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 Huriah Ahmed ??Lamarra??
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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 - 2:30So while she 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 - 2:42would take for granted like driving 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 - 3:58stop calling Leila because if you'll call her they’re going to find you.
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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.
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18:20 - 18:22They could've fought for me a little bit more.
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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.
-
38:59 - 39:00Any final words..
-
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:
-
MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY ‘PRINCESS’ AS ‘DAUGHTER’ OF DUBAI’S RULER SHEIKH MOHAMMED CLAIMS SHE HAS FLED THE COUNTRY AFTER BEING ‘DRUGGED AND JAILED FOR THREE YEARS IN THE ARAB STATE’ - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5478493/Runaway-Princess-mystery-ruler-Dubai-daughter-flees-country.html
LAST HEARD FROM ON SUNDAY MARCH 4TH, 6PM GMT, ON A BOAT NEAR GOA, INDIA.
Any information leading to the whereabouts, please contact:
HTTP://WWW.ESCAPEFROMDUBAI.ORG EscapefromDubai2018@gmail.com
#FindLatifa #FindHerve #EscapefromDubaiPlease note that there are multiple "Latifa's" and the one that is published as missing is Sheikah Latifa Mohammed Al Maktoum, the one referred to in this article: http://emirateswoman.com/meet-sheikh-mohammeds-daredevil-daughter-whos-new/
- Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 39:37