Fahid Al Mahood, who came to America from near Tehran, Iran, lets us know what has been up with her since last writing earlier in the year. (She just recently got out of the hospital, and is now receiving physical and occupational therapy on a bi-weekly basis. She has her son, Amir, Jr., back, and her husband, Amir, Sr., is in jail, where he has been charged with attempted murder of his wife. Her husband threw acid in her face, severely burning her; she is now horribly scarred for the rest of her life, and she now suffers nightmares because of the abuse she has had to endure at the hand of her husband before he tried to kill her.)
She is living in an apartment complex for low-income people not far from the hospital where she was at. She is unable to work; she now gets disability pay every month; this is her only means of support for her and her little boy.
I have been informed by my friend in Somalia that not only Arabian women suffer at the hands of their mates, and not ALL Arabian women suffer; ALL women of ALL backgrounds and ALL faiths suffer at the hands of their mates. This can go on ANYWHERE in the world; NO ONE is immune. Thank you, Safi, for your invaluable input, and for your criticism. Sorry if I made you think that only women in the Arab nations suffer from abuse! Forgive me??
Hello. This is Fahid.
My full name is Fahid Al Mahood. I am in my forties; and I now live here in Tennessee with my little boy, Amir, Jr., whom I got back several months ago. (He was in a foster home while I was in hospital, but now that I am better, he is now with me again, and I am so happy to see him; I have missed his smiling little face so much!)
Amir, Jr., he is now two years old, and he is getting so big. He is going to be big, like his daddy, Amir, Sr. I have not seen Amir, Sr. since he was taken to jail; he tried to kill me, and because of it, I am now horribly scarred, and my life is forever changed. I am now no longer beautiful: I am ugly, and I don't like to go out in public for fear people will stare at me or say mean things to me. I cannot work, so I stay home. Why would anyone want to have someone like ME working for them??
My face is scarred; my husband, he tried to kill me. He was jealous of me, and he wouldn't let me have any other male friends, and when he caught me one day talking to the mailman, he got very mad at me, and after he hit and beat me, he threw acid in my face; and the last thing I remember was pain and then, everything went dark. I have been in incredible pain ever since; and it is only recently to where the pain isn't nearly as bad as it was. But I still hurt, and I can't go out in the sun because the sun burns, and it makes me hurt; so I cover my head, even in the warm weather. I am ashamed of how I look; I look like a monster, and I am NOT happy with my face. I wonder if it were better if I were DEAD.
I was born in Iran, near Tehran. My husband and I come to America just after our little son was born; we wanted to have better life in America. We came to America just after September 11, 2001, two years ago, and life here has not been at all kind. People have treated us badly because we are Arabic, they think we are related to terrorists; and they tell us to go back home, and they call us bad names and throw rocks at us. My husband, he wasn't bothered much by this, but he did try to take care of us; but then something happened, and he started treating me badly. He started beating on me, and it got worse. Sometimes he would hit me so hard I would go flying across the room, and sometimes, I would pass out, the pain was so bad. He broke my ribs a few times, and he once nearly broke my leg; but I still got away SOMEHOW.
Then came the time he threw something in my face (ACID?? I don't know exactly WHAT it was, but it burned my face, and the pain was unbearable!), and now, I am ugly, and this time, I did NOT get away. He nearly killed me, and I was so scared that he would kill not only me, but our baby son, who lay in his crib, screaming his little head off. I was crying because I was scared for me, and my baby boy, and I was scared that I would never see him again, and I was scared because I was hurting so badly. My neighbor, she heard all the screamings going on, and she then called for help for me when she see me lying on the ground, not moving. I guess she thought that I was dead. That was the last thing I remember--the stuff being thrown in my face, and then awful pain--before everything went black; and when I DID wake up, I couldn't see anything but white; and it scared me. (I had a bandage over my face, and I remember my face hurt so badly! But I did not know this at the time until the doctor told me.)
I soon learned that my husband had done this, throw acid in my face, and because of this, I had been burned, and when I first saw my face after the bandages had been taken off, I thought I was looking at a monster, and I started crying. I couldn't believe he would do such a bad thing to me, and it scared the hell out of me, and I was very upset.
I was in hospital for many months, and I had many months of bandage changes, and I had many months of therapy, and I cried until I thought I had no more tears left. I was wondering why my husband had done this evil thing to me, and I wondered if this had been my fault. But there was one nurse who treated me good, and she came to see me every day, and she would spend hours with me, and let me talk. I don't know who she was at first; but when I first saw her, I thought she was an angel, and she helped me through those scary times in hospital.
I am now out of hospital, but I now live in apartment not far from hospital. This way, I can go to hospital for therapy two times a week, and not worry about how I am going to get there. I can walk there, it so close to where I live; and I can bring my son with me, which is always nice. He is such a beautiful and good little boy, and he is no trouble. He is also very smart, and the nurses, they just love him. So while I get my therapy, the nurses play with my boy until I am done, and then I come get him and then we go back to our apartment.
I can't work now, not with my ugly face, so I stay home, and I get money from American government every month. This help me with my bills, and with food and diapers and other stuff for my son and me. But the money still get eaten up by bills, and so I have very little money left after I pay the bills or get food for my little son and myself. I often have to go without, and sometimes I have to go to a place to get some food or help with my bills if I need it. The nurse that took care of me in hospital sometime stops by my place, and she bring me clothes for Amir, Jr., and she bring him toys that her children no longer play with. The toys are in good shape, and Amir just loves them, especially the little cars. He can play with those little cars and trucks for HOURS, it seems like. He also loves the soft animal toys, and he has them in his crib when he goes to bed for the night; and he sleeps with them, too.
I wonder if Amir, Sr. thinks of me, or if he is plotting on trying to kill me again. I have an order on him; and he can't come near me or our son, or I can call the police on him, and they can take him back to jail if he gets out. I hope he will never get out, I hope he rots there! To me he is nothing but garbage, and if I see him, I shall spit in his face and call him every ugly name I can think of. To me, he is as bad as terrorist, and he is nothing more than a terrorist..he has terrorized me too many times, and he has made my life a living hell! I also worry he will take Amir, Jr. away again, and I am afraid that he will kill him, too, and if he would kill him, I don't know what I would do. Oh, I can't even BEAR to think about it now without crying....
I will write more later; but my writing is horrible. I cannot write, my English is still poor, and I think it would be easier if I write this in Persian; maybe then I could understand what I am trying to say to you...My eyes are wet again, and it is making my face hurt, and I can't see good because of the water coming from my eyes!
~Fahid Al Mahood.
Written 3 December, 2003~
A note from Karen Lynn, author of the above story:
ALL women can suffer at the hands of their mates, in terms of abuse. This can happen ANYWHERE, not just in the Arabian nations. I am so sorry if I made it seem that it only happens in places like Iran, Iraq, or that part of the world. I hope I haven't offended anyone. But this was what happened to Fahid, and so this is her story. But abuse can happen ANYWHERE, in ALL nations, to people of ALL faiths. It is more common than you may think.
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Reviewed by Louise Bohmer
1/4/2004
I feel terrible for this poor woman. Karen, please send my warmest thoughts to Fahid. A truly heart wrenching tale. The horror found in real life.
Reviewed by Robert Blackwell
12/7/2003
Another excellent story, Karen! {{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}
Excellent storytelling Karen!
We must worry about abuse overseas
to women, of course, BUT WHAT ABOUT
THE ABUSE SUFFERED BY THE EVIL HERE IN
THE UNITED STATES TOO? WE SHOULD CONCENTRATE
ON GETTING RID OF THAT TOO!!!!!
(Can you tell I have been abused,and raped?)
I am ok with it though. I just want to be strong
for OTHERS out there!
Becca--Great Story!
Reviewed by Kate Clifford
12/3/2003
A painful truth that this is happening all over. Thank you for the sharing.
Hi Karen!
A terrible experience, I can't understand that someone could be so cruel...but are we to understand from this story that only Arab/ Muslim men batter women???:) Incidentally, if the woman was born in Tehran, she couldn't have been Arab, nor would she speak Arabic. Iranians speak Persian.
Great storytelling, though!
Suspenseful and close to home, Rain of Deception 2 will leave you in Tears. Much like Part 1, this will shocking sequel will keep you on the edge of your fingertips.
A page-turning novel about a relationship between best friends that is interrupted because of betrayal , deceit, sexual promiscuity and pregnancy happens!
