Rainbow for Girls [was: The Story of a Baha'i Incest Victim]
Joubin
Suprise?
Please see also Rainbow Girls [1] -- after which a second (?) viewing
of "Eyes Wide Shut" may prove to be rather Eye Opening.
"Many Rainbow parents feel that their participation has provided an
opportunity to establish a unique relationship with their daughters
and her Rainbow friends."
So: Who "want[s] to go where the Rainbow ends?"
Salaam.
-- notes --
[1]: Rainbow for Girls -- Something 'fun' for the daughters of the
'"spiritual" Internationalists'.
[2]: Eyes Wide Shut -- The Script -- KEY WORDS : {Rainbow, GIBSON}
http://www.godamongdirectors.com/scripts/eyeswshu.htm
NOTE that in the Movie, Gibson's custom shop is called "Rainbow":
.
GIBSON
Now, let me get this straight. You want
a tuxedo, a monks cassock and a mask
that completely covers your face?
BILL
That's it.
Suddenly BILL hears the clink of glasses from somewhere ahead of
him.
GIBSON flips a light switch.
A light come on in a little office at the end of the passage.
The desk is covered with plates, glasses and bottles.
Two JAPANESE MEN, wearing blonde female wigs, naked except for
Japanese kimonos, spring up from their chairs besides the desk.
At the same moment, the semi-naked figure of a graceful GIRL
disappears under the desk.
GIBSON rushes forward with long strides, reaches across the desk
and grabs one of the blond wigs.
Simultaneously, the young GIRL, maybe fourteen, wriggles out from
under the desk and runs along the passage to BILL who catches her in
his arms.
GIBSON drops the wig and grabs the two kimono garbed men.
At the same time he calls out to BILL.
GIBSON
Hold on to that girl for me, please.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The GIRL presses against BILL as if now sure of her protection. Her
pretty little face covered with powder and a smile of impish desire in
her eyes.
GIBSON (shouts)
Gentlemen, you will stay here while I
call the police.
KIMONO 1
Gibson, **have you gone mad?**
KIMONO 2
**We were invited by the young lady.**
GIBSON
You will have to explain this. Couldn't
you see the girl is unbalanced?
Then GIBSON he turns to BILL.
GIBSON
Sorry to keep you waiting.
BILL
That's okay.
BILL looks down with fascination at the GIRL, who looks up at him
with alluring and childlike eyes, as if spellbound.
The two KIMONO MEN start to argue with each other in Japanese..
GIBSON turns to BILL.
GIBSON
I'm sorry, did you say a brown or black
cassock?
BILL
Black.
YOUNG GIRL (with gleaming eyes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
No. You must give this gentleman a
cloak lined with ermine and a doublet
of red silk.
[2]: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=rainbow+for+girls+masons
Freethought110 wrote in message <83b59396.04012...@posting.google.com>...
>Crossposting to SCI
>
>By Karen Bacquet <bac...@tco.net>:
>
>
>This is a situation that I've been acquainted with since March of
last
>year. After long consideration of how to publish it, I have, in the
>end, opted to tell the tale with identities disguised.
>
>"Shirin" is a young Baha'i woman of Iranian descent, living in a
>country
>in the developing world. Her father was, at the time this story
>began,
>Chairman of the NSA in that country. I have called her non-Baha'i
>friend "Buddy", rather than give him a name that would indicate
>ethnicity.
>
>Shirin claims that her father forced her into an incestuous
>relationship
>from the time she was 13 years old. At 18, in the year 2000, she ran
>away, but he found her again, and again made advances. She told him
>that if he didn't stop, she would publicly accuse him. He then
>threatened to institutionalize her. Frightened by this accusation,
>and
>desperate to stop the abuse, she made a videotape telling her story.
>
>The next day, Shirin disappeared.
>
>Her friends found this videotape and began asking questions about
>where
>she was, and eventually staged public protests demanding to know her
>whereabouts. Shirin's disappearance was widely publicized; the story
>appeared in at least two newspapers, and appeared nightly on t.v.
>while
>she was gone -- and she and her family gave an interview after she
>reappeared. Her friend Buddy was at the forefront of efforts to find
>her, and he reports that a Continental Counsellor told him that it
was
>none of his business where she was, and discouraged her friends from
>seeking her. At one point, it was claimed that she had gone to
>another
>country. This person is no longer a Counsellor, but has been on the
>special commission set up to deal with the case, and is currently on
>the
>NSA, so I cannot tell if her removal from office was as a result of
>mishandling the initial crisis, or not.
>
>Shirin told me that her grandmother phoned her and asked her to come
>over, reporting a family emergency, but when she arrived, her father
>was
>there with armed men, falsely claiming to be policemen, who accused
>her
>of being involved with drugs. She was taken to a drug rehab
facility,
>and kept there for over two weeks. A drug test was taken, which
>proved
>negative. Shirin told me that the conditions there were crowded and
>unhygienic, and I have evidence that this facility has been involved
>in
>at least one other kidnapping.
>
>Then, the police arrived at the facility, and asked her if she was
>there
>against her will. While they were willing to release her, they were
>generally unsympathetic, and she described her experience with them
as
>"another hell". A forensic examination was done on her, as well as
>another drug test. However, one of the cops scolded her for her
>accusations, saying that even if he abused her, she should stay
silent
>because "he's still your dad." The district attorney refused to
>prosecute the case, citing lack of evidence.
>
>According to Shirin, two Baha'i Counsellors, and an NSA member who
>headed up the special commission set up to deal with her case tried
to
>persuade her to return to her father's home. It was this aspect,
more
>than anything, that convinced me to take up this case. I was utterly
>horrified and appalled. No decent human being, on hearing a young
>girl
>accuse her father of sexually abusing her, would essentially tell her
>to
>shut up and go home. At best, this reveals a profound ignorance
>concerning the realities of incest, and at worst, a callous disregard
>for Shirin's safety.
>
> I asked why they were so set on her going home, she was, after all,
>18
>and in college, and an age at which young people often begin living
on
>their own. She said that the only reason they gave was that the
>Universal House of Justice wanted it. Shirin resisted this
pressure,
>and continues to live on her own, but complains of harassment from
her
>family, and that they have done everything they can to blacken her
>name
>in the Baha'i community.
>
>The Baha'i administration seems to have had three concerns: that no
>more bad publicity about the Baha'i Faith occur because of this case,
>that Shirin be reconciled with her family and the Baha'i community,
>and
>that she be able to move on with her life after this incident.
>Strangely, they blame her for the publicity that occurred while she
>was
>locked away. During the period last spring while I was in contact
>with
>Buddy and Shirin, a Counsellor and NSA members were still trying to
>get
>her to forgive her family. I have been told of two NSA members who
>appear to be willing to believe the charges of abuse -- and that was
>only after long exposure to the case and the behavior of this family.
>(One of them, after telling Shirin that she believed she was abused,
>was
>removed from the special commission and forbidden to have contact
with
>her.) Nothing in the evidence indicates that her accusation against
>her
>father was at all taken seriously by the NSA as a whole or the UHJ.
>
>The UHJ has taken a distant attitude, regarding it primarily as a
>private family difficulty. The only action taken against Shirin's
>father was that he was asked to resign from the NSA. This,
>apparently,
>was not intended as a sanction, because he was again elected in 2003,
>and the UHJ asked him to resign again. Haifa also provided funds for
>Shirin's psychotherapy, for at least a year, and possibly longer. I
>was
>told that this had ended by last summer, and her doctor continues to
>treat her pro bono.
>
>In March of last year, Buddy contacted me, at first asking questions
>about Baha'i administrative procedure. As time went on I agreed to
>help
>in publicizing the case.
>
>I was only in contact with Shirin through a handful of emails, but I
>was
>in continuous contact with Buddy through most of the spring and
summer
>of 2003, and again during these past few weeks. My impression of
>Shirin is that she was bright and articulate, although angry and
>frightened. Shirin constantly spoke of her need for justice, even
>begging me to seek it on her behalf if her family kidnapped her
again,
>or killed her. The impression that Buddy gave was conflicting: He
>would depict her as vulnerable, depressed and anxious, and unable to
>cope with stress. Yet, when he reported her actions, I saw someone
>with
>tremendous strength -- Shirin was able to resist the pressures from
>her
>family, from numerous highly-placed Baha'i officials, and to go
before
>the NSA with a list of demands in her hand. I don't think I've ever
>seen anyone stand up to the administration in the way this young girl
>has. Experts in sexual abuse say that victims seldom lie about what
>they experienced, especially over a sustained period of time. Her
>psychiatrist reports that she is making excellent progress in her
>therapy, and is performing at the top of her class at University.
>
>Besides helping Shirin in her quest for justice, I felt that
publicity
>would be a kind of protection for her -- that her family would not
>dare
>hurt her in any way, if they knew that I would broadcast any
>disappearance far and wide. It was largely publicity that got her
>released from the drug rehab center in the first place, and I thought
>publicity would serve as a way of ensuring that nothing further would
>happen along these lines. I was quite frank in my opinion that the
>possibility that she would get any substantial action from the Baha'i
>institutions was remote. I couldn't guarantee her justice; I could
>only
>promise that the injustice with which she was treated would not
remain
>unknown.
>
>I'll state here publicly that, even now, if Shirin is again forcibly
>institutionalized or she should disappear or any harm come to her, I
>will place all evidence I have on this case on my website.
>
>It is only right that the Baha'i institutions should take a strong
>stand
>against child sexual abuse, and avoid even the appearance of
>countenancing such a horrible crime, and it was in protest against
>their
>lack of action, and the pressures they were placing on Shirin, that
I
>intended to publicize the case.
>
>While preparing for the article, I continually emphasized the need
for
>solid evidence, and was given a great deal of material. Aside from
>collecting evidence for my article, Shirin put her efforts into
>recording conversations that would reveal the wrongdoing on the part
>of
>her father, family, and Baha'i officials. This was entirely her
idea,
>although I sympathize with this desperate attempt, on the part of a
>powerless person, to be heard and taken seriously. I should make it
>clear, here, that my role was primarily supportive, and I left all
>major
>decisions in her hands. My view is, that when you are dealing with
>someone struggling with a feeling of powerlessness, that you must try
>to
>give them a sense of confidence and control. I explicitly asked
>Shirin
>what she wanted, what "justice" would mean to her, and told her that
I
>would not do anything that she didn't want me to do.
>
>A little over a week ago, Buddy sent me an urgent message saying
that
>Shirin was preparing to confront the NSA with her collection of
tapes.
>
> Shirin went to the NSA with a list of demands that are basically
>calculated to force the NSA to keep her family away from her,
>including
>what amounts to a restraining order, and financial arrangements that
>would make the NSA the middle-man between Shirin and her father. She
>told them she had audio tapes of her conversations with the
>Counsellors,
>NSA members, and her family members, and implied that they would be
>released to the media if action was not taken. From what I've been
>told
>of their contents, these audio tapes can be used to both to prove the
>abuse, and the mishandling of her case by Baha'i officials.
>
>Both Shirin and Buddy seem to have quite exaggerated expectations
>about
>what the NSA could do for her. The NSA cannot guarantee that her
>family
>would stay away from her; they are not a police force. The Baha'i
>Faith
>is a religious organization that only has control over the membership
>status of adherents; these kids are treating it as if it were a civil
>court. Her mistake, in my opinion, is in naively believing that
>taking
>her complaint through Baha'i channels, as Baha'is are exhorted to do,
>will somehow result in justice. Buddy is clearly confused by the
>administration's charge of blackmail. In his mind, Shirin has simply
>brought evidence to a body empowered to make a decision. But through
>the broken English in his emails reporting on their response, I am
>already seeing the familiar terminology of Baha'i denial, where
>"ill-intentioned persons" are simply trying to bring the Faith into
>disrepute out of inexplicable malice.
>
>Shirin particularly wanted me to say that she loves the Baha'i Faith,
>and Baha'u'llah, but that her family and NSA have done such terribly
>wrong things to her that she must speak out about what has happened.
>
>The current situation is that Shirin is planning to release her story
>to
>the media within the next few days, and the NSA working out its own
>strategy, which involves a legal complaint against Shirin, and
getting
>other NSAs to write letters of support to this country's government.
>The
>position of the Faith is somewhat precarious, and the government
could
>simply dissolve the Assembly in the wake of a scandal such as this.
>The
>last meeting she had with the NSA was very brief, and it seems to be
>taking the view that it should present itself as not attaching too
>much
>importance to the situation, although the evidence clearly indicates
>the
>contrary. Buddy also reports that at least some NSA members are
>looking
>for a way to have her declared insane and committed to an
institution.
>
>I believe Shirin's story. Although I am no expert in such matters,
>her
>account, and even her behavior is quite consistent with that of other
>sexual abuse victims I have known. I also find it very hard to
>believe
>that a young girl would fabricate such a story, at such tremendous
>personal cost, and maintain it for over three years. There is no
>doubt
>in my mind that she is an incest victim that has been further
>victimized
>by a corrupt criminal justice system, and a Baha'i administration
that
>is more concerned about its reputation than the well-being of this
>young
>woman.
>
>Karen Bacquet
>
>Note: I have to be busy for the next several hours, so it may take
me
>some time to respond to questions and comments about this story.