GET TO KNOW WHAT THIS IS ABOUT
Healing and Learning is a blog by Aryam Marafi
My name is Aryam Marafi. I am a medical student and activist. I am a Kuwaiti refugee.
I am a child abuse survivor. When I was 17 years old I escaped my family home to seek a safer life, free from their abuse, but they continued to harass and stalk me. I have been diagnosed with severe depression and c-PTSD due to my trauma. In 2021, at the age of 20, I applied for asylum in the UK. My claim for asylum has been accepted, and I have been granted refugee status.
I have interrupted my studies for a year to focus on receiving therapy and to address my trauma. I have learned so much on this difficult journey, and I am excited to share this with everyone who may benefit from it. I realised the importance of being open to learning new things to constantly grow and become a better person.
I hope you find peace on this blog. I hope you are enlightened with knowledge and blessed with good health.
FAQ
WHY DID YOU LEAVE YOUR FAMILY?
I was emotionally, physically, and sexually abused. I wanted to live a happy and safe life, free from their abuse.
I asked if I could move out for my university studies and use the money from my scholarship to pay for my accommodation, but they refused. My father told me that I had to continue living with them in their 1 bedroom flat, and he would charge me rent to live with them.
ARE YOU A LESBIAN?
I am asexual and aromantic.
Asexual = a person who experiences little to no sexual attraction.
Aromantic = a person who experiences little to no romantic attraction.
WHY DID YOU SEEK ASYLUM?
Kuwait does not protect people from abuse. I spent months speaking to people to see if any of them could help protect me from the abuse I was experiencing, but no one helped me. Instead of helping me or protecting me from my abusive family, the Kuwaiti government was directly involved in perpetuating further abuse against me. My father was a diplomat at the Kuwaiti embassy in London, and his friends worked at the embassy alongside him. An embassy staff member was sent to follow me (I recognised him since he was a friend of my father, and he was in an embassy car). My university also informed me that Kuwaiti embassy had asked the university for information about me specifically, though the university has never received a request like this about any other student.
My mother also threatened to kidnap me (it was implied that they would either kill me or imprison me) with the help of embassy staff members. They have the ability to do so with their connections.
WHY DO YOU THINK KUWAIT IS UNSAFE?
For more information about how Kuwait fails to protect people, see the hashtag I created on Instagram: #kuwaitisnotsafe
WHY DON'T YOU RETURN TO YOUR FAMILY?
I want to live safely and free from abuse. I want to be able to make my own life choices.
I don't want to live in fear. I don't want to suffer from abuse until I am eventually killed by them.
I am much happier living without them.