancipated and they will not. I think she has a real and reasonable fear. I would think that recent immigrants to the US would be more likely to subscribe to "honor killings". In the suburb of Atlanta where I lived for years, a woman and her 2 daughters were murdered last year after immigrating from Africa. Their father and husband was murdered for refusing to have his daughters circumcised and the mother immigrated for fear she would be also. No one has been arrested and the only theory seems to be that the three of them were murdered and mutilated in the name of "honor".
I believe it happens more than we are aware.
While I think families should be kept together if at all possible, I do not think this is worth the risk. She is 17; almost a legal adult. Return her to the her home state if need be but keep her location secret and even in a different area of the state.

[Patriot]

(snip) Girls are murdered for getting pregnant by Christian families too. It does happen - extremely rarely - but then honor killings in America are extremely rare too.

Would you have a link to that? As a Christian, I'd be interested in reading about it. TIA.

[Patriot]

sadly it happens

http://wwjv4.com/religion/mother-kills-possessed-daughter-238

What you linked to has nothing to do with Christian families killing their daughters because they become pregnant. A statement of fact was made that girls are murdered for getting pregnant by Christian families and that is what I asked for a link to.

[CHICANA]

From what I have read, she did her research before she went to Florida, just not enough. Ohio does not have an emancipated minor law, so she went to Florida because they do. The problem is that her parents must approve her becoming emancipated and they will not. I think she has a real and reasonable fear. I would think that recent immigrants to the US would be more likely to subscribe to "honor killings". In the suburb of Atlanta where I lived for years, a woman and her 2 daughters were murdered last year after immigrating from Africa. Their father and husband was murdered for refusing to have his daughters circumcised and the mother immigrated for fear she would be also. No one has been arrested and the only theory seems to be that the three of them were murdered and mutilated in the name of "honor".
I believe it happens more than we are aware.
While I think families should be kept together if at all possible, I do not think this is worth the risk. She is 17; almost a legal adult. Return her to the her home state if need be but keep her location secret and even in a different area of the state.

They've been here since 2000. They immigrated for Rifqa.
I've also seen her myspace and her brother's.
He's definitely as dysfunctionally Americanized, if not more so, than my teen.
Her public profile shows that she openly proclaimed to be a Christian over two years ago. This wasn't new news to her parents.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/215100

They left Sri Lanka in 2000 with Rifqa and her older brother. The reason: concern about Rifqa's well-being. As a child, she'd fallen on a toy airplane that pierced her right eye. Doctors in Sri Lanka wanted to remove the eye, prompting Mohamed to relocate the whole family so Rifqa could obtain better medical treatment. In the end, her eye was spared, though she can't see out of it. In 2004 they moved again, this time to seek a better public education for the kids. He settled on the Columbus area, which had highly ranked schools. At New Albany High School, Rifqa maintained a 3.5 grade-point average and became a member of the cheerleading squad. Mohamed "is so proud of his children," says Gary Abbott, his closest friend in the U.S. (and a Christian). "He values them more than his own life."

[Details]

Thanks for the update. Teens are prone to drama, teens converting to a religion are prone to excess, and anyone can fall prey to a cult-ish religious leader - who may see her as someone to save - or may see her as a good promo tool.

They've known for 2 years - and she's had no repercussions.

[CHICANA]

Thanks for the update. Teens are prone to drama, teens converting to a religion are prone to excess, and anyone can fall prey to a cult-ish religious leader - who may see her as someone to save - or may see her as a good promo tool.

They've known for 2 years - and she's had no repercussions.

The family that took her in hid her for two weeks without contacting her parents or authorities.
If they thought she was at risk, why didn't they call LE ?

[EMAA]

sadly it happens

http://wwjv4.com/religion/mother-kills-possessed-daughter-238

This in my opinion does not lend itself to the statement that christian's kill for being pregnant and unmarried.

It is clear that the mother has mental issues and many who have these mental problems claim they are talking and hearing from God.

[CHICANA]

as close as she was to that man in the video, I wonder how close they really are, not buying the afraid of mom and dad bit, maybe she thinks she is in love and doesn't want to leave him, do not know, but it is obvious her parents do not want to kill her, so why is she lying so she can stay with this man? i she protecting him?

Knowing teenaged girls as I do, my very first thought was that there was a boyfriend involved.

[LisaM22]

Knowing teenaged girls as I do, my very first thought was that there was a boyfriend involved.

yep, she said the parents did not know about her cheer leading, but investigators found cheer-leading pictures of her hanging in the house, maybe when she turns 18 we will get the true story of why she ran away with this guy of the church