Never happens, eh Karnal?
Melbourne teenager sent to Lebanon tells horrific story of her life as a child bride
A young Australian teenager sent to the Middle East to become a child bride has told the harrowing tale of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her drug addicted, criminal husband.
Tasneem Fakhoury was sent to Lebanon when she was just 14 years old after being told she was going on a holiday. She arrived in an isolated village near the capital of Tripoli and was told she would be visiting her grandparents.
But Tasneem was married off to a 25-year-old man. Despite the sudden change in plans, she described her attitude at the time as being naive.
“I was 14. All I was thinking at the time was the beautiful white dress and that amazing wedding I’m gonna get,” she told 7 News.
But the man she was to marry turned out to be a criminal guilty of numerous crimes. Tasneem said she discovered he’d been involved in “rape, stealing” and was an abusive drug addict.
Tasneem, now 20, said the marriage was consummated almost immediately, something she still finds almost too painful to recall. She said her new husband would “go to supermarkets, put the gun to the guy’s head and take all the money”.
She said her husband would try reasoning about his abusive behaviour towards her, in what she refers to as “every violent man’s line”.
Tasneem said his violence began with her not being able to leave the house, “I started crying, because I was little. Then he started being violent. He started hitting me.
“For the smallest reasons, the tiniest reasons.”
She said he would tell her, “You know I only hurt you because I love you and I want the best for you.” At this point she decided she wanted to leave and said she began packing her bags, saying, “That’s it, I’m leaving.”
But her neighbour, a woman, laughed at her and explained, “Love, there’s no way out of here, they either kill you or break you.”
Tasneem said her situation became so desperate that she considered taking her own life.
“I would be sometimes cooking and I would the grab the knife I would stand there for five minutes,” she said. “All I could see on the knife was my reflection and a lot was going through my mind, is how pathetic I was.”
After four desperate years, she managed to escape with the assistance of her father. She severed ties with her husband in August last year and now lives in Australia again.
“Even though I don’t have anything now, it’s heaven,” Tasneem said. “I would rather have nothing in my whole life than go back there.”
While Tasneem’s child-marriage was conducted overseas, since January 2017, 171 cases of forced child marriage in Australia have been investigated by the AFP. Some of the children involved have been as young as six and seven years old.
— If you or someone you know needs help, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence, call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732). If you or someone you know is at risk of forced or underage marriage contact Good Shepherd.
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/melbourne-teenager-sent-to-lebanon-t...