By Nasser Shiyouki, Associated
Press Writer, 27.08.08
FBEIT AWWA, West Bank - A Palestinian couple locked
their disabled son and daughter away for decades out of
fear they would ruin the marriage prospects of a healthy
child if discovered, police said Wednesday.
The case highlights the shame felt by families who
have children with disabilities in Palestinian society -
made worse because of poor services and the practice of
marriages between first cousins.
"This is sad, shameful and awful," rights activist
Imad Abumohr said.
Few people in the rural town of Beit Awwa knew of
Basam Musalmeh, 38, and his sister Nawal, 42. They were
kept since childhood in two concrete rooms that stank of
sweat and urine adjoining the family's house.
Police found them Tuesday night while searching for
Hamas loyalists and criminals, said an official who asked
not to be identified because the Palestinian Authority
publicly denies it cracks down on the militant group.
Palestinian police commander Samih Saify said officers
heard noises while searching the house and found the
brother naked and the sister wearing a flimsy
nightdress.
Their father was detained. Their mother died a few
years ago, the family said. Police returned the siblings
to the home because there was no other place for them.
The family said their stepmother would care for them.
On Wednesday, the siblings appeared to have been
bathed and freshly dressed. Their rooms were tidied,
though the smell was overwhelming.
The brother and sister have not been diagnosed with a
specific mental illness, said their uncle, Mohammed
Musalmeh. They do not speak or recognize other
people.
An Associated Press reporter walked into the sister's
room, where she sat on a metal-frame bed wearing a dress.
She did not appear to acknowledge the stranger's
presence.
Abumohr said there was a shortage of institutions for
the disabled in the West Bank. Saify said he hoped an
Israeli institution could take the siblings.
Abumohr said the Musalmeh case was not unheard of.
He said last year they were called on to rescue a
17-year-old youth with mental disabilities who had been
thrown into a garbage bin. Abumohr said the boy had scars
on his stomach, neck, hands and feet where he'd
apparently been tied up.
"I'm sure there are other cases of hidden people in
the rural areas," he said.
The siblings' father, Ibrahim Musalmeh, married his
first cousin and had eight children - five with
disabilities who died in childhood; Nawal and Bassam; and
another son, who has since married, the family said.
Arab communities often favor marriages between first
cousins as a way of keeping inheritances within the
family. It is not considered incest, and there is little
awareness that such marriages increase the chance that
children will have disabilities.
The siblings' uncle, Mohammed, said the family could
not find long-term care for them and hid them to avoid
bringing shame on the family.
Many Arabs stigmatize disabled children and refuse to
marry their siblings, fearing they will bear children
with disabilities.
Mohammed Musalmeh said the family did not want the
brother and sister to be mocked.
"If they go outside, people will laugh at them," their
67-year-old uncle said.
Source
www.news.yahoo.com
