Reactions, please.
Feb. 20th, 2002 10:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivkaLast night my sister told me a story. I'm going to recount as much of the story as I can, just as it was told to me, and I'd very much appreciate your thoughts.
My sister's friend participates in a newsgroup devoted to a TV show. On that newsgroup, some time ago (more than six months), she began corresponding with a 13-year-old Afghan girl who was in the U.S. to attend school. The girl's guardian was her grandfather, who had very progressive ideas about educating women. Because of that, and because the girl is a math prodigy (although she writes in very broken English), he arranged for her to attend school in New York.
On September 11th, her grandfather had a heart attack and died when he saw the WTC disaster covered on TV. Her U.S. hosts were both in the World Trade Center at the time, and died in the attack. Back in Afghanistan, the rest of her close family was killed when Taliban forces burned their house down. She has therefore come under the custody of distant relatives.
These relatives do not believe in educating girls, and have forced her to leave school. They have arranged her marriage to a 60-year-old man in Afghanistan, against her will. She is still in the U.S., but they moved her a couple of times in a private plane, and she has no idea where she is. She is not permitted to leave the house or contact anyone. She is only able to contact my sister's friend because she has a handheld computer which her guardians don't realize is equipped with e-mail access. She is becoming progressively more despairing, and my sister's friend is becoming progressively more frightened for her.
My sister's friend called the FBI, and was told that without any information about the girl's location there isn't much they can do.
What do you think?
My sister's friend participates in a newsgroup devoted to a TV show. On that newsgroup, some time ago (more than six months), she began corresponding with a 13-year-old Afghan girl who was in the U.S. to attend school. The girl's guardian was her grandfather, who had very progressive ideas about educating women. Because of that, and because the girl is a math prodigy (although she writes in very broken English), he arranged for her to attend school in New York.
On September 11th, her grandfather had a heart attack and died when he saw the WTC disaster covered on TV. Her U.S. hosts were both in the World Trade Center at the time, and died in the attack. Back in Afghanistan, the rest of her close family was killed when Taliban forces burned their house down. She has therefore come under the custody of distant relatives.
These relatives do not believe in educating girls, and have forced her to leave school. They have arranged her marriage to a 60-year-old man in Afghanistan, against her will. She is still in the U.S., but they moved her a couple of times in a private plane, and she has no idea where she is. She is not permitted to leave the house or contact anyone. She is only able to contact my sister's friend because she has a handheld computer which her guardians don't realize is equipped with e-mail access. She is becoming progressively more despairing, and my sister's friend is becoming progressively more frightened for her.
My sister's friend called the FBI, and was told that without any information about the girl's location there isn't much they can do.
What do you think?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 08:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 08:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 08:12 am (UTC)As far as what Rivka's sister's friend or the newsgroup can do...
1) Is it possible to verify the name of the girl's U.S. hosts as being actual WTC victims?
2) Is it possible to verify the girl as having attended a U.S. school?
3) Is it possible to verify the girl's distant relatives names, to see if their private plane is actually registered in the U.S.? If it is, then it should be possible to see if there's been a flight plan filed for that plane.
no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 08:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 08:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 09:20 am (UTC)Well, we'll all go together when we go - because my first reaction was also "I really don't think this could be true." The number of different tragic elements strained credibility. But on the other hand, enough really awful things do happen that I don't want to dismiss a story offhandedly just because it sounds "too bad to be true."
Two of the things that trip my bullshit detector:
Two people who are hosting an Afghan girl fleeing Taliban oppression both die in the WTC, and yet in the vast reams of coverage the U.S. media doesn't pick up on this incredibly mediagenic story? She supposedly wasn't cut off from contact until well after September 11, so someone - herself, her school, her friends - would have been in a position to share her circumstances with the press.
A group of Afghans were able to transport an unwilling, English-speaking victim around the U.S. without attracting the notice of the authorities, despite the heightened attention given to private aviation since September 11th? (My sister thinks that private planes just file a flight plan, and that no one looks at the passengers at all. But that seems unlikely these days, doesn't it?)
However, in support of the possibility of all this being real: my sister says that her friend was initially contacted by the girl's family (pre-September 11th) to verify that she was an acceptable, reputable person with whom it would be okay for the girl to correspond. (I don't know how this contact was made. If it was by e-mail, obviously it isn't worth much.)
I'm going to forward all of this to my sister, so continued comments are helpful if anyone else wants to add anything. I'd especially be interested in hearing from anyone who isn't going to Cynic Hell with Serene, Trinker, Jae, and me.
no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 08:27 am (UTC)-J
no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 08:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 08:10 am (UTC)Second reaction: it is true that South Asian girls are still sometimes tricked/compelled/coerced into arranged marriages.
Third reaction: If she has a computer, she is not cut off from access and could contact the police or FBI. Furthermore, they could put a trace on the IP and figure out where she is.
no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 09:10 am (UTC)Now I'll always wonder if it's a true story... nothing about it on Snopes (yet); since you (Rivka) have closer-to-source information than I do, I'd suggest running it by them, just to see if they've gotten anything similar.
a couple of thoughts
Date: 2002-02-20 08:14 am (UTC)even a private plane probably goes through a public airport. This is high-risk, but the girl might be able to approach someone and say "they're kidnapping me" or "these people are taking me to be raped by an old man."
Also, are the guardians' names known? It's possible that something could be done by way of watching borders.
Or maybe a New York warrant for taking the child out of school and not arranging other education? She's under 16 and hasn't finished high school, which means she's legally required to be in school (which can include home schooling, but that clearly isn't happening here). I'm not a lawyer, and am having no luck searching for the relevant law.
found it
Date: 2002-02-20 08:20 am (UTC)each school district of the state, each minor from six to sixteen years
of age shall attend upon full time instruction.
b. Each minor from six to sixteen years of age on an Indian reserva-
tion shall attend upon full time day instruction.
Assuming, of course, that this is real.
no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 08:19 am (UTC)If that handheld computer with e-mail access were sending a virus into the net, the FBI would find it fast. If it's something like a Palm VII that connects via wireless web, it'd be even easier.
Assuming the facts and circumstances are correct as reported, the girl is a resident alien refugee - presumably in possession of a green card - and therefore entitled to some legal protections in accordance with the policies of the INS. If the FBI has demonstrated an unwillingness to take the matter seriously, I suggest that if your sister's friend is serious she should contact the US Department of State and acquaint them with the facts as she knows them.
no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 09:29 am (UTC)Why did the distant relations suddenly decide to marry this girl off, when they have only known of their supposed authority for a few months at best? How did they manage to get local American connections that could pull this sort of thing off, yet not realize that the girl's handheld can send email?
If by some chance it turns out to be for real, I like Bill's suggestion about re-contacting the FBI or talking to the State Department. If some sort of documentation can be provided (email headers, perhaps), then it can be backtraced in reasonably short order.
I suspect, though, that this will turn out to have been the fevered imagination of someone who wanted to create a dramatic situation to get some vicarious sympathy ("poorlittlekidnappedafghangirl@hotmail.com", perhaps). There have been far too many cases of fraudulent identity claims on the Net for me to accept this situation at face value. God knows, there have been cases where everything has gone wrong with a person's life, and the responsible authorities have fallen down on the job, but this sounds like something from an anime comic.
Now I'm really going to cynic hell.
Date: 2002-02-20 09:34 am (UTC)"Last week, our heroine frantically tapped out a message on her handheld..."
no subject
Date: 2002-02-20 09:54 am (UTC)It is possible to get an unwilling person on a plane at a private airfield with a minimum of fuss. There are lots of tiny airstrips across the country that don't even have a fence up around them, so all they would have to do is file a flightplan ahead of time, then come back with the girl when ppl weren't around.
On the flipside a couple of Afganistan people filing a flight plan would likely get watched very carefully right now."
Color me dubious.
Date: 2002-02-20 11:34 am (UTC)Too Contrived
Date: 2002-02-20 12:15 pm (UTC)