Princess: Stepping Out of the Shadows, стр. 32
‘“So, you will not tell us where to find your father?”
‘Souzan repeated what she believed to be true, that her father was at work.
‘The man shook his head back and forth, calling her a silly girl, then Souzan saw him make a motion to one of his men before telling that man, “You are free to do what you like.” Souzan glanced in panic at the second man, whose face, she said, displayed the most sadistic expression. For certain she believed that the man was mentally unbalanced because he began laughing while striking the younger children, whose screams appeared to energize him, causing him to beat them with his baton with intense enthusiasm.
‘That’s when the head man took the infant from Souzan’s arms and roughly placed the crying baby on the floor. The man started smiling and sneering at her and then, grabbing Souzan by the arms and pulling her out of the room, told her that she was going with him to have some fun.
‘The last image Souzan remembers of her younger siblings is that of the mentally deranged man kicking them with his boots. Souzan believes that all the children being beaten were unconscious, other than Omar, who was so brave that he was crying out while butting his small head into the big man’s stomach.’
I shuddered, struggling to hold back tears at the bravery shown by that young boy. Hearing quiet sniffles, I glanced to see that Lala and Shabane were both weeping.
Maha looked around the room with a hint of disappointment on her face. While she expected her audience to share her anger, she was faced with weeping women unable to arouse a single threatening shout.
‘I will tell you only a few more details because the images I have in my mind I do not wish for you to have in yours,’ Maha exclaimed. ‘But I shall give you a brief outline of what happened to Souzan from the time she was kidnapped until now.
‘A very terrified fifteen-year-old Souzan was forcibly dragged out of her home, thrown into the back seat of a security vehicle and driven out of the neighbourhood. She was transported to a large grey building, which she quickly discovered was a prison, and was swiftly isolated in a room with a large bed. Motionless from fear, she sat on the cold floor, waiting, knowing that something unspeakable was about to happen to her.
‘Soon after being locked into the room, the man who kidnapped her burst in with two other uniformed men, loudly ordering them to prepare her. Those men grinned and then leapt on her, stripping her of all her clothes until she was standing naked.
‘The kidnapper snapped at the subordinates, telling them to hold her.
‘And so, our fifteen-year-old innocent Souzan was tossed on to the bed, held down by two brutes, raped repeatedly, first by the kidnapper, then his subordinates, and then by six other men who were called into the room to participate.
‘This violation of her young body never ceased during the six months she was held prisoner. She became pregnant three times, and each time medical personnel at the prison performed an abortion.
‘Souzan had no information helpful to Assad’s regime. She was basically a child, with nothing to offer of importance. The truth is that the bodies of young girls are given as prizes to the men upholding this evil regime. Souzan was being held as a sex slave for those venomous men, nothing more.
‘During the time Souzan was held captive, the government security repeatedly visited Souzan’s anxious mother with orders that if her husband turned himself in they would release Souzan. But, they threatened, if her husband refused to exchange himself for his daughter, they would next take away the three-year-old toddler. The fate of her children was in her hands.
‘Meanwhile, Souzan’s mother had discovered that her husband had been killed during a mission against government troops, so she could do nothing but tell the truth, that her husband had been killed. She pleaded with the authorities that her husband would never stay away if he knew what was happening to his family. If he was able to, he would willingly turn himself in and save his daughter.
‘Government security claimed not to believe her, but obviously they had information of their own that Souzan’s father had indeed been killed during a battle, for they revisited the family one day hinting that for a certain sum paid to the kidnapper, who was their supervisor, Souzan would be returned to them. This was a poor family and they were being blackmailed by those in power. Of course, the sum was more than the family could raise, but by coincidence our contact heard about this family’s story and notified us that we had the opportunity to help a young girl be released from torture in prison.
‘We said yes, of course. After some complicated organizing, we arranged to have the funds sent from Lebanon into Syria. Once the kidnapper received the ransom, Souzan was freed and taken to her mother. To me, the speed with which she was dispatched meant that they had moved on to other victims.
‘Although alive, Souzan was emaciated and, not surprisingly, was mentally distraught. Although disbelieving and miserable upon learning about the truth of her father’s life, and his death, she experienced great happiness when she discovered that her younger siblings had survived the beating, although Omar suffered a concussion that endangered his life for a time. With her mother’s patient encouragement and support, Souzan was determined to heal from her ghastly ordeal, if for no other reason than to be able to declare victory over the evil men who had nearly killed her.
‘Tragically, the family remained in danger because the kidnapper was greedy. Once the family had paid the large ransom, that vile man believed that he could continue to milk them for money. He reappeared with