8 Year Old Rape Victim Abandoned by her Family

[ThePhoneGoddess]

http://www.kxmc.com/News/410300.asp

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...Cdu2QD99L6A700

http://law.rightpundits.com/?p=648


Here are a couple of links on this. An 8 year old girl in Phoenix was brutally raped by 4 teenage boys. The victim and all the accused are Liberian refugees. The police say that when the girl's Father was told what happened, he told the police to take her away with them, that he didn't want her because she brought shame upon the family. She is now in custody of CPS. The story is getting nationwide coverage and people are of course venting their outrage on blogs and other opinion sites.

I am interested to see what will happen. I am sure the family will receive death threats and other such stuff.

[daleduke17]

Wouldn't this fall under the Constitution as a Freedom of Religion or Expression?

As long as the family signs the paperwork turning her over to the state (or whoever) then let them. People can vent their frustration all they want about the family, but they have to remember that the same Constitution that allows them to bitch allows the family to do this.

[Boozy]

I'm very much in support of allowing them to abandon their child to state care, as much as the whole thing breaks my heart. I'm praying that this little girl is placed with a foster family who has the love and resources to help her deal with the trauma and support her as she grows.

Any parents who would abandon their daughter, no matter what their culture or religion says, is not deserving of that child. I try my best to understand the cultural motives behind what I would normally consider to be bizarre behaviour, but I seriously cannot wrap my head around this one. There are some things that can be explained by cultural relativism, and then there are things that every member of the human race should agree upon. Child rape should be one of those things.

[BroomJockey]

Child rape should be one of those things.

It's not that it's child rape, it's that she was raped period. Would have been the same if she was 18, or 25. She's "unclean" and "not fit for a husband." I agree though, if that's the attitude they're taking, she's better off _anywhere_ else, since in some cases, it can lead to immolation in an attempt to purge the shame and taint, either forced on by the family, or self-done because of all the means people use to grind other humans in to piles of misery.

[Greenday]

Wouldn't this fall under the Constitution as a Freedom of Religion or Expression?

Yea, they have that freedom and I agree with those freedoms. But that doesn't make it the right thing to do.

[Talon]

"What good are honours from such people?" - K-19: The Widowmaker

'Nuff said.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

I find it interesting people feel they have the 'freedom' to abandon her.

Remember this thread?
http://www.fratching.com/showthread.php?t=699

The whole reason that law was abused was because Americans can be punished if they abandon their children. So...families that are American cannot hand their children over to CPS without facing charges, but since this family comes from another culture, it's ok?

[BlaqueKatt]

Wouldn't this fall under the Constitution as a Freedom of Religion or Expression?

nope because none of those articles mentioned religion, only "culture"-which I'm sorry-you moved to a different country with a different culture-you do not get to keep your own*.

Also if you follow a religion that advocates human sacrifice is that protected? What about the cults that advocated child rape? Remember the country their from it's "custom" that if any woman is raped she is the one punished and her attacker goes totally free.


*if a person chooses to move to another country to live permanently-they should adapt to that culture rather than claim their "cultural identity" is somehow "sacred" and therefore "better" than the one in the country they chose to move to.

Kinda like the old adage "while you live under my roof, you live by my rules".

on my father's side I'm first generation off the boat(Sicily), my mom's side second generation off the boat(Germany/Denmark)-do I or any members of my family cling to the ways of the "old country"-nope not a one-we accepted that we choose to come here and become a part of this culture-not "pick and choose"-i.e. we want a better life, but don't want to conform in any manner. Sorry I'm just tired of all this PC bull$hit. If I go to another country I will respect whatever the "cultural norm" is there-but I don't have to accept it here.

Especially when I read a news story about a woman in my city who took her 6 week old infant by the ankles and bashed her skull against a table, after 3 months of horrible abuse, because in her "culture" girls were worthless-and "she only had enough love to give her son". And the outrage of the community that the mother was charged with murder and "taken away from her son who needed her"-they didn't see anything wrong in what she did because it was "part of their culture" to do that sort of thing.

and due to further searching this wasn't the first baby she killed

[DesignFox]

I have to remember to stop browsing this site before bed. I'm prone to terrible nightmares as it is.

This story combined with the mention of the stories blaquekatt just posted (I didn't read them- just the descriptions) are beyond disturbing and heartbreaking.

And I agree 100%- you move to my country, you follow my country's rules. You want to benefit from my government? You want to benefit from my tax dollars if you're on social/government/whatever assistance, cause you just moved here to escape depression and war? Fine. No problem. I'll welcome you with open arms and help you get back on your feet. But leave the bullshit you ran away from to begin with back there. You don't like our culture, you can go back where you came from.

[anriana]

nope because none of those articles mentioned religion, only "culture"-which I'm sorry-you moved to a different country with a different culture-you do not get to keep your own*.

And how do you differentiate between culture and religion?

*if a person chooses to move to another country to live permanently-they should adapt to that culture rather than claim their "cultural identity" is somehow "sacred" and therefore "better" than the one in the country they chose to move to.

Kinda like the old adage "while you live under my roof, you live by my rules".

on my father's side I'm first generation off the boat(Sicily), my mom's side second generation off the boat(Germany/Denmark)-do I or any members of my family cling to the ways of the "old country"-nope not a one-we accepted that we choose to come here and become a part of this culture-not "pick and choose"-i.e. we want a better life, but don't want to conform in any manner. Sorry I'm just tired of all this PC bull$hit. If I go to another country I will respect whatever the "cultural norm" is there-but I don't have to accept it here.

I find it odd that you're so happy your family is abandoning their heritage. I am quite saddeneded that, having abandoned their ethnic culture, my family has left me only a religion I don't practice as my cultural heritage.

And what exactly is the American culture that your family has so happily embraced? I'm sure it's quite different from my (Kentuckian) family's culture, my culture, my (Floridian) family's culture, etc.

Especially when I read a news story about a woman in my city who took her 6 week old infant by the ankles and bashed her skull against a table, after 3 months of horrible abuse, because in her "culture" girls were worthless-and "she only had enough love to give her son". And the outrage of the community that the mother was charged with murder and "taken away from her son who needed her"-they didn't see anything wrong in what she did because it was "part of their culture" to do that sort of thing.

and due to further searching this wasn't the first baby she killed

I just finished reading a book on the Hmong called The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. It's about the care that a Hmong family gives their epileptic daughter and the care that her doctors give her and goes into the history/culture of the Hmong quite a bit. It is in no way part of Hmong culture to kill female infants. We might as well point to Andrea Yates and say killing children is part of American culture.


Two hundred years ago the Chinese government drove many of the Hmongs out of China and they resettled as rice farmers living on isolated mountaintops in South East Asia. They lived there undisturbed by the lowlanders until America came along and massively bombed the entire region, especially the mountains. The CIA also recruited mass amounts of men to fight against Vietnam and promised them money, land, animals, etc. Now Hmong people have a "choice" between living in refugee camps in Thailand and coming to a country that destroyed their way of life and then promised to rebuilt it in exchange for a generation of Hmong men.


Does this mean infantcide is justifiable? No, the law applies to everyone, but I don't think you could have picked a worse ethnic group to malign for adhering to their own culture. The Hmong didn't come to America for a better life; they came because America forces destroyed their own way of life.

And I agree 100%- you move to my country, you follow my country's rules. You want to benefit from my government? You want to benefit from my tax dollars if you're on social/government/whatever assistance, cause you just moved here to escape depression and war? Fine. No problem. I'll welcome you with open arms and help you get back on your feet. But leave the bullshit you ran away from to begin with back there. You don't like our culture, you can go back where you came from.

I don't like American culture. Where should I go?

[Flyndaran]

A culture is made up of so much more than horrific acts criminal in the western world. I think we should not fall into saying that it's the culture itself that is backwards, wrong, or immoral.

Nations of the western world were, are, and will be made greater by the influx of foreigners.

[tabbyblack13]

There are many cultures that blame women for being raped. There are people in America that believes this too.

The thing is I wonder what the boys were taught and if they were in Liberian when they were younger. I think in one of the articles that ThePhoneGoddess provide the Uncle of two of the boy said he couldn't believe that these boys did this. I can because if a child was raised in that environment even for a short while it will affect what they do in the future. This doesn't make an excuse for the boys but maybe something can be done to prevent this in the future.

As for the girl. Her family doesn't want her so a family that wants her should be allowed to adopt her. She might not be able to hold onto her Liberian culture but it might be better for her. The mental abuse the she has sustained will be with her the rest of her life. She will need help in the future to deal with this as she becomes older.

[BroomJockey]

I don't like American culture. Where should I go?

Canada? UK? Australia?

but since this family comes from another culture, it's ok?

No, Americans should have that right too. It's like putting a kid up for adoption. However, if you're putting a kid up to CPS willingly, and not directly for adoption, then you get your wages garnished. If you're not making any cash, your benefits are cut. And the cash goes to help support the kid until/unless he or she is adopted. That should cut down on people doing it "just because they don't want the kid any more."

[Greenday]

Canada? UK? Australia?

Because they are so drastically different from the US.

[Boozy]

Because they are so drastically different from the US.

You have no idea.

Many times while travelling in the States, I have felt like I was on another planet.