India no place for foreign women
Thanks to an abundance of travel programs on TV, travel guides and magazines, Travel Channel and Lonely Planet, and the many travel agencies, too many Westerners think that the whole world is a huge, fun playground and they lose the sight that big parts of the world are dirty, dangerous and poor. So when these, somewhat naive women in their twenties or even when they're 18 or 19 go to these kind of dangerous places with their backpack, you wind up in a situation you never expect. The world is not a nice and beautiful place. Here an account of a girl, who traveled alone, and who was told by her friends that she was going to the safest place in India. Whereas they should have told her that India maybe 10% monuments, sights, beaches and temples, and that 90% is danger and injustice against (foreign) women, especially when going alone.
'Mumbai has disappointed me,' says molested Dutch teen
Mumbai: When 18-year-old Emma (name changed) decided to travel by herself to Mumbai for a six-month-long stay, her friends and acquaintances assured her that she would be out of harm's way in the city that is touted to be the safest in the country.
But the nightmarish ordeal that the Dutch girl experienced on Christmas night came as a rude awakening, making her desperate to leave this land. On a solitary auto ride back to her Mulund residence from Dahisar at around 1 am last Sunday, two auto drivers abducted and allegedly raped her brutally in the forests near Aarey Milk Colony. While one of the accused in the case has been nabbed, another still lurks free.
"I am traumatised even at the sight of an auto rickshaw," she says, a catch in her voice. A week has passed since the brutish act, and Emma is now staying at a Juhu-based hotel, from where she spoke to MiD DAY over the phone. Her voice is laced with fear, as she admits that the horrific incidents of that fateful night have scarred her to her very core, instilling an all-pervading fear in her that she cannot easily shake off.
Her trauma is compounded by the fact that she cannot leave the country without her passport, and each day is spent recollecting the horrors of the night. "I just need my passport, and I will go far away from this country that has caused me so much pain. I have made bookings to leave on January 6," she said, choking.
Emma's trip to India began on a promising note. After completing a smooth-sailing first leg of her tour in Delhi, she came to Mumbai in September. Here, she met up with an Andheri-based boy she had befriended when he was staying as a paying guest at her aunt's house in the Netherlands.
It's not just her peace of mind that she lost in that harrowing night. As she was fleeing from her assailants, she left behind her purse that had her expensive phone and Rs. 8,000 in cash, all of which have been recovered by the cops, who have retained them as evidence. But what she misses most is her personal diary. "I want back the diary that was in my purse. It contains all the memories from my childhood."
Emma has learnt the hard way that Mumbai, touted as the safest city for women in the nation, conceals a dirty and seamy underbelly. "I had heard that Mumbai is safe for women, and so dared to travel alone. The city has disappointed me," said Emma. "I am grateful to the good Samaritans who came to my rescue, and saved my life, especially Sakpal and his friends. But I will never forget the pain this city has caused me," she signed off.
'Mumbai has disappointed me,' says molested Dutch teen | NDTV.com
Please ignore him. & MODs for GOD sake please take some stringent action against this false flagger.
