Leila Hassanian: "Waiting to die in Turkey."

 

  My name is Leila Hassanian: I was born into a tribal family in the southern part of Iran. I was the second child of parents who had been waiting for many years for the birth of a son. My birth disappointed them. My father was the eldest son of the tribal family. He was desperate for the birth of a male child in order to carry on the family legacy and establish his name.

    "No one was happy with my birth. Even my own grandparents were sad."

    It wasn't until four years later that they were blessed with a birth of a son. That's when the celebration began and the dark clouds of sadness were lifted from their lives. During my childhood and adolescence, all of the family attention was focused on my brother and no attention was ever given to the girls.

    At the age of 20, I became the victim of a forced marriage. My father chose my husband and my marriage was a disaster from the very beginning. My husband was not pleased with me. Very soon afterwards we fled to Turkey to become refugees and that's when my life became almost unbearable! There was no love and communication in our marriage. I couldn't get a job and I suffered day and night under the harsh control of my husband. I became very depressed and although I sought counseling and therapy for relief, I couldn't find any help. Unable to sleep at nights because of the stress, I began taking sleeping pills. The Immigration office refused to give me any help for my marital problems and so one night I escaped to Ankara.

    I applied for a divorce at a court in Ankara and after a week, the Immigration office deported me back to the same city that my husband was living in. They detained me and placed me in a larger central detention center where I suffered miserably for 60 days. I could not prove to the courts that my life was in danger if sent back to Iran and so I am currently in danger of being deported.

    I have no ID cards, no interviews with the UNHCR, no human rights in Turkey, and I am forced to work 12 hours a day earning only $1.00 an hour! While I'm at work, I am the constant target of sexual and psychological harassment from men.

    

    However in the midst of all of the darkness and despair, I have found hope in Jesus. I am busy studying the Christian faith with other Iranian-Christians. For the first time in my life, I have a real peace in my heart. Please pray for me and be my voice. If I'm deported back to Iran, they will deal harshly with me as a Christian. I will surely be imprisoned for the rest of my life.

   "Be my voice in Turkey. I don't want to die!"