Amina & Sarah Said

Sarah (L) and Amina (R)

A few weeks ago, I watched a documentary called Forbidden: Dying for Love, the shame of the father, as part of Investigation Discovery.

This was a case that gained worldwide attention because of its nature: honour killing. My views? There is no honour in this. Killing is killing.

It explores the story of Amina Said (pronounced sa-eed) and her sister Sarah, both 18 and 17 respectively who were trying to live the life of normal American teenagers when they were both brutally murdered by their own father on January 1, 2008 in Irving, Texas.

The father, Yaser Abdel Said, married Patricia Owens, an American, in February 1987 when he was 30 and she was just 15. They had met a week prior. Yaser was working at a convenience shop as a cashier when he first met Patricia. He was in the USA using a student visa, while she was born and raised in America. He had promised her and her family that he was a rich Egyptian man, who owned a big land back in Egypt, and that he could take care of her and provide for their family. In reality, there was no land. Once they married, he took control over Patricia and made her work, while he pretty much did nothing.

Now this is the thing that blows my mind. As the parents of the girl (Patricia), why the heck would you allow your naive 15 year old daughter to marry a 30 year old stranger after a week of meeting?! The marriage needed a parental consent in order for it to be legal. Yet her parents signed the consent! I'm pretty baffled as to why they would allow that to happen. They failed as parents to protect their daughter. I don't care how rich the guy appears or how smart he is, but 15 is too young. Parents are suppose to protect their young, but her parents failed miserably to protect Patricia, leading to her downfall.

Anyways, back to the case..

They had two daughters together, Amina and Sarah. As the girls got older, Yaser made it very clear to both of them that they were not allowed to date anyone in America. Yaser would arrange the girls to be married to much older men in Egypt instead. As part of his views, Yaser believed that women were objects. Arranged marriages to older men who could provide a dowry was a must. Obviously both girls rejected his offer, but Yaser did not care about what they felt because they were girls.

Both girls started dating American guys early in their teen years. They had both kept it secret from their father, because they knew he would not like it. Talking on the phone to the boys would be too difficult, so Amina and her boyfriend, Joseph, decided to exchange love messages using a notebook, which Amina kept at school.

Yaser had a habit of going through both Amina and Sarah's belongings whenever they got home, as well as going through their cell phones, and inquiring about names when he got suspicious of them. So they both had to be extra cautious. Unfortunately, Amina had accidentally brought home that notebook one day, and it was while she wasn't looking, that Yaser took this opportunity, and snooped through Amina's backpack, and found the notebook with notes from Joseph.

Yaser was very furious and questioned Amina about it. Amina then lied to Yaser, saying it was her imaginary boyfriend, because he wouldn't allow her to have a boyfriend. So she had to make one up and pretend someone loved her. Initially, he believed her. But he then started going overboard with monitoring her.

He would follow her car to school, and make sure she wasn't talking to any boys. When she was gone to class, he would have the spare key to her car, and then start snooping around for more evidence. He would also bug her car with a recorder, and listen to conversations she had with Sarah. It was also through the recorder, that he found out both Amina and Sarah lied to him about having American boyfriends.

At this point, Yaser was furious. He was losing control of his girls, and did not know how to deal with it except through anger, intimidation, and death threats. Now that his behaviour was becoming more and more aggressive, Amina feared for her life. She begged her mom to take her and Sarah away from home, and to another family home in another state.

Initially Patricia (mom) agreed and made the drive to her family's place in another state, getting the girls to safety. However, after Yaser realized they weren't home at the time he asked them to be home, he became worried and begged them to come back home and start all over again.

It was at this point that Patricia lied to Amina and Sarah. She had gave them an excuse to go back to Lewisville. Both Amina and Sarah were very reluctant. Eventually they had no choice but to agree.

The sad part about this? Patricia knew how violent her husband Yaser is. She knew he wasn't going to change. Yet she lured her own girls back to him. She basically set their death trap. And this is the part that most people cannot come to terms with. Their own maternal mother refused to protect her own girls from a monster. A real mother would protect her own kids from their own abusive fathers, and flee in order to protect the kids. But not Patricia. She too, is a monster.

After they arrived back home, Yaser promised them things will be better.

On January 1, 2008, Yaser told Patricia that he was going to take Amina and Sarah to grab some food. Patricia wanted to go as well, but Yaser had said he only wanted to spend time with his girls. He took the taxicab he used (for work), and set upon going to grab food.

He had driven to Irving with his taxi cab, parked it, and then shot both girls multiple times (total of 11 times), starting with Amina. Sarah had managed to call 9-1-1 and told the operator that her dad shot her. Soon after, the operator heard the rest of the shots and then silence.

It was that same night that another taxi cab driver spotted Yaser's abandoned taxi in a hotel parking lot.

Whatever Amina's fate was, it would be the same for Sarah. Amina knew she was going to die, and in the end you can pretty much say she just gave up the fight. Both Amina and Sarah went through a lot growing up, but they are very brave young ladies, and that's how they should be remembered.

Yaser had vanished since the girls' murders and remains at large to this day. He has been added to the FBI's Most Wanted List (Yaser FBI). He is wanted for capital murder, and of course in the state of Texas, capital murder convictions will receive the death penalty. FBI is giving out a $100,000 reward for his arrest. Reports have said he may still be in the USA (either Texas or New York, driving as a cab driver), or that he could be in Egypt.

I have read and watched reports of Patricia after the murders, and there is conflicting things with her. One report says she still keeps in touch with Yaser, but in other reports she says she hasn't talked to him since the killings. Doesn't know where he is etc. Yet his family probably knows his whereabouts but isn't saying anything, to "protect" his image and honour. Because that's the bullcrap that they believe in. They believe that Yaser did right, to get rid of two beautiful girls (and I mean HIS OWN BLOOD AND FLESH!) in order to preserve his own image. Because he didn't want to be known to raise "whores". Really? That's surreal how a parent would even think that. They were far from that image. Amina and Sarah had great potential to do well, but unfortunately cannot live out their dreams.

For those living in those States, or the surrounding areas, please be extra cautious and help keep an eye out for this monster. Justice needs to be served for Amina and Sarah.