http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/world/africa/06iht-letter06.html?src=un <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/world/africa/06iht-letter06.html?src=un&f eedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fworld%2Fafrica%2Findex.jsonp > &feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fworld%2Fafrica%2Findex.jso np
The Female Factor A Safe Place After Horror in Libya By SOUAD MEKHENNET <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/souad_mekhenne t/index.html?inline=nyt-per> Published: April 5, 2011 RA'S AJDIR, TUNISIA <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/tu nisia/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> To hear the mothers and daughters fleeing Libya <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/li bya/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> tell it, the woman who burst into a hotel used by journalists in Tripoli saying she had been raped by the forces of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/q/muammar_el_qad dafi/index.html?inline=nyt-per> has plenty of company. More than 200,000 people have poured across this border post with Libya since unrest erupted there in February. At first, it was mainly Egyptians and Bangladeshi laborers fleeing war. In the last three weeks, the number of families from sub-Saharan countries the women generally maids or nannies, their husbands in construction or retail has increased markedly, as have the tales of woe. More than 8,000 people now live in Camp Choucha, near the border. At the beginning, the overwhelming majority were middle aged men on their own, but now the numbers of women are increasing, said Firas Kayal, public information officer for the U.N. <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/united_ nations/index.html?inline=nyt-org> High Commissioner for Refugees. Separate places are designated for families and women alone in the camp, currently about 10 percent of the inhabitants, said Mr. Kayal. Nasra Said Mahmoud, a Somali who had been working in Libya for two years, said she, her husband and their 18-year-old daughter hid day and night in their home on the outskirts of Zawiyah about 100 kilometers, or 70 miles, from the border, while battle raged between Colonel Qaddafis supporters and rebels. Lacking food, they eventually fled, and they were overwhelmed by the friendly welcome. Most of the Libyan people have treated us as third-class humans, so we werent sure what to expect from the Tunisians, she said. Her daughter, Hawa, said that Libyan men harassed them sexually. A group of Libyan men were putting their hand between their legs, she said, and they said Come here and do the job. Her eyes filled with tears, and her hands shook. I heard from some women that they were raped, but it did not happen to me. We came out of hell, she said. Several Tunisian women, among them students and therapists, have come to the border to help the refugees. Dorsaf Hmidi, 23, a student, said simply: You can see in their faces that they have been through a lot, and we want to show them our solidarity. When women break down in front of her, she said, she steers them toward psychiatrists like Asma, 28, who asked that her last name and her organization be withheld because she was still planning future trips to Libya. Asmas tent, hung with large blue silk to divide it into consultation areas, is the first station to offer help for the traumatized. Many awful things were discussed here, she said matter-of-factly. Children saw their parents beaten, she said, or men pillaging family belongings. Like other volunteers, Asma participated in the protests against the Tunisian regime that ignited revolt across the Arab world. She said she felt obliged to help those fleeing Libya, where, she said, the brutality of Colonel Qaddafis regime had made things different from Tunisia. Women told us that they were raped, she said, then paused. Bangladeshis, Egyptians, Somalis and Tunisians. She told of a Tunisian husband who brought his wife to her. The woman broke down, Asma said, sobbing that several men had raped her in front of her husband, as they traveled from Zawiyah to the border. Some wore uniforms, but they were not sure if they were Qaddafis people or rebels, because everyone wears uniforms there now. Most women crossing the border still fear the long arm of the Libyan intelligence service and seem afraid to talk. 100, 100, meaning all is 100 percent good, most mutter in a scared voice in Arabic. In some cases when people were willing to talk to a reporter, men in plain clothes went up to them, whispered in their ears, and the women rushed away. The same men also tried to film or photograph journalists as well. Asked why, they answered only: Just a souvenir for us. After their first interview in the tent, Mrs. Mahmoud and her daughter were bused to Camp Choucha, seven kilometers away, for therapy. At the camp, the United Nations, Médecins Sans Frontières <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/d/doctors _without_borders/index.html?inline=nyt-org> and therapists from Tunisia and Morocco, which set up a field hospital, work together to alleviate the anguish of the refugees. Rim Ben Ismail, 46, a therapist who was for years a finance professor at the University of Tunis before retraining, is one of them. Most of the stories are very difficult, Mrs. Ben Ismail said. Some of these people have escaped to Libya from wars in their country, like the Somalis, Sudanese, Eritreans or Nigerians, and now again they found themselves in a difficult situation. When Colonel Qaddafis troops started going after protesters and rebels, immigrants and their families got caught in the middle. Supporters of the government started to force foreign men to fight with them, and those who refused were either suspected to be with the rebels or with Al Qaeda <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaed a/index.html?inline=nyt-org> , seven women said in independent interviews. Women from Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and Congo also said, however, that some rebels suspected their male relatives of being pro-Qaddafi mercenaries and beat them. Libya is not safe for people like us right now; everyone is using us as the scapegoat, Zamzam Yousuf, a 24-year-old from Sudan, said in broken Arabic. Mrs. Ben Ismail said that while some women got expert treatment in the field hospital, she encouraged others to avoid recalling their Libyan experiences. We want them for now to forget about the past and realize that they are safe. I am here as a woman to help other women but also because I feel responsible for what is happening, she said. Women were raped, and many people are dying and suffering, and we in Tunisia started it. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/world/africa/06iht-letter06.html?src=un&f eedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fworld%2Fafrica%2Findex.jsonp > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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