Cultural differences.

Incase you were wondering, this is not a piece of self gratification, this is an Egyptian female protesting about what will be explained below.

In reference to my last post, thank you for your wishes. It is just a case of waiting for CT scan results in order to find out how extensive the op is going to be. I have been positively encouraged to continue by the Mrs so here is the next instalment.

The call sounds routine and mundane, a young girl is found by a concerned member of the public wandering the streets at about 11 o'clock at night. This nice person then does the decent thing and takes her to a police station. The girl is African in origin and is dressed only in her coat, pyjamas and fake Ugg boots. She is from our area and subsequently we are sent to transport her back home. Sounds simple. Arrive at the neighbouring station and get introduced to X. I sit in the room and tell her that we are going to take her home. The change is dramatic, she was quiet and pleasant at first but upon hearing this she turns into a mad thing. She is small for her age and is stick thin. Obviously there is some sort of problem and as she was so small I am scared to stop her from lashing out. I think of my own kids and just stay seated talking quietly to her. Eventually she stops and sits down again, she couldn't really hurt me anyway. She then rolls up one of her sleeves and I see the perfectly formed welt shape caused by a belt. The buckle is very distinct. She then goes on to tell me that she doesn't want to go home because she will be hurt again. I ask her who is hurting her and it transpires that her father whips her and her mother has also hurt her too. I ask what her mother has done and she points to her groin. I struggle to understand, surely her mother hasn't raped her? She then told me that she was taken to see someone who hurt her whilst pointing to her groin. I still can't think what she is talking about. I ask her if it still hurts, she shakes her head. In typical dumb ignorance I ask her if someone has made her do something she didn't want to, she shrugs her shoulders. I am for once a little out of my depth. The clear assault that she has suffered from the belt I am certain of, the other matter leaves me a little confused. I am certain however that she can't go home. I speak to the Inspector who after listening states that she should go to hospital and have further examination by medical staff. He will start the process for a PPO and that social services should be notified.

I don't want to scare her further by putting her in a police car so ask for an ambulance. My female colleague will go with her. Whilst waiting the bell rings in the front office and the duty officer comes to tell me that the caller is her father who has somehow heard that his daughter is at the police station. He has come to take her home. I go to speak to him and after a quick glance at his belt see that the buckle is a perfect match to the welt on her arm. I ask him to wait whilst I go to speak to my colleague, she takes the young girl to a more private part of the station whilst I arrest the father for assault. He shrugged his shoulders and said she deserved it. She shouldn't have lost her school project. I stand in a quandary, I can't believe the casual nature with which he said it. I understand that parents have the right to chastise their children but whipping them with a belt buckle seems a bit too much.

Moving on, the girl is taken to a local children's hospital whilst I convey her father to custody. The country they come from is notoriously difficult for citizens to obtain passports, so the whole matter takes a different slant, are they illegal immigrants? He is bedded down for the night whilst enquiries follow. My radio chirps with a PTP and through poor reception, my colleague is in a hospital, I learn that the girl has a multitude of welts across her dark skin and their is something more sinister. Her vaginal area shows "some irregularities", still being the dozy arse I ask if it looks like she has been raped at which point my colleague states that I should let the inspector know and contact the hospital. The connection drops off. I wonder what is happening and call the boss. He tells me that without delay I should go to her home address and basically stay there until social services attend, after ascertaining who is there don't let anyone leave or enter and treat it as a crime scene. He then mentions female genital mutilation. I'm not that ignorant, I have heard of it but that takes place in African countries doesn't it? Surely not here in Notgreatside?

It does happen in this country I can now vouch for that, another younger girl was also taken from the address by social services and the mother was subsequently arrested on suspicion of assault. Thankfully the younger child was unhurt.

I got home from nights and waited for my daughters to wake up, I know that I am not perfect but I am thankful that our society does not demand this ritual. I looked at them both and felt that I would never ever be in the position that I would ever whip them with my belt. The other matter would never be an option as our society doesn't demand it.

I now don't know how to think. I have seen an extremely frightened little girl who has been beaten and subject to a primitive ritual that holds no place in any country. I have also been instrumental in breaking up a family unit, whether that family should have been in the UK at all is irrelevant. What was quite ironic when all parties had gone their separate ways and both parents were waiting in their cells for the morning was that all four were HIV +.

The kids were born with it, the father should perhaps ...............oh had better stop now because who knows?