In the Name of Family

Family can be the best thing in the world, or it can be the worst thing in the world...and sometimes it's a bit of both.  As I said in my last post, my oldest son Paul came up for the weekend and it was so wonderful, I can't even begin to describe how nice it was to have breakfast and dinner made for me, dishes done...he even managed to get Matt into the swim of things!  He took us all out for a delicious lunch and fantastic frappacinos (sp?) We watched movies and talked, and just hung out together.  It was so great I didn't want it to end...but of course it did, and I tried my hardest not to cry when he left but it was impossible and so the sadness continues to seep out.  Also my sister and I had an argument and she has decided that she doesn't like me anymore, and that really sucks since out of my 51 years she's only liked me for about 9 of those and I was starting to get used to that but there again lies the problem.  I should know better by now...guard your heart...as Dr. Phil says "the best indicator of future behaviour is past behaviour." Anyway, I was having a wonderful time feeling very down and defeated and then I turned on the documentary, filmed mostly in Toronto, titled "In the Name of Family", which follows the lives of several young Arab women who were struggling to adapt to our culture, while still living in Arabian culture at home.  The fathers of these girls were consumed with the desire to control their daughters lives, and exhert phenomenal pressure on them to conform to, and be subjected to Sharia Law.  Their friends all said that when they themselves would make a statement like "My father's going to kill me" it was understood that it was all in jest...they were unprepared for the reality that their Arabian girlfriends had to deal with.  It's hard to believe that a father would shoot his own daughter because she smiled at a customer while bagging his groceries...but in a simplistic manner, that was the case.  The girls were expected to wear traditional garb and head dress, but most stored a change of clothes at school so that they could more easily blend in.  Their father's followed them, video taped them, had their brother's stalk them, and be ready to torture the girls on a frequent basis.  When outright rebellion finally came one girl was stabbed by her brother, 2 sisters were shot to death by their father in the back of his Taxi Cab from which he fled the country and hasn't been seen since.  The Misogyny of this culture is all consuming, and there really should be more protection for them.  They are truly beautiful gems, and any father would be concerned for their virtue, like most Canadian fathers I suspect.  The problem is that when they get on that plane in Pakistan they don't leave their misogynistic ways and Sharia Laws behind them.  What is the point then of leaving Arabian countries...presumably to get a better life...but only if you're a male.  Our small village is lacking in it's ethnicity, but the nearest city is starting to become more colourful, which is a good thing, but we all need to be aware of the seriousness of condition that our Arabian sister's  are living, and dying, under.  So if you're ever feeling that your parents are overbearing watch this ...the documentary speaks for itself and I hope you'll get a chance to see it...we must do something to ensure that "honor killings" have a special treatment under our laws to show those considering this path, that we will hunt them down, and they will pay for their vile...evil actions.

"On December 10, 2007, a 16-year-old Toronto schoolgirl, Aqsa, was strangled to death; her father and brother are charged with murder. Three weeks later, teenage sisters were shot to death in Dallas; their father is wanted for murder. Six months later, a 14-year-old girl was stabbed by her brother; he was convicted and is now in jail in New York.Friends and family of the murdered girls paint a chilling portrait of the forces that led to their deaths, and Toronto schoolgirls talk about their lives of constant fear. While Muslim women organize to help girls at risk and the imam at a Toronto mosque teaches that violence has no basis in Islam, some men continue to justify these crimes through patriarchal beliefs about family honour. Award-winning director Shelley Saywell brings her consummate documentary skills and passion for human rights to challenge the traditions that lie behind the heartbreaking tragedies committed against young girls caught between two cultures in North America. - Lynne Fernie" hot docs