Hena Akhter - Taking Things Too Far

Hena (inset) and Hena's mother, 

24.2. The fornicatress and the fornicator – flog each of them with a hundred stripes; and do not let pity for them hold you back from carrying out God's law, if you truly believe in God and the Last Day; and let a group of believers witness their punishment. (The Miraculous Quran)

Hena Akhter was only 14 years old. She was on outside going to the toilet when she was, according to testimony from her sister, gagged, drug to another location, and then raped by a married cousin. The wife, hearing noises, found the two. She was furious. In her rage she drug the girl into her home then beat her and trampled upon her. She then demanded justice accusing the girl of being a fornicator.

The man in question, in his forties, had been reported for harassing the girl before this incident. Hena's father had gone to the authorities to complain in an effort to protect his youngest daughter. The elders ordered the culprit, Mahbub Khan, to pay the family $1,000. However, other family members asked for forgiveness since he was related. Hena's father showed mercy and forgave the debt.

Mahbub Khan did not show the same mercy to Hena, nor did the court. Even upon hearing from Hena's family that the girl was innocent and a victim, both were sentenced by the imam to be flogged. Somehow Mahbub managed to get away and only received three or four hits. Hena was not as lucky. After about 70 hits the girl fell and did not get back up. She spent a week in the hospital suffering before she died. The entire time she proclaimed her innocence.

Many may look at this and blame the Muslim relgion, but the truth is that months before this practice, sharia, was outlawed. However many small villages are still practicing what many, including myself, consider a barbaric practice. It is something many of us would never condone nor understand.

This family lived in a village in Bangladesh surrounded by rice paddies and vegetable fields. Five of them shared a home put together by corrugated tin and rotten wood. The survived on the income of day laborers working the fields. Their lives were simple.

Nothing for them is simple now. The tragic death of their daughter has brought international attention to them and their tiny village. An investigation, an exhumation of the body, and several arrests, including that of Mahbub Khan, has rocked the very core of their village and the beliefs of the people that live there.

This story brings tears to my eyes. But before we thank whatever powers that be we believe in that we do not practice such barbaric things here in the US let's keep in mind that two young girls, both 11 years of age, were gang raped. One in Texas and the other in California.

The child in California was lured into the situation by another young girl where she knew that boys from a gang were waiting for her to bring them a victim. It was not a religious practice, but more like an initiation into the gang. An insidious act to prove domination and power over the innocent.

The child in Texas was taken into an abandoned trailer and raped by several young men of various ages. The horrible thing is that this 11 year old child is being blamed by some as "asking for it." They insinuate that this young girl is not innocent, she looks older than 11. The father responded that "she has a child's mind."

That shouldn't even have to be explained. Regardless of how mature this child looks, no one can honestly believe she asked for 18 boys/men to do something like this to her. It's beyond comprehension how someone, even a relative, can make excuses for such a horrible act. Blaming the victim shows no remorse for the actions and also displays a severe lack of compassion.

This child, after being raped, was taken from her home, placed in foster care in an entirely different location because she was then being subjected to death threats. She hadn't suffered enough?

We can sit around and point fingers at the world and discuss how atrocious things are in those communities, but let's look at what we have next door as well.

No matter how you slice this each of these young women were innocent victims. A man does not have the right to molest a child under any circumstance for any reason. Those who victimize children in a group are simply cowards. What they did was just as barbaric as the crime and punishment done to Hena Akhter.

Shame to all of you that blame the children.

This is the US not Mexico

I understand that Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday. I also understand that many Mexican Americans observe the holiday here in the United States, but for anyone to take offense to the five students at Live Oak High School  in Morgan Hill, California is nothing short of ludicrous. These five young men, sporting their patriotism for the US, were asked to either remove their shirts, turn them inside out, go home, or be suspended. However, the more than 100 students that were wearing depictions and colors of the Mexican Flag (red, white, and green) were not reprimanded.



One of the boys in questions is 1/2 Mexican. The boys were not causing problems, they were not instigating fights. On the contrary, other students, Mexican students to be precise, had approached them and had told them they were offended by their attire. These boys never said a word to the more than 100 students sporting patriotism for Mexico even though they were attending a US school.

Now I am not adverse to Mexicans nor do I have problems with Mexico as a country. I have taught at a Dallas high school where over 90% of the student population were from Mexico. I love the culture. When one of the students was having problems in her home she came to live with us for several months so she could finish school. However, I am extremely adverse to making American students feel as if supporting their country is wrong. I don't care what day of the year it is.

I also noted an absence of this particular story on CNN. Every other news site seemed to have it listed. CNN has been putting out sob stories of fear in Arizona over the new immigration law. They even posted a story about Cinco De Mayo in Arizona and how the new law, which isn't even being implemented at this time and doesn't go into effect for another month, has scared people into not celebrating this Mexican holiday. Forgive me if I laugh at this.

Perhaps CNN is not aware that Cinco de Mayo is about victory of a Mexican battle over the French forces in 1862. It actually has limited significance in Mexico and isn't widely celebrated. The major holiday of Mexico is in September and is called "Grito de Doleres." So, so much for the major significance of the holiday. It would be like the US creating a holiday for defeating the British in the Battle of the Chesapeake.

Why don't we have a holiday for this on September 5?

It is one thing to respect the rights and ideas of  immigrants in this country, but is an entirely different matter when we impose the lifestyles and holidays of another country on US students that have no interest in participating. Students at this school were taken from learning to being entertained by Mexican dancers and Mexican bands.

I know in Neenah High School they have diversity clubs. We take the time to learn about other cultures and celebrations in foreign language classes and through classes such as World History and Humanities. No one is saying that immigrants to this country should not be proud of their heritage, but they should also respect that they are celebrating in the United States and not in their country. Their national pride does not and should not override our own.

Momentary Darkness

The face of the child that was killed in California (Sandra Cantu) has been haunting me. Not only did a monster steal her innocence and take her life but they left a huge hole in a family and a community. What kind of world is it where children cannot go out and play without fear of being bait for someone's selfish desires? Then they dump the body in a pond as if it were unwanted trash. This is beyond tragic. One reason is because as time passes she, by most in the world, will be forgotten. She will become a shadow in their minds, but never forgotten by her family.

So this morning I wrote this poem. It's rather dark, but it's how I'm feeling.

Momentary Darkness
The laughter of a child fills the air
Until the ugly head of the monster hears
and rears it’s snarling head.
The world falls into momentary darkness.
The child’s missing the village cries
For another innocence in the world
has been snatched away into the nothing
And the world falls into momentary darkness.
The tears of those who love fall upon the ground
Yet the droplets hit the earth without a sound.
The monster is not swayed by sorrow.
He relishes the momentary darkness.
What should we do as the light fades away?
As it’s no longer safe for our children to play.
For as the world becomes a haven for monsters
The moments of darkness are longer and longer.

Pasty Dunbar