Video statement of Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (II)
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0:00 - 0:02Hello.
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0:02 - 0:03My name is Latifa Al Maktoum.
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0:03 - 0:08I was born on December 5, 1985.
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0:08 - 0:11My mom is Houria Ahmed Lamara
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0:11 - 0:12She is from Algeria.
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0:12 - 0:16My father is Prime Minister of UAE
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0:16 - 0:17and the ruler of Dubai,
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0:17 - 0:20Mohammed bin Rashid Saeed Al Maktoum.
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0:20 - 0:22He has three daughters called Latifa.
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0:22 - 0:23I’m the middle one.
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0:23 - 0:27There is one older than me and one younger than me.
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0:27 - 0:31And he has two daughters called Mariam also.
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0:31 - 0:35I have thirty brothers and sisters total.
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0:35 - 0:37I had to say that
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0:37 - 0:41in case this video is discredited in any way that
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0:41 - 0:43‘no you know there is a Latifa there and a Latifa there’
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0:43 - 0:46Yeah, there's three Latifas, I’m one of them.
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0:46 - 0:47I’m the middle Latifa.
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0:48 - 0:50My full sisters are Maitha and Shamsa.
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0:50 - 0:52They’re both older than me
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0:52 - 0:54and Majid he’s younger than me.
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0:55 - 1:01And I’m making this video because it could
be the last video I make. -
1:01 - 1:02Yeah.
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1:05 - 1:12Pretty soon I’m going to be leaving somehow
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1:12 - 1:17and I’m not so sure of the outcome, but
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1:17 - 1:23I’m ninety-nine percent positive it will work.
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1:23 - 1:26And if it doesn’t then this video can help
me -
1:26 - 1:30because all my father cares about is his reputation.
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1:30 - 1:33He will kill people to protect his own reputation.
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1:33 - 1:39He.. he only cares about himself and his ego.
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1:39 - 1:44So this video could save my life.
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1:44 - 1:49And if you are watching this video it’s
not such a good thing. -
1:49 - 1:54Either I’m dead or I’m in a very, very,
very bad situation. -
1:54 - 1:56So where do I begin?
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1:58 - 1:59In 2000,
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1:59 - 2:03my sister Shamsa while she was on holiday in England.
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2:03 - 2:07She was 18 years old going on nineteen.
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2:07 - 2:08She ran away.
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2:08 - 2:14And in the two months that she was free
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2:14 - 2:18we were in contact and I was still in Dubai
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2:18 - 2:20with my mom and my other sister.
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2:20 - 2:23Where she had traveled with her step-mom and..
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2:23 - 2:25and all of them.
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2:26 - 2:28So while she..
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2:28 - 2:30She escaped because she didn’t
have much freedom in Dubai. -
2:30 - 2:36She didn’t have freedom to do the things
like you know anybody in a civilized world -
2:36 - 2:38would take for granted like
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2:38 - 2:42driving a car or traveling or
you know just making choices -
2:42 - 2:44for your own future.
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2:44 - 2:48Freedom of choice is not something that you know, we have.
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2:48 - 2:53So when you have it, you take it for granted
and if you don’t have it, it’s very very special. -
2:53 - 2:58So yeah, she ran away and the whole time she
was communicating with me. -
2:58 - 3:00I was fourteen years old at that time.
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3:00 - 3:03And yeah, Shamsa was..
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3:03 - 3:05I saw her almost as a mother figure.
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3:05 - 3:07Yeah, she’s my big sister.
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3:07 - 3:10She’s like a mother also to me because she
really cared about me. -
3:10 - 3:12I would speak to her every single day.
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3:12 - 3:15So yeah when she left, it was a little bit
hard -
3:15 - 3:18I was happy for her but at the same time I was worried about her.
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3:18 - 3:20And what she did was,
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3:20 - 3:24she also contacted one of her friends in Dubai
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3:24 - 3:26whose name is Leila ??Harab??
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3:27 - 3:30and she kept calling Leila.
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3:30 - 3:33And what my father has done is he went to
Leila’s house -
3:33 - 3:36and he tried to bribe her with a Rolex
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3:36 - 3:39and he said we need to tap your phone
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3:39 - 3:44to track Shamsa to see where she is.
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3:44 - 3:46So that’s what they did.
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3:46 - 3:48And Leila told Shamsa, she told her
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3:48 - 3:50‘My phone is bugged.’
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3:50 - 3:51‘They’re trying to find you. Be careful.’
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3:51 - 3:54And Shamsa told me that and I told her,
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3:54 - 3:58‘Stop calling Leila. Because if you'll call her
they’re going to find you.’ -
3:58 - 4:01I think she was very lonely in the UK by herself.
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4:01 - 4:05She had nobody else to talk to. So she talked
to us and she kept talking to Leila. -
4:05 - 4:09So yeah after two months, they found her.
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4:09 - 4:12Basically, she was on the streets
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4:12 - 4:16and a bunch of guys in a car just drove up
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4:16 - 4:21they found her, they grabbed her, kicking and screaming threw her in the car
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4:21 - 4:23and she was driven somewhere
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4:23 - 4:26by a helicopter.. she was driven to a helicopter somehow
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4:26 - 4:30ended up in France and from France she came to Dubai.
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4:30 - 4:34She was drugged on the plane.
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4:34 - 4:37It was a private jet, so nobody was checking anything.
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4:37 - 4:39She was drugged, brought back to Dubai
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4:39 - 4:42and basically put in this building.
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4:43 - 4:47It’s the building, it’s called ‘Kheima’,
which means ‘Tent’ in Arabic. -
4:47 - 4:49But it’s not a tent, it’s just called ‘The Tent’
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4:49 - 4:50and
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4:51 - 4:53And it’s on.. it’s in Zabeel Palace
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4:53 - 4:57the property of my step-mom Hind.
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4:57 - 4:59And she was kept there and locked there.
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4:59 - 5:01And during that time,
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5:01 - 5:05we could send her some things like clothes or whatever.
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5:05 - 5:09So, we snuck in a telephone for her.
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5:09 - 5:13‘We’ meaning me and my adopted sister Mona
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5:13 - 5:15Mona ??Al Lamara??
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5:15 - 5:19We were in contact with her and
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5:19 - 5:21we snuck in a telephone, so we could talk to her.
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5:21 - 5:23So while she was inside,
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5:23 - 5:26she contacted some journalists in the UK
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5:26 - 5:29and they released the story to The Guardian.
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5:29 - 5:34I think it was around May 2001 when the story came out, I’m not really sure.
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5:34 - 5:35The stories..
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5:35 - 5:38Google ‘Shamsa Al Maktoum’ and it’s
the first thing that come up. -
5:38 - 5:41Her, her escape and all of that.
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5:41 - 5:46So when the story came out, I think they realized
that somehow she’s in a communication or -
5:46 - 5:47somebody was helping her or whatever.
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5:47 - 5:53So the police went and they took Mona from her University
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5:53 - 5:56and they questioned and tortured her
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5:56 - 6:00And my sister Maitha came to my room
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6:00 - 6:03in the evening the same day, and she said
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6:03 - 6:07‘Mona was taken by the police and they’re questioning her
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6:07 - 6:09and beating her up basically
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6:09 - 6:11what do you know about Shamsa?’
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6:11 - 6:13And Maitha was kind of acting like the interrogator.
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6:13 - 6:14You know like..
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6:14 - 6:17I’m gonna interrogate you to get information from you.
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6:17 - 6:18I said I don’t know anything.
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6:18 - 6:21And.. so anyway
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6:21 - 6:26I went and I told my other adopted sister Fatima
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6:26 - 6:28Fatima ??Lamara??
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6:28 - 6:33Who by the way was kept in a cabin in our house.
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6:33 - 6:33She was kept..
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6:33 - 6:36It’s another story.
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6:37 - 6:42She’s kept in a cabin on our property, but locked up.
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6:42 - 6:46Separated from the rest of the family because she’s naughty.
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6:46 - 6:48Her naughty behavior.
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6:48 - 6:50She's..She’s rebellious.
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6:50 - 6:53So she’s basically kept in a cage in our house.
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6:55 - 7:00And anyway.. I.. I wrote a note for her and
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7:00 - 7:04I told our housemaid to give it to her
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7:04 - 7:06to slide it under her door and she did.
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7:06 - 7:09And I told her you know Mona has been taken and she’s being questioned by the police
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7:09 - 7:10and everything.
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7:10 - 7:16And then Fatima just went crazy, she just
like broke down the window.. she.. she.. -
7:16 - 7:17and the door.
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7:17 - 7:20She threw this.. the metal thing outside the window.
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7:20 - 7:21She broke it.
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7:21 - 7:22She got out.
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7:22 - 7:23She took a knife.
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7:23 - 7:29She was threatening Ali, who is a.. like he is a chef..
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7:29 - 7:31but he is also like.. the brother-in-law
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7:31 - 7:33of my father’s right-hand man.
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7:33 - 7:36So he was kind of like in charge of the staff
or whatever. -
7:36 - 7:37So she took a knife and she was threatening him like
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7:37 - 7:39ʻI want to see Mona, I want to see Monaʼ
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7:39 - 7:40So they took Fatima.
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7:40 - 7:42They put her in prison and they tortured her also.
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7:42 - 7:44And then they realized that she knew nothing.
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7:44 - 7:50We didn’t tell her because we couldn’t tell her that we were in contact with Shamsa.
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7:50 - 7:54Anyway what happened after that, yeah so that day I kind of lost everyone.
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7:55 - 7:59All my friends, all my.. my sisters everything.
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7:59 - 8:01I lost everyone that day.
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8:01 - 8:03It was.. it was very hard day for me.
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8:03 - 8:07And of course I lost my communication with Shamsa.
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8:08 - 8:11So approximately a year later
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8:11 - 8:16as a 16 year old I decided that I’m gonna escape.
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8:16 - 8:19Back then I didn’t have the Internet.
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8:19 - 8:21I didn’t have..
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8:21 - 8:24I was very.. it was 2002.
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8:24 - 8:27Internet existed but I didn’t have it, they
wouldn’t allow me to have Internet. -
8:27 - 8:28I didn’t have Internet.
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8:28 - 8:29I didn’t have phone.
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8:29 - 8:33The only phone I had was given to me by my friend
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8:33 - 8:36so it wasn’t approved by my family or anything.
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8:36 - 8:39So I decided I’m gonna escape.
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8:39 - 8:42I’m gonna go, I’m gonna leave UAE.
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8:42 - 8:45I’m gonna find a lawyer in another country.
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8:45 - 8:46Like I’m gonna go to Oman.
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8:46 - 8:50I’m gonna just go there and I’m gonna find a lawyer or something
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8:50 - 8:51and I’m gonna help Shamsa.
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8:51 - 8:52In the worst case scenario if they catch me,
they’re gonna put me with her. -
8:52 - 8:56I’m gonna be in prison with her, so at least
I can see her and I’m happy and she knows -
8:56 - 8:59that she has somebody with her and she’s
not gonna do anything crazy. -
8:59 - 9:00She’s not gonna hurt herself.
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9:00 - 9:02She has her sister with her, so she’s not gonna do anything.
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9:02 - 9:02You know..
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9:02 - 9:06So I was thinking either I get her help or
I get to put in prison with her. -
9:06 - 9:09So in 2002 I escaped.
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9:10 - 9:12And they caught me at the border.
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9:12 - 9:14And yeah like..
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9:14 - 9:18I was very, very naive I thought you could just go.
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9:18 - 9:21I thought you can just.. there’s like a
border and then there’s like sand or what.. -
9:21 - 9:23I didn’t realize what the border looks like.
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9:23 - 9:24I’ve never been to a border in my life.
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9:24 - 9:26I didn’t have Internet to research it.
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9:26 - 9:28I didn’t have anyone to talk to, to give me advice.
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9:28 - 9:29I couldn’t..
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9:29 - 9:31I was totally by myself.
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9:31 - 9:32I had no one.
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9:32 - 9:38Nobody even knew what.. like I mean.. people..my friends around me in school like
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9:38 - 9:40they didn’t know what I was going through.
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9:40 - 9:43I couldn’t talk to anybody about it.
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9:44 - 9:51So yeah.. and I wasn’t allowed out.
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9:51 - 9:55I wasn’t allowed to go outside.. like I was going to school.
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9:55 - 9:58I would sometimes go to the family’s stables to horse ride
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9:58 - 10:02and apart from that I didn’t do anything else and then I went home.
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10:02 - 10:04So I did I didn’t have..
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10:04 - 10:06I was..
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10:06 - 10:07I didn’t know anything.
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10:07 - 10:12So, yeah, I they caught me at the border basically and then they found out who I was.
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10:12 - 10:20They brought me back to Dubai and my father’s right-hand man put me in prison
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10:20 - 10:26under my father’s orders and then his all his CID guys, they..
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10:28 - 10:31yeah, they.. they put me in person and they tortured me.
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10:35 - 10:40Basically, one guy was holding me, while the other guy was beating me..
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10:40 - 10:43and they did that repeatedly.
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10:43 - 10:47I think the first time they tortured me, I didn’t feel any pain
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10:47 - 10:48because I was in so much shock.
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10:48 - 10:49I didn’t..
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10:49 - 10:51It was like somebody was hitting me through a pillow or something.
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10:51 - 10:54I could see what they were doing, but I just..
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10:54 - 10:57I was like, are they just destroying my body?
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10:57 - 10:59What’s going on?
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10:59 - 11:02I didn’t.. didn’t even.. the pain didn’t
register because I think I was in so much -
11:02 - 11:10shock and it was a long day with little sleep
and I just.. the pain didn’t.. -
11:10 - 11:11I didn’t..
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11:11 - 11:14I didn’t feel the pain and it was like a
half hour torture session. -
11:14 - 11:16And then the next times I was tortured, it
was -
11:16 - 11:23for five hours and yeah I was just pulled from the bed
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11:23 - 11:28driven to another location in the palace
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11:28 - 11:30in the same building,
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11:30 - 11:34The Kheima, the tent, which is not a tent.
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11:34 - 11:37And yeah, they tortured me.
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11:37 - 11:40I knew how long it was, because I had a watch
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11:40 - 11:45and they told me that your father told us
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11:45 - 11:47to beat you until we kill you.
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11:47 - 11:51That’s his orders, your father’s orders.
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11:51 - 11:56Your father, the Ruler of Dubai, that’s what he said.
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11:56 - 12:00So all of this public image that he’s trying to portray human rights
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12:00 - 12:02Its bullshit.
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12:02 - 12:05He’s the most evil person I’ve ever met in my life.
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12:05 - 12:07He’s pure evil.
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12:07 - 12:09There’s nothing good in him.
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12:09 - 12:12He’s responsible for so many people’s deaths
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12:12 - 12:15and ruining so many people’s lives.
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12:21 - 12:22He doesn’t care about anyone.
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12:22 - 12:25He only cares about his image, his reputation,
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12:25 - 12:30and he will gladly kill somebody,
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12:30 - 12:31but he doesn’t do it himself.
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12:31 - 12:37He just.. he.. he doesn’t do the dirty work himself.
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12:37 - 12:39He’ll just get other people to do it.
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12:39 - 12:41He doesn’t care.
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12:43 - 12:47After my uncle died, he killed one of his wives
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12:47 - 12:49he killed.. he killed her
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12:49 - 12:52everyone knows about it, the Moroccan one.
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12:52 - 12:54Because she was too..
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12:54 - 12:56her behavior was too outrageous.
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12:56 - 12:57She was too..
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12:57 - 12:58I think..I think she just talked too much
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12:58 - 13:00and he felt threatened by her.
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13:00 - 13:02So he just killed her.
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13:02 - 13:04Of course, he couldn’t do that when my uncle was alive,
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13:04 - 13:06but he could do that after my uncle died.
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13:06 - 13:12Everybody knows what kind of person he is.
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13:12 - 13:15So in total I was imprisoned for three years and four months.
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13:15 - 13:21I went in June 2002 and I came out October 2005.
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13:21 - 13:23I don’t know.. do the math.
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13:23 - 13:29But in 2003 for a week I came out of prison.
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13:29 - 13:31They put me back home,
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13:31 - 13:33home, it’s not a home.
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13:33 - 13:35It’s my house, my mom’s house.
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13:35 - 13:38They put me back there for a week
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13:38 - 13:41and it was surreal.
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13:43 - 13:45When I went home to see my mom
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13:45 - 13:49I expected some sympathy?
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13:49 - 13:50Maybe?
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13:50 - 13:55Since prison was not a normal prison experience
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13:55 - 13:59it was constant torture, constant torture.
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13:59 - 14:02Even when they weren’t physically beating
me up -
14:02 - 14:03they would torture me.
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14:03 - 14:05They would switch off all the lights.
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14:05 - 14:08I was in solitary confinement by myself totally
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14:08 - 14:10and there’s no windows, there’s no light,
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14:10 - 14:12so when they switched off the light, it was pitch black.
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14:12 - 14:14They could switch it off for days, so I didn’t
know -
14:14 - 14:17when one day ended then the next began
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14:17 - 14:19and then they would..
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14:19 - 14:21they would make sounds to harass me and
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14:21 - 14:23then they would come in the middle of the night
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14:23 - 14:25pull me out of bed to beat me
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14:25 - 14:28and it wasn’t..
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14:28 - 14:31it wasn’t a normal prison experience by any means.
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14:31 - 14:33It was just torture.
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14:33 - 14:34And they didn’t give me anything.
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14:34 - 14:36I didn’t have a change of clothes.
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14:36 - 14:39So I wore the same clothes and I would try
to stay as clean as possible, -
14:39 - 14:42but you know after the torture sessions I couldn’t even walk.
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14:42 - 14:46So I would crawl to the bathroom to get water, to open a tap.. to get some water.
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14:46 - 14:47I would just crawl on my hands and knees.
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14:47 - 14:49There was no medical help at all.
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14:49 - 14:50They didn’t care.
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14:50 - 14:52They wanted me dead anyway.
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14:52 - 14:56And yeah, so I didn’t have anything.
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14:56 - 15:01I had a thin mattress that had holes in it
and had stains of blood and shit -
15:01 - 15:03and it was disgusting, smelled so bad.
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15:03 - 15:07I had a thin blanket also was so disgusting.
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15:07 - 15:09And I had the clothes I was wearing.
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15:09 - 15:13And then I think in the last few months, they
gave me a toothbrush, just one toothbrush, -
15:13 - 15:14you know.
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15:14 - 15:16So I didn’t..
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15:16 - 15:21I didn’t.. it was so hard to stay clean
and towards the end they gave me some clothes, -
15:21 - 15:24clothes washing.. like Tide, you know, the
clothes washing powder. -
15:24 - 15:30So I would use the clothes washing powder
on my skin to try to stay clean you know. -
15:30 - 15:31It was really disgusting.
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15:31 - 15:37So, yeah.. so after that experience, I went
to the house for one week and it was.. -
15:37 - 15:44from that to a house with soap and clothes and this and that and it was like a shock to me.
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15:44 - 15:47So I would shower like five times a day because I could.
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15:47 - 15:49There was warm water.
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15:49 - 15:50There was.. there was soap.
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15:50 - 15:51There was a towel.
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15:51 - 15:52There was clothes.
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15:52 - 15:53I couldn’t believe it.
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15:53 - 15:54There’s toothbrush.
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15:54 - 15:56There was food like.. like proper food,
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15:56 - 15:57not food in like little container
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15:57 - 15:59meat and rice, meat and rice.
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15:59 - 16:01It wasn’t like these little container boxes you know.
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16:01 - 16:02It was food that I can..
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16:02 - 16:05I can eat fresh food.
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16:05 - 16:08I was very, very anemic when I came out.
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16:08 - 16:10I had lost so much weight.
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16:10 - 16:14All of my clothes were hanging off me and
I couldn’t.. -
16:14 - 16:18I needed to get new clothes.
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16:18 - 16:20And everything was just a shock to me.
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16:20 - 16:24So I remember, very weird, but
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16:24 - 16:26I remember when I came out to the prison for the first time
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16:26 - 16:30even in the car, I remember the car felt
like it was going so fast because -
16:30 - 16:34I had not moved for one year and one month.
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16:34 - 16:37So the car felt like I was in a roller-coaster.
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16:37 - 16:41I was like wow, this is just going so fast.
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16:41 - 16:44And when I went home having all these people talking normally to me.
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16:44 - 16:46Normal? Normal after what I’ve been through?
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16:46 - 16:49I don’t know what normal is anymore you
know, like nothing is normal. -
16:49 - 16:55Every time..I mean even now..
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16:55 - 16:59I am.. if I hear a noise I just wake up and
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16:59 - 17:02I remember for a few years after I came out of prison
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17:02 - 17:04whenever I could hear a noise outside the door
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17:04 - 17:06I would just jump up out of bed,
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17:06 - 17:08you know, I would just jump.
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17:08 - 17:11I wouldn’t..and I would stand on my feet because I’m ready you know..
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17:11 - 17:14I’m ready for anything.
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17:15 - 17:17Yeah.
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17:18 - 17:25So yeah.. that wasn’t a good time.
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17:26 - 17:30So after a week of being at the house back
with my mom, my sister -
17:30 - 17:34and she didn’t show me compassion at all.
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17:34 - 17:36Actually, what she said to me was
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17:36 - 17:38ʻYou think your prison experience was bad?ʼ
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17:38 - 17:41ʻThere’s others that’s so much more worse
than thatʼ -
17:41 - 17:44and when that happened I felt
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17:45 - 17:48really, really disappointed and sad.
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17:48 - 17:51I really expected some compassion from her like any..
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17:51 - 17:53as any kind of mother
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17:53 - 17:57but there was no compassion.
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17:58 - 18:01I also didn’t get any compassion from my sister, Maitha.
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18:01 - 18:05She didn’t, but that’s okay...you know
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18:07 - 18:09They could have helped me if they wanted to..
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18:09 - 18:10but they didn’t..
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18:11 - 18:18But at the same time they didn’t put me
inside, but they could have helped me. -
18:18 - 18:20They could've visited me if they wanted to.
-
18:20 - 18:22They could've fought for me a little bit more.
-
18:22 - 18:25They could've had some compassion, but they
kind of looked at me like -
18:25 - 18:26‘Oh you did this to yourself’
-
18:26 - 18:28No I didn’t.
-
18:28 - 18:30I didn’t tell Shamsa to run away from England.
-
18:30 - 18:31I didn’t tell her to keep calling Leila.
-
18:31 - 18:33I didn’t tell her to get caught.
-
18:33 - 18:33I didn’t..
-
18:33 - 18:35I didn’t do this to myself.
-
18:35 - 18:36My only thing was..
-
18:36 - 18:39I was trying to defend my sister and trying to help her
-
18:39 - 18:41and that’s what happened to me
-
18:42 - 18:44So back to me being at the house.
-
18:44 - 18:46So I only stayed in the house for one week
-
18:46 - 18:50because after one week I had somewhat of a breakdown
-
18:50 - 18:53I don’t remember how exactly the fight started,
-
18:53 - 18:56but I just kept screaming that I wanted to
-
18:56 - 18:59go see Shamsa and I couldn’t stop screaming.
-
18:59 - 19:01It was like..
-
19:03 - 19:04I can’t explain it.
-
19:04 - 19:07I literally just kept screaming and screaming
that -
19:07 - 19:08‘I want to see Shamsa, I want to see Shamsa’
-
19:08 - 19:09‘I want to see Shamsa’
-
19:09 - 19:12and that ended up like I was physically
trying to fight people. -
19:12 - 19:15So they were holding me and I don’t remember
who they called. -
19:15 - 19:20They called the police, but at some point
there was some men holding me again. -
19:20 - 19:23And then there was a Doctor.
-
19:23 - 19:27I saw a Doctor and she injected me and they
took me either in a car or an ambulance, -
19:27 - 19:28I don’t remember.
-
19:28 - 19:31I think it was a car because I was just screaming.
-
19:31 - 19:32I couldn’t remember.
-
19:32 - 19:33They tried to tranquilize me.
-
19:33 - 19:34It didn’t work the first time.
-
19:34 - 19:35They put me in the hospital.
-
19:35 - 19:39I remember them putting.. sticking things
on me, tranquilizing me again. -
19:39 - 19:48And then I just remember flashes of like..
being in the hospital bed and waking up and -
19:48 - 19:52seeing people trying to feed me and then you know.. like waking up in the bathroom and
-
19:52 - 19:56then waking up like I lost some time then I lost a few days.
-
19:56 - 20:00I had no voice because I lost all my voice
from all the screaming. -
20:00 - 20:05So yeah.. and then it took me a while to..
-
20:05 - 20:10I don’t know how much they tranquilize me
or what they gave me, but I lost some days. -
20:10 - 20:14And then yeah.. then I spent one week in the hospital
-
20:16 - 20:19and.. with no voice and the nurses
-
20:19 - 20:22there were very, very, very good.
-
20:22 - 20:26And they were trying to make it as normal
as possible for me -
20:26 - 20:31like not, not to treat me like a mental patient you know..
-
20:31 - 20:32because I’m not a mental patient.
-
20:32 - 20:37I told them what I went through with my very weak whisper, I could..
-
20:37 - 20:45I could talk to them and tell them like what
happened to me and they were really good and -
20:45 - 20:49they tried to make me feel normal.
-
20:49 - 20:54And anyway so after one week in the house
and then one week in the hospital, -
20:54 - 20:59they put me back in prison again.
-
20:59 - 21:03So in total I spent three years and four months in prison.
-
21:04 - 21:08And I didn’t know how long I’ll be in there for.
-
21:08 - 21:14They just told me you know your father said
we’ll beat you until we kill you and that’s it. -
21:14 - 21:21And yeah, they didn’t manage to kill me.
-
21:21 - 21:24They wanted to but they didn't manage to.
-
21:24 - 21:31So when I got out, the second time when I
got out of prison, I.. -
21:31 - 21:35I of course I..
-
21:35 - 21:37I just..
-
21:37 - 21:38I hated everyone.
-
21:38 - 21:40I didn’t trust any people at all..
-
21:40 - 21:42like for me all people were bad,
-
21:42 - 21:44all people were not to be trusted,
-
21:44 - 21:45all people they were just against you,
-
21:45 - 21:48you know, that’s how I felt.
-
21:48 - 21:50So I spent a lot of time with animals
-
21:50 - 21:54with the horses, with the dogs, with cats, with birds
-
21:54 - 21:56with just different kinds of animals.
-
21:56 - 21:58I would spend my days with animals
-
21:58 - 22:02and then I would go to my room and watch movies or something,
-
22:02 - 22:05but I wouldn’t interact with people.
-
22:05 - 22:07I didn’t have anyone I trusted.
-
22:09 - 22:18And then I.. yeah, so it was.. it.. it took me..
-
22:18 - 22:19I don’t know..
-
22:19 - 22:23I don’t know how many years coming out of
prison to fully -
22:23 - 22:26fully recover from that experience.
-
22:31 - 22:31I don’t know.
-
22:31 - 22:33I don’t know when started to be more normal.
-
22:33 - 22:35I don’t know if I’m normal now.
-
22:35 - 22:36I mean it’s something that
-
22:36 - 22:38that really changes you, you know,
-
22:38 - 22:41makes you lose trust in people.
-
22:41 - 22:45The summer of 2017 is when a lot of things changed,
-
22:45 - 22:48that kind of pushed me to..
-
22:49 - 22:55Go..like I can’t wait any longer for Shamsa
to get better, so I can take her with me. -
22:55 - 23:01I realized you know this took me almost ten
years to realize -
23:01 - 23:05that me being here is not helping her at all.
-
23:05 - 23:06I can’t help her here.
-
23:06 - 23:07I need to leave.
-
23:07 - 23:10And that’s the only way I can help her.
-
23:10 - 23:11That ’s only I can help myself.
-
23:11 - 23:12I can help her.
-
23:12 - 23:15I can help a lot of people, just to leave, being here..
-
23:15 - 23:18I cannot help her at all.
-
23:18 - 23:22So.. and also in 2017,
-
23:22 - 23:26I lost a good friend in the summer
-
23:26 - 23:31and it made me see how life is so.. so short.
-
23:31 - 23:33You know. There’s no guarantee.
-
23:33 - 23:39It’s just, just.. there is no reason to keep waiting for somebody to make a change
-
23:39 - 23:40or somebody to be ready.
-
23:40 - 23:44There’s no reason to keep waiting just go,
you know.. just make the big step go. -
23:44 - 23:48Shamsa will be fine without you and once you’re gone you can help her.
-
23:48 - 23:52So I need to make this video.
-
23:52 - 23:55In case I don’t make it.
-
23:55 - 24:03It’s not gonna be in vain, somebody will
have some footage. -
24:03 - 24:04I have to..
-
24:04 - 24:08I have to remember to say everything because
this could be last video I make. -
24:08 - 24:10I don’t know what else to say.
-
24:10 - 24:13I don’t know what else to say.
-
24:15 - 24:22They will for sure will try to discredit this
video and say it’s a lie or it’s an actress -
24:22 - 24:24or something for sure.
-
24:26 - 24:29I don’t know what else to says about me.
-
24:29 - 24:32I’ll just say more information about me.
-
24:32 - 24:35I went to Dubai English Speaking School when I was a kid
-
24:35 - 24:38and then I went to International School of Choueifat
-
24:38 - 24:42and then for one year I went to the Latifa School for Girls.
-
24:42 - 24:46And then yeah when I got out of prison, I
was horse riding, inside Zabeel stables. -
24:46 - 24:51And then I was scuba diving in Fujairah and
then I started skydiving at Skydive Dubai. -
24:51 - 24:57So there’s a lot of people who can.. who know me.
-
24:57 - 24:58They know my face. They know how I talk.
-
24:58 - 24:59They know me.
-
24:59 - 25:02So even if they try to discredit me, I hope
-
25:02 - 25:05some of my friends along the way would say
-
25:05 - 25:08ʻI know the Latifa and that’s really herʼ and you know
-
25:08 - 25:11Anyway I look like my sister Maitha.
-
25:11 - 25:15I look like my brother Majid and they’re
both famous figures. -
25:15 - 25:20So even if they try to discredit me, I look
like my siblings. -
25:20 - 25:21So..
-
25:22 - 25:27And I’ve also given copies of my passport
and my certificates and all of that stuff, -
25:27 - 25:28which by the way..
-
25:28 - 25:32I don’t have possession of my passport,
they won’t give me my passport. -
25:32 - 25:35My UAE passport is never in my possession.
-
25:35 - 25:38I just got a photocopy of it when I did my..
-
25:39 - 25:40oh my..
-
25:41 - 25:44when I got when I did my GCSE exams
-
25:44 - 25:48after I left prison, I did some exams and
they required passport copies. -
25:48 - 25:51I took a picture of my passport then
-
25:51 - 25:56and also when I did my tandem rating for skydiving,
-
25:58 - 26:01the FAI? I think that’s what it’s called..
they require some medical clearance -
26:01 - 26:04and which requires a copy of your passport,
-
26:04 - 26:05so I managed to copy.. the copy of my passport.
-
26:05 - 26:10They wouldn’t even give me my passport,
but they gave me a copy of my passport. -
26:10 - 26:12So I’m not allowed to drive.
-
26:12 - 26:15I’m not allowed to travel or leave Dubai at all.
-
26:15 - 26:18I can’t. I haven’t left the country since 2000.
-
26:19 - 26:23I’ve been asking a lot just to go traveling
to study to do anything normal. -
26:23 - 26:26They don’t let me.
-
26:26 - 26:27I have to..
-
26:27 - 26:29I have a curfew when I go out and I come back home..
-
26:29 - 26:31I have to be back at a certain time.
-
26:31 - 26:35They.. my mom she always like she needs to know exactly where I am.
-
26:35 - 26:40The drivers report back to my father’s office where I go etcetera, etcetera.
-
26:40 - 26:42We have assigned drivers.
-
26:42 - 26:44We’re not allowed to get into anyone’s
car. -
26:44 - 26:45I have to go with the driver.
-
26:45 - 26:47The driver has to know exactly where I am.
-
26:47 - 26:51Yeah, so that’s my life basically.
-
26:51 - 26:52It’s very restricted.
-
26:52 - 26:53I can’t..
-
26:53 - 26:55I can’t even go to another Emirate without
permission. -
26:55 - 26:56I can’t.
-
26:56 - 26:59So I have to be in Dubai.
-
27:01 - 27:02Yeah.
-
27:02 - 27:04So, yeah, even if they try to discredit me,
-
27:04 - 27:11I have a lot of data that they can’t discredit me.
-
27:11 - 27:18Well, they will try and then they will be discredited.
-
27:18 - 27:20So, yeah, this is going to be my last video.
-
27:21 - 27:22I hope it isn’t..
-
27:22 - 27:24I hope I never use this video.
-
27:24 - 27:31I hope this video just gets deleted and we’re all okay
-
27:33 - 27:35but this video needed to be made.
-
27:37 - 27:39I don’t know what else I need to say.
-
27:42 - 27:46So what I’m hoping for after I leave is
-
27:47 - 27:48that
-
27:49 - 27:51I get my passport
-
27:52 - 27:55and I have freedom of choice in my life
-
27:55 - 27:59and I can help Shamsa from wherever I am.
-
27:59 - 28:02I can say give her her passport.
-
28:02 - 28:03Let her travel.
-
28:03 - 28:05Let her see me.
-
28:05 - 28:05And
-
28:07 - 28:10I think that’s the only way to help anyone including myself.
-
28:15 - 28:17I don’t know what else to say.
-
28:17 - 28:20I can talk about a lot of things that I’ve
seen in my life. -
28:23 - 28:32When..when I was six months old, my father’s sister wanted me.
-
28:32 - 28:34So she took me away from my mom.
-
28:37 - 28:40So I lived for the first ten years of my life
in the palace -
28:40 - 28:42believing that my aunt was in fact my mother
-
28:42 - 28:45and I would visit my real mother only once a year.
-
28:45 - 28:47I would never sleep there.
-
28:47 - 28:49I’d just spend the day and go to the palace at night.
-
28:51 - 28:54And when my younger brother was three months old,
-
28:54 - 28:58my mom also gave him.
-
28:59 - 29:03Well, she.. she that one was more voluntary
because she didn’t want me to be alone, -
29:03 - 29:07so she gave my brother to me, so that we’re
both together. -
29:08 - 29:11So yeah for the first ten years of my life
I was living a lie -
29:11 - 29:14then I discovered who I was and then I went to live with my mom
-
29:14 - 29:15and I was fighting to go live with my mom and
-
29:15 - 29:20Shamsa was fighting for us to go and live with her.
-
29:20 - 29:23So I always saw Shamsa as this person who rescued me.
-
29:24 - 29:27So I was trying really hard to rescue her, so..
-
29:27 - 29:30But so far I haven’t been successful.
-
29:34 - 29:37I know what else they’ll probably do.
-
29:37 - 29:44They’ll probably tell Shamsa to make some
video talking about how I’m a liar or try -
29:44 - 29:46to discredit me or something like that.
-
29:46 - 29:48For sure they will try to do that..
-
29:48 - 29:49knowing them.
-
29:49 - 29:50Of course, she will.
-
29:50 - 29:51She has no freedom.
-
29:51 - 29:53She can’t do anything you know.
-
29:53 - 29:57She’s.. right now she’s..
-
29:57 - 29:58she has a psychiatrist with her
-
29:58 - 30:01and she’s surrounded by nurses.
-
30:02 - 30:04They’re in her room when she sleeps.
-
30:04 - 30:06They take notes of when she wakes up,
-
30:06 - 30:08when she sleeps, when she eats, what she eats,
-
30:08 - 30:10what she says, the conversation she says,
-
30:10 - 30:12they watch her, take her pills,
-
30:12 - 30:14they make sure that she takes all of her pills,
-
30:14 - 30:16these..these drugs to control her mind,
-
30:16 - 30:17I don’t know what they are.
-
30:18 - 30:21And so her life is totally controlled.
-
30:21 - 30:24Oh yeah in the summer also what happened, which
-
30:24 - 30:26I should have said is,
-
30:29 - 30:33Shamsa was discovered with a few mobile phones. So..
-
30:36 - 30:38my mom and my other sister they got paranoid
-
30:38 - 30:41that she was gonna try to contact the journalists in England again
-
30:41 - 30:44to talk to them about her situation or whatever,
-
30:44 - 30:47try to..to tarnish my father’s reputation basically.
-
30:47 - 30:49They were scared of that.
-
30:49 - 30:52So that’s when her situation got more controlled.
-
30:52 - 30:55That’s when the psychiatrist was brought in to stay with her full-time.
-
30:55 - 30:59She’s already dealing with psychiatrist
but never somebody who was staying with her -
30:59 - 31:01like.. like as much as she is now.
-
31:02 - 31:04And full-time nurses with her all the time.
-
31:04 - 31:08Basically like walking around with a cage
following her you know, -
31:08 - 31:10so she has no.. no freedom.
-
31:10 - 31:11So basically yeah I think..
-
31:11 - 31:14I think what they will do is they will try
to use her to discredit me. -
31:14 - 31:15That would be amazing
-
31:16 - 31:18because..
-
31:19 - 31:21yeah they will..they will try to use her to discredit me.
-
31:21 - 31:25They will never be able to get me to discredit myself because
-
31:25 - 31:27you know..
-
31:28 - 31:30they’re not gonna take me back alive,
-
31:32 - 31:34so that’s not gonna happen.
-
31:36 - 31:38I don’t know what else to say.
-
31:39 - 31:45I mean this..this has been like a crazy almost two decades already since 2000 it started.
-
31:46 - 31:50We're in 2018 now, it’s been.. it’s been really, really crazy.
-
31:50 - 31:51A lot of people..
-
31:51 - 31:55a lot of people’s lives
have been hurt, -
31:55 - 31:57a lot of people tortured,
-
31:57 - 32:00a lot of people lost their lives,
-
32:00 - 32:01a lot of things happened... you know
-
32:02 - 32:04He.. He covers up a lot of murders.
-
32:04 - 32:06He doesn’t care, my father.
-
32:07 - 32:12He’s the worst criminal you can ever imagine in your life
-
32:12 - 32:16and he has this image of so modern
-
32:16 - 32:19and all this bullshit.
-
32:19 - 32:21I have thirty brothers and sisters.
-
32:21 - 32:22He doesn’t..
-
32:22 - 32:28He only puts the pictures and he has his public image like he’s a family man,
-
32:28 - 32:30that’s all.. all bullshit.
-
32:30 - 32:31He doesn’t.
-
32:31 - 32:32It’s just PR.
-
32:34 - 32:37He has a son in Lebanon that he never sees.
-
32:37 - 32:40He saw.. he met him maybe once or twice and he gave him a handshake..
-
32:40 - 32:43you know when his son came to Dubai.
-
32:43 - 32:47He’s.. he’s neglected and so many, so many of his kids.
-
32:47 - 32:49He’s not a.. He’s not a father.
-
32:49 - 32:51He’s really, really disgusting,
-
32:51 - 32:53really disgusting human being.
-
33:00 - 33:01Yeah,
-
33:02 - 33:07the way he lives his life and the way
he treats other people -
33:10 - 33:16It's not what’s been portrayed by the media, his media.
-
33:16 - 33:18Remember in Dubai, the media is controlled
-
33:20 - 33:22as is much of the Middle East.
-
33:26 - 33:27I don’t know what else to say.
-
33:29 - 33:32I feel like if this thing kills me
-
33:32 - 33:34or if I don’t make it out alive at least there’s a video.
-
33:34 - 33:41It’s sad that it’s come to this point
that I have to make a video, but I have to. -
33:42 - 33:44I don’t know what else to say.
-
33:45 - 33:48trying to think of anything, everything,
-
33:49 - 33:53what else can I say about my life.
-
33:57 - 34:01I don’t know what else to say.
-
34:03 - 34:09I really hope I don’t need this video.
-
34:09 - 34:14And I’m feeling I won’t need it.
-
34:14 - 34:18I’m feeling positive about the future
-
34:18 - 34:23and I’m feeling like it’s a start of an adventure.
-
34:23 - 34:30It’s a start of.. of me claiming my life,
my freedom, freedom of choice. -
34:30 - 34:33I don’t expect it to be easy, nothing is
easy, -
34:33 - 34:38but I expect it to be the start of a new chapter in my life
-
34:38 - 34:42and one where I have some voice
-
34:42 - 34:46where I don’t have to be silenced
-
34:46 - 34:49and I can talk about myself, I can talk about Shamsa.
-
34:49 - 34:52I can talk about what happened with us.
-
34:56 - 35:01Yeah, I’m really looking forward to that.
-
35:04 - 35:06Yeah, I don’t know,
-
35:07 - 35:13I don’t know how..how I’ll feel just waking up in the morning
-
35:13 - 35:14and thinking..
-
35:14 - 35:15I can do whatever I want today.
-
35:15 - 35:17I can go wherever I want.
-
35:17 - 35:20I have all the choices in the world like anyone does.
-
35:22 - 35:24That’ll be such a new different feeling.
-
35:25 - 35:27That would be amazing.
-
35:27 - 35:28I’m really looking forward to that.
-
35:31 - 35:33There’s only so much you can do when you’re trapped in a country
-
35:33 - 35:35and trapped by all these restrictions.
-
35:35 - 35:37There’s only so much a human being can do.
-
35:37 - 35:44I’m looking forward to that and I’m looking
forward to Shamsa having a better life. -
35:44 - 35:47I’m looking forward to a lot of things.
-
35:51 - 35:59Yeah, I really feel like this is a start of just a new chapter in my life.
-
35:59 - 36:06I have no reason to stay in Dubai at all.
-
36:06 - 36:08I have no reason to come back here.
-
36:08 - 36:11I have people I love, but they can come see me.
-
36:11 - 36:16You know the people in my family who I care about, my friends,
-
36:16 - 36:18they can come see me wherever I am.
-
36:18 - 36:21And that’s also hard because I don’t know where I’m gonna be after this.
-
36:21 - 36:22I don’t have..
-
36:23 - 36:25I don’t know where I’m gonna be based.
-
36:25 - 36:28I don’t know where.. where I can live.
-
36:28 - 36:30I don’t know anything.
-
36:30 - 36:32I don’t know where I’m going.
-
36:32 - 36:33We don’t know.
-
36:33 - 36:36I know where I’m stopping.
-
36:36 - 36:41I know where..where I have to be for a while, but I don’t know where I’ll end up.
-
36:41 - 36:44It is kind of nice also.
-
36:44 - 36:49I have all the options then, hopefully.
-
36:49 - 36:56Yeah.. did I forget to say anything?
-
36:57 - 36:58What do I talk about?
-
36:58 - 37:00Do I talk about all the murders?
-
37:00 - 37:02Do I talk about all the abuse I’ve seen?
-
37:02 - 37:05Do I talk about.. what?
-
37:09 - 37:12I don’t know what to talk about
-
37:12 - 37:17because that would be a very, very long story.
-
37:19 - 37:23I don’t know.
-
37:23 - 37:29I should, shouldn’t I?
-
37:35 - 37:39He’s responsible for a lot of deaths.
-
37:40 - 37:44He is a major major criminal, major criminal.
-
37:44 - 37:46There is no justice here.
-
37:46 - 37:52They don’t care, especially if you’re
female, your life is so disposable. -
37:52 - 37:54They don’t care.
-
37:58 - 38:02He’s even burned down houses to hide the evidence.
-
38:02 - 38:04He’s burned down houses.
-
38:05 - 38:07He’s crazy.
-
38:10 - 38:16I think it’s time that he faces the consequences
of all the things that he’s done in his life. -
38:16 - 38:18He will.
-
38:18 - 38:21He will definitely face the consequences.
-
38:21 - 38:25No matter what he does to me, all the torture..
everything, I’m not scared of him. -
38:25 - 38:26He doesn’t scare me.
-
38:26 - 38:27He’s pathetic
-
38:27 - 38:31Pathetic human being.
-
38:31 - 38:34And he’s gonna face the consequences of
everything he’s done -
38:34 - 38:35not just to me, but to everyone else.
-
38:35 - 38:38He will face the consequences.
-
38:38 - 38:40Yeah.
-
38:43 - 38:51Okay, I think there’s nothing more in me to say now.
-
38:53 - 38:55Hopefully, I don’t need this video.
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38:59 - 39:00Any final words..
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39:02 - 39:05Any final words..
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39:10 - 39:15Thank you to all my friends and to the people who really care about me
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39:15 - 39:17and to my.. to the family members who do care about me,
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39:17 - 39:18you know who you are,
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39:18 - 39:21not all of you care about me, but some of you do.
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39:22 - 39:23Thank you to those people.
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39:24 - 39:27And if I don’t make it out,
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39:28 - 39:32I really hope there’s some positive change will happen from all of this.
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39:33 - 39:35Okay.
- Title:
- Video statement of Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (II)
- Description:
-
Subtitles for video statement of Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum daughter (II) of Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, before her disappearance.
Subtitles licensed under CC BY SA 4.0
https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latifa_bint_Mohammed_Al_Maktoum_(II)
- Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 39:37