They moved here thinking they had them
Choices that is ... who to love, marry, be with
What to study, wear, think about, even say ...
They couldn't have been more mistaken
Their decision maker moved with them
And made it clear very soon that he was serious
Marriage to an infidel? He would have it annulled
Dress provocatively? (In his opinion ...)
He would punish you, make your life a misery
But still, they knew the country they were in
Was one supportive of women and their rights
Would surely rescue them in their plight
How could they have dreamed, ever
That the master of all - their father - would
Outwit the new government, their new protectorate
With his newest wife, their actual mother, and their
brother
One night, under cover of darkness and guise of a family trip
He managed to put all four of them, knocked unconscious
Or possibly already dead — by the time they were found
It was beyond determining —into a small car, then pushed
The small car into a canal where they all drowned, vanished
The family lied at first, reporting varying versions
Of missing persons - two girls, three - finally all four
Then, when reports of the abuse began to surface
The police treated the case as domestic violence
But once the victims were discovered in the sunken car
Suspicions began to swirl about the true nature
Of the crime perpetrated on the four women
Due to the Muslim devotion of all concerned
Plus the unearthing of statements made by the father
Post-mortem ... the authorities and the press
Deemed the deaths honour killings; the public
Ran with that definition and so did the courts
The father, mother and son were charged
With first degree murder, conspiracy to commit same
Assembling prosecution and defense cases began
Replete with appeals and delays for continuances
Until almost three years passed before the accused
Were tried and convicted by a jury of their peers
In a precedent setting case, the three
Were found guilty of first degree murder
And admonished in the strongest terms
By the Canadian judge - told that in Canada
There is no such thing as "honour killing"
And freedom and democracy rule the day
He gave them the stiffest penalty allowable—
Twenty-five years without possibility of parole—
And reproved them in harsh words not often
Heard in the Canadian criminal justice system
It was a clarion call for all - especially immigrant
Women - telling them if they come here
We will all be listening now, for their cries
For help; that yes, here there are choices
And no, you do not have to die for making them
S.E.Ingraham©
