Parents Make 10-Year-Old Egyptian Girl Their Houseslave
It’s very generous for a mother and father who already have five children to take in a 9-year-old girl from their homeland, and treat her as if she were her own daughter. But when the parents choose instead to treat her worse than they would the family cat, it’s criminal. Abdel-Nasser Youssef Ibrahim and his ex-wife Amal Ahmed Ewis Abdel-Motelib were both sentenced to prison this week for keeping young Shyima captive in their home for two years as the family’s unpaid servant. In a delicious twist, District Judge James V. Selna decided to augment the jail time by demanding the couple pay Shyima $152,000 in back wages.
The bad news: Shyima’s time in her home prison was torture. The parents apparently worked the girl to the bone, verbally abusing her along the way. Mom, dad, and the five kids called her “the stupid girl” - a prophecy they fulfilled by allowing her no schooling, no playmates, no downtime. She was threatened with arrest if she dared step foot outside the home. Her best friend was a spider. When police found her, her skin was dead and hard. She was only rescued after a curious neighbor wondered why she wasn’t in school.
The disgusting news: Ibrahim and Abdel-Motelib, who are facing deportation following their jail sentences, tried to maintain that they were helping the girl and being charitable toward her. Hmmm…how do you say “pigfuckers” in Arabic?
The good news: Shyima, now 17, is being adopted by a California couple, Jenny and Chuck Hall, who apparently treat her the way a child deserves to be treated - as a daughter, not as a slave. Shyima, as a parent, let me say that my heart breaks that you had to endure this bullshit. May you continue to heal, and end up healthier and happier than you could ever imagine.
Tags: California, daughter, father, kidnapping, mother, santa-ana, slaveryRelated Stories
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11 opinions for Parents Make 10-Year-Old Egyptian Girl Their Houseslave
Shane
Oct 25, 2006 at 4:13 pm
That my friend is freaking unbelievable.
The Zero Boss
Oct 25, 2006 at 5:23 pm
Yeah. You have to wonder what goes through some people’s heads…
Kate
Oct 26, 2006 at 6:00 am
I am afraid this kind of situation is typical as a “social safety net” in India, Pakistan and most of Africa. I just call it child labour and child slavery.
This is becoming more common in North American and Europe because borders are open and human trafficking is not seen as a real problem, but it involves up to 2 million women and children in the US right now. To prevent it, pay attention in your neighbourhood, document and report everything to the authorities.
thordora
Oct 26, 2006 at 6:32 am
“What happened was due to my ignorance of the law,” Motelib told the judge.
You have GOT to be kidding me. Who would even try that?
he stole a little girl. Can we cut HIS hands off?
The Zero Boss
Oct 26, 2006 at 9:41 am
Yeah, I don’t buy that “ignorance of the law” crap. Treating someone like dogshit shows a lack of compassion and morality - NOT a lack of knowledge.
Kate - great point. Human trafficking is a serious problem worldwide. Unfortunately, I’m about to publish a Renee Terrell story which demonstrates that, when it comes to bad parenting, friends and neighbors will go to great lengths to manufacture excuses.
Emari
Oct 28, 2006 at 7:42 am
I’m taking a folklore class at University, and there’s a lot of talk about why cultures come up with similar stories of parental persecution, stepmothers, and Cinderella figures. Some of the most popular theories among Freudian and Jungian academics seem to me way out there. These stories start because they’re *true*. If I had a dime for every wicked stepmother, abusive father, and child treated like Cinderella that I’ve ran into, I’d be a millionaire.
Francine Piatigorski
Nov 1, 2006 at 7:41 pm
Poor Shyima! Her first parents should DIE A SEVERE DEATH!!!!!!! Well, at least Jenny and Chuck saved her! Arabic liars! Shyima is not stupid at all!
maria
Nov 8, 2006 at 11:09 pm
I just wonder as well, what the 5 other biological children thought of this all? See, sometimes its best you don’t let your children be adopted. Really, you never know if others can care for your own child like they can care for their own blood!
Krysten
Nov 20, 2006 at 6:54 am
People like this disgust me to the uttermost….if I ever met someone that tortured a kid in any sort of way, you would not even be able to hold me back. I’m only sixteen and I feel way too spoiled even though I’m not as spoiled as probably everyone in my school. How can people treat another human being: a self image…as if they were absolutely nothing….as if they shouldn’t even exist at all….Slavery alone is stupid and uncalled for….people shouldn’t be soo lazy and do things themselves
Children » Blog Archive » Shyima’s Story…An Escape From Slavery
Jul 31, 2007 at 8:28 pm
[…] Parents Make 10-Year-Old Egyptian Girl Their Houseslave Domestic prisoner […]
yaya27
Jul 2, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Okay first of all, the other 5 children, they weren’t all biological, some are from foster homes and were adopted, like Shyima.
And second of all, don’t try to bring race or religion into this because this does not only come from arabics. This is happening aaaall over the world. Every religion, every country.
What I have left to say is that I am happy of how what a mature, beautiful young lady she is today.
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