I'm an arab daughter but more an American

Submitted by Carolene (United States), Feb 10, 2005 at 19:48

When I first saw the case of Tina on Dateline, I was very upset. I'm Arabic and grew up in a household of the same beliefs, girls were not to shame the family in any way. I heard many stories of Arab girls shaming the family, and how you ask? By being a normal American teenager, having a boyfriend or even talking to a boy.

Us Arab girls are brought up to respect the father fully, no matter what he says or does and I did. With that thought, Tina could not have picked up a knife to attack her father. She was brought up to fear him, not try and kill him. My father was not a good father, but everything he said I thought was law; until I grew up and realized that disobeying him just meant being normal.

I read the book and am not surprised that her sisters wished her dead, being fluent in Arabic I have heard family members wishing death upon another family members. If there was only somewhere she could have went, someone who could have helped her.

Arab parents CAN'T expect to come to a country that is known for it's freedom and equally and expect their children to maintain their beliefs. I've said this to my parents numerous times, "if you wanted me to follow that culture, you should have stayed in the Mideast.

If Tina was killed in Palestine, it would have been legal. In times like this, I'm not proud of my heritage.

Tina, I'm hurting for you

Tina's sisters, please don't justify what your parents did, only GOD has the right to end a life and your father was not GOD.

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